Get Real

Watching the right wing drool over Super Tough guy and very masculine Dick Cheney tell us all how he kept America safe, it's worth noting that EVERY PRESIDENT HAS KEPT US SAFE!

Even Madison who faced actual invasion, eventually kept the country safe. The only president that suffered foreign mass casualty attacks on American soil was George W. Bush. There's no reason to let them get away with this.

*Update:

Last November American voters had a referendum on foreign policy. The choices were clear. Did they want to continue the Bush/Cheney era of foreign policy or a new approach led by Barack Obama. The voters overwhelmingly selected Obama. Maybe that doesn't mean anything to the MSM right now, but surely Cheney's track record of being wrong has to account for something.

President Obama's press secretary sure thinks so.

Quickies

• Gallup has Obama at 50% for the first time.

• Palin's PAC runs into some trouble with the FEC. Doesn't appear to be anything big.
  


• Japan's unemployment rate hits highest point since WWII. Last time it was this high they built a huge army and navy and the whole thing ended up with a lot of people dead.
  


• Idaho Republican candidate for governor pokes fun at hunting President Obama. The real hunting with a gun of course.


• Keeping up with their scare tactics, the GOP sent out a questionnaire to voters asking if they are concerned about a Democratic health care reform plan that would deny Republican voters access. This goes right along with Obama building concentration camps to intern Christians and conservatives, and of course fits smoothly in with their lie that Obama wants to setup death panels. This newest line is that a Democratic overhaul would deny Republican voters access to health care simply because they don't support President Obama.

It's a Revolution Miracle!

We have visibly seen, especially since 1994, that everything the GOP does is a Revolution! The only people who talked more about having revolutions were the communists. That's not a coincidence either.

Republican Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe states "we're almost reaching a revolution in this country." This is the same Republican senator that had his actual company "received" by the American government in 1986 because he ran it into the ground. Inhofe recently called President Obama "un-American." And is a known birther. What Revolution! could he be talking about? This is Republican leadership talking, not a wacko on the street. There isn't a sane one in the bunch.

For more Republican Revolutionary action read here.

Bereft Is Too Kind

What is strangely fascinating about the whole health care debate is that Democrats have two solid bills floating around the House and Senate respectively. Each different in their own right but two plans with cost analysis, agendas, payment projections, you know numbers. It's called a plan. The GOP has nothing. Put aside their fear mongering episodes of death panels, socialism, fascism, tea bagging, and government takeover, and focus on their tangible alternative plans. There's just nothing there.

Unless you want to consider GOP chairman Michael Steele's latest idea to keep Medicare by doing away with government-run programs.



If that makes sense to anyone please let me know. Medicare is a government-run program. It is also a single-payer system, much like member's of Congresses very own plan.

There just comes a point in time when Republicans must be forced to address their inanition and not be allowed to continue with their putrescence any longer. He's actually arguing that Medicare should be done away with and kept because it's necessary. Now go make them own it.

More Good Economic News

Economy shrinks less than expected. That's actually good news considering the president inherited an economy in total free fall. And, unemployment numbers go lower again. Still tons of room for improvement but things are better now than when Obama took office.

Make Them Own It (2 Updates)

It's really something to watch. Super Patriot Tough Guy Kent, over at Right From Left, is having a meltdown trying to reconcile his words about opposing President Bush with his now plethora of posts attacking President Obama. Sometimes even calling the president a socialist, Manchurian candidate, liar, you name it Kent's done it.

Honestly, nearly every post is aimed at undermining the President of the United States. Taking a stroll through some of his archives I discovered what Kent said about dissent and criticizing his fellow tough guy Republican, President Bush.

The bottom line, as I see it, is that in this time of international unrest, it is extremely important that every American supports President Bush. I don't care if you personally disagree with the man or his policies. The fact is, dissent at this time, while important, can (and should) be done privately. When you or anyone you know publicly rips Bush, it weakens us in the eyes of the international community. And, most importantly, in the eyes of our enemies.

It's pretty clear Kent thinks all dissent should be done in private. When you publicly rip the president you weaken us as a country. The most important part, says Kent, is public ridicule aids the enemy.

That's a far cry from what Kent is doing today now that Bush is gone. His entire blog is devoted to publicly criticizing the President of the United States, something 8 months ago he would have called anti-American. In fact, he does just that...

There's plenty of time to debate the merits of policy, the opinion of war, the opinion of Administration policy. But not now. If you are a Bush critic, understand that you are being anti-American and that you are very much aiding and abetting our enemies around the world.

For bringing this to his attention, Kent has now called me an enemy. I've committed the ultimate sin in the Republican Fantasy World. I called them on their hypocrisy, forced them to own up to it and asked them to reconcile it with how they behave today. Remember, we are not supposed to ever bring up the last 8 years of President Bush or how his supporters acted toward dissent. We are only supposed to focus on today. Everything else is ancient history.

*editor's note:

Just for the record I'm not saying Kent can't criticize the president. He can do whatever he pleases, and I'm sure he will. All I'm saying is how can anyone say what they did about President Bush and not expect to be held to the same consistent standard now. It's truly a sickness that plagues the people trying to pull this off. There's no reason why we should let any of this slide by or go unnoticed.

*Update:

Kent's latest reply has to be the most delusional reply ever written, even for the Republican Fantasy World. He says dissent against Obama is okay because it's about policy. But dissent against Bush was only about "hatred." Yes because invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 had nothing to do with policy. Own it Kent. All of Bush's policies were great. There was never a reason to disagree with him. People who did only did because of hatred. Own it.

**Update:

Mikey in the comments section brings up a good point about the policy disagreements with Bush versus personal hatred. Like I said there, I'm a policy guy. I worked at a think tank for over two years where I analyzed policy. From there I went to the senate where I-- guess this-- wrote policy. I'm a policy guy through and through. My disagreements with Bush had nothing to do with personal hatred but nearly everything to do with policy disagreements. To write off all disagreement as "hatred" is juvenile and sadistically irresponsible. There's no reason to let people like Kent off the hook for their past and current comments regarding dissension and politics. Make them own it now or live with it forever.

Times That Don't Try Men's Souls

It's beyond any sort of human comprehension that someone with 5 deferments from military service, who got his political start by working for Richard Nixon, and has been so wrong on so many issues over the last 8 years, is considered by the MSM as a tough guy, Super Patriot whose every word should be the guiding light of our country.

Walk With God Gets Deeper

Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) thanks God that Sarah Palin lied about President Obama setting up death panels to kill undesirables. Also states the only way to stop health care reform is "on our knees in prayer and fasting."

Again, this is an elected Republican member of Congress. This isn't some nutjob on the street. This is mainstream Republican wisdom. Barack Obama wants to setup death panels to kill people and we need God's help to stop him. Their opposition is a lunatic cult steeped in religious backdrops.

It's entirely beyond the realm of any reality that the GOP should be given any sort of part in governing this country. I also should know better than to have the word nutjob with Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin on their knees doing anything.

800th Post!

800 posts down. Many more to come.

The Opposition in America

So not only does Obama want to kill old people, undesirables and lockup Christians and conservatives in concentration camps, he also wants to kill off our veterans. This is Republican mainstream conventional wisdom. I'm not talking about crazies in the basement, these "truths" are being floated by former Bush administration officials, incumbent members of Congress and the very fair and balanced Fox News. This is the official opposition stance in America.

It's not stupid enough to actually belong to the Republican Party. It's more disgracing than it is relative to anything facing this country today. Whatever happened to substantive policy disagreements? Why do Republicans always have to have conspiracy theories to bring down Democratic presidents? There is no way possible to include Republicans on anything as long as they are led by such blatant lies. It's so way past time to call them out on this stuff. Quit with the tea bagging circle jerks and either face reality or go home.

Why Is He On My Teevee??

McCain says Obama must drop the public option. Dude you lost Indiana, no one cares what you think!!

With or Without You

Just to get one thing straight about health care reform, anyone with half a brain will notice that Republicans aren't trying to defeat Obama's agenda with ideas of their own. Where is an opposition plan to the Democrats'? There isn't one. Republicans are trying to defeat health care reform with fear-mongering lies. Death panels, killing grandma, government takeover, socialism, it's all lies and it's all they have. Slapping nut sacks across your face is not an opposition plan.

One reason for the discontent in Obama's base has not been implementing his agenda, but how he's going about it. There is no reason to negotiate with people like Sen. Grassley who are saying the "public option" will kill grandma. Someone who says something like that has no intention of honest negotiations. All they want to do is rile up fear. Coincidentally, that's exactly what terrorists want to do as well. People to live in fear is their goal.

Early indications from Bloomberg over the weekend is that President Obama's patience might have run out on bipartisan support for reform. It's not bipartisan when you are dealing with people who think the president is an enemy. This isn't 1993. We can't go through that again. Let Republicans drag their knuckles, the 21st century isn't waiting.

Time's Greatest Electric Guitarists

With the passing of Les Paul I found myself checking out some of his music. Then I came across Time's list of greatest guitarists. How in the world is Tom Morello not on this list? This list is crap!

57% Approval, Confidence is Sliding

WaPo reports this morning President Obama's overall approval rating is at 57%. A number any president would gladly take, and nearly triple that of former President Bush's exiting approvals. Yet confidence in the president's ability to make the right decisions has dropped dramatically to 49%. Other notables...

• 53% disapprove of his handling of the federal budget deficit


• 50% disapprove of his handling of health care reform


• 55% think the country is on the wrong track


• 52% support public option, which is a dramatic shift from 62% in June

I'll have more when I get to see the internals.

*Update:

Internals are such an odd thing. They can make your entire headline so inaccurate. As I thought it would, the internals of the WaPo poll show that Obama's drop in support nearly all around is due to drops in Dems and liberals. That means his base is growing reluctant to continue supporting something they are gettting next to nothing from. And why would people like me be upset with the president? Because we want health care reform passed with a public option and we want the president to quit kowtowing to people who spread conspiracy theories that he's a foreign-born socialist enemy of the state wanting to setup death squads. Quit trying to convince these people to support your plan and approval ratings will go right back up.

Costello Wants To Go Slower

My congressman, Jerry Costello (D-IL), said he wants health care reform to move slower so that people can get a better understanding of what is going on.

"Generally, what I am finding is a lot of fears and a lot of misunderstanding," he said, before noting that most people he's spoken with agree that the current system needs to be changed. "I did meet recently with insurance brokers; they believe the system should remain the same. But I've met with people from both sides of the issue; most everyone sees something needs to happen."

Saying the president wants to form death panels to kill old people is substantially more than fear and misunderstanding. It's an outright lie. If you wanted to clear up such misunderstanding the best thing to do is to call it out, call it what it is and inform people of what's really going on. Slowing things down will do nothing unless you tackle the lies head on.

One Way to Sell a Book

Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, admits he was pressured to raise terror threat levels on election eve 2004.

This isn't surprising news to those of us in the reality-based community. What's surprising is instead of accepting the fact the Bushies used threats of terrorism for political gain, Republicans will now just call Ridge a liberal terrorist sympathizer and dig deeper into their Fantasy World.

Lunatic Is Mainstream for GOP (*Update)

Guess I missed this from last week but right wing Republican terrorist Michael Savage whose real name is Michael Wiener claimed on his radio show that concentration camps were being built and the National Guard is going to run them.



His radio show is heard by 8-10 million people every day. So not only do Republicans think Obama is an illegitimate, foreign-born, socialist enemy that wants to setup death panels to kill undesirables, they now believe he already has concentration camps being built to intern those who oppose him.

This is no exaggeration either. Here is a so-called pastor in Florida writing that he saw Obama's concentration camps while flying over Colorado. A preacher actually telling his followers that concentration camps are being built to intern Christians and conservatives. These are the people we are supposed to include in the health care debate? Their whole Party is a conspiracy theory and when preachers get their talking points from Michael Savage it is indeed a cult. Just face it, they are not an opposition party. They are a cult.

*Update:

As digby so eloquently lays out, cultish right wing Republican behavior is not a "bug" but an actual aspect of their movement. Where else can people who so deny reality be considered so mainstream except here in America whose largest media outlet is the gatekeeper to the Republican Fantasy World.

There's absolutely no reason to include such people in any debate unless we're talking about lining their living rooms with rubber. There's no sense in actuating their conspiracy theories. They are a sick lot. Rotten to their core. Getting the conversation back to a "basic sanity" is entirely easy when you refuse to acknowledge the sun revolves around the earth.

Retro Obama

In a radio interview this morning with Michael Smerconish, who is Republican by the way, President Obama took questions from callers. Before I get on a rant about Bush and his responsibility toward the citizenry, much less appearing on a Democratic radio show, I'll get to the point real quick.

The president actually took a bit of a butt chewing from a caller for his handling of health care reform.

I’m getting a little ticked off that it feels like the knees are buckling a little bit. You have an overwhelming majority in both the House and the Senate, and you own the whole shooting match. And I’m just not getting — it’s very frustrating to watch you try and compromise with a lot of these people who aren’t willing to compromise with you.

There are only a few million of us that would like to say that right now to Obama, so props to the caller. If you want to read the president's answer you can go here, but my point is this is retro Obama. I can remember in the state senate he would return legislation back all marked up like a school teacher. He encouraged debate and sharing of ideas. He loved to be convinced of things that made him think outside the box. It's nice to see retro Obama is still around after moving in to the White House. At the same time, it would be great to see President Obama take the reigns in the health care debate. I mean how much can you compromise with people who think you are a socialistnazi that wants to form death panels?

Not Dealing With a Full Stack

There can't be much else other than this lady to describe the special kind of stupid that is currently controlling the Republican Party.

First she yells "Heil Hitler" at a Jew describing Israel's national health care system.



There just can't be anything else more illogical than that.

But there is. Here the same lady tells us she's a Republican, that she supports reform because of high costs, believes in "Biblical values," and wants President Obama gone.



A Jew that supports health care reform is pro-Hitler and she supports Biblical values? We've entered a whole new dimension of Fantasy World. These people are totally nuts. They are deranged. Why are we even spending time trying to include them in the debate? Why should people so full of hate and Fox News values have anything to do with deciding the future of this country.

Wacko Meet Reality

From a guy that knows a thing or two about Tea Bagging...

I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours

It really doesn't bother me that people are packing weapons to go stand and gaze a few blocks away from a building the president is speaking at. It doesn't seem they are breaking any laws but I'm sure their intention is to get a video clip of a cop or secret service personnel trying to take their guns away and then from there it's 'Obama will be doing this to you next!'

I've never really seen the point of demonstrating your toughness through guns. It's not just vigilantes in Arizona either. Thugs in rap videos flash them all the time. My last trip to Tijuana proved Mexicans love their guns just as much. But really what's the point? I have an AR-15 rifle in the closet right behind me. Why would I possibly go walking down the street with it or take with me the next time I see the president?

I suppose if I actually believed President Obama wants to form death squads to kill people he deems undesirable, and that he isn't even a legal citizen or a legitimate president, maybe I would have a different take on carrying a weapon to one of his events. And that's really what this whole thing is.

People, whether smart or not doesn't matter, have been grossly lied to by the GOP and carried about on the airwaves of Fox News that President Obama is an enemy. It's an injustice for an entire generation of Americans. There is not an excuse in the world that can gloss this over. What we've come to here in America is the Party of McCarthy and Nixon, Bush and Limbaugh, is holding an entire country hostage with their lies all because they are no longer in power.

Basic Sanity

Joe Klein, who is a tool, must read The Fold. Calls for a "right to sanity" in the health care debate. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Says wackos showing up to protest uh, uh, whatever it is they are protesting, are "out of hand," and "frightening."



Okay, so Klein maybe got it from digby, but dang it I've been whoring that phrase out and it's partially mine.

Walk in Obedience to His Commands

Michelle Bachmann continues the Republican Walk With God, says she will run for president only if God calls her to do it.

"When I have sensed that the Lord is calling me to do something, I've said yes to it. But I will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it. That's really my standard."

Please God, tell her to run. I beg you.

Deep Thought

Hummmmm, let's make sense of this. Wear a John Kerry shirt to a Bush rally and you get arrested. Show up at an Obama rally with an assault rifle and you are Freedom Fighting Revolutionary.

Silver Speaks

Nate Silver over at FiveThirtyEight does the math and says the public option is "probably" over.

I'd put Silver against any pollster any day. This is one conclusion of his I'm very sorry to see. He lauds other major accomplishments from the reform bill such as no American would be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions or because they became sick, and subsidized health insurance coverage for millions of poor and middle-class Americans, which is by all standards a public option. Nonetheless it's not a permanent public option for everyone, only those who are poor. Middle class Americans won't qualify. Our American standard will be the rich can afford insurance no matter what, the poor will get it free and middle America will pay for both groups. That's not reform.

Silver does make a compelling statement about why the public option is dying:

It doesn't seem to me as though the Democratic leadership (including President Obama) is unnecessarily watering down bills for the sake of achieving a "bipartisan" outcome. It seems, rather, that they're calibrating things relatively well, and squeezing about the most juice they can out of these initiatives given the institutional imperatives of the Congress.

Whatever. I'm going to call it like I see it. Conspiracy theorists that believe our president is a foreign born socialist enemy who wants to setup death squads to kill old people scared the living daylights out of 9 or 10 senators and that's what happened. We'll get health care reform and then we'll have to do it again in 5 years just like we do everything else.

End of Reform

Is public option off the table?

Failure To Launch

Politico declares GOP is back in the groove! Rep. Mark Kirk announces Republicans have recovered their voice, while other Republicans at GOPAC praise GOP resurgence and predict multiple seat pick ups in 2010. It's 2005 all over again.

Reminds me of back in February when the GOP made a rock video declaring themselves to be "Back in the Saddle Again." Or of when chairman Alan Keyes Michael Steele exclaimed the GOP to have turned a corner and ready for a return to their inner-core principles. It's a Revolution!

Basic Sanity Goes a Long Way

A decent health care discussion took place yesterday on Greg Sargent's Plum Line. Or at least the best someone is going to get from so-called conservatives about their opposition to a "public option." If you can put the Tea Bagging aside, the conspiracy theories and the wingnuts, and begin the debate with "basic sanity," it's very possible to narrow down right wing opposition. Their opposition is mainly just opposition to any idea from the president because as you can see from SBJ, he supports publicly funding private insurance carriers and publicly funding public carriers as well. He doesn't oppose any of it. And he's a self-described "conservative Libertarian." Very macho if you ask me.

His only opposition to a "public option" for health care comes in the form that he doesn't want government to shut down private providers. But government, as I pointed out, has a pretty good track record of not shutting down private business. Consider the government-run post office hasn't shut down private providers. The government-run Social Security hasn't shut down private investors. The government-run PBS hasn't shut down private network television. The government-run VA hasn't shut down private hospitals. The government-run Medicare/Medicaid hasn't shut down private providers. Consider all that and the government's track record of providing competition to private industry without destroying it is rather good. The right wing knows it too. Once the conversation gets to that point, SBJ-- like all of them-- runs and hides. But remember, beginning the debate with a "basic sanity" without the president being a foreign-born enemy with death squads is crucial for an honest debate.

The wackos will believe what they want. But a large portion of independents and even sane-thinking conservatives like SBJ will come around if for no other reason than not wanting to side with the wingnuts.

Blog Updates

The Fold has been up and running for almost 14 months now. We've went from 5 visits per day to an average of just over 4500 currently. The whole objective of the site was to start it from the ground up, and not expect instant success. A lot of bloggers get frustrated with trying to compete with well-funded, media established sites. We have no desire to compete with them. Our budget is pretty much what ever is left in our penny jars. One thing we want to do more of is original reporting rather than just linking to other stories all over the net. Doing such would mean more local items, which is something that has always bored me. Since I'm not in Washington, original reporting eventually becomes local. Our direction over the next year will get much more local, especially during the 2010 midterms.

Some other interesting items over the last year are how visitors find the site or what links they follow to get here.

Top Keyword Searches
1. tea baggers
2. bush idiot
3. walk with god
4. circle jerk
5. democrats dumb

Top Sites That Link Here
1. TPM
2. The Fold Blog
3. Washington Monthly
4. democratic underground
5. yahoo.groups

Best Email Yet

"...it is grotesque to view your page. You have hairy balls and prancing teletubies everywhere you look. There is no doubt the moral values you complain republicans don't have you don't have at all. The vulgarity is enough to be judged by somebody mightier than you. If you knew history you would no that never has democrats been on the right side. Their socialism will destroy this country. Sure you would like that. All your vulgarism proves democrats are again not on the right side. Someone greater than history will judge all this an d you won't be able to hide your blog then. You will have to answer for it. What will your answer be?"

gramma4all

It's hard to top that one.

Can't Wait To Start That Honest Debate

Man holding a sign reading "Death To Obama, Death To Michelle And Her Two Stupid Kids" is detained by Secret Service at Maryland town hall.

What honest debate can the GOP possibly be expected to participate in?

Talk About Honest Debate

Yesterday GOP chairman Michael Steele and GOP Senator Chuck Grassley both endorsed Republican Sarah Palin's idiotic and outright false claim that President Obama wants to setup "death panels."

Also, Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry last night joined the Republican conspiracy chorus line that President Obama was not born in America.

These are Republican Party members. They are elected officials, or quitters in the case of Palin; nonetheless, these are supposedly not the winger-fringe. This is how they want to do politics in America: Our president is a foreign-born enemy of the state and wants to setup death squads to kill off undesirables. This is mainstream Republican thinking. What honest debate can Lisa possibly be talking about?

*Update:

Republican Senator Tom Coburn signs onto Palin's "death panel" claim. He calls it a plan Democrats won't speak about.

As you'll remember, Coburn was caught red handed in the middle of Republican Senator John Ensign's extramarital affair by urging Ensign to pay off his mistress to ensure her silence. Senator Coburn is also a known birther, aka believing President Obama is a foreign enemy that must be stopped. These are the people we are supposed to collaborate with to come up with a bipartisan approach to health care reform. They are extremely Serious and Patriotic Americans. They should be taken just as seriously as anyone else. Any debate about the future of this country should first begin with the basis that President Obama is not a citizen who also wants to setup "death panels" to kill your grandma. From there, all serious debates can begin.

Crimes of Yesteryear

Not sure if I'm allowed to talk about the days when the Bushies ruled the world, but I'll give it a try.

Emails clearly show Karl Rove and White House counsel Harriet Miers tried to intervene on FBI investigation of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) to squash media reports days before the 2006 mid-term elections. Renzi was eventually indicted in 2008.

Led By Liars

It's important in this health care debate to call a duck a duck. Or in this case, a lie a lie. It's just as important to trace the lies back and see who is really doing the lying and why. Great example today from Sen. Arlen Specter's town hall.

After the event was over, Fox News interviewed one of the Tea Baggers who has what we are told are "accurate" and "informed" concerns about health care reform. Here's the video:



While being interviewed, Tea Bagger Katy Abram states she doesn't want America to turn into a socialist country like Russia. And that she fears we might have to stand in line for toilet paper if Obama's health care reforms are passed.

What a mess really. Russia is not a socialist country. The Soviet Union was, but it is no longer in existence. Secondly, rationing toilet paper, really? As an attentive commenter at TPM points out, the idiotic line about waiting in line for toilet paper was started by none other than the leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh. So right off the bat we see Ms. Abram knows nothing about world history and listens to Rush Limbaugh to learn what to say and think about political issues.

Another commenter at TPM also points out that Abram is a fan of Fox News' Glenn Beck. So finally we see not only does she spend her days at home listening to Rush Limbaugh she also keeps her television tuned to Fox News. Wallah...just like I've been saying all along. Right wing media, led by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, constantly feed these people lies. In turn, people like Abram really believe Obama is an enemy of the state, that he wants to create "death panels," that his birth certificate is a fake and that health care reform will bring about the end of our Republic.

Connect the dots. It's so easy. It's lie after lie after lie. There's no sense and trying to reason with their lies. Call them on it, trace it back and make them answer for it. There's no other way to handle these people.

You Can't Fix Stupid

It's very possible that Sarah Palin is so stupid and so starving for attention that she would say anything just to get a response out of people. What's worse than her stupidity is there are millions of people who take what she says as truth. So when she says President Obama will have a "death panel" that would decide her son's fate, millions latch on to her words. There's no reason to fact check her comments, no reason to doubt her, and no reason to bother with the truth; for the millions who follow her it is factual gospel that Barack Obama wants health care reform so he can kill undesirables like her Down Syndrome son Trig.

Her comments are so disgustingly untrue that even her fellow right wing whackjobs are distancing themselves from her. But none of that matters. It's too late. What she said has already hit the ears of millions and her deed is done. Thanks for bringing America to a new low. Her words and actions explain entirely why mobs of Tea Baggers are so angry. I'd be angry too if my visualization of health care reform was guided by Sarah Palin.

*Update:

Just like I said, Tea Baggers in Alaska, taking their cues from Sarah Palin, claim health care reform will kill off older Americans.

**Update:

If I were a Tea Bagger and believed everything Sarah Palin said, I too would be furious with people wanting to kill my grandma. Town hall hosted by Arlen Specter in PA turns rather violent and uncivil. But hey Obama wants death squads so why not fight back?

***Update:

And all the proof we need that there will be no fact-checking on Sarah Palin, or anyone who spouts outright vicious lies about health care reform. No need to fact-check because Palin's deed is done. Fox News reports the Specter town hall from this morning, the same town hall where people asked questions and made statements about Islam, spoke about Gitmo and prisoners murdering innocents on the homeland, and referenced health care reform as a sin that will be judged by God, as "an informed, articulate, and very concerned group of American people..."

Yes, those who think Obama is going to form death sqads to kill undesirables, that Islam has anything to do with health care reform, that reforming our health care system is a sin judged by God are very serious, "informed, articulate, and very concerned people." Palin's deed is done indeed. The terrorists have control of the plane.

Sanford Stays True To His Conservative Ways

It started off as a great week for Christian right wing conservative, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina. His wife and kids moved out of the tax payer owned governor's mansion giving him free reign to have his mistress and soul mate over at any time he chose. Who wouldn't want a deal like that? You get a big mansion to yourself, your hot Argentinian lover can stop by any time and you get to be governor of one of the most conservative states in the Union. Couldn't be better, right? But then word came out that this very moral and macho-like conservative used the state jet for personal use running up thousands upon thousands of dollars for the State of South Carolina.

Now this is the guy who was probably the leading opponent of President Obama. Sanford used his very conservative values to prove Obama was nothing more than a tax and spend liberal. Funny how all the while Sanford was living the high life, flying around in a jet he thought was solely his and humping some other guy's wife. No he didn't just stop being a "conservative" once all this broke, he never was one to begin with. Just a liar, that fits in all too well with the GOP.

More Walking With God

Eric Kleefeld points out another extraordinary Republican Walk With God. Minnesota state Sen. Mike Jungbauer explains why he's running for governor.

An evangelical Christian with a degree from the Moody Bible Institute, Jungbauer purposefully set his campaign fund-raising goal in excess of that suggested by experts as a kind of verification he was following the right path.

"I believe if I'm really called by God to do this, and again it's not necessarily called by God to be the governor, but to do the campaign, to do it right, I set the goal quite high when I would have to believe it was truly miraculous (to achieve), and I couldn't say I did it, or they (the campaign) did it," said Jungbauer.

Any bets on when he Walks the Appalachian Trail, or gets busted paying an undercover cop for a tug job?

Can This Be True?

Funny if it is, but many are reporting that a "conservative" who was attacked by a "union thug" in St. Louis at one of their Tea Bagger protests is now taking donations to pay for his medical expenses because he was laid off from work and has no health coverage. It can't be true. No way.

GOP Version of Town Halls

In 2005, really the only time Bush ever held any public events other than campaign rallies, Republican attempts to overhaul Social Security was met with fierce opposition nationwide. To combat unfriendly crowds, Bush turned so-called town halls into private, closed door meetings with pre-screened questions. Yet Republicans still called these events town halls. People were even arrested at these events merely for not supporting the president. It's really not a town hall when people have to swear an allegiance to Bush before they are allowed to attend. That's ancient history though.

It seems things have changed very little in the last four years. Sen. David Vitter, yes the same Vitter who was busted in a prostitution ring and who also claims to be a Christian conservative, right wing, moral values person, held a town hall last week where only pre-screened questions were allowed to be asked. Fittingly, Vitter mocked Democratic meetings where angry mobs have been showing up and most times shutting them down over health care reform. I imagine it's really hard to hear dissent when questions and answers are pre-screened. But hey, you probably learn a thing or two about pre-screening when you buy whores.

More GOP Birtherism

Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK): "I see Barack Obama is creating an enemies list of people who oppose this miserable health care plan. I think that’s frightening. That’s from a guy that can’t even show a long-form birth certificate. I think we all ought to be prepared to fight that.”

Meanwhile Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), an actual sponsor to the birther bill, refuses to show his birth certificate. Wheeee!

Sen. Martinez to Resign

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, will announce that he is resigning his seat. Martinez is the only Hispanic Republican in the senate.

Lockjaw

Lockjaw has to set in after Tea Bagging for so long. Town halls turn violent in St. Louis yesterday while the White House gives advice on how to handle the town halls and the mobs. I don't see either side backing down any time soon.

One of the things I want to point out is just how silly it is for Democrats to focus on the people, power and money behind the Tea Baggers. Does it really matter who is organizing these things? Whether it's Fox News or Micheal Steele, to me it doesn't matter. What matters is what's creating the anger and in turn the opposition to health care reform.

Doesn't it create some sort of irony that most of the Tea Baggers disrupting town hall meetings are Medicare recipients. Just like Republicans in Congress who pretend to oppose government health care but enjoy that very system themselves, many of the Tea Baggers already partake in government funded health care. So what are they protesting? This complete hypocrisy is what the White House and health care reform proponents should focus on rather than who is propping it up.

As well, the focus should also be on what is driving Tea Bagger anger. These are people who firmly believe that President Obama is a foreign-born, socialist, Nazi enemy of the state. They really believe he is destroying the country and that he must be stopped. If I watched Fox News and listened to Rush Limbaugh all day long like these people do and all I heard was utter and constant lies, I'd be just as fired up as them. Remember these people are conspiracy theorists whose ideology is completely built around lies. Their anger is real. Falsely directed, but real.

And Maddow completely drives my points home.



Dang she's good.

Modern GOP Embraces Extremist Violence

Next Step

One of the organizations behind riling up Tea Baggers, Freedom Works, is telling them to step up their behavior one more notch. But what is the next step?

• They are already calling the President of the United States a socialist Nazi.
• They are already hanging members of Congress in effigy.
• They are already threatening the lives of Members of Congress.
• They have already physically assaulted one Democrat.

Seriously what is the next step? Burning buildings, taking hostages, shaving nut sacks? What could possibly be next?

*Update:

Early reports out of Tampa tonight are violence broke out at a town hall hosted by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL). St. Petersburg Times is reporting this particular Tea Bag mob was organized by none other than Fox News' Glenn Beck. I guess this answers my question from above.

Dollar Bill Guilty

Dollar Bill Jefferson, former Congressman from Louisiana, is convicted on 11 of 16 counts. Always seems to be a telling sign when an incumbent congressman is found to have 100k in his freezer.

Tea Baggers Boo Reality

To get a glimpse of just how far out of touch Republicans and Tea Baggers are, this short video of Tea Baggers ambushing another town hall meeting should suffice.



In case you don't watch it, here's what happens. A lady who is obviously living in the Republican Fantasy World stands up and yells something about how Reagan increased government revenue 300% by cutting the marginal tax rate to 28%. As much as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh claim this, the reality is it never happened. Ronald Reagan did not triple government revenue, nor did he cut taxes.

When you take the nut sack out of your mouth long enough to realize you live in a make believe world, it's amazing what you can learn. But Republicans don't want to hear facts. They boo and jeer anything that does not coincide with their Fantasy World. Dare mention the truth that Reagan did not shrink government or cut spending, and you are committing blasphemy. Their whole world, this entire Tea Bag movement we are seeing today, is built around total lies about how Republican presidents are government slashing, money managing fools. They are totally detached from any sort of reality whatsoever. Do be careful though, Tea Bagging can make things salty real quick.

Repubs Won't Block Clunker Extension

Of course they won't. Their nonsense that it's been so successful that it must be stopped is par for their course. Is it even possible to argue that something is too good to continue? Not to mention their total garbage about how they are worried about costs is a total lie. Take the money out of Bush's TARP. Or take it out of the stimulus. The money is there. But the main reason Republicans won't block the program is because they are the minority. They couldn't block if they wanted to.

Clinton Closes Deal

There is no way the release of the two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea would have happened without Bill Clinton. And it never would have happened if Bush was still in power. His administration would have talked endlessly about dropping Freedom Bombs and waging Glorious War on North Korea rather than actually solving it peacefully. It wouldn't have been solved at all actually, because Republicans are too proud. It's also safe to say Bush would have never sent Clinton to North Korea either. Letting Clinton shine once again on the world stage is something Republicans would have prevented at all possible costs. Again, though, it wouldn't have happened without Clinton so it never would have been possible with Bush in the White House. This is by far the greatest foreign policy triumph we've seen in 8 years.

Don't Talk While Tea Bagging Update

Yet another reason why you shouldn't talk while Tea Bagging.



Right wing extremist Tea Baggers shout treat Sen. Dodd, who was diagnosed with cancer, with pain killers and whiskey. This is in response to health care reform. Excellent job GOP. These are our Freedom Fighters.

Talking while Tea Bagging can prove hazardous indeed. Not only can it give you lockjaw, it can also muffle your pronunciation to where it sounds like you are degrading a cancer patient. I'm sure the good and decent Great Patriots wouldn't do such a thing.

Another Republican Right Wing Extremist Arrested

Another completely crazy right wing Fox viewer was arrested over the weekend for scouting out and trespassing on Air National Guard Base at Gabreski Airport in New York. She had an XM-15 assault rifle, a shotgun, and 500 rounds of ammunition in her car when police found her. But check this out:

Genovese is a Glenn Beck fan, according to her MySpace page ( http://bit.ly/... and archived at http://www.webcitation.org/... ). "He is mad as hell and so are we. He is right and so are we", writes Genovese, who also posted a video of a Glenn Beck rant.

Genovese additionally posted an amateur video indicating her apparent affinity for right-wing militia movements.

Holy cow, just check out her MySpace page. These are the same people showing up at Tea Bagger events, the same people Republicans are dispatching out to ambush legislative town hall meetings. They watch Fox News and listen to Rush Limbaugh and are told non-stop 24/7 that Obama and the Democrats are enemies bent on destroying the country. They are led to believe by the likes of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and other Foxers that they are Freedom Fighters with the very fabric of American society dependent upon them saving us from the road to socialism and fascism. They are extremists backed up by an entire media organization and cheered and applauded by the minority opposition party. It's pathetic and it must end.

Here's some other coverage of 4 previous Republican extremists with ties to Fox News and their fear-mongering lies.

GOP Knew About Ensign's Affair Long Before Public

We've already learned a few other Republican senators knew about Sen. John Ensigns affair before he confessed to it publicly. Most notably is Sen. Jim Inhofe who urged Ensign to pay off his mistress to shut her up and to keep it from becoming public. Ensign did just that actually. Well, his parents paid his hooker mistress nearly $100,000 to shut her up. For some other hush money, Ensign hired her teenage son as a political analyst. WWJD?

Now we learn the GOP establishment knew about Ensign's affair long before his confession as well. A very moral and family values oriented party indeed. Why can't we all Walk With God just like them?

They're Anything But Conservative

Just like with the Blue Dogs, it's a whirlwind of reality to think Republican members of Congress are conservative, especially fiscally. The current media hoopla over the "cash for clunkers" is the perfect example.

Sometime after Jan. 2007, Republicans began upping their conservative credentials once again. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact they lost control of Congress either. It was their obedience to their inner-core principles that drove them. Principles now that they are completely out of power with the loss of the White House this January, are in full display for all to see. Isn't it odd that while they were in power and had the opportunity to actually govern with their so-called inner core principles they did nothing of the sort and instead ran up the largest deficit in human history? Ooops, almost slipped on that one. I forgot that's ancient history.

But Fox News is out to show us all again just how conservative and fiscally responsible Republicans are now that they are out of power:

But the clunkers program, originally funded for $1 billion, faces strong headwinds from conservatives who view it as another taxpayer bailout for the auto industry.

[...]

The exhaustion of funds simply came before the expiration date. Senate Republicans are suggesting it's too late to change the allocation now.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, suggested lawmakers "take a time-out" so they could receive more details about the program before providing more money.

"I'm concerned that somebody's going to have to pay for this, and $4,500 for everybody that wants to take advantage of this program is a lot of money."

"We were told this program would last for several months," Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said. "It ran out of money in a week, prompting the House to rush a $2 billion extension before anybody even had time to figure out what happened to the first billion."

McConnell said, "It's not a bad idea to look for a second opinion. All the more so if they say they're in a hurry."

Now, all of a sudden, Republicans are "concerned," and worried about how things are going to be paid for even suggesting we should look for a "second opinion." Nothing could be further from the truth. Both McConnell and Kyl voted in lockstep with George Bush. Just like the Blue Dogs, there is nothing remotely conservative or fiscally responsible about them. While in power with the ability to actually govern with their core principles they never once acted "concerned" or worried about paying for things, and never sought a "second opinion." Their whole attitude is a lie. It's a farce of theatrical proportions.

They are so fiscally conservative and so "concerned" about money, that they gladly participate in a socialized public health care plan, voted for 8 straight deficit-laden budgets, helped run up the largest deficit in the world, and raise their families entirely on tax payer money.

How can you label people who voted with George Bush 99% of the time, and cared not one bit about costs or paying for things for 8 years, as a "conservative?" You can't! Only in Fox News' world is it possible.

Don't Talk While Tea Bagging

Seven months ago anyone who dared speak out against a proposal by the President of the United States was labeled un-American or a terrorist-sympathizer. Today, the very same people who gladly questioned any dissent then as unpatriotic, are labeling themselves as a Freedom Fighting Counterinsurgency. Their actual goal is to violently oppose the government of the United States. Oh so very patriotic of them. The Republican Fantasy World has to be the only place in existence where you can claim your democratically elected government is under occupation by a foreign enemy and it's considered patriotism.

Now in their playbook next to Tea Bagging, they are hoping to wreak havoc at Democratic events.



The best summary I've found today is a link from nutjob Kent:

The greatest horror of all, health care reform, has people who have never protested anything before out in the streets and acting so raucously at Congressional town meetings that some members of Congress have cancelled their meetings for fear of having to confront angry constituents with pitch forks and torches."

Unless you consider the first two Tea Bag events they went to as having never protested before, then they might be right. But they're wrong. These people are habitual protesters. It's funny to me someone who is against us spending a trillion dollars killing people and building roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure in Iraq is so un-American but the person who is against us spending money here at home on our own people gets to be the all-American tough guy Patriot. Go bump your peter heads somewhere else. This world left you long ago.

*Update:

Long, long, long ago anyone who dared protest the Great and Powerful Republican administration were not only subjected to calls of un-Americanism, but also many were arrested or carted away (trust me this isn't a complete list).

• 2004- husband and wife in WV were arrested for attending a "public" George Bush event. Their crime: disrupting the event by yelling and screaming? Nope. They were simply wearing anti-Bush t-shirts (to a public event mind you).
• 2005- three people were forcibly removed from a so-called George Bush public town hall meeting. Did they disrupt? Yep. But remember these people are un-patriotic for opposing the most unpopular president in American history.
• 2004- two 55 year old school teachers were arrested in Iowa for attending a Bush campaign rally while wearing John Kerry shirts and buttons. Did they yell, shout, scream and disrupt? Nope. Their crime was not supporting the President of the United States.
• 2008- a 61 year old librarian forcefully removed and arrested at a John McCain rally in Denver for holding a sign that read McCain=Bush. Did she yell, scream, shout and disrupt? Nope. Her crime was she didn't support another four years of George W. Bush.
  

Nowadays it's perfectly legit to disrupt public events and openly call yourself a counterinsurgency movement aimed at fighting the American government. Welcome to the future.

Party Strength Gets Bluer

When you create a brand new method at which to measure Democratic presidents like Republican pollster Scott Rasmussen did, it's easy to make the world around you full of good news for the GOP. Wonder what new method they will come up with to make Gallup's latest data fit their Fantasy World.

"The accompanying map shows each state's relative party strength (the full data for each state appears at the end of the article) in the first half of 2009, which primarily covers the time since Barack Obama took office as president. States in which one of the parties enjoys a 10 or more percentage point advantage in leaned identification are considered solid supporters of that party. States with between a five- and nine-point advantage are considered leaning toward that party, and states with less than a five-point advantage for one of the parties are considered competitive."


Polling data shows Democratic Party strength in 30 states and 4 for the GOP. Also, states considered solid Dem are much safer territory for the party than are solid Repub states for the GOP.

All in all, party strength is blue, real blue.

More Perfectly Sane Republican Thinking (*Update)

Latest whack job Republican conspiracy theory: Cash for Clunkers designed to takeover people's computers. No really...



Their whole organization is one big conspiracy cult.

*Update:

Maybe the dumbest person to ever grace a television screen, Michelle Malkin on ABC this morning declared Tea Baggers are a "counterinsurgency." How sane can we possibly assume someone to be that thinks Tea Baggers are actual freedom fighting insurgencies?

For them to be a counterinsurgency there would first have to be an enemy occupation of this country. And that is exactly what they believe. They really, truthfully, honestly believe Barack Obama is an illegitimate, foreign born, socialist Nazi, occupying our government. These are "mainstream" Republicans!! Malkin operates one of the most popular right wing Republican blogs in the world. She is a bona fide spokesperson for their organization. Her words help conjure the movement. They are so sure of themselves and their conspiracy theories that they gladly go on television and openly talk about how they are organizing a revolt against the American government. And the MSM allows it to go on unfettered. They are treated just as seriously as the president himself.

The whole modern GOP is built around such leading "thinkers" like Malkin and Beck. They are like the kids in high school who constantly made up lies to be popular yet are just laughed at for their ridiculousness. They get laid every weekend and score with numerous teachers. Just ask 'em they'll tell ya.

Much More To Go

President Obama in his weekend YouTube address again reminds America there is still work to be done on the economy. Some signs of recovery are visible but by no means are we in the clear yet.

Health Care Update

Health care reform passes Energy and Commerce Committee, 31-28.