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Women raped in Idaho can forget about abortions… it’s God’s will.
The Idaho House has passed legislation already approved by their Senate which bans abortions even in the case of rape.
God's Agent in Idaho
The bill’s House sponsor, state Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, told legislators that the “hand of the Almighty” was at work. “His ways are higher than our ways.”
12 states are now considering similar legislation.
This clip is from PoliticsUSA… go in and read the whole thing (and try not to vomit).
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Someone referred to the Republicans in Idaho as the “Idaho Taliban” and it’s a name that I think will stick.
Related Articles
- Idaho legislator: No abortions should stay the ‘Hand of the Almighty’ (dailykos.com)
- in Idaho, if you get raped, it was GOD’s doing, apparently (hahayourefunny.wordpress.com)
- Idaho GOP: If Women Are Raped, It’s ‘The Hand of the Almighty’ At Work (littlegreenfootballs.com)
- Your body isn’t yours, it belongs to the conservative Christians (scienceblogs.com)
- Idaho lawmakers send 20-week abortion ban to Gov. Otter (deaconjohnspace.wordpress.com)
Were you one of the 50,000?
If you were one of the 50,000 people across the country who signed the online petition (and made comments as well) from the Bold Progressives (Progressive Campaign Change Committee), then here are the names and comments being presented to Senator Harry Reid in Nevada:
I often wonder if all the petitions I sign with progressive groups really get through. I guess they do.
Separating Politics From Guns…
We need to separate politics from guns, and by that I mean we have to deal with the NRA lobby. I am judging editorial cartoons for this weekend’s “Cartoon(s) of the Week”, a regular feature on this blog, and I am struck by how many of them deal with gun laws and the NRA. Maybe the tragedy at Tucson will get us into a good gun/politics discussion.
And we have a way to go… think of these statements from politicians in the past months:
“If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies.” – Sharron Angle
“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous…“ – Rep. Michelle Bachmann
“Get on target for victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly“ -Jesse Kelly campaign ad
“Don’t retreat– reload.” -Sarah Palin
“I am convinced the most important thing the Founding Fathers did to ensure me my First Amendment rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if ballots don’t work, bullets will.” -Joyce Kaufmann, former chief of staff for Rep. Allen West
If we’re “armed and dangerous” and seeking “Second Amendment remedies” then other events that become tragedies are bound to happen.
When you look at Cartoon(s) of the Week” on Saturday (or later), please think of ways we can lower the dependence on guns which has built up over the years.
Related Articles
- Jared Lee Loughner: A Gun Without a Trigger? (omnipotentpoobah.com)
- Josh Horwitz: Tucson Shooting Shows True Face of NRA’s “Second Amendment Remedies” (huffingtonpost.com)
- Chris Matthews has redeemed himself with me for his program today on the talk of guns as a solution in political rhetoric (iflizwerequeen.com)
- Will Tucson Tragedy Shift Gun Control Debate? (cbsnews.com)
- Did America’s Gun Fetish Make Arizona Shooting Inevitable? (my.firedoglake.com)
- Tucson puts gun control politics back on the map (thegrio.com)
- Will the Gun Lobby Win Again? (thedailybeast.com)
- Why there’s no more debate on gun control (money.cnn.com)
- John Feffer: Gun Crazy: NRA and Pentagon (huffingtonpost.com)
- Bill Maher: NRA Should Change Their Name To ‘Assasin’s Lobby’ (huffingtonpost.com)
- Gun-Control Advocates Resigned To Few Changes In Wake Of Giffords Shooting (huffingtonpost.com)
- ONE CONSTANT: American Gun Industry Thrives (huffingtonpost.com)
Here’s a review of the Nevada election…
This from HuffPo:
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Related Articles
- Harry Reid Republicans (outsidethebeltway.com)
- Did Harry Reid Steal Nevada From Sharron Angle? 10 Facts To Consider (ephraiyim.wordpress.com)
Sharron Angle Gets Cease And Desist Letter From Hasbro Over ‘Harry Reid’s Amnesty Game’
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Related Articles
- Nevadans Must Pass on Sharron Angle to Collect Their Sanity (immigration.change.org)
- Sharron Angle’s Bigotry May Well Pass Go [Primary Colors] (jezebel.com)
- Harry Reid’s Chances Hinge On Voter Turnout (huffingtonpost.com)
Sometime after Tuesday we’ll be reevaluating our Government and a new area of conflict will likely be established…
I am curious as to what the results of the Election 2010 will leave us with. It seems likely now that the Republicans will take control of the House, likely putting John Boehner (R-OH) into the Speaker’s chair. As to the Senate, the majority of pollsters have the Democrats keeping control by at least 1 seat… but there are odds that Harry Reid (D -NV) won’t be in one of them. This makes the Majority Leader position a “what if” situation… and it looks like Charles Schumer (D-NY) might get it.
As to Boehner, it is interesting that he is pushing candidates all over the place… the other day he supported Rich Iott, the 
Nazi Reenactor, in Ohio’s 9th District. TPM points out:
House Minority Leader John Boehner took on the conventional wisdom that it’s bad politics to associate with Nazi reenactors by campaigning recently with Ohio congressional candidate Rich Iott. That’s about the only public support Iott’s received from the GOP since his SS scandal broke.
Returning the favor, Iott, who’s running in Ohio’s 9th congressional district, now won’t say whether he’d support Boehner for Speaker.
Interesting. Does Iott know something we don’t? Roll Call, which first published Iott’s “iffy” stand on Boehner’s Speakership, doesn’t think it matters:
Boehner isn’t likely to have Iott’s vote either way, since Kaptur (Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur) appears to be safe on Tuesday. CQ Politics rates this 9th district race Safe Democratic.
In the now close Senate race in Nevada, the Baltimore Sun doesn’t think it will be over on Tuesday:
In Nevada, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was battling “tea party” insurgent Sharron Angle, each side was bracing for a close finish that could extend the campaign — through lawsuits, a recount or both — well beyond Tuesday.
Looking at the Nevada Senate campaign, we’re seeing some really dirty playing on both sides. Perhaps you didn’t see this piece by Michael Kinsley in Politico a couple of days ago:
The Republicans have chosen to make a major issue out of the fact that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lives in an apartment in the Ritz-Carlton condominiums in Washington DC. It is a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor. Reid also owns two properties in Nevada, his home state. But presumably his
apartment in Washington is where he stays when he’s here. Reid’s opponent, Sharron Angle, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have built a huge imaginary narrative on this fragile base in which Reid “lives large” in DC, partying with supermodels, while his constituents suffer.
In my Politico column on Tuesday, I raised the question of where Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, who will become Majority Leader if the Republicans carry the day on November 2, lives when he’s in Washington. It turns out that he owns a three-bedroom house with a carriage house on Capitol Hill. Harry
Reid’s apartment is worth $1,066,000 according to the real estate website zillow.com. Mitch McConnell’s house is worth $1,142,000. If Harry Reid is living large, Mitch McConnell is living larger. And the fact that Republicans apparently didn’t’ think about or didn’t bother to check out McConnell’s situation before piling on Reid shows how phony the whole “Harry Reid Lives at the Ritz” business really is.
She has struggled to explain a number of past positions, including calling for the phasing out of Social Security, discussion of “second amendment remedies” to deal with an out of control Congress, and comingout against extension of unemployment benefits. Mr. Reid is highly unpopular in his home state and his strategy has been clear from the start: To present Ms. Angle as an unacceptable alternative even to someone that many voters don’t like. (Keep in mind: Nevada voters have the option of voting for “none of the above,” which can only help Mr. Reid.)
Hmmm. It doesn’t look good for Reid. Then I read Jon Ralston’s piece this morning in the Las Vegas Sun:
Atmospherics are terrible for Reid, but he will hold on
Harry Reid or Sharron Angle is dead, last in an occasional series:
It just feels as if Reid is going to lose.
Forget the enthusiasm gap — that word is too mild. There is a passion gap in this race that is palpable. You don’t find many people shivering with excitement to vote for Reid. But the feverish animation of voters hot to oust Reid is unlike anything I have experienced in nearly 25 years of covering politics. And it seems to have been building since January, evidenced by Reid’s inability to move his highly elevated disapproval rating.
It just feels as if he is going to lose.
But I don’t think he will. Why?
First, let me be clear on this tradition of predictions. It is not a wish list but a walking out on a limb, so I can either crow afterward or eat same. I base them on data I am privy to and my gut. I have had much success in the past — look it up. But if ever there were a year for my lifetime batting average to take a hit, this is the one.
So take this for what it’s worth:
Harry Reid is the most resilient figure in Nevada political history. He should not even be here. He lost a U.S. Senate race in 1974, embarrassed himself in a mayoral race in 1975 and should have lost his re-election bid in 1998. But he found a way to win 12 years ago, and he will again Tuesday.
How? Let me count the ways:
Considering they were dealing with a moribund politician, and one who was sure to make their job more
difficult during the year with his spontaneous effusions, Reid’s handlers have run one of the most spectacular campaigns in history at all levels: The turnout machine is formidable. The TV has been pitch perfect. The strategy — to peel moderate Republicans and independents who might not like their guy away from Angle — has worked.
And, perhaps equally important, Republicans managed to nominate the one person this year who could lose to Reid.
Angle is a natural retail campaigner in small political subdivisions. But that’s not what a Senate race is
about. And her campaign never could find a comfortable way to reconcile her past, controversial statements — they tried massage, change and deny — and she made plenty more during the campaign (Sharia law here, Canada’s terrorist conduit, Latinos-in-ads amnesia).
In the end, if she loses, I believe the six weeks following the GOP nominee’s primary win — she had a double-digit lead in June polls — were pivotal. During that period, the Reid ad campaign defined her so starkly and turned enough people into Anglophobes to give him a chance.
One more thing: Republicans do not have the huge turnout advantage in early voting they should in a wave election — under 4 points. And all the data I have seen tell me that unless Reid loses independents by 15
points or so, he will hold on.
It’s possible none of this made any difference, that Reid has been dead all along and no amount of campaign brilliance or Angle exposure could resuscitate him. The hatred is palpable, the discontent bubbling over. But I think he finds a way to survive.
The result: Reid, 47 percent; Angle, 45 percent; rest, 4 percent; none of the above, 4 percent.
So we have two days to watch these and other campaigns… I’m keeping a close eye on Manchin (D) vs. Raese (R) here in West Virginia, and that looks like a close one, too. We’ll see.
Related Articles
- Does Mitch McConnell really want Harry Reid to lose? (slate.com)
- Why Harry Reid Could Win (Alternate Media View) (themoderatevoice.com)
- Why Harry Reid’s Nevada Field Operation Is Losing (theawl.com)
- Last-ditch cry for ‘sanity’ before US gives mid-term verdict on Obama (independent.co.uk)
- Boehner to campaign with Nazi reenactor Iott in Ohio (thehill.com)
- Chutzpah Watch (washingtonmonthly.com)
- Political Points – Iott not to be in this picture (blogs.jta.org)
- Boehner just does not give a f*** | Michael Tomasky (guardian.co.uk)
- D’oh! (talkingpointsmemo.com)
- Boehner promises a new Congress if GOP takes over (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
What happens if the Republicans win on Tuesday.
While you are thinking about voting or not, here’s a fragment of an article in OpEdNews by Mary Shaw:
In coming full circle, we seem to have taken a huge step back. It’s no wonder that so many Democrats are feeling broken and bitter.
And it’s no wonder that so many Democrats are throwing up their hands and threatening to stay home on November 2. No wonder they don’t want to vote for the Democrats they feel have let them down.
But the stakes are too high to sit back and lick our wounds. The stakes are too high to refuse to fight the greater threat.
For example:
If the Republican wins the Senate race in Pennsylvania, we in the Keystone State will be represented by Pat Toomey, who is more extremely conservative than Rick Santorum, whom we voted out of office in 2006. According to the ToomeyWatch website, “Toomey’s lifetime score with the American Conservative Union is a stunning 97%, while Santorum’s lifetime score is only 88%.”
If the Republican wins the Senate race in California, they will be represented by Carly Fiorina who, as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, shipped thousands of jobs overseas while tripling her own salary.
If the Republican wins the Senate race in Alaska, we’ll have Joe Miller in Washington, who would vote to repeal the 2010 health care legislation; wants to phase out Social Security and Medicare; believes that evidence of global warming is “dubious at best“; and opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. Also, Miller recently handcuffed a reporter who asked a question he didn’t want to answer.
If the Republicans win the Senate race in Kentucky, they will be represented by Rand Paul, of Aqua Buddha fame, who isn’t entirely comfortable with the Civil Rights Act.
If the Republican wins the Senate race in Delaware, Christine O’Donnell will be casting her spells from our nation’s capital.
If the Republican wins the Senate race in Nevada, it gets even more weird and worrisome. If Republicans win this election in Nevada, they will be represented by Sharron Angle, who likened Social Security to welfare, and who suggested “Second Amendment remedies” if the elections don’t turn out as the tea partiers would hope.
If the Republicans win enough of the less highly publicized House races throughout this nation, the Democrats could lose its majority on that side of Congress, likely rendering the House as incapable of productive work as the Senate has been in the past two years
Read the rest HERE.
Related Articles
- Sestak, Toomey set for debate amid flurry of polls that show Sestak surge has closed gap (pennlive.com)
- Warning to GOP: It ain’t over ’till the fat lady votes (capitolhillblue.com)
- Department of Pots and Kettles (washingtonmonthly.com)
The Big Three… and The Little One. TeaBaggers In Media.
The Top Three TeaBaggers (those who are getting the most press coverage… primarily because of their utter outrageousness as they campaign) are in the following three videos. If you are in their voting districts and this doesn’t make you realize what schmucks they are, then I have no more hope for intelligent politics.
- and -
- and -
Joe Miller’s Security Firm “Drop Zone”:
I could have put in a Rand Paul video, but I’ll give you a neat cartoon by Joel Pett instead:
This isn’t an election as much as it is a draining of intelligence from the population.
Related Articles
- PA-Sen: Armey: Toomey’s 2004 bid gave birth to tea party (dailykos.com)
- Tea Party candidates getting massive cash infusion from small donors (hotair.com)
- A Wild and Crazy Sprint to Election Day (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Michael Bennet Campaign Pitch: Ken Buck Is Sharron Angle’s ‘Soul Mate’ (politicsdaily.com)
The Dirty Two Weeks…
At 2 weeks until the election on November 2nd we are entering into the time of filthy tactics… and, as it seems, the filthiest of the tacticians are Republicans disguised as Tea Party people or Republicans hidden by Supreme Court supported corporate anonymity.
In Nevada we have a right-wing Hispanic “front” group running commercials to persuade Latinos not to vote as a
method of telling politicians that they won’t be used anymore… an obvious play to withhold votes for Harry Reid and get Sharron Angle, the Tea Party lunatic, into office. As of this past afternoon, Univision, the great Hispanic television network has refused to run these ads… and Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC pinned Mr, Posado, the creator of the ads, to the wall…exposing him as a Republican front.
The Delaware debate yesterday morning had Christine O’Donnell revealing how little she knew about the Constitution when she made it clear she knew nothing about the separation of Church and State in the First Amendment, something Chris Coons explained for her. And she kept coming back with the same comment. Listening to people laugh at her, the facial expression she gave out was indicative that she thought she had smashed Coons. This is a brainless woman… scary to think of her in office.
Sarah Palin is Tea Party Busing around the country making more comments revealing her lack of knowledge of 
who is running where confusing West Virginia candidates with Pennsylvania candidates.
I think Saturday Night Live is wonderful… once a week. It’s when real life becomes SNL 24 hours a day 
that I wish it all would go away. Yet my big fear is that after the election we will be living in an unrecognizeable country run by Glenn Beck and spending most of its time trying to repeal the 14th Amendment.
Related Articles
- Univision Rejects Ad Telling Latinos Not to Vote (littlegreenfootballs.com)
- Sharron Angle to Hispanic students: ‘You look Asian to me’ (capitolhillblue.com)
- Hispanics defy ad to shun elections (washingtontimes.com)
- GOP Vote Suppression Plot Vs. Latinos In Nevada Is Thwarted (oliverwillis.com)
- Univision Refuses to Air Ad Urging Hispanics Not to Vote (politicsdaily.com)
- Sleaze: GOP Operative’s Deceptive TV Ad Implores NV Latinos ‘Don’t Vote!’ (bradblog.com)
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Rossi Has Close Ties to BIAW (kitsapsun.com)
- Cahill Alleges Dirty Tricks in Lawsuit (politicalwire.com)
News from Nevada – Top Republican Endorses Harry Reid, Slams Sharron Angle
Harry Reid has a close fight going on in Nevada to maintain his Senate seat, despite Sharron Angle‘s near-insane stands on just about everything. It looks like she has turned off at least one leading state Republican… one who has never supported a Democrat before. This from HuffPo:
Nevada State Sen. Bill Raggio, who is considered to be one of the most influential Republican lawmakers in the Silver State, endorsed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in his reelection fight against GOP challenger Sharron Angle on Thursday.
Raggio has served in the Nevada state legislature since 1972, and told “Face-to-Face” host Jon Ralston
this week that never in that long career had he endorsed a Democrat. But given the caliber of his own party’s nominee, he said in a statement Thursday, that time has come.
“What is difficult to overlook is her record of being totally ineffective as a four-term assemblywomen, her inability or unwillingness to work with others, even within her own party, and her extreme positions on issues such as Medicare, social security, education, veterans
affairs and many others,” Raggio said of Angle.
Raggio, of course, has another reason to dislike Angle, who made a failed attempt to unseat him in 2008. He also challenged his Republican colleagues who have lined up behind Angle’s campaign.
Recently Raggio also made his point in a NY Times interview:
“I would say there are a lot of Republicans who will find it difficult to support Sharron Angle. Abolishing the Department of Education, phasing out Social Security, those are pretty extreme positions. I think any incumbent is vulnerable, but you have to have somebody that is also acceptable if you’re going to win.”
With only 25 days left until the election, getting an important Republican’s endorsement, however reluctant it is, is
something which could keep Reid a point or so ahead.
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NOTE:
I was watching Dylan Ratigan’s show as I wrote the above entry and just caught Sharron Angle making the statement that two major American cities are now under Islamic control. What do Republicans drink in Nevada?
Related Articles
- Nevada GOP Leader Bill Raggio Endorses Harry Reid, Rips Sharron Angle (politicsdaily.com)
- An Unlikely – and Reluctant – Endorsement for Reid (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Leading Nevada Republican endorses Harry Reid (thehill.com)
- The Tea Party Is Exposing America’s Combine (riehlworldview.com)
- GOP Leaders Endorse Reid (themoderatevoice.com)
Things are changing in Connecticut…
It looked last week like Linda McMahon (who I once worked for when she and her husband, Vince, owned the Cape Cod Coliseum) and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal were a virtual toss-up for Senate in my old home state of Connecticut. Then McMahon revealed her lack of knowledge of what the minimum wage was as she campaigned to revise it and all of a suddenthings have shifted.
As I understand it, McMahon has just released a TV commercial (prior to this evenings debate) bringing up Blumenthal’s misstatement on his overseas military experience… but it doesn’t look like this is really helping Mrs. Wrestling.
From Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire:
Blumenthal Leads by Double-Digits
With their first debate scheduled for tonight, a new Public Policy Polling survey in Connecticut shows Richard Blumenthal (D) leading Linda McMahon (R) in the U.S. Senate race by 12 points, 53% to 41%.
Blumenthal’s favorability rating is 53/39, while McMahon’s is the opposite, 39/59.
The only Republican Senate candidates with worse favorability numbers than McMahon were Joe Miller, Sharron Angle, and Christine O’Donnell.
Related Articles
- Linda McMahon Bodyslams Blumenthal With Ad About Vietnam War Comments (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
- How Old Is Linda McMahon? (politicsdaily.com)
- National Dems bash McMahon in Conn. Senate race ad (sfgate.com)
What happens if “No One” gets elected in Nevada…
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