So how is the British press reacting to Mitt?

 

Take your pick… some in London prefer Palin

Romney is certainly giving the English Press a lot to talk about on center spreads, while Olympic coverage takes the front pages. Their reaction to Mitt has gone from openness, to skepticism, to mocking, to concluding that Mitt Romney is worse than Sarah Palin.

Take Daily Mail Political Editor James Chapman, whose cen6ter spread was topped with a two page headline: Romney is a Party Pooper. He has been providing the world a play by play of Romney’s British implosion via his Twitter account, starting off by criticizing London’s preparedness for the Olympics, then forgotname of British Labour Leader Ed Miliband, and then he admitted that he had been given a secret briefing by MI6. This led the British to ask aloud if they have another George W. Bush on their hands:

“Romney blunders again by revealing he’s had (supposedly) top secret briefing by John Sawers, MI6 boss. Do we have a new Dubya on our hands?”

After his visit to Whitehall, Chapman offered two of the kinder reviews of Mitt Romney:

“Serious dismay in Whitehall at Romney debut. ‘Worse than Sarah Palin.’ ‘Total car crash’. Two of the kinder verdicts. Another verdict from one Romney meeting: ‘Apparently devoid of charm, warmth, humour or sincerity’”

 

Getting compared to Sarah Palin is one thing, but being called worse than Palin is an indication of the mistake Romney has made by being in London in the first place.

The Telegraph is reporting that London Mayor Boris Johnson mocked Romney’s readiness comment:

“Quite a moment from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Shortly after Rix had lit the flame he really went for it in Hyde Park. He referenced Mitt Romney’s ‘London isn’t ready’ quip and shot back in style. “Are we ready?” he called and the crowd went wild. There may even have been a hint of the Obama-friendly “Yes we can!” in there – he may have jumped into a winning scenario but I’ve not heard a politician get that reaction before.”

… and this in front of a crowd of over 200,000 Londoners.

 

Related articles

• Romney in Shambles as Britain Proclaims Him Worse than Sarah Palin (tribuneofthepeople.com)
• Mitt Romney’s London Trip: Successful In Terms of Image Deconstructing (themoderatevoice.com)
• Romney’s very bad London trip (dailykos.com)
• Mitt Romney’s very, very bad day (dailykos.com)
• Mitt Romney is the new Sarah Palin! (polizeros.com)
• London Mayor Mocks Mitt Romney For Olympics Remarks (thinkprogress.org)
• British media revel in Romney’s day of gaffes (cbsnews.com)
• Blimey! London Mayor Mocks ‘This Guy Called Mitt Romney’ (theatlanticwire.com)

 

Is Romney Ready for Foreign Policy?

If you’ve been watching the news concerning Willard’s visit to London, you may have heard that he has made a number of gaffes – enough so that the Mayor of London has compared him to Sarah Palin, and thought Palin was the more accomplished candidate.

You can review all the gaffes so far HERE, including videos and statements. It makes you a little ashamed to be an American since the Brits are now looking at Romney as an example of us all.
Here’s one of the gaffes that hit on Mitt’s preparedness for the whole thing:

BBC News quoted Romney:

“To look out of the back side of 10 Downing Street and see a venue having been constructed, knowing that athletes will be carrying out their activities almost in the back yard of the prime minister is really quite an accomplishment.”

So what’s wrong with that, you say. Well… The Guardian responds:

Firstly, in Britain, “backside” means “ass”. As in the part of the body. Secondly, “10 Downing Street” is often used in political reporting as a synonym for a press spokesman for the prime minister, in the same way as “the White House” can say things or have opinions.

Imagine what he’s going to do (or say) in Poland and Israel.

Related articles

• Mitt Romney Makes ‘Disconcerting’ Olympic Gaffe In London (ibtimes.com)
• Ten Reasons Romney is Dangerous On Foreign Policy (davidmixner.com)
• Romney under fire for comments about London Olympics (news.yahoo.com)
• David Cameron Praises Marriage Equality Right Before Romney Visit (towleroad.com)
• After ‘Anglo-Saxon’ gaffe, Mitt Romney and British PM trade barbs over Olympics (news.nationalpost.com)
• Romney Campaign Shames America By Criticizing POTUS on Foreign Soil (politicususa.com)
• Romney tells public of secret meeting with MI6 spy chief (rawstory.com)
• Romney Questions London’s Readiness for Olympics – Media Has a Conniption (thegatewaypundit.com)
• Romney Plays Loud American Tourist in London (theatlanticwire.com)

How to make public education worthless…

I guess new York City public school students will be the best motivators for home schooling in the future. Why? Read on…

This post was put up by Jonathan Turley, one of the legal bloggers I have the most respect for:

The New York City Department of Education has barred the use of “Dinosaur” on tests to avoid upsetting people who believe creationism.

—

Educations in New York decided that, with such things as Halloween and dancing, the reference to dinosaurs “could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students.” Also banned is the word “evolution.” It is basically designing a test for Sarah Palin to pass.

“Birthday” is also out because Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays.

Well, there’s a list of a couple of dozen more words which should not be included in the students’ education… words like “slavery”, “terrorism”, and “Religion.”

In commenting on the DOE, The New York Post came out with this:

Officials said there isn’t an absolute ban on the items, in that they do get included on some exams on a case-by-case basis.

“The intent is to avoid giving offense or disadvantage any test takers by privileging prior knowledge,” said Robert Pondiscio, a spokesman for the Core Knowledge Foundation, an education group.

“But the irony is they’re eliminating some subjects, like junk food, holidays and popular music, that the broadest number of kids are likely to know quite a lot about.”

This is the most absurd… most unbelievable approach to education that I’ve heard about anywhere. I’d love to know what New York teachers think and what they intend to do about the situation.

Any ideas?

How would you like a Republican Death Panel standing between you and your health?

Well, if the proposed new amendment to the Health care Plan which has raised such an issue with both the Tea Party and the Catholic Bishops (both of which are groups who claim rights over your health) goes through that’s just what you’ll have.

From PoliticusUSA:

Sen. Roy "How's Your Blood Sugar?" Blunt

The amendment is sponsored by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and it is the death panel Sarah Palin preached about during the healthcare reform debate, and the ultimate loss of freedom (life) at the hands of Republicans. It is also how theocracy begins. The measure allows insurers or employers to claim moral or religious objection to covering

“HIV/AIDS screenings, Type 2 Diabetes treatments, cancer tests or anything else they deem inappropriate or the result of an ‘unhealthy‘ or ‘immoral‘ lifestyle. Similarly, a health plan could refuse to cover mental health care on the grounds that the plan believes that psychiatric problems should be treated with prayer.”

The measure serves two purposes. It allows religious extremists to control healthcare decisions for all Americans, and undermines the new health law.

I’ve learned two things from this:

1. Because of my “immoral” lifestyle I have type 2 diabetes and doctors are going to give up the thousands of dollars they make from me and my insurance companies by banning treatment.

2. Newt, Mitt and Rick won’t get their needed mental health care, but can get together and pray their crazy ideas away.

I’m curious which totally healthy religious folks will be on the Death Panel. Certainly they are planning for an Atheist representative.

No?

Oh, well… what did you expect?

Related articles

• Santorum: Romney and Obama Both Created ‘Death Panels’ (crooksandliars.com)
• Limbaugh appears to agree with caller that health care reform is a “kinder, gentler Auschwitz” (americablog.com)
• Santorum Longs For Good Old Days Of ‘Shadow Abortions’ When Women Obtained Back-Alley Procedures (thinkprogress.org)
• Republicans Want to Put Your Boss Between You and Your Doctor (alternet.org)
• GOP Sen. Roy Blunt to introduce bill allowing employers to deny coverage for any health service (dailykos.com)
• Paul Krugman: “Death Panels” and taxes will fix the debt crisis…” (sensibleviews.wordpress.com)
• Democratic Women Slam GOP’s Radical Contraception Amendment, Claim It ‘Opens Door To Discrimination’ (thinkprogress.org)
• Create Your Own “Death Panel” (forbes.com)

Palin has announced she’s not running…

Want to buy a National Touring Bus? I guess one will be available now that Sarah Palin has announced that she won’t be entering the Presidential race (what a surprise!)

So what will she do now to maintain her personal publicity program?

I guess it’s time for me to announce that I’m not running, either.

Related articles

• Sarah Palin Won’t Run For President [Sarah Palin] (gawker.com)
• Sarah Palin ends the fever pitch of speculation swirling around her presidential ambitions (dailykos.com)
• 5 questions about Sarah Palin (politico.com)
• Sarah Palin won’t run either (geneveith.com)
• Sarah Palin won’t run in 2012 (thestar.com)
• GOP Reacts to Palin No-Go (thepage.time.com)
• BREAKING: Sarah Palin Will Not Be Running for President (sfist.com)
• Sarah Palin: Inside Her Decision Not To Run (abcnews.go.com)

Cartoon(s) of the Week – We should all be worried about stupidity when discussing debt.

Steve Sack in the Star Tribune:

We are speaking here of forced suicide…

– and –

John Sherffius in the Daily Boulder Camera:

… and the rest of the world is watching our plight…

– and –

Joel Pett in the Lexington Herald-Leader:

… everyone can see what is NOT being mentioned…

Note: I almost made this week’s collection a Sarah Palin review… but I’m tired of doing anything that promotes her for fear of being like this Morin cartoon in the Miami Herald:

… and this about sums it up without getting into her views on American History or anything else. This is probably the last time she’ll turn up in this column.

-Bill

 

Related articles

• Denver Post cartoonist Mike Keefe wins Pulitzer Prize – Denver Post (news.google.com)
• 2011 Pulitzer winners in journalism and arts (salon.com)

What ARE these Palin supporters doing? Do they think they’re invisible?

This article is from Little Green Footballs (which has always been a VERY Conservative Blog):

Palin Fans Trying to Edit Wikipedia Paul Revere Page

Right wing alternate history

Charles Johnson
Wingnuts • Sun Jun 5, 2011 at 11:02 am PDT • Views: 185,896

Man, you’ve gotta almost admire the sheer blind dedication of Sarah Palin’s wingnut acolytes.

Now they’re trying like crazy to edit the Wikipedia page for “Paul Revere” to make it match Palin’s botched version of history. Here’s the Revision history of Paul Revere; check out the edits that are being reversed.

Also see the discussion page for an entertaining exchange between Wikipedia editors and a would-be revisionist.

Hat tip: BoingBoing.

So… if even Conservatives are noticing these idiots, then why does the Press give her so much coverage? Couldn’t we just send her back to Alaska?

Related articles

• Palin Fans Try To Edit Paul Revere Wikipedia Page To Reflect Her Version Of History (alan.com)
• Sarah Palin: I was right about Paul Revere (whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com)
• Sarah Palin’s gaffe about Paul Revere caused her worshipers to try to edit mistake into Wikipedia (crooksandliars.com)
• Sarah Palin Supporters Attempted To Edit Wikipedia Page On Paul Revere (huffingtonpost.com)
• Palin Fans Desperately Trying to Edit History to Support Palin’s Paul Revere Mistake (inquisitr.com)
• Because, sure, why not … Apparently someone tried to edit Sarah Palin’s Paul Revere comments INTO the man’s Wikipedia page. (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
• Doublethink? Palin Fans Attempt To Rewrite Paul Revere’s Wikipedia Page To Match Her Description (mediaite.com)
• Sarah Palin Fans Trying To Rewrite Wikipedia History Of Paul Revere’s Ride To Match Her Crazy Version (thenewspundit.com)

Sarah Palin, the Doyenne of American History Revision …

Sarah has done it again… this time while visiting Boston’s Old North Church (you know, “One if by land…Two if by sea”). She sort of suggested that Paul Revere rode through Boston warning the British that we were going to be free.

Is there ANY chance we can convince the Republicans to nominate this woman for the Presidency? Please…

Related articles

• Sarah Palin explains Paul Revere (whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com)
• Cirque de Palin (eleftheria64.wordpress.com)
• Sarah Palin’s American History Class 101 (crooksandliars.com)
• Sarah Palin’s bus-ride tale of Paul Revere – with apologies to Longfellow (csmonitor.com)
• Sarah Palin Says Paul Revere Warned “The British Aren’t Taking Away Our Arms” (alan.com)
• Watch CNN Anchor’s Deadpan Reaction To Sarah Palin’s Version Of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride (mediaite.com)
• Sarah Palin’s History Lesson: Paul Revere Warned the British (themoderatevoice.com)
• Paul Revere’s Story As Told By Sarah Palin! LOLs (perezhilton.com)
• A History Lesson From Sarah Palin (dlisted.com)

Morning Humor from Ben Hoffman at The Drudge Retort:

Judge finds right-wingers unfit to vote

by Ben Hoffman

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that right-wingers are not mentally competent to vote, affirming accusations of sane people around the country.

The ruling by Judge Harry A. Jefferson of Federal District Court dramatically changes the political landscape in America.

Before the judge’s decision, right-wingers disrupted the hearing with outbursts about socialism, communism, and fascism that seemed to have no contextual relevance. It was found that most of them didn’t know what those words meant. That prompted deputy marshals to order the right-wingers out of the courtroom. Several complained that their First Ammendment Rights were being violated.

It remains possible, legal experts said, that prohibiting right-wingers from voting could have Constitutional issues. “Our goal has always been and always will be allow all sane people to vote,” said Benny K. Mount, a United States attorney, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse. “Allowing insane right-wingers the right to vote, however, is not what our founding fathers had in mind for our country.”

Right-wingers looked haggard and confused after the decision. “The judge is obviously a Marxist,” commented one. “Sarah Palin will save us. She’s really smart,” remarked another. “Where is the Denny’s,” asked another.

Now I feel much better.

Related articles

• Right-Wingers Predictably in Denial about NY-26 (firedoglake.com)
• Right-wingers believe Obama hates flags now (salon.com)
• Palin to embark on national bus tour this weekend – First Read (firstread.msnbc.msn.com)
• 7 Things to Do When Right-Wingers Attack (alternet.org)

A Quote for the Morning from Chris Hedges:

“The systems of information, owned or dominated by corporations, keep the public entranced with celebrity meltdowns, gossip, trivia and entertainment. There are no national news or intellectual forums for genuine political discussion and debate. The talking heads on Fox or MSNBC or CNN spin and riff on the same inane statements by Sarah Palin or Donald Trump. They give us lavish updates on the foibles of a Mel Gibson or Charlie Sheen. And they provide venues for the powerful to speak directly to the masses. It is burlesque.”

Read the rest of the article, The Corporate State Wins Again, on Truthdig.

Related Articles

• The Corporate State Wins Again by Chris Hedges (dandelionsalad.wordpress.com)
• “Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand” by Chris Hedges (via Dandelion Salad) (reclaimamericafromthelunaticfringe.wordpress.com)
• As the world unravels before us, we have decisions to make… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
• Lighting your hair on fire (ticketpolitics.wordpress.com)
• Scheer, Hedges, Sirota, Gross and Tucker: Building a Powerful Left in the U. S. (dandelionsalad.wordpress.com)

CPAC meets this week… more television comedy

It’s the annual time of year when the far right gets together to plan their future and ours, funded by the Koch Brothers and other Conservative money guys. This year, however, things are a little shaky at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Because there is a gay conservative group among the sponsors the show this year, some really extreme groups have pulled out. And folks like Mike Huckabee have decided not to attend.

According to the CPAC website, confirmed speakers for this year’s event include Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), among other big conservative names.

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) was tapped to deliver the keynote address at the conference. Sarah Palin was offered the coveted speaking opportunity; however, declined to accept the invitation. There’s a Live Blog going on at Huffington Post if you want to follow the fun.

Related Articles

• Keynote Speaker For CPAC 2011 Revealed (huffingtonpost.com)
• At CPAC forum, potential GOP candidates must navigate social-fiscal tension – Washington Post (news.google.com)
• Rick Santorum Says Sarah Palin Skipping CPAC for the Money or Because She’s a Mom or Something (mediaite.com)
• The Right Invades Washington (thedailybeast.com)
• Rick Santorum: Palin Skipping CPAC For C-Notes (alan.com)
• The CPAC straw poll (firstread.msnbc.msn.com)

Saturday afternoon laugh…

Stolen from GottaLaff at The Political Carnival:

Josh Marshall at TPM

Is there a calculated Conservative Anti-Semitism starting?

This from Josh Marshall at TPM:

clipped from www.talkingpointsmemo.com They Just Don’t Stop I thought Sarah Palin’s “blood libel” comment was crude and stupid. And I understand that many found it offensive, though I can’t say I was really offended in any personal way. The truth is very few things actually offend me. But this actually did. The Washington Times says that the reaction to Palin is part of an “ongoing pogrom” against conservatives in America. That strikes me as offensive and even disgusting. I really don’t know what’s with this people. –Josh Marshall

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)

Does Palin Know What “Blood Libel” Means?

Sarah Palin

It is even more offensive a term in a public message when we consider that Gabrielle Giffords is Jewish. I certainly wonder what the Half Gov. of Alaska was thinking here… did someone write this speech for her (say Glenn Beck?) or are these her own words?

Clipped from Taegan Goddard‘s Political Wire:

clipped from politicalwire.com One particular line in Sarah Palin‘s statement on the Arizona shootings has created an uproar:   “But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.”   The term “blood libel” usually refers to the false accusation that Jews use the blood of Christian children in some of their religious rituals. While it’s not entirely clear what Palin intended, it’s possible she was trying to use dog whistle politics to speak to her religious base who often feel they’re an oppressed minority.

False Accusations of Blood Libel go back to the Middle Ages, as in this document from the Trial of the Jews of Trent in 1478.

Related Articles

• What is “Blood Libel?” (politicalwire.com)
• Sarah Palin’s Statement On Arizona Tragedy Oddly Uses “Blood Libel” (alan.com)
• Palin charges critics with ‘blood libel’ (politico.com)
• Sarah Palin incorrectly uses term “blood libel” to defend herself (shortformblog.com)
• Jewish Republicans muted on Palin’s ‘blood libel’ comment (thehill.com)
• Why Palin’s ‘Blood Libel’ Speech Was Wrong (thedailybeast.com)
• You: Tea Party figurehead says attacks on her are ‘blood libel’ (guardian.co.uk)

Two quotes to think about…

Having received a blog comment from a conservative blogger, I thought I’d look around and see what conservatives are saying… I don’t often do that unless there is an issue that requires it, but this struck me as interesting.

The quote is from  Virginia Foxx (R – NC):

“This guy appears to be a communist. His beliefs are the liberal of the liberals. There is no evidence whatsoever that this man was influenced by Sarah Palin or anybody in the Republican Party. This man is not a conservative; he’s a fan of communism – that’s the opposite of conservatism…  I don’t think members of Congress incite that kind of rhetoric – I don’t think the things we say incite that kind of behavior. And I don’t know that the things other people say incite it. I just think we have deranged individuals in this country and occasionally they do bad things.”

– Republican U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk in the Winston-Salem Journal

Of course this was the same Representative Foxx who in a 2009 statement on Democrats supporting the Health Care Bill:

“I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that (health overhaul) bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.”

The things we say may not incite violent behavior (although it is easy to prove that they do), but they can certainly show how much hate there is for folks who may disagree with your position.

Then again, it’s Virginia Foxx. Remember this?:

Related Articles

• Rep. Virginia Foxx Leading The House’s Education Committee Is Bad For The Tyler Clementis Out There (queerty.com)
• Thursday’s Mini-Report (washingtonmonthly.com)
• Bob Samuels: Congress Puts a Fox in Charge of the Higher Ed Henhouse (huffingtonpost.com)

Quote of the Week – from Joe Scarborough of all people!

“This is one Republican who would prefer that the former half-term governor promote her reality shows and hawk her books without demeaning the reputations of Presidents Reagan and Bush. These great men dedicated their lives to public service and are too good to be fodder for her gaudy circus sideshow. If Republicans want to embrace Palin as a cultural icon whose anti-intellectualism fulfills a base political need, then have at it. I suppose it’s cheaper than therapy. But if the party of Ronald Reagan, Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio wants to return to the White House anytime soon, it’s time that Republican leaders started standing up and speaking the truth to Palin,”

– Joe Scarborough.

Looks like the Repiglicans face a great divide.

Related Articles

• Joe Scarborough: GOP Needs To “Man Up” To Sarah Palin And Her “Gaudy Circus Sideshow” (businessinsider.com)
• Joe Scarborough to GOP: ‘Man Up’ and Confront the Idiot Half-Governor (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• Joe Scarborough On Palin: Her Biography Makes Obama’s Look Like Winston Churchill’s (alan.com)
• Scathing Scarborough Skewers Sister Sarah…. (tagg-lines.com)
• “Joe Scarborough tells GOP to man up and confront Sarah Palin” and related posts (coalitionoftheswilling.net)

Overnite: Patty Murray is victor in Washington state… Opponent Rossi concedes.

This was good news. Adding one more Democrat to the Senate majority makes us, thankfully, not dependent on Joe Lieberman

At a news conference last nite, Murray thanked Dino Rossi and his family, saying he had been gracious in defeat. Murray said her priorities in a fourth term will include securing tax cuts for the middle class and helping the Boeing Co. win a lucrative Air Force refueling tanker contract:

“Now we have to get to work. I want to make sure Washington state has what it needs to get its economy back on its feet.”

The only state not finalized on the Senate is Alaska, but that will not help the Democrats. It will be a slap in the face to Sarah Palin if Murkowski‘s write-in campaign beats Tea Party candidate and Palin endorsee Joe Miller. It looks like that will happen by a large margin.

Related Articles

• Murray beats GOP’s Rossi in Wash. Senate race (msnbc.msn.com)
• Claudia Kauffman and Dino Rossi concede to Joe Fain and Patty Murray | Election Results (pnwlocalnews.com)
• Murray holds on to Dem Senate seat in Washington (cnn.com)
• Murray Wins (talkingpointsmemo.com)
• US Sen. Murray of Washington state wins 4th term (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

A Quote for the Day from Tina Fey…

She was on Letterman last night and did her Sarah Palin impression. Aside from her impression, Fey also poked fun at Fox News for referring to Palin as “Governor Palin” when she appears on the network. Fey joked:

“That’s like calling me ‘Dairy Queen Employee.” I was once, but I quit!”

A look at the impact on history that tomorrow will have…

I’m watching two historians, Douglas Brinkley and Richard Norton Smith, being interviewed on C-Span’s Q&A by Brian Lamb. They are doing a general overview on how our world has changed over the last six decades or so… from WWII through various Presidential Administrations up to and including Obama. Their discussion on how the country has gone from different parties and groups that could get along, all of whom put the country first ahead of party position, eventually turning into radically polluted politics and a malignant society of opposites that refuse to come together.

The election which will, more or less, conclude tomorrow, will emphasize the split between Tea Party supporters reestablishing white control of an increasingly mixed country and Obama Democrats, working to solve problems without bringing everyone together, from both the left and the right, to participate. Smith wonders what would happen if the whole country could be “redistricted”, not by politicians, but by a computer or judges, then everything could change for the better… and districts could compete or even work together to solve problems.  It’s one of several ideas both Smith and Brinkley keep proposing, but obviously they are both frustrated with the political world as it is today.

Brinkley expresses the idea that Obama could run in 2012 with Hillary Clinton as VP and Joe Biden as Secretary of State (the job he’s always wanted) and they could come up against Sarah Palin running for President after other Republicans destroy each other in primaries. And, in that situation, they would wipe out what things the Republicans achieve in the 2010 election. Smith, however, predicts that Palin will never run for President. Predictions are very easy to make, moderately easy to justify, and far enough away to be unimportant now.

Whatever happens at the election tomorrow, it will make a new point in our history and the historians here seem to know this and find it a “healthy” situation.

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.

Christine O’Donnell:

– and –

Sharron Angle:

– 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)
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Palin Endorses Raese In Pennsylvania — But He’s From West Virginia

… or, as some would say, he’s from Florida (at least that’s where his wife and family vote.)

This from TPMDC:

clipped from tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com Pennsylvania voters can’t afford cap and trade legislation, says Sarah Palin. And that’s why they need to send Republican John Raese to the Senate.  Except that John Raese is the Republican nominee in West Virginia. Welcome to the latest Sarah Palin Twitter #fail. This morning, the former half-term Alaska Governor turned kingmaker and kingbreaker in GOP politics told her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers: “Pennsylvania:makes sense 2 send GOP 2 DC 2 avoid PA economic disaster that will occur under Obama/Pelosi Cap & Tax scheme; workers need Raese.” She may have been thinking of Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Pat Toomey (R). Or her error may have been geographic, and she confused Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Who knows! I’ll bet Manchin is laughing his head off…

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We now enter the age of Tea Party Arrogance…

Joe Miller, who won the Republican nomination in Alaska with the support of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, isn’t arrogant. Gee, no, not at all. That’s why he cut a bunch of Tweets from his Twitter account. Fortunately, The Mudflats, my favorite Alaskan site, saved a screen dump before he cut them:
So… he’s shopping for office furniture and looking for a House and the election hasn’t happened yet. And Lisa Murkowski has decided to run as a write in… so it’s a 3-way race. And I understand Alaskans don’t like arrogant politicians.

This is one to watch.

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Matt Taibbi on the Tea Party Movement…

The current issue of Rolling Stone has an investigative article by Matt Taibbi entitled: Tea and Crackers: How corporate interests and Republican insiders built the Tea Party monster. Allow me to say that it is both amazing and revealing. Here is a brief section… please, please, please go in and read the whole thing… you will not regret it:

By  Matt Taibbi

Sep 28, 2010 7:01 AM EDT

This is an article from the October 15, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone.

It’s taken three trips to Kentucky, but I’m finally getting my Tea Party epiphany exactly where you’d expect: at a Sarah Palin rally. The red-hot mama of American exceptionalism has flown in to speak at something called the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, a gospel-music hoedown in a giant convention center filled with thousands of elderly white Southerners. Palin — who earlier this morning held a closed-door fundraiser for Rand Paul, the Tea Party champion running for the U.S. Senate — is railing against a GOP establishment that has just seen Tea Partiers oust entrenched Republican hacks in Delaware and New York. The dingbat revolution, it seems, is nigh.

“We’re shaking up the good ol’ boys,” Palin chortles, to the best applause her aging crowd can muster. She then issues an oft-repeated warning (her speeches are usually a tired succession of half-coherent one-liners dumped on ravenous audiences like chum to sharks) to Republican insiders who underestimated the power of the Tea Party Death Star. “Buck up,” she says, “or stay in the truck.”

Stay in what truck? I wonder. What the hell does that even mean?

Scanning the thousands of hopped-up faces in the crowd, I am immediately struck by two things. One is that there isn’t a single black person here. The other is the truly awesome quantity of medical hardware: Seemingly every third person in the place is sucking oxygen from a tank or propping their giant atrophied glutes on motorized wheelchair-scooters. As Palin launches into her Ronald Reagan impression — “Government’s not the solution! Government’s the problem!” — the person sitting next to me leans over and explains.

“The scooters are because of Medicare,” he whispers helpfully. “They have these commercials down here: ‘You won’t even have to pay for your scooter! Medicare will pay!’ Practically everyone in Kentucky has one.”A hall full of elderly white people in Medicare-paid scooters, railing against government spending and imagining themselves revolutionaries as they cheer on the vice-presidential puppet hand-picked by the GOP establishment. If there exists a better snapshot of everything the Tea Party represents, I can’t imagine it.

After Palin wraps up, I race to the parking lot in search of departing Medicare-motor-scooter conservatives. I come upon an elderly couple, Janice and David Wheelock, who are fairly itching to share their views.

“I’m anti-spending and anti-government,” crows David, as scooter-bound Janice looks on. “The welfare state is out of control.”

“OK,” I say. “And what do you do for a living?”

“Me?” he says proudly. “Oh, I’m a property appraiser. Have been my whole life.”

I frown. “Are either of you on Medicare?”

Silence: Then Janice, a nice enough woman, it seems, slowly raises her hand, offering a faint smile, as if to say, You got me!

“Let me get this straight,” I say to David. “You’ve been picking up a check from the government for decades, as a tax assessor, and your wife is on Medicare. How can you complain about the welfare state?”

“Well,” he says, “there’s a lot of people on welfare who don’t deserve it. Too many people are living off the government.”

I’d love to go on here, but I owe it to Rolling Stone to have you go THERE.

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