Yes – online polls are not polls

I don't know if the Markell supporter from last week was trying to make a point about online polls, or KWS is still nursing hurt feelings from being smacked down in the Insurance Commissioner primary a few cycles back... but someone made a mockery out of the Denn poll that was up. Congratulations (I guess) to the anonymous internet genius out there who pulled it off.

What Happens When Americans Find Out That Social Security is Not In Trouble

Today's WONKBLOG has a great bit of reporting on a new survey from a group called the National Academy of Social Insurance, which conducted a survey of Americans and found that most Americans want to fix the long-term shortfall by raising the cap on contributions and they want to increase the benefits. Shockingly, Americans come to this conclusion once they learn (via this survey) that Social Security is not in immediate crisis. Which it isn't.

Clinton calling out Republicans for not living in “an evidence-based world”

Apparently riffing on my blog post about Republican economics being entirely faith-based, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her Benghazi critics have a loose grasp on reality.
"There are some people in politics and in the press who can't be confused by the facts," Clinton told the Associated Press in her final one-on-one interview before she steps down from her post at the State Department on Friday. "They just will not live in an evidence-based world. And that's regrettable. It's regrettable for our political system and for the people who serve our government in very dangerous, difficult circumstances."
I hope this is going to be the Democrats overall theme for 2013 and beyond. It answers the GOP's use of "elitism," rallies the Democratic big tent to the unifying cause of rationality and is 100% accurate.

I’ve got 50 bucks that says Republicans are full of shit… any takers?

Today "economist" Art Laffer was all over the wingnutverse calling the contraction in the U.S. economy "catastrophic" and predicted that it would continue to shrink without "spending restraints and lower business tax rates." Are you fucking kidding me? People are still listening to this nut? Well, if you are listening, and buying any of Laffer's bullshit, I've got $50.00 bucks if you can prove that his "shrink the government and give tax breaks to businesses" nonsense has ever resulted in economic growth.