Rachel Maddow's Blog, page 3411

Obama's support steady during firestorm

I mentioned last week that President Obama's poll numbers would almost certainly drop in the face of intense criticism. Even if there are no meaningful allegations of wrongdoing involving the White House, when the public hears the words "president" and "scandal" over and over again, it's likely to take a toll.

Or perhaps not. CNN released a poll yesterday showing Obama's approval rating going up, not down, reaching 53%. What's more, Gallup daily tracking put the president's standing at 47% a week ago, then reaching 51% on Saturday, before inching to 50% yesterday.

How is this possible given the media firestorm and the constant talk of a "White House in crisis"? It may have something to do with the fact that there are partisan differences in how the news is being perceived.

I put together this chart, for example, showing the partisan breakdown responding to this question in the CNN poll: Do you think that what Barack Obama has said in public about [the IRS controversy] has been completely true, mostly true, mostly false, or completely false?" I then combined "true" and "mostly true," followed by "false" and "completely false."

Democrats and independents believe the president's remarks have been truthful; Republicans do not. This isn't surprising, of course, but it does help explain the larger political dynamic -- those who were already inclined to support Obama continue to do so; those inclined to believe the worst about the president continue to do that, too. Similar results were found in response to Benghazi-related questions.

As Greg Sargent put it, "In the case of the IRS and Benghazi stories, the lurid and nefarious view of Obama's involvement in them being peddled by the right is held only by Republicans -- big majorities of them -- while most moderates and independents, i.e. the middle of the country, believe the White House's arguments."

It probably doesn't hurt that news consumers who take a closer look at the available facts find that the president find that the IRS and Benghazi stories don't point to presidential wrongdoing, either.

I should mention a couple of other angles to keep an eye on. First, the sustained poll support may not last -- if there are weeks or months of "scandal" speculation and Nixon comparisons, Obama's standing may yet deteriorate. Many may already be tired of the controversies, but with hearings and investigations on the way, scandal mania will probably dominate the political world's attention for quite a while.

Second, while all of this is at least somewhat interesting, I hope talk of polls and political implications does not drown out the more significant takeaway from recent developments: we're getting a good look at real policy problems, not political scandals, and the more the political world focuses on solutions, the better.

That means putting several ideas on the front burner: a media shield law, improved embassy security, IRS reforms, a renewed look at the ambiguities surrounding tax law as it relates to political non-profit groups, etc.

Getting to know E.W. Jackson

Associated Press

When it comes to culture-war politics and candidates for statewide office, it's tempting to think Virginia's state attorney general and Republican gubernatorial hopeful, Ken Cuccinelli, represents an extreme wing of his party. But over the weekend, the Virginia GOP officially nominated its slate of statewide candidates, and the man Republicans chose to run for lieutenant governor is arguably even more unhinged.

It's time to get to know E.W. Jackson. This guy is not your garden-variety right-wing activist; this guy is special.

In his second interview with Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality and pastor John Kirkwood, Bishop E.W. Jackson launched into another blistering tirade against gays and lesbians. The anti-gay activist said that gays and lesbians have "perverted" minds and are "very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally," and bigoted against African Americans and Christians. [...]

Jackson added that homosexuality "poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies" and will lead to God's judgment.

And this really is just the tip of a large iceberg. Jackson has accused President Obama of having "Muslim sensibilities" and seeing the world "from a Muslim perspective." Jackson sees Democrats embracing a policy agenda "worthy of the Antichrist." He's argued that the "repeal of the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' law is a disaster of historic proportions and it must be reinstated."

He believes liberals who support gay rights "have done more to kill black folks" than the "Ku Klux Klan." And speaking of the KKK, Jackson has argued, "The Democrat Party has created an unholy alliance between certain so-called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood, which has killed unborn black babies by the tens of millions. Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was."

It's unusual to find fringe figures pushing arguments like these in public, but it's even more unusual for fringe figures to be nominated by a major political party to run for statewide office after compiling a record like this one.

This will be Jackson's second attempt at statewide office -- he ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign last year, winning about 5 percent of the vote.

Update: Zoe Schlanger reports that Virginia's newly-nominated A.G. candidate advocated requiring women to report miscarriages to the police -- or face jail time. It's quite a slate of candidates.

The secret memo that only Rand Paul understands

Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) seems to have an unusual fondness for conspiracy theories. Paul believes, for example, that the administration is conspiring with the United Nations to "confiscate and destroy all 'unauthorized' civilian firearms." He believes there was a secret gun-running scheme that shipped weapons from Libya to Turkey. He fears gun-toting meteorologists and is convinced the Obama administration is responsible for problems with his toilet.

And when it comes to the IRS's scrutiny of groups applying for tax-exempt status, Paul believes there are secret memos that exist in his imagination that point to a conspiracy that only he understands. [Updated: see below]

While the Internal Revenue Service maintains it was not focusing on conservative groups out of political bias, Sen. Rand Paul claimed Sunday there was a "written policy" floating around the agency that said IRS officials were "targeting people who were opposed to the president."

"And when that comes forward, we need to know who wrote the policy and who approved the policy," the Republican senator from Kentucky said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Pressed for more precise details about the memo he was referring to, Paul said he hasn't seen such a policy statement but has heard about it.

Oh, well in that case, we should certainly take this seriously. Rand Paul has heard about a document that doesn't appear to exist? We might as well draw up articles of impeachment now.

All joking aside, Paul told a national television audience that he "keeps hearing" about the secret memo that's been "reported orally."

It's possible electing a self-accredited ophthalmologist to the U.S. Senate wasn't the smartest thing Kentucky ever did.

It's troubling enough when Paul shares wacky thoughts with fringe figures like Alex Jones and the folks at World Net Daily, but it's more problematic when a major news organization gives Paul a national platform and he says ridiculous things to the public. What's more, many news consumers may have tuned in and assumed Paul's nuttiness has merit -- after all, he's a U.S. senator. If he says he's heard about a secret memo, maybe Americans should take this seriously.

Except, of course, there is no secret memo; the information hasn't been "reported orally"; and taking Rand Paul's wacky theories seriously is generally a very bad idea.

Update: Dave Weigel defends Paul on this, suggesting the senator may have been referring to page 6 of the IG report, which said the Determinations Unit for the tax-exempt office "began developing a spreadsheet that would become known as the 'Be On the Look Out' listing," which included by way of a criteria political groups that were critical of the president.

It's certainly possible that's what Paul was referring to, though I'm not sure how the "reported orally" response ties into this.

This Week in God

First up from the God Machine this week is a story out of South Florida, in which a mayoral candidate claimed an unusual political endorsement, which did not turn out especially well.

I've reported on developments at the intersection of religion and politics for a good chunk of my career, but I don't recall ever seeing a politician claim to have been literally endorsed by Jesus Christ. That is, before Anna Pierre, a registered nurse, made the claim in advance of this week's North Miami mayoral race.

"Yes, Jesus endorsed me!" Pierre said during a stop at the Gwen Margolis Community Center Tuesday morning as the polls opened. "I'm not nuts, if I'm a freak and nuts for Jesus, let it be! Let the world know that Jesus is it and when you have Jesus on your side you can go on." Pierre previously claimed she was being intimidated with voodoo tactics.

The Jesus claim was made on a campaign flyer posted to Pierre's Facebook page that reads "Anna Pierre, RN, is endorsed by Jesus Christ" and features a photo of the savior.

Pierre said the endorsement came to her in a revelation while on the campaign trail as she's been competing against six other candidates.

For some reason, local voters were not persuaded -- Pierre came in seventh out of seven candidates, getting slightly less than one percent of the vote.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* The AP reported this week that a prominent American priest of the Legion of Christ religious order has decided to leave the priesthood after admitting he fathered a child years ago. The Rev. Thomas Williams, who had worked as an MSNBC religion analyst, is now eager to care for his son and the mother (thanks to my colleague Vanessa Silverton Peel for the heads-up).

* Remember Harold Camping, who gained notoriety a couple of years ago after predicting the end of the world? This California-based Family Radio ministry has apparently fallen on hard times and begun selling off assets while laying off staffers (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* The town of Muldrow, Okla., is in "turmoil" after the Freedom From Religion Foundation reminded the local public high school that it cannot promote and endorse the Ten Commandments. Many locals have organized large protests, but attorneys representing the school have said the religious displays will have to be removed.

* In Georgia this week, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) this week ordered the state Department of Natural Resources to put Bibles in cabins and lodge rooms at state parks. In a statement, Deal said, "These Bibles are donated by outside groups, not paid for by the state," adding that "any group is free to donate literature" for park cabins and lodges. I'll look forward to seeing which other groups take the governor up on the offer.

* And in Bangladesh, bloggers criticizing the abuse of religion by politicians have been labeled "atheists," and are now facing arrest and death threats.

Decryptomaddowlogical #56

Among the revelations this week was that Republicans managed to dupe the mainstream media into hyping their Benghazi scandal narrative by feeding them doctored information. The construction of an alternate reality of invented facts, combined with an irrational desire to smear President Obama with scandal, has become so ingrained in Republican culture that the Benghazi concoction might be described as a 

Need help? Need to shout out the answer without spoiling anyone else's game?

There's a thread for that.

*Remember to mention the number of the puzzle you're talking about.

Links for the 5/17 TRMS

The full list of Friday night's citations are posted after the jump, but here's a link to the publisher's page for Gregory Johnsen's "The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al Qaeda and America's War in Arabia."

Shots Fired At Cannes Film Festival

For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Smoking Crack Cocaine

Exclusive: Benghazi Talking Points Underwent 12 Revisions, Scrubbed of Terror Reference

White House releases Benghazi e-mails

More Details on Benghazi Talking Points Emerge

Cloak, dagger and a blond wig? FSB says CIA agent nabbed in Moscow (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

27-year-old CIA wig resurfaces in Moscow spy case

Russia: CIA agent caught red handed, conversations released

Russia reveals identity of CIA Moscow chief following Ryan Fogle's expulsion

'Wigged CIA spy' Ryan C. Fogle was reportedly seeking information on Boston bombings

DC blast at joke & dagger

January 5, 2010 - Guantanamo Detainees Won't Be Sent to Yemen for Now (Update2)

Hunger strike, Yemeni dilemma could spur Guantanamo closure plans

Des complicités internes auraient rendu possible le braquage de Brussels Airport

From the U.S. Attorney's Office: Putting a Face on $30,000 in A.T.M. Withdrawals in 6 Hours

Meanderings of Memory

Oxford English Dictionary asks public to help track down mystery book

Ahead on the 5/17 Maddow show

Tonight's guests: 

David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Obama, now director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and MSNBC senior political analyst
Gregory Johnsen, author of “The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al Qaeda and America's War in Arabia" and a Near East Studies Scholar at Princeton University

And here's executive producer Bill Wolff with a look ahead at the week's close-out show (best viewed accompanied by the wistful strains of Arcade Fire's Brazil):

Student voting rights seem 'peculiar' to Ohio GOP

Ohio Republicans' push to make it harder for college students to vote is back in the headlines, with the news that Ohio Republicans appear to be sticking with it. As first reported by Plunderbund last month, the idea is to attach a price tag when colleges vouch for students registering to vote from school. If you're currently paying out-of-state tuition, and you register to vote at your university with a letter or utility bill from your dorm, then the school would have to charge you the much lower in-state tuition.

Estimates for how much that would cost Ohio universities are as high as $370 million a year. The measure punishes schools for helping students vote.

Tucked inside the budget, it passed the House earlier this month. This week the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that, for now, the language appears likely to stay alive in the Senate.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that under the 26th Amendment, students can register and vote where they go to school. In punishing schools that help make that possible, Ohio Republicans say they're just trying to lower tuition. But as you can hear in the interview below with Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder on May 2, they also want to stop college students voting in local elections.

Watch on YouTube

From the transcript:

House Speaker William Batchelder: [W]hen I first came here people who were coming in from New York or some other place could not vote in Ohio. Then there were federal court decisions and other peculiar things, so that was permitted. The real issue is, for local areas in particular, what happens after somebody from New York City registers to vote. How do they vote on the school levy, how do they vote on the sheriff’s race, and so forth?

Obviously it would be possible for people to become knowledgeable in those areas, but there's to me a significant question, about what the particularly levies, what the result of having people who don't have to pay for them would do in terms of adopting those things.

Reporter: So is this to discourage them from participating or is to level the playing field with other students?

Speaker Batchelder: Well, it's to level the playing field in terms of who gets to vote on local issues in particular. I know, I can remember when this first started, it would have been '70. And very frankly I don't think most of our folks thought that you could do that up until it was done. It began down in Athens County, to the best of my recollection, but it's a long time ago.

Reporter: Do you have any reason to believe that a university's going to be less likely to give a letter or a utility bill based on this amendment?

Speaker Batchelder: Not on the basis of the studies I've seen on how faculty vote.

Reporter: On how faculty vote?

Speaker Batchelder: Yes.  I mean I think there’ll be encouragement from the administration in that regard.

Reporter: Universities estimate now that this will cost them about $370 million a year in tuition payments because they expect that everybody who is out of state will demand one of these letters just so they can get the in-state tuition. They say there is no money added to the budget to cover that cost. What is your response to their economic concern on this?

Batchelder: I don't have a response. I'm obviously going to talk to the president of the Senate and well see. Obviously the bill is not in front of us. It’s in front of the Senate. That's a rather gigantic amount of money, and I just couldn't respond to it. I don’t know what to say.

How or whether Ohio Republicans would help universities recover from the hundreds of millions in lost tuition is still not clear. (Thanks to Marc Kovac of the Youngstown Vindicator for posting tape from that press gaggle.)

Since the 2012 election, Republicans in Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio have introduced bills to make it harder for students to vote -- by banning out-of-state students entirely, or by imposing a financial penalty for exercising their rights. It's easy to see why they would be so interested in curbing the college vote. The chart below shows how the student precincts of Ohio State voted -- check out the margins for Barack Obama.

Bonus from the May 6 show: The history of students winning the right to vote goes back to Prairie View A&M, an historically black university in Texas.

Rachel Maddow reports on the history that led to the Supreme Court of the United States establishing in clear, certain terms that the college students have the right to vote at their college.

Friday's Mini-Report

Today's edition of quick hits:

* It was a lively afternoon on Capitol Hill, where hearings into the IRS controversy began in the House.

* It's tough to imagine an agency this clumsy participating in an effective conspiracy: "The veteran tax lawyer whose pre-arranged question to an IRS official at a panel last week prompted the admission that the agency had targeted conservative groups said in a written statement on Friday that she did not know what the answer to the question would be."

* President Obama spoke in Maryland today about job creation: "I know it can seem frustrating sometimes when it seems like Washington's priorities aren't your priorities," he said at a manufacturing plant in Baltimore. "I know it all seems like folks down there are more concerned with their jobs than with yours. Others may get distracted by chasing every fleeting issue that passes by but the middle class will always be my Number One focus, period."

* Syria: "After more than two years of conflict, Syria is breaking up. A constellation of armed groups battling to advance their own agendas are effectively creating the outlines of separate armed fiefs. As the war expands in scope and brutality, its biggest casualty appears to be the integrity of the Syrian state."

* The 12-week standard is on hold in Arkansas: "A federal judge barred Arkansas from implementing one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws Friday, calling it 'more than likely unconstitutional.'"

* Oh, now Darrell Issa is willing to hear from Thomas Pickering.

* A crisis that requires follow-through: "Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey said Friday that he's looking for 'game changers' from Congress and the military to address the problem of sexual assault in the military."

* Jonathan Cohn takes a look at new Obama administration regulations that may improve child safety at day-care centers. It's a fascinating piece and part of an important story.

* I remember when Bob Woodward was a respected media giant whose perspective was both sharp and important. I miss those days.

* Allen West will be paid to pontificate on Fox News. How perfect.

* Can Nate Silver please respond to every Peggy Noonan column? That would make me happy.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

'Did you ever think about apologizing?'

Getty Images

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld apparently isn't done sharing his thoughts with the public just yet -- he'll even be on "Meet the Press" this weekend -- and he's published a new book, "Rumsfeld's Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life." It includes, without a hint of irony, the former Pentagon chief's belief that "it's easier to get into something than it is to get out."

Taegan Goddard flagged an exchange between Rumsfeld and Kai Ryssdal this week that stood out as especially interesting (thanks to my colleague Tricia McKinney for the heads-up).

Ryssdal: I do wonder whether you read Robert McNamara's memoirs when they came out. Obviously, the secretary of defense during Vietnam.

Rumsfeld: I have not. I served in Congress during that period.

Ryssdal: Here's why I ask: that book was widely seen as an apology for his role in Vietnam. And I looked in this book [Rumsfeld's Rules] pretty hard for any rule that you might have had about apologizing. And I couldn't find one.

Rumsfeld: And? What's your question?

Ryssdal: Did you ever think about apologizing?

Rumsfeld may not have fully appreciated the scope of the question, because his answer kind of meandered a bit. "Well, my goodness," he replied. "As Napoleon said, 'I've been mistaken so many times I don't even blush for it anymore.' Sure, you see things that don't turn out the way you hoped."

I'm not sure this counts as an apology, but for those who look at his Pentagon tenure with sorrow, grief, and crushing disappointment, it'll probably have to do.