And This Is Why You Can't Take Them Seriously

President Obama had a bipartisan meeting yesterday on the Hill about job creation. During the course of the conversation resident House GOP golden boy Eric Cantor had this to say.

"The president said he would look at some of our proposals,'' Representative Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, told reporters after the session. But, he added, "there is a stark contrast between what the president is proposing and our no-cost jobs plan.''

And what exactly is their "no-cost jobs plan"?

TAX CUTSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

Of course.

But here is the thing, tax cuts actually, you know, cost money. Any cuts in revenue will have a negative effect on our deficit. Now sometimes that is necessary, like now, when you have an economy that is faltering. But make no mistake about it, when the CBO scores any tax cuts that are proposed and or are eventually implemented, it will affect our bottom line and add to our deficit. That the GOP is still classifying tax cuts as "no-cost" tells you everything you need to know about their mindset. Not only did they learn nothing about how the economy over the previous 8 years of big tax cuts to the wealthy, they seem to know absolutely nothing about what adds to the deficit.

Now again, in this case some targeted tax cuts will probably be beneficial in the short term to get our economy back on track. But to try to say that they will be free is just another sign of how dumb the GOP's leading figures really are. It ain't rocket science. Hell even a high school economics student would recognize that tax cuts cost money.

But this is your Republican Party these days, and that's why there is no reason to really take them seriously.

It is what it is.

Two Words For You, "The Abyss"

I haven't posted much on the NY23 race mostly because I was too busy sitting over here laughing my ass off about it. This is the case study on why I predicted earlier this year that the GOP isn't headed into the wilderness, but into the abyss. This pretty much goes back to John McCain picking Sarah Palin as his VP candidate. She came to embody what a substantial part of the Republican Party thinks they should be, at least from all her rhetoric.

Proud to be stupid, inflexible, dogmatic, irrational, underqualified, and hyperbolic.

That is the "base" of the GOP now. And for them its all fine and good to lose elections as long as they ran as "conservative" a race as possible and polarized people. They don't give a shit about polls, or science, or the will of the people. All they care about is their own ideology and everybody else are the crazy ones for not subscribing to it.

Now you have what should have been an innocuous special election for a House seat in northern New York which by all accounts should have been an easy win for any Republican candidate. But you see Sarah Palin's GOP will not take yes for an answer. For them it isn't about whether or not the GOP can build their numbers back up. No, for them its about the strictest litmus test possible for the Republican candidate. When the woman who was nominated by the local GOP, Dede Scozzafava, didn't fit in that box because she held some moderate positions, the "base" of the party, you know the Tea Baggers who swear they don't care about the GOP, decided to put up their own idealogue, Doug Hoffman, who of course has no idea of what the hell the job entails.

Hoffman is quite simply a Sarah Palin clone. Proud to be ignorant of the needs of that district. Oh so proud to be an idealogue. And built up by people who don't really give a shit about NY23 but instead their own political futures. But hey why let that keep him from ruining the Republicans chances of winning a seat that has been in their possession for literally over 100 years.

I will just let the paper of record from that district, the Watertown Daily, which initially endorsed Scozzafava, take it away now.

The Watertown Daily Times initially endorsed Ms. Scozzafava as the best-qualified candidate in the race. We still think she is. However, in suspending her campaign she released her supporters' commitment to her. That left voters to choose between Mr. Owens and Mr. Hoffman.

Of the two, Bill Owens is by far the superior and only choice.

The Democratic candidate has demonstrated a willingness to listen to people about ways in which he could help the district as their representative in Washington. Mr. Owens has remained focused on the economy and job creation throughout his campaign. At the same time, he has shown an understanding of the military, a keen desire to help dairy farmers, an ability to work with labor unions and an eagerness to learn more about the vast, 11-county district that he hopes to represent.

Mr. Owens seems to approach politics and challenges with an open mind, a generous spirit and a can-do attitude. He has conducted a dignified campaign in comparison to Doug Hoffman.

Mr. Hoffman is running as an ideologue. If he carries out his pledges on earmarks, taxation, labor law reform and other inflexible positions, Northern New York will suffer. This rural district depends on the federal government for an investment in Fort Drum and its soldiers, environmental protection of our international waterway and the Adirondack Park, and the livelihood of all our dairy farmers across the district, among other support. Our representative cannot be locked into rigid promises and policies that would jeopardize these critical sectors of our economy.

For a member of Congress, there may be a time to promote reform in Washington, but there is also a time to work within a system that best serves the people you represent.

It is frightening that Mr. Hoffman is so beholden to right-wing ideologues who dismiss Northern New Yorkers as parochial when people here simply want to know how Mr. Hoffman will protect their interests in Washington.

The race has changed, but voters still face an important choice. Northern New York must send to Congress a representative who serves their interests first and foremost.

The Times endorses Bill Owens for Congress.

Now here is the rub. Should Bill Owens win on Tuesday the right wing base of the GOP will actually count this as a victory. Leave aside the fact that Scozzafava would have agreed with the GOP in Congress on probably something like 98% of issues. Better yet she probably would have voted with them 99% of the time. And we all know that ain't happening with Owens.

No for them as long as they don't have a "RINO" in office that is all that matters.

Now we Democrats have our own problems with DINOs. But the difference is we don't mind folks having a different opinion or point of view, as long as they don't obstruct their own party. The base of the GOP now wants nothing less than blind allegiance to what they claim are conservative views. Doesn't matter that their "god" Ronald Reagan had some of the worst economic ideas in our country's history. Doesn't matter that the "culture wars" of years past are now passing their party up with the younger generation. Doesn't matter that the demographics of the country are changing in such a way that their lack of minority outreach will only increase in importance going forward.

They. Don't. Care.

So if my fellow Democrats are smart we will largely just stay out of the way and let them eat their own. This one fire that doesn't need any more gasoline added. Just let the flame wars go and then sweep away the ashes when its time to count votes.

It is what it is.

Losing The Benefit Of A Doubt

The more "mainstream" Republicans push fringe theories the more the credibility of the GOP is being torn to shreds. Now it was one thing when just average people started to notice how the Republican Party was becoming more and more radicalized everyday and losing moderates and thus any moderation. But now we are seeing that many journalists and by proxy their news organizatios are finally starting to take notice too. And when I say take notice I am not talking about just op-ed writers who almost always take the liberal or Democratic position on any issue. I am talking about the editorial boards of several major regional newspapers finally calling out the GOP for their over the top lies and rhetoric.

This newest ridiculous tempest in a teapot over President Obama speaking to school kids may very well be the straw that broke the camel's back.

There once was a political operative who loved to tell crowds he had a simple way of explaining to children the difference between Republicans and Democrats.

"Republicans get up and go to work," he would tell his son. "Democrats get up and go down to the mailbox to get their checks."

This man not only talked to his son about Republican values, he went into public-school classrooms and talked about them as well.

That man is Jim Greer — the same Jim Greer who, as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, just threw a nationwide hissy fit, claiming that the classroom is no place for politics and Barack Obama's "indoctrination."

One Seminole County mother, Barbara Wells, remembers the day Greer spoke to her son's sixth-grade class. "My son said he made some sort of Hillary Clinton joke," she recalled.

But you know what? Wells didn't pitch a fit.

She didn't call up the local TV station to scream about Republican indoctrination.

Instead, she advised her son: "Whatever you are told in life, remember there are two sides to every story."

In fact, Wells didn't even think much about Greer's foray into her son's classroom until she saw him on TV complaining about Obama.

There's no longer any question: Greer is a hypocrite.

snip

Late Friday, I caught up with Greer, who said he has no regrets about accusing the president of spreading "liberal lies" before Greer even knew what Obama was going to say.

In fact, Greer actually believes that, had he not called Obama out, the indoctrination would have taken place.

And he didn't see any fair comparison between his own school visits and the president's. The main difference, Greer said, is that he didn't have the Department of Education organizing lesson plans meant to idolize him the way he's convinced they would have for Obama, had Greer not stopped him.

But Jim, Thursday night on Hardball you said: "Before anybody talks to my children from a political perspective, I want to know what they have to say." And yet you didn't run your opinions by any of the parents before you started molding young minds, did you?

"That was different," he said. "I wasn't using lesson plans."

I'm honestly not sure whether Greer really believes what he's shoveling. But I know I'm not alone in thinking his divisive rhetoric is beyond the pale. Conservative talk-show host Joe Scarborough labeled Greer's comments "insane talk."

But Scarborough didn't stop there. He wondered why Florida's leading Republicans weren't taking on Greer, "standing up and saying: 'Guys, calm down. This is no way to conduct a debate.'"

It's a good question.

So I ran Greer's extremist statement by four high-profile Republicans: Gov. Charlie Crist, U.S. Rep. John Mica, State House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon and Orange County GOP leader Lew Oliver.

I chose conservative leaders whose positions I respect. And Crist, too.

I just wanted to see whether a single one had the guts to call Greer out and take a stand for mainstream values and rational debate.

Not a one of them did.

And that is even scarier.

The more reputable news organizations which have no reputation for being liberal or conservative continue to report stories like this, the more the GOP as a whole will be tarred with a crazy by association type label. See it not just that Jim Greer is running around like a chicken with his head cut off right now, its that none of the other Republican "leaders" in Florida are willing to stand up and call him out. There used to be a time when Republicans could get away with that because news was so concentrated. But now, with the advent of the internet, any and everybody in the nation can know about this crazy guy in Florida complaining hypocritically about indoctrination. As long as it continues the majority of Americans are going to keep moving away from the Republican party. Its one thing to associate with a party that has bad policies, its another thing altogether to support a party that has driven itself off a cliff. If they don't get their arms around that fact, there will never be the resurgence that many conservative leaders keep insisting is just around the corner.

Not that I would shed a tear over that.

Never Forget That Mark Sanford Was Supposed to Be The Standard Bearer For Conservativism

Governor Mark Sanford is just the latest in a long line of Republicans who claim to be conservatives and preach to others about saving taxpayer money but exercise screaming hypocrisy in their own lives.


From the AP:

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford used state aircraft for personal and political trips, often bringing along his wife and children — contrary to state law regarding official use, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Records reviewed by the AP show that since he took office in 2003, the two-term Republican has taken trips on state aircraft to locations of his children's sporting events, hair and dentist appointments, political party gatherings and a birthday party for a campaign donor.

According to state budget law, "Any and all aircraft owned or operated by agencies of the State Government shall be used only for official business."

On March 10, 2006, a state plane was sent to pick up Sanford in Myrtle Beach and return him to Columbia, the state capital, at a cost of $1,265 — when his calendar showed his only appointment in Columbia was "personal time" at his favorite discount hair salon. He had flown to Myrtle Beach on a private plane and attended a county GOP event.

The trip home on the state aircraft took off at 1:50 p.m. and arrived in Columbia at 2:35 p.m., enabling the governor to keep his plans for a 3 p.m. haircut across town. There were no other appointments on his official schedule that afternoon; the trip back to Columbia would have taken about three hours by car.

Also, on five of the last six Thanksgiving weekends, Sanford used a state plane to fly himself, his wife and their four sons from the family's plantation in Beaufort County to Columbia for the state Christmas tree lighting. The cost for those flights alone: $5,536, including $2,869 for flying the plane empty to pick them up.

Sanford, 49, has been under increased scrutiny since he admitted in June to having a mistress in Argentina. He's vowed to stay in office and says he is trying to reconcile with his wife, though she moved out of the governor's official residence on Friday with their sons and plans to spend the school year at the family's beach house.

The governor has made a political career out of being outwardly thrifty — known to demand that state employees use both sides of Post-It notes. He has frequently railed against government spending, and attempted for months to block federal stimulus money for South Carolina schools.

Last month, the AP revealed how Sanford had flown first class and business class on commercial airlines at taxpayer expense, despite a law requiring lowest-cost travel.

On many occasions, records show, the governor mingled his non-official travels with official business.

For example, on March 23, 2005, Sanford flew on a state plane from Columbia to Mount Pleasant, near the beach house, where the governor was scheduled for a 5 p.m. appointment with a dentist. Later that day, he had a TV interview before speaking at a Republican Party event for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties along with U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint.

Such mingling also is problematic under South Carolina regulations.

Aeronautics Division rules say that "under no circumstances shall aircraft owned and operated by" the division "be used for personal or politically partisan purposes." But there's no clear enforcement mechanism for such violations; the division says it simply lets citizens know that statements attesting to official use of the planes are open to public inspection.

And yet you still have mental midgets out there that worship these guys just for their rhetoric. It really makes you wonder what exactly Republicans would have to do to lose support from their base. Obviously hypocrisy is A OK with them.

Totally Grassroots!

Someone should show Claire McCaskill this video and then ask if she stands by her words.




(h/t HuffPo)

Rachel Maddow Ties It All Together

Rachel Maddow took the opportunity last night to take an indepth look at the orchestrated and unAmerican townhall teabagger revolts. But bigger than that she pointed out how many in the mainstream media are trying to keep their head in the sand to the fact that these are not honest brokers. These aren't people who come to these townhalls just to ask questions because they are mad. They don't want answers. They only want to shut down dialogue whether its from other members of the audience or from the Democratic member of Congress themselves. In their neverending quest to try to be balanced the media is refusing to report the facts. They can not be allowed to get away with this! Pass this clip along to your friends and family members who might actually be buying the "grassroots" frame.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Rachel also took the opportunity to tie the current tactics by the GOP to hurt health care reform efforts into the so called "Brooks Brothers" fake riots that occurred during the recount down here in Florida after the 2000 elections.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ha Ha Very Funny Muthafucka

I wonder how many people want to be on the side of assholes like this who think its funny to joke about cancer and suicide because to them that's teh proper way to protest health care reform.



Yeah GOP, this is what the fuck you have become. A bunch of unhinged, fringe, bottom feeders with no class.

All That Needs To Be Said About Lou Holtz's Potential Candidacy In Florida

From Tampabay.com:

Celebrity candidates can be unpredictable in politics, of course. The Orlando Sentinel, which first reported the potential Holtz candidacy, noted that last year Holtz had to apologize after calling Hitler a great leader.

A Prime Example

Republicans think its cute to play these kind of games with racial politics in this country. I wonder how funny it will be when they get their asses kicked again next year...

In Related News...

RNC Chairman Michael Steele and three Republican Governors blow off the annual conference for the Hispanic civil rights organization, La Raza, leading their spokeswoman Marie Watteau to release this statement.

“You should certainly speak to the Republican Party about why they’re not here,” Watteau told me. “The Latino community is open to hearing from both sides, which is why both parties were invited. The Republican Party not being here may demonstrate a lack of commitment to our community.”

Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination for the Supreme Court was voted out of committee today with only a single Republican vote. The vote came after each Republican who voted no took the opportunity to take more shots at her.


Have fun in that abyss, GOP.

Their Fringe Is Now Their Base

One of the biggest problems with the shrinking Republican Party is that the majority of people who no longer identify themselves as Republican were the moderates of the party. What that means is that what used to be the fringe of the party is now quickly becoming the base. For instance most people consider the "birthers" to be the fringe of society. However as this clip and other reporting from CQPolitics shows the birthers are now becoming accepted in the mainstream of the GOP.

And these are the people that Republicans will feel the need to kow tow to for years to come. That's just another reason not to take the GOP seriously anymore.

The Winds Are Shifting

With the disjointed, incoherent resignation of Sarah Palin last week it seems a curious thing has happened. The winds in Washington DC have started shifting in a major way. What is most important about that is that as the wind flows so goes the Villagers. For so long they have tried to close their eyes and act as if Republicans were worthy of being included in the major discussions of our day. Even though evidence was increaing by the day, none of the Villagers wanted to step out and admit that the GOP was now a fringe party with fringe ideas.

But it seems that with all of the recent scandals involving top GOP prospective 2012 candidates capped by Palin's glorious flameout last Friday the Villagers are now emboldened to start calling a spade a spade.

Witness Richard Cohen:

It would behoove us, though, to consider how close we all came to utter disaster -- the "counterfactual" suggested above. A recent Vanity Fair article clarifies just how awful a vice president (or president) Palin would have made. During the campaign, she proved allergic to briefings and remained determined to stay uncorrupted by knowledge. More recently, she explained her decision to -- permit me some GOP talk -- cut and run as Alaska governor by lapsing into no known language, explaining herself afterward in a burst of Tweets that only raised more questions. One question, though, has been settled: She is unfit for office.

Naming Palin to the GOP ticket -- a top-down choice by McCain -- was the most reckless decision any national politician has made in the longest time, and while it certainly says something about McCain, it says even more about his party. It has lost its mind.

Recall, after all, that Palin was not McCain's first choice. That was either Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. Both were rejected by the party establishment because of their appalling moderation on social issues over which the president has little direct authority anyway -- abortion, above all -- and in Lieberman's case because he had been a Democrat. In desperation, McCain turned to Palin.

Was there a scream of protest? No. Did the Republican Party demand to know of McCain what the hell he had done? Again, no. Was it okay with the GOP if the person a heartbeat away from the presidency was -- pardon me, but it's true -- a ditz with no national experience whatsoever? You betcha. The party had cracked up, accepting a nullity because she was antiabortion over a seasoned senator and former governor because they were not. Ideology won. The nation lost.

It really shouldn't have taken this long for him to come to these conclusions but there it is. And notice that last line of the excerpt. Its apparent that Cohen still believes, incredibly at this point, that McCain was who the nation needed. And yet even he isn't willing to toe the company line anymore and is ready to call out the Republican Party. I don't think that would have been true had Sarah Palin not held her whine and cheese party last week.

Witness also Gene Robinson, whom I do not consider a true Villager, but who takes himself and his profession to task for not calling it like it was with Sarah Palin and her party.

But I'm stating the obvious. The thing is, Palin's unsuitability for high public office has been obvious all along. Tina Fey got it right; the rest of us were far too reluctant to state plainly that the emperor, or empress, has no clothes.

There are basically two reasons the political class and the commentariat continue to speak and write about Palin as if she were a substantial figure whose presence on the national stage is anything but a cruel, unfunny joke. The first is fear -- not of Palin and her know-nothing legions, but of being painted as elitist and sexist.

From the beginning, Palin has been a master at maneuvering her critics into this trap. Like most Americans, she didn't go to an Ivy League school; like most women, she deals every day with the challenges of juggling work and family. She highlighted these aspects of her biography, then used them to portray herself as a victim whenever anyone had the temerity to criticize anything she said or did. The most recent illustration is what she posted on her Facebook page last weekend on the reaction to her announced resignation:

"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make."

What is she talking about? Who are these "countless others" who supposedly have made the same decision to abandon governorships for no credible reason? The names don't come rushing to mind. Why is any criticism of Poor Little Sarah the result of the "different standard" that mean old "Washington and the media" always apply? Because blaming her favorite alleged persecutors allows her to ignore the bewildered reaction from her constituents in Alaska who are stunned and mystified at her decision to skip out.

The other reason Palin is taken more seriously than she deserves is that she has a constituency. Heaven help us.

Palin has far-right conservative views, and while I disagree with her on almost everything, there's certainly nothing inappropriate or illegitimate about her philosophy. But I feel sorry for conservatives who look to her as a champion because she's going to let them down. Articulating a political vision and inspiring people to believe in it are true accomplishments, and no one can take that away from her. But realizing that vision through legislation or executive action requires discipline, persistence and rigor. To return to stating the obvious, these are attributes that Palin lacks.

Now I have a feeling that there will be more of this to come soon because, as we all know, the Villagers LOVE a good meme. But maybe for once its a good thing because they will be finally catching up to what the overwhelming majority of the country has known for years. And that is that the Republican Party is now run by people who are batshit crazy.

It is what it is.

DFH General David Petraeus.

Here is an excerpt from an interview General David Petraeus granted to Radio Free Europe.

RFE/RL: As you know, General, the debate over Guantanamo and enhanced interrogation techniques has become "Topic A" in Washington. In your view, does the closing of "Gitmo" and the abandonment of those techniques complicate the U.S. mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the overall struggle against violent transnational extremist groups or does it help it?

Petraeus: I think, on balance, that those moves help it. In fact, I have long been on record as having testified and also in helping write doctrine for interrogation techniques that are completely in line with the Geneva Convention. And as a division commander in Iraq in the early days, we put out guidance very early on to make sure that our soldiers, in fact, knew that we needed to stay within those guidelines.

With respect to Guantanamo, I think that the closure in a responsible manner, obviously one that is certainly being worked out now by the Department of Justice -- I talked to the attorney general the other day [and] they have a very intensive effort ongoing to determine, indeed, what to do with the detainees who are left, how to deal with them in a legal way, and if continued incarceration is necessary -- again, how to take that forward.

But doing that in a responsible manner, I think, sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees.

Now the question is will Dick Cheney and the rest of his minions attack General Petraeus? I ask because it is readily apparent now that anyone who disagrees with the Dick Cheney wing of the GOP faces the wrath of the wingnuts. They don't seem to care who it is, if you aren't for torture and you aren't for keeping GITMO open forever then obviously you are some pinko commie terrorist sympathizer who hates America. Now when you talk about General Petraues you are talking about a man who is commanding troops in two separate war theaters. A man who is responsible for the lives of thousands of our men and women. People who are on the front lines of the fight are in the most danger. Yet here he is endorsing President Obama's move to outlaw torture and his plans to close GITMO. At this point that calls for an almost immediate attack by the Republican messaging machine. But there is only one problem, its going to be hard to pull Petraeus down from the pedestal they built for him.

As the architect and implementer of the surge strategy in Iraq, General Petraeus was painted as a hero and a genius but a Bush Administration desperate for any good news on that front. He rose to almost mythical stature in the GOP and was defended vigorously when MoveOn attacked him in a full page ad. A man whom some felt should be the Republican nominee for President in the very near future.So now that he has come out on the opposite side of the debate from Cheney what can the GOP do? If they try to play down his endorsement they risk losing credibility. If they try to smear General Petraeus they risk starting an intraparty revolt. More than likely what I imagine what they will do is totally ignore it and hope it goes away. Unfortunately for us judging by the state of our media they will probably be allowed to get away with it.

(h/t Steve Benen)

Real Talk

John McCain's mother, Roberta McCain, went on Jay Leno's show and called out Rush Limbaugh and her Republican party.

(CNN) — The always-outspoken Roberta McCain — mother of Sen. John McCain — took a swipe at Rush Limbaugh Wednesday, saying the popular conservative radio host "does not represent the Republican Party that I belong to".

"I belong to the Republican Party," McCain, 97, said during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. "What he represents of the Republican Party has nothing to do with my side of it. I don't know what the man means, I don't know what he's talking about."

snip

"I think [Steele] was exactly right when he defined this man as an entertainer," she said. "To my horror, the Republican Party made him back up on it."

snip

"I, myself, can't figure out that type of person who really more or less gets joy out of denigrating people. I'm just not that type of person, I don't have friends like that, and thank God I am not around people like him."

One can only hope that John McCain doesn't make his Mom apologize.

There you have it

What would you say if someone asked you whether it would be better politically for the Republicans to follow Rush Limbaugh or Colin Powell?

Who do you think most rational Republicans would choose? Remember I said rational.

I give you one guess as to who former Vice President Dick Cheney chose this morning on "Face The Nation".



I can only pray that the rest of the Republicans follow his advice.

On Michael Steele

All throughout the day there has been speculation that Michael Steele will get fired because of his latest gaffe of seeming to take a pro choice stance on abortion. By seeming I mean he unequivically told a reporter for GQ that he was pro choice. If you want to see the reactions and predictions from around the net you can read them here, here, and here. I haven't posted about it because I personally think the guy is safe until after the next round of elections next year. The RNC simply overplayed the fact that they had elected their first black chairman. Some I would say the did so because they wanted to do something to attract minorities after the election of President Obama, our country's first black President. Now they are pretty much stuck with Steele much like the Democrats are stuck with Roland Burris. The Republican Party has such a terrible reputation with respect to minorities that firing Steele after just a month or so is going to be seen by their party leaders as a political impossibility. Now I am willing to allow for being wrong on this, but I really believe that the GOP won't risk further alienating minorities by firing their first black chairman.

Of course the truth is quite a few black folks think Steele is in fact an embarrasment so I don't really believe that firing him would affect their view of the Republican Party for good or for bad. But shhhhhh don't tell them that! lol

A Rare Moment Of GOP Honesty

It seems that Republican Representative Patrick McHenry has decided to let the cat out of the bag and tell America what the GOP's goals are for the country.

“We will lose on legislation. But we will win the message war every day, and every week, until November 2010,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., an outspoken conservative who has participated on the GOP message teams. “Our goal is to bring down approval numbers for [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and for House Democrats. That will take repetition. This is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Don't get me wrong, I applaud the man's honesty but I have to wonder how this message will be recieved. At a time of economic crisis in this country, with people losing their jobs and homes every day, with the price of healthcare skyrocketing and with our country addicted to foreign oil interests, the Republican Party instead of focusing on those issues are focused on bringing down the approval ratings of Congressional Democrats. Somehow I don't think the American people are going to appreciate that. But I wait with baited breath to see how the GOP tries to spin this quote as being the fault of Democrats as well.

Rush Rules Their World

Matt Drudge has been supplanted! Its official, Rush Limbaugh has been crowned the leader of the Republican Party.

Like Good Little Puppets

When you see Republicans on the Tee Vee using the term "porkulus" to describe the bill understand that while you see their lips moving it's actually Rush Limbaugh's voice you are hearing.

Republicans And The MSM Just Making Shit Up As Usual

Over the past week or so we have seen Republicans trumpet and the Mainstream Media folks parrot, the conclusions of a Congressional Budget Office report that said President Obama's ecocnomic stimulus package wouldn't get much of the money included in the bill into the economy for two years. They have used this to decry the stimulus bill as "flawed" and as proof that instead it should be focused more on tax cuts which according to them would get money into the economy quicker. There was just one problem with that, the report doesn't exist.

From HuffPo:

Reports of a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, showing that the vast majority of the money in the stimulus package won't be spent until after 2010, have Democrats on the defensive and the GOP calling for a pullback in wasteful spending.
Funny thing is, there is no such report.

"We did not issue any report, any analysis or any study," a CBO aide told the Huffington Post.
Rather, the nonpartisan CBO ran a small portion of an earlier version of the stimulus plan through a computer program that uses a standard formula to determine a score -- how quickly money will be spent. The score only dealt with the part of the stimulus headed for the Appropriations Committee and left out the parts bound for the Ways and Means or Energy and Commerce Committee.

Because it dealt with just a part of the stimulus, it estimated the spending rate for only about $300 billion of the $825 billion plan. Significant changes have been made to the part of the bill the CBO looked at.

The CBO numbers were given to a small number of congressional Democrats and Republicans, but were not posted online because they're not an official CBO product. (Media outlets, while reporting widely about the "report," have declined to post it online. Here's the whole thing.) Democratic aides say they are certain that the GOP leaked it to the Associated Press in order to undercut the spending portion of the stimulus.

A Republican aide for the House Appropriations Committee denied involvement, saying that her staff did not see the CBO numbers until after the AP reported them. The Washington Post followed the AP and reported that aides to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) provided the report.

So once again the Republican party is more interested in playing politics than doing what is right for the American people. How anybody could believe in these clowns at this point is beyond me. At some point you have to look past their rhetoric and evaluate their deeds and for the last 8 years there is no doubt that the GOP has been all about looking out for the GOP. And this illustrates yet another failure of the MSM. Instead of learning about their subterfuge from the Washington Post or the AP instead they became complicit in pushing the faux controversy. And then of course their MSM bretheren of all types picked up the story and ran with it. It should tell you something that it took the Huffington Post to investigate the report that does not exist in order for the truth to come our rather than CNN or the New York Times. Such is the state of journalism today.