A Call to Arms --- a New-Old Alliance to Reform?

Mike Huckabee issued a call to action last week at CPAC.  

To regain Glory, the Old Alliance must reform ranks and march forward.  Though things look bleak today, hope still remains. 

To keep hope alive, the three disparate interest groups must put differences aside and form an AXIS. Now just what are the interest group making up THE AXIS? According to Mike, they are the:

"Family conservatives," also known as Neo-Theocracists;

"Fiscal conservatives," also known as Neo-Hooverites; and 

"Freedom conservatives," also known as Neo-Conservatives

And the goal for this AXIS of three should be to unite as ONE as "Compentent Conservatives."

Of course we have a model for this call to action.  And that Model was and is George W Bush.  When all three components of the axis are blended together you get utter incompetence.

I am left with no other conclusion that Mike Huckabee is call calling for the conservative axis to unite behind the next George Bush.

That is a mission sure to be accomplished for failure.

Headline of the Day:

Earliest Human Footprints Found

Let me guess.  

I bet those footprints are about 6,000 years old and were found in Mesopotamia. You really can't get much older than that.  Just ask Conservapedia.

Does Anyone Care what Orrin Hatch thinks Anymore?

That is the Question of Day.  Does anyone really care anymore?  I don't care what he thinks. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee has sent David Ogden's nomination for deputy attorney general to the full Senate for a vote.   The committee voted 14-5 Thursday morning to endorse Ogden for the No. 2 position at the Department of Justice.

[…]

All Democrats voted in favor of Ogden's nomination. Those opposing Ogden were Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Hatch noted that he usually defers to a president's nominees, including Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., whom he supported even before Holder's nomination was announced. But, calling Ogden's nomination a "close call," he said he was troubled by Ogden's representation of the pornography industry and other controversial clients in private practice.

"Mr. Ogden has consistently taken very liberal positions over a long period of time on issues that are very important to me," Hatch said.

Acknowledging that his objection is an exception to the general distinction between a lawyer's personal views and those of his clients, Hatch added, "The pattern here is so consistent and the record is so long that it does give me pause."

I don’t know this Ogden guy at all, but I really do not care what Orrin thinks. The next question for the day is since we don’t care what Orrin thinks about the assistant Attorney General, why would people care what he thinks about Judicial appointments? I know that he pre-approved Justice Breyer. But then I guess he probably approved of Alito as well

So as judges start to get appointed by President Obama in the near term, less ink for Orrin’s Opinions please. 

Everybody has one by the way.

First Strike --- Palinites on the March?

No one could have ever thought this would happen.  I mean nobody, or maybe not.

The other day I wondered aloud who would go after Bobby Jindal first now that he is the favor of the month for the GOP 2012 presidential nomination.

Would it be Mittens? Perhaps Ol'Huck?  Or would it be Sarah?

The other day I suggested that one of them consider pulling THE WINGNUT on Bobby with the claim that since life begins at conception and since Bobby's mother arrived in America 4 1/2 months pregnant, he could never be President.  Its bogus of course, but that doesn't stop these guys.

Matter of fact, Hardcore wingnuts at this moment are still going after the Obama Birth Certificate Myth.  

If they are still whining about President Obama, imagine what Wingnuttery supporters of Mittens, Huck or Sarah could cook up against Jindal.  

Well now we may have the answer.  

The winner leader so far may be a Palinite Whispering Campaign against Bobby Jindal, for get this, being a Secret Muslim!  Wow, a secret Muslim, who could have guessed that?

We can't declare a winner yet, however.

It is still early, and we need more and better documentation.  For now this thing is still up for grabs.  Mittens and Huck have of plenty time to get into the game.

Bumper Sticker of the Day --- Republican on Republican Violence?

Let me get this Straight.

The Tennessee State GOP (Crazier than most State branches of the GOP) has come up with this bumper sticker for Loyal Republicans to put on their cars:

Correct me if I am wrong, but won't this sticker tend to remind some viewers of the sticker (i.e., Right Wing Nuts or Wingnuts for short) that they are pissed off about paying for the mortgages of other motorists who may have spent beyond their means?

And if so, wouldn't this bumper sticker lead to the possibility of Republican on Republican violence when the angry Wingnut reliates against the Republican Motorist with the Bumper sticker?

I think this is a bad idea as Wingnuts are prone to incidents of Road Rage.

The Tennessee State GOP owes it's constituents better service than this. Imagine fostering wingnut on wingnut violence? These people need to ask themselves, what would Senator Bob Corker think?

Marriage Remains under Assault from Enemies Far and Near

15 years ago someone like Newt Gingrich would’ve been giving a speech blaming the Democratic Party for this Headline of the Day:

Judge Rejects Compensation Claim for a Kidney in Divorce Case

A Long Island, N.Y., surgeon's bid to seek $1.5 million for the kidney he donated to his estranged wife "not only runs afoul" of public policy, but may expose him to criminal prosecution, a Nassau County, N.Y., court referee ruled Wednesday.

"At its core, the defendant's claim inappropriately equates human organs with commodities," Referee A. Jeffrey Grob wrote in Batista v. Batista, Jr., 201931/05. Grob noted that while the term "marital property" is "elastic and expansive ... its reach, in this Court's view, does not stretch into the ether and embrace, in contravention of this State's public policy, human tissues or organs."

The four-year-old divorce case between vascular surgeon Richard J. Batista Jr. and his wife, Dawnell C. Batista, gained worldwide notoriety in January when Dr. Batista and his attorney, Garden City, N.Y.'s Dominick Barbara, held a press conference announcing their intentions to seek compensation for the organ. Barbara petitioned the court for a stay to produce an expert who could testify as to the value of the organ.

Personally, I blame Gay Marriage for destroying this marriage.

Quote for the Day

“We have a tougher job than our friends across the aisle. They’ve been offering Americans a free lunch for the last 80 years, rather successfully.......Those of us that believe in a smaller, more accountable government, we have a tougher time making our principles relevant to the American people. But it’s our challenge, and we’ve got to do it.” 

~ John Boehner  Describing why it is harder to sell Republican Policies than Democratic polcies

It could be rather that the House Republican brand is so toxic right now "that if it were dog food, they'd take it off the shelf." Matter of fact, the dogs won't even go near it.

Traitorous Dogs!

From the Neocon infested Weekly Standard:

Today, the Internet is abuzz with comparisons of Jindal to "Kenneth the Page," the naive, irretrievably nerdy bumpkin from the NBC comedy "30 Rock." The comparison is unfortunate for several reasons, not least of all because it signals the undue influence of Tina Fey on national politics may continue unabated. It's also catchy, and was not terribly unfair after last night's speech.

After what Tina Fey did to poor Sarah, now this?  For Bobby Jindal to be painted as a caricature like Sarah is to be expected from the liberal media.

But now this treachery has been embraced by The Weekly Standard which plays along to beat down yet another darling of Wingnuttia. 

Such utterings are an utter betrayal. 

All good wingers should BOYCOTT the Weekly Standard immediately.

Quote for the Day

"President Obama gave his first" speech "to a joint session of Congress tonight. Obama focused on the three most critical things he wants Americans to understand: First, that the economy is in a lot of trouble; second, that the road to recovery won't be easy; and third, that it's all President Bush's fault."  ~  Jimmy Kimmel 

Three Pretty Valid Points if you ask me.  The Third Point is especially lucid.

Neo-Hooverism --- Our New Old Hope?

Addressing the nation last night, Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) told America that Hope comes in different flavors.  Obama may be offering hope for the future, but so can Jindal dammit!  Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  

But unfortunately the new favor of hope offered by Jindal is none other than an old Blast from the Past: Neo-Hooverism!  After hiding from the Ghost of Herbet Hoover for 50 years, the GOP has come full circle.  It will now officially endorse Neo-Hooverism as the cornerstone of the Party.  

From there it went downhill for Jindal as he struggled to even inspire the choir.

But as bad as his performance was for the GOP, it was even worse for Jindal’s future prospects to become the GOP’s nominee for President.

You see, Jindal not only bombed nationally, but he committed a self inflicted wound from which he may not recover.

Apparently missing out on the Obama Birth Certificate Canard pursued with great vigor throughout Greater Wingnuttia, Jindal inadvertently disqualified himself from running for President in 2012 when he stated that his mother was 4 ½ months pregnant when she arrived in America.  

As all the inmates know, life begins at the moment of conception. And if Jindal was not in the USA when his life began, he will not be able to satisfy the Constitutional requirements for President. Arnold can’t be president because he’s from Austria.  It only makes sense that Jindal can’t become President now either. Sorry Bobby.

Huck, Mittens, Sarah, are you listening?  You all have ammunition to apply the Full Wingnut on Bobby Jindal. 

Remember the wingnuttery doesn’t have to be right, it just has to feel good. Go FOR IT!

Quote of the Night

"He should go with our ideas, because over the long run, they are proven to work"

Eric Cantor (R- Wingnuttia) on Foxnews a moment ago discussing why Obama should go with the GOP's Neo-Hooverite Approach to fixing the economy.

Random Acts of Wingnuttery

Those wild and krazy kids over at Red State never stop having fun.  

Here is your random act of wingnuttery for the day addressing the extension of unemployment benefits to the States under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

This is breathtaking. It, in effect, makes the states servants of the federal government. States rights, etc. are out the window. And never mind that the unemployment insurance provisions would force taxes on the small businesses that are currently the only thing propping up the American economy.

This is how it is to be, folks — the federal Emperor and his Imperial Senate ordering fealty and servitude from the states. And if Washington does not get the fealty and loyalty, the states will be cut off, their people hurt, their businesses shut down, etc.

Washington has become Rome. And with Barney Frank up there, we’ve even got the licentiousness and male prostitution rings. Next up: throwing Christians t (sic) the lions.

Sounds like the good folks at Red State are quite worked up over this.  

With the economy in a tail spin and unemployment rising, what one should never do is to re-examine how your principles apply to the current predicament.  Bet they miss George Bush.

By the way, wasn’t it John Kerry who was planning to re-instate this peculiar practice of feeding Lions had he been elected in 2004? 

Guess you learn new stuff everyday

BREAKING NEWS.......Bush Administration Officials starting to get Job Offers

This just in.

George Bush has been offered a job as Store Greeter at Elliot’s Hardware, in Dallas. 

There is no word as to whether George Junior will accept to the position or whether he will recommend the virtually un-employable Alberto Gonzales for the position.

Word on the Street has Alberto virtually Stoked at the possibility of landing a job near George Bush’s new Dallas home.  Keep your fingers crossed Alberto!

The Incredibly Shrinking Party --- The Fun Continues!

I have seen the face of the enemy and I assure you that the Enemy is   (fill in the blank)                                               .

On this episode of Honey I Shrank the Party, let’s check with the Editor in Chief of the pre-eminent conservative Blog out there in the Wingnut-O-Sphere, Erik Erickson, as he adds yet another name to America’s Enemies List. 

This time it is Charlie Crist.

It is incumbent on conservatives to begin now building up a great storehouse of Crist anecdotes showing how terrible he is so that he’s radioactive by 2012.

He would be wholly unacceptable as a Presidential nominee for the GOP. Crist has no principles beyond an instinct toward sticking his finger in the wind. And through his appointments within the Republican Party apparatus in Florida, he is tearing down a once very strong party.

Good on George P. Bush for standing up and telling the truth.

We should carry this headline into 2012 and club Charlie Crist like a baby seal with it: “Obama Teams With Florida Governor to Push Stimulus”.

His crime: thinking independently.  How dare this guy put Country before the lunatic fringe of the Party?

So this is just the apropriate response to Crist.  As the Wingnut-O-Sphere focuses like a laser on this Enemy of Doctrine, they should be able to make him unelectable. They did quite well at preventing the nomination of Juan McShamnesty John McCain after all.  

Purity has its Price.

And who is this unfortunately named George P. Bush person?  He’s not this guy is he? 

The MEAN SPIRITEDNESS Continues

Quote of the Day:

You live with the worst because you yearn for the best, because the worst in its turn seems somehow to evoke the best. From the civil war came Abraham Lincoln; from the Great Depression came Franklin D Roosevelt; from segregation came Martin Luther King; and from George Bush came Barack Obama. ~ Andrew Sullivan

COLD. MAN. JUST PLAIN COLD. When are people going to stop kicking around poor ol' George Bush?  

No time soon, apparently.

Exchange of the Day - You Gotta Have Faith

Being a Practitioner of a rigid political ideology cuts both ways.  

First, it is comforting to have a simple ideological answer to every problem.  For example TAX CUTS!

But on the other hand, faith in an ideology limits one’s ability to see the world as it is, limiting the adherent’s horizon to a romanticized version of a history that never fully was. 

Mark Sanford shows us why faithful adherence to political ideology presents problems: 

CHRIS WALLACE:  Governor Sanford, South Carolina has the third highest unemployment rate in the country. Under the package, you would get $8 billion that the White House says would create 50,000 jobs in your state, and yet you say you may not accept all of the money, including some of the money for unemployment benefits. Why not?

GOV. MARK SANFORD, R-S.C.: Two reasons. One, at times it sounds like the Soviet grain quotas of Stalin's time — X number of jobs will be created because Washington says so. And that's not the way that jobs get created.

I would secondly say what we are looking at is, in many cases, the money that would come to our state comes with substantial strings attached that, frankly, undo a lot of what we're trying to do at the state level.

Take, for instance, unemployment benefits. What we would be required to do would be, for the first time, increase the level of benefit for part- time workers. In other words, right now, it's full- time workers — increase it to part-time workers.

But this same fund had to go to the feds this fall to borrow $140 million, has come back to ask another $170 million from the fed. And so it becomes somewhat circular. We can't pay for the benefits already in the program, but to get the stimulus money, we've got to increase the program's size and scale.

WALLACE: All right. Governor Granholm, unemployment in Michigan is 10.6 percent, which is the highest in the nation. And you say you're going to take every one of the $7 billion coming to your state. Why is Governor Sanford wrong?

GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM, D-MICH.: Well, this, to me, is not about philosophical theory. This is about real people who, through no fault of their own, are laid off because of a recession. They need to be able to put food on the table.

Sanford represents the Strain of True Belief within today's GOP.  Jindal, however, I am not so sure. His appearance on MTP contained a dose of Neo-Hooverism but also smelled of rank opportunism.  But for now we can let Sanford and Jindal try to out Hoover each other to position for 2012.

The more things Change, The more they stay the Same?

You have to love this picture of a civil war re-enacter playing Robert E. Lee:

Because that's how you know it was back in the day. A Sword in one hand and a Cross in the other, brother. 

File this Picture under crazy Wingnut Fantasies.

More of that Old Time Religion --- the Neo-Hooverites Strike Back!

Bobby Jindal can preach that old time religion.  And tells us that the solution to a Bush whacked economy is more of the same. 

MR. GREGORY:  But Democrats would, would argue, with regard to a call for greater tax cuts, that over the course of the Bush presidency you only had a--three million new jobs through aggressive tax cutting, that the change in median income did not appreciably go up at all.  And yet there is this emphasis on tax cuts as the best way to cure what ails the economy.

GOV. JINDAL:  Well, I think there's just a--I think this is--shows the fundamental disagreement...

MR. GREGORY:  Is that wrong?  Is that--are those facts wrong?

GOV. JINDAL:  Well, I--a couple of things about those facts.  You look in our country's history, when President Kennedy, when President Reagan and, yes, when President Bush cut taxes, you know what, they created jobs for our country.  It caused some of the best economic times and prosperity for our country.  But I think it goes to the fundamental difference about our approaches to this stimulus bill.  On one hand, you have this idea that the way we're going to solve this--and you heard even the president say that government may be, at one point--I'll paraphrase--may be the only entity that can help us solve this.  You've got another view that says this is all--this spending is temporary, it's creating debt my children, my grandchildren are going to have to pay.

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

When Bush cut taxes it caused some of the Best economic times for our Country?  Well, what the fuck happened then?  

Haven't we been following this script for the last eight years?  Despite the results, this is just a broken record from these guys.  Its almost like these guys say this shit over and over again just to keep themselves convinced that Tax Cuts solve all problems. 

It is so pathetic. No matter what the problem is, the answer is the same.  Lose your job or your health care and get cancer, get that man a tax cut! 

Nobody Could've Seen This One Coming, or maybe not.

Checking in with the Karma Department, let's see how former Bush Administration appointees are doing out there in the Bush-League Economy.  

It is well known that nobody wants to hire Alberto Gonzales.  But how are the other guys doing?

Not good:

The jobless rate is hanging high -- for many of the roughly 3,000 political appointees who served President George W. Bush. Finding work has proved a far tougher task than those appointees expected.

"This is not a great time for anyone to be job hunting, including numerous former political appointees," said Carlos M. Gutierrez, Mr. Bush's commerce secretary. Previously chief executive of cereal maker Kellogg Co., he hopes to run a company again because "I have a lot of energy."

Only 25% to 30% of ex-Bush officials seeking full-time jobs have succeeded, estimated Eric Vautour, a Washington recruiter at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. That "is much, much worse" than when Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton left the White House, he said. At least half those presidents' senior staffers landed employment within a month after the administration ended, Mr. Vautour recalled.

You could trot out the Ol'Bush Administration Motto of "Nobody Could Have Seen it Coming" to describing this phenomenon.  

Or maybe, as sure as night follows day or the observation that water is wet, this cruel job market for right wing apparatchiks and under qualified hacks can be easily explained. First, the Bush Administration was an unmitigated disaster and second, to the extent these clowns aided and abetted George's Tragic Reign of Error, why the hell would you want to hire anyone with this kind of track record?  You know in the Private Sector we expect results.

But I do have some good news for former Bush Administration Appointees.  

In couple of years, when the old coffers have been replenished and the Awesome New Bush Presidential Library opens, there will be several jobs opening up for tour guides, ticket takers and parking attendants. There may even be a gift shop, so know Hope, guys!

So this turns out as really good news, both for the unemployed hacks and for the Bush Legacy, because this way, George Bush can finally claim credit for adding jobs to the economy.

The Corker Doctrine Comes to Wall$treet, but Where is Bob???

In a move that shocks absolutely no one, the Corker Doctrine is starting to take root on WallStreet.

Amid spectacular headlines of Executive Compensation run amok, word has it that apparent Corker-Disciple and New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo had issued another set of subpoenas to the failed tycoons at Bank of America. It was not enough that these so-called Captains of Industry ran Companies into the ground, bankrupting the American Dream for many.  No, that was not enough for them. Not satisfied with bankrupting their shareholders, these failed tycoons turned their profligacy to raiding the public’s trust, first reaching out for the goodwill of the American Taxpayer with one hand while pocketing the spoils with the other.

This can not stand.

Thank goodness for Bob Corker Protégés like NY Attorney General Cuomo.  With Attorney General Cuomo armed with The Corker Doctrine, justice will surely follow and the public trust will be avenged.

I just have one continuing question: Where is Senator Bob Corker?  

Shouldn’t Bob be leading the Charge against the looting of Main Street by those from high places on Wall Street? Doesn’t Bob understand that he can’t just speak out against wages paid to factory workers and not address the Outrages perpetrated by the fat cats on Wallstreet, without a sense of hypocrisy starting to emerge?  If one didn't know better, one could conclude that Senator Corker was only upset about the wages factory workers received and not at all upset by the thievery on Wall Street.  

Senator Corker’s prolonged silence is strange if not unsettling.

With Friends like this ---- Kicking him while he is down

There has been chatter reported on the Series of Tubes that Dick Cheney is upset that his right hand yes man, Scooter Libby did not get a Presidential Pardon from George Bush.  Too Bad.

Let’s check in with another perspective from the Conservative, yet rational, Side of the Series of Tubes on the Scooter Libby Pardon that didn’t happen.

To pin the entire responsibility on Libby, then, never made much sense. Perhaps most distressing is that, in failing to pardon Libby, Bush, in a sense, is pardoning himself from any responsibility for the war or its consequences. Maintaining a pious distance from Libby allows Bush to pretend that he had nothing to do with the whole mess. Morally, Bush made the cowardly decision.

Politically, however, he called it right. A firestorm of indignation would have come down upon Bush, as editorialists across the nation would have denounced him once more for subverting justice. Giving Cheney the brush-off also allowed Bush to get back some of his—to show the vice president, who did not serve him well, that their friendly relations had come to an end. But it seems an odd time to have waited until the very end of his presidency to show that he was his own man.

Now Libby is paying the price, another servant cast off to the side like so much useless ballast by the Bush family. Not an extremely high price, mind you. But the fact that he is paying one at all reflects more badly upon Bush than it does on Libby.

This strikes me as all valid points.  Scooter was convicted of lying about the lies that got our Nation into a war in Mesopotamia.  He was the fall guy that fell on his sword rather than to expose those at the top to charges. That was his decision. 

But as to the Charge of Moral Cowardice, I’m not so sure. First of all for the Charge to stick, one has to have a moral compass and secondly assuming that the first condition is present, that same individual must be capable of Self Doubt.  I'll assume the former element is present, however it is the latter element, this second element that was the source of George Junior’s down fall in many instances, I believe.

But of course George tells us that in 50 years, this lack of the ability of self doubt will be seen as his greatest strength.

Operation We DOWn wit GoPPPPPPPP Continues!

The Other day GOP Party Boss, Michael, Grand Master of Disaster, Steele announced his intention to re-make the GOP in a newer image.  The new image would be Hip and/or Hop.

How’s that working so far?  Pretty %$*(&(^*!!! awesome, so far at least in Missouri, where we have a full fledged battle for the GOP Senate Primary between the rebranded candidate Sarah Steelman, and some tired old white guy in a suit from the old boys network.

In the interview, Steelman took some sharp jabs at Blunt, describing the seven-term congressman Blunt as being part of the “old-boys' network” who has spent too much time in Washington. 

“Roy Blunt is another white guy in a suit, and I think the public wants change,” Steelman said. “There’s a good old boys’ network out there that’s hard to penetrate… and it’s not always in the best interest of the party or for conservative principles.”

I say that the Master of Disaster needs to dispatch Kool Mo Dee and Vanilla Ice to Missouri and pronto to firm up support for Steelman.  If this Rebranding is to work, it gots to be done right.  

All GOP Hipstahs and Hopstahs report for duty!

Quote of the Day:

"I will be watching what's done in the United States with great interest …. But I'm quite optimistic that we now have a partner on the North American continent that will provide leadership to the world on the climate-change issue."

~ Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Odd statement.  

Apparently before the Obama Administration, the North American Continent lacked leadership.  Or perhaps now even the Conservative Leader of Canada is now taking pot shots at poor Ol’ George.

The Disaster that was the Bush Administration –-- Chapter 11, The Bush Decline

In our continuing series documenting the Disastrous Reign of Error of George W Bush, let’s check in with yet another Crisis Handed Off to Future Generations:

Partisans of President Bush may blame Obama for presiding over a strategic retreat, but it is the Bush administration that assured and accelerated such a retreat.

As Robert Pape of the University of Chicago writes in The National Interest: "America is in unprecedented decline. The self-inflicted wounds of the Iraq war, growing government debt, increasingly negative current-account balances and other internal economic weaknesses have cost the United States real power in today's world of rapidly spreading knowledge and technology. If present trends continue, we will look back at the Bush administration years as the death knell of American hegemony."

[…]

Pape went back to the 19th century to correlate the rise of the great powers like Britain and the commensurate growth in their share of world product. He found the Bush decline had no precedent.

If you look at everything Bush touched with his reverse midas touch, the Challenges President Obama faces as incoming President are legion.  From this perspective, his first term will be dedicated to cleaning up after the previous cast of clowns. If he can stem the Bush Decline, he will be considered a great success in my book.  

He has a lot of work to do.

Yellow Liberal Rag Watch

The Anchorage Daily News is a Yellow Liberal Rag and they are MEAN!

They just won’t leave Sarah Palin alone.

Now its back taxes.  Next they’ll be on Sarah’s case for charging the Taxpayer for the costs of living in her own home.

It just ain’t fair.  It could be worse.  Sarah could have some other Yellow Liberal Rags on her case, like the Yakima Herald-Republic or the Piscataway Tribune, but thankfully this is not the case.

Hip Hop Republicans: WE DOWn GoPPPPPPPP!

Headline of the Day:

Steele: GOP needs 'hip-hop' makeover 

Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

[…]

Mr. Steele said the national Republican leadership, with its emphasis on party discipline rather than developing a strong nationwide bench of candidates, put the party in the mess it now finds itself, most acutely in the Northeast. There is not even one U.S. House member from any of the six New England states, which have 22 seats, and the Republicans hold only three of New York's 29 seats.

“We missed the mark in the past, which is why we are in the crapper now,” he said. “We had the White House, the Senate and the House and were not building a farm team over the last years. We could have been ahead of Democrats and their 50-state strategy.”

Not to quibble too much with the Master of Disaster, but the GOP has been actively building their farm team since the Gingrich take over.  That is not the Problem.  The Results of the effort are the Problem.

Anyway check out this previous attempt (or the text version) at re-branding during the 2008 General Election.  It worked so well that they tried to erase any evidence of it from the series of tubes.  Thank goodness for that Arch-liberal Google, it remembers all.

Anyway this Rebranding should be fun. Anyone seen Vanilla Ice lately? 

Words of Wisdom --- The World awaits Bob Corker to Speak

Quote of the Day:

So, yes, two things need to happen. And that is number one, there needs to be a line in the sand and finish these negotiations.

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Architect of The Corker Doctrine, on the Kudlow show discussing Loan Guarantees to Chrysler and GM.

Two Points to make.

One, if something is on Kudlow’s show it is fact. 

Example: if Kudlow were to report that the Bush Boom, in fact existed, and was here to stay, stock in sunglasses companies would go through the fucking roof because the future would be that bright. No Doubt.

Two.  As far as I know, Corker has yet to draw that line in the sand on executive compensation like he has regarding the compensation of factory workers.  As a bold statement of Principle, The Corker Doctrine maintains:

that employees at troubled American companies shall receive no more in compensation than employees at similar Foreign Companies earn.  

This is an across the Board Declaration.  It applies equally to all regardless of any white collar or blue collar designation.  It is surprising, however, that Corker has not spoken about the Extravagant Executive Compensation skimmed from the public coffers with near as much vigor as he has spoken about compensation earned on the factory floor.  Maybe it is the old walking and chewing gum line. I don’t know.

But if so, after Corker nails down the factory workers, expect Corker to go after extravagant executive compensation with equal grandeur.  The Fat Cats will never know just what hit them. 

KA-BOOM. That was the Corker Doctrine and a dose of justice that just hit you.

But for now, the World Waits for Bob Corker with Baited Breath.