Republicans have no shame when it comes to their blind loyalty to big oil. Bill Kristol — seriously, this guy makes a living out of being a douche, said,”[off shore oil drilling] very environmentally clean, except when there is a disaster like the spill.” Limbaugh thinks it is an eco plot to stop drilling and the half-term governor said that “accidents happen”.
On the subject of delusion, this is not Obama’s Katrina as this timeline shows. Keep on dreaming trolls.
Microchips are becoming the new black helicopters for the extreme right. Georgia is outlawing involuntary microchip implantation based partly on the testimony of a woman with psychiatric problems. At least one Republican candidate for Congress thinks we should go the opposite direction. Republican Pat Beroche (IA-03) thinks we should implant microchips to keep track of illegal aliens.
One of them is Dr. Pat Bertroche, who’s running to challenge Democrat Leonard Boswell in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional district. He believes we should microchip illegal immigrants to make sure we can keep track of them.
Speaking today at a candidate forum in Tama County, Dr. Bertroche said: “I think we should catch ’em, we should document ’em, make sure we know where they are and where they are going. I actually support micro-chipping them. I can micro-chip my dog so I can find it. Why can’t I micro-chip an illegal?”
You mean tag and release, like wildlife? What is it with these crazy rightwing physicians anyway? It seems like you can’t turn around anymore without running into one.
It’s all about paper in Arizona – Immigration documentation and Birth Certificates.
PHOENIX — The Arizona House on Monday voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state’s ballot when he runs for reelection. The House voted 31-22 to add the provision to a separate bill. The measure still faces a formal vote.
It would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president.
Phoenix Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema said the bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona “the laughing stock of the nation.” Mesa Republican Rep. Cecil Ash said he has no reason to doubt Obama’s citizenship but supports the measure because it could help end doubt.
Arizona has gone birther. Georgia heard testimony from a woman who claims the Department of Defense put a microchip into her vaginal-rectum area. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the new Republican Party. And I’m really not sure how you combat crazy at this level.
Via TPM:
The Georgia House Judiciary Committee took up a bill last week that would “prohibit requiring a person to be implanted with a microchip,” and would make violating the ban a misdemeanor. According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one exchange from the hearing could have been ripped right from Dr. Strangelove.
[…]
“Ma’am, did you say you have a microchip?” state Rep. Tom Weldon (R) asked the woman.
“Yes, I do. This microchip was put in my vaginal-rectum area,” she replied.
No one laughed. State Rep. Wendell Willard (R), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asked her who had implanted the chip.
“The Department of Defense,” she said.
Willard thanked the woman for her input, and the committee later approved the bill.
Oh my.
First, let me say that what happened to a fundraiser for Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and her boyfriend at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference last weekend was horrible. These people were brutally attacked and sustained serious injuries. Plain wrong and inexcusable.
What’s also inexcusable…
Since then the story has been making the rounds of the right-wing interwebs. The claim was that the assailants were anti-Palin, anti-Jindal liberals attacking conservatives. A conservative blogger even published what purported to be a quote from the NOPD saying the attack appeared to be “of a political nature.” And that quote was picked up by a few other news organizations.
Alas, then things started going down hill. The New Orleans police denied ever saying anything like that. And now the actual police report has come out which not only contains no evidence of any partisan political intent but actually says that the assailants yelled misogynistic and homophobic epithets at the victims while the attack was taking place.
Talk about jumping the gun. What is it about these Republican “me too” moments? Gives new meaning to the phrase fake it, ’til you make it. And yeah, I’m looking at you, Eric Cantor – aka bullet boy.
This time TalkingPointsMemo documents the infighting:
For Republican candidates across the country, the movement du jour seems to be a pledge to repeal health care reform if elected. Republicans are rushing to co-sponsor and promote efforts to repeal the bill on Capitol Hill. But not everyone is biting, exposing another fissure between the GOP’s right and far-right.
The latest GOPers caught in the mix are in Delaware — with candidate Christine O’Donnell (R-DE) challenging Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) to sign on to repeal plans. Castle, like every single Congressional Republican, opposed the legislation. But he said that repealing “is not realistic.”
Even DelawarePolitics.net (in their capacity as unpaid PR arm of the Christine O’Donnell campaign) gets quoted from Christine’s press release:
But according to DelawarePolitics.net, O’Donnell charges that by not signing, Castle is “breaking faith with the people of Delaware and America in refusing to support the conservative-led effort to repeal ObamaCare, a totally disastrous and unconstitutional health bill.”
There’s more spats at the link, but one thing that TPM missed was that Castle made his decision to not repeal the Affordable Care Act conditional on Democrats still controlling government. Apparently he would be on board with rolling back a new regulatory regime on insurance companies as well as expanded coverage for Americans if Republicans were in charge.
Unfortunately for Christine, it is a safe bet that Mike Castle probably doesn’t even know she has issued this challenge to him — it seems a safe bet that given the messy way she seems to occupy the political space, Castle and his people (and the entire State R Party, I’d bet) have pretty much decided that they can safely ignore her.
(Thanks to Jason330 for the h/t!)
Here’s the latest: (Via Think Progress)
After picking up his 10-year old daughter from school yesterday afternoon, Nashville resident Mark Duren was driving home when he was suddenly and intentionally rammed from behind by Harry Weisiger. Enraged at the sight of Duren’s Obama bumper sticker, Weisiger gave Duren “the bird” and then hit him from behind, leading to a violent series of events. Nashville’s WKRN reports:
“He pointed at the back of my car,” Duren said, “the bumper, flipped me off, one finger salute.”
But it didn’t end there.
Duren told News 2 that Weisiger honked his horn at him for awhile, as Duren stopped at a stop sign.
Once he started driving again, down Blair Boulevard, towards his home, he said, “I looked in the rear view mirror again, and this same SUV was speeding, flying up behind me, bumped me.”
Duren said he applied his brake and the SUV smashed into the back of his car.
He then put his car in park to take care of the accident, but Weisiger started pushing the car using his SUV.
Duren said, “He pushed my car up towards the sidewalk, almost onto the sidewalk.”
But I guess it was Duren’s fault because his Obama bumper sticker intentionally provoked Weisiger. I also guess the 10 year old in the car will be labeled as “collateral damage.”
Digby explains and gives examples:
I can hardly believe it, but apparently America’s wife beaters have actually decided to use the defense that these Democrats are “asking for” death threats from the right wingers because they are “making them mad.” I documented Sere and Cantor’s warnings this morning, but there are more:
Breitbart: Congressional Black Caucus members went “searching for … racism” by walking through Tea Party crowd
Graham tells Beck — Beck! — Tea Partiers “get mad” because they “don’t like being called racist
Michael Graham: Pelosi was “asking for” response by carrying Medicare gavel
Rove warns Dems that discussing threats against them may “inflame emotions”
Bet the wife beaters are taking notes.
I think it was noted here somewhere the other day that on Tuesday, Senate Republicans used a little-known rule to prevent hearings from proceeding past 2:00 PM. In fact, our own beloved Sen. Carper was forced to halt a Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on transparency due to Republicans’ refusal to give unanimous consent to waiving the rule. (It goes without saying that they lack the self-awareness to realize they pivoted from crowing about government transparency, to stopping a hearing about transparency.)
Well, yesterday they were at it again at an even higher level of childishness. Within the same Senate rule that prohibits hearings from proceeding past 2:00 PM is another provision that prevents committees from meeting more than two hours after the Senate convenes. Again, this is a rule that is routinely waived every day without a second thought. Not now, though. Since the minority party refused to give consent to waive the rule, and the Senate convened for the day at 9:00 AM, all Senate committees were forced to end their meetings at 11:00. Among the committee hearings that were forced to end prematurely or be canceled were:
Just close your eyes for a minute and imagine the outrage from the right if Democrats so much as showed up late for hearings about dealing with rogue nations or helping homeless vets. Liz Cheney and Marc Thiessen would have strokes trying to unleash their outrage. The word is that Republicans will continue to play these games all week.
I think there are two important lessons we can learn from these episodes (although we really should know this already): 1) the Republican Party has no interest in actual governing the country, and behaves like a bunch of children who were told they can’t have the candy from the checkout lane, and 2) it’s a disgrace that the United States Senate is so structured that a group such as 1) can bring it to a halt. If nothing else, I hope this add fire to the “Reform the Senate” movement. And also the “Don’t let the GOP back in charge” movement as well. What are the chances that the national media sufficiently calls out the GOP for their unbelievably childish and unprofessional behavior?
Mike Castle held a fundraiser with pro-repeal Republican Senator Orrin Hatch. The Republican discipline on health care reform is starting to disappear though. Some Republicans like Mitt Romeny (who is having trouble explaining why the MA individual mandate is o.k. but the national mandate is not), Rep. Mike Pence and Sen. Jim DeMint want a complete repeal. Other Republicans just want to repeal part of it. And in a move that we didn’t see coming, but should have, Chuck Grassley is now trying to take credit for the bill. Grassley has obviously been reading from Castle’s playbook.
The DSCC and the Delaware Democratic Party are asking the obvious question: Mike Castle where do you stand?
“Republicans in Washington want their Senate candidates to run on the repeal of health care reform, and many like Mark Kirk, Kelly Ayotte, and Trey Greyson have succumbed to the pressure from the establishment,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Eric Schultz. “Others, like Mike Castle, Jane Norton, and John Boozman have dodged the question. We believe that every Republican should be clear on if they would support the repeal of health care reform if elected to the Senate. If Mike Castle is going to look voters in the eye and pledge to repeal health care reform which will have afforded coverage to 109,000 Delawareans, eliminated the doughnut hole for seniors, offered tax credits to small businesses, lowered the deficit, and ended appalling insurance practices – then good luck to him.”
“Castle has already shown he is completely beholden to his caucus, with votes to defeat this health reform bill, the recovery act, and even a recent bill to bring more jobs to Delaware,” said Katie Ellis, Communications Director for the Delaware Democratic Party. “Now that key members of his caucus have vowed to repeal the bill, will Castle stand with them or middle-class Delawareans? Delaware voters have a right to know Castle’s position on this issue.”
Of course, it shouldn’t really be a question. Mike Castle voted against the health care reform bill, just like every other Republican in Congress. For a reminder, take a look at what a repeal would do:
Seniors
– An immediate $250 rebate for the roughly 24,800 Delaware seniors who will hit the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ would be revoked
– 140,000 seniors will see higher Medicare premiums and have to pay more for preventive health careState Budget
– $1.12 billion in affordability tax credits to 69,400 Delawareans would be forfeited*
– $395 million in federal Medicaid funding would be lost*Small Businesses
– 10,500 small businesses will not get tax credits to help them afford coverage for their employees this year.
Individuals
– Insurance companies will continue to deny coverage to the estimated 11,006 Delawareans with pre-existing conditions
– Family insurance premiums would increase by $1,720-2$,450**Children & Young Adults
– Insurance companies will still be able to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions
– 83,010 young adults who would have been able to stay on their parents’ insurance plans this year would now be denied coverage
[Ed note: edited for clarity 9:51 AM]
The post is really too good and too complete to give a good excerpt. It’s called “An open letter to conservatives” and it’s a well-researched post on some of the Republican hypocrisy, lies and calls for violence with many, many links included.
Now the advice. You’re going to have to come up with a platform that isn’t built on a foundation of cowardice: fear of people with colors, religions, cultures and sex lives that differ from your own; fear of reform in banking, health care, energy; fantasy fears of America being transformed into an Islamic nation, into social/commun/fasc-ism, into a disarmed populace put in internment camps; and more. But you have work to do even before you take on that task.
Your party — the GOP — and the conservative end of the American political spectrum has become irresponsible and irrational. Worse, it’s tolerating, promoting and celebrating prejudice and hatred. Let me provide some expamples — by no means an exhaustive list — of where the Right as gotten itself stuck in a swamp of hypocrisy, hyperbole, historical inaccuracy and hatred.
Just another small taste:
Hatred
You have to condemn those among you who:
call members of Congress n*gger and f*ggot;
elected leaders who say “I’m a proud racist”;
state that America has been built by white people;
say that poor people are poor because they’re rotten people, call them “parasitic garbage” or say they shouldn’t be allowed to vote;
call women bitches and prostitutes just because you don’t like their politics ( re – pea -ted – ly );
assert that the women who are serving our nation in uniform are hookers;
mock and celebrate the death of a grandmother because you disagree with her son’s politics;
declare that those who disagree with you are shown by that disagreement to be not just “Marxist radicals” but also monsters and a deadly disease killing the nation (this would fit in the hyperbole and history categories, too);
joke about blindness;
All of these statements have links, some of them multiple links. It’s a great resource post and I’m planning on putting it in my favorites folder.
They really are big babies.
There is a little-known rule in the Senate stating that hearings can’t happen after 2:00 p.m. each day without unanimous consent. However, every day, at the start of business, the Senate generally agrees, by unanimous consent, to waive this rule and continue with the necessary business of holding hearings. Here is the rule.
Republicans, however, are now refusing to give unanimous consent and are blocking the hearings. Today, during a Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on transparency, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) announced that he had to stop the proceedings because of Republican blocks:
Typical out-of-touch Republican temper tantrum. Unless they really see this strategy of “not working” working for them?
Sen. Linsdey Graham, John McCain’s BFF, talking about health care reform on South Carolina radio inteview:
Nancy Pelosi, I think, has got them all liquored up on sake and you know, they’re making a suicide run here.
Rep. Mike Honda, a Democrat of Japanese-American descent, was not too pleased:
I am disheartened that Senator Graham chose to use racially tinged rhetoric to express his opposition to health care reform. There is a way to engage in healthy debate without alienating Asian Americans, who are an important part of this democracy and healthcare reform.
I guess Graham is trying to rebuild his racist-conservative street cred after being called out as “half-a-sissy” by Tea Party activists in October.
Paul Ryan is a Wisconsin Republican and a rising star in the party. He’s the ranking member of the House Budget Committee and several weeks ago he unveiled his plan for balancing the budget. It was a Republican plan on steroids – huge tax cuts for the wealthy, elimination of Social Security and Medicare and replacement of them with vouchers. A group called the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities examined Ryan’s budget and found it’s worse than we thought:
The tax cuts for those at the very top would be of historic proportions. A new analysis by the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center (TPC) finds:
- The Ryan plan would cut in half the taxes of the richest 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes exceeding $633,000 (in 2009 dollars) in 2014.
- The higher one goes up the income scale, the more massive the tax cuts would be. Households with incomes of more than $1 million would receive an average annual tax cut of $502,000.
- The richest one-tenth of 1 percent of Americans — those whose incomes exceed $2.9 million a year — would receive an average tax cut of $1.7 million a year. These tax cuts would be on top of those that high-income households would get from making the Bush tax cuts, which are due to expire at the end of 2010, permanent.
To offset some of the cost of these massive tax cuts, the Ryan plan would place a new consumption tax on most goods and services, a measure that would increase taxes on most low- and middle-income families. TPC finds that:
- About three-quarters of Americans — those with incomes between $20,000 and $200,000 — would face tax increases. For example, households with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 would face an average tax increase of $900. (These estimated changes in taxes are relative to the taxes that would be paid under a continuation of current policy — i.e., what tax liabilities would be if the President and Congress make permanent the expiring 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and relief from the alternative minimum tax.)
The plan would shift tax burdens so substantially from the wealthy to the middle class that people with incomes over $1 million would face much lower effective tax rates than middle-income families would. That is, they would pay much smaller percentages of their income in federal taxes.
The Republicans will call this a tax cut because overall tax revenue will be smaller. Because of the massive tax cuts in this plan, it doesn’t even begin to address the deficit for 50 years – long after Paul Ryan and the Republicans that would vote for this plan have left office. It’s the culmination of 30 years of magical Republican thinking, which in reality rewards wealth over work. I doubt this plan will go anywhere but people should know – this is what the Republicans want to do when they talk about taxes and entitlements.