Alabama Governor Apologizes For Saying Non-Christians Aren’t His Brothers And Sisters

New Alabama Governor Robert Bentley issued an apology for saying that those who aren’t Christian aren’t his brothers and sisters during a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration.

The offending comments came hours after Bentley was sworn in as governor, when he told a Montgomery Baptist church audience, quote, “Anybody who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister.” His speech spurred outrage from Jewish and civil rights groups, who said the comments were offensive and inappropriate’

Bentley’s apology unfortunately began with the word “if.”: “If anyone from other …

Republican Honeymoon Over

First Read makes the case that the GOP honeymoon was trés short.

…in the new NBC/WSJ poll:Obama’s approval is at 53% (where he hasn’t been since before those summer town halls in ‘09, that’s 18 months ago); confidence that the economy will improve in the next 12 months jumped eight points from last month; and the Dem Party’s fav/unfav went from a net negative (37%-41%) to a net positive (39%-35%).

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Only 25% say the Republicans in Congress will bring the right kind of change (versus 42% who said that about the Dems in Jan. 2007, and 37% who …

Anderson Cooper Takes Rep. Steve Cohen To Task For Comparing Republicans To Nazis

Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee has argued for civility in public discourse but sadly has argued for health care reform by comparing Republicans to Nazis.

Cohen told Cooper that the Republicans were using a Joseph Goebbels tactic, “Keep it short, keep it simple, keep [repeating] it over and over and people would believe it,” which ironically enough were the same controversial remarks he himself repeated on the House floor earlier this week.

Cooper was having none of it.

“I just don’t understand why you have to bring the Nazis into a discussion about health care and your opponents,” Cooper …

The Strongest GOP Candidate For President?

by Stuart Shapiro

One of the reasons I am so confident that President Obama will win reelection is the quality of the Republican candidates.  The GOP nearly always nominates their front-runner, meaning stronger candidates like Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie face a very difficult path to the nomination (both are excellent possibilities for vice president).  And their front-runners — Palin, Romney, Gingrich, and Huckabee — all are very weak national candidates.  However, Jeb Bush scares me.

The younger Bush brother can run as an outsider since he was a governor and is now out of office.  He is bright, would …

Jared Lee Loughner Indicted On Three Counts

Jared Lee Loughner has been indicted initially on three counts. (An artist’s rendering here is from his court appearance.)

The indictment alleges that Loughner, 22, attempted to assassinate Giffords and attempted to murder two federal employees, Barber and Simon.

If convicted for the attempted assassination of a member of congress he could get the maximum penalty of life in prison. A conviction for attempted murder of a federal employee carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Additional charges could be filed that could carry the potential for the death penalty.…

House Wastes Its Time Trying To Repeal Health Care Reform

Rather than listen to the will of the electorate, Republicans are sticking to their pledge to overturn health care reform.

The GOP¹s new House majority assured easy passage of their repeal measure on 245-189 vote Wednesday that split largely along party lines. But the long-term prospects of actually undoing the new law are far less certain.

With the Democrat-led Senate unlikely to act on the bill, a complete repeal is unlikely.

Instead, Republicans will attempt to dismantle President Barack Obama¹s health care reforms piecemeal by depriving them of the funding needed to enact the law’s hundreds of new policies …

On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• Governing or Grandstanding? Alan analyzes today’s House vote to repeal health care.

• Alan confronts anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry, who plans to run a Super Bowl ad showing aborted fetuses.

• Col. Matthew Moten, editor of Between War and Peace, and Boston University Professor Andrew Bacevich join Alan to examine how America ends its wars.…

Republicans Explain Why They Won’t Give Up Government-Subsidized Health Care

Scott Keyes at Think Progress got a bunch of Republican congressmen on tape explaining why they are not renouncing their own government-sponsored health care.

In sum, only eight GOP congressman, or three percent of all House Republicans, have opted out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. One Republican loudly complained about having his own government-sponsored health insurance delayed approximately four weeks. But most GOPers have quietly continued to accept government-sponsored health care while loudly decrying the government’s role in helping provide health care to a segment of the American public.

ThinkProgress recently caught up with a number of congressmen …

Conservatives Applaud Ricky Gervais For Going After “Hollywood Elites”

To make a conservative happy, just attack those evil Hollywood stars (but not Mel Gibson). Ricky Gervais’ Golden Globes humor seems to have scored with the right-wing crowd (h/t Mediaite).  The Hollywood Reporter screams the headline: Conservatives Rally Behind Ricky Gervais.”

Delighted at the sight of Gervais belittling Hollywood elitists who they maintain do likewise to them regularly, the right-wing blogosphere lit up with positive reviews, even while more traditional media was critical of Sunday’s telecast.

Had Gervais “been as relentless in ripping apart Sarah Palin, her young children, Jesus Christ or George W. Bush, today the comedian …

Is This Racist?

Rush Limbaugh didn’t hear a translator when Chinese President Hu Jintau spoke at the White House, so he thought it would be really funny to imitate him.

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Why More Guns At A Crime Scene Is Not The Answer

After posting Rep. Trent Franks’ wish that there had been more guns at the scene of the Tucson tragedy, I head from gun advocates who agree and from others who reminded me of the armed “hero” who almost shot the wrong man that day in Tucson.

[Joe] Zamudio was in a nearby drug store when the shooting began, and he was armed. He ran to the scene and helped subdue the killer. Television interviewers are celebrating his courage, and pro-gun blogs are touting his equipment. “Bystander Says Carrying Gun Prompted Him to Help,” says the headline in the Wall Street …