The Wingnuttery Really Can Be a Beautiful Thing, Man

Word has hit the internets that Rush Limbaugh has apologized for indecent conduct aimed at a courageous 20 something year old grad student. Slut-gate - Limbaugh's assault on women who have used birth control pills either as contraception or for health reasons - was a bridge too far for several advertisers who dropped their sponsorship of El Dimbo after his vile remarks, which are so vile that they cannot be repeated on this blog.

How does Limbaugh's indecency play on the wingnet one may ask. Are the wingers defending indecency? Will they defend this assault on women?

Kinda no and Kinda yes:

Part of what’s so poisonous about our culture is that we reward people more, the more vicious and cruel and thuggish they get (then, of course, we turn around and complain about the coarseness and ugliness of our politics and media). I disapprove vehemently of Limbaugh’s personal slurs against that young woman, because I thought they were nasty and misogynistic. What he said was wrong. What he said in his apology — “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices” — was right.

So in this case, I want to reward him for doing what’s right. After condemning what he said that was wrong, and endorsing what he said that he was right, I think we should — to coin a phrase — “move on.” To continue the controversy at this point would be merely to pursue the vendetta against Limbaugh in exactly the way that has landed us in the mess our culture’s in. In short: If people don’t let this go at this point, they shouldn’t complain the next time somebody engages in insults, refuses to apologize, and makes our culture even coarser. If you reward something, you tend to get more of it. Let’s try rewarding decency for a change, and see what happens.

Michael Potemra - NRO Guy

Yes - further criticism of Limbaugh will turn poor El Dimbo into a victim. This is truly beautiful when you think about it. In the future, applying the Potemra Doctrine, can be a ratings booster for Limbaugh. All he have to do is to apologize after every indecent remarks he marks. Or better yet, he could just end the show like: "if I've offended anybody during the show, then I am sorry that you were offended."

This way he could say the craziest, meanest most indecent shit he can think of and slap on an apology and be done with it. Then the Michael Potemra's of the world could tsk, tsk El Dimbo's indecency while assuring the rest of us that the right thing to do is to simply "move on."

Simply awesome.

Wingnut Says Whaaaat…....?

"Mayflower Mark" Krikorian:

We have no interest in helping the Muslim Brotherhood overthrow the Assad regime. But I would go further. Civil war in Syria is actually the best real-world scenario for us in the coming years — the longer, the better.

[…]

It will be terrible for the Syrian people — especially for the Christians who, unlike in Lebanon, are a smaller share of the population and more dispersed, so they are likely to be able to organize militias and defend themselves. But I’m afraid their fate was sealed with the fall of Antioch in 637; so it’s a little late to worry about that now.

Our national interest lies in ensuring our enemies focus their savagery on each other, not us. I would disagree slightly with the Kissinger quote about the Iran-Iraq war that Andy cites: “It’s a pity they both can’t lose.” But they did both lose — half a million dead in eight years of vicious but inconclusive war.

Sometimes these bastards will tell you what is actually on their minds. "Hey how about a Civil War?" "Ya man the longer, the better!"

The sooner we get FEMA run reeducation camps the better. That is all I have to say about it.

Recalcitrant Willardism Explained

“It’s clear the negative ads are what’s keeping this guy alive,” said Nelson Warfield, a Republican strategist who worked for Mr. Perry. “It seems like Republican primary voters will not vote for Mitt Romney unless they are forced into it. And the way they’re forced into it is when he beats the other guy senseless.”

Via the Elitist New York Times explaining Romney's primary strategy

Folks just ain't into Willard Romney right now. Who can blame them ? But I predict the Willardism will become more infectious the closer we get to November. That'll be true whether the Nominee is Santorum or Willard. Folks will break out with hardcore Willardism then.

Willard Leads in Washington

In Washington state a new PPP Poll has Willard Milton Romney in front after trailing Santorum by double digits two weeks ago:

Willard 37%

Santo 32%,

Ronpaul 16%

Newt 13%.

[…]

If Romney does end up winning Saturday night it will be a large Mormon vote that puts him over the top. We find that 14% of likely caucus goers are Mormons and 64% of them support Romney to 15% for Paul and 13% for Santorum. Romney actually trails Santorum 35-32 with non-Mormons.

This is a hard call because it is a Caucus. Three of the candidates have a hardcore base to rely on. Willard can call out his co-religionists. Paul can call out the Militia-Types and the Sovereign Citizen Characters. Santorum can call out the evangelical vote that Huck used to win in 2008. Sounds like a toss up to me.

Tennessee Waltz

In Tennessee, a new Snobbish University Poll (pdf) shows Santorum Brutalizing Willard Milton Romney.

Santo 40%

Willard 19%

Newt 13%

Ronpaul 11%

Santorum is absolutely crushing in Tennessee. I think he'll win easily. I also suspect that Georgia will be fairly close with a Narrow Newt win instead of a total victory enabling Newt to declare himself King and demand that Santo drop out of the race so that Newt can go mano on mano on Willard.

The Devil Went Down to GEORGIA!

This proves it.

In Georgia a new Republican Reports Survey shows Newt pummeling Willard Milton Romney.

Newt 38%

Willard 26%

Santo 20%

Ronpaul 7%

I predict that if Newt wins in GA by this margin, look for him to call on Santo to drop out and clear the way for a two man race. Nevermind that Santo will have won three times as many states as Newt at that time.

GOTP Presidential Polling Update

In Ohio a new Lamestream Poll has Santorum leading Willard Romney, ever so slightly:

Santo 35%

Willard 31%,

Newt 17%

Ronpaul 12%.

However a Snobbish University Poll shows Santorum up by 11 over Willard Milton Romney in Ohio

The poll finds Santorum with support from 37 percent of likely GOP voters surveyed. Romney is in second with 26 percent support, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 16 percent and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) at 11 percent.

But the race is still volatile: nearly half of those surveyed, 47 percent, say they could change their minds before the March 6 primary. Fifty-three percent say they will "definitely vote" for their current pick.

This poll is a little older......with data dating prior to Willard's decisive 3 point smackdown of Santo in Michigan.

Willard Milton Romney is one BAD dude

Look at what Willard is doing to the GOTP Base:

Willard treats honest good hearted real Americans like lemmings. Simply awful.

Recalcitrant Willardism Settles in over Michigan….

…..and the voters yawn.

I guess this worked out about the best last night with Romney weaseling his way to a mere 3 point victory in Michigan. The narrow margin means Willard can't feel comfortable - so no victory there. But at the same time, that fact that Willard won keeps the Jebmentum at bay.

In Arizona, Willard's co-religionists helped him to a comfortable and expected win. Yawn.

Fear the Frankenbagger!

Its alive! Looks like this experiment has gone awry:

... where have these party leaders been over the past five years, when all the forces that distort the G.O.P. were metastasizing? Where were they during the rise of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck? Where were they when Arizona passed its beyond-the-fringe immigration law? Where were they in the summer of 2011 when the House Republicans rejected even the possibility of budget compromise? They were lying low, hoping the unpleasantness would pass.

The wingers call their Republican opponents RINOs, or Republican In Name Only. But that’s an insult to the rhino, which is a tough, noble beast. If RINOs were like rhinos, they’d stand up to those who seek to destroy them. Actually, what the country needs is some real Rhino Republicans. But the professional Republicans never do that. They’re not rhinos. They’re Opossum Republicans. They tremble for a few seconds then slip into an involuntary coma every time they’re challenged aggressively from the right.

- Bobo

I think the North American RINO is extinct in the wild due to habitat loss. I'd say it was due to MAN-MADE habitat loss, but that is just a theory. The North American RINO survives only in captivity now. Some day it may make a come back if the environment recovers. Until then, the RINO DC elite can just Fear the Monster they helped create over the last 30 years.

Romney is Brilliant, Man, if this is True

"Mitt Romney seems to be surging a little bit in Michigan right before tomorrow's primary. He started going back up in the polls right after the debate. You know what that means? Romney could be the alternative to Mitt Romney."

-Jay Leno

Running as both the Establishment candidate - Mitt Romney - and the Anti-Romney at the same time? Sounds pretty tough to me, but if anyone can pull it off it is Willard Milton Romney.

Andrew Sullivan is SHRILL!!!

...for the Christianists, if your conscience or intelligence says one thing, and the Bible says another, you obey the Bible, not your conscience, and certainly not your intelligence. Because beneath Christianism is a deep fear of the human mind - as if they actually believe that reason is stronger than religion and therefore must be restrained. As if the human mind can will God out of existence.

This is Santorum's fear-laden vision. Which is why he is not a man of questioning, sincere faith and should not be flattered as such. He is a man of the kind of fear that leads to fundamentalist faith, a faith without doubt and in complete subservience to external authority. There is a reason he doesn't want many kids to go to college. I mean: when we already know the truth, why bother to keep seeking it? And if we already know the truth, why are we not enforcing it as a matter of law in a country founded on Christian principles? It is not religious oppression if it is "the way things are supposed to be", by natural law. In fact, a neutral public square, in his mind, is itself religious oppression.

[…]

I am relieved he is at least candid. For now we can see in plain view the religious fanaticism that has destroyed one of the major parties in this country, a destruction that is perilous for any workable politics. It must be defeated - and not by electing a plastic liar and panderer like Romney. But by nominating Santorum and defeating him by such a margin that this theo-political Frankenstein, which threatens both genuine faith and civil politics, is dispatched once and for all.

-The Arch Libera-Servative Andrew Sullivan

Sully is apparently not turned on the Rick's Theocratic Vibe. I am all for Santorum's candor. Dude says what he believes and the Dude wants a Theocratic-Republic. Who knows what's on Willard's mind other than how to fool enough folks to vote for him to win.

I was with someone watching Santorum say something stupid on TV a week or two ago, and she said "Holy Shit, he's barking mad. I think it is awful that he is allowed to say crazy thing on TV. People may hear this stuff and believe it." My response was "No it is good for folks to see him say crazy stuff on TV. Sure some will believe him, but more will see him for who he is. This is a good thing."

If Santorum whups Romney today, the GOP will get what it deserves for turning away from old school republicanism and toward teabaggery.

Operation Hilarity Targets Operation Batshit in Michigan Today

PPP's final Michigan poll shows, Shows Santorum Leading:

Much has been made of Democratic efforts to turn out the vote for Santorum and we see evidence that's actually happening. Romney leads with actual Republican voters, 43-38. But Santorum's up 47-10 with Democratic voters, and even though they're only 8% of the likely electorate that's enough to put him over the top. The big question now is whether those folks will actually bother to show up and vote tomorrow.

Who knows as close as the polls are, the few Dems that show up to vote in Michigan may be the deciding factor. So Operation Hilarity may work.

The lesson to be learned here, I'd say is that Willard needed to step up his game a few degrees. I f he could have just pandered to the far left and the far right at the same time, maybe he could have stopped the Santorum Surge. One thing is for certain: if Santorum wins tonight, he has a good chance to consolidate the crazy vote and send Willard back to one of the five states he calls home.

Mittmentum on the RISE!?!?

Finally a chart that does not use "brown" for Santorum. Chart makers really are bastards, with the exception of this one.

Yeah Baby, It is your own Goddamned Fault, ctnd

"Six months before this thing got going, every Republican I know was saying, ‘We’re gonna win, we’re gonna beat Obama.’ Now even those who’ve endorsed Romney say, ‘My God, what a fucking mess,'"

- Ed Rollins, Former Bachmaniac and Bachmann Campaign Honcho

Turns out that the teabaggers won't behave when they are told to knock off all the craziness and fall in line. But here's the thing, these DC bastards have spent three years scaring the shit out of these poor souls so you can't now tell them:

"Sorry. We were kinda exaggerating about all this Tea Party Bullshit. My bad. Time to be good little children and vote for Willard and put this recent unpleasantness behind us."

The thing about Rollins is that he actually tried to help Bachmann get elected…...as President of the United States of America. I think you have pretty much forfeited your right to critique the crazy when you were right there center stage soaking it in. What was Rollins trying to prove by pushing Bachmann? If he didn't want to see her in the White House, was he trying to stoke up the crazy like a carnival barker at a freak show? "Come see the bearded lady, the world's strongest man, the world's craziest politician!" If so, he's part of the reason for the "fucking mess."

It is no small reason that your average teabagger is so confused. They have people like Rollins to thank.

Wingnut says whaaat…….?

From the Wingnet:

No American president has ever singled out private citizens who disagree with him and sought to demonize them in this manner. Mitt Romney has said that Obama is a nice guy who has no idea what he is doing as president, but the evidence shows that this characterization is too generous. Obama’s partisan divisiveness is mean-spirited and vicious.

Powerline Blogger Hinderaker with the vapors, again (sigh)

According to Blogger Hinderaker, the Obama campaign sent out a fund raising e-mail in which mean, mean things were written about the Koch Brothers.

Campaign Spam is now unparalleled viciousness. Oh, the meanness Viciousness!

If Frankenbagger wins who loses?

The race has come down to Santorum and Romney, and they both failed to distinguish themselves tonight. Both repeatedly offered convoluted answers in the attempt to establish trivial points. As everyone's noted, Romney's success at hall-packing made him look like a winner even though he's losing to Rick Freaking Santorum. ... I am ashamed of and afraid for my country

- Will Wilkinson via Democracy in America assessing the GOTP Debate

If you are on the center right, like this here fella', you ought to be scared of the monsters created out of the Tea Party Bullshit. But you also ought to pitch in and help put these Frankenbaggers down.

Yeah Baby, Its your own Goddamned Fault

Maybe declaring a Phony Teahad was not such a good idea. From the Internets:

"The popular belief that today’s Republican establishment is moderate is false

[…]

[T]he Republican establishment is in the position of the lookout on the Titanic who sees the ship speeding toward the iceberg ahead. They are dreading a disastrous collision like the one the party experienced in 1964. But the bitter irony of the present moment is that it’s the establishment, not an insurgency, that was responsible for charting this course to begin with,"

- Geoffrey Kabaservice The New Republic

The Poor Dumb Teabaggers have been lied to by the Foxnews and the AM Radio and the Wingnet so much, that they can't tell up from down. Largely speaking, it ain't their fault that they are so misinformed by all this Tea Party Bullshit. That would be the establishment - its their fault. It is their fault that someone as batshit crazy as Rick Santorum is leading in the polls or someone as depraved as Newt Gingrich led in the polls at one time. Herman Cain? Don't even go there.

It is the establishment's fault that all the normal republicans were afraid to run for election this time around. If you whip up your base to the point that it scares the shit out of your most electable candidates, you may have gone just a bit too far. This tactic may have had its uses but to win a low turnout election in 2010 but.....

the Tea Party’s ideological rectitude now revealing itself as nothing so much as fundamentalist grandiosity, it's dawning on the conservative establishment that its careful experiment may have created a monster.

That is right: Frankenbagger.

Operation Batshit Working in Georgia….for now

A new Republican Reports Poll in Georgia shows Newt bitterly clinging to slim lead in the GOTP presidential race.

Newt - 33%,

Santo - 28%,

Willard - 20%

Ronpaul - 9%.

As bitter as the son of a bitch is, I don't know if Newt can cling to the lead until the primary day on March 6th. That means he needs Willard's help with some anti-Santorum ads. Willard does not need to win Georgia, but just keep Santo from consolidating the Southern States. That being said, look for Willard to groove out some negative ads to help out his new good friend Newt.

Operation Batshit Update

Santorum Rising in California according to this Bi-Coastal Poll:

Willard - 31%

Santo - 25%

Ronpaul - 16%

Undecided - 14%

Newt - 12%

This is a problem. I believe that Cali is winner take all. That means it is a must win for Willard Milton Romney. 31% is a pretty high number for a weasel like Romney. So that is pretty good, but it is his likely cap. With Newt in decline - because he is a douchebag - it looks like Willard's best route is to (1) hope Santo loses momentum; or (2) carpet bomb Santo and push his negatives up.

GOTP Debate

Last night's GOTP debate was a bizarre spectacle as usual. I guess it was tame by past standards. Three of the Four candidates really want to go to war with Iran, Three of the Four think Obama is a 98 pound weakling overseas but a Tyrant at home, all think Obama is mean to Bible Thumpers/ Book of Mormon Thumpers and nice to Quran-iacs, etc, etc. Pretty Predictable.

But the guy who let me down the most was Newt. Where was ANGRY Newt? That is who I wanted to see and he was not there. Instead we got a dose of BORED Newt and WHINY Newt. What a waste of prime time. Quite Frankly, I am Fundamentally disappointed in Newt. Who is going to save Civilization, if Newt just checks out of the game? Such a loser.

Oh, I did like Santo's prepared riff comparing Willard to Michael Dukakis. Willard just walked into that one chin first. Wingers had to love it. Oh, well. This could be the last one of these things.....for a while at least.

Wingnuts, Can't Live with 'em, Can't ship 'em off to an imaginary FEMA Camp either

From the Mean Spirited Liberal Blog-o-sphere:

Tucker Carlson calls for Genocide in Iran

Tucker Carlson, in an interview on Fox News, has revealed his position on Iran. He’s against it — as in, the entire country:

I think we are the only country with the moral authority [...] sufficient to do that. [The U.S. is] the only country that doesn’t seek hegemony in the world. I do think, I’m sure I’m the lone voice in saying this, that Iran deserves to be annihilated. I think they’re lunatics. I think they’re evil.

It's fair to use terms like “lunatics” and “evil” to describe Iran’s government, in part because of the oppression it inflicts upon the Iranian people. But annihilating Iran doesn’t mean killing its leading government officials. It means annihilating the population of that country.

- The Super Mean Jon Chait

If we had FEMA run re-education camps, think of all the good that could be done for folks like Tucker Carlson. If it were up to me, I'd build the first one in Michele Bachmann's congressional district. As a matter of fact this may be a good stimulus project for the economy! We wouldn't have to use it as a FEMA re-education camp, because these are imaginary, but it would be fun just to build one to mess with wingers.

Hell, even just advertising a coming stimulus funded unspecified FEMA construction project for Minnesota - that won't be used as an anti-Obama dissident camp for people like Michele Bachmann, John Hinderaker and Tucker Carlson, but could double for one in an emergency - would be fun. I'd be in favor of that.

Operation Batshit Gob smacked in Oklahoma

A new Lamestream Media poll has Santorum up big in Oklahoma:

Santo 43%

Newt 22%

Willard 18%

Ronpaul 7%

It is Oklahoma, so what can the DC insiders expect.

This is gonna be so Awesome!

I am a big Fan of Sarah Palin. The woman is freaking hilarious:

A top aide to Sarah Palin says the upcoming HBO movie documenting the 2008 presidential campaign is a work of fiction based on “manipulating history.”

In a statement provided to The Washington Post, SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford said HBO’s “Game Change,” which is based on a popular book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann and debuts next month, is likely to be riddled with falsehoods.

“I haven’t seen HBO’s latest effort at manipulating history,” Crawford said. “However, based upon the description and reports from people who have viewed the film ‘Game Change,’ HBO has distorted, twisted and invented facts to create a false narrative and attract viewers. They call it a docu-drama; there is little “docu” in it. HBO must add a disclaimer that this movie is fiction.”

I don't know if HBO needs to add a disclaimer that the movie is fiction, but Foxnews, where Sweet Sarah works, definitely needs to add disclaimers telling viewers that watching everyday is harmful. Viewers should be encouraged to use Foxnews in Moderation only.

Anyway, I can't wait for the documentary to come out.

Tales from a Brokered Convention.....

Continued from this Post…….

Excommunicated Conservative David Frum writes:

The big change in American politics over the past two decades has been the decline of followership. Party members expect the party to serve them -- one major reason that both parties have drifted to the ideological extremes since the 1970s.

That expectation would only be intensified and concentrated in a party convention with Fox News and talk radio whipping and riling the delegates into angry emotionalism.

A decision-making convention in modern times won't submit to the edicts of smoke-filled rooms. The delegates will want their own way.

If Romney fails to win the primaries over the next few months, brace yourself: not for a replay of 1920, when Republican bosses made their coldly calculated deal, but for a replay of 1896, when the Democratic Convention went wild for William Jennings Bryan after one thrilling speech.

Of course, Bryan went on to lose in a landslide.

The poor bastard. They kicked him out of the club. But I do agree with Comrade Frum that the big change in politics can be tied to the democratization of speech and information. The internet has leveled the playing field for speech and information. In some ways this is a good thing. But it also means that any asshole can disseminate crazy shit to the unwashed masses for the hell of it. You see that with the Foxnews and the AM radio.

Ordinary Teabagging Americans know that they are pissed off about something. Agreeing on what they are pissed off about is the hard thing, though. In the old days it would have to be an actual grievance like the price of wheat being too damn low, shitty working conditions in a factory or being robbed blind by a robber baron. If these things actually happened to enough folks, an actual teahad might break out.

Today you don't have to be outraged about a real problem. With the Foxnews and the wingnet, they don't need an actual problem for enough people to declare a teahad. Take the last Teahadist movement. It started a 45 days into Obama's presidency. The Folks were mad but didn't know quite why until the Foxnews told them all that the economic collapse that happened before Obama was elected was actually Obama's fault.

Furthermore, the Foxnews declared that trying to clean up the mess caused by the economic collapse was socialism. That is right. Fighting to save capitalism got you labeled a socialist. This is all bullshit meme that makes good copy for the Foxnews and the Wingnet, but it dupes your voters into living in a fantasy realm.

Here is an example. Say the Governor of Wisconsin is told by the party insiders to send delegates Willard Milton Romney's way at convention:

Beltway Insider 1: "Move all your state delegates to Willard Milton Romney. Santorum scares the shit out of people. Do this punk."

Walker: "The delegates aren't gonna do this just because I say to do it."

Beltway Insider 2: "Tell them Wisconsin will get high speed rail directly to Lambeau Field in Greenbay if they do. Everyone of the dirty sons of bitches can ride the train directly to watch the Packers games. It'll take them 5 seconds to get there."

Walker: "You can't be serious! Everyone knows High Speed Rail will lead to one-world government. That is how the United Nations will invade America - using high speed rail."

Beltway Insider 3: "We made that shit up. Once the GOP is back in power its earmark central time again, baby! Just do it."

Walker: "High Speed Rail? You really don't understand. Our delegates are true believers in party ideology. If I promise them high speed rail, they'll lynch me! Are you trying to get me killed? Sorry buddy, find somebody else."

Yeah, Comrade Frum is likely right. The GOTP voters are so cut off from reality, there may be no Party Insider to bring them back to the fold. If there is a God, Sarah will show up at the Convention and start listing her grievances against the party establishment. See what happens then, baby!

Pat Buchanan Grooves Out on that Theocracy Vibe

The media think(s) Santorum is singing “Onward Christian Soldiers” while heading off into the fever swamps. But Santorum is wagering his political future on his assessment of where we are in 2012.

He sees America dividing ever more deeply between those who hold to traditional Christian views on marriage, life and morality, and those who have abandoned such beliefs. He believes that the former remain America’s silent majority, and he is offering himself as their champion against a militant secularism that has lately angered more than just the right

[…]

Santorum seems to want to steer his primary and general election campaign into a conflict that goes back deep into American history and has surfaced time and again.

An early triumph of secularism came with the Scopes trial in 1923 in Dayton, Tenn. Clarence Darrow, defending a teacher who had violated state law by introducing Darwin’s theory of evolution into the classroom, mocked the Old Testament teachings of the Evangelical Christians, to the merriment of the establishment.

From that day on, Darwinism was taught in our schools, first as theory, then as fact, then as higher truth. With the Darwinian tenet — we evolved, we were not created — established truth in the public schools, secularism set about driving its enemy, Christianity, out completely.

Under the Warren Court in the 1950s and 1960s, it succeeded.

AmCon Blog

Militant Secularism? Awesome. I love militant secularism. Of course another term for militant secularism that is more commonly used today would be science. Science is really cool.

It is kinda ironic when you think about. Creationism as a Political Ideology did not exist prior to the Scopes Trial. It was a reaction to modernity - the conversion of the nation from a nation of buggy whips to an industrial society.

Creationism was not the cause of the Scopes Trial but rather the effect. Darwin published his tracks 60 years prior to the scopes trial and religion and science operated just fine side by side. Throw in the pushback from the rapid changes required from WWI war economy, along with a fear of immigrants and African Americans acting like Americans and boom. It is a tea party - scopes style. And today we have the tea party and movement conservatism.

The problem for team theocracy is that they can't turn back the clock and restore America as a nation of buggy whips. It ain't gonna happen. Modernity marches on.

The GOTP is in a state of MORAL decline

Example? How about this guy who is not a random wingnut but an elected member of the Indiana House of Reps:

Bob Morris, the only member of the Indiana House who has refused to sign a resolution celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, says the group is a "radicalized organization" that "sexualizes" young girls and is becoming a "tactical arm" of Planned Parenthood. Morris, who pulled his daughters from their troop, also says the scouts have a "pro-abortion agenda" and promote "homosexual lifestyles." He also criticized Michelle Obama, the group's honorary president, saying her involvement should "give each of us reason to pause."

Random wingnuts say stupid shit all the time. This guy is not a random wingnut. He was actually elected to represent the interest of the folks of Fort Wayne Indiana in the state legislature. If the party puts idiots like this guy up for election, it is an example of its Moral Decline. If it were up to me, I'd just shut down the GOP. It does not work properly anymore.

Comrade Frum Ponders on a Brokered Convention

What if Romney Cannot Seal the Deal? In the Old Days that meant a Brokered Convention where the Party Leaders brokered the selection of the nominee by throwing their states' delegates to one guy or the other.

Frum's diagnosis is close to mine:

The big change in American politics over the past two decades has been the decline of followership. Party members expect the party to serve them -- one major reason that both parties have drifted to the ideological extremes since the 1970s.

That expectation would only be intensified and concentrated in a party convention with Fox News and talk radio whipping and riling the delegates into angry emotionalism.

A decision-making convention in modern times won't submit to the edicts of smoke-filled rooms. The delegates will want their own way.

If Romney fails to win the primaries over the next few months, brace yourself: not for a replay of 1920, when Republican bosses made their coldly calculated deal, but for a replay of 1896, when the Democratic Convention went wild for William Jennings Bryan after one thrilling speech. Of course, Bryan went on to lose in a landslide.

Bi-Metalism! Sweetness. William Jennings Bryan (version 3.0 - the post WWI version) is the father of movement conservatism so it is only fitting.

1920 was a great GOTP year. You had all sorts of backlash, in a tea party sort of way, against changes brought on by War Industrial Policy - which killed the progressive era. You had the Klan re-appearing and the associated bigotry against immigrants and Catholics. You had race riots in 1919 directed against African-Americans.

Couple these disruptions with the fact that Woodrow Wilson was playing the part of an total asshole during the campaign by flirting with running for a third term and dicking other democrats areoun and the GOTP had a virtual lock on the electorate.

Harding got the nod as the GOTP nominee by not pissing off the other 4-5 guys on the ballot ahead of him. This was his advisors plan from the git go of the convention. He would wait for a deadlock and offer himself an the least offensive alternative. It could have gone like this:

FAT CAT 1: "We are never going to agree on a candidate out of the top 3. They all hate each other. How about Harding, instead? He is not an asshole."

FAT CAT 2: "Sounds good to me. He really does not stand for anything, so he shouldn't piss people off. Besides nobody knows that he is a serial adulterer in the mold of Newt Gingrich, whoever that is. People will learn about this fact after the scandals that happen during his first term."

So Fat Cat 1 and Fat Cat 2 got votes thrown to Harding and he won the nomination and then sleep walked to the Presidency. Now he is on the bottom of the list either just below or above George W Bush in the Presidential rankings - depending on who you ask.

Frum does not think there are folks who can deliver the votes today at a convention for the next Harding. Who is this year's version of Fat Cat 1 and Fat Cat 2? He would know better than I since he used to be friends with these characters before they kicked him out of the club.

To be continued.

Horserace update - Red ALERT

Bad news for Willard Milton Romney...... a new Elitist University/Lamestream Media Poll shows Rick Santorum brutalizing the field in Republican presidential race. Santorum leads at 45%, followed by Newt at 18%, Willard at 16% and Ronpaul at 14%.

The good news for Willard is that Texas Republican have f'd up their gerrymandering scheme is badly that its congressional districts are not finalized. That being the case late may or early june looks like the earliest possible primary date. This gives Santorum time to melt down or folks to come to their senses.

While we are at it, and what is the deal is the Texas GOP? It has to be the shittiest state party in the Country. Everyone knows that they are gonna gerrymander the state even more in favor of the GOP. Hell, gerrymandering is legal as long as you don't purposefully and OVERTLY discriminate against racial or ethnic groups. But that looks like what they did. Now the Justice Department has a shot Texas redistricting.

It is WAR, Baby

Rick Santorum's model for America, ain't really the constitution. Try the middle ages instead:

"This is not a political war at all. This is not a cultural war. This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age. There is no one else to go after other than the United States and that has been the case now for almost two hundred years, once America's preeminence was sown by our great Founding Fathers.

He didn't have much success in the early days. Our foundation was very strong, in fact, is very strong. But over time, that great, acidic quality of time corrodes even the strongest foundations. And Satan has done so by attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition. He was successful."

- Rick Santorum

He's pretty open about his theocracy itch. Hats off to him.

Dispatches from the Wingnut-O-sphere - BLAME THE WINGNUTS

This man is a real piece of work. It is not his fault people believe what he writes:

There is, I think, a cautionary tale here, although it probably comes too late. It was obvious to everyone who remembered the history of the 1990s that Gingrich would be a disaster as a presidential candidate, however much we may enjoy his repartee and respect him as a thinker whose ideas are often good. Yet millions of Republican activists, heedless of the past and ignoring Newt’s obvious weaknesses, enthused over him as a candidate and made him the man of the hour. Or the man of two or three weeks, maybe. The same pattern has been repeated more than once during the current, discouraging presidential nominating process. If the GOP loses this year’s presidential contest, the party will have no one to blame but its own activists.

Powerline Blogger Hinderaker with absolutely no self awareness

Translation:

It is now official the GOTP base, i.e., the activists are crazy. The Activists read winger blogs and consume the Foxnews and the AM radio all of which flame throws crazy rhetoric at these poor dumb bastards constantly. The Activists then start to believe the crazy rhetoric and act accordingly. And if Activists, following the lead from the AM Radio, The Foxnews and the Winger blogs, consolidate around a Cain or Gingrich or Santorum and get that person nominated, they will be to blame if the GOTP loses the election.

Shorter Translation:

It is not my fault for posting crazy shit on my blog, it is my readers' fault for believing it.

This is just priceless. There is absolutely no self awareness on Hinderakers' part. He post bizarre shit day after day and wants to walk away from any personal responsibility.

Here is a quickly pulled example of some crazy:

Barack Obama and Eric Holder approve of such threats of violence and want them to continue in the future, as long as the clubs are wielded on behalf of the Democratic Party . […] The Obama Justice Department, in other words, is both racist and lawless

Another one:

At this moment, Sarah Palin may be a more important figure than Barack Obama, despite his infinitely greater powers. Obama's most basic problem is that he has never been a thinker. He has not invested the years of hard work that are needed to develop coherent policy positions. Superficiality has always been good enough to get by for Obama, and now, when his policies are in tatters, he has neither a philosophical foundation nor a deep knowledge of the issues to fall back on. He is left staring into the headlights like a doomed deer.

Another one:

Quote of the Day:

That got me thinking: Obama enjoys being president, and he especially treasures the symbolic significance of being the first African-American president. That's how his supporters feel, too. I haven't heard anyone defend his actual performance in a long time, but there is still widespread satisfaction with the symbolic value of his presidency. So why don't we make him king? If being the first African-American president has symbolic value, just think what it would mean for the first King of the United States to be African-American! Plus, Michelle would be a queen and Malia and Sasha would be princesses. How cool would that be?

Another One

Hinderaker Edition:

When Barack Obama became president in January 2009, there was no energy crisis in progress. The price of gasoline was a manageable $1.83 at the pump. Usually, when gas prices rise it is because the economy is booming and demand for energy therefore increases. During the Obama administration, the economy has cratered and gas prices have risen anyway–a double whammy that many would have believed impossible until they saw how Obama’s “green” cronyism suppressed energy development. Thus, while Reagan’s policies led to a 34% decline in the price of gasoline at the pump, by December 2011 the average price was up to $3.29, an 80% increase in the price of gas, even though the economy was in the tank, and recoverable gasoline in the ground was more plentiful than at any time in world history! One wonders whether any other administration could have produced such an inept result.

I don't want to spend time at Powerline looking up crazy shit, but I am sure if I did, I'd find a whole lot more. I have touch on the conspiracy talk about global warming. That shit is tinfoil hat crazy. If his readers are confused enough to vote for Santorum or Newt, it is a small wonder why!

Related Post Here

TRAGEDY! GOTP Debate Cancelled!!! America in Shock!

News has hit the internets that Willard Romney, Ronpaul and Santorum are baling on the debate on March 1st in Georgia. CNN has fllowed suit and cancelled the debate.

This a rash move on CNN 's part. It did not have to cancel this debate when there is obvious opportunity to broadcast the debate featuring Newt Gingrich debating himself. This would be too awesome. The moderator could ask Newt about a position he used to hold but no longer does and then Newt could savage the character of the Newt that once held that position!

Other than that I am a firm believer that we need more of these GOTP debates. In the name of all that is holy, these debates must go on!

Seven Score and Ten…..

…..years ago today.

General Ulysses Grant grooved out the best put down of the Civil War. Though tis tale may be apocryphal to cools not to believe it happened. One hundred and Fifty years ago after capturing an entire Confederate Army at Fort Donelson, Grant met his old school friend and third in command of confederate forces General Buckner during the surrender ceremony. During which Grant is believed to have said something like this (paraphrasing):

Grant: "Hey Buckner, where the hell is General Pillow, the number 1 guy in charge of this here outfit?"

Buckner: "He cut and run. Said he figured that capturing him was your main objective - the way you intended to hurt the Confederacy the most, so he skedaddled and left me in charge, to save the confederacy so to speak"

Grant: "That is not true at all. As a matter of the opposite is true. if I had captured General Pillow, I would have let him go, because he does more good for the Union when he's leading you fella's."

Apparently Confederate Big Wigs adopted Grant's view of Pillow afterwards and he was not given a meaningful role for the rest of the insurrection, much to Grant's chagrin. Grant would go on to capture 2 other Confederate Armies during the war, and Pillow would have surely made that task easier on Grant.

Gingrich - The Most Disliked Politician in America

Well He Earned It:

A CNN/Opinion Research poll on Monday showed 63 percent of All Americans viewed Gingrich unfavorably, compared to just 25 percent who saw him in a positive light.

And today, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows a similar split: 54 percent view Gingrich unfavorably, compared to 16 percent who say they feel positively predisposed towards him.

Those 38-point spreads between his favorable and unfavorable ratings are a new high for Gingrich in the 2012 campaign and tie his worst numbers from 1997, when he faced ethics troubles and a GOP revolt during his time as speaker of the House. (Fun fact: now-Sen. Al Franken joked in 1996 that Gingrich’s “favorable rating is only four points higher than the Unabomber.”)

And in fact, the numbers are worse than any national political figure The Fix could find in recent years — even, arguably, George W. Bush.

Maybe it is a lifetime achievement award.

Gingrich is even behind Sarah Palin when it come to favorability. Personally, I absolutely adore Sweet Sister Sarah. She is just a glorious slow motion train wreck spectacle to behold. She really needs to do another reality show. Perhaps a Super-Duper Nanny show were Sarah shows up and scolds people for behavior that she does not like. I guess we already have that - it is called Foxnews.

The World Simply is not This Awesome

With the general shittiness of the GOTP presidential field, some wingers are holding out hope for a brokered convention where the party's candidate would be selected instead of going through all this stupid voting. I don't see it and lots of smart people have already declared this option dead.

But if it were to happen, why not Draft Sarah. She seems to be up for the idea:

BOLLING: Governor, a lot of people are saying it can't happen. I don't necessarily agree with them. If one of the nominees, one of the GOPers, doesn't get enough delegates, it could go the a brokered convention.

If it does get to that and someone said, Governor, would you be interested, would you be interested?

PALIN: Well, for one, I think that it could get to that. And I -- you know, if it had to -- if it had to be kind of closed up today, the whole nominating process, then we would be looking at a brokered convention.

I mean nobody is quite there yet. So I think that months from now, if that's the case, then, you know, all bets are off as to who it will be willing to offer themselves up in the name of service to their country. I would -- I would do whatever I could to help.

On the other hand , I heard on the NPR that Jeb Bush may be considering changing his name to Jeb Jesus-Reagan, so you never know. He may know something that we don't.

Anti-Mormon Vibe Starting to Come Willard's Way

Candidate Kennedy felt the need to give a speech in 1960 stating that the Pope was not his Boss. In 2012, will anti-Mormon bias force Willard Milton Romney to do the same:

But there are other things about Mormons that are perhaps more disturbing and which have only been hinted at in the media. Mormons generally perceive themselves as a misunderstood and sometimes persecuted minority. Women are second class citizens who are expected to marry young and bear large numbers of children while playing much more limited roles than men in the church. Polygamy was only abandoned in 1890 when it was a precondition for entering the union as a state. Only in 1978 were blacks admitted to the priesthood. During the Vietnam War many young Mormons used their missionary obligations to avoid the draft, claiming a religious exemption. Mitt Romney was one who did so.

The Latter Day Saints demand absolute obedience from the top down with no questioning of doctrine or practices, enforcing the rules among church members through the use of disciplinary boards. The church’s leader Thomas Monson is regarded as a living prophet, one of several in the church hierarchy, whose word is the word of God and must be obeyed. Many of the church rituals are secret.

The secretiveness is the issue. Your average Teabagger can't walk in off the street and see what's going on at the church. That has always seemed odd to me. The Mormon founding story really is quite lame, but not so important. It starts with Joseph Smith finding golden tablets hidden away in upstate New York telling the story of the destruction of a lost tribe of Israelites who hung out with Jesus in the New World back in the day. Of course the golden tablets were written in something called "reformed Egyptian" which when using 2 magic rocks could be translated into good ol' red blooded American English. Smith of course did not allow other folks to look at the tablets or even use the "seer stones" to verify the text, because….. well…. that ….. would probably have been inconvenient.

I've been meaning to read the Book of Mormon some day which is supposed to be pretty good and well written. Of course nobody reads the Book of Mormon these days for literary value because Evangelical believe it is heretical and Mormons won't admit it is a fine work of fiction. Of course this admission would screw things up, so there you go.

But anyway this is all besides the point. All religions have their idiosyncrasies. The real questions are the secretive nature of the church and whether Willard Romney will feel the need to make a public declaration that the Church Bosses won't his be his boss as President. Kennedy wouldn't take orders from the Pope, so he said. Will Willard state that the Head Mormon Big Wig will play second fiddle to him if he's elected? I think he's gonna have to at some time.

Apparently ROADS suck.... A call to Arms.... against roads....which suck

This is a RED alert

It looks like Obama has fooled the GOP yet again. This time it is a Highway Bill. Thankfully the Wingnuts are on the case and are blowing the whistle:

It is sad that we have gotten here, but House Republicans, including conservative stalwarts like Jim Jordan of Ohio, are set to pass Barack Obama’s latest stimulus plan. Except they are calling it John Boehner’s “Highway Bill.” Consider, however that Barack Obama’s budget, unveiled yesterday, calls for much of the same infrastructure spending the House Republicans want.

There is a reason the Heritage Action for America, Club for Growth, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and other conservative organizations are opposed to this spending spree. It is not conservative. It should not be Republican. It is Barack Obama style spending. Call your Congressman today at 202-224-3121 and tell him to oppose H.R. 7, the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act.

Last week, when I pointed this out, I handed the front page over to Brendan Buck, Speaker Boehner’s Press Secretary, to rebut my claims. I would say he more than proved that this is, in fact, Barack Obama’s latest stimulus scheme hiding behind John Boehner’s name. [...]

This is madness. This is Barack Obama style stimuli and Barack Obama style accounting. It reminds me of the unemployment chart showing where unemployment would be with and without Barack Obama’s stimulus plan. After the plan passed, unemployment was even higher than Obama said it would get without his stimulus plan.

The House Republicans are relying on five year estimates of revenues generated from energy production to hide just how bankrupt they will leave the Highway Trust Fund with this spending binge. And in five years, none of us will be surprised when reality comes in less than the estimates.

via Redstate and Lamestream Media Figure Erick Erickson.

There seems to be a pattern emerging. Teahadist Demands are being repeatedly ignored by Republicans in DC. Spending is not being cut. The debt ceiling kamikaze mission failed. Obamacare is still the law of the land. Now it is the Boehner Highway Bill to repair aging infrastructure and crumbling bridges. This is clearly outrageous.

I guess you just can't please some people.

I REJECT your reality and impose MY OWN!

Unsurprisingly, megalomaniac Newt Gingrich is rejecting calls that he drop out of the GOTP race and slink off out of public view.

Republican Newt Gingrich on Monday dismissed calls to drop out of the presidential contest in order to set up a direct contest between rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. The former House speaker insisted that his ideas and a new determination to stay positive would help him once again resuscitate his flagging candidacy.

“I think my ideas are much bolder than Santorum or Romney’s. I think my ideas are much clearer and more specific and I have to focus on communicating those ideas. Let’s see how it plays out,” Gingrich told reporters after addressing a Hispanic leadership event near Los Angeles. He is spending most of the week in California attending fundraisers.

Gingrich’s comments came as the National Review, an influential conservative magazine, published an editorial calling on Gingrich to step aside and endorse Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who has recently surged in polls. Santorum himself suggested in an interview Sunday that he would like Gingrich to clear the way.

Gingrich called the National Review article “silly” and said he had no intention of abandoning the race.

Newt is an egomaniac and a grifter. With that said, why would he drop out? I say he starts extorting money out of the GOTP establishment privately threatening to drop out of the race and endorse Santorum. Unless the fat cats pay his price, he'll make the race a two man game and leave a vacuum for the crazy vote to consolidate around Santorum. "That's a nice party you fella's got" Gingrich could say. "I'd hate to see it burn to the ground with Santorum leading it."

This really isn't that hard to understand. I so totally could run the Gingrich campaign better than the losers he hired to do it. I think I could make more money at it too.