Oh the irony in the GOP

Considering the joke Meghan McCain's father made at Chelsea Clinton's behalf.

If you don't remember:

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."

It sure is amusing reading the younger McCain's critique of David Letterman's Bristol Palin joke.

The most frustrating part of McCain's complaint is she continues to peddle the nonsense that the joke is about 14-year-old Willow Palin. No where in the original joke did Letterman mention Willow by name and in his apology the following the day he specifically says he was referring to Bristol.

I'm not defending what he said. In my opinion, neither Letterman nor the older McCain's jokes are defensible. But I wish Meghan McCain would just shut up already.

Republicans Piss into the Wind and the Media Hold Their...

I haven't said anything yet about the closing of Gitmo. Mostly because while I believe it should be closed sooner rather than later, I understand the politics of it are going to be a difficult, and I won't pretend have the answers. But the Republicans fear mongering and claims that Gitmo is just like Disneyland are quite amusing. Today's comments by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) take the cake:

I've mentioned Inhofe before here. He's in the running with Sen. Jim Demint (R-SC) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) for biggest wackjobs in the Senate.

It's frustrating that the White House has allowed Republicans to control the debate. It's natural for congress feeling left high and dry to vote against funding the Gitmo closing. Dem Senators say they need a plan. After all, they're the ones who have to take this back home and the fear mongering is going to work unless the White House gets into the debate. Tomorrow is Obama's big national security speech, which Politico is already hyping as a duel with Dick Cheney's “Keeping America Safe" at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

It's unclear how a private citizen's views on national security can compete with the President of the United States, but when you're a leaderless party Dick Cheney might be the best you've got.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) says them to CA:

Why not? We keep the Manson Family, the Night Stalker and many other various dangerous people. We sure could use the money, after last night's ballot initiatives were trounced. All this talk of dualing almost makes me forget we had a 2+ year long presidential campaign. It's a shame Dick Cheney didn't run. Maybe then the media would ignore the guy.

h/t: ABCNews and Think Progress

Wingnuttery Everywhere

I was pleasantly surprised with Michael Steele truth to power Republican base Mormon comments:

"[R]emember, it was the base that rejected Mitt because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life. It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism. It was the base that rejected Mitch, Mitt, because they thought he was back and forth and waffling on those very economic issues you’re talking about. So, I mean, I hear what you’re saying, but before we even got to a primary vote, the base had made very clear they had issues with Mitt because if they didn’t, he would have defeated John McCain in those primaries in which he lost."

I'm not a Republican, nor am I part of either party's base, but I've been fascinated by the Evangelical movement for sometime, and Steele's comments are backed up with many conversations I had during the primaries.

Continetti doesn't mention Huntsman's Mormonism in his complaints I mentioned yesterday, but then again, Continetti is not part of the GOP base. His quest for party purity isn't based on religion affiliation. Continetti actually said something that made me a at least a little bit proud:

"The coalition that would nominate such a man (or woman!) exists, sure. In the Democratic party. Not the GOP."

That was until Oliver Willis brought this John Aravosis post to my attention:

"It doesn't matter what Huntsman now tells us. The Mormons have a tenet in their faith called "lying for the lord." It means they outright lie when asked about their church, in order to protect and promote their church. And as we've seen with their treatment of the Holocaust victims, and their absurd excuse for why they secretly baptized President Obama's mother only last year, in matters concerning their faith, they have shown that you cannot trust them at their word. Their promises come second to their faith.

If Jon Hunstman is required by God to secretly help the Mormons infiltrate China - and he is - then that is what Jon Huntsman will do as our next Ambassador to China. You can bet on it. Pity the poor Chinese. They have no idea what's about to happen to them."

These conspiratorial ideas are common place on the extremes of both parties. Aravosis is fairly mainstream in the liberal blogosphere. It's disappointing to see this from what I'd hoped would be the more tolerant edge of political discourse. Hunstman's dedication to service is tried and true. More should expected out of liberal bloggers. These are the things we'd come to expect from birthers.

h/t Oliver Willis
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Now playing: Louderbach - autumn

Continetti Disappointing Op/ed and GOP's Diminishing Numbers

I typically like Matthew Continetti on BHTV. I've debated Continetti merits with Brendan in the comments section a couple times, but his new article in the Weekly Standard is garbage - minus one nugget of truth:

"Because an Obama-friendly moderate stands absolutely no chance of winning a Republican presidential nomination anytime soon. The coalition that would nominate such a man (or woman!) exists, sure. In the Democratic party. Not the GOP."

The Republican Party has no interest in ever moderating itself - 2016 or any time in the future. It will take several presidential elections before it even considers something o drastic. We're talking 16-years minimum.

Today TPM and WaPo both dissect a new Gallup on the ever shrinking GOP. Other than church-going Caucasians, every other demographic has left them.

By 2042 the United States will be "majority-minority," when ethnic/racial minorities will make up the majority of the population. Currently 10% of American counties are "majority-minority" and another 7% are reaching that point.

Good luck in your purification attempts, GOP. You'll be joining the Whigs soon enough.

h/t Ben Smith

About Damned Time

Sen. David Vitter still a shmuck, finally lifts his hold placed on the FEMA head confirmation.

I, for one, am excited about porn adult film star Stormy Daniels challenging Vitter in the LA Republican primary.

Texas, You Know, I Don't Think It's Going to Work

The New Yorkers' Hendrik Hertzberg supports Gov. Rick Perry's suggestion Texas secession:

Despite Perry’s fighting words, there is no reason for the separation to be an occasion for violence. The globe is replete with two-state solutions: India and Pakistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Israel and Palestine. Admittedly, these may not be the best examples. A closer parallel would be Czechoslovakia, which, in 1993, split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Like Czechs and Slovaks, Americans and Texans speak closely related languages, share a common, if not equally intense, interest in football games (though the Dallas Cowboys could no longer style themselves “America’s Team”), and enjoy each other’s cuisines. (Houston has a number of acceptable organic fusion restaurants, and there is a pretty fair barbecue place just a block from The New Yorker’s offices.) The border between the United States and the Federated States (“Confederate” being a word that remains a little too provocative) might not be as trouble-free as that between the United States and Canada, but, compared to the border with Mexico, it would probably require somewhat fewer armed citizen militias and fences topped with concertina wire to thwart illegal aliens desperate for a better life. On balance, trade relations between the U.S. and the F.S. would be advantageous to both. Cultural exchanges, tourism, and even a degree of military coöperation would be far from unthinkable.

For the old country, the benefits would be obvious. A more intimately sized Congress would briskly enact sensible gun control, universal health insurance, and ample support for the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. Although Texas itself has been a net contributor to the Treasury—it gets back ninety-four cents for each dollar it sends to Washington—nearly all the other potential F.S. states, especially the ones whose politicians complain most loudly about the federal jackboot, are on the dole. (South Carolina, for example, receives $1.35 on the dollar, as compared with Illinois’s seventy-five cents.) Republicans would have a hard time winning elections for a generation or two, but eventually a responsible opposition party would emerge, along the lines of Britain’s Conservatives, and a normal alternation in power could return.

The rest is worth reading, for many laughs. Keep in mind, many Texans do support secession. Just this weekend Gov. Perry has requested help with the swine flu.

Republicans Stuck in 1993

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe is going to filibuster the confirmation vote of Judge David Hamilton over concerns he's not anti-Muslim while being anti-Christian. Newt Gingrich did an interview with Christianity Today, where he said more of this nonsense:

You have Obama nominating Judge Hamilton, who said in her ruling that saying the words Jesus Christ in a prayer is a sign of inappropriate behavior, but saying Allah would be OK. You'll find most Republican senators voting against a judge who is confused about whether you can say Jesus Christ in a prayer, particularly one who is pro-Muslim being able to say Allah.

Michael Tomasky, over at the Guardian, does an excellent take down on this lunacy:

So here's where the lie comes in. Hamilton did indeed rule that Jesus Christ must not be mentioned in legislative prayers. But what did he say about Allah? It practically goes without saying that the decision doesn't so much as mention Allah. So this is what his wing-nut critics are doing: They're using the fact that he proscribes mentions of Jesus but does not specifically proscribe mentions of Allah to assert that he thinks mentions of Allah would be perfectly, as it were, kosher.

Please read the rest, if you're interested in why the current GOP is a geographically isolated party.
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Now playing: Department of Eagles - on glaze

Quote of the Day #2- 04/19/09

In the days before the French Revolution, the people of France were living in dire conditions while their leaders lived comfortably, oblivious to the effect their actions had on the people they governed. When informed that her people were starving because they had no bread, Marie Antoinette famously said, “Let them eat cake.”

Gov. Mark Sanford is sending the people of our state the same kind of out-of-touch message

Faced with the reality that South Carolinians will have to repay federal funds whether they benefit from them or not, Gov. Sanford wants to reject the budget stabilization portion of this money. Most South Carolinians — even those of us who adamantly opposed the federal stimulus bill and thought this level of borrowing to be a terribly misguided mistake — recognize it is now the law, and our children will have to pay back this money regardless. - Bobby Harrell, Republican, is the speaker of the S.C. House

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Now playing: GZA/Genius - Living In The World Today

It's Not Me It's You

My favorite conservative Reihan Salam broke up with Sarah Palin over at The Daily Beast. Well worth reading. Heh

Baracknophobia - Obey

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Meghan McCain: No Longer Funny

I've humored Meghan McCain - mostly because she's cute. Yes, I know I should be judging her by her ideas and not her appearance. It was a mistake on my part. I can't humor her any longer.

Other than being the daughter of a former presidential candidate and attractive, I have no idea what she offers to the political discourse.

Not only that, but the more she talks, the more she contradicts herself.

She outdoes herself in her recent Daily Beast article:

But as harsh as I’ve been about some elements of the GOP, I find aspects of the Democratic Party infinitely worse. Just as I fear the far right would undermine a conservative resurgence, the far left of Obama’s party threatens to do the exact same thing to him and his administration.

Ah, I see. In case Ms. McCain hadn't realized this, Democrats are in power, with their majorities growing in 2008, because the party celebrates diversity. Even to the frustration of Liberal members. The Democratic Party has members from conservative, moderate, and liberal districts. Republicans simply put - do not. She's afraid of the fringes of both parties, but what she doesn't realize is that's all that is left in the House of Representatives and increasingly heading that direction in the Senate. Her own Dad is lucky Janet Napolitano chose to join the Obama administration. He was looking at a likely to defeat at her hands in 2010.

Ms. McCain celebrates the unity Republicans have shown:

It is no secret that the Republican Party, for all its faults, consistently displays party unity. For all the criticism that the Bush administration came in for, risks were taken (like supporting the Iraq troop surge) that wound up benefiting the GOP in the long run.

Just how much did supporting the surge help Republicans? Did they win the presidency in 2008 or pick up any seats in congress (other than the New Orleans House seat from corrupt Rep. William Jefferson)? His replace, Joesph Cao who has remained true to Eric Cantor and voted against the stimulus bill and the budget against the wishes of his constituents, has been threatened with recall. Just how successful have Republicans been?

One moment Ms. McCain says Republicans should be concerned about the far right and the next she congratulates their unity. She seems to recognize that the tactics of her far right has scared off our generation of voters, but she fails to recognize that the unity and lack of diverse voices in congress is just as distancing. If Republicans are all expected to vote in unison, why would I support a "moderate" Republican as Cao once claimed he was?

This party unity that so thrills her is what freezes even her out of having any real influence. She certainly has got that memo:

As a consequence, some have requested I leave the party altogether, and say that I am now an unwelcome member...

Any criticism I give of the Republican Party is out of love, and as someone who feels knowledgeable and experienced enough to give constructive criticism.

Ms. McCain goes on to cite two erroneous examples Democratic disunity:

Look at Obama’s stimulus bill—as soon as he handed it over to the House, Democrats loaded it with so many appropriations they made it impossible to pass.

But the bill did pass or is she not aware?

(He goes on to cite Sen. Kent Conrad’s endorsement of farm payments and Democrats' opposition to Obama’s plan to limit tax deductions for the rich.) Now, I may not agree with Obama either, but if such a left-leaning magazine so blatantly recognizes the writing on the wall when it comes to extreme members of the Democratic Party hijacking message and power, then it is obviously a major concern.

Conrad is far from a liberal Democrat, so how exactly is he an extreme (and by extreme, I assume she means liberal) hijacking Obama's message? It appears that if anything, the problem Obama is having is with Business-centric Democrats who would rather subsidize companies than save money, without working towards Obama's health care reforms, all in the name of claiming to be a deficit hawk.

These DINOs in the Senate, Conrad, Evan Bayh, Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor and the rest, would rather give tax breaks to the wealthiest than work with the rest of the Democratic majority to pass Obama's agenda.

The best question Ms. McCain asks is: "Can politics ever become truly centrist and bipartisan?"

The answer here is surprising. Because the Democratic Party has such diversity and 60 votes is needed to make for cloture, simply working within the Democratic caucus guarantees a truly centrist perspective. Democrats need every one of their 58 senators and two Republican moderates to push through a bill.

This of course doesn't make politics bipartisan. Politics won't be bipartisan until Republicans decide to break ranks and begin working with the president.

The people support Obama. The people want Republicans to participate in governance and until they do so, Republican unity is going to leave them a geographically isolated party and leave Ms. McCain voiceless in the Republican wilderness.
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Now playing: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - Africa Dream

Ackerman and Lake on Hi-Caliber Conservative Rapper

One of the funnier bloggingheads clips to date. Worth watching and more on Hi-Caliber on his MySpace. Here's Ackerman and Lake's "Dey Know (Blago)" on youtube.

Faith in Politics

Faith and flaunting your faith is important to securing the Republican presidential nomination. If by some fluke, the voters select a nominee that doesn't live up to this standard, we get stuck with a wackjob like Palin as the VP. in my three years in Minneapolis, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was never one to talk up the roll of his faith in governance. Not much ever got done under Pawlenty's watch. He was constantly fighting with the the Democrat dominated legislature. His budget war shut down the state my first weekend in Minnesota, leaving 9,000 people unemployed briefly. But a recent interview with One News Now leaves nothing to question, Pawlenty is working on the 2004 primary season already, despite his statement in the interview that he's concentrating on Minnesota.

Money quote:

"If you go back and look at why and how this country was founded, people who envisioned America and the American dream first and foremost said we need to acknowledge and be grateful to God," the governor stated. "And it's reflected in our founding documents; it should be reflected in our daily lives, our political values, our political principles, and our own behavior.

"It all starts with that," he emphasized. "That is the foundation upon which we build our house -- literally and figuratively."

Last night Rachel Maddow had him on. A Republican doesn't go on Maddow unless they're trying to up their profile. Pawlenty is boring. Nothing he is going to say or do is going to change that. Last fall, damn, I can't find the poll, but a Minnesota poll showed McCain doing worse with Pawlenty on the ticket. I wish him luck. He seems like a nice enough guy. How Minnesota is that of me to say? Heh
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Humor of the Day

Today's been a pretty good day for political LOLz. Both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show on top of their games. It's the best I've seen either show pull off since Jan. 20. In particular, Jon Stewart's dismantling of CNBC and Colbert's dismissal of Glenn Beck and fear journalism.

But I must say, listening to Mark Levin vs. David Frum clip from Levin's radio show might have taken the cake. It's a must listen for anyone like myself that's enjoying watching the conservative movement self-destruct. The anger and distrust these two men, supposedly from the same party with the same end game in mind, is just too funny. I've been following all of this infighting closely, and I'm loving it!
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Now playing: ESPN - PTI: 3/5

Ta-Nehisi Coates is on Fire

TNC needs to be congratulated. He captured perfectly 95% of the reasons I'm not a conservative and instead a liberal.

Money quote:

I keep thinking about the big things that have always kept me from being a conservative--the knee-jerk worship of a past that branded me half a man, the elevation of the loud imbeciles who think science teachers should be using the Bible, the toleration and baiting of bigots who cloaked themselves in the garb of "States Rights," and now run under the garb of "protecting marriage." The common demonator here is an unreflective veneration of what was, a belief that tradition, no matter how backwards, can heal all. Thus it's only right, that Steele, Gingrich and Limbaugh make up the leadership.

The rest of the piece is well worth reading.
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Now playing: Joy Division - Something must break

Quote of the Day - 03.03.09

“I was a little surprised at the speed in which Mr. Steele, the head of the RNC, apologized to the head of the Republican Party," Robert Gibbs, WH Press Secretary.

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Quote of the Day #2 - 03.02.09

"But do the rest of us understand what we are doing to ourselves by accepting this leadership? Rush is to the Republicanism of the 2000s what Jesse Jackson was to the Democratic party in the 1980s. He plays an important role in our coalition, and of course he and his supporters have to be treated with respect. But he cannot be allowed to be the public face of the enterprise – and we have to find ways of assuring the public that he is just one Republican voice among many, and very far from the most important." - David Frum - a conservative Judas, at the New Majority.

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Now playing: Moderat - Out Of Sight

Quote of the Day - 03.02.09

"During his CPAC speech, Limbaugh praised President Obama for his gifts as a communicator, and he expressed genuine sadness over Obama's misuse of those gifts. Much the same can be said of Limbaugh himself, who uses his obvious talent and cutting wit to do little more than ridicule his political opponents. True believers have their place. But right now, Republicans are in desperate need of evangelizers. And if Limbaugh really does manage to drive them out of his party, he'll find his merry band of Dittoheads age and shrink into oblivion." - Reihan Salam in Forbes Magazine, my personal favorite conservative on BloggingHeads.tv.

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Now playing: Moderat - Porc#2

Quote of the Day #3 - 03.01.09

"For some thirty years, the American political conversation has been dominated by a strain of ideological conservatism that wields market fundamentalism as a sword and cultural populism as a shield." - Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker, Taking The Job

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Now playing: Yo La Tengo - Gentle Hour

Off the Deep End With No Idea How to Swim

h/t John Cole

The demise of the conservative movement has been JuJu's and popcorn worthy. It might be my favorite current politico event. At times it's cringe worthy. At times it's literally LOL. The lack of awareness coming from within the conservative bubble is shocking. Before going further, here's a link to the full Rush Limbaugh speech. As Hot Air title clearly states: "Limbaugh brings down the house at CPAC." Watch and makeup your own mind. Is this the America that more than 30% of us want to live in? He's a blowhard. But he's taken the reigns of the conservative movement and Democrats are all too pleased to give it to him. Rahm Emanuel said so this morning on Face the Nation. By allowing a man who has no interest in solutions, who flaunts his ideology and desire for the President to fail, conservatives are all too wiling to follow Limbaugh down the rabbit hole.

The thing is. These people believe what Limbaugh spews and are protective of his space. Not only is he there leader by choice, they are so starving for someone with charisma that they're willing to eat whatever he feeds them. The funny thing is, Obama laid this out there for Republicans and they fell for it. The End game behind Obama's “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done” comment is unfolding now. Congressmen are forced to grovel at Limbaugh's feet when they wrong him.

Limbaugh's approval ratings tell a different story. Following Limbaugh out the abyss is the answer most Democrats want from Republicans. To see how far gone many conservatives are, you just need to read Andrew Beitbart op/ed today in the Washington Times. Money quote:

About midway through Mr. Limbaugh's clear-headed, timely and sometimes rambunctious call to ideological arms, my BlackBerry began buzzing with elated text messages from across the Omni and across the nation.

A friend in Los Angeles e-mailed a one-liner: "Best speech I have ever seen."

My urbane father-in-law, the first person I knew who copped to listening to Mr. Limbaugh and who has been witness to most of the big events of the modern age, called it the "most thrilling thing [he's] seen on TV."

Hugh Hewitt simply titled his post-speech blog post "The Speech, 2009" and wrote: "Rush gave a speech ... that will be talked about for years and even decades."

But to demonstrate the level of delusion, Beitbart tops that:

It was an address that could have altered the election had it been delivered early last fall by any Republican presidential candidate.

Yes, Beitbart believes had McCain said what Limbaugh said, we'd be 6 weeks into a McCain administration. It's hard not to laugh. Go on, try.
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Now playing: Kronos Quartet - Dark Was The Night