By GottaLaff
Linda McMahon (R), who is running for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut, owns a 47-foot sport yacht named "Sexy Bitch," according to the Stamford Advocate.
Here's what you see on her website. Note the first name only identification, like, you know, Cher or Madonna:
By GottaLaff
Thom Hartmann often opines about how the Progressives need to infiltrate the Democratic party at the ground level and work their way up. In other words, take over the party. He regularly encourages his callers to run for local office, because you have to start somewhere.
He's right.
Unfortunately, the wrong people took his advice:
First there was the "tea party" protester. Now meet the Tea-publican.
Conservative activists who once protested the political establishment are now flooding the lowest level of the Republican Party apparatus hoping to take over the party they once scorned -- one precinct at a time.
Across the country, tea party groups that had focused on planning rallies are educating members on how to run for GOP precinct representative positions. The representatives help elect county party leaders, who write the platform and, in some places, determine endorsements.
"That's where it all starts. That's where the process of picking candidates begins. It's not from [GOP leader] Michael Steele's office down. It's from the ground up," said Philip Glass, whose National Precinct Alliance is among the groups advocating the strategy. "The party is over for the old guard."
By GottaLaff
Dems today have been jumping on the fact that the new CBS/New York Times poll finds that an astonishing 76% of respondents say Republicans in Congress haven’t clearly explained their plans to reform the health care system.
But there’s an even more interesting number in the poll’s internals: Nearly as many Republican respondents — nearly three out of four — say the same thing.
Here’s the poll’s question: “Do you think the Republicans in Congress have clearly explained their plans for changing the health care system, or haven’t they clearly explained their plans?” And the answers, among Republicans:
Have explained 17
Haven’t explained 73
Don’t know 10
By GottaLaff
"I certainly detect a racial element in some of the hostility directed at President Obama," said Richard Alba, the distinguished professor of sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. "I'm certain there are white Americans for whom having a dark-skinned president in the White House is an enormous shock. This is really a complete overturning of what they thought was the natural order of things. The natural way that American society worked. It upsets all their ideas about how American society is structured." [...]It's been a long day. I'll leave the commentary to you."I don't think anybody has used the symbols of race and racism to criticize this president more than the individuals on the right," said D'Linell Finley, a political science professor at Auburn University at Montgomery. "Listen to the radio, look at the signs and listen to their individual words. It comes through both in a subtle and not-so-subtle manner."
The not-so-subtle incidents are numerous:
- Last October, John McCain's campaign ousted a Buchanan County, Va., McCain campaign official, Bobby May, for writing a newspaper column that said that if Obama were elected he'd hire rapper Ludacris to paint the White House black and change the national anthem to the "Negro National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson.
- Diane Fedele, who was then the president of a Republican women's club in San Bernardino County, Calif., resigned last October after she sent out a newsletter with a drawing of Obama on a bogus food-stamp coupon surrounded by ribs, watermelon and fried chicken.
- In May, Sherri Goforth, an aide to Republican state Sen. Diane Black of Tennessee, sent an e-mail to Republican staffers showing the first 43 U.S. presidents in stately poses, but Obama's image, as the 44th president, was a pair of bright white cartoonish eyes on a black background.
- In June, Diann Jones, the vice chairman of the Collin County Republican Party in Texas sent an e-mail to local Republican clubs calling a proposal for a $50 gun tax "another terrific idea from the black house and its minions."
- Also in June, South Carolina Republican activist Rusty DePass compared an escaped gorilla from a Columbia zoo to first lady Michelle Obama's ancestors.
- At an August political forum, Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas denied any racial intent when she said that the party was looking for a "great white hope" to lead the party into the future.
David Bositis, a senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political Studies, a public-policy research institute, said: "You have a whole bunch of incidents of that sort, and they're accelerating in their occurrences."
To many, South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" outburst was only the latest racially tinged episode involving the party. Bositis said that much of the antagonism came from the Southern wing of the party, in part because Obama was the first Northern Democratic president since Kennedy and because the Republican Party's Southern clout had been marginalized.
"It has been a long time since they've had such a limited influence in the U.S. Congress," Bositis said. "A number of these people have gone out of their way to diss Obama, and that's a Southern thing, it's not a black thing. But what is it about Obama that they most want to diss? A lot of it has to do with his race."
By GottaLaff
Now, just when we thought we'd heard everything, comes the chairman of the Republican Party with an audacious act of political cross-dressing. Michael Steele announced last week that his party would henceforth embrace the mission of defending Medicare, the federal health insurance program for senior citizens, against anyone who wants to limit its rapidly growing spending. [...]Please go read the rest here.
[T]he most prominent leader calling for fiscal restraint in Medicare is Barack Obama, and that has driven Steele, as if by chemical reaction, to take the opposite position.
The about-face has left the GOP chairman struggling to articulate a lucid policy. He acknowledges that without any change, "Medicare will go deep into the red in less than a decade." But he nevertheless insists that limits shouldn't be imposed. And he certainly isn't advocating tax increases to plug the gap.
Weirdest of all, even as he vowed to "protect Medicare," Steele denounced it as a "single-payer program" and "a very good example of what we should not have happen with all our healthcare."
This isn't merely demagoguery; it's incoherent demagoguery. After several days of bad reviews, Steele backpedaled a step and said that he might not oppose all cuts in Medicare spending -- only the ones Democrats have proposed. [...]
Steele hasn't let facts stand in the way of promoting his "Seniors' Healthcare Bill of Rights." He claimed that Democrats want to ration heart surgery based on age -- granting operations to the young but denying them to the old. (An aide said he was referring to Obama advisor Ezekiel Emanuel, who has recommended using age as one of several criteria for allocating "very scarce medical interventions such as organs" -- not heart surgery, which is anything but scarce.) And he accused the Department of Veterans Affairs of "encouraging [veterans] to commit suicide" in a manual on living wills. (I've read the manual; it doesn't even come close.) [...]
The GOP chairman has declared that fiscal restraint, one of his party's most basic tenets, is no longer a virtue -- at least not this year. [...]
He was seeking a tactical advantage for his side in the debate. Instead, he has put the GOP in danger of being not only the Party of No, but also a party of no sense.
By GottaLaff
Reid, armed with a patch of Astroturf, slammed Republicans for sponsoring town hall attacks on Democrats and accused the party of waging a barricade on Democratic efforts to pass health care reform legislation.Now how about doing something effective to stop them. You know what I mean, right? Get all vexatious and stuff.
"I just want to show you what Astroturf really is," Reid said to laughter. "They're taking their cues from talk show hosts, Internet rumor mongers, and insurance rackets."
"I just think, as I've said before, it's not often that you try to blow yourself up, but that's obviously what they're trying to do with all this vexatious stuff they're doing with these meetings, the birthers. It's a party being run by a talk show host," Reid said. [...]
Democrats seemed to be on a roll with their pushback Thursday.
"These guys don't care about you," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said of the town hall protesters. "They care about YouTube."
"We can spot a winger," Durbin said.
By GottaLaff
The Boston Phoenix notes that Gov. Sarah Palin (R) "is poised to be the hottest brand to ever hit" the multi-billion-dollar conservative marketplace.Rushpublic party: Boom!
"And her entry is beautifully timed. Thanks to the election of Barack Obama and a heavily Democratic Congress, the conservative industry is, despite the recession, experiencing boom times."
A review of "the most recently available financial reports of some 250 conservative-advocacy groups and political-action committees; their combined gross revenues totaled more than $2 billion. And that's only the major players, in just the nonprofit portion of the industry."
By GottaLaff
Local Republican blog Hoosier Access was able to get RNC Chairman Michael Steele to sit down with a group of bloggers and they taped the conversation. The old gaffe-o-matic [...] answers a question from a gay person of color in this clip about the GOP's diversity outreach."GOP's diversity outreach"? Isn't that an oxymoron?
By GottaLaff
After years of scandal and political defeats, Ralph Reed wants a new start and is creating a new advocacy group called the Faith and Freedom Coalition, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.Who's your daddy? Never mind...
Said Reed: "This is not going to be your daddy's Christian Coalition."
"It has to be younger, hipper, less strident, more inclusive and it has to harness the 21st century that will enable us to win in the future... It's the political analog to the iPod and the iPhone. It would be cool. It would be transformative. It would transform our politics and bring younger people to our ranks. All of those are critical imperatives."iThink the last thing peeps would associate with the Rushpublic party are the words "hipper" and "cool". That's what iThink, because iBeHip and Cool like that.
By GottaLaff
After "Barack the Magic Negro" and other GOP racial gaffes, a top Young Republican official—who hopes to be elected chairman Saturday—laughs at a racial slur about President Obama.That Rushpublic foot must be toeless after all the bullets it's taken from the party shooting at it.
Ahh, there's that big ol' tent with the droopy little pole I referred to here. Now if only there were a Sarah Palin mention.... Nah. That's asking too much.Note to Republicans: Racist “humor,” the Internet, and political ambitions don’t mix. Audra Shay, vice chairman of the Young Republicans and the leading candidate to be elected its chairman on Saturday, is now the latest in a growing list of GOP officials learning this lesson the hard way, based on pictures of a now-deleted Facebook page obtained by The Daily Beast. [See image at the top of this post]
“This is still America… freedom of speech and thought is still allowed… for now any ways… and the last time i checked I was a good ole southern boy… and if yur ass is black don’t let the sun set on it in a southern town…”
On Wednesday, Shay—a 38-year-old Army veteran, mother, and event planner from Louisiana who has been endorsed by her governor, Bobby Jindal—was holding court on her Facebook page, initiating a political conversation by posting that “WalMart just signed a death warrant” by “endorsing Obama’s healthcare plan.”And then the fun began.
At 1:52, a friend named listed as Eric S. Piker, but whose personal page says his actual name is Eric Pike, wrote “It’s the government making us commies… can’t even smoke in my damn car… whats next they going to issue toilet paper once a month… tell us how to wipe our asses…”Two minutes later, Piker posted again saying “Obama Bin Lauden [sic] is the new terrorist… Muslim is on there side [sic]… need to take this country back from all of these mad coons… and illegals.”
Eight minutes after that, at 2:02, Shay weighed in on Piker’s comments: “You tell em Eric! lol.”
"Coons." Nice. And Shay grabbed her pom-poms and cheered ol' Pike on.
Atta girl.
Next thing she knew, all hell broke loose. Well, Shay would have nobody, but nobody, thinking she was a racist! Nosireebob! C'mon! Who ya gonna believe, her or yer lyin' eyes?
“It is a disgrace that these types of political attacks are taking place and once again, it proves that my opponents will stoop to the lowest levels to steal this election from the jaws of victory.”Rah!
Call me crazy, but I'm not feeling all that optimistic.As the party tacks right, it seems increasingly reluctant to challenge folks on its fringe for fear of offending the base—even, in this case, by failing to immediately rebuke racist supporters on a Facebook page. [...]
This story is still unfolding. The election for chairman of the Young Republicans will be held this weekend at their national conference in Indianapolis and a new urgency is now infusing the vote. [...]
It will be interesting to hear what Governor Jindal and other influential supporters of Audra Shay’s candidacy will say about this incident. In a response to my request for a comment from RNC Chairman Michael Steele, his communications director Trevor Francis stated simply but firmly, “This type of language is inappropriate, and is not representative of the views of the Young Republicans.” [...]
Will [Young Republicans] embrace the ideals of the Party of Lincoln, and the “Battle Hymn of the Republic?” Or turn toward the self-segregating notes of “Barack the Magic Negro?”
By GottaLaff
Comedian Bill Maher has a new cable show: “ Bill Maher: The Decider” debuting Monday, July 13 at 12:00 a.m. on Comedy Central. In this one-hour special, Bill Maher intends to use satire to roast conservative America, leaving no topic untouched as he attacks the most controversial subjects of the day including war, sexuality, drugs and religion.Hell, he could do an entire hour on Palin alone.
By GottaLaff
V.P. Joe was interviewed by Not Tim Russert on Meet the Press. One question referred to this quote about ::dun dun dunnn:: The Deadliest Dick:
Now here's Joe responding to a question about his own political future:Two interesting moments came towards the end of Joe Biden's big interview on Sunday, in which the vice president first declined to deny his ambitions to be president, and later fell into a brief laughing fit when asked to assess the state of the Republican Party. [Laffy Note: "Laughing fit"? More like a chuckle or two]
Sitting down with "Meet the Press," Biden was pressed by host David Gregory to play political prognosticator with the GOP. After a hearty chuckle and a Cheshire cat grin, the vice president noted that history has a way of bringing even the most fractious minority party back into relevancy.
"I just know there's a ferocious debate -- there appears to be ferocious debate within the Republican Party and what they're going to look like in the future," said Biden. "I was elected in 1972 as a 29-year-old kid. My party went through the exact same thing. I ran with George McGovern. He got clobbered nationally. I barely won here. For the next two and a half to four years we were in a very intense debate of the future of the party. I think it's predictable. I think the Republican Party will come out of this, I think they'll come back. They'll be strong again. The pendulum swings."
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
By GottaLaff
Rush Limbaugh and his quest for ever higher ratings is not our leader, or anyone's leader. He is doing this for him. If there is harmony in the country, the need for a show like his is less. If there is chaos and discord his ratings skyrocket. His success depends on the country in turmoil. The more discord, the more bloody attacks on innocents, the more dissention among neighbors, the more extremism we have, the better he does and the richer he gets. I have no use for anyone like him. I will not give him my time or attention any longer. He is creating the atmosphere for the upswing in domestic terrorism and he is encouraging it. He is destroying us. I believe that many of his messages borderline sedition or treason.Here's the interesting part... it's a post by a Republican:
We conservatives have a problem. We lost and we need to know why. We can't say it is because Obama was better online than the Republicans and dismiss it. There were problems with our message. We weren't focused. We were put on the defensive. We reacted. We didn't establish our goals and then go after them in an organized way. We didn't lead. We didn't put up any leaders. We put up a moderate and a dingbat. We failed to understand the problems and formulate solutions. We were so used to being in charge that we couldn't see how much trouble we were in. We still don't. Nothing has changed. We complain about the Democrats and put out distorted negative ads on You-Tube. We say outlandish things. We rail against the Democrats. We do not have a cohesive positive message yet. We cannot find a leader. We trot people out in front of a camera and see how they play and if they don't do so well, we abandon them like we have Bobby Jindal.This is one Republican I would like to get to know a little better. How refreshing to hear a reasonable voice amid the usual madness.
We are so busy posturing and saying the same talking points over and over we don't listen. We don't listen. We don't listen. We are a representative government or supposed to be. We need to listen to the people, understand their concerns and find leaders who will take their message to Washington.
There are very good people out there, but the very good people are NOT Rush Limbaugh, NOT Sarah Palin, NOT Newt Gingrich, NOT Michael Steele. These people are all jokes. They are all gimmicks. They make outlandish statements and make for interesting news cycles but they are not leaders. I want my party back. I want real conservative leaders who listen and do the right thing. I want all the hate mongering messages to stop. I want the hatred to stop. I want to work together to find solutions that are the best for the country not one side's reaction to 8 years of impotency. Our complaints are not being heard. We are not being taken seriously.
By GottaLaff
How corporations are buying the judiciary: Part ICorporate interests posing as a grassroots conservative group are behind attacks on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, a RAW STORY investigation has found.
The Committee for Justice (CFJ), an astroturf group established by big business in July 2002 to create an appearance of popular support for President Bush’s judicial nominees, is now leading the effort to oppose the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court.
CFJ’s Executive Director Curt Levey has been sending out press releases and making media appearances to promote the theme that Sotomayor is racist and biased in her rulings, drawing his talking points largely from a speech in which she suggested that when it came to race and sex discrimination cases, it was possible that “a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences … would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
“It’s pretty disturbing,” Levey told The Hill. “It’s one thing to say that occasionally a judge will despite his or her best efforts to be impartial … allow occasional biases to cloud impartiality. But it’s almost like she’s proud that her biases and personal experiences will cloud her impartiality.”
Gee, I wonder what kind of lowlife could have started such a group...
CFJ was created at the urging of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) – who has himself been plagued by allegations of racism.
Please go here for the rest.
So who's up for a genuine, citizen-driven, grassroots tea tantrum?
Oz. Curtain. Pulled back.
By GottaLaff
My conclusion, after reading this post, and this one, combined with the Sotomayor drivel oozing out of the Rushpublics' mouths, with a dash of head-to-head comparison for good measure, plus a pinch of Newtie for spice, and so, so many more tasty ingredients... this (video), IMHO, is how America sees the Rushpublic party.
By GottaLaff
Interesting piece. The Rushpublics' attacks on Sotomayor may be what George Lakoff calls a "coordinated stealth attack":
There are several fronts: empathy, feelings, racism, activist judges. Each one has a hidden dimension. And if progressives think conservative attacks are just about Sotomayor, they may wind up helping conservatives regroup. [...]There was much, much more. Please go read
Actually, something sneakier and possibly dangerous is going on.Let's start with the attack on empathy. Why empathy? Isn't empathy a good thing?
Empathy is at the heart of progressive thought. It is the capacity to put oneself in the shoes of others - not just individuals, but whole categories of people: one's countrymen, those in other countries, other living beings, especially those who are in some way oppressed, threatened, or harmed. [...]
Progressives care about others as well as themselves. They have a moral obligation to act on their empathy - a social responsibility in addition to personal responsibility, a responsibility to make the world better by making themselves better. This leads to a view of a government that cares about its citizens and has a moral obligation to protect and empower them. [...]
President Obama has argued that empathy is the basis of our democracy. Why do we promote freedom and fairness for everyone, not just ourselves or the rich and powerful? The answer is empathy. We care about our countrymen and have an obligation to act on that care, and to set up a government for the protection and empowerment of all. [...]
In describing his ideal Supreme Court justice, President Obama cited empathy as a major desideratum. Why? Because that is what our democracy is about. [...]
Empathy in this sense is a threat to conservatism, which features individual, not social, responsibility and a strict, punitive form of "justice." [...]
But the target is not empathy as it really exists. Instead, the conservatives are reframing empathy to make it attackable. Their "empathy" is idiosyncratic, personal feeling for an individual, presumably the defendant in a legal case. With "empathy" reframed in this way, Charles Krauthammer can say, echoing Karl Rove, "Justice is not about empathy." The argument goes like this: Empathy is a matter of personal feelings. Personal feelings should not be the basis of a judicial decision of the Supreme Court. Therefore, "justice is not about empathy." Reframe the word "empathy" and it not only disqualifies Sotomayor; it delegitimizes Obama's central moral principle, his approach to government, his understanding of the nature of our democracy, and progressive politics in general. [...]
The attack on feelings is of a piece with the old attack on "bleeding-heart liberals." And one step away from Cheney's attack on Obama and defense of torture. [...]
What about Newt Gingrich calling Sotomayor a racist? It is linked directly to the personal feeling argument: because of her personal feelings for her own kind - Latinos and women - she will discriminate against white men. [...]
The real target here goes beyond Sotomayor. In the last election, conservative populists moved toward Obama. Conservative populists are working people, mostly white men, who have conservative views of the family, of masculinity, and of the military, and who have bought into the idea of the "liberal elite" as looking down on them. Right now, they are hurting economically, losing their jobs and their homes. Empathy is something they need. The racist card is an attempt to revive their fears of affirmative action, fears of their jobs - and their pride - being taken by minorities and women. The racist attack has a political purpose, holding onto conservative populists. [...]
Radical conservatives know that Sotomayor will be confirmed. They also know that their very understanding of the world is being threatened by Obama's success. [...]
Above all, Democrats should be aware that the attack on Sotomayor is not just about Sotomayor. It is an attack on the basis of our democracy and must be answered.
By GottaLaff
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele praised Bob McDonnell Saturday for receiving the official nomination in the state's gubernatorial race, and said he is part of a "Republican renaissance that starts this year in Virginia."“I would like to congratulate Bob McDonnell for being selected by Virginia Republicans today as their candidate for governor," Steele said in a statement. "It is going to be a tough fight, but we are well positioned for victory in November."
By GottaLaff
Top Senate Republican strategists tell Politico that, "barring unknown facts about Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the GOP plans no scorched-earth opposition to her confirmation as a Supreme Court justice."1. They finally figured out that their party would effectively come to a screeching halt if they oppose her (well, a more abrupt screeching halt... it's not exactly thriving as it is). And...
Not a single senator has come out publicly in opposition to Sotomayor's confirmation.
Said one GOP aide: "The sentiment is overwhelming that the Senate should do due diligence but should not make a mountain out of a molehill. If there's no 'there' there, we shouldn't try to create one."
By GottaLaff
June 12th will be the year anniversary of being a registered republican (indy before), I think I need to throw a big, fat, crazy, partyShe was an Independent, switched to the Rushpublic party, and is publicly celebrating that fact.RT
By GottaLaff
But what began as a struggle by Democrats to keep a voter ID bill from coming up for a vote has continued, in part, as a tussle for control.
"This is not a bitter battle. This is a power struggle," said Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton.
Democrats have offered to suspend rules to take up major legislation – as long as it doesn't have a thing to do with forcing voters to present IDs at the voting booth.
[...]Republicans – rightly or wrongly is in the eye of the beholder – don't want to give Democrats control of the House's agenda, which is set by a House committee. [...]
The whole session has been a delicate balancing of House power, and now the fight is nakedly partisan.
And speaking of airing our differences, we all know how Rushpublics feel about nakeditude.
Democrats fear voter ID could cost them at least 1,000 votes every election in each House district – enough to have turned Mesquite Democrat Robert Miklos' 500-vote upset last fall into defeat.
And next year's House elections will decide whether Republicans next session get to dominate redistricting again. A Democratic House majority, especially if the party could win a couple of statewide races next year, would deny the GOP its huge map-making advantage.
The finer points of election rules make a huge difference in who gets to rule.
The tension is clearly unbare-able.
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