When I argue that we must close the so-called ‘gun show loophole’ and subject every gun sale to the same rigorous background checks, it is NOT secret code for ‘I want the government to take your guns.’
When I suggest that every firearm sold should be titled and insured for liability in the same way that automobiles are, it is NOT secret code for ‘I want the government to take your guns.’
"Walsh is an insecure bully who needs to point out that Duckworth is more of a woman than he is to overcome the fact that she's also more of a man than he is."
-- Columnist Edward McClelland on the notorious Rep. Joe Walsh (deadbeat dad, lunatic) and his tactics against his challenger, Tammy Duckworth (war veteran who lost both legs in an act of heroism).
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all."
That's the official GOP line; there is no "war on women."
Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called it a "manufactured issue".
He went so far as to presume that high ranking Republican women agree with him:
"There is no issue. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine, I think, would be the first to say — and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska — ‘We don’t see any evidence of this.' "
It's been a hell of a day in the world of "slut shaming." A hell of a day, indeed. In case you haven't heard yet, Rush Limbaugh savagely attacked Sandra Fluke, the young woman whom House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) refused to allow to testify during his all-male-witness contraception hearing two weeks ago:
"What does it say about the college coed Susan [sic] Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.
"She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We're the pimps.
"The johns, that's right. We would be the johns -- no! We're not the johns. Well -- yeah, that's right. Pimp's not the right word.
"OK, so, she's not a slut. She's round-heeled. I take it back." EMPHASIS MINE
In case you are wondering what set Rush off, Ms. Fluke managed to get her voice heard in a separate hearing held by the The Democratic Steering & Policy Committee. Although House Republicans managed to intentionally prevent her appearance from being broadcast, it wound up being seen by a lot of people anyway. You know how that pesky internet is.
This woman not being effectively silenced altogether was too much for Rush to bear.
Of particular note is his remark today about the quantity of sex a person engages in having anything to do with "contraception."
Beyond a refusal to recognize the fact that a majority of women use "contraception" as an essential component of health-preserving hormone therapies (such as the one related in Ms. Fluke's testimony), this exposes the psyche of the contemporary, self-declared conservative male...
They think this debate is about rubbers and fucking.
"Behold, the most influential voice in Republican politics.
I'm curious whether GOP officials, including Darrell Issa, are comfortable with the language Limbaugh used today. If recent history is any guide, Republican officeholders are loath to disagree with the radio host publicly, and it'll be interesting to see if GOP lawmakers or candidates make any kind of exception here.
Given that they started this War on Women, it seems unlikely, but here's hoping I'm wrong."
That's a damn good question. And, it should be asked of every single elected Republican in the United States.
Believe it or not, the day got even more depressing.
The National Review published a "hilarious" piece by Charles C. W. Cooke showing just how stupid we liberals are and 'exposing' the fact that access to birth control is a phony issue. His piece, titled "My Contraceptive Haul," (yuk yuk) details how easy it was for him to find condoms simply everywhere in NY City.
"Were one to have listened uncritically to the more hysterical elements in America’s news media over the past month, one would have concluded that contraception is intractably hard to come by in the United States; but a cursory glance at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s well-appointed website gives quite the opposite impression. There, contrarily, visitors are informed that anyone in need of contraception is somewhat spoiled for choice." EMPHASIS MINE
While poking fun at the "NY Condom App" available for a number of smart phones, he says:
"Never has a society been so precisely and easily led to safe sex."
He even describes how his pockets were "bulging" with so many rubbers. Again, it's all about rubbers and fucking.
"Next time someone tells you that, if the federal government does not force all health insurers to cover contraception without raising premiums, the sky is going to fall, why not take him for a walk in a major urban area? You’ll only have to go a couple of blocks."EMPHASIS MINE
You just read that right.
"Take him."
There are so many things wrong with these two men that go beyond their dripping smarm.
They are speaking for millions of Americans who think that women shouldn't be speaking on this subject at all.
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all."
-- John W. Gardner
The annual Conservative Political Action Conference is always interesting to watch. In this election year, it's essential viewing. Coinciding with the ugliest primary battle the GOP has had in living memory as well as a rapidly widening disconnect between Republican elites and their own base, the 2012 gathering is predictably reactionary.
As TPM reports, there is a lot of gloom in the room. Reinforcing what we've seen over the last week, the elites who have hijacked the mantle of American conservatism are intent on using CPAC 2012 to reignite the American "culture wars" of the 1990s.
Wow. Seriously. "Wow," is the only response to this vulgar and morbid display of kowtowing to the worst form of delusional extremist which is now, yes, the true base of the GOP.
Rick Santorum is fielding a question in this clip and here's what happens...
"Thousands of Muslims held a rally in London on Saturday against extremism and to promote a moderate, inclusive version of Islam.
The event in Wembley Arena was led by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a respected Pakistan-born Islamic scholar, who gained recognition outside the Muslim world after he published a detailed fatwa — or religious ruling — against terrorism and suicide bombings last year.
"I want to address those who are lost, who have a total misconception of jihad I want to send them a message come back to normal life. Whatever you're doing is totally against Islam," he told the audience, which included families with young children and students.
Some Islamic scholars, including Tahir-ul-Qadri, have warned that a power vacuum in North Africa and the Middle East could lead to militant and extremist groups gaining ground in upcoming elections caused by the so-called Arab Spring.
"If these elements come into power, it will be a big disaster," Tahir-ul-Qadri told The Associated Press."
Via TPM: "David Lewis, a 26 year old Tea Party activist believes the man he is mounting a primary challenge against, Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), is a "socialist."
Indeed, David Lewis and those who support him actually seem to believe this stuff. Dig the interview. When Cavuto thinks you're nuts? Man, you are seriously crazy.
"Perhaps not since George McGovern’s annihilation at the hands of Richard Nixon in 1972 has a candidate’s Primary base been so alienated from the center of American political thought as the Tea Party is today. Make no mistake: no candidate who doesn’t convincingly throw the red meat to the Tea Party audiences will have a sliver of a chance of getting nominated."
-- Jamie McFadden, writing for Frum in the wake of last night's GOP debate.
"Over the last four decades, the Republican Party has transformed from a loyal opposition into an insurrectionary party that flouts the law when it is in the majority and threatens disorder when it is the minority."
-- John B. Judis, senior editor for The New Republic,telling it like it is not long ago.
I am not sure this is actually news, but the latest AP GfK Poll shows that the Tea Party's total disapproval now stands at 87% of the electorate and 79% of likely voters. That they are driving policy at all is nuts.
In other news which is still receiving little to no attention, the Tea Party's most prominent media mouthpieces continue to freefall in ratings as shown HERE and HERE.
I have been trying to imagine what it would have sounded like to the average American had they been hearing 20 years ago what we have been hearing recently within a field of Republican Presidential hopefuls.
Frankly, I think I would have assumed someone was doing a very poor impersonation of Margaret Atwood. Nevertheless, here we are.
Having jumped into front runner status with the GOP base almost immediately upon his entry into the race mere weeks ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry is, as was predicted, doubling down on some very ugly, anti-intellectual and outright Dominionist statements. It's one thing for him to misrepresent his economic record. It's another thing for him to deny climate science. However, it is something altogether more dangerous for a potential Commander in Chief to allege that the current crippling recession is not the product of decades of unrealistic economic policy and is, rather, a test from God.
Yup, who needs a comprehensive plan to deal with perennially widening income disparity or the collapse of job creation? Apparently, all we really have to do is to submit in accordance with Mr. Perry's theological view.
Glory!
Perhaps we should pray for the Republic. As Paul Krugman noted today:
"Now, we don’t know who will win next year’s presidential election. But the odds are that one of these years the world’s greatest nation will find itself ruled by a party that is aggressively anti-science, indeed anti-knowledge. And, in a time of severe challenges — environmental, economic, and more — that’s a terrifying prospect."
