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Bank of America Pledges To Help Rick Perry Out

Palin Says She Agrees With Perry’s ‘Treasonous’ Remark

Bachmann Makes Another History Flub

Politics

Koch Responds To Buffet: ‘My Business And Non-Profit Investments Are Much More Beneficial To Society’

By Lee Fang on Aug 20, 2011 at 7:40 pm

America’s current tax system forces people making $50,000 a year to pay a higher rate than hedge fund managers making $2.4 million an hour. Warren Buffett penned an op-ed last week declaring that America’s super-rich have been “coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress.” Lamenting the numerous tax loopholes and special breaks afforded to billionaire investors, Buffett noted that in his entire career, even when capital gains rates were as high as 39.9 percent, he never saw anyone “shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain.”

Charles Koch, head of the massive petrochemical, manufacturing, and commodity speculating Koch Industries corporation, has responded to Warren’s call for shared sacrifice: “No Thanks.” In a statement to right-wing media, Koch states:

Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending. I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington.

Koch’s “non-profit investments” include the group founded by his brother David, “Americans for Prosperity” (formerly known as Citizens for a Sound Economy). As ThinkProgress first reported, AFP was one the first and most well-resourced drivers of the anti-Obama so-called “Tea Party” movement. Koch-funded Tea Party events have featured speakers comparing health reform to the Holocaust, and in some cases have sponsored rallies with leaders of the “birther” conspiracy theory.

Among the Koch brothers’ other non-profit investments include far-right conservative think tanks dedicated to cheerleading the war in Iraq, spreading anti-science propaganda, and smears claiming that the poor do not really suffer. Koch has given money to educational initiatives, but in exchange for control over academic freedom that simply furthered Koch’s political beliefs. These “investments” at best advance Koch’s political ideology and at worst misinform American voters. Either way, they are hardly a replacement for “government spend[ing]” on things like food assistance and basic medical service.

According to Forbes, the Koch brothers have seen their wealth rise $11 billion in recent years, making the Koch brother among the richest in the country by being worth around $22.5 billion each. Much of those profits, however, are due to soaring gas prices and the fact Koch Industries has avoided compensating the public for hundred million tons of carbon pollution the company produces each year. Other Koch companies also receive significant taxpayer subsidies, despite Koch’s supposed opposition to government spending. This company is among the country’s top sources of carcinogenic chemicals and air pollutants.

America has been good to Charles Koch, providing an environment where his family has made billions. But Koch doesn’t want to give back, especially through more taxation. His charitable foundation, which gives largely to right-wing organizations that support his politics and Koch Industries’ business interests, still only donates about $12 million a year — 0.05 percent of Koch’s net worth. If higher rates were imposed on the super-rich, would Koch retreat to the family’s fabulous mansions, like this one in the Hamptons, aboard its fleet of private jets in a John Galt-inspired temper tantrum? Or would they act like any respectable businessman, and continue to make a profit without complaining?

NEWS FLASH

Karl Rove: Sarah Palin will run for President | This morning on Fox & Friends, Karl Rove predicted that Sarah Palin will enter the Republican presidential campaign. Rove said her schedule next week ” like that of a candidate” and predicted she “gets in” after visiting Iowa on September 3. Watch it:

Economy

As Bank Profits Soar, Gingrich Claims Dodd-Frank Is ‘Killing The Banking Industry Now’

By Alex Seitz-Wald posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Aug 20, 2011 at 7:00 am

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has taken up the relatively esoteric fight against the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, telling anybody who will listen that it must be repealed, along the Sarbanes–Oxley Act and other banking regulations. Last night on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show, he even went so far as to say that Dodd-Frank is “killing the banking industry” and offered it’s repeal as one of his top ideas for job creation:

GINGRICH: They oughta come back in and repeal the Dodd-Frank bill that’s killing the banking industry now. I met today with people in Thai community in Los Angeles, people in the Korean community, people in the Chinese community. In two of the three communities, they thought that the Dodd-Frank bill was killing local banks, killing small business, crippling the housing industry.

Watch it:

It’s unclear how Gingrich thinks a law that hasn’t even been fully implemented could already be killing one of the most powerful industries in the country, but he is hardly alone among his partisans in claiming that regulations are too tough on poor Wall Street.

Just a few years short years after the nation’s biggest banks helped bring down the global economy, due in large part to lax and dysfunctional regulation, most Republicans now oppose any efforts to further reign in large financial institutions. Some, like Gingrich, want to roll back regulations that existed even before the financial colllape — Sarbanes–Oxley was implemented in response to the Enron and other major corporate accounting scandals — while Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), goes much further, suggesting in his 2010 book that all banking regulations are unconstitutional.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has also called for a full repeal of Dodd-Frank, while Mitt Romney, a former financial services executive, decried “the level of over-regulation and burden which has been placed on the financial services” and likened bank regulators to “gargoyles,”

So is Dodd-Frank “killing” the industry? In fact, “bank profits rose substantially” in the first quarter of the year, with banks showing the biggest profits since before the recession. Things were sunny in the second quarter as well:

– Profits at JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s second largest bank, were up 13 percent.

– Third-largest Citigroup’s profits soared 23 percent.

– Fourth-largest Wells Fargo’s profits shot up 29 percent.

– Fifth-largest Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, “disappointed investors” when it merely “more than doubled its profits.”

–Sixth-largest Morgan Stanley’s profits were up an impressive 17 percent.

The only top-tier bank to have a rough second quarter was the nation’s largest, Bank of America, which has been dragged down in part by its acquisition of investment house Merril Lynch — a move that, ironically, would not have been allowed under the Glass–Steagall Act, the repeal of which Gingrich spearheaded as House Speaker in the 90s.

Security

Major Funder For Glenn Beck’s Israel Rally Linked To Anti-Semitic Group

By Eli Clifton posted from ThinkProgress Security on Aug 19, 2011 at 9:00 pm

David Barton and Glenn Beck in Israel

Glenn Beck’s upcoming rally to “Restore Courage” has run into a snag after House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and the House Ethics Committee rejected the request by a number of House members to travel at the expense of the International Israel Allied Caucus Foundation to Beck’s rally in Jerusalem.

But political and religious leaders from “around the world” will be enjoying U.S. taxpayer subsidized — through non-taxable charitable contributions — travel to the rally. The travel will be paid for by WallBuilders, an organization founded by David Barton, a pseudo-historian and frequent Glenn Beck guest. Barton has a history of anti-gay and anti-Muslim rhetoric, has spoken at events sponsored by anti-Semitic organizations, and promotes a revisionist history of the U.S. claiming that the “Church-state separation is a liberal myth.”

Beck’s partnership with WallBuilders is listed on the rally’s front page by clicking the “Donate” button which takes visitors to WallBuilders website. The site accepts contributions to the “Restoring Courage — Israel” fund:

If you want to help and show your solidarity with Israel, you can participate by helping to underwrite the cost of the Restoring Courage event in Jerusalem. All of the funds will go directly towards the production and expenses of the events associated with the Restoring Courage Tour in Israel.

Or donors can contibute to the “Leader & Clergy Scholarship Fund — Israel”:

If you would like to help sponsor these leaders so that they can attend the event and thus help send a powerful message to Israel’s enemies in the world, you can make a contribution for their travel and accommodations.

But David Barton’s record of intolerance and historical revisionism should offer some insights into who is funding Beck’s Jerusalem rally and which individuals have Beck’s ear. Back in 1994, the Anti-Defamation League had harsh words for Barton’s decision to appear at events hosted by the Christian Identity movement, a group the ADL said:

Asserts that Jews are ‘the synagogue of Satan’; that Blacks and other people of color are subhuman; and that northern European whites and their American descendants are the ‘chosen people’ of scriptural prophesy.

Barton denied knowing anything about the Christian Identity movement before his decision to speak at the group’s events

Barton’s “scholarship” — although referred to as “Professor Barton” at Glenn Beck University, Barton holds no advanced degrees — hinges on characterizing the founding fathers as evangelical Christians. The ADL also directly criticized Barton’s work:

[Barton's] ostensible scholarship functions in fact as an assault on scholarship: in the manner of other recent phony revisionisms, the history it supports is little more than a compendium of anecdotes divorced from their original context, linked harum-scarum and laced with factual errors and distorted innuendo. Barton’s “scholarship,” like that of Holocaust denial and Atlantic slave trade conspiracy-mongering is rigged to arrive at predetermined conclusions, not history.

While Barton’s long association with Glenn Beck is well established, Beck’s decision to let a widely discredited “historian” with a history of speaking at events hosted by the anti-Semitic far-right is an interesting choice of fundraising allies for his rally in Jerusalem.

Economy

Unemployed Constituents Stage Sit-In At Paul Ryan’s Office, Ryan’s Staff Calls The Cops

By Marie Diamond posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Aug 19, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Yesterday, seven unemployed constituents of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) staged a sit-in at his office in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to protest the congressman’s decision not to hold any free public town halls during the August recess. An additional 100 protesters picketed outside the office. Politico reported this week that Ryan, Chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee, will only speak to residents who are willing to pay $15 for access.

It’s customary for representatives to host free town halls open to the public so constituents can ask questions and weigh in on their elected officials’ votes. But Ryan and other conservative congressman who have been facing angry crowds recently have decided to limit their availability to only those willing to open their wallets. This didn’t sit well with many of Ryan’s constituents who are struggling just to get by and don’t think they should have to pay to get an audience with their congressman:

Ryan is currently vacationing with his family, but the seven individuals sitting in his office say they have all tried to contact Ryan, multiple times, and have received the same generic email response. Traditionally when members of Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation break for the August recess they hold town hall meetings where they listen to concerns off constituents in their districts. Ryan, so far, has only scheduled one “public” appearance at the Whitenall Park Rotary September 6 banquet. Attendees will be required to pay a $15 fee to be one of the lucky 300 to meet with the Representative. I spoke with four of the Ryan Seven this afternoon and they all said they were planning to stay “as long as it takes.”

One of the protesters, Scott Page, says he’s been let go from two jobs in the past two years. One position was outsourced to Mexico, and for the second, he was required to train an individual in China to be his replacement. Page said he hoped Ryan would “have a heart” and “take time to listen to the unemployed in his backyard instead of only the business owners.” “I don’t have $15 to ask Rep. Ryan questions,” he added, “so I guess this is the only means I have to talk to him.” Several of the protesters have posted testimonial videos on the Wisconsin Jobs Now website. Unemployment in Ryan’s home state has been growing recently.

Instead of meeting with the protesters, Ryan’s staff called the police. The seven protesters occupying Ryan’s office left the building last night after negotiations with police to end the sit-in peacefully. The seven praised Ryan’s office staff for being “amazing” and “polite,” but had no warm words for Ryan.

Media

Fox Viewers Overwhelmingly Think We Should Prepare For Alien Invasion Before Fighting Climate Change

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Aug 19, 2011 at 5:30 pm

A new (supposedly) NASA-funded study postulating that aliens may attack humans over climate change had all the ingredients for a perfect Fox faux controversy — it bolstered their anti-science narrative, painted their opponents as clownish radicals, and highlighted wasteful government spending on a supposedly liberal casue. Fox reported the “news from NASA” several times several times today, presenting it as official “taxpayer funded research.” A chyron on Fox and Friends read: “NASA: Global warming may provoke an [alien] attack.”

But as Business Insider pointed out, they’re “wrong” — “That report was not funded by NASA. It was written by an independent group of scientists and bloggers. One of those happens to work at NASA.” NASA distanced itself from the report as well, calling reports linking the agency to it “not true.” Host Megyn Kelly finally corrected the record this afternoon, saying, “I was making that up.”

But before she did, she was so bemused by the study that she directed her viewers to complete a poll on her website which asked how we should respond to the study: “Immediately increase efforts to curb greenhouse gases,” “Develop weapons to kill the Aliens FIRST,” or “Gently suggest scientists research how to create job.”

Not surprisingly, most suggested they research something else. But more than six times as many respondents (19 percent to 3 percent) said we should focus on building weapons to kill aliens before curbing greenhouse gases. Watch a compilation:

The poll is of course not scientific, but you can hardly blame the viewers who did respond, considering Fox’s constant misinformation about climate change. For instance, as she presented the poll, Kelly said of curbing climate change, “just in case, right?” — as in, “just in case” the science is right. She did not make a similar qualifier for alien invasion. Numerous studies consistently show that Fox viewers are among the most misinformed of news viewers, while at least one study has shown that — perversely — watching Fox actually makes people less informed than they were to begin with.

“Trust me folks, this story is hard to understand,” Fox and Friends host Gretchen Carlson said of the “NASA study.” Indeed.

Politics

Perry’s Political Success Subsidized By Right-Wing Ideologue

By Guest Blogger on Aug 19, 2011 at 4:31 pm

Our guest blogger is Sarah Bufkin, a former ThinkProgress intern and student at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Faced with flagging poll numbers and a campaign chest close to empty, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry was running into trouble three weeks before voters headed to the polls in 1998 to choose a new state lieutenant governor. But all that changed when Dr. James Leininger, a Texas millionaire and right-wing ideologue, guaranteed a $1.1 million loan to Perry’s campaign on Oct. 25, enabling a $1 million advertising blitz to hit the airwaves.

Leininger’s loan arguably saved Perry from political obscurity, putting him in the Lieutenant Governor’s office just two years before then-Gov. George W. Bush left Texas for the White House. But Leininger has not drawn much media attention outside of his home state. With Perry planning to meet with Leininger at a “call-to-action” retreat on Aug. 27 as a newly-declared presidential candidate, however, additional scrutiny will fall on the pro-voucher, anti-gay, hard-line conservative.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times’ Matea Gold and Melanie Mason reported that Perry “has received a total of $37 million over the last decade from just 150 individuals and couples, who are likely to form the backbone of his new effort to win the Republican presidential nomination.” Indeed, Leininger — who wasn’t mentioned in the article — is one key part of such the backbone.

Over the past two decades, Leininger has funded the rightward shift in Texas politics through his “vast web of interlocking and overlapping pressure groups.” But unlike other GOP corporate donors, he is ideologically motivated and has “almost exclusively [donated] to help Republican candidates who agree with his hardright public policy agenda”:

School Vouchers: His biggest pet project, Leininger has donated millions over the years to fill both the state legislature and the State Board of Education with pro-voucher candidates. He also worked on attracting public support both by founding a pro-voucher think tank and by starting up his own voucher program in San Antonio in 1992.

Tort Reform: Leininger founded and provided 86 percent of the funding for a PAC he called Texans for Justice in order to put conservatives on the state Supreme Court in 1988. Buoyed by donations from Texans for Justice and other conservative groups, four GOP candidates won seats on the court that year, effectively transforming it from a “fairly populist” body to one considered “among the most pro-business in the country.”

Anti-gay: Over the years, Leininger has contributed over $1 million to anti-gay PACs and organizations including Texans FOR Marriage, the Family Research Council and the American Family Association, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a hate group. Texans for Governmental Integrity—a PAC he founded and controlled—distributed a mailer in 1994 that showed a white man and a black man kissing to warn voters away from a State Board of Education candidate because she supported homosexuality and abortion.

Pro-Life: In addition to sending out an anti-abortion mailer through Texans for Governmental Integrity, Leininger supports several pro-life PACs independent of his control, including Texas Right to Life, the Republican National Coalition for Life and Texas Alliance for Life.

The friendship between Perry and Leininger, however, stretches back decades and is padded with over $1.3 million in campaign contributions.

The “biggest beneficiary” of Leininger cash over the years, Perry has supported policy initiatives in line with the businessman’s agenda. While serving as lieutenant governor in 1998, he pushed “intensely” to bring a school vouchers bill to a vote on the Texas Senate floor. Although the legislation ultimately failed, Perry has continued to push education reform proposals from Leininger’s think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. And this past legislative session, Perry designated anti-abortion, tort-reform and eminent -domain bills as “emergency items” in order to bring them to a vote.

In turn, Perry has benefited from his relationship with Leininger in more than just campaign cash. Back in early 1996, Perry even made over $38,000 after purchasing close to 3,000 shares of stock in one of Leininger’s companies. In what he termed “a coincidence,” Perry picked up his shares on the same day that he and Leininger talked together at a luncheon and that a new investment group sent the stock’s value skyrocketing. Around that time, the lieutenant governor candidate convinced Leininger to go in with him on a private plane with a sticker price of $475,000. Perry, who only paid 10 percent of the plane’s cost at the outset, made headlines months later when Leininger and his brother decided to sell him their portions for below the market price.

With Perry poised to run for the presidency, Leininger is likely hoping for an even bigger return on his political investment.

Economy

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Bank Of America’s Director Of Public Policy Tells Rick Perry ‘We’ll Help You Out’

By Marie Diamond posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Aug 19, 2011 at 3:28 pm

A top Bank of America executive was caught on camera yesterday whispering to Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), “Bank of America. We’ll help you out,” as the GOP presidential candidate attended New Hampshire’s Politics and Eggs breakfast. The executive has been identified by the financial website Zero Hedge as James Mahoney, Director of Public Policy for the bank. Mahoney is on the board of directors for the New England Council, the sponsors of the Politics and Eggs breakfast. Watch it:

But far from being just a regional banker, Mahoney is a key national executive. In a statement about the incident, bank spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told Politico the only “help” Mahoney was offering was nonpartisan policy expertise. Di Rita said Mahoney does policy and not lobbying for the bank. This unsolicited reassurance from a top Bank of America emissary comes just days after Perry appeared to publicly threaten the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke.

Over the years Gov. Perry has benefited greatly from Bank of America’s financial support, and it appears that largesse will continue as he seeks the presidency on a platform of — coincidentally enough — bank deregulation. His gubernatorial campaigns have received $125,900 from Bank of America’s PAC and executives since 2003. During the 2010 cycle alone, Perry’s campaign received $30,160 from the bank’s PAC and executives. According to Texans for Public Justice, Bank of America has also given generously Republican Governors Association, which Perry led until recently and just happens to be his largest donor, contributing $4 million between 2001 and 2010.

It’s no mystery why banking executives are rushing to give Perry their support. Of all the GOP candidates, Perry is the most fervently opposed to banking regulation. As Matt Yglesias pointed out, in his book Fed Up, Perry expresses the extreme view that all banking regulation and consumer financial protection is unconstitutional.

Bank of America has been in a world of financial trouble recently, with its stock down more than 50 percent since January, as it faces a growing wave of mortgage litigation. In recent weeks it has been engaged “in the corporate version of a yard sale.” The bank announced today that it will be cutting at least 10,000 jobs, laying off 3,500 workers this quarter alone. As ThinkProgress has reported, until now Mitt Romney has been the candidate with the most backing from Wall Street.

Economy

GOP Rep. Hultgren Draws Laughs At Town Hall With Plan To Beg, Not Require, Rich To Pay More Taxes

By Zaid Jilani posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Aug 19, 2011 at 2:50 pm

Rep. Randy Hulgren (R-IL) plans to beg the super rich to pay more taxes.

Earlier this week, Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) held a town hall in Sandwich, Illinois, where constituents angrily denounced his right-wing policies. During one particularly amusing moment, Hultgren tried to defend his stand against raising taxes on the wealthy, drawing a round of laughs from the audience.

“I’m not out there trying to coddle anybody,” he defensively claimed. He then went on to explain that, instead of raising taxes on the wealthy, Congress could adopt a bill that would allow the rich to make voluntary donations to the Treasury and have them count as charitable contributions:

HULTGREN: I’m not out there trying to coddle anybody. In fact, I support a bill that allows the super rich if they want to give more money to the federal government it could be a charitable contribution.

(audience laughs)

HULTGREN: I think that makes sense! Use it as a charitable contribution.

Watch it:

Following an op-ed by billionaire Warren Buffet calling on Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy and accusing it of “coddling” the rich, many conservatives have reacted by lashing out at Buffet, demanding that he simply voluntarily pay more. Hultgren appears to be taking on this cry.

It’s unclear what bill exactly the congressman says he supports. ThinkProgress has contacted his office and is awaiting a reply. (HT: jessicaswenson1981 YouTube account)

Update

Interestingly enough, gratuitous contributions to the government are already tax deductible as contributions per IRS section 170(c)(1). [HT: CAP's Seth Hanlon]

NEWS FLASH

Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) Introduces Bill For English-Only Ballots, Repealing Part Of Civil Rights Act | Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) appears to be channeling Alabama candidate Tim James, made famous last year for his comically xenophobic campaign commercial. On Wednesday, Coffman announced a bill to that would “repeal a section of the 1973 Voting Rights Act that requires jurisdictions with large populations of nonproficient English speakers to print ballots in more than one language.” Elena Nunez, a director with Common Cause, rebuked Coffman’s discriminatory proposal in a statement to the Denver Post. “We are talking about U.S. citizens, whether they were born here or not.” English-only ballots, of course, do nothing to stem undocumented immigration or voter fraud; rather, Coffman’s bill serves only as a measure largely designed to disenfranchise Americans from immigrant backgrounds.

Economy

Palin Agrees With Perry About ‘Treasonous’ Fed Chair: ‘Perhaps I Would Have Used Similar Terms’

By Pat Garofalo posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Aug 19, 2011 at 1:25 pm

ThinkProgress caught Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) this week saying that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s actions to stimulate the economy are “treasonous” and issuing a veiled threat of violence against the Fed chief. “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y’all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas,” Perry said.

Several Republicans have called Perry out for using this sort of language. 2012 presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said that Perry’s remarks were “completely out of bounds.” “You can’t be calling Bernanke a traitor,” said Rep. Peter King (R-NY). “Intimating the Federal Reserve Chairman is guilty of treason is not going to create more confidence in voters about you,” added Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH).

Former Reagan and George H.W. Bush economic adviser Bruce Bartlett labeled Perry “an idiot” for his remarks. However, one GOP’er doesn’t think that Perry went too far. During an interview with Lou Dobbs on Fox Business, former half-term governor Sarah Palin said that she might “have used similar terms” to describe Bernanke’s actions:

PALIN: [Perry] called it like he saw it and I always respect people for doing so. What Governor Perry is voicing concern about is something I wrote about on Facebook pages about ten months ago, this quantitative easing or monetizing our debt, essentially printing money out of thin air, which will eventually devalue our dollar and, I think, lead to inflation, in order to make it look like our debt isn’t as bad as it really is, and Governor Perry was voicing great concerns that many of us share. He just used some more candid terms, I think, than some of us would have used.

DOBBS: Even you?

PALIN: Well, yeah, that’s a good point. Perhaps I would have used similar terms. But I do share his concern though.

Watch it:

Palin, of course, is no stranger to violent rhetoric of her own. Perry, for his part, is standing by his remarks, telling CNN, “I am just passionate about the issue and we stand by what we said.” “The governor is going to continue talking about getting America back to work in a tone that everyone understands,” added a campaign spokesperson. Not only were Perry’s remarks atrocious, but he also seemed to be admitting that the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing would be good for the economy.

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LGBT

16 Days For $1,000 Bucks: Rick Perry’s Dabble In The Porn Industry

By Igor Volsky posted from ThinkProgress LGBT on Aug 19, 2011 at 12:25 pm

In 1995 — then serving as Texas’ Agricultural Commissioner — Rick Perry bought stock in Movie Gallery, which until its bankruptcy in 2010, was the largest distributor of pornography in America, the second-largest video rental company behind Blockbuster and one of the few that rented pornography in its stores. According to tax records, Perry acquired the stock in April of 1995 and sold it just days later, earning less than $1,000 from the transaction:

To be fair, it’s unclear how much knowledge Perry had about these investments, and they were a very small part of his overall stock portfolio.

Interestingly, Movie Gallery had been the target of conservative activism from groups like the American Family Association, who launched “a national ad campaign to draw attention to Movie Gallery’s porn practices, and wrote the DoJ and state AG’s demanding, ‘DOJ and State Prosecutors throughout the country should begin immediate investigations to determine if the products and practices of Movie Gallery Video Stores violate Federal and State laws regarding distribution of obscene material.”

“Movie Gallery is one of America’s largest retailers of hard-​core sex videos,” AFA claimed. “Their attempt to acquire family friendly neighborhood Hollywood Video stores across the U.S. poses a serious threat to our communities!” But if this month’s Response rally is any indication, AFA isn’t holding Perry’s brief investment against him. After all, the Texas governor will have another opportunity to prove his conservative credentials if he signs the FAMiLY Leader’s pledge vowing to ban pornography.

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Politics

Allen West Calls Rep. Maxine Waters A ‘Plantation Overseer,’ Then Sends His Brother To Her For Help

By Jeff Spross on Aug 19, 2011 at 11:29 am

Rep. Allen West (R-FL) fomented a racial controversy with comments describing African-American voters’ tendency to support the Democratic Party as a “21st-Century plantation.” Wednesday, he carried his meme even further, telling Fox News guest host Laura Ingraham that, “I’m here as the modern-day Harriet Tubman, to kind of lead people on the Underground Railroad, away from that plantation into a sense of sensibility.” To top it off, West went on to claim that leaders such as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Barbara Lee or Maxine Waters were the “overseers of this 21st-Century plantation,” meant to “pacify and keep the black community firmly behind [white liberals], regardless of the failures of [their] social welfare policies.”

So, naturally, Hardball host Chris Matthews brought Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) herself on his show to respond. Waters revealed that West had advised his own brother to contact Waters in his search to find a job:

WATERS: Did I tell you his brother was here today?

MATTHEWS: Tell me.

WATERS: He has a brother that’s out of work. Well his brother came up to me, introduced himself, and told me that he’d lost his job — he’d been laid off. And I asked him if he’d called his brother [Rep. West] and he said he had. And I said, “And what did he say?”

He said, “He told me to come to the job fair. He told me to come and see you.” And so we’re hopeful that we can help his brother.

MATTHEWS: So he sent him to the plantation, as he put it?

WATERS: Well, you know, that’s a reasonable conclusion.

Watch it, via Crooks & Liars:

Later that same evening, Ed Schultz had footage of an interview with Rep. West’s brother, Arlan West, in which he praised the Congressional Black Caucus for holding the jobs fair — calling it “a prime example” of elected officials carrying out their responsibility to serve their constituents — and said his brother’s rhetoric was “unproductive.”

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NEWS FLASH

GOP Vet Rep.: Defense Cuts Not ‘Doomsday’ | Freshman Tea Party Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) said that the defense cuts in the trigger mechanism contained in the debt ceiling deal are “not a doomsday for me,” as some are claiming they will be for the military. Pompeo, an Army vet who graduated first in his class from West Point, told the Wichita Eagle editorial board that while he would prefer to not cut the military, “If you’re going to shrink the federal government, you’re going to have to pretty much shrink it everywhere.” “Our national security apparatus is going to have to operate effectively in a constrained fiscal environment as well,” Pompeo said, adding that “we’ll find a way to do our national security mission at those levels” of funding.

NEWS FLASH

Bank Began Making Max Dollar Donations To Eric Cantor One Month After His Wife Joined A Major Client’s Board | In April of 2010, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) appointed Diana Cantor — the wife of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) — to the Virginia Retirement System’s board. She became chair of the board two months later. One month after Ms. Cantor joined this board, the Bank of New York Mellon started making the maximum allowable contribution to Rep. Cantor’s PAC. The Virginia Retirement System is a $4.5 million per year client of Bank of New York Mellon.

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