Republican lawmakers are "completely lost"

By GottaLaff

The GOP is the party that claims Democrats are dead wrong about everything, that Dems are destroying our country, shredding the Constitution, killing grandma, and running American into the ground.

This is the party that inappropriately and awkwardly shouts "You lie!" and "Hell no!"

This is also the party that cannot answer a simple question about health care reform.

Jay Bookman:

AJC editors and columnists just finished a pretty wide-ranging 80-minute interview with Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been nagging at me for a while. [...]

[H]ow are the Republicans going to cover pre-existing conditions?

“The premiums are going up either way,” he [McConnell] said.

OK, I responded, a little stunned. That doesn’t explain how the Republicans intend to cover pre-existing conditions.

“The premiums are going up either way,” he repeated.

That was that. We moved on, and I still don’t have my answer.

Good response, Mitch McNoLips!

Except for the part where he didn't respond.

At all.

Steve Benen has a thing or two to say about these things or two:

If those with pre-existing conditions will be protected, the mandate is necessary to keep costs from spiraling and to prevent the "free rider" problem. [...]

After over a year of debate about health care policy, two leading Senate Republicans, including the Senate Minority Leader, can't speak intelligently about the basics. Bookman didn't throw a curve ball at them [...]

They want protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and want to eliminate the mandate, but asked how that could work, these experienced senators have no idea how to even begin answering the question. [...]

[I]f anyone dares to scratch the surface, even a little, they're completely lost.

It's all about the talking points, drumming non-answers into the uninformed electorate's heads, ignoring facts, smearing, belittling Democratic victories, lying about Democratic policy, ignoring the truth, and being utterly unable to justify their own arguments.

Jay Bookman cornered them, Steve Benen nailed them, and it's time we expose them for what they are... and aren't.

This story needs to get out, and be repeated and repeated.

H/t: Rachel Maddow via Twitter, who will hopefully cover this tonight on her show.

Meghan McCain is mad at Steve Benen

By GottaLaff

I've been following MegMac's Twitter time line on this, and had a problem with the content of her Tweets, too. Steve Benen, a frequent guest on The Rachel Maddow Show, explains:

I had an item yesterday noting that Dick Cheney's remarks on gay marriage may have a role in the party's debate over gay rights. I added what seemed like a pretty uncontroversial idea -- while Meghan McCain and Steve Schmidt were other Republicans of note who've taken progressive views on the issue, Dick Cheney has far greater influence.

Apparently, this has angered Meghan McCain in some way. She's added at least four tweets complaining about my observation. In the order in which they were posted:

# Hey Washington Monthly, so it's only important to speak out for marriage equality if your an old man?

# so I guess young women should just stfu and be seen and not heard Washington Monthly....? Only Dick Cheney should speak out...?

# I wonder if the Washington Monthly thinks if all women or minorities speak out it is "almost meaningless" - apparently only Cheney matters

# I guarantee you if one of my brothers were doing what I am doing right now the Washington Monthly would think it had meaning.

This is what I wrote that prompted these tweets: "It was pretty meaningless to hear Meghan McCain urge her Republican Party to come around on gay marriage. It seemed a bit more important when Steve Schmidt, John McCain's campaign manager, gave the GOP the same advice. But in terms of influence in Republican politics, Dick Cheney is on another level."

I haven't the foggiest idea why this seems so outrageous to McCain...

And he goes on to explain, ending on this note:

Based on an 18-word sentence in a blog post, Meghan McCain has concluded that I only respect old white guys, I don't respect young women, and I'm somehow hostile to minorities. I still don't really know how she came to these conclusions, but I'm pleased to report she's mistaken.

MegMac has some growing up to do, or perhaps a little more experience. If she insists on painting herself as a budding journalist, and if she demands credibility, then she needs to learn to do a little more research before making comments like these.