Vance Phillips continues to prove that It pays to be a good old boy in a good old boy’s network

Vance Phillips continues to prove that It pays to be a good old boy in a good old boy’s network

Here is some less than surprising news:
A judge ordered attorneys for the woman who brought a sexual assault case against Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips to keep medical and financial documents confidential, including records that show he (sic - nice one NJ!) was a crime victim. Attorneys for Katelynn Dunlap, who filed a civil lawsuit against Phillips seeking unspecified damages, had opposed the secrecy measure as unnecessary for a personal injury case and suggested it was an effort to silence her or make the litigation more difficult for her. During the hour-long hearing, that neither Phillips nor Dunlap attended, both sides accused the other of trying the case in the press.
Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 11

Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 11

Here is the current situation from what I can tell: Obamacare is alive and it is no longer a hostage. The Government is still shut down and the House is still trying to keep it as a hostage. The Debt Ceiling limit might be extended a few weeks (maybe a few months), but the GOP is still trying to keep it as a hostage. The GOP is really being beat up in the court of public opinion.
Republicans Are Simply Out To Fuck Shit UP – Day 5,895

Republicans Are Simply Out To Fuck Shit UP – Day 5,895

I feel like I can finally breath. The gaslight treatment that I've been getting from the world over the past ten years has been revealed to NOT be a figment of my imagination. Both sides DON'T do it. Republicans ARE the problem. The thing that got me into blogging was the nagging sense that nobody was talking about that obvious truth. Mike Castle bugged the hell out of me because he couldn't see it. (Or he saw it and didn't care to do anything about it.) John Carney continues to bug the hell out of me because he ignores the obvious pile of steaming dog shit square in the center of our national living room carpet. Well, thank FSM - that is going to be tougher for Mr. Carney to do from now on.
Debt Catastrophe Averted? It is still the end of the world for Republicans

Debt Catastrophe Averted? It is still the end of the world for Republicans

From the office of non-surprising facts...The Republican Party has been taken over by religious nutcases:
The press often talks about the Tea Party like they’re secularist movement that is interested mainly in promoting “fiscal conservatism”, a vague notion that never actually seems to make good on the promise to save taxpayer money. The reality is much different: The Tea Party is actually driven primarily by fundamentalist Christians whose penchant for magical thinking and belief that they’re being guided by divine forces makes it tough for them to see the real world as it is.
Erick Erickson Predicts GOP Split, 3rd Party Coming

Erick Erickson Predicts GOP Split, 3rd Party Coming

Via TPM:
Incensed that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) are reportedly abandoning the effort to defund or delay the Affordable Care Act, RedState.com editor Erick Erickson predicted Thursday that Republican leadership is providing fertile ground for the rise of a "real third party movement" that will split the GOP.
I'm torn on the idea of the Republican Party splitting in two - mainly because the Tea Party has already taken over, and deep down Republicans (95% of them) actually agree with the Tea Party agenda.  Jason wrote a post the other day, in which he said, "I don’t use “Tea Party” any more because the fact is the Republican Party is staffed and run by members of what was once called the Tea Party." Jason's correct.  Go ahead and try to put today's Republican politicians into column A (RINOs) and column B (Tea Partiers).  You won't end up with a balanced list.  Column A is pretty empty.
Let Me Count The Ways The Tea Party Loves Us

Let Me Count The Ways The Tea Party Loves Us

35 by my count. Maybe you can add to the list. Not satisfied that there are thousands of varieties of teas they can throw overboard, they have voiced at least 35 issues they want the President to "have a conversation" about to end the shutdown and/or the debt ceiling crisis.
I Thought They Wanted to Talk!

I Thought They Wanted to Talk!

For all of the theater around the GOP claim that it is time to talk to get rid of this stalemate (even though the GOP have been dragging their feet on this for 6 months), it turns out that they don't want to talk, really. President Obama invited ALL Democrats and Republicans from both the Senate and the House to meet with him at the White House this week. Only 18 of the GOP members are going. Seriously. You whine and whine about talking with the President, the President invites ALL of y'all to meet with him in the White House and you can't bother to rouse your caucus. This isn't much better than not appointment members to a budget conference, really.
Paul Ryan Has a Plan to Save the Government — You Have to Give Up Your Social Security

Paul Ryan Has a Plan to Save the Government — You Have to Give Up Your Social Security

After being completely invisible over the past few weeks, Paul Ryan re-appears in today's WSJ to: 1) whine that the President is not negotiating with the House, 2) lie about previous debt-ceiling negotiations, 3) offer a trade of the sequester cuts for entitlement reform, 4) demand an opening of natural areas for more fossil fuel exploration, and 5) reform taxes.