Well, I Watched The Debate...

If you were a Democrat it sucked, if you were an Obama fan it really sucked.  I realize it can be pretty difficult to counter someone who lies every other sentence and presents about a dozen alternate reality versions of himself - but... really? I know being a Democrat is a fairly complicated proposition and reality has an unfortunate tendency to screw with our desires - but... really?

I have one piece of advice for the President to use in the upcoming debates: Whatever it was you thought you were doing, STOP IT!

Debate Game Change...

Gov. Christie predicted that the Wed debate would be... well, huge.

"This whole race is going to turn upside down come Thursday morning,"

I'm not sure exactly what it is that r-Money could do or get Pres. Obama to do that would turn things upside down.  Mitt had something to say about his strategy, though I'm unsure of its wisdom.

I don't know that a campaign that's said what this one has said about facts should wander out onto that limb.

“Fact checkers come to this with their own sets of thoughts and beliefs, and we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers,”

Now I certainly understand the need to make something as short as an ad pop and dig into the viewer's consciousness but this ad about welfare has run right along side the campaign speeches given by the R/R pair saying the same bullshit.  This isn't some "independent PAC" saying something over the top, it is the team so there is a risk involved in questioning the President's truthfulness.

It seems that the R/R campaign is hoping to gain a special moment.

Mr. Romney’s team has concluded that debates are about creating moments and has equipped him with a series of zingers that he has memorized and has been practicing on aides since August. His strategy includes luring the president into appearing smug or evasive about his responsibility for the economy.

I don't know that the President is a trout to be distracted by a shiny object and I'm real doubtful about r-Money pulling off a comedic enterprise despite how funny his family seems to think he is.  I know better than to tell jokes - I can turn a ROTFLMAO joke into... not funny.  It just isn't in my skill set and I've seen no evidence that it is in Mitt's.  I'm sure there are some competent writers at work for Mitt but great lines can't undo piss-poor delivery.

I haven't seen the President thrown off stride by anyone but I have seen him get too far into the weeds answering questions or addressing issues and I have seen him veer away from a question.  I'll say this at the risk of seeming snarky but Mitt going after smug really strikes me as a funny idea.

I don't have any advice for r-Money, I'm not a GOPer shill and I can't fix his ideas or his charisma.  It seems it is Mitt's job to convince people he's not the guy they've been watching since this spring and I have no idea how the hell anybody would do that - much less r-Money.  I'm also not going to wish him any luck.

Ducking The 47% Tape

I said the 47% tape means spit to the election.  In the face of conservative pundits, GOP candidates backing away, and most of the press I still say so.  r-Money's campaign agrees with me by doubling down and folks like Rush Limpthing are banging away on the point.  Most of those pols that've backed away from the 47% sentiment are going to get right back on board as soon as they see how little practical effect that sentiment has on the poll numbers and how much the GOPers agree with it. (gotta keep that base happy) 

Yes, the statement and the rest of the tape was obnoxious, provided you weren't in the least inclined to vote r-Money.    If you think I'm being a Cassandra, then go tell one of your conservative fellows that you're pretty sure pays no Federal Income Tax that r-Money says he's a moocher and see just how much it changes his mind.  He'll tell you who the goddam moochers are...

There is about a 6% Undecided vote left to fight over and somebody would like me to believe that cadre isn't pretty well split half and half on, "Moochers...WTF" and "Them There Moochers" ?  Really?  You've never seen GOPers panic?  Do you want me to remind you of "The Moooslims Is Comin' To Get Us All"? 

Do you think r-Money dumped his 2011 taxes today to change the subject?  Or do you think maybe he dumped them to keep it all buried in the noise?  14.1% is still lower than the 47%er's payroll taxes, you know...

Anne, STOP IT

CBS News reports on Anne Romney's Iowa radio comments:

Amid ongoing criticism over the management of her husband's presidential campaign, Ann Romney on Thursday responded to the critics in an interview on Radio Iowa: "Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring," she said. "This is hard and, you know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now and it's an important election and it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country," Romney said.

I'm sorry to have to tell you this Anne, but this ain't your damned Country Club or the Office where Mittens is the undisputed king and all around dictator. People who are on your team or putatively on your team get to tell you you're doing it wrong.

 Now I do disagree with, oh say, Peggy Noonan that the problem is the campaign because they're working with what they've got - and that is the candidate and the message. r-Money's personality disorder isn't something that is easily addressed in a short term campaign, this mess goes waaaayyyy back and everybody that has anything to do with him (he has inflicted himself on all of us) is just plain stuck with it.

The message is the legacy of the GOP, it just is what the GOP wants for the nation. I don't know just exactly how that gets prettied up, much. The election of 2010 certainly encouraged the GOPers to "go for it." The mistake they've made is conflating a low turnout midterm with cowardly incumbents for a national election for President, even in a sucky economy. Unlike Peggy, I don't have any winning advice for that campaign - other than maybe quit being GOPers...

Anne, it is always hard to run for major office and I don't think anybody who pays any attention is unaware of it. In point of fact, most of those people wouldn't do it on a large bet just because it does suck to do. What does seem to be pretty clear is that people in general are under-whelmed by their luck in having Mitt's qualities aimed at the Presidency. I don't mean he won't get plenty of votes but those are beginning to look much more like anti-Obama than pro-Mitt.

Anne, your guy sucks - he just sucks a little less than Santorum or Ron Paul and had a lot more money. Your package bought this chance and he just plain sucks at what he bought and folks on that side don't much like it.   Oh well...

Magic Mitt

Most of us are aware of the Mitt Magical Underwear, what we didn't know was that Mitt is imbued with even more magical qualities.

“There’s a pretty compelling story that if you had a President Romney, you’d be in a different situation,” Richard Williamson, a top Romney foreign policy adviser, said in an interview. “For the first time since Jimmy Carter, we’ve had an American ambassador assassinated.”

I guess I'm just stupid enough to have missed the magic all those other Presidents possessed.  You'd think that given the GOP sainthood  bestowed on St Ronnie of the Reagan they'd have stopped for a second to think... well, OK - do something resembling thought. 

Williamson added, “In Egypt and Libya and Yemen, again demonstrations — the respect for America has gone down, there’s not a sense of American resolve and we can’t even protect sovereign American property.”

I'm not real sure just exactly what this cretin thinks a US Marine barracks in Beirut qualifies as, but I'll bet the soldiers thought it was US property and didn't take their lives to be worth less for the Marine label.  Now, I'll admit that St Ronnie's resolve demonstrated by invading Grenada and letting the barracks bombers get clean away with it doesn't impress the hell out of me - but then he's their Saint not mine.

It might have missed him that this isn't the only time US Embassies have been attacked and destroyed since Carter.  But, given Williamson's background and who he held influence under, his spot as an r-Money top advisor probably ought to give pause to any consideration of ascribing any intelligence to anything he says.  I don't know, you might be able to pay  me enough to say things this stupid, I'm not immune to money - but there isn't enough currency in the world to get me to believe anything this stupid...  Nope, I take it back - I do have standards and no you couldn't pay me to say it.

Mitt's Advance Excuse

Mitt seems to now have made his pre-excuse for the debates.

“I think the challenge that I’ll have in the debate is that the president tends to, how shall I say it, to say things that aren’t true,” Romney said. “I’ve looked at prior debates. And in that kind of case, it’s difficult to say, ‘Well, am I going to spend my time correcting things that aren’t quite accurate? Or am I going to spend my time talking about the things I want to talk about?”

I think the last sentence is the real meat.  This is where he gets us ready for him to do a 'Palin' in the debates.  This is the assertion that nothing of substance will be put forward by the President so r-Money can just go to his talking points without addressing anything on topic.  What is missing and I'm pretty sure will get made up for is the theme of "liberal media bias" and in the Obama tank media and, by extension, moderators putting Mittens in the position of not even having to marginally address the moderator's questions.

The other aspect about truth is just flak to cover r-Money's own deficits in the ever saying something true category.  It isn't as though there has been a seldom occurrence of a miscure by the R/R campaign or a couple outside organizations bending the truth; we've gotten to the point where "the lie of the month" has had to be supplanted by the "lie of the week" and coming up as a too long a period for that campaign.

If you're expecting something of substance or an actual debate from Mittens, I've got a bridge in NY to sell you...

Mitt Should Have Waited... Huh?

Lately I've been hearing or reading that Mitt's mistake was not waiting and getting accurate information.  I'm afraid such an idea assumes things not at all in evidence.  The idea seems to be that Mitt wouldn't have said things about apologies and weakness in the face of no apology and death.

The lack of information seems to be the crux of the argument and the whole thing falls apart in the face of previous Mitt behaviors.  Starting a ways back there is no tape, transcript, or verifiable instance of the President apologizing for the US.  The bust of Churchill is still in the White House - easily verified.  The "when" plants closed is a matter of public record.  The HHS guidelines for Welfare to Work waivers were available to anyone.  The details of the Medicare savings were right in front of any one's nose who cared to look.  The employment numbers and economic metrics for the last five years are quite handy.  The point is that in these and other instances all the information is readily available and has been for an extended period and yet Mitt hasn't managed to include the truth.

It should be pretty clear that he'll say whatever the hell he thinks will be to his advantage at any given moment, despite truth or costs to the nation.  Considering the low bar of my lack of respect for this guy that he'd have to try really hard to lower it - damned if he isn't managing it... 

Mitt Ain't Like Most Of Us - Fortunately

Mitt leaves the podium after speaking about the Consulate killings in Benghazi

I'd say there is something wrong with the expression on the face of a man who'd just finished lying about the deaths of Americans in the service of their country - whatever political advantage he figured he'd just gotten over... that black guy in his White House.  I've read all sorts of reactions that involve all kinds of pyscho-babble trying to establish just what kind of... asshole he is.

I've said it before and I'll repeat myself - The Deal is all that counts; truth, honor, and decency toward your fellows are immaterial in service to The Deal.  You little people don't get it - YOU DO NOT COUNT, you are simply the capital to be accrued and spent in service to the ends of The Deal.  There is no need for complicated analysis of the man's psyche - he figures he's a shark in a pool of minnows that don't even qualify as bait.  Anne supposedly asked him if he could save the nation - no such thing is going on; this is the BIG DEAL.  He's made more money than Daddy, he's made and broken more companies than Daddy, now he wants the big prize that Daddy couldn't get (and Daddy couldn't get it because he counted those things called truth, honor, and decency).  r-Money learned the lesson and the rest of us may just get to find out what that means if he can play enough marked cards.

Romney And God And Lies?

For someone who doesn't claim any religion and is pretty darn sure no religion would claim him; I know a bit about the various Gods.  One of the things that is pretty clear about all of them is that they don't like lies or the lying liars that tell them - there is some debate about whether non-adherents deserve equal treatment under their God.  Mr r-Money and his campaign and the GOPers make a really big deal about being all Godly.  I'm perfectly willing to let them claim their variants on Gods and leave it go... assuming they let me do so.

I'm pretty sure that all these claimants to Christianity are aware that their God doesn't make exceptions for exigencies like campaign polling deficits.  Now the fact that I don't like liars a bit has nothing to do with a God, it has a lot to do with their inclusion in a list of liars, cheats, and thieves and that liars are generally engaging in the rest of the lists actions.  I don't claim to know why Gods don't like lying but they don't.  r-Money doesn't seem to much care about those Gods opinions regarding lying and today is another example when the Egyptian Embassy did NOT apologize to its attackers.

Hey God, the President did not apologize to attackers, he did not loosen welfare work requirements, he did not raise your taxes, he does not want to take you off our coins, or several other things Your Candidate has said.  How about you do some of that smiting?  No shit, if you're all concerned about what's going on in this nation maybe you ought to get with the program like the GOPers insist you will.  I'm not suggesting lightning bolts are necessary, how about a bad rash or maybe an uncontrollable gag reflex upon lying?

OK, how about I just quit snarking and get to the point?  You r-Money supporting theocracy fluffers are total and complete hypocritical pieces of... stuff.   There's not much I can say to most of the rest of the r-Money bunch since they don't claim all that Godly stuff other than they're idiots or mean natured bigoted sons a bitches... oh hell, why am I being so nice?

Really Mr Rather? Paul Ryan Isn't Who You Thought He Was?

I watched with a certain amount of disbelief as Dan Rather blurted out something I considered rather unobservant on Rachel Maddow's 9/10 Show... words to the effect that he was astonished that Paul Ryan has done so poorly in television and other interviews.  Rachel in a rather nice way tuned Dan up.  She pointed out to him some of what I'm about to go off on.

Paul Ryan is exactly as much of an intellect as you could expect from someone who takes Ayn Rand seriously once out of puberty... or high school, anyhow.  This ought to be a starting point for anyone talking about Ryan's abilities.  Ayn Rand's writings are about stoking the testosterone fueled imaginings of superiority over 'the other' - the ones who don't run things and just do.  You are aware of 'just do' - they cook your food, they build your house, they clean your house or others houses, they don't get the big bucks and they don't get their pictures in the 'nice' magazines.  Worker bees.  Not one goddam cent the Ayn Rand Superiors have is generated by their own sweat and blood - some pissant worker bee makes the things and gets them their income and those folks are disposable, they are "the takers."  They're takers because they make the shit and buy the shit and want to get paid something for it and they're not grateful to the great men who'd as soon they starved while they work.  If they don't work thanks to the decisions of their betters then they can just starve, or if they can't work because they got dealt a real shitty hand - they should have found a better dealer - like running mate Mitt did.  It is a simplistic world where force and influence are all that matters and where the only consequences are when the truly great are inconvenienced - only a very limited intellect would be impressed.  That is for starters.

Paul Ryan has "shone" within the simplified world of the conservative media and amongst his similarly minded and within a pissant CD in the same state where Michelle Bachman has prospered in a similar venue.  Results are quite understandably different when the surroundings aren't composed of his friends and sycophants and include people who are willing to look at a record and analyze talking points policy.  Wanting something to be so does not make a four hour plus marathon into a sub-three hour one and it does not make the fevered imaginings of Ayn into workable policy and it doesn't make ideology into goddam mathematics.  The real rules of the world say that you can't make money in to match money out without actually doing it - ideology be damned.  The real world says that you can't make rape into several other things without really pissing off anyone who gives a damn about women and after you've tried to do it you don't get to claim it is all a misunderstanding.  Some people pay attention to these things and will question it outside Janesville WI and the GOP House Caucus. 

Why the hell Dan Rather is surprised that a pip-squeak ideologue doesn't do well when challenged on his bullshit is way beyond me.  Paul Ryan's ideas have been in full view for some time and they've not been misrepresented and they stink in practical terms.  To put it simply - they are in practice stupid, if ideologically sound.  Paul Ryan has to deny that a vote for Sequestration was a vote for Sequestration and do it in front of people who say, "What the hell?"  This is from the Party that accused John Kerry of flip-flopping for voting differently on two different variations of a Bill.  Paul says he did it to force a better deal... he voted for what he voted for outcomes be damned and wants to pass that off as principled action.  Yes, he thought he was playing hostage taker just as those GOPers thought the rest of their Debt Ceiling hostage taking was a good idea - real world outcomes be damned.

The unexplainable doesn't get explained by Paul Ryan and Dan Rather is surprised.  When you try to do things that make no damned sense at all it is real hard to make it sensible, or even make sensible responses to questions about them.  The measure of an intellect is not the ability to parrot stupidity and pass it off as policy, the measure of intellect is an ability to face reality and do a somewhat good job of matching your desires to it and working within its constraints.  Buying the idiotic punditry that making stupid policy involves nerve and out-of-the-box-thinking is asking to be disappointed or astonished that its object can't live up to its billing.  An actual intellect knows how to adapt and innovate and improvise in the face of conditions, not hew to wishful thinking that things will just work because it wants them to.

Paul Ryan is a chimera of the right and the teabaggers, not anything more and his resolute stupidity is going to cost the GOPers for uplifting it into something is doesn't in the least resemble.  And yes, they deserve anything they get for it... and if the electorate buys into it, well hell, then we'll get what we as a nation deserve and too bad for those who knew better...  

The Purpose Of A Convention

I've been to State Party Conventions and I've watched on TV and read about National Party Conventions.  As best I can tell there are two competing agendas:
Make the base happy to work at the electioneering
Use the Media time to make an introduction to voters you want to win

Platform fooferaw is about the base that is at the Convention or the few at home at the Party meetings.  It is the a game of pleasing the Party activists and giving them hope for the future direction of the Party.  The wrangling and word corrections are the fodder of the purists and not to be mistaken for serious political strategy.  Sure - it does tell you who that group is and where they want to take America and even who they think counts, but it is just a grown-ups game of tiddly-winks.

The selection of speakers and what they have to say starts getting to the heart of the politics.  This selection portion involves what the general reputation of the speaker says about their political machinery and also works to bring forward the 'Next New Best Thing' - bestowing a mantle of Party respect and approval - and also puts the Party imprimatur on surrogates and their messaging.  Any one speaker can hold a variety of those roles and sometimes without knowing the policy positions of one it would be easy to think they'd been anointed "Next" when what they really are about is tone.  Chris Christie fits this slot I believe after listening to commentators proclaim his as "Next" when what I believe his role to been is to play the bully - the hard-assed hard-nose that represents how "tough" the GOP is.  Christie would have to perform Mittenesque retroactive redefinitions to fit the role of "Next."  The Base won't have that without a r-Money win and that puts Christie pretty far off.

I tried to listen to the speakers, but it was too much and I kept switching to the satellite Blues channel.  The gist of what I heard was a play for the Base and even Wife Surrogate didn't seem to be reaching for Undecideds but rather to be trying to reassure the Base.  Her "shout out" to women seemed painfully jarring considering the GOP's stance and her Hubby's stance on women's matters like contraception and choice and work rights - not to mention with an entire disconnect from the daily issues facing most women beyond somebody's platitudes.  (disclosure: every time this rich bitch opens her mouth my eyes go red) ((don't start up with me, I like strong women and weak ones make me tired)) (((strong women deal with hard things and persevere - not buy their way through)))*  Look, the Undecideds are going to choose on something other than race or European socialism or God-bothering and that something other will most likely be who they FEEL will care the most and do the best job of straightening up their economic pain.  Damn it, they will not analyze policy points - they'll go with a general sense of that piece.  Women who are flat done with the misogyny of the GOP won't change their minds because Anne says they're great and women who haven't decided because they've somehow missed having their heads kicked by it won't care Anne says they have it tough.  The undecided audience is primarily white working class of the "don't bother me with this shit until later" variety.  These folks are marginally convinced their vote matters and they couldn't be less interested in the high-falutin ideological fights - they just want things fixed for them and they're not real sure who is responsible for them not being fixed.  Racist dog-whistling won't do much with them, not because they're committed to equality but because it requires energy to hate and it makes them uncomfortable.  These folks need a reason to be reassured that r-Money gives enough of a damn about them to actually do something.  I didn't hear that - at all.  It is still early but these first out of the gate folks tend to set tone...

I can only hope this GOP thing is a massive failure.

*I realize that was a lot of parenthetical speaking and no I don't give a rat's patoot about MS, I've had women friends with it and they didn't have dancing horses and the money for the best medical treatment in the world and I don't give a damn about her five or eight or whatever kids and gazillion grandkids the hired help takes care of - the women I knew had a real hard go of it and did a pretty good job of living until it killed them.  Yeah, it killed them and not a single one of them would have taken it as a badge for respect.

Are We Deaf, Blind, and Stupid

Over the past months the Romney campaign and the GOP campaign and their "allies" in big money have run out the post '64 GOPer rhetoric.  You might remember '64 or you might have read about it and the little matter of the Civil Rights Movement and the Dixiecrat exodus.  The GOP, the "Party of Lincoln," took the South and they took it in the ugly way you'd have to - pounding race.  After awhile they realized they'd have to pull a white sheet over their racism and use dog-whistles.  "Don't say nigger, put that thin cloth over it and use welfare or..."  It didn't quite play to use the "N" word with people who'd watched, live, fire hoses, German Shepards, and kids dug out of dike and couldn't quite get along with it.

Some of us were young and didn't know; our hearts were broken and a fierce rage was lit.  No, the "N" word wasn't going to work and a hell of a lot of us got the tune played on the whistles.  In our country the issue of where to eat and sleep, of going to school, and trying to vote ended in being buried in a goddam dike.  That dike was the end point of the "discussion."  That is what they mean, that is the level of resentment that got the GOP the goddam South.

A couple of pundits are starting to get actually angry, Chris Matthews is having trouble being polite and some are surprised - forgetting where, when, and how he was raised.  Some people seem to forget or not know that a large chunk of the Civil Rights Movement was white and that those people were deeply hurt by what our nation was doing and tolerating.  One of the results was that a lot of white people who are not (words fail) race conscious are not pleased when the whistles are exposed for what they are.  Their racism is primarily ignorance and avoidance - different is unsettling, but buried in fucking dike - uh... no.  They'd be really pleased if, "nobody asked for my birth certificate," could be passed off as a bit of awkward moment of humor.  "It's just a joke, fer pete's sake."  Yeah, and a burial in a dike is pretty goddam funny, also.

Those black people are soooo sensitive...  Cripes on a crutch - I sit here white and far from my dotage and I can remember how and what got us here and feel that rage at what is done in my country being fanned into white hot flames.  I have not had my daily existence shaped by what these cretins espouse so I'm less sensitive, but I'm not deaf, blind, and stupid; and neither are a lot of people if someone jumps up and down and yells.  Hey, you - I'm yelling.  I'm so goddam mad my eyes start leaking when I reflect on what got us here.

Nineteen Sixty goddam Four was 48 years ago, almost a half century, and here we are.  A candidate for the Presidency and his allies are playing at race hate.  That seems like piss poor improvement over that length of time from dead in a dike.  Yes, you cretins, the end point of your shit is dead in a dike.  That is what you goddam mean.  Yeah, I do judge you on that basis.  I'd throw away a pair of shoes I got you on.

If you're white working class you might want to ask yourself why this is what Mitt has got for you... if you don't wonder - you could point it out to your friends. 

Rape Is Rape?

I suppose that if you're a part (VP) of the R-money campaign sudden 180 degree swerves, er - turns, um - flipperfloppers are sort of ordinary. It would seem from Paulie's terseness when pushed on the rape is rape line that he's had a really big change of heart in the last... I don't know, couple days. I say that recently since in January of 2011 he was one of the cretins pushing for the language in HR3 that contained the phrase "forcible rape" in place of "rape." This was about the third time around he'd made that play so "forcible rape" apparently held real meaning for him in his proudly held Pro-choice career. I don't know, maybe Mitt secretes a secretion of pheronomes that drives flipperflopperism. (you know kinda like that spermicidal secretion - also known as God's Little Shield) You don't suppose this'll put the wooden stake in the vampire heart of the "brave principled Ryan" media theme do you?

I'll admit I've heard Ryan repeat the "work requirement" Romney lie and I've heard him talk about the Prez "raiding Medicare" and even the "didn't build that" bullshit lies without any real pushback on his "honorableness." He is still the "brave thoughtfull budget hawk" despite voting for every one of BushCo's budget busting measures and proposing a budget that would explode the deficit even under favorable filling in of the details he refuses to provide - along with now being R-money's second on that guy's similar messy budget nonsense. I strongly doubt there'll be any such pushback on his mythological status since it seems the media has a macro for Ryan with those adjectives filled in.

GOP Rape

I'd very much appreciate it if you'd take a moment to reflect just who it is that is trying to get Todd Akin out of the MO Senate race. I'd further appreciate it if you would reflect for a moment that Akin and Ryan are joined at the hip on the very issues that has the media and GOPers head-hunting Akin. Now I know just how tedious Prince Rebus is to listen to, it is only a few minutes long and I have no ability to edit out the junk and get just the meat. Sorry, this blog does not come equipped with brain bleach.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Now that you've had a chance to listen to the RNC Chair and you've shook off the effects we can discuss what you've just endured. Oh hell, click the song and consider your brain cleansed...

OK where the hell to start? Before we go on, lets be real clear on something, Ryan and Akin both co-sponsored a bill to re-define "rape" in the Federal Exception for funding to cover "Forcible Rape" and the consequences of such a thing I can easily leave to you imagination beyond noting that unlike Mitt, a raped woman has no access to retroactively un-deliver after the rape trial. Both of those characters co-sponsored the Personhood bill that every House GOPer voted for.

Goddam, you can't even get 30 seconds in without a damn lie, Mitt Romney has stated publicly that he would gladly sign a Personhood amendment - that means NO GODDAM EXCEPTIONS! What the hell? "We're a Pro-life Party" is such a load of hooey, first they'll cut pre-natal care which is about the FETUS they're so concerned with and after that fetus delivers all bets are off. All bets. Almost a minute gone...

Holy shit by 1:42 we get informed that this is the Platform of the GOP not the Platform of Romney. Ummm huh? Depending on what campaign? Not to mention that inconvenient (R) after Romney and all those downticket cretins. Oh well...

By 2:40 we're getting an argument about gender gap and GOP Chair is asserting that most women are Pro-life and it's not a big deal and that Pro-woman isn't the same thing as not telling them they have to deliver their rapist's child. I hope the music is helping...

Uhoh, 4;11 involves "leadership" and did Mitt miss an opportunity to kick Akin really hard? Somehow what Mitt did was to lead the charge... Okeedokey. They all fell into lie...er... line. Well, I have talked a bit about why Akin is inconvenient and that would point to a reason why the national GOP is concerned about... well, how stupid and hateful they look with absolute zero regard for how stupid and hateful they actually are.  For the Presidency Akin makes a convenient scapegoat, even if they totally agree with him - the media optics make this work ... unless...

Contrary to the monkey's assertion, I do think evolution is real but this kind of shit makes me feel a bit doubtful that it has been beneficial. Look, ladies (and anybody who cares about them) this is the kind of word that has to be spread to anybody who might care a bit about the kind of things Akin made the mistake of blabbing about in public. It is fine with me if the Obama Administration has left you feeling a bit disappointed - but there really is this other...

A Lie A Day Keeps... Away?

Good grief Mitt. Yesterday you rolled out a lie about the Obama Administration trying to remove military early voting in Ohio, today - you lie about Work to Welfare? I'll go along with the idea that you've flipperfloppped all over the place and that you do have a remarkable string of lies... does untruths sound better? But a daily dose?

So Rince Princess (RNC) calls Harry Reid a "dirty liar" because he asserts that someone credible told him R-money hadn't paid federal income tax on the basis that... I dunno, what? That Mitt is so credible when he says he's "paid taxes," rather than that he's paid federal income taxes?

 At a lie a damn day, the so-called fact checkers and fainting ladies of media call out... Harry Reid? That this election isn't 60/40 Obama/R-money should tell you something about the state of this nation. That any dumbass has the nerve to say spit about Harry Reid in this context says a lot about the state of the media.

Why Is Scumbag Ralph Reed On My TV?

When the hell did Jack Abramoff get rehabilitated in GOPer circles sufficiently that his bag boy Ralph Reed gets to talk about anything other than scamming the rubes on the Religious Right? Ralph played hit man for Abramoff in the Indian Gambling scandal using his "pulpit" to get the religiously oblivious to cut the throat of one gamer for the benefit of another. This smarmy little dweeb pretends to have morality and honor, c'mon. CNN, purveyor of crap and pulpit of shitheels, home of Erin Burnett.

You have no idea how pissed I am that James Carville can't work up to call out the rat bastard? Oh yeah the goddam liberal media...

Titties, Dying, Politics, Komen

If you're wondering just how breast cancer manages to become a political football you could go look at Mother Jones to get an idea. I'll give you a taste:

Second, sitting on Komen's Advocacy Alliance Board is Jane Abraham, the General Chairman of the virulently anti-choice and anti-science Susan B. Anthony List and of its Political Action Committee. Among other involvements, Abraham helps direct the Nuturing Network (sic), a global network of crisis pregnancy centers known for spreading ideology, misinformation and lies to women facing unintended pregnancy. Also on the board of Nuturing Network (sic) is Maureen Scalia, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Maybe you've lost someone to this, I have. Maybe the fact that poor and rural women will be most affected bothers you. Maybe the fact that women have some different equipment doesn't make you feel like... I don't know... a control freak monster. Maybe a whole lot of things, but here's the deal - Planned Parenthood does do abortions and it is a real small part of what they do and it is almost entirely about women's health and that small part of it makes some people into something that I'd have to use rude words to describe.

Well, the Republicans have managed another onslaught on women's health so Planned Parenthood could use your help. As a correlary, that Pink Ribbon bunch and their corporate sponsors have proved they don't deserve ... spit.

OK, titties was tasteless...

SC Primary

On the basis of exit polling the media started calling the South Carolina Primary for Newt a couple minutes after the polls closed. With a third of the vote in it looks like 41 Newt, 26 Mitt, 18 Rick, 13 Ron. (50% in 40,27)

So, in ascending order the GOP has:
The Last Confederate Standing
Frothy Blah People (Google is your friend, with a strong stomach)
MultipleMitt
The Slimy Amphibian

And from this stellar field they propose to beat President Obama like a cheap drum with whoever is erect (sort of) after this Primary. Honestly, I was kinda hoping the GOP would give America a pretty clear choice between the fakery of a Plutocrat versus the Middle Black Guy (sure I'd like left versus their crazed right but you've got the President).

Exit polls showed Mr Multiple losing the electability issue, geewhiz - that's been almost his entire play, "at least I can run with Obama."

Now I'd like to point out to the Ron Paul cultists, you might be impressed with your 13% in a GOP Primary, but here's the reality - that is your possible vote, not one of the other GOPer's supporters would go your way and any other Party voters already did. Generously speaking, in a two Party system that means you all are at best 6% in South Carolina where your flag is still flown on the State House grounds. Contrast that with the rate of serious insanity in the US...6%.

Rick Santorum... who the hell knows what that is about or would go. Maybe he wants to be a VP or maybe God told him to save the cretins in this country from themselves. If it was God, not many other than Rick were listening.

I think the biggest question is what Mitt Romney does about the results from South Carolina. Both he and Newt Gingrich are fakes of improbably degree, but Newt is a hell of a lot better actor. Without saying much of anything of consequence Newt has scorched Mitt, taking him from over a ten point lead to maybe a seventeen point deficit and that would be a twenty seven point drop against Newt. Mitt is going to have to do something about that and what Newt has is tough to top by a Romney. Mitt is going to out dog whistle and out mean Newt? Mitt cannot "fire" Newt and his smug dismissal isn't going to work with that dog. Added to that Mitt has some idea that he can appeal to the not crazy part of the General Election and he cannot get there by trying to out-Newt Newt. Maybe Mitt's best course is to wait for Newt to pull the pin on a grenade and then drop it.

That gets to the point of people looking for Newt to implode in the Primary. If Newt doesn't say something "socialistic" it is hard for me to see where Newt loses votes from the ABMs. The GOP establishment can't stand Newt and will do what it can and their problem is that the ABMs do not give a damn or they'd not be ABMs. The South Carolina voters think Newt is more electable than Mitt and that is a pipe dream worthy of Ron Paul sponsorship. Newt's negatives nation wide are horrific and short of an economic implosion or other national catastrophe he'd be smashed.

This GOP Primary may be way more fun than the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. (well, there is the part where they're competing to be Sauron) Buy lots of popcorn, this show may be pretty long.

Where's The Truth?

I wish I could have written this, but Charlie Pierce did it:

The lies are also bone-deep in Romney's campaign. His wife, of all people, told a complete fairy tale here on Friday night about how, "a year ago," she and Willard "were talking and had the same conversation so many of you have had out there, and we said we thought the country was going in the wrong direction, and I turned to Mitt and asked, 'Can you save the country?'"

Okay, now Ann Romney is a very nice lady, and a very brave one, but, honest to god, is there anyone not playing with their toes who believes that Willard Romney stepped into the fray a year ago out of patriotic altruism? Is there anyone not playing with their toes who believes that he he ever stopped running for president after 2008? Hell, the hardcover edition of his campaign book, No Apologies — the book he barbered to make its contents more palatable to a Republican primary audience as a paperback — is almost two years old. The truth simply has ceased to matter in this campaign.

Does the truth come out of Willard's mouth other than when he says, "Hi, I'm Mitt Romney and I want to be President?" Except of course that his name isn't Mitt...

Mittens And Taxes - On And On We Go

It has been pretty clear to anybody with two live brain cells in communication that the Federal Tax Policies proposed by the ABMs would result in great big tax breaks for the overburdened wealthy and large hits to everybody in escalating effects down scale. Now - in a huge surprise to everybody dead in the head - Mitten's plan has been shown to do the same thing.

It just goes on for-goddam-ever. Most of the voters in the country will be harmed in one way or another by this and over 40% would vote for MultipleMitt, anyhow. I know there's nothing new in this...