Proactive repuglican panic

atrios doesn't believe that Everybody Hates Yurp: It is bizarre how every single little bit of the wingnut mindset gets projected onto the entire country.

Aravosis has The Word of the Day: Budgetish

1. Budget-ish

Adjective
1. Of or resembling a budget. Lacks specificity such as numbers and/or ideas.
Usually encased in blue glossy folder and 19-pages, including cover pages and table of contents.

Noun
2. State requisite for GOP press conference.

Origin; 21st century English. From GOP budget proposal, March 2009
It was not a budget in the sense that it had numbers. It was more budget-ish.

sgw found a marvelous post titled: Stupid Villagers. Made me want to dance around the room, which is a highly unusual thing for me to even consider. Click on the link and let me know if you had the same reaction.

Proactive repuglican panic in New York? Thers :Tedisco in NY20: Panic?

Hilarious, via FDL:

Republican Jim Tedisco may be running for the House in a district where Republicans outnumber Democratic voters by some 70,000, but with the polls closing in a matter of hours, Tedisco’s campaign is prepping for a loss.

An electoral loss, anyway.

The Dutchess County Clerk’s Office has confirmed to FDL that Tedisco’s people have filed an ex parte motion in order, the effect of which would be to investigate and overturn today’s election results, should the outcome not be to Republicans’ liking.

... adding, the polls, of course, are still open. Amazing.

• Benen: HOW SPECIAL IS THE SPECIAL ELECTION?....

  Today's special election in New York's 20th congressional district, filling a vacancy left by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), is getting quite a bit of attention. For election junkies going through withdrawal, the race offers a very competitive contest.

  But as voters heard to the polls, it's probably wise to consider what this race isn't. CNN reports today that the special election has "national implications." CQ notes that campaign "has been described as a litmus test, a referendum and a bellwether for Democratic agendas and Republican political fortunes."

  The NYT's Adam Nagourney walks back the hype a bit.

  Even before a vote was cast, the contest has been freighted with all kinds of political significance -- an early test of President Obama's political strength, a verdict on the stimulus package, a do-or-die moment for a new Republican national chairman, an early sign of how the 2010 midterm elections are going to go (never mind that they are 20 months way). [...]

  In truth, special elections tend to get more attention and analysis than they deserve (guilty, your honor), and while they might briefly raise or lower the political temperature, they tend not to be predictive of much at all. And in this case, there are many extraneous factors at play, and there is enough conflicting data about the political dynamics of the race to permit either side to make at least a plausible argument that it will win.

  "The first thing you can count on is this thing is going to be way overspun," said Tom Davis, a former Virginia congressman and onetime head of the Republican campaign committee in the House. "I don't think it portends a thing for the midterms. But it emboldens whoever wins."

  Realistically, Jim Tedisco has to be considered the favorite for one simple reason: he's the Republican in a Republican district. As recently as 2006, GOP voter registrations in the district outnumbered Democratic registrations by 15 points. Sure, Gillibrand won, but she ran as a very moderate Democrat, and only eked out a victory after news surfaced that the Republican incumbent's wife had called 911 to report domestic violence.

  What's more, the GOP, desperate for some good news, have invested heavily in this special election, in support of a well-known leader in the state legislature (the Democrat, Scott Murphy, moved the district three years ago and has enjoyed far less name recognition).

  The race is too close to call, which necessarily makes it pretty interesting. It becomes all the more fascinating to watch with national figures and the national parties weighting in. That said, it's a stretch to think the results will offer key insights into the larger political landscape.

  No matter who wins, it's a local special election with low turnout, not a national referendum.

Think Progress: Rasmussen Polls On Non-Existent ‘Global Currency’ Issue, Before Admitting It’s A Non-Existent Issue

The right wing, led by the always reliable Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Glenn Beck, is in a panic about a supposed plot to replace the dollar with a “One World currency.” Repeating its pattern of echoing conservative memes, Rasmussen polled on the issue, and — unsurprisingly — found that most Americans favor keeping the dollar:

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Americans say it is important for the dollar to remain the currency of the United States, including 70% who say it is Very Important.

Only three percent (3%) say it is not at all important if the dollar remains America’s currency, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

All four of Rasmussen’s questions asserted that a proposal exists to create a “new global currency” that will “replace the dollar,” asking how important it is “that the dollar remain the currency of the United States.” However, in its own write up of the poll, Rasmussen admits that “the issue” is not about replacing Americans’ dollar bills but rather with moving to a new standard for the global currency reserves:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner generated concern in Washington when he seemed willing to consider a proposal for replacing the dollar, then later backtracked on it. At issue is not replacing the money in Americans’ wallets but what currency will be the world standard against which all other monies are measured.

Indeed, there is no plan — and no suggestion of a plan — to create a global currency. The fact that Rasmussen even polled on Bachmann’s insane legislation banning the replacement of the dollar with a fictional currency shows just how unconcerned Rasmussen is with truth, accuracy, or intellectual honesty.

UpdateTalkingPointsMemo asked pollster Scott Rasmussen why his questions didn't clarify that a "global currency" was not a real possibility: "I was really curious where the suspicion level was going to be on this particular question,' said Rasmussen, noting that this is a story that hasn't been discussed or explained very much, and where public opinion is very fluid."

Atrios Testify!

A quality rant from Athenae.

Too often what's left out of the conversation about newspaper declines is the simple fact that owners have made some really shitty business decisions. I don't mean in terms of failing to innovate or whatever, I mean basic financial decisions. In the worst cases they've just looted the place, in other cases they've taken on unsustainable amounts of debt.

I certainly think that it's true that the business model for print journalism is threatened, but in some cases it's simply the businesses that are threatened because they were poorly run.

Atrios likes numbers. But not his one: 78%

County is drowning.

There's nowhere tougher in America to be paying a mortgage than Yuba County, says a new lending industry study released Monday.

Nearly 78 percent of the county's mortgage debt is tied to houses that have lost value and are worth less than what's owed on them, said New Jersey-based SMR Research in its yearly "Giants of the Mortgage Industry" study.

60% of those holding mortgages

Josh Didn't Know About This

From TPM Reader BC ...

Kinda surprised that few have picked up on the news which broke late last Friday that CBNC's Dylan Ratigan had abruptly walked off the set of his "Fast Money" show and announced his immediate departure. Ratigan was a true rising star at the under-fire network, hosting two shows daily, as well as making many mainstream media appearances on Leno, The View. He also recently guest hosted MSNBC's "Morning Joe" for an entire week.

Ratigan was consistent in his opinion that the average investor would never return to the stock market until we saw some Wall Street CEOs being hauled away in handcuffs. His riffs on the stupidity of 30-1 leverage were legendary. He was one of the most visible and outspoken staffers there. Regardless of the spin from the network, it's a huge loss for them. I'm sure the Cramer/Stewart thing didn't help either.

Here's a story about his departure.