Saturday, November 07, 2009
Historic Vote: House Passes Healthcare Bill
The final vote was 220-215, with ONE Republican vote: Joseph Cao of Louisiana, the Vietnamese immigrant who defeated Democrat William Jefferson. Congressman Cao, below, decided he wanted to be on the right side of history.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Oscar the Grouch Trashes FOX News, Wingnuts Go Ballistic
Not known for their sense of humor, wingnuts cried foul. Here's a typical blog comment:
The message is clear, I can’t even sit my kids in front of “Sesame Street” without having to worry about the Left attempting to undermine my authority. And don’t tell me, “If you don’t like it change the channel.”
Dudes, lighten up. Have you seen liberals complain that ABC's "V", a show about cannibalistic reptilian aliens with human skins promising everyone universal healthcare, is a thinly-veiled anti-Obama allegory? Hey, as long as it's mindless but entertaining sci-fi, who cares!
Quotable Republican: P.J. O'Rourke
“I kept waiting for the Tony Soprano votes to come (for Corzine) in the end, the ones that are in alphabetical order and everyone down the list is dead.”
--P. J. O’Rourke
Ha! Me too, P.J. … Only that half the Democratic politicians in Hudson County, NJ are under indictment. (Rimshot!)
--P. J. O’Rourke
Ha! Me too, P.J. … Only that half the Democratic politicians in Hudson County, NJ are under indictment. (Rimshot!)
How You Can Help the Victims of the Fort Hood Tragedy
Is This the Face of the Republican Party: Hatred and Racism?
At the Tea Bagger rally instigated by Michelle Bachmann, ignorant hate peddlers and racists were bussed in to our nation's capital by corporate astro-turf fat cats to scream “kill the bill” and wave racist, repugnant signs in front of the Capitol. House Republican Leader John Boehner claims he didn’t see any such signs. Oh, really?
This repulsive sign compares healthcare reform to the Nazi death camp at Dachau with a picture of piled bodies and the caption: “National Socialist Health Care – Dachau, Germany 1945.” David Schuster of MSNBC, an accomplished TV journalist and all-round good guy, couldn't have said it better: “Some of us had relatives who were in the piles. Do these wingers have ANY decency?”
Boehner can pretend all he wants that he didn’t see the sign (among so many other open displays of racism and hatred) comparing healthcare reform to the Holocaust. But he can’t deny knowing about them now. Eric Cantor, the House Republican Whip, who is Jewish, also spoke at the haters’ rally. What were you thinking, Mr. Cantor? SHAME ON YOU.
It appears Boehner and Cantor are siding with the wingnut lunatic fringe faction of their Party led by Michelle Bachmann. Still waiting for your denunciations, Reps. Boehner and Cantor.
*CRICKETS*
Come to think of it, Boehner could have some things in common with the Tea Baggers: One is an urgent need for remedial history lessons such that he could pass the standard citizenship test to be an American. Here is Hispanic American Rick Sanchez pointing out Boehner’s ignorance with deadpan mockery:
(Sorry for the slight redundancy, Peter, but it's even more pathetically funny on video.)
What a MORON. Truly. Is Boehner really this clueless? It would explain a lot about the Republican Party’s glaring ineptitude. Not that I'm complaining.
This repulsive sign compares healthcare reform to the Nazi death camp at Dachau with a picture of piled bodies and the caption: “National Socialist Health Care – Dachau, Germany 1945.” David Schuster of MSNBC, an accomplished TV journalist and all-round good guy, couldn't have said it better: “Some of us had relatives who were in the piles. Do these wingers have ANY decency?”
Boehner can pretend all he wants that he didn’t see the sign (among so many other open displays of racism and hatred) comparing healthcare reform to the Holocaust. But he can’t deny knowing about them now. Eric Cantor, the House Republican Whip, who is Jewish, also spoke at the haters’ rally. What were you thinking, Mr. Cantor? SHAME ON YOU.
It appears Boehner and Cantor are siding with the wingnut lunatic fringe faction of their Party led by Michelle Bachmann. Still waiting for your denunciations, Reps. Boehner and Cantor.
*CRICKETS*
Come to think of it, Boehner could have some things in common with the Tea Baggers: One is an urgent need for remedial history lessons such that he could pass the standard citizenship test to be an American. Here is Hispanic American Rick Sanchez pointing out Boehner’s ignorance with deadpan mockery:
(Sorry for the slight redundancy, Peter, but it's even more pathetically funny on video.)
What a MORON. Truly. Is Boehner really this clueless? It would explain a lot about the Republican Party’s glaring ineptitude. Not that I'm complaining.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your House Minority Leader
The creepily over-tanned John Boehner held up a copy of the constitution and said he was there to "stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble: 'We hold these truths to be self evident'..."
Umm, John, those are Jefferson's words from the Declaration of Independence. I know you're probably none too happy with the actual preamble with that whole promoting the "general welfare" stuff.
Umm, John, those are Jefferson's words from the Declaration of Independence. I know you're probably none too happy with the actual preamble with that whole promoting the "general welfare" stuff.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Meme shot to death, funeral on Saturday
In the wake of today's tragic deaths at Ft. Hood, I find myself asking this question:
Normally, when someone brings a gun into a not-traditionally-armed environment, like a store or a school, the wingnuts start going off on how the tragedy would have been easily avoided, if only everyone was walking around armed. Every teacher and student would turn into Clint Eastwood at the end of Unforgiven and take that gunman down slicker than snot, saving lives and protecting Baby Jesus in the bargain. Today's shooting took place at an army base, right? People carry guns there, right? And they're trained to use them, and trained to shoot to kill, right? So if someone could shoot at least 42 people at Ft. Hood before being taken down, when the shooter was surrounded by trained killers armed with cutting-edge weaponry, what the hell do they expect the rest of us to do when someone walks into a classroom or shopping mall and opens fire?
You can have your rifle back when you pry your head from your cold dead ass, Mr. Heston. And that goes for the rest of you 2nd Amendment morons as well.
Normally, when someone brings a gun into a not-traditionally-armed environment, like a store or a school, the wingnuts start going off on how the tragedy would have been easily avoided, if only everyone was walking around armed. Every teacher and student would turn into Clint Eastwood at the end of Unforgiven and take that gunman down slicker than snot, saving lives and protecting Baby Jesus in the bargain. Today's shooting took place at an army base, right? People carry guns there, right? And they're trained to use them, and trained to shoot to kill, right? So if someone could shoot at least 42 people at Ft. Hood before being taken down, when the shooter was surrounded by trained killers armed with cutting-edge weaponry, what the hell do they expect the rest of us to do when someone walks into a classroom or shopping mall and opens fire?
You can have your rifle back when you pry your head from your cold dead ass, Mr. Heston. And that goes for the rest of you 2nd Amendment morons as well.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
We’ll Always Have New York's 23rd
So said Andrea Mitchell to David Axelrod. (Hmm …)
Thanks to the right wing PAC ‘Club for Growth’, the gift that keeps on giving!
The Democratic Party’s BFF just elected another Democrat, Bill Owens, from a safe Republican district to join Nancy Pelosi’s growing army of infidels in the House. The notorious New York 23rd was such a reliable Republican redoubt that no Democrat had been elected there to Congress for the past 140 years.
It all changed yesterday when Caribou Barbie, Tim Pawlenti, the Pigman, and the lunatic Beck intervened to purge the Republican establishment candidate in favor of a wingnut, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. The Club for Growth poured $1 million to support Hoffman, and the RNC answered with $1 million for their candidate Dede Scozzafava. All of it down the tubes when Dede dropped out endorsing the Democrat, Bill Owens, who won.
Question: Is the Club for Growth a front group for the Democratic Party? By raising money from Tea Bagger dupes for marginal candidates to knock off Republicans in the primaries, the Club for Growth so far is 0-for-2: They forced PA Senator Arlen Specter to switch parties, and now they’ve elected a Democrat from a 140-year Republican mortal-lock-safe district. Ah, we so love Sarah Palin. She's promising to return, saying the race isn't over, just “postponed” until 2010. Please come back, Sarah, and meddle some more!
Hopefully the wingnuts have enough money in the till to knock off Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, their next target, in his bid for the open Senate seat of retired Republican Sen. Mel Martinez.
Despite Michael Steele’s comic gloating, Republicans would be mistaken to read national implications into the races they won, much less that their governor pickups were a referendum on President Obama. The President’s job approval numbers remain solid with voters in both states.
Virginia and New Jersey reverted to historical form in off-year results electing candidates different than the party controlling the White House. Add to that a weak Democratic candidate (VA), a highly unpopular incumbent (NJ), local issues and low voter turnout, forming the perfect storm that was too much even for President Obama’s campaigning to overcome.
The lesson for Democrats is clear: not delivering on healthcare and jobs for the American people will cost them dearly at the polls in 2010. Had healthcare reform passed Congress with the President’s signature before the elections, I think the base would have been energized to turn out at the polls in sufficient numbers to hold NJ, and make Virginia competitive.
The Democrats need to pass comprehensive, meaningful healthcare reform and a second stimulus that emphasizes jobs. Now is not the time for timidity.
Thanks to the right wing PAC ‘Club for Growth’, the gift that keeps on giving!
The Democratic Party’s BFF just elected another Democrat, Bill Owens, from a safe Republican district to join Nancy Pelosi’s growing army of infidels in the House. The notorious New York 23rd was such a reliable Republican redoubt that no Democrat had been elected there to Congress for the past 140 years.
It all changed yesterday when Caribou Barbie, Tim Pawlenti, the Pigman, and the lunatic Beck intervened to purge the Republican establishment candidate in favor of a wingnut, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. The Club for Growth poured $1 million to support Hoffman, and the RNC answered with $1 million for their candidate Dede Scozzafava. All of it down the tubes when Dede dropped out endorsing the Democrat, Bill Owens, who won.
Question: Is the Club for Growth a front group for the Democratic Party? By raising money from Tea Bagger dupes for marginal candidates to knock off Republicans in the primaries, the Club for Growth so far is 0-for-2: They forced PA Senator Arlen Specter to switch parties, and now they’ve elected a Democrat from a 140-year Republican mortal-lock-safe district. Ah, we so love Sarah Palin. She's promising to return, saying the race isn't over, just “postponed” until 2010. Please come back, Sarah, and meddle some more!
Hopefully the wingnuts have enough money in the till to knock off Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, their next target, in his bid for the open Senate seat of retired Republican Sen. Mel Martinez.
Despite Michael Steele’s comic gloating, Republicans would be mistaken to read national implications into the races they won, much less that their governor pickups were a referendum on President Obama. The President’s job approval numbers remain solid with voters in both states.
Virginia and New Jersey reverted to historical form in off-year results electing candidates different than the party controlling the White House. Add to that a weak Democratic candidate (VA), a highly unpopular incumbent (NJ), local issues and low voter turnout, forming the perfect storm that was too much even for President Obama’s campaigning to overcome.
The lesson for Democrats is clear: not delivering on healthcare and jobs for the American people will cost them dearly at the polls in 2010. Had healthcare reform passed Congress with the President’s signature before the elections, I think the base would have been energized to turn out at the polls in sufficient numbers to hold NJ, and make Virginia competitive.
The Democrats need to pass comprehensive, meaningful healthcare reform and a second stimulus that emphasizes jobs. Now is not the time for timidity.
Monday, November 02, 2009
New York’s 23rd District: More Evidence of Republican Madness
The 23rd District in upstate New York is moderate to conservative and a reliable Republican bastion that hasn’t elected a Democrat to Congress for well over one century. This could end tomorrow if Republicans have anything to say about it. The RNC pumped $1 million down a black hole in that district to support the establishment Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, a moderate favored to win ... but for the Tea Baggers, that is, with a little help from Sarah Palin.
They decided Scozzafava -- who is pro-choice -- apparently isn’t ideologically pure enough. So they threw their support behind Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, a wingnut who calls Glenn Beck a “mentor.” Hoffman catapulted to the front with a narrow lead in a three-way race, until Scozzafava dropped out this weekend and threw her support behind the Democrat, Bill Owens.
The race is up for grabs, but whatever the result, it’s a win-win for Democrats: If the Tea Bagger/Palin candidate wins, this could be the first battle of a GOP civil war for the soul of the Republican Party. Succumb to emboldened Tea Baggers and drift even further to the extreme right and over the cliff, or … marginalize their most extreme elements and try to attract moderate independent voters. Because they are still prisoners of an extremist ideology, there are no good choices for the Republican Party.
As Republicans fight over their identity crisis, Democrats can only hope that the winners will be the Palin/Beck/Limbaugh extremist faction. If they win beginning with New York’s 23rd, the Republican Party could become a permanent minority party with a public identification hovering between 20% and 23%.
In other election news, Republicans will capture the governorship in Virginia, which is no bellwether since, historically, the off-year gubernatorial election in that swing state has gone to the party out of power in the presidency. In New Jersey, it's too close to call now, but I predict the Democrat Jon Corzine will win, with a substantial assist from President Obama. Jersey’s a Democratic state, and this election reminds me a lot of Brendan Byrne's re-election in the 70s, where he overcame a double-digit deficit to win with a weak economy and state taxes as the cutting issues, just as they are this year. In the end, voters grumbled but realized taxes fund things they want, like education and services.
Hypocrite of the Week: Remember Joe “you LIE!” Wilson? Well, it seems Wilson is blaming President Obama for the delays in the delivery of H1N1 vaccines. Except that he voted against legislation funding the accelerated efforts to combat H1N1. So, if it had been up to Wilson, the vaccine shortages would have been more severe. The irony of this situation is that his wife is infected with the H1N1 virus. We hope she recovers, of course, but the Religious Right, that believes in divine intervention, might have taken a different view … if Joe Wilson were a Democrat.
They decided Scozzafava -- who is pro-choice -- apparently isn’t ideologically pure enough. So they threw their support behind Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, a wingnut who calls Glenn Beck a “mentor.” Hoffman catapulted to the front with a narrow lead in a three-way race, until Scozzafava dropped out this weekend and threw her support behind the Democrat, Bill Owens.
The race is up for grabs, but whatever the result, it’s a win-win for Democrats: If the Tea Bagger/Palin candidate wins, this could be the first battle of a GOP civil war for the soul of the Republican Party. Succumb to emboldened Tea Baggers and drift even further to the extreme right and over the cliff, or … marginalize their most extreme elements and try to attract moderate independent voters. Because they are still prisoners of an extremist ideology, there are no good choices for the Republican Party.
As Republicans fight over their identity crisis, Democrats can only hope that the winners will be the Palin/Beck/Limbaugh extremist faction. If they win beginning with New York’s 23rd, the Republican Party could become a permanent minority party with a public identification hovering between 20% and 23%.
In other election news, Republicans will capture the governorship in Virginia, which is no bellwether since, historically, the off-year gubernatorial election in that swing state has gone to the party out of power in the presidency. In New Jersey, it's too close to call now, but I predict the Democrat Jon Corzine will win, with a substantial assist from President Obama. Jersey’s a Democratic state, and this election reminds me a lot of Brendan Byrne's re-election in the 70s, where he overcame a double-digit deficit to win with a weak economy and state taxes as the cutting issues, just as they are this year. In the end, voters grumbled but realized taxes fund things they want, like education and services.
Hypocrite of the Week: Remember Joe “you LIE!” Wilson? Well, it seems Wilson is blaming President Obama for the delays in the delivery of H1N1 vaccines. Except that he voted against legislation funding the accelerated efforts to combat H1N1. So, if it had been up to Wilson, the vaccine shortages would have been more severe. The irony of this situation is that his wife is infected with the H1N1 virus. We hope she recovers, of course, but the Religious Right, that believes in divine intervention, might have taken a different view … if Joe Wilson were a Democrat.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Memo to "Anonymous"
If you have a cogent thought, I'll publish it, but save your racist rants for the freepers.
From the Sheeple Corner
We get this masterpiece from Jeannie Doyle Curtin of Elmhurst, Illinois:
I don't mind the existence of Fox "News." Mouthbreathers need love too. Just don't pretend it is a "news" network, and by the way....
For years now, we have had to watch Republicans battle the elite television media for a fair chance at debate, with "panel discussions" stacked five to one, liberal to conservative. Now there is a network, Fox News, that allows both sides to have a fair chance to present their opinions, and this is somehow unfair to Obama's people. Ridiculous. He's only making Fox more popular and interesting to the American people.You mean the "elite" networks that put Bill Kristol on every week? Where conservative guests on the morning shows always outnumbered those from the left?
I don't mind the existence of Fox "News." Mouthbreathers need love too. Just don't pretend it is a "news" network, and by the way....
Deja Vu All Over Again
KABUL (AP) — President Hamid Karzai's challenger withdrew Sunday from next weekend's runoff election, effectively handing the incumbent a victory but raising doubts about the credibility of the government.
A divided country is torn apart by a stolen election characterized by massive fraud. The incumbent has done little to inspire confidence in a time of national crisis, and the vast majority of the citizenry have a very low opinion of President Karzai, pictured below.
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