Stoking the Fire: Despite the fact that the comment was taken out of context, opportunities still abound to seize on Romney’s ‘I like to fire people’ gaffe.

• Cue Vice President Biden and DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
• Out in far left field, Huffington Post reports that Romney Likes ‘Being Able to Fire People’ for Being Gay.
• Meanwhile, GOP candidates Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich speak out in defense of Romney’s comment.

MTV Pretends Poetry Night Was Ron Paul Event: MTV’s website gushes, Ron Paul Inspires Poetry In New Hampshire.  But not so fast, says Newser, which reports that the event’s organizers say it wasn’t a Paul rally at all.  Newser reports: “organizers tell the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that it wasn’t a Paul rally, and estimate that in a crowd of 50-70 people, only four or five were Paul supporters. They say MTV even took lines from poems out of context to make them appear pro-Paul.”

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Ah, Politico. JournOlism at its finest.

Here we have the first real vote of the 2012 season with all eyes on the GOP, and Mike Allen’s idea of a “headliner ” for his live stream’s “instant analysis”  is DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Ed Morrissey:

Let me get this straight.  Their headliner for tonight — the one they want to promote to demonstrate how their coverage will best the competition — is the hacktastic chair of the other party, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  Who are the other “special guests”? … Chug your drink when Wasserman Schultz offers up these cogent points about Republicans:

• Republicans wanting to “literally drag us back to Jim Crow days“
• Refusing to increase spending amounts to something “almost like dictatorship“
• Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform will “throw you to the wolves”
• Ryan’s overall budget amounts to a “death trap for seniors” and “a tornado through nursing homes“But Republicans should stop “demonizing their opponents Michael Moore?  Bill Maher?  Janeane Garofalo?

This is – if you’ll pardon the expression — Mike Allen’s playbook. To portray whatever Wasserman Schultz will say tonight as “analysis” is beyond absurd. But Politico is so deep in the tank for Obama, so determined to destroy our candidates one by one, that what Politico is doing here actually makes sense.

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Democratic National Committee Chairwoman/Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is feeling the heat from a formidable opponent, Republican Karen Harrington, in her battle to keep Florida’s 20th Congressional District seat.

Several weeks back, Wasserman Schultz was interviewed by the Spanish-language network Univision and was directly asked if she thought her congressional seat was “safe” in the forthcoming 2012 elections. Wasserman Schultz appeared unnerved by the question and it likely caused her to pivot back to her typical talking points and assert that the candidates running in the Republican primary in Florida’s 20th Congressional District are “very focused on the agenda of the Tea Party” and “that’s not a reflection of the values of this district.”

Screenshot. ‘Someone’ complained about the video, so our friends over at Univision asked us to take down the video. We took the video down as a courtesy.

The Shark Tank removed the video in question from its site after somebody from Wasserman Schultz’s campaign or congressional office complained to the network as a courtesy to Univision.  Fast forward a few weeks later, and lo and behold, the Politico runs a two-part story on who could have leaked the video to the Shark Tank.  Coincidence?  You be the judge. Politico: Part 1 Part 2.

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While reading through newspaper stories about Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s cowardly attacks on Congressman Allen West earlier in the week, I came across an even more repulsive attack on him from a Palm Beach Post columnist named Frank Cerabino: the latter was especially repugnant because of the fact that it was full of haughtiness and a not-so-veiled attack against West’s military pride.

Dated October 20, 2010, Cerabino’s column was obviously part of a larger attempt to prevent West from being elected to Congress in November of that same year (and fortunately, it was an effort that failed).

In the column, Cerabino mocks Congressman West for writing articles that appeared in a biker magazine. Thus he refers to West as an “unhinged future AM-radio talk-show host” and “a regular contributor to Wheels on the Road, a South Florida bikers magazine bursting with right-wing political commentary.”

Elsewhere in the column, Cerabino haughtily remarked that he hadn’t known West was a “fellow columnist” until he found out about the West’s work in Wheels on the Road. The clear intent of this statement was to demonstrate Cerabino’s superiority because he was writing for the Post while West was writing for a lowly biker magazine. (Note to Cerabino – I’d rather read the biker magazine.)

Anyway, Cerabino’s column also took the criticism of Congressman West to new levels by mocking the pride West takes in his military service. Wrote Cerabino: “[West has] a penchant for wearing his Army jump wings on civilian blazers.” (Note to Cerabino – mocking a Republican’s pride in the military might be the cool thing to at the cocktail parties which the Post’s columnists attend, but in heartland American it’s viewed as despicable.)

Now, before anyone gets all bent out of shape and sends me emails about how Cerabino was in the Navy years ago and therefore can’t be accused of mocking the military, please note that I know he was in the Navy. Please also note that John Kerry served in Vietnam, yet he described our troops fighting in Iraq as terrorists.

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Keith Olbermann lost his mind on Allen West yesterday evening on his program and doubled-down this afternoon on Twitter. The irony is that the insults he cast upon Rep. Allen West were, according to his own measurement of offensiveness, more outrageous than anything ever uttered or written by the Congressman.

To recap: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz demonstrated her inability to comprehend economics 101 the floor of the House yesterday with this:

“The gentleman from Florida, who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Unbelievable from a member from southern Florida.”

She didn’t deliver her speech until Congressman West was absent and then directed it at him.

Rep. Allen West responded:

From: Z112 West, Allen
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 04:48 PM
To: Wasserman Schultz, Debbie
Cc: McCarthy, Kevin; Blyth, Jonathan; Pelosi, Nancy; Cantor, Eric
Subject: Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)

Olbermann’s response:

“Just resign Congressman, you’re making a jackass out of yourself, again.”

He followed up with this series of Twitter outbursts.

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Here’s the latest in kids’ superhero costumes for Halloween:  Weinerman!  Belt accessories include a cell phone with optional prophylactic cover for safe sexting.

Last week began disastrously for Weiner with the Breitbart disclosures and groveling apology on Monday, yet appeared to have ended on a positive note just in time for the Sunday talk shows.  Starting Thursday night, Chris Matthews labeled Weiner critics “backwards Christian conservatives”, and then on Friday came the Make-Believe Media’s PR blitz of no fewer than three upbeat articles affirming that Weiner’s constituents supported him, that history supported him, and that Democrat leadership supported him.

But then the story broke of an underage Weiner correspondent - a 17 year old girl.  Oh my, what a difference a year makes.  And what an embarrassment to CNN’s sanctimonious scolding of Andrew Breitbart for earlier suggesting such a possibility.  The underage girl, who referred to Weiner as “my true love”in a message, was told by Weiner  “I came back strong.  Large.  Tights and cape.” This superhero imagery surfaced in an email with yet another woman who asked Weiner if he was “busy saving my country from this f****** tea baggers”, to which he replied, “Yep.  Cape.  Tights.  Looking for my sidekick.” He apparently even has his very own fortress of solitude:  the congressional gym complete with requisite mirrors for self-portrait snapshots.

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Ever feel that you’re trapped inside a lunatic asylum, where all the normal rules of logic and discourse have been turned on their heads, and screaming nutbags roam the halls, hurling imprecations at imaginary enemies?  A place where up is down, black is white and left is right? Welcome to MSNBC, whose daily lineup has become a who’s who of strutting Napoleons, fantasy Christs and various Emperors of Cloud Cuckoo-Land.

Look!  Here’s Dylan Ratigan now, in his memorable, nearly career-ending exchange with Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

Which may explain why Ratigan (who, like MSNBC regular Donny Deutsch, has a claim to punditry fame based on… what, again?), and his antagonistic show Morning Meeting vanished from the low-rated cable network in December, to be replaced by the kiddie corps of Chuck “Horse Race” Todd and the utterly unintelligble Savannah Guthrie (as Henry Higgins might ask: why can’t young American women learn to speak?).

So you’ll be pleased to know that, for some recondite reason, the pride of Saranac Lake is now back on the air weekday afternoons as host of The Dylan Ratigan Show.  Whence comes this great moment in television: (more…)