She Goin In, She Goin In, She Goin In

...and she gone go hard, and she gone go hard, and she gone go hard.

Rachel Maddow pretty much ethered the whole Republican caucus in the Senate tonight, it was magnificent to behold!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

More Evidence That What Democrats Need To Do Politically Is Just Stay Out Of The Way

When it comes to going after incumbent Republicans or races where the seat is up for grabs, please please please Democratic establishment, just let them eat their own and then sweep in to take the seat. The only way we can fuck up the election next year is if we make ourselves targets of both the establishment GOP and the wingnut/teabagger factions. Otherwise they will beat themselves into oblivion and whomever emerges will be so far to the right as to scare average people. We dont need do anything other than watch, maybe giggle a little, and let nature take its course...

TAMPA - An increasingly fractious challenge to the Republican Party from its own conservative base could relegate the party to indefinite minority status, some Republicans fear.

It's showing up in the form of conservative primary challengers against candidates blessed by the party establishment - a strange phenomenon in a party known for tightly controlled, wait-your-turn politics.

Some Republicans fear the divisive primaries could leave GOP voters divided and dispirited, or push to the party so far right it alienates mainstream voters.

"If you tried to devise a strategy for destroying the Republican Party in Florida, you couldn't do much better than this," said retired University of South Florida political scientist Darryl Paulson, a Republican and a former Heritage Foundation fellow.

"The kind of narrow appeal they're offering would almost guarantee Republicans would become the minority party in Florida," Paulson said.

Just Stay The Hell Out Of The Way

By now hopefully most of you have heard that some members of the RNC and the Republican wingnut base want to conduct purity tests on candidates and current members of Congress so they can decide to deny funding to the campaigns of Republicans who do not pass said test. I think this is the greatest idea since sliced bread honestly and just about the only thing that will make this backfire on to Democrats is if we get in the way of what is sure to be a cannibalistic blood bath in the Republican Party next year.

What we need to do right now while they are having intraparty fights is concentrate on getting legislation passed. Oh sure we can do like we did back in grade school and when one GOP candidate challenge's another's conservative cred we can pump it up and make a big deal out of it in an effort to get the other guy to escalate the beef even further. But to me that should be the extent of it. These imbeciles are going to kill their electoral chances all on their own, they don't need any help at all.

Don't worry about generic ballots and polls right now, the mid term elections are still a year away. What Democratic strategists should be doing is tracking just how many contradictions all of the Republicans and I mean ALL of the Republicans are making in order to move to the right and win their primaries. As I said before the wingnut base doesn't give a shit about consistency. All they care about is conformity. So calling out their contradictions now don't really harm them at all, and it allows them to kind of catch themselves and not make too big a fool of themselves. Hell you already see Crist starting to flip flop BACK to his original position of supporting the stimulus. Thats not really what we want to have happen. We want him to stay on the wrong side of history and then bust his ass when the general comes around.

If we just keep documenting all the flip flopping it is going to be startling to general election voters in the middle how many hoops Republican candidates are willing to jump through in order to appease their base. Especially on issues having to do with global warming, something most people who aren't Republicans accept as reality. We want whomever to come out alive from a Republican primary to look like a wingnut right wing boogey man to the average person. And I can promise you that if we just stay out of the way and let them have at it, thats exactly what will happen.

Not only does this mean we won't lose as many seats as folks think we will right now, it also means we will pick up some seats that people aren't counting on. Arlen Specter had it right earlier this year when he switched parties (although I know a lot of people still aren't happy about that). He said that these wingnut groups putting wingnut candidates up to challenge Republicans who are already pretty far to the right by most folks standards don't really give a shit about winning and losing elections. For them its about taking the Republican Party as far to the right as they can go even if that means nobody trusts them to ever run the country.

So please folks, for the love of all that is good and cuddly, lets just sit on the sidelines for most of these fights. A little goading is ok once in awhile but lets not make ourselves a target that they can end up unifying behind. And lets not do such a great job of pointing out their hypocrisy NOW that they end up changing course and pulling back from the cliff.

Hell if they wanna jump, lets let em jump!

Saint Ronny Fails GOP Purity Test

I had to chuckle a bit off of this one.

Remember When Charlie Crist And The Republican Legislature Regected Stimulus Funds For Unemployment?

From TBO

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Unemployment compensation taxes paid by Florida businesses will skyrocket next year due to the state's high jobless rate - 11 percent in September.

snip

The increases are needed to replenish the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund. It dropped from more than $1.3 billion last year to zero in August. Florida then began borrowing $300 million a month from the federal government to pay benefits.

That's your Republican economic philosophy in action. I wonder if they will try to paint THAT as a tax cut....

Full Flopping For The Base

I really wonder just how much Tim Pawlenty hates himself every night when he looks in the mirror and realizes how stupid he has to make himself look just to try to appease the Republican base. Here is a guy who just a few years ago was working to solve climate change who is now trying to push the idea that it either doesn't exist or isn't man made.

This isn't a true beliving dumbass like James Inhofe, Pawelenty actually KNOWS better. But if he wants to have any chance at a national political career in his own party then he has to reject his own knowledge. Man that has got to eat his ass up at night. He can't be happy about it, that's for sure.

And the worst thing about it is that the wingnut base doesn't even care if he flip flops just to appease them. As long as he denies climate change they won't give a damn if he used to work as Al Gore's publicist. They don't want integrity, instead they demand conformity and many instances will even reward it no matter what a politicians prior record is.

What has to scare any elected Republican with half a brain is that its actually getting worse. Even John McCain who trashed bills that he himself sponsored, didn't have to go around denying science just to get the nomination. I have a feeling that by the time 2012 rolls around Republican primary candidates will have to have Rush Limbaugh writing their speeches just to have a shot at winning. It will be interesting to see just how low someone like Pawlenty is really willing to go to try to be the wingnut champion.

Interesting, and sad....

On Fearing KSM's Propaganda...

Spencer Ackerman has an excellent take down for all these wingnut asshats running around with their hair on fire because they contend that putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed on trial will give him an opportunity to rail against America and spew propaganda to his fellow extremists.

What’s an actual insult to the victims of 9/11 is the idea that America is not strong enough to withstand the blatherings of a mass murderer. For me, the prospect of KSM grandstanding at his trial falls into I-wish-a-motherfucker-would territory. I want to hear how KSM builds a case against America, because everyone will hear how laughably conspiratorial and clownish it is. Think of what a cathartic moment it will be when America sees the face of the man considered to be UBL’s most efficient henchman and he delivers a pitiful harangue to a bank of cameras. No one will be emboldened to do anything but laugh. The only downside will be his inevitable discussion of how CIA operatives tortured him.

My hope for the KSM trial is that it does more than all this. It should forever shatter the pernicious myth that al-Qaeda is composed of supermen — supermen against whom America has no choice but to alter its character and most precious laws in order to confront. I suspect we’ll have an Eichmann-in-Jerusalem moment — and sorry for the unfortunate Nazi/al-Qaeda analogy; al-Qaeda are not the Nazis; but I couldn’t really think of any other parallel — except instead of the banality of evil, we’ll see the lunacy and vanity and self-absorption of it. That’s because al-Qaeda’s weltanshauung depends on a myth that holds America to be implacably determined to snuff out the glory of Islam. In reality, most Americans couldn’t give a fuck about Islam and only started to know the first thing about it because of 9/11. But that America — an America bearing no resemblance to the actual America — will be what KSM seeks to counter-indict. It’s farcical, and farcical in ways that can only benefit the real America.

You know I loved that I-wish-a-motherfucker-would line! LOL

I will make a distinction though and this comes from a comment I left on his blog.

You see (Republicans) aren't REALLY afraid of what KSM will say or do during the trial. What (they are) REALLY afraid is that a Democratic administration will do what a Republican administration didn’t. And that is show that our system of justice is stronger than any terrorist in some far off land living in a cage. And also that we will NOT show cowardice by bending to their will by not giving them a fair trial and thus becoming the caricature that they try to make out of our country. And finally that a Democratic administration will show more deference to our founding fathers than Bush or Cheney would have ever dreamed.

You see once KSM and his cohorts are dragged in front of a jury and are handed down the death penalty, then they lose the super villan with super powers status that Bush, Cheney and just about every Republican in Congress has given them for the last 8 years. And guess what, if there are no more boogey men then Republicans will have a hard time finding someone to fearmonger against when they are pimping their national security cred.

As with most things that have to do with Republican criticism of moves that the Obama administration makes, this has almost nothing to do with what they are actually saying and everything to do with what they see as their political futures. See also, health care, cap and trade, gay marriage…etc

I think its very important that we push back on silly Republican criticizms of the Obama administration. I think its equally important that we always point out that most of these criticisms are rooted in rank politics and not real ideology. Its one thing to be a hypocrite. Its another thing to be a hypocrite just for political gain and discounting how that hypocrisy could put the citizens in this country in harms way.

It is what it is...

So Disrespectful

You know I find myself thinking the GOP is the most hostile to minorities, then they pull something like this and I am reminded that they might hold women of any color in contempt even more.



It takes a special kind of brainwashed woman to claim the Republican or conservatism.

Seriously.

Another Poll

Wingnut Republican Vern Buchanan wants to know if you support health care reform.

I suggest you let him know...

:)

Republicans/Conservatives Do Not Live On The Same Planet As The Rest Of Us

Jon Stewart takes a look at what is most important to Republicans and their wingnut base compared to what is important to the rest of us.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
America: Target America
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

The shot at Tucker Carlson is an added benefit ;)

The Party Of Projection

The GOP has gotten almost comical in the ways they project their own behavior on to Democrats. In this case its the Republican Party of Florida who is caught in the act by Politifact:

President Barack Obama plans to speak to the nation's schoolchildren on Sept. 8. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the speech will be about "the importance of persisting and succeeding in school," and the department is offering classroom materials to "engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives."

You might think that would be a harmless topic, and that people across the political spectrum could agree on the importance of education.

Not so for the Republican Party of Florida, though, which released a statement "condemning President Obama's use of taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s children to his socialist agenda."

"As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology," said Jim Greer, party chairman, in a news release.
"The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power," he added.

"The Democrats have clearly lost the battle to maintain control of the message this summer, so now that school is back in session, President Obama has turned to American’s children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American’s youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves," he concluded.

The release, which we received via e-mail, told us to click a link to learn more about Obama's speech.

snip

We reviewed the study materials but didn't see any mention of controversial issues, let alone any attempt to indoctrinate students in socialism. The pre-K through 6th grade materials said the main ideas of the speech would be "citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty." The materials for high schoolers mention "personal responsibility, goals, persistence."

We searched previous media reports to see if former President George W. Bush ever gave a nationwide address to school children, but based on our search, it appears he did not. He did, however, regularly visit individual schools and discuss the importance of education with students.

We wondered whether we should give Greer latitude for legitimate commentary on Obama's speech. But he crossed a line when he said that Obama intended to discuss "plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies" and other policy matters not germane to education. That is factually incorrect, and the party could not offer any support for the statement. For raising the specter of socialist ideology and indoctrination, the party takes its claim to an additional, absurd level. We rate the Republican Party of Florida's statement Pants on Fire!

Hey, if the GOP wants to see indoctrination of school kids all they have to do is look no further than Republican governance in Texas.

Just as a handful of the 15 members of the Texas Board of Education tried to hijack the educational review of the state science curriculum this past year (attempting to stack the panel of experts with anti-science activists and intelligent design advocates like Stephen Meyer of the Discovery Institute), the same board members are now trying to repeat the process with the social studies curriculum.

The outcome of these hearings will be used by publishers to determine what goes into their textbooks. As the second-largest bulk purchaser of textbooks in the country, Texas determines what students learn not only in Texas, but in many other states, where districts purchase the same versions.

The board members have appointed six experts, and, the choices appear carefully crafted to be fair and balanced to differing views: one side representing a commitment to sound education, and the other side representing an agenda of religious far-right extremism.

In addition to Marshall, who holds a seminary degree from Princeton and has no background in social science, they include:

David Barton, whose company, WallBuilders, helped spawn a cottage industry based on the concepts that “separation of church and state is a myth” and that our nation’s founding fathers wanted America to be a theocracy, governed by Christian principles. A self-styled historian, Barton only has an undergraduate degree in religious education. And Daniel Dreisbach, a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington DC, who earned a law degree and a doctorate of philosophy in politics. While unlike Marshall or Barton he does at least boast some credentials, Dreisbach also believes “separation of church and state is a myth.”
On the other hand, the three other board members, Jim Kracht, professor of teaching, learning, and culture and also of geography at Texas A&M University; Jesus Francisco de la Teja, professor and chairman of the history department at Texas State University-San Marcos; and Lybeth Hodges, professor of history and government at Texas Woman’s University, all provide the panel with solid mainstream advanced academic credentials and educational experience.
In their expert reviews, Kracht, de la Teja, and Hodges offer reasonable suggestions for curriculum updates; while the other three offer suggestions that reveal a bizarre political agenda of extremist ideology and biblical exceptionalism.

For instance, Barton (former vice-chairman of the state GOP, and a Republican National Committee operative) said that Texas children should no longer be taught about “democratic” values but “republican” ones. “We don’t pledge allegiance to the flag and the democracy for which it stands,” he wrote.

“It’s a little ‘R’ and a little ‘D,’” Quinn said. “But they’re not fooling anyone.”

Both Barton and Phillips recommended that César Chavez (labor organizer and civil rights leader) and Thurgood Marshall (the nation’s first black US Supreme Court justice who, as a young attorney, successfully argued the public school desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education) be removed from textbooks because they aren’t worthy role models for students.
Perhaps most concerning, Barton also stresses the teaching of the Declaration of Independence and wants to see the state standards stipulate that the document is synonymous with the Constitution.

It’s interesting to note that nowhere in the Constitution is there a reference to God; but in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson refers to a creator, as well as “the laws of nature and of nature’s God.”

From this, Barton says we can adduce—and children should therefore be taught—the five following principles: 1. There is a fixed moral law derived from God and nature; 2. There is a Creator; 3. The Creator gives to man certain unalienable rights; 4. Government exists primarily to protect God-given rights to every individual; 5. Below God-given rights and moral law, government is directed by the consent of the governed.

Barton goes on to write that these five points are key to what he calls “American Exceptionalism”:

Students must understand that American Exceptionalism is the result of the five distinctive ideas set forth in the first three lines of the Declaration and subsequently secured in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Im telling you, whenever you hear some crazy accusation coming from the GOP about Democrats you should immediately look around and see where in the country Republicans really are trying to do that crazy thing.

Steven Pearlstein Brings The Noise

As a columnist who regularly dishes out sharp criticism, I try not to question the motives of people with whom I don't agree. Today, I'm going to step over that line.

The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems.

There are lots of valid criticisms that can be made against the health reform plans moving through Congress -- I've made a few myself. But there is no credible way to look at what has been proposed by the president or any congressional committee and conclude that these will result in a government takeover of the health-care system. That is a flat-out lie whose only purpose is to scare the public and stop political conversation.

Good on Steven Pearlstein for calling bullshit on the Republican attacks on health care reform. He better watch his back though because if he keeps it up he will likely be Froomkined.

I Need To Play The Lotto

I made this comment earlier today at The Plum Line:

Its all fun and games until somebody gets their a$$ whupped. I can pretty much promise you that sooner rather than later the tea bagging protesters will incite their crowd to violence. Especially if they start being confronted by liberals and progressives who support health care reform

New story on tampa area news website wtsp dot com, "Violence at Tampa health care forum"

Tampa, Florida - Angry protesters and strong supporters are clashing inside and all around a health care reform town hall meeting in Downtown Tampa. The meeting which was scheduled to begin at 6:00 at the Children's Board of Hillsborough County drew hundreds of people who quickly began to overwhelm staff and event organizers at the front entrance.

As the building filled to capacity, angry protesters stuck outside began to scream, yell, and chant. At one point, those trying to get inside began banging on windows as Tampa Police officers quickly spread out guarding all entrances.

10 Connects photojournalist Kevin Carlson, currently inside the meeting reports at least one fist fight breaking out inside. Some other journalists remain outside.

Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor and State Representative Betty Reed were hosting the event.

The Democrats better get in front of this story and I mean fast. I can guarantee you that the Republicans will try to say that the Democcrats are at fault for telling their supporters to start turning out to oppose the teabaggers.

Update: Just in case there was anyone still holding on to the false notion that these teabaggers are just expressing genuine "grassroots" anger...

Instead, hundreds of vocal critics turned out, many of them saying they had been spurred on through the Tampa 912 activist group promoted by conservative radio and television personality Glenn Beck. Others had received e-mails from the Hillsborough Republican party that urged people to speak out against the plan and offered talking points to challenge supporters.

If you can't even express your outrage in your own words, why in the hell are you at a townhall yelling?!

Big Government Is No Longer A Boogie Man

There is a recently released CNN/Opinion Research poll about health care that is getting some play around the web. The focus for a lot of people is on the question of who is more likely to attend a town hall meeting. It seems that people who disagree with President Obama's health care reform plan are more likely to go to a town hall than those who agree with his plan.

Now to me this is a no brainer when you think about it. These are townhall meetings, not campaign rallys so for the most part people feel who agree with his proposals don't feel like they need to be sold on it anymore.

On the other hand people who disagree with the proposal are probably more likely to want to go to a townhall and either voice their disapproval and or ask questions that maybe they haven't had answered before. Now supposedly people are using this to justify the disruptions going on at the townhalls of Democratic members of Congress, but we all realize by now, or should at least, that the people behind those disruptions are not honest brokers. They are people ginned up to go and make a scene not regular people who just want to voice displeasure or to get more information. You simply can't make an argument that what they are doing is a testament to wide spread outrage over the health reform efforts when its obvious that its yet another example of astroturfing by the GOP and the health care industry. And thankfully, finally, the Democratic poltiical machine is now prepared to expose these people for who they really are.

Well there is something else in the polling that actually caught my eye that I haven't seen other places so far. And its this question and more importantly the percentages on how people answered.

32. In any health care system, someone must make tough decisions that affect individual patients, such as which patients get certain treatments, when they get treated, and which treatments are ineffective or too expensive. If you had to choose, would you rather have those decisions made by people who work for insurance companies, or people who work for the government?


Insurance companies 40%
Government 40%
Mixed/both equal (vol.) 7%
No opinion 13%

You read that right folks. After months and months of cries of socialism from the right wing blogosphere. After day after day of Glen Beck crying. After speech after speech of Congressional Republicans yelling about a "government takeover" of health care. A whopping 40% of respondents, equal to those who prefer insurance companies, chose the big bad hairy government as whom they would prefer to make decisions about their health care treatments.

Break out the fainting couches folks, Republicans are gonna need them!

Ungrateful Bastard

As he goes around the state of Lousianna handing out jumbo novelty checks to different cities to help them through the recession which are FULL of stimulus funds, Governor Bobby Jindal just can not bring himself to admit that President Obama's stimulus bill is helping his state.




This is the fatal flaw of the majority of elected Republicans these days. When you can't give any credit nor ever find any fault of your own, people will no longer trust that. We had 8 years of that bullshit in this country with Bush and people see now where that gets you. So keep it up Bobby Kenny, you are well on your way to discrediting yourself with the American people.

Southern Strategy Part Deux

I think Rachel Maddow is finally waking up to the reality of who her dear old "Uncle Pat" is and what his GOP stands for.

Told Ya So

You know that CBO agency that the GOP keeps hyping up whenever they have less than stellar reviews of the health care reform bills? Yeah well those guys have just come out with another report and it says that a public option will not drive private insurers out of business.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new government health insurance plan sought by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could coexist with private insurers without driving them out of business, an analysis by nonpartisan budget experts suggests.

The estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office — seen as good news by Democrats — comes as leaders pushed Monday to make progress on health care overhaul before lawmakers go home for their August recess.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says a floor vote is still possible in the next few days, and Democrats called a meeting of all their House members late Monday afternoon. In the Senate, a small group of lawmakers from both parties were resuming negotiations in search of an elusive compromise.

I can't wait to see the hypocrisy from the Republicans who will now assail CBO because they don't agree with their analysis.

Of course all of this really is a moot point when you have a dick head like Max Baucus chairing the Senate Finance committee who is bound and determined not to include a public option in his bill anyway.

I need a frikkin drink!

Keep Them Coming!!!

If the DNC is going to keep putting out ads like this then i am for damn sure gonna keep putting them up on this blog. I hope the rest of the liberal and progressive blogosphere does the same!

"Are You Serious?"

Fringe Worthy

It is both ridiculous and hilarious that elected members of Congress are so cowed by their fringe base that they have to run away (sometimes literally) from admitting that President Obama is a natural born citizen.

Trust me, after they lose again next year its only going to get worse.

You Don't Say....

Check out this "shocker" from Republican Senator George Voinovich:

Looking to score political points against President Obama makes up at least half the motivation for some Republicans' opposition to healthcare reform, one Republican senator said Wednesday.

"I think it's probably 50/50," Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) told CNBC in an interview when asked how much of the GOP's opposition to healthcare reform proposals backed by Obama is driven by a desire to "declaw" the president politically.

In other breaking news, water is still wet, ice is still cold.....you know the drill.