The Capitol Hill gathering of Teabaggig wackdoodles recently put together by GOP starlet Michele Bachmann featured loons waving signage displaying Holocaust imagery and anti-Semitic messages. Although condemned by many, inclding Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wisel -- who found the messaging "indecent and disgusting" -- these over-the-top displays of paranoiac politics have thus far provoked scant criticism from the GOP "leadership." (Once exception: Virginia congressman Eric Cantor, described a banner showing a pile of dead Holocaust victims captioned "National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany - 1945" as "inappropriate.")
read moreWhen it's a choice between strengthening the Patriot Act, or showing up for the Tea Party Patriots, what's a GOP lawmaker to do? We'll give you one guess...
Several Republican members of Congress blew off votes on the signature anti-terror legislation of the post 9/11 era to attend Michele Bachmann's Tea Party rally against health-care reform.
Although Capitol Police say no more than 4,000 wackdoodles showed up for the Michele Bachmann-induced "Kill the Bill" anti-reality demonstration by frenzied teabaggers on Capitol Hill on Friday, riightie fave G. Gordon Liddy estimated the crowd size at around 1 million. A corporate front group founded by Koch Industries billionaire David Koch bussed wingnuts in for the non-event. Which rendered one GOP congressman's claim that people "paid for [the bus transportation] themselves" beyond laughable.
How stoopid do the sheeples' think the herd is? Purrty goshdarn stoopid.
Republicans are learning an unpleasant lesson: The only thing worse than having no health-care reform plan is releasing a bad one, getting thrashed by CBO and making the House Democrats look good in comparison.
It's one thing to keep your cards close to your chest. It's another to lay them out on the table and show everyone that you have no hand, and aren't even totally sure how to play the game.
read moreDemocrat Bill Owens defeated conservative independent Doug Hoffman in the race for New York's 23rd Congressional District, the first time since the 19th century that a Democrat holds the seat. Hoffman was endorsed by Sarah Palin and other national Republicans, who drove Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava from the race.
read moreTancredo's problem was that he was being forced to face the truth. Ever the clueless jingoistic blowhard, he presumed to speak for American veterans -- proclaiming a position for which he had, at best, anecdotal support -- and Moulitas nailed him by simply raising a point Tancredo's already conceded:
As a Republican student activist, Tancredo spoke out in favor of the Vietnam War. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in June 1969, he became eligible to serve in Vietnam. Tancredo said he went for his physical, telling doctors he'd been treated for depression, and eventually got a "1-Y" deferment.
www.denverpost.com
That was too much for Terrible Tommy Tancredo, who indignantly demanded an apology -- for what? -- unhooked himself from his mic, packed up his marbles, and stormed off the set. Like a cockroach trying to escape the light.
Additional reaction from Eric Cantor (whose criticism is coming just a wee bit late in the game):
Cantor, in an interview today with Bloomberg, also offered some criticism of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's comparison of President Obama to Adolf Hitler.
"Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any discussion about politics?" said Cantor, who is the only Jewish Republican in Congress. "No, I don't, because obviously that is something that conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful."
In a climate where Republicans who criticize Limbaugh come crawling back on their knees (see TPM's "Forgive Me Rush" photo feature), Cantor's office has pointed reporters to the story, emailing the link to Glenn Thrush's post on Cantor's remarks.
It's worth noting that Limbaugh made the comment in question -- "Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate" -- on Aug. 6. Cantor at the time did not respond publicly to calls from Jewish groups to condemn the remarks.
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com
Update:
In the end, Republican Dan Halloran beat his opponent Kevin Kim with a lot less money and endorsements, but support from the voters fed up with the constant mudslinging.
That's the consensus of Monday morning quarterbacks in the District 19 City Council race that energized the district and turned the tide against Democrats.
Halloran, 37, an attorney from Whitestone, beat Kim, a lawyer and former aide to Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-Queens and Nassau), with an unofficial 52 percent of the vote. Kim took 47 percent...
Kim's camp started the smear campaign by publicizing the fact that Halloran heads a pagan religion that was printed by a weekly newspaper with ties to Kim's campaign consultants.
After the Queens Tribune piece appeared, Halloran acknowledged he belongs to a pagan group, but says religion has no place in a political campaign and that the story was printed in a biased way. In it, Halloran is described as the first atheling, or king of Normandy, a branch of the Theod faith, a pre-Christian heathen religion.
Raised a Catholic, the Republican got involved with the group after the death of his father, when a relative suggested he might find some comfort from it.
Later, Kim hinted that Halloran's career with the NYPD was anything but stellar and earlier this week sent out fliers from Sacred Heart Church telling people not to vote for Halloran because he's a pagan.
The Kim campaign used the church's mailing address instead of its own, which may be a campaign violation. Following his victory, Halloran said he had spoken with the pastor, Father Thomas Brosnan, who indicated there was no malice intended and that the pastor didn't expect a political flier to go out representing the Catholic Church.
Halloran said he would not pursue the issue....
Kim raised $436,848, while Halloran took in only $46,927.
www.zwire.com
REPUBLICAN HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM BILL INSURES ALMOST NOBODY
Earlier this week, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner made a prediction. The Republican health care plan, he said, "will cover millions more Americans" than the Democrats' plan. Bold. But here's what the experts say:
By 2019, CBO and JCT estimate, the number of nonelderly people without health
insurance would be reduced by about 3 million relative to current law, leaving about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of legal nonelderly residents with insurance coverage in 2019 would be about 83 percent, roughly in line with the current share.
Oops. You can read the entire analysis here (cbo.gov).
To Boehner's dismay, the GOP bill was leaked to the media earlier this week, and quickly became a focus of derision for experts and activists who noted that, among other failings, the bill didn't include some of the most popular insurance regulations in the Democrats' bill, including a ban on pre-existing condition discrimination.
What else does CBO find?
Though some consumers would find their premiums reduced modestly, "in the large group market, which represents nearly 80 percent of total private premiums, the amendment would lower average insurance premiums in 2016 by zero to 3 percent compared with amounts under current law, according to CBO's estimates. The figures are presented for 2016 as an illustrative example."
The GOP bill does require less new government spending, but that's what you get when you don't insure anybody. And though it does reduce the deficit, it does so by billions less than the Democrats' bill does.
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com
Guess you missed the history books also.
Reagan's unemployment numbers were DIRECTLY related to the wonderful peanut man himself, Jimmy Carter.
Reagan had to fix Carter's blunders, just like the next prez, R or D, will have to fix this Obamanation.
#105 | Posted by seedeez2
Thank goodness George W. Bush and his party of fiscal responsibility had nothing to do with the current economic mess. Otherwise you'd sound like a poorly-informed, soma-imbibing,lobotomized, lockstepping hack.