Republican Party: YOU'RE FIRED!

There is no possible chance that Saturday Night Live can continue to satirize Republican politics anymore. They may as well just show footage of actual Republican politics. Why do I posit this?

[Donald] Trump confirmed to MSNBC’s Tamron Hall a New York Times report that he'd helm a GOP debate on Dec. 27.

“I was asked to do it by a number of people, including some of my friends that are Republicans, strong Republicans,” Trump told MSNBC. He has signed on to be a moderator at the debate, which will be held in Iowa and is hosted by Newsmax, a conservative website and magazine. It will be broadcast on Ion Television, a cable network.

Parody is dead. Satire is dead. The Republican Party of yore no longer exists. These debating monkeys need not extol the name of Ronald Reagan or Abraham Lincoln anymore. Reagan couldn't get elected in this generation of what passes for the Republican Party. He'd most likely get booed off the debate stage for his stances on immigration (amnesty) and taxation.

The idea of The Donald moderating something that is supposed to be at least semi-serious like a GOP presidential debate is beyond all hope of rational thinking. But I must admit, I don't know if I can miss this one. I hope my cable provider carries Ion Television, whatever the fuck that is.

Donald Trump? Seriously?

CLASSIC!

Enjoy.

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More Like This, Please

President Obama: “We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders — one of whom could end up being the President of the United States — being silent when an American soldier is booed. We don’t believe in that. We don’t believe in standing silent when that happens. We don't believe in them being silent since. You want to be commander-in-chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it’s not politically convenient."

The Big Tent Party

Here you go Log Cabin Republicans. Pat yourselves on the back, GOProud. Please Lt. Dan Choi, continue to rail against President Obama and how he's done nothing for the gay community, and realize that in fighting against Obama, this is what you're fighting for.



The cognitive dissonance is astounding.

Just as I will never understand why any middle class member of a union votes Republican, I will shake my head in amazement at a gay American who flips the lever for any GOP candidate.

And let's be clear about Rick Santorum's idiotic statement:

I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military. The fact they are making a point to include it as a provision within the military that we are going to recognize a group of people and give them a special privilege to, and removing don't ask don’t tell. I think tries to inject social policy into the military. And the military's job is to do one thing: to defend our country...

Yes, it's a real privilege to put your life on the line to defend Rick Santorum and his policies isn't it? But please, Rick, continue.

I would just say that going forward we would reinstitute that policy if Rick Santorum was president. That policy would be re-instituted as far as people in, I would not throw them out because that would be unfair to them because of the policy of this administration. But we would move forward in conformity with what was happening in the past. Which was- sex is not an issue. It should not be an issue. Leave it alone. Keep it to yourself whether you are heterosexual or homosexual.

The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell is now law. Rick Santorum or any other Republican president (I shudder at the thought) cannot unilaterally reinstitute DADT with the flick of a pen. You can't repeal a law by executive order. That's why it was so important for President Obama to make this a legislative issue as he is doing with the Defense of Marriage Act. Besides the fact that the federal court deemed DADT unconstitutional.

Santorum is right. Sex is not an issue, but by discriminating against gay and lesbian soldiers, he is making it an issue. There is no "exception," no "special privilege" we are bestowing among gay soldiers be the repeal of DADT. So take your own advice, Rick. Leave it alone.

As far as yet another hostile Republican crowd at the debate after the "Let 'em die" Tea Party crowd at the CNN debate, I'm not the least bit surprised by their applause at Santorum's answer, but the boos at a uniformed member of the Armed Forces who is protecting their right to be homophobes and bigots takes it to a new low. Booing a member of the military? They should be ashamed, but they're not.

Gay Republicans, what the hell are you thinking?

Compassionate Conservatism Redux

Former George W. Bush speech writer Michael Gerson once defined the phrase 'compassionate conservatism' as, "the theory that the government should encourage the effective provision of social services without providing the service itself." We all know by now how well that worked for the Bush administration.

Liberal commentator Joe Conason, noting Bush's policy of tax cuts, wrote in 2003 that "so far, being a 'compassionate conservative' appears to mean nothing very different from being a hardhearted, stingy, old-fashioned conservative." Similarly, former President Bill Clinton described the message of compassionate conservatism as: "I want to help you. I really do. But you know, I just can't" or similar variants.

The true definition of compassionate conservatism can be summed up as, "Yeah, that's a shame... wish I could help out but everyone should take care of themselves."

I've been in a self-imposed media blackout these last few days due to the September 11th anniversary 24 hour news cycle (I don't need to see that again) and decided not to watch last night's CNN Republican Primary debate because I saw all I needed to see during last week's debacle. Why would I want to subject myself to the motley crew that is the GOP nominees again? Unless they've changed their minds about climate change or evolution, or actually looked at the numbers to realize they're just flat out lying on the Recovery Act while hypocritically benefitting from it, there was no need for any more self-induced stress.

But then I heard (bad news travels fast) that a hypothetical question was asked of Ron Paul regarding a 30 year old man who chooses not to pay for health insurance, then suddenly needs it - what's to be done? And the audience yelled to "let him die." I couldn't believe it. So I had to see for myself.



More than anything else that has transpired in the world of American politics and the divisiveness we've gotten accustomed to this last decade or so, this truly breaks my heart. What has become of us as a society? Or I should rephrase, what has become of the Republican party as a societal faction of our population? This is the pro-life party? This is the party touting their Christianity? It's absolutely disgusting. And this comes on the heels of last week's audience strongly praising Rick Perry's execution record as Governor of Texas.

There are some criticizing the editing of this video because it cuts off Ron Paul's answer to the question. But the video isn't about Paul's answer, it's about the callousness of the audience. If you listen closely, Ron Paul says "no" when asked if society should let the hypothetical patient die before explaining about pre Medicare days and churches taking care of the sick, blah, blah, blah. Someone in the audience yells "YEAH!" at the thought of letting the patient die to hoots and hollers and it sounds like they're mostly in agreement. I'm sure if the dipshit audience member who yelled had a member of their family who was in that situation, he would think differently.

I also can't dismiss this as just two or three jackasses in the audience. They ALL applauded at the notion of letting the hypothetical patient fend for himself. It's not just two or three jackasses anymore. It's become mainstream GOP thinking. And if the nominees and the Republican leadership feel the need to kowtow to the Tea Party, then shame on them.

Just another example blowing apart the myth that both parties are the same.

The Party of Hansel and Gretel

POSTED BY DESERT CRONE

Too many Democrats are like Hansel and Gretel following the bread crumbs strewn at their feet by the Republicans and mainstream media (MSM). What occurred the other day was a screw up over the date of President Obama’s speech. It was a blip on the radar, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe some White House staff person didn’t check the event calendar. Who knows? I’m pretty sure this type of mistake has happened many times before. However, the Republicans capitalized on this and chose to make it an “event” by publicly rebuking the President in an unprecedented show of disrespect, gamesmanship, and ugliness. They scattered their moldy bread crumbs around, and some on the Left gobbled them up. Rather than call out the Republicans in one loud, strong, unified voice, we castigated the victim, playing right into the Republicans’ hands. Oh, and where was the ubiquitous Congressional Black Caucus? One would think that people who have experienced the ugliness of racism would be denouncing Speaker Boehner. Their response was deafening silence as far as I can tell.

There was an outcry over this fiasco—an outcry denouncing President Obama, not the Republicans. Really, folks, is this the issue for which we wanted President Obama to fall on his sword? Let’s imagine the scenarios of the President fighting back: “Stop being mean to me.” Yep, that would have been effective. That would have been extra fuel for Republicans, and the incident would have lasted for weeks rather than days. Or how about “I’m going to give my speech anyway, and y’all better come hear it.” The House chamber would have echoed as the President’s words bounced off of the empty seats. But my all-time favorite from the Left was he should have given his speech from the Oval Office.

Well, after watching the speech, I would hope we all see why speaking to a joint session was so much more effective. The American people witnessed a spectacle that would have made DeMille happy. For crying out loud, Republicans did not even stand and applaud for the GI Bill for crying out loud. That moment will be burned into the minds of moderates and independents through November 2012.

Thank goodness Mr. Cool didn’t lose his cool like the Republicans and some Democrats. If he had, the attention wouldn’t have been on his speech. In fact, the atmosphere going into the speech would have been one of hijinks and goofiness. But instead the speech was preceded by seriousness and anticipation and the date kerfuffle tamped down. Too late for those on the Left because they had already followed the Republican crumbs right into the Right’s trap—again.

But it’s not only the right wing that drops crumbs for us to follow. Look what the media dropped for us over the past few days--$300 billion jobs bill. One of those chomping on those crumbs was Rep. Raul Grijalva, whining that $300 billion wasn’t enough. Nicole Sandler, subbing for radio host Randi Rhodes a couple of days before jobs speech, said she didn’t like what the President was going to say, an opinion based on media reports. She opposed any debt reduction proposal. (By the way, debt reduction means billions we pay on interest can go toward programs the Left cherish, but that’s another post.) Those two, like so many other Dems, were already criticizing the President’s job plan based on media reports before even hearing the speech.

Wasn’t the issue of black unemployment a media crumb? The Congressional Black Caucus went nuts over that issue recently but interestingly, not before it became the darling topic of MSM. Suddenly, the members of the CBC are all over the map literally denouncing Presodent Obama for low black unemployment. Yes, minority unemployment is an increasingly distressing issue and yes, when unemployment is down in general, it’s so much worse in minority communities. However, all of Obama’s policies and programs that deal with joblessness, hunger, health care also help minorities who suffer by a greater proportion.

They also blasted him for not going to Detroit, a city he has been to many, many times and whose policies have helped the city rebuild. But shouldn’t the constituents of Maxine Waters have answered her statement, “When you tell us to let go, we’ll let go” with “What have YOU done for us lately?” And now the media is accusing the President of never talking about housing. Really? Well, guess what? He does—a lot. In fact, he’s made it easier for home owners to get out from oppressive mortgages. The media just doesn’t pay attention. But I’m betting that will be the meme of the some on the Left soon. Where are the houses? Where are the houses?

While watching President Obama throw a fit and spew angry words may make us feel better, that behavior doesn’t move his agenda forward. And isn’t that what we’re really about? Helping others and our nation recover. If you want histrionics, you better look somewhere else other than this White House. However, if you want a President who moves his agenda steadily forward in spite of so many obstacles thrown in path by both the Right and Left, then Barack Obama is your man.

As long as we follow others’ bread crumbs rather that creating our own message or gobbling up the crumbs instead of staying on message, we hurt our own cause. We must stay on message! We are looking at the most dangerous, crazy field of Republican candidates ever, but rather than show our conservative friends and families the stark differences between them and President Obama, we’re busy bashing him in the most obtuse, juvenile ways with insults to his character and courage. As usual, we on the Left let one opportunity after another go by while we eat our own.

I suggest we try something different this time. Let’s get behind the President’s jobs bill and push it through Congress. Dammit, let’s get is right (uh... correct) this time.

It's All In The Timing - UPDATED

For months now, all we've been hearing from the Republican Party is a mocking tone led by Speaker of the House, John "Big Gavel" Boehner. "Where are the jobs?" Boehner would ask/mock/yell any time he took a podium within earshot of network microphones. All you need to do is take a look at Boehner's tweets to see that his constant harping about any Obama plan and the damage that it would do, adding the modifying "job killing" phrase to every other sentence and even a couple of bills, and the transparency is obvious. Nevermind that the GOP ran on "jobs, jobs, jobs" in 2010 and as of this writing, the Republican led House of Representatives has not passed one single jobs bill.

And for weeks now, there's been nothing but whining and moaning from the GOP on wanting an economic and jobs plan from President Obama, regardless of the fact that it's the House that ultimately controls the pursestrings and creates and passes economic legislation.

Well, they wanted a jobs plan and now President Obama is going to give it to them. So it happens that they requested a joint session of Congress to reveal said plan on the same night as a Republican primary debate at the Reagan Library on September 7th. ...Oops.

While it may be a thumb in the eye to the GOP, the fact of the matter is that September 7th is also the first day that Congress is back in session after a five week recess. Yes, they were off for the entire month of August while some whined about the President's 10 day vacation. So it makes absolute sense to make the address on the first day of school. Is it also a 'fuck you' to Republicans who've been badgering him about a jobs plan for months? Probably, although they'd never admit to it. But now the White House has put the GOP in a tough spot. If they're so eager to hear the President's plan, they'll have to decide to agree to the joint session and prioritize what's important. They'll have to deal with the optics of a real President giving an important address regarding the nation's most pressing issue while the wannabes squawk about their one idea yet again: deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy as job creation.

But so far, all we've heard is more whining.

ADDING... Gawker has called this move "the most gratuitously -- and joyously! -- dickish move of his presidency." Well, when in Rome...

UPDATE I (6:55pm): Well, now we know where John Boehner and the GOP's priorities lie.

House Speaker John Boehner announced Wednesday that he would reject a request from President Obama for a national address before a joint-session of Congress.

So much for the jobs crisis, huh?

UPDATE II (9:35pm): I'm disgusted.

President Barack Obama agreed late Wednesday to delay a planned jobs speech to a joint session of Congress by one day after House Speaker John Boehner objected to the date the White House originally sought.

That one day delay, September 8th, is opening night of the NFL. As a regular reader of this blog just said to me, "Fucking clueless. Even I will be watching the game. If he loses the election, it won't be because of the economy. The base will just see him as a capitulator. I hear it every fucking day."

I have to admit I'm feeling the frustration as well. It's obvious this particular Congress doesn't give a shit about even the appearance of giving this particular president a modicum of respect. And if I'm being honest, if Obama doesn't demand it, why should the GOP bother when they know they can roll him?

I'm fucking disgusted.

ADDING... Look, overall I think I'm just venting my increasing frustration with the lack of respect shown to the President from the other side. I'm tired of Boehner and Cantor and the GOP thinking they are on equal footing with the President of the United States. Never in the history of this country has such hubris been displayed by the opposition party against the Commander in Chief. Refusing a joint session of Congress to a sitting president has never happened. But what I'm projecting is what I think most of the country is projecting; the majority of the country that aren't political junkies and view this peripherally.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope the general population looks at this scenario and will see and realize that the GOP will say no to everything the President suggests, even a date for a jobs speech the GOP have been badgering for, for months. I hope they realize that the GOP is unreasonable and can't even acquiesce to a date requested by their President. I hope this is more Obama ju-jitsu and hope that the polls reflect that. I pray to the FSM that I'm wrong.

But I still can't shake my original point: why did the White House pick this particular date if they weren't going to stick to it? It looks wishy-washy and politically it'll be spun as such. There would be no controversy had they chosen Tuesday night (most if not all of Congress would be back in DC by then) or Thursday night even though they'd be fighting for ratings against opening night of the football season. So again, why did they choose the same night as the GOP debate?

HYSTERICAL!

Indecision 2012 - The Awakening

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