In case you haven't been listening the past few days, Republican leaders have been doing quite a bit of bloviation over President Obama's handling of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Flight 253.
The rallying cry now from Republicans is that we shouldn't try the Christmas bomber in civilian court - that, instead, he should be tried in a military tribunal, declared an enemy combatant. I mean, what's the value of a military tribunal here, other than trying to make political hay out of this case? Really, what's the justice, anti-terrorist, counterterrorist value on this?
You really think this kid can't be convicted? You really think we don't have enough evidence beyond the - beyond the, I don't know, 300 or so eyewitnesses who were on the plane? The fact that we have the weapon that he tried to use? The fact that he confessed? You think that's not enough to get this kid convicted?
You have that little faith in our criminal justice system? That little faith in the rule of law? You don't believe that a supermax federal American prison is capable of holding this kid? You think it might be cool, instead, to martyr this kid as some impressive soldier, instead of some idiot confused rich kid who couldn't even handle blowing up his own junk with a bomb that was secreted in his own underpants?
We're supposed to take national security advice from you guys? Really?
Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra is still the captain of the team on this one, now raising money off of a terrorist attack on Americans, the attempted murder of 300 Americans - politicizing this issue by soliciting campaign donations for his run for governor of Michigan on the occasion of this terrorist attack.
We contacted Pete Hoekstra's campaign today. They told us, we should expect to see more of this type of exploitive solicitation from them. They told us that Congressman Hoekstra himself personally signed of on the "using a terrorist attack on Americans to raise money" effort, proudly saying they think they've gotten a significant spike in donations as a result of it. Though it's too early to tell, fingers crossed, maybe something else horrible will happen.
This is the Republican response to this terrorist attack at the end of 2009.
Again, my friends and colleagues in the media have two choices in covering this. You can just copy down what the Republicans and Vice President Cheney are saying, and click "send," call it journalism, or you can actually fact-check those comments and put them into context. Your choice. It's your country.
I don't know about you, but this year I'm grateful for many things. I'm still working on my contribution to this year's afternoon feast, sweet potato crumble and fresh bread. I'm timing it so that the bread will be cooling as we drive over to my brother's.
Once again, it's been another wild year. What about you?
Yeah, Rachel Maddow seems surprised that Michele Bachmann has moved from being viewed as "a fringe member of the GOP" to being the mainstream face of the GOP.
Watch poor, behind-the-learning-curve Rachel Maddow mug her way through the video clip at the bottom of this post. As she catches up to the reality of what's going on in the GOP these days, Rachel is doing her smirky, "can believe this nonsense" facial expressions.
And what's going on? Instead of seeing the most extreme conservatives driven out of the Republican Party, we're seeing the most extreme conservatives take over the Republican Party. And newscasters and political pundits like Maddow are surprised by that. Really, they are--even though they're supposed be experts on politics, they affect "surprise" that this is happening. (continued)
American politics has been overrun by fundamentalist, evangelical christians. They joined the Republican party and have become an essential part of the party's base. As the conservatives in the party gained ascendency, they counted on and used the energy of their base for their political victories. But now that the Republicans are out of power and lacking any leadership, the nuttiest have come to the fore and any Republican who wants national attention must pander to them.
These people exist in more or less a separate universe that is entirely different and unrecognizable by those of us not in their movement. Sometimes they utter things, as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) frequently does, that simply make no sense and seem insane.
According to a former member of the movement, this is because they are in fact insane.
Frank Schaeffer and his father helped build the evangelical movement, but he had a change of heart. He's written a book and frequently appears on Rachel Maddow's Show to elucidate the rest of us about the movement.
There's so many examples of republiCon hypocrisy, that it's becoming hard to keep track of them all. As Congress readies to go back to W.D.C. without John Kline nor Erik Paulsen holding a Town Hall, it's important to remember that this summer, in the Great State Of Minnesota, one of the most amazing acts of hypocrisy ever - EVER - was performed, and Michael Brodkorb performed that feat in a mere 9 seconds! Let's look!!!
Now, when Congress convenes after the August recess, be ready and waiting for more republiCon hypocrisy! Here's Rachel Maddow, explaining the hypocrisy of republiCon Judd Gregg, R=Hypocrite, with Gregg's amazing hypocrisy concerning the fillibuster - let's look!
As Rachel explained: "It's O K When A Republican Does It" - although I personally prefer:
That's a question that should be asked, if - IF - Kline and Paulsen actually schedule, and Bachmann actually follows through, with Town Hall Meetings.
The question should also be asked of GOP State Chair Tony Sutton, and GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb.
There's a powder keg out there, with a short fuse. And today's GOP leadership is sending out sparks. If one of those sparks catches, well......you can be sure, the GOP will blame it on anybody and everybody but themselves.
Here's Rachel Maddow:
And speaking of the "MOB" - I noted this:
Moving The MOB
August 13th, 2009 by Mitch Berg
Well, the verdict (throwing out all the votest for "crashing Drinking Liberally") was pretty decisive. People want the MOB Summer Party moved to September 12.
That bloggers wrote about Michael Brodkorb's blatant hypocrisy with regards to Colin Peterson's decision to no longer hold Town Hall meetings is no surprise; MudSlingerMike's pals at his old radio gig tagged him as being in charge of "special ops." What is surprising is one member of the traditional media picking up on it. Monday's St. Cloud Times Editorial noted:
Really, though, the worst out of all this is the state Republican Party's attempt to turn his (Rep. Peterson's) comment into a campaign issue. It plans to run advertisements about it across the district this week.
"Really, Collin, 25 percent of your constituents are so out of touch they believe the U.S. government caused 9/11?" the commercial says. "So you won't hold town meetings? They're not out of touch. You are."
Then what about Peterson's neighbor, the GOP's own 6th District Rep. Michele Bachmann?
Except for one tightly controlled forum at which she barely spoke, we don't recall any town meetings she's held in this area since elected.(St. Cloud Times)
This causes the question - why would one of this state's shrewdest (cynical?) political opportunists, the ol' MudSlingerMike himself, take such a chance at being called out for hypocrisy? Well, not by the RightWingLeaning PiPress, and certainly not by the RightWingOwned Avista Capital Partner's Strib - no, ol' MudSlingerMike and the GOP knows how to shove them around - remember the film of Seifert dissing the Strib at the GOP Convention? But still, why would he do that?
Perhaps what's happening at Town Hall Meetings elsewhere might be an indication of why MudSlingerMike is disappointed. Rachel Maddow has the report; let's look!
Disinformation, and organized anarchy - which Rachel called "hooliganism" at Democratic Party Representatives' Town Halls, and MudSlingerMike of the State GOP going after DFL Rep. Colin Peterson.....hmmmm....hmmm....
Hey! Is it possible that MudSlingerMike weighed the odds of bein' called out by the Strib and/or PiPress (somewhere between "slim" and "none") and figured it was worth the chance to try and shame Peterson into holding meetings, in order to practice the same disinformation and organized anarchy GOPers are getting to ply elsewhere?
We don't know, but we do know that you cannot spell "dirty politicking" without "GOP".
That means you've got over two minutes of stuttering and stammering from the President's Press Secretary trying to gather his thoughts and respond (homophobically) to Ana Marie Cox, or:
You've got Robert Gibbs and the Pentagon admiting the obvious: The Gays are easly Punked!
From Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell:
"I do not believe there are any plans under way in this building for some expected, but not articulated, anticipation that don't ask-don't tell will be repealed," Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon.
"They're [the Pentagon] aware of where the president wants to go on this issue, but I don't think that there is any sense of any immediate developments in the offing on efforts to repeal don't ask-don't tell,
Who needs the proverbial Clue-Phone? The President, or the GLBT community?
Mark My Words
Updated: The link (re: "Pentagon has no plans...") was broken and consequently repaired.
President Obama has announced Iraq plans - and Paul Rieckoff of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) has been hitting the airwaves. Last Friday, he was on The Ed Schultz Show, and if and when I get a link, I'll post it. On February 26th, Paul was on the Rachel Maddow show - let's look!
Governor Pawlenty loves to go on national TV. It's one of the best ways to burnish his Presidential ambitions. He was brave enough to go where few conservatives go, The Rachel Maddow Show. Rachel asked him about the stimulus package and why he was taking it despite opposing it.
Watch and listen to Pawlenty do the T-Paw DanceTM around opposing something that feels so good.
Pawlenty thinks the stimulus package could have been done better, but won't specify how. This is probably wise as Rachel would skewer him if he tried to explain how we just need more of the Republican policies that got us into our current mess.
Pawlenty spins MN receiving this dirty, filthy money (that makes him feel so good) because we've paid in SO much. Far more than anyone in the history of mankind. Ever. That makes it okay. Really. He's not weak.
When Rachel asks him about Governors taking the philosophical high road and refusing the stimulus package, watch and listen to the T-Paw DanceTM even faster.
Accepting the stimulus helps him out of a potential budget deficit of $7 billion and will go a long way to creating thousands and thousands of jobs. This is the kind of help that he desperately needs despite his faux protestations. If he were to refuse it, his approval rating would plunge and any chance of reelection would be doomed (providing he doesn't bypass a reelection bid to start early on a Presidential bid).
Why do Republicans always oppose things as bad that make them feel so good?
