'Don’t Think We’re Not Keeping Score, Brother'

Aw, isn't this cute? The President of the United States is channeling his inner gangster. Hey, how about another story on what a nice guy he is?

Rep. Peter DeFazio’s phone rang. On the other end was Rahm Emanuel.

The White House chief of staff last month expressed frustration with DeFazio’s resignation calls for President Barack Obama’s top two economic aides — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and White House chief economist Larry Summers — and appealed for cooperation, according to DeFazio.

But Emanuel, known for his blunt manner and ability to bend members of his party to his will, did not raise his voice with the Oregon Democrat.

“Rahm does not yell at me,” DeFazio said, “because he knows that I yell back.”

Others are learning that DeFazio, who has served in the House since 1987 and describes himself as a “progressive populist,” is not easily intimidated. He has emerged in recent months as one of the most vocal liberal critics of the Obama administration, blasting the president’s team for not getting tough enough with Wall Street. He’s also taken on his own party for failing to move left-leaning legislation through the Congress.

Personal calls from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Vice President Al Gore couldn’t persuade him to vote for the Speaker’s climate change bill. He also opposed the $787 billion stimulus, citing concerns that only 7 percent was devoted to infrastructure spending.

DeFazio was one of only two Democrats to vote against those measures and the $700 billion bank bailout. (The other was Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) a Blue Dog conservative.)

Yet he’s also a pro-gun Democrat who has a B rating from the National Rifle Association.

“I would have less of a voice and I would have less respect if I voted for things I didn’t believe in because of pressure from the leadership,” DeFazio told The Hill in an interview.

Obama himself has taken notice.

“Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother,” Obama told DeFazio during a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, according to members afterward.

Hmm. If I didn't know any better I'd consider that a threat.

DeFazio's constituents won't have any need to wonder why no stimulus payoff money is coming to their district. Maybe DeFazio should switch parties before the GOP tsunami hits next year.

Update: So much for the calm, smooth veneer Obama has displayed. Now we get another taste of a street thug.

A visibly angry Barack Obama threw down the gauntlet at China and other developing nations Friday, declaring that the time has come "not to talk but to act" on climate change.

No small irony he was talking at the time.

Looks like Hopenchangen in Copenhagen may have failed miserably.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Judging by the comments over there it seems a lot of people are keeping score on Obama.

ACORN Wannabes Protest at JPMorgan Chase Offices

Suspicious timing, don't you think, that this manufactured protest comes on the same day that Mr. B+ excoriated the banking industry?

Hundreds of people have entered the JPMorgan Chase & Co. offices to protest what they say is the bank's insufficient efforts to help struggling homeowners save their homes.

The protest Monday was organized by the non-profit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which helps homeowners restructure their mortgages.

Protesters carried signs targeting JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who is in Washington to meet with President Barack Obama. The group was escorted out of the Chase lobby and marched past the New York Stock Exchange.

Some carried signs saying "I'll Be Homeless for X-mas" and "JP Morgan is CHASE-ing us out of our homes!"

This crew at NACA is already infamous for their shakedowns of Bank of America and before that Bear Stearns. They seem like such a lovely bunch. Nice to see the president provide the encouragement for today's thuggery.

NACA had planned Monday's sit-in for two or three days, says Marks, who notes that many members were already in New York for the Save the Dream Tour, a mortgage-assistance event, at Manhattan's Javits Convention Center. Citing President Obama's recent statements about the "fat cats" in the banking industry, Marks says that NACA's protest "in the belly of the beast" was meant to augment Obama's words.

Classy: White House Thugs Now Threatening Democrat Strategists Who Appear on Fox

The Obama Thug Machine is officially out of control.

At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration.

Political consultants are a staple of cable television talk shows, analyzing current events based on their own experiences working on campaigns or in government.

One Democratic strategist said that shortly after an appearance on Fox he got a phone call from a White House official telling him not to be a guest on the show again. The call had an intimidating tone, he said.

The message was, "We better not see you on again,'' said the strategist, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to run afoul of the White House. An implicit suggestion, he said, was that "clients might stop using you if you continue.''

In urging Democratic consultants to spurn Fox, White House officials might be trying to isolate the network and make it appear more partisan.

Welcome to Obama's America, where freely speaking your mind is now forbidden and where you're livelihood will be threatened if you don't fall in line.

But Patrick Caddell, a Fox News contributor and a former pollster for Democratic President Jimmy Carter, said he has spoken to Democratic consultants who have been told by the White House to avoid appearances on Fox. He declined to give their names.

Caddell said he had not gotten that message himself from the White House. "They know better than to tell me anything like that,'' he said.

Caddell added: "I have heard that they've done that to others in not too subtle ways. I find it appalling. When the White House gets in the business of suppressing dissent and comment, particularly from its own party, it hurts itself.''

Surprise! Community Organizer/SEIU Thug Beat Black Conservative

Bill Hennessey at the St. Louis Tea Party has the details on on SEIU thug Elston K. McCowan.

Elston K. McCowan is a former organizer – now the Public Service Director of SEIU Local 2000 – and board member of the Walbridge Community Education Center, and is a Baptist minister, has been a community organizer for more than 23 years, and now, he is running for Mayor of the City of St. Louis under the Green Party.

H/T Dana Loesch.

I blame Barack Obama and his climate of hate.

Watch Obama's SEIU thugs in action.



The thug McCowan is actually a Green Party candidate for Mayor of St. Louis.

Foul-mouthed Spitzer Blows Top

Typical thuggish Democrat behavior. Obviously this would be national news if he were a Republican. But the Democrats care about the children, so he'll get a pass.

ALBANY - Gov. Spitzer viciously berated a state lawmaker, saying, "I am a f - - - ing steamroller" who will crush the assemblyman and anyone else who stands in his way, The Post has learned.

Sources told The Post yesterday that an enraged Spitzer bitterly denounced Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco last week after the Schenectady-based Republican called to complain that he had been cut out of negotiations on a just-announced proposed new state ethics law.

"Listen, I'm a f - - - ing steamroller, and I'll roll over you and anybody else," Democrat Spitzer angrily yelled at Tedisco - who was driving in his car and speaking on a cellphone, sources familiar with the conversation said.

Spitzer then boasted about his political strength, saying, "I've done more in three weeks than any governor has done in the history of the state," the sources said.

Tedisco later said, "He [Spitzer] has a different side to him than a lot of people realize.

"I think at some point he is going to lose it," Tedisco added.

Spitzer thinks very highly of himself. He's a punk.