A Spork in the Drawer

Things You Can't Make Up

House Republicans vote against Mother's Day.

No new word yet on the GOP's plan to criminalize baseball & apple pie.

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Republican Family Values

Rep. Vito Fossella

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Dreams Die

Indiana Republican/Nazi candidate (and possible friend of this blog) Tony Zirkle lost his bid to join Congress.

So it appears that there will be no Nazis in Congress come January.

We'll just have to settle for Republicans.

[Via Think Progress.]




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An Apology

Yesterday I called Indiana Republican Congressional candidate Tony Zirkle a "Nazi." As someone who attempts to be both fair and accurate I should have waited for his explanation:

When asked if he was a Nazi or sympathized with Nazis or white supremacists, Zirkle replied he didn’t know enough about the group to either favor it or oppose it.

Obviously, Mr. Zirkle believed he was addressing the B'Nai B'rith:

I hope that Mr. Zirkle accepts my heartfelt apology.

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Pulling My Leg

And thus it begins:

The N.C. Republican Party says it will not back away from a planned TV ad that uses footage of Barack Obama's controversial former minister, despite objections from the expected GOP presidential nominee, John McCain.

The ad, released Wednesday on the Internet, tries to link the minister to two Democratic candidates for governor, both of whom have endorsed Obama.

Republican chairwoman Linda Daves said she would not bow to pressure from the Republican National Committee and others to pull the ad.

Oh yes, I'm sure St. John and the RNC really, really want this ad removed from the airwaves. I'm sure they really, really believe that this sort of guilt-by-association has no place in political campaigns.

Yes, we can expect this all the way to November:

Independent Group: Look at our new smear ad!

McCain: I object! Take the ad down!

Independent Group: No.

McCain: Darn. I tried.

Politics is fun!

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Things The World Doesn't Need II

Campaign songs.

Written by Orrin Hatch:

Not content to sit on the sidelines, longtime senator and one-time presidential hopeful Orrin Hatch has penned a song for his Senate buddy John McCain in hopes of helping his White House bid.

Really, he did.

Hatch - a Utah Republican who won a platinum award for helping co-write lyrics for a song that sold more than a million records - crafted a tune called "Together Forever" for the presumptive Republican nominee.

"Forever together / America is the land we're fighting for / There's a time in history / for a hero's destiny / together forever more," says Hatch's song, co-written with composer Philip Springer, famous for the Christmas song, "Santa Baby."

This is the part that made me fall over laughing:

"We'll see Barack Obama's Bruce Springsteen endorsement and raise them an Orrin Hatch," a spokesman said.

The Boss has nothing on the mad songwriting skillz of MC Orrin! Check out the reviews:

And, according to Hardball, while Hatch's office says he was aiming for an upbeat song that would appeal to the youth vote, the song doesn't mimic anything found on the Top 40 - or even the next 40.

Jason Mattera, spokesman for the conservative Young America's Foundation, says the lyrics are fine but the beats and tempo are "not appealing to young people.

"Hatch's heart is in the right place, but he has the wrong decade," Mattera says, noting that the message to attract young people is that liberalism oppresses people, stifles freedom and causes "pervasive destitution. I give him credit for trying, though," Mattera adds.

Still, a guy's gotta dream:

Nonetheless, Hatch says the song should get good reviews.

"It has been very enjoyable to write this song, and I think most people will like it."

I'd be interested to hear Hatch's definition of "most people."

The question yet to be answered: Will Hatch displace John Ashcroft at the top of the charts?

[Via DHinMI at the Great Orange Satan.]

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Hey, Americans!

Feeling bitter yet?

U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation to reverse a Supreme Court ruling that makes it tougher for workers to sue for pay discrimination.

[...]

The Senate action will likely kill the measure for the year.

None dare call it filibuster and the Republicans will never miss a chance to screw working people.

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Ya Just Knew...

...if we waited long enough their would be a Republican candidate who was an actual Nazi.

Happy Birfday, Adolph!


(And yes, I know he's a fringe candidate.)

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Told Ya

Now Karl Rove implies that Obama is a Marxist. Add "Squeaky Wheels" Krauthammer and Brit "I Love My Dead Gay Son" Hume so this will be pretty standard for FauxNews as well. And maybe CNN.

Another 6+ months of this...

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Marx Is The New Hitler

It seems like just yesterday that Barack Obama was this year's Hitler. But last week The right took a new tack: Obama's a Communist! That's to be expected, I suppose, when it comes to the fever swamps of the right. But then Monday's NYT allowed William "The Bloody" Kristol to insinuate that Obama is, indeed, a Pinko if not an outright Red.

The New. York. Times.

And now, right on schedule, BushCo's™ favorite lapdog, the increasingly foul Holy Joe Lieberman, piles on:

NAPITALIANO: Hey Sen. Lieberman, you know Barack Obama, is he a Marxist as Bill Kristol says might be the case in today’s New York Times? Is he an elitist like your colleague Hillary Clinton says he is?

LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, I must say that’s a good question. I know him now for a little more than three years since he came into the Senate and he’s obviously very smart and he’s a good guy. I will tell ya that during this campaign, I’ve learned some things about him, about the kind of environment from which he came ideologically. And I wouldn’t…I’d hesitate to say he’s a Marxist, but he’s got some positions that are far to the left of me and I think mainstream America. [emphasis added]

And this after Obama aided Lieberman in his 2006 reelection. (And, yes, I consider this a blot on Obama's judgement.)

So perhaps, along with calling Obama "boy", we're starting to see the outlines of the GOP's autumn attacks. It's not going to be fun.

(Oh, and if Hillary picks up on the whole Communist thing I'll support all legal means to have her removed from the Senate.)

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Classy As Always

The House GOPers:

Yesterday, Jackie Speier was sworn in as Congress’s newest Democratic member from California, succeeding the deceased Tom Lantos. During her opening speech, Speier was loudly booed by House conservatives when she began speaking about Iraq. “The process to bring the troops home must begin immediately,” she said. “The President wants to stay the course, and a man who wants to replace him suggests we could be in Iraq for 100 years.”

What a welcome!

The sooner these Republicans are consigned to the dustbin of history the better.

Video at link.

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Well Then

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Wide Stance) lends his support to Sen. David Vitter (R-Pampers).

The sheer number of possible quips has shut down my brain.

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Republicans At Work

He should resign in shame:

Yesterday, Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), who voted for the Iraq invasion, admitted in a town hall meeting that he never read the pre-war National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, the faulty intelligence that the Bush administration used to justify the invasion of Iraq. Shays added that he still hasn’t read the document:

No, I didn’t, thank you. I did not read it. .. I did not read it. But I could still read it, and I probably should. So, who’s on my staff?

No wonder Congress is about as popular as scurvy.

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Republican Patriotism

Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry:

We spent the night in the Green Zone, in the poolhouse of one of Saddam’s palaces. A little weird, I got to be honest with you. But I felt safe. And so in the morning, I got up early — not that I make this a great habit — but I went to the gym because I just couldn’t sleep and everything else. Well, sure enough, the guard wouldn’t let me in. Said I didn’t have the correct credentials.

It’s 5:00 in the morning. I haven’t had sleep. I was not very happy with this two-bit security guard. So you know, I said, “I want to see your supervisor.” Thirty minutes later, the supervisor wasn’t happy with me, they escort me back to my room. It happens. I guess I didn’t need to work out anyway.

More than 4,000 "two-bit security guards" have died for McHenry's favorite war.

Video at link. If you can stand it.

From Atrios:

Washington, D.C. Office

224 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Telephone: 202.225.2576

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa yesterday:

San Diego GOP Rep. Darrell Issa was under siege for suggesting the federal government had already done enough to help New York cope with "a fire" that "simply was an aircraft" hitting the World Trade Center.

More than 3,000 died when those aircraft hit the WTC, Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field.

WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. WRONG. WITH. REPUBLICANS?

But I'm sure they were wearing flag pins on their lapels so it's OK.

As Steve Benen says, "Let’s play, ‘Imagine If A Democrat Had Said This’"

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Being A Loyal Republican Isn't Enough

Meet Leslie Hagan:

Several people interviewed by the inspector general's staff described the case to NPR and said they came away with the impression that the Attorney General's office decided not to renew Leslie Hagen's contract because of the talk about her sexual orientation. Hagen received the highest possible ratings for her work as liaison between the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys' committee on Native American issues. Her final job evaluation lists five categories for supervisors to rank her performance. For each category, a neat X fills the box marked, "Outstanding." And at the bottom of the page, under "overall rating level," she also got the top mark: Outstanding.

The form is dated February 1, 2007. Several months before that evaluation, Hagen was told her contract would not be renewed

[...]

Sarah Brubaker, a tribal prosecutor in Michigan, said Hagen was "at the very top of any of the prosecutors I've ever worked with." Brubaker said it's very difficult "to find someone of her caliber, who is not only an excellent prosecutor, but also easy to work with — personable, professional."

A former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Tom Heffelfinger, recruited Hagen in October 2005 to come to Washington from Michigan, where she won awards for her work as a federal prosecutor.

"I felt at the time she was the best qualified person in the nation to fill that job," says Heffelfinger. "I was never consulted about her performance as liaison to the Native American Issues Committee, and I never heard any criticism of her performance from any other component within the department."

What makes this story truly fun is an appearance by on old friend:

So, what was Goodling's problem with Hagen?

The Justice Department's inspector general is looking into whether Hagen was dismissed after a rumor reached Goodling that Hagen is a lesbian.

As one Republican source put it, "To some people, that's even worse than being a Democrat."

Yes, that would be Monica "Law Degree From Pat Robertson" Goodling.

Speaking of rumors, is it irresponsible to speculate that Our Fair Monica's impending nuptials are a cover for some secret that she finds shameful? It is irresponsible not to.*

See, rumor-mongering can be fun and productive!

*Formulation ©Peggy Noonan

[Via Paul Kiel.]

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Conservatives Are Strange And Worrisome

Now that Idaho Sen. Larry "Wide Stance" Craig is officially "retiring" the fine white people of the Spud State will have to choose a new Senator. Could it be this guy?

A Senate candidate has legally changed his name to Pro-Life and will appear on the ballot that way this year, state election officials say.

As Marvin Pro-Life Richardson, the organic strawberry farmer from Letha, 30 miles northwest of Boise, was denied the use of his middle name when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 because the state's policy bars the use of slogans on the ballot.

Now, though, officials in the Idaho secretary of state's office say they have no choice because Pro-Life is his full and only name. He says he will run for the highest state office on the ballot every two years for the rest of his life, advocating murder charges for doctors who perform abortions and for women who obtain the procedure.

I await the candidacy of Bob Free Heroin for Schoolchildren Robertson.

[Via C&L.]

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Suspicions Confirmed?

While not excusing his actions it appears the now-former New York Guv Elliot Spitzer WAS targeted by the Republicans.

Had Spitzer not handed them the gun I'd call this a classic Republican ratfuck.

The irony, of course, is that Roger Stone is behind this.

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In Advance Of St. Paddy's Day

The Republican National Committee sends holiday greetings:

Apparently the name "Drunky McIrish" was rejected.

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Schadenfreude II

They've become so used to thievery that they're now stealing from themselves. I speak, of course, of the Republicans:

In the tiny world of people who keep the books for Washington's multitude of political committees, Christopher J. Ward was considered the Republican "gold standard," in the words of a former co-worker -- one of the few people with so much expertise in election law that everyone wanted Ward's services.

The quiet workaholic is listed as treasurer for 83 GOP fundraising committees over the past eight years, according to Federal Election Commission records. In the past five years alone, he oversaw the accounting for committees that raised more than $400 million, $368 million of it at the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to a Washington Post review of those records.

But in late January, Ward, 39, was dismissed as the NRCC announced that it had found financial "irregularities" that "may include fraud." The FBI is investigating what appears to be "a significant amount of money" missing from the House Republican fundraising arm, according to a law enforcement official.

Shockingly, one Republican actually says something intelligent:

"The House Republican brand is so bad right now that if it were a dog food, they'd take it off the shelf," said retiring Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), who chaired the NRCC for four years earlier this decade.

That leads me to suggest a new motto for the Republican Party: "The Made-in-China of American Politics."

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The Huckster

Fully-formed human.



Homunculus.

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Another Day...

...another Republican criminal:

Republican Rep. Rick Renzi has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related to a land deal in Arizona.

But wait, there's more! Via Laura Rozen, Renzi has a mysterious background:

For a national political figure who served on the powerful House Intelligence Committee, Renzi's background is, as described by Wikipedia, "unclear."

[...]

Exactly what Renzi did for the next two decades is blurry. He has said he worked overseas for the Defense Department, but research turned up no information on which agency, where he was assigned or what duties he had.

Gee, do ya think Renzi might have been/might be a spook?

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Hitlers! Hitlers Everywhere!

We should have seen this coming. The latest Hitler? Barack Obama.

Honestly, the Republican wingers need to be driven out of this country.

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No Matter How Low You Think They Can Go...

...the Republicans can go lower. Aravosis:

Even the dead are political pawns to the Republicans (then again, we already knew that post-September 11). House Republicans, at the bidding of the Bush White House, are upset that House Democrats are voting on contempt citations for Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton today. So the House GOP members are disrupting proceedings in the House today, calling for "protest votes" and the like that eat up 15 minutes of the day at a time. Well, they just called one such protest vote in the middle of recently-deceased Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos' memorial service, which they certainly knew was taking place. This is akin to forcing people to leave a wake on purpose. The House Republicans and the White House couldn't wait for Lantos' service to be finished before forcing everyone back to the House floor to vote for something silly. They intentionally disrupted a dead man's memorial service for political gain. But as was already noted, the Republicans have been abusing the memory of 3,000 dead for seven years now, so why expect anything new and better from them now.

Disgusting.

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GOP Vote Rigging

Against one of their own?

Short version: Mike Huckabee was closing in on John McCain in Saturday's Washington caucus (after winning Louisiana and Kansas) when the chair of the state GOP suddenly declared the vote counting over. With 13% of the precincts uncounted.

As Josh says, Bush v. Gore this ain't but something's rotten in the state of Washington.

---

UPDATE: The Huckster calls in the lawyers.

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Tyrant

Pierce:

For the past couple of weeks, they've just gotten blatant about it. The administration of George W. Bush is bound by no law, bound by no precedent, bound not even by the forms of democratic self-government, let alone its actual substance, which is being used as a throw-rug in John Yoo's den these days. They will torture and the Congress can do nothing. Their powers to spy, to search, and to seize are unlimited and Congress is not remotely entitled to know even what those powers are. They can imprison without trial. They can force corporations -- and, indeed, individuals within the government -- to violate the law. They are not subject to treaties. They are not subject to oversight, nor even subpoenas. Read this swill from yesterday. Through his actions, and from the mouths of his minions, George Bush is now claiming fully the powers of a tyrant, by any reasonable definition of the term.

[...]

...Now, a group of very obvious extremists -- Dick Cheney is an authoritarian bully and a personal coward. His approval rating is 19 percent in the country and 100 percent in that hall. Res ipse loquitur. -- gathers in Washington, and not only do the party's most prominent political figures truckle and beg, your liberal media puts the worst of them on the air, as if they were serious people and not simple public vandals. Jesus Christ in Air Jordans, what in hell was David Bossie, a thug and a hoodlum, doing on Jim Lehrer's program last night? Tom DeLay is under indictment, for pity's sake. Why was he on MSNBC, grinning at Chris Matthews and lying about climate change? Mitt Romney's speech was a sprawling landfill of demagogic swill. It was treated as, well, statesmanlike by people who believe that John McCain is not conservative enough. This is plainly nuts, and any respectable conservative would work tirelessly to wring these crackpots out of the movement before the whole mess goes over the cliff again. Somebody should, you know, take out an ad or something.

Read the whole thing.

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And Then There Was One

Willard saves Tagg's inheritance and cedes the field to St. John.

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ADDED: What class!

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

To be blunt: Every Republican is a mendacious asshole.

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Word Of The Day

Childish:

There's a new rule at the Republican National Committee. Refer to the two leading Democratic presidential candidates simply as "Barack" and "Hillary" and you'll be fined $10. The reason: Using first names makes the candidates sound more likable but calling them "Senator Obama" and "Senator Clinton" makes them sound more distant and bureaucratic. "I don't think people are actually being fined," says one insider. But everyone is being "encouraged" to follow the rule.

The Republicans could use a good spanking.

Except they'd probably enjoy it.

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Republican Intelligence...

...is an oxymoron:

In a press release last week, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) attacked the new economic stimulus bill for sending “hundreds of millions of dollars” to “foreign citizens,” including “residents of Puerto Rico and territories like Guam.” Calling her comments “infuriating and contradictory,” the Puerto Rican House of Representatives demanded “a public apology” today from Brown-Waite for referring to Puerto Ricans as “foreign citizens.” Puerto Ricans were made American citizens in 1917. 

With an emphasis on "moron."

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It's Been Awhile

Let's check in with our pals over at the Daily Scaife. It appears that Tom Purcell is really depressed:

Rudy's gone and now I'm really depressed.

Told ya.

Is Tom really depressed because 9iu11ani was going to save us from scary brown people? Surprisingly, no. It's all about the taxes:

And because I'll have to organize and record hundreds of receipts that I keep in a giant box -- a task that will take countless hours -- I get even more depressed.

But Rudy was going to save me from such woes. His tax-reform plan was the best thing to come down the pike since home-delivered pizza and twist-off beer caps.

I have to admit this is different. Most Rudy! supporters were in it for the mass death and authoritarian domestic policies promised by America's Mayor™.

But Rudy is gone and his simplified tax plan is gone with him.

Did you know that Tom is really depressed? He is!

Tom likes Huckster's idea of scrapping the current tax code and replacing it with a national sales tax. That such a tax is astoundingly regressive matters not. Tom, who is really depressed, believes that such a plan is too "sensible" to ever be enacted. He seems okay with Mittens' and St. John's ideas on taxes but is put off by their lack of concrete proposals. Tom mentions Ron Paul as well.

Tom, already depressed enough, looks at the tax plans of Hillary and Obama and is positively terrified. Why?

Don't worry about the IRS making a mistake -- that you owe them a couple million, for instance. I'm sure you'll be able to clear up the matter with only a minimal amount of jail time.

Pointing out that if Hillary or Obama is elected president he, and presumably me and you, will be going to prison over taxes certainly is depressing. Depressing enough to depress a hyena. No wonder Tom is really depressed.

That's why I've been depressed since Rudy dropped out of the presidential race.

See? And Tom is bitter about what might have been:

If only he'd had a better strategy in the primaries, maybe he could have made it to the White House. I had visions of him cleaning up our burdensome tax code the way he did Times Square.

"It's Giuliani time!" writ large.

Now, though, I'm really worried about Tom:

It's all pointless now.

I sure hope Tom doesn't do anything rash. Hide the knives!

Rudy's gone and his incredibly simple tax plan is gone with him. That means I'll spend countless miserable hours this winter and spring getting my tax affairs in order. I'll worry that a Democrat will win the presidency and that filing will be even harder next year.

I'd say that Tom needs a hug but it looks like he's found solace in bitterness:

Thanks for nothing, Rudy.

Chins up, Tom! There's always 2012.

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Our Elections

A Swedish perspective:

So, believe me, US politics don't have a Left. Looking at the presidential candidates, I am frankly appalled. None of them would be a viable politician in Sweden. They all support the death penalty (linked article in Swedish-ed.), none advocates strict gun control and all make frequent mention of their religious beliefs in public. These are extremist stances. Not even the tiny Christian Democrat party mentions God publicly in Sweden, for fear of alienating the pragmatic rationalist majority.

From a European perspective, US politics are an ongoing battle between the extreme Right and the middle Right. The Republican presidential candidates are really, really scary people in my view. So all of us in the world at large who live under the shadow of US political hegemony are holding our breaths, hoping that Clinton or Obama will make it into office. They're pretty bad, but the alternative would be unspeakably dreadful.

I'm not about to disagree.

[Via PZ.]

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There Goes The Canine-American Vote

Noted dog-torturer Willard Romney has received the coveted endorsement of noted dog-lover (ahem) and former Senator Rick Santorum.

To say that Li'l Ricky hates, but hates, John McCain would be an understatement. Mike Lux explains.






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The End Of Willard?

Or a very clever strategy of competing without competing?

Several officials said that on the heels of a defeat in Tuesday's Florida primary, Romney's campaign was not attempting to purchase television advertising time in any of the 21 states on the calendar for Feb. 5.

Mittens dropping out would indeed be bad news as that would make St. John the nominee. Bad news in that an awful lot of self-identified moderates and even more than a few liberals thing that McCain is an OK guy. Why they think that is beyond my comprehension.

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The GOP Goes For Teh Cute

Makes your teeth ache it does:

(As far as the RNC is concerned my name is "Bob.")

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We'll Always Have Marilyn

9iu11ani to go bye-bye. Judi on suicide watch.

---

ADDED: From Taegan Goddard:

"The beast is dead."

-- Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, quoted by ABC News, on the end to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

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McCain Wins Florida...

...wingers on suicide watch.

Heh.

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Mittens!

Willard comes up with an economic plan: Make old people get jobs.

That's why he's a member of the "Party of Ideas."




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The Real McCain

For reasons that continue to elude me many self-described moderates (and even some liberals) see St. John as a viable alternative to whichever Democratic candidate they hate. Not only is he far right on the vast majority of issues (although his American conservative Union rating has dropped), not only does he want to continue the Iraq War for a hundred or a million years, not only does he want to bomb bomb bomb Iran, but now we find out that ultra-rightist Sen. Sam Brownback will advise him on Supreme Court choices and that his model justices are Alito and Scalia.

So, all you nominal Democrats who will vote for McCain (or sit on your hands) because (Hillary/Obama/Edwards) was mean to (Hillary/Obama/Edwards) think about what you're doing. You don't want to be the Naderites of 2008. There's too much at stake.

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He Was Still Running For President?

Who knew?

I guess Fred decided to spend more time with the twins.

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[rubs hands together in glee]

What fun this would be!

The Republican presidential race is so unsettled that some party officials are openly talking of a scenario that seemed almost unthinkable until now: the first contested GOP convention in 60 years.

[...]

"The way it looks now, it could end up in the convention," Ron Schmidt, South Dakota's Republican National Committeeman, said of the party's nominating process. "It's fascinating if you're a political junkie."

True, that.

But I can't help but think that this is all part of Newt Gingrich's cunning plan.

(And it wouldn't surprise me if I'm right about that.)

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From The Big Brains Of The GOP

A couple of things from Think Progress. First up, creepily insane Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Straightjacket) on working:

I am so proud to be from the state of Minnesota. We’re the workingest state in the country, and the reason why we are, we have more people that are working longer hours, we have people that are working two jobs.

Of course, that means no one is around to raise the children. So much for "family values."

Next, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-WTF?) on, well, I'm not sure:

You know, we’re buying carbon credits. It reminds me of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages when you could buy indulgences. I like the food that we had before. I like real food, food that I can pronounce the name of!

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the word "taco" is one he can't pronounce. And for all that is decent keep arugula away from him!

It's a wonder that they win elections at all.

Or maybe it isn't:

Republican voter.

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Wow

I can't stand John McCain but this is about as vile an attack as I've ever seen. Greg Sargent:

This is ugly even by South Carolina standards: John McCain is being targeted by a nasty flyer that lampoons McCain's POW captivity in Vietnam. The flyer, which was sent to local newspaper editors, depicts a manacled McCain in a cell with the phrase "POW for President," and "elect me" scrawled on the walls, suggesting that McCain is trying to ride his POW status into the White House.

The flyer:

The hatred of McCain among many Republicans never ceases to astound me. If we want to make Republicans keel over dead we should nominate a Hillary/McCain ticket. That ought to do it.

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Can't Even Buy Respect

Poor Mittens:

The Michigan Republican Party mistakenly sent out a news release Tuesday night congratulating John McCain for winning the state's GOP primary.

It quickly issued a second statement praising Mitt Romney for his win.

[...]

The first GOP release went out just minutes later and stated, "In a close-fought victory, Senator John McCain succeeded again (in) the Michigan Republican primary, winning over a traditionally unpredictable voter base in Michigan."

Five minutes after that, the party sent a release that said, "In a close-fought victory, native son Governor Mitt Romney won an important contest here tonight."

[Via DHinMI.]

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Republicans Are Insane

Willard:

Well, you know, I think the race in Iowa was really a very clear call that people want change in Washington, not in the White House, in Washington.

The Mittster's referring to President 25%.

Next up, the former NYC Mayor and would be Führer:

None of this worries me - Sept. 11, there were times I was worried [.]

As Joe Biden so brilliantly put it, "I mean, think about it! Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun, a verb, and 9/11. There's nothing else! There's nothing else!"

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Huckmania! II - Electric Boogaloo

So how do the Republicans feel about Iowa today?

Let's just say that the state is filled with "corn-sucking idiots."

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Huckmania!

The Republican Establishment pretends it's not panicking.

tristero has a timely reminder of what exactly the Huckster is.




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Torture

No, really. If you watch this you have only yourselves to blame:

[Via Jesse Wendel.]

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A Message For Mitt

Yo, Willard, check it out:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Constitution, dawg.

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Ron Paul Isn't Cute

Paul Rosenberg explains.

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Friend Of Rudy

Bernie Kerik indicted.

I'll let watertiger have this one.

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Chest Thumping

Reg Henry:

Not to worry. By expressing his belligerent views, Mr. Giuliani is able to make dyspeptic conservatives forget all the other stuff. For them and their talk-show thought controllers, the main thing is to be tough, always tough.

Still, this is fairly amazing for the rest of us. What happened to the gay-bashing so popular with the Republican Party faithful in recent years? What about all their other alleged values that Republicans said they cared about? Will they put aside their favorite prejudices just to worship power at the first church of Rudy Giuliani?

Of course they will. Anything to win. Besides, they understand now that there has been a bit of the old "doth complain too much" syndrome at work with the result that ordinary fellows are afraid to go into men's rooms around the country lest they find conservative preachers and politicians playing happy feet.

Read the whole thing.

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Let Me Be Blunt

All Republicans are criminals and/or hypocrites:

[Fred] Thompson selected the businessman, Philip Martin, to raise seed money for his White House bid. Martin is one of four campaign co-chairmen and the head of a group called the "first day founders." Campaign aides jokingly began to refer to Martin, who has been friends with Thompson since the early 1990s, as the head of "Thompson's Airforce."

Thompson's frequent flights aboard Martin's twin-engine Cessna 560 Citation have saved him more than $100,000, because until the law changed in September, campaign-finance rules allowed presidential candidates to reimburse private jet owners for just a fraction of the true cost of flights.

Martin entered a plea of guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979; the court withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. He was charged in 1983 with violating his probation and with multiple counts of felony bookmaking, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from a plan to sell $30,000 worth of the drug, and was continued on probation.

Now for the funny part:

Karen Hanretty, Thompson's deputy communications director, said yesterday that "Senator Thompson was unaware of the information until this afternoon. Phil Martin has been a friend of the senator since the mid-1990s and remains so today." Thompson communications director Todd Harris added that Martin was not subjected to the campaign's standard vetting process because "he's a longtime friend."

Sure, Fred, sure.

The party of integrity and morality, my ass.

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In Which I Agree With Willard

Alone among the teevee networks FOX "News" maintains a copyright stranglehold on the presidential debates they air. The Mittster has told them to get stuffed:

The Romney campaign has sent a letter to Fox News saying that they will defy the network's request that all the GOP campaigns "cease and desist" from using Fox debate footage in ads or on their web sites, I've just learned.

[...]

So we checked in with the Romney campaign to see what was up. And Romney spokesman Kevin Madden confirmed that the campaign has informed Fox that they were defying the request.

Romney may be all suit and no substance save for the flip-flops and he may be the biggest threat to the Democrats taking the White House next year (IMHO) but he's absolutely right on this issue. Neither FAUX nor any one else should control such footage. Copyrights be damned.

.

Question

Is there a Republican who isn't a closeted gay?

State Representative Richard Curtis says he's not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women's lingerie and met a Medical Lake man in a local erotic video store which led to consensual sex at a downtown hotel and a threat to expose Curtis' activities publicly.

[...]

Curtis, according to a search warrant unsealed Tuesday, went to the Hollywood Erotic Boutique on East Sprague on October 26th at approximately 12:45 a.m. The store clerk, who had talked with Curtis, referred to him as "The Cross-Dresser" and said that du