Let them eat their own damn cake

In case there was any doubt the Republican Party is run by fools who never matured past 13 years of age:

The Republican National Committee (RNC) sent the Democratic National Committee (DNC) a birthday cake on Friday,

The cake read "you didn't bake this" over a picture of President Obama. Text written in icing reads, "Happy birthday, Mr. President." The cake marks the occasion of the president's birthday, which is Saturday, with a play on the "you didn't build that" controversy.

As always, the GOPers have nothing real to run on so they're reduced to juvenile stunts. I'm sure the 27%ers found it hilarious. High fives all around. But I rather liked the Dems response:

[T]he Democrats sent the cake back.

“This is typical of Mitt Romney’s approach to the middle class," DNC spokeswoman Melanie Roussell told The Hill. "He wants to ‘Let them eat cake!’ while robbing them blind. We sent the cake back to the RNC, along with a copy of the Tax Center’s report on Mitt Romney’s tax plan.”

In any event today is President Obama's birthday. Wishing him a grand celebration and many blessings on his way to the next one.

[Cross-posted at Balloon Juice]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

Buffett says it again

This is being linked all over and Warren Buffet has said it before, but it really can't be repeated often enough. Shorter: Please tax me, bro.

Slightly longer: He never saw an investor in 60 years who refused to enter into a money making investment because they have to pay taxes on the profits. No, higher taxes aren't job killers. And the numbers here are interesting in the context the entire population of the US in 2009 was 305 million.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

I assume the over $10 million demo includes the fabulous 400 households who are worth billions.

And if you don't have time to read the whole short op-ed, these two bits were new:

"In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)"

"Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors."

Useful to remember, it's not really about the money for these guys. It's about the power and the thrill of playing the game. Willing to bet they wouldn't "go Galt" even the rate was raised back to Eisenhower levels. They love the game too much and obviously they can afford to pay to play. As Mr Buffett says, "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice."

GOP Values - Part One

I'm very late in starting this but in the interests of archiving the history of Republican values in practice I've decided to try to do a regular series of linky posts to keep track of it all. The aim is to create a guide for future reference. Figuring a lot of commentary isn't really necessary. This stuff speaks for itself. So part one begins today:

Kansas GOPer, state Rep. Virgil Peck says it might be a good idea to control illegal immigration with gunmen shooting from helicopters, the same way they deal with feral pigs. After the public outrage, he claims he was "just joking." Ha. Ha.

In New Hampshire, a doddering 92 year old state House Rep. resigned after his "joke" about sending the mentally ill on a one-way trip to Siberia caused an uproar. "He also said population growth and mental illness could be controlled with eugenics, a form of genetic engineering commonly associated with Hitler's Germany." He was "just joking" too. Regular laugh riot.

Florida GOP golden boy now in DC, David Rivera under investigation for earlier financial fraud while serving in state government.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is examining Rivera’s financial dealings prior to arriving in Congress. Investigators are reportedly examining what role if any then-state Rep. Rivera played in helping to secure a more than $500,000 consulting contract for a firm controlled by his mother and godmother.

The Miami Herald reported last month that investigators were also looking into Rivera’s relationship with political consultant Esther Nuhfer, who has reportedly received more than $800,000 from Rivera’s campaigns since 2006, and who took in $250,000 from Rivera’s aborted 2010 state Senate candidacy.

Failed New York candidate, millionaire Carl Paladino reneges on his campaign debts, screwing many of the people who worked on trying to get him elected.

This story never really got legs, but one of the Wisconsin statehouse GOPers is living out of his district, with a very young mistress, according to his wife. He's one of the Republicans eligible for recall