Playbook for Wingnut Outrage Exposed

Think Progress has a memo from the astroturfers at Freedom Works and Americans for Prosperity on how they plan to get their frothing sheeple to "rattle" and otherwise disrupt townhall meetings of Democratic representatives during the August break. Check it out.

(Image: Onward Wingnut Sheeple!)

The Sotomayor Vote and Blue Dogs

These two jackasses need to be kicked out of the Democratic Party as soon as possible. Why are they "undecided" about their own President's choice for the Supreme Court (who is being supported by Lindsey Graham, for God's sake)? Three letters: N-R-A. Cowardly dickwads.

GDP Numbers

Today's report on the GDP for the second quarter is showing a 1% decline, better than expected and far better than the 6.4% decline in the first quarter. Some economists are already saying this is the best sign yet that the economy has bottomed out and recovery is on the horizon.

President Obama, in a statement, was cautiously optimistic - crediting the stimulus package and other measures taken in the past 6 months, but saying he wouldn't rest until everyone who was looking for a job found one.

The Rethugs? Oh, yeah: "Blah blah stimulus a failure...blah blah... Obama's a socialist... blah blah... we're not sure where he was born...blah blah... Eek! Obamacare!...blah blah..."

Quote of the Week

"I'm on the side of conservatives getting back to core conservative values...We strayed from them in the past few years..." -- Sen. Diaper Dave Vitter (Rethug-Bordello) in the Washington Times, responding to Sen. Voinovich's criticism of the regionalization of the Rethug Party.

(Image: Diaper Dave Vitter, straying in search of someone to spank him)

"There's a New Wingnut in Town..."

...and his name is Andrew "Fat Andy" Napolitano and Fox News Nutwork has him! The Daily Beast's Michelle Goldberg has the story of Fat Andy and why Fox put him on their on-line service rather than on their cable wingnut wurlitzer (hint: "He makes Glenn Beck look like Jim Lehrer."). Birthers, truthers, secessionists, Paultards -- you name it, Fox will put it on Fat Andy's glorified pod cast. Someday, maybe when Glenn "Boo-Hoo" Beck is committed to the sanitarium, Fat Andy can move up into the big time with seasoned nuts like O'Really and Mannitee.

(Photo: Fat Andy, 1/gazillionth actual size)

All Beer, All the Time

Our excellent media is pushing what they're calling the "beer summit" today, involving President Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates, and Cambridge Police Sergeant Crowley. There seems to be more than a little irritation on the mainstream media's part that the "summit" won't be televised and open to the incisive questioning of our media elites. Too bad. They hyped this non-story beyond belief, at the expense of stories on health care reform and other huge issues, so it would be wonderful if all they got out of it was a "no comment" from all of the participants.

Rethuglican Family Values, cont'd.

Tennessee State Sen. Paul "I'm Not in KISS" Stanley (Rethug - Cradle Robber), 47, has announced that he will resign his position on August 10 following the revelation that he was carrying on an affair with a 22 year-old intern. Stanley is an evangelical Christian with a wife and children. Surprised?

Wingnut Correction Time

Balloon Juice captures the debunking of two recent wingnut forays into the health care reform debate. First to be debunked is the bunk-loaded Wee Willie Kristol's performance on The Daily Show, courtesy of Ezra Klein; second up for neutering is Marty Feldstein, who recently opined in the fact-check-and-editor-free pages of the WaPo. Thanks to Jon Chait for that snip and tuck.

Enjoy!

(Photo: the late Marty Feldman -- not Marty Feldstein, although a wingnut could make the case they're one in the same)

Senate Comedies

Daily Kos has a few items today on the rump that is the Rethug Party these days:

-- Outgoing Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) has a few choice words for fellow Rethugs of the southern-fried variety, like "there are too many of them" (specifically, Jim "DeMented" DeMint and Tom "Got Some 'Splainin' To Do" Coburn).

-- Sen. Diaper Dave Vitter (Rethug-Bordello) foolishly used the word "luvfest" in an ad blasting Democrats. The Democrats then proceeded to spank Diaper Dave jes the way he like it.

Sotomayor Clears First Hurdle

By a vote of 13 to 6, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the President's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Every Rethuglican, except Lindsey "Cracker" Graham, voted against Sotomayor. They will pay for their partisan BS, especially in states with large Hispanic populations (Cornyn-Texas, and Kyl-Arizona), and it's always a bonus to see their hypocrisy exposed.

Sen. Head-Inhofe-Ass, Birther

Oklahoma's more senior crackpot Sen. Jungle Jim Inhofe (Rethug-Oil and Gas) is opining on more matters of which he knows nothing. This flat-earth global climate change denier thinks the birthers "have a point" in raising doubts about President Obama's citizenship. Not surprising considering the source. Jungle Jim, who ran an insurance company into the ground before he got into national politics, is fond of citing the Bible as a rationale for some of his public policy positions (on Israel for example). Inhofe would be an embarrassment for anyplace other than Oklahoma, the most Republican and tornado-prone State (any Biblical conclusions to draw there?).

(Image: Sen. Jungle Jim Inhofe, searching for the elusive Obama birth certificate)

Winky's "Farewell"

If only it was her farewell... but unfortunately, thanks to her hard-core nut base and the media who love to cover train wrecks, we'll be seeing more of Winky in the coming years. Check out her intemperate, rambling, incoherent farewell remarks, wherein she slams the media ("stop making stuff up") and certain Americans (who are "suggesting American apologetics [sic]"). This dumbass will continue to be a target because she makes herself one by her stupidity and boorish behavior. No wonder the nut base loves her so - she's one of them!

(Image: Daniel Kurtzman, About.com)

The Odd Couple

The cover story in the current Time magazine is worth reading. As we've read, (Vice) President The Dick tried over and over again to cajole his junior partner, Preznit Dumbya, into giving The Dick's loyal gopher, Irving "Scooter" Libby, a full pardon for his felonies. Dumbya said no, and The Dick remains extremely unhappy with Dumbya for not following his orders this time. The relationship between the two apparently soured over the second term, as The Dick's judgment in national security and foreign affairs turned out to be that of an angry 8 year-old and his dabbling in unconstitutional domestic projects started to bite Dumbya.

The article is based on unnamed sources close to Dumbya, so it's clear that he wants to start shifting the blame for his failed presidency off on The Dick's bad behavior, and to rescue whatever "legacy" he thinks he has. Good luck with that. The two worked as a team for most of the past eight years, one ying to the other's yang. Dumbya awoke too late to notice that his presidency was burning, and The Dick was holding the matches.

(photo: apologies to Beavis and Butthead)

Suggestion Box

1. To Rahmbo and Gibbsy: Whoever is prepping the President for his news conferences and interviews, please get him to shorten his answers and know when he's stepping on his lede. At last Wednesday's prime-time news conference, he held forth for 57 minutes, often giving essay-length answers to an audience with a 7-second attention span (5 seconds if we're talking just about the media). Then, as if to say "I can expound on every subject whether or not I know the facts," he blew whatever headline would have come out of the news conference by stepping into the Henry Louis Gates non-break-in story. Had he just stopped after saying, "I don't know all the facts, so I can't really comment," there would have been no 72 hours of media froofery effectively burying his push back on health care reform and the economy. Suggestion: Less is often more.

2. In re 1, above: Once you have stepped in it, please stop "recalibrating" your remarks, thereby continuing to step in it and prolong the froofery already taking over the media. For example, don't massage an earlier information-free response with more judgments and wordsmithing (eg., both sides "overreacted"). This keeps the wingnut wurlitzer humming along and its attendant "mainstream media" taking its cues from the likes of Drudge and Limpballs.
Suggestion: If you don't know when to shut up, at least don't add more nuances for the media birdbrains to peck at for 72 more hours.

3. Note to self: Increase bran in diet.

Thank you!

As Winky Rides Into The Sunset. . .

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll indicates that a majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of soon-to-be-former Alaska Gov. Winky You Betcha, with a wide majority doubting that she has leadership skills and policy knowledge for higher office. According to the poll, fifty-three percent view Winky unfavorably, 57 percent say that she does not grasp complex issues, and 54 percent say she is not a strong leader.

Given her antics during and since the campaign, and her weird resignation in the middle of her undistinguished term as Governor, we're frankly surprised the negative figures haven't gone much higher.

Quote of the Day

"Let me tell you something. I'm from Chicago. I don't break." -- President Obama, referring to a comment made by South Carolina Rethuglican secessionist Sen. Jim "DeMented" DeMint that defeating the Administration on health care would "break" the President.

This Should Sink Corzine

Forty-four people (!!!) have been arrested today in New Jersey on corruption and money laundering charges, including Gov. Jon Corzine's Commissioner for Community Affairs, the mayors of Hoboken, Ridgefield, and Secaucus, and several rabbis (oy!). The scope of the corruption sweep is breathtaking, even by New Jersey standards. An already-struggling Gov. Corzine will have this wrapped around his neck like a 500-pound anchor in his upcoming reelection race. The thinest of silver linings? When Corzine loses, the Rethugs can't claim it was a referendum on Obama's policies; it will have been a referendum on the sleazy politics practiced in that State.

Born Yesterday

In the past few weeks, we've noticed an uptick in the chatter in the wingnut world about whether President Obama is a native-born American, therefore eligible to be President. The lunatic far right has been foaming at the mouth, deluding themselves that the President was not native-born, and they have some allies in the right-wing media. The usual suspects at Fux and on hate radio are fanning the bogus allegation, despite multiple official confirmations of the authenticity of his birth certificate, and two birth announcements in Honolulu's newspapers in August 1961. CNN's despicable Lou Dobbs insinuated on July 20 that evidence had not been presented about the President's birth certificate, despite his own network's debunking of the right wing smear 3 days earlier. Last month, Rethug Rep. Mike Castle was verbally assaulted by a loon at a town hall meeting, who insisted that the President was "born in Kenya."

Maybe the best remedy, aside from commiting these loons to a psychiatric institute, is laughter, and Jon Stewart has the goods.

Gidget Dies at Age 15

"Yo quiero Taco Bell!*" That was the famous tag line for Taco Bell's Gidget, who died at age 15 late Tuesday. As it so happens, they were also Gidget's dying words. Run for that border in the sky, my little amigo!

*"I want Taco Bell!"

Health Care Reform

Today, via the generally destructive offices of the WaPo op/ed page, we have two conflicting views about health care reform. The first, from concern troll Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson, urges on "moderate and conservative" Democrats, as only a cynical right-wing douchebag would, in the hopes that they will help Rethugs derail President Obama... er, make that health care reform. Suddenly to this creep there are "moderate and conservative Democrats." This construction, of course, only takes place in the few odd moments when Rethugs need to back off from slandering and reviling "libsocialistfascist Democrats" for leading America into hellfire damnation.

A useful counterpoint is Harold Meyerson's op/ed directly below Mushroom Cloud's, "The Can't-Do Blue Dogs," which, as you can glean from his title, looks at the same "moderate and conservative Democrats" as Mushroom Cloud, takes the Rethug opposition as a given, but asks the pertinent question:

"Why Democrats of any ideology want to cripple their own president in his first year in office, and for seeking an objective that has been a stated goal of their party since the Truman administration, is a more mysterious matter."

Indeed. Unless they're DINO's more interested in holding onto their seats than in supporting their party's leader and agenda, and taking a chance to recast America's health care to benefit millions for decades to come. Wanted: A few profiles in courage.

The C Street Band

We've been enjoying the unfolding story surrounding a secretive group of Rethuglican wingnut holy-rollers that included Sen. John "Don Juan" Ensign, Gov. Mark "Gaucho Mark" Sanford, Sen. Tom "Preacher" Coburn, and former Rep. Chip "The Dip" Pickering. What binds the four wingers together is their residence at a Washington, D.C. townhouse at 133 C Street, which is essentially a dormatory for religious hypocrites cheating on their wives. It's also the center for a secretive religious fellowship known as "The Family", which has its own concept of morality for the powerful, as described in this interview with author and journalist Jeff Sharlett.

To think that these nutbags are considered serious people, and leaders of our country is almost too much. It's not surprising that they're now trying to "rebrand" their activities at the house on C Street. We can hear them now: "These wayward lads, all good Christians, need our spiritual counseling (pay the beotch off, Don Juan); yeah, that's the ticket."

Is There Anyone Better Than The NY Times' Frank Rich. . .

at filleting Rethuglican hypocrites? NO.
Read this from yesterday's New York Times. Priceless.

Keep It Up, President Obama

It's a relief to see the President hitting back hard against the cynical Rethug establishment pols on health care reform. The President quoted South Carolina secessionist Rethug Sen. Jim "Demented" DeMint saying that health care would be Obama's Waterloo, responding:

"Think about that. This isn't about me. This isn't about politics. It is about a health care system that is breaking American families, breaking America's businesses and breaking America's economy."

We need this kind of strong pushback from the President and others on the Rethugs who are doing the multi-billion dollar health insurance industry's bidding, at the expense of the public good. Goodness knows the mainstream media can't be bothered with the details, or with calling out jackasses like Sen. Demented on their cynical disregard for the public.

Would Bibi Baby Lie?

The Rethuglican neocon- Israeli Likudnik axis has influenced Middle East policy for a decade or more. When the neocons' candidate, Preznit Chimpy, was put in office by the Supreme Court in 2000, as key Bushit Assministration officials (Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Bolton, among the better known) they had an open field to implement their aggressive policies of military confrontation. The Likud's fortunes went up and down during the last decade, but now, with the Likud's Bibi Netanyahu in power in Israel, the question of peace with the Palestinians is in doubt. While Netanyahu maintains a public face of cooperation with the U.S., there's growing doubt that he will ever agree to an independent Palestinian state, much less stopping illegal Israeli settlement construction on the West Bank.

Having the Obama Administration as a counterweight to the Likud's hostility to a peace agreement is perhaps the only bright spot, but expect the neocons here to fire up the smear machine against Obama once Netanyahu drops his public face and goes for broke on the West Bank settlements issue.

Calling Dr. Steele, Dr. Tin Man Steele

A good rule of public speaking is not to accept an invitation to address a topic that you are unfamiliar with. You might get follow-up questions that will give you a "deer in the headlights" moment. Such was the case with Rethuglican National Committee chairman Michael "Tin Man" Steele, who was at the National Press Club today to attack President Obama's health insurance plan, but who couldn't answer some basic questions about the health care system in the U.S. Of course, the Rethugs like things the way they are, and want to use the Democrats' health care legislation vote to hand President Obama a defeat (see Rethug Sen. Jim "Demented" DeMint's vile comments posted on Saturday).

By virtue of his position, Tin Man certainly gets Cadillac-level health insurance, but we're not sure whether it covers the extraction of his head from his ass.

BONUS: Tin Man continues with his "off the hook" approach to drawing more minorities into the Rethug party. His latest? "My plan is to say: Y'all come, I got the fried chicken and potato salad."

An' don't forgets duh watermelon, Missuh Tin Man, suh!

(photo: Tin Man's preferred logo for the Rethuglican Party)

July 20, 1969

It's hard to believe that it's been 40 years since the first human landed on the moon. From the time that President Kennedy promised a man on the moon by the end of the decade to the actual event on July 20, 1969, so much changed in America: the President's assassination, the Vietnam War debacle, the '60s generation with the Beatles and a cultural wave which has yet to play out.

"'Cardigans?'"

As an equal opportunity asshole-publisher, the access- for- sale Washington Post has another "edgy" piece of crap (full-page, no less) by a couple of libertarian reactionaries from the oxymoronic "Reason.com", Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie. Entitled "What's Next, Mr. President -- Cardigans?" the p.o.s. sneers at Obama's supposed "magical realism" (the authors' preference being for just plain "magical") in his pursuit of his domestic agenda. Balloon Juice has the link, as well as a quick knee-capping for these bozos and the despicable editors at the WaPo who want to raise doubts about the progressive agenda at every turn.

Walter Cronkite, 1916-2009

We're a little late, but we're sad to note the passing of the great Walter Cronkite, who died yesterday at age 92. For almost 20 years, we wouldn't miss his broadcast if we could possibly help it. Among the many thoughts on his passing, we like what President Obama had to say, in part:

"He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed."

It's a shame how far down the "mainstream media" has come from the Cronkite gold standard.

Why Do They Want America To Fail?

"If we're able to stop Obama on this [health care reform], it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." -- Sen. Jim "DeMented" DeMint (Rethug Secessionist-SC) July 17 during a conference call with "conservative activists" (eg., see ACU below), as reported in today's WaPo. File under: "Bipartisanship, my ass."

(Photo: DeMented with fellow Rethug nut Sen. Tom "Preacher/Fed Ex Courier" Coburn)

Wienermobile Takes Out Deck

This never would have happened if Oscar Mayer and Meinhardt Rabbe were still in charge!

ACU Caught in "Pay for Play" Shakedown

The blind squirrels over at Politico are finally on to something. They're reporting a "pay for play" shakedown attempt on the part of the wingnut welfare nest known as the American Conservative Union, headed by David "Peachy" Keene. These free market buccaneers tried to sell their services (including offering favorable op/eds penned by Keene) to Fed Ex for $2 or $3 million. Seems Fed Ex is in a legislative dispute with rival UPS. But when Fed Ex refused to go along with the offer, the moral giants at ACU immediately flipped sides and sold their services to UPS. It's all about the Benjamins, baby!

Well, if nothing else, this demonstrates that wingnuts are in the pay for play game just as heavily as are their ideological brethren at certain newspapers.

(Photo: David "Peachy" Keene, ACU pimpmaster)

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III Wants Some Crack

We couldn't believe our ears yesterday during the Sotomayor hearings when that crazy redneck, Rethug Sen. Jefferson Beauregard "Cornpone" Sessions III told the previous speaker, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights' Wade Henderson, "we're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and I have talked about before." Laughter broke out in the hearing room, which included such witnesses as NY Mayor Bloomberg and former FBI Director Freeh. An embarrassed Cornpone sputtered, "let me correct the record," indicating he was referring to penalties in crack cocaine cases. Freudian slip, Cornpone? Looking for that walk on the wild side?

And, speaking of wild side. . . .
This is Hackwhackers' 2,000th posting. When we began this blog in 2006, we didn't imagine we'd reach 200 posts, much less 2,000. We thank our vast worldwide readership for their encouragement and inspiration.

AMA Endorses House Democratic Health Care Bill

WTF?! Yes, that's right. At least in the bill's committee form, the American Medical Association is endorsing the House Democrats' health care legislation, urging it to be passed out of committee for full House consideration. Although it doesn't mean the AMA and Obama Administration are working in sync on the policy thrusts, it does mean that this powerful lobby wants, like President Obama, to keep this legislation moving.

One Of Our Mainstream Media's Finest Hours

After South Carolina Gov. Mark "Gaucho Mark" Sanford "hiked the Appalachian Trail" all the way to Buenos Aires, a number of news organizations wanted the inside story from Gaucho Mark. Some were willing to slant the coverage in Gaucho Mark's favor, if he would grant them an interview. Of course, the most natural sucker-upper was Fux News, whose "reporter" Griff Jenkins told the Gaucho Gov's office that he thought the "media frenzy" was "absolutely ridiculous. Please give him my best." The Griffer wasn't specific as to which "best" he was prepared to give Gaucho Mark.

Among the more prominent of the slanters was none other than Jake "Tippity" Tapper of ABC News. "I think the TODAY show spot was pretty insulting," Tippity tapped in an e-mail to the Governor's office, trying to dis competitor NBC News and win favor. The WaPo's Chris "Slippery" Cillizza also got into the stroking act by coyly inquiring of the Governor's communications director, "Dude, is everything OK?" Gee, Tippity and Slippery, what's next? Offering the Gaucho Gov a back rub? Uh-oh. . .it looks like Stephen Colbert may have beaten them to the punch.

A Sad Anniversary

Ten years ago today, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and his sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died in a plane crash off of Martha's Vineyard. For a time, the handsome prince of the Kennedy family was talked up as a future president, but it was questionable that he had the desire for the job his father held so many years ago. Now, we'll never know. He was by all accounts a modest, normal guy, loved by his friends and family, who happened to be born with the looks of a movie star and the name of the most famous family in the U.S.

OK, We Will Quote You

"Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass." -- Meghan McCain, unprompted, in an interview in OUT magazine. She also said she would be "flattered" to be considered the anti-Coulter, anti-Limpballs.

Quote of the Day - Halfwit Edition

"You'll have a lot of 'esplainin' to do." -- No, not Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz). It's Oklahoma's (other) crackpot Rethug Sen. Tom "Preacher" Coburn, to Latina Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor today. Remember also this cucaracha is Sen. Don Juan Ensign's "deacon."

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III Offended by Prejudice -- Everyone Chuckles

During yesterday's confirmation hearings for Judge Sotomayor, Alabama Rethuglican Sen. Jefferson Beauregard "Cornpone" Sessions III kept coming back to Judge Sotomayor's "wise Latina" speech in an effort to make her look prejudiced against the historically oppressed white male. While his questioning of the Judge flopped big time, we should point out that Sen. Cornpone is a Senate expert on prejudice.

Associated Press has this story about Cornpone's ill-fated bid for the Federal bench back in the mid-1980s. He was rejected (even by his own state's Senator), among other things, for his view that the KKK wasn't so bad (especially if you're white). Back then, the lop-eared product of Southern inbreeding also accused the NAACP and the ACLU of being Communist-inspired and of forcing civil rights down the throats of his fellow defectives.

Judge Sotomayor, who was extremely impressive in her responses to the baiting, was calm, intelligent, and stately throughout the botched inquisition by Cornpone and Co. She'll make a terrific Supreme Court Justice.

Winky the Wordsmith

We're starting to see how Alaska's Winky You Betcha is planning her emergence in the "lower 48": by having someone ghost write a column in the increasingly right-leaning Washington Post. We won't link to the WaPo on principle, but take it from us that there's no way Winky wrote this column on the cap-and-trade energy issue herself. She can't even tell us what newspapers she reads. But her right-wing backers know they have to sell her as someone familiar with major national issues, even if they have to hire someone to write columns for her. But this is so transparent it's laughable.

Pinhead Punditry

Fux Channel's resident mental case Glenn "Dreck" Beck had another hissy fit on his program yesterday over the first day of hearings for Judge Sotomayor. Yesterday, of course, was purely for the opening statements of the Senators and a statement by Judge Sotomayor, with no questions scheduled until today's hearing. That fact didn't stop the mentally challenged Dreck from criticizing the "softball questions" that didn't occur. Note to Dreck: you might want to tune in today for the questions, Einstein. Such is the level of intelligence on the Fux Channel.

Quote of the Day

"It's a little hard to see home plate from right field." -- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in the Sotomayor hearing today, referring to right-wing Chief Justice Roberts' statement in his 2005 confirmation hearing that the role of justices is that of an umpire calling "balls and strikes."

The Dick and The Congress

That former (Vice) President The Dick was contemptuous of the law and the concept of checks and balances in a free country should surprise no one. However, the story in the New York Times that The Dick ordered the CIA not to dislose a secret counterterrorism project with the Democratic and Rethuglican leaders in Congress responsible for intelligence oversight -- as they are required to by law -- is still pretty jaw-dropping. In essence, The Dick and his younger pupil Dumbya were running a quasi-dictatorship, where the Congress was expected only to rubber-stamp decisions made in the White House, and kept in the dark on other decisions. It's clear in this case that whatever The Dick wanted to hide must have been seriously flawed from a Constitutional and legal standpoint.

In the aftermath of the NY Times story, it is likely that the Senate Intelligence Committee will investigate this breach of the law on The Dick's part. No doubt the Rethuglicans will complain dishonestly about undermining the CIA and national security, but the damage their Assministration did to the rule of law and our Constitutional system of checks and balances was far more damaging to America.

Sotomayor Hearings Begin

Today is the beginning of the Sotomayor confirmation hearings and, as expected, the fringe right-wingers are starting their memes.

Ranking Rethug Sen. Jeff "Erson Davis" Sessions (Rethug-CSA) is wondering if Sotomayor's nomination represents a "dangerous" path for the Supreme Court (seeing this Southern fried chicken drawl about Sotomayor's "racism" is like seeing Limpballs bring up Fatty Arbuckle -- it just serves to remind one who's the real racist/ obese pervert).

Sen. Jon Kyl (Rethug-AZ) is raising the "empathy=bias" meme that the wingnut commentariat has been flogging for a month (zzzzzzzz...hmm? no traction? oh well, it's all we got...).

We can hardly wait for New Haven Fireman Frank "Lawsuits 'R' Me" Ricci to take his place among the stellar wingnut panel the Rethugs are going to put forth (including Linda "LINO" Chavez and the wingnut legal brigade from George Mason University "Law" School - what, no one from 4th tier Regent Law School available?).

(Photo: Sen. Jeff "Erson Davis" Sessions, in his wingnut warpaint)

Palin and the Politics of Resentment

Frank Rich has the best analysis of the emotion that overcomes reason when Rethugs think about the manifestly unqualified Winky You Betcha (and when they elect a racist as their "Young" Rethug chair).

"Ass of the Week" Elected Young Rethug Chair

Former (and still champion) "Ass of the Week" Audra Shay has been elected chair of the "Young" Republicans by a vote of 470-415. The small-bore racist's election was characterized as resulting from "sexual innuendo" against her 20-something rival, Rachel Hoff, "intimidation," and "near fist-fights" on the floor of the convention.

While one delegate said Shay's election would "set the party back 30 years," we would like to introduce a little reality into this spectacle. We have long called the Republican Party the "Rethugs" for good reason. The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower was captured years ago, lock- stock- and barrel by the most extremist right-wing fringe -- exclusive of the Aryan Nation/ White Power movement. Now we're not so sure there's a line distinguishing them from each other.

They're know-nothing, "no"-everything thugs. Period. End of story.

WaPo's Loss is HuffPo's Gain

Good news that the Huffington Post has hired former Washington Post blogger Dan Froomkin as its Washington Bureau chief and columnist, overseeing 5 reporters and an Assistant Editor. Froomkin was a relentless and honest critic of the mainstream media's coverage of the Iraq war and of politics in general. His dismissal from the WaPo may have resulted from too much criticism of the WaPo's neocon editorial position and specifically of regular columnist Chuckie "Dr. Strangelove" Kraphammer, who is reportedly close to the WaPo's neocon editorial page editor Fred "Dead Head" Hiatt.

Good move by the Huffington Post, and an example of why some in the "dead tree" media are struggling to stay alive, especially now that Washington's not wired Rethuglican.

Don Juan Ensign's Letter to Mommy and Daddy

Some how, some way Jesus' General has managed to get its hands on the letter Sen. Don Juan Ensign sent to Mommy and Daddy asking for hush money for his mistress! (If Don Juan has to put off wearing big boy pants, we know Sen. "Diaper Dave" Vitter (Rethug-Bordello) can loan him some diapers until he's ready.)

(Photo: D.J. Ensign, upon being told by Mommy and Daddy he can't wear his big boy pants just yet.)

File Under: "Acorns, Blind Squirrels Finding"

Reagan speechwritin' right-winger Peggy Noonan has this acorn regarding Winky, which she unearthed for all to see at WSJ Online. Well done, Nooner!

Hmmmm, We're Guessing Larry Craig, But. . . .

. . .it could have been any number of closeted Senate Rethugs. Lindsey Graham? Missy McConnell?

When conservative pundit David Brooks lets a Rethug Senator's hand rest on his inner thigh for more than a second, well. . . .that's interesting!!

Message to the Quitta from Wasilla: Stay Home

Despite predictions that soon-to-be-former Gov. Winky You Betcha will have an impact on upcoming elections, the Rethuglican candidate for governor in New Jersey would like Gov. Winky to remain in Wasilla. Candidate Chris "Christian" Christie says that, "I don't think that having Gov. Palin in the state would do me, or for that matter, the state a whole lot of good. . ." OUCH!! You betcha, Christian, you eastern elitist!

Rethuglican National Committee Chairman Michael "Tin Man" Steele had said earlier that Gov. Winky would be helpful to the Rethugs in upcoming governors' races in New Jersey and Virginia. Not so. In addition to Christian Christie, Virginia Rethuglican governor candidate Bob "Ronald" McDonnell isn't enthusiastic for Gov. Winky to campaign for him in an increasingly Democratic-leaning Virginia, and is silent about having the Quitta from Wasilla campaign for him.

Hmmmm. Some Rethugs are getting much too rational for comfort.

Don Juan's Daddy and Mommy To The Rescue

New revelations are emerging in the sex scandal surrounding Rethuglican Sen. John "Don Juan" Ensign. Don Juan, who was having an affair with an employee, Cindy Hampton, admitted the affair to his parents, who then shelled out $96,000 in payments to the mistress and her husband, Doug. Don Juan's lawyer is spinning the payments as "gifts" from the Ensigns out of their generosity. Most are seeing it as payments to keep the Hamptons from exposing the affair. There's also the issue of a $25,000 "severance" payment to Cindy Hampton, after she left Don Juan's office, something that may have violated ethics laws.

In a curious side note, there are allegations from Doug Hampton that Rethuglican Sen. Tom "Deacon" Coburn was advising Don Juan on how to extract himself from the affair ("Pay them off, DJ"). The Deacon is saying his "advice" was privileged, since he is both a Doctor (OB/GYN) and a "deacon," but he's clearly nervous about a potential Senate Ethics Committee investigation that would probe what his "advice" was.

Let the games continue!

The Emburrissment to End

Improbable Blago appointee Sen. Roland "Emburrissing" Burris (Dumb-IL) is indicating he won't run in 2010. Apparently, Burris was having difficulty raising money for the primary race - a sure sign that the movers-and-shakers in the party will be looking elsewhere for their standard-bearer. Well, at least he has the "U.S. Senator 2009-10" for his grandiose "Monument to Me."

R.I.P., King of Wieners

An icon of the American food industry has died at the age of 95. Oscar G. Mayer, former chairman of the Madison, Wisconsin-based company that bears his name, died on June 6, in a Fitchburg, WI nursing home. It's hard to miss the Oscar Mayer headquarters on the east side of Madison, and we were always partial to their hot dogs and bologna as collegians.

Therefore, let us raise an Oscar Mayer wiener to his memory!

(photo: The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Trivia: Meinhardt Raabe, a Wisconsin friend of our father's and a "Wizard of Oz" munchkin -- he was the coroner who proclaimed the wicked witch dead -- was an Oscar Mayer promoter/Wienermobile driver).

Quote of the Day

"As I think a number of others have said, I've always thought Palin's character was essentially that of a grifter. And when these folks blow out of town after a con has run its course, it's usually a pretty hasty exit." -- the always sharp Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, commenting on the decision by Governor Winky to abandon the governorship of Alaska.

Yo Ho Ho, and A Bottle of Dumb

Associated Press reports that a publication owned by right-wing media pirate Rupert "Arrrg" Murdoch is being investigated by Scotland Yard for illegally hacking into the private cell phones of hundreds of British celebrities and politicians. The trash rag being investigated, "News of the World," is owned by Arrrg's company News Corp. A major element to the story is that News of the World apparently has paid nearly $2 million dollars in out-of-court settlements to some of the victims to keep the story quiet, payments which Arrrg claims to know nothing about.

Question: Does anyone believe that Arrrg himself was unaware of $2 million in hush payments? Riiiight, matey!

Cooking I ntelligence A gain

It now appears that the CIA did mislead Congress about classified matters, beginning in the first year of the Bushit Assministration and continuing until late last month, the New York Times reports today. Seven House Democrats say that CIA Director Panetta told them in late June that the CIA "misled members of Congress" for eight years under Dumbya about unspecified intelligence matters. Remember that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was widely criticized by Rethuglicans and their media enablers several months ago for claiming just that. Now the Rethugs are circling the wagons pretending to "defend" the CIA's "honor," when it was their political leadership in the White House and the CIA that demanded bogus intelligence on Iraq and al Qaeda, and fed Congress the misinformation.

(photo: The CIA's main source for "intelligence" about al Qaeda and Iraq)

Morans of the Media, Unite!

We have more evidence today of certain oxygen-deprived elements of the commentariat (not Wee Willie Kristol or Rich "Not Master of His Domain" Lowry this time) trying to go against the flow (unlike Winky's dead fish analogy) with their "Palin-is-a-genius!" meme. Ladies and germs, we present Camille "Brass Balls" Paglia and from Politico, the blind squirrel's favorite Villager web site, Roger "Simple" Simon. I have a cat named Doughnut who has more insight in one whisker than these two morans.

(Image: "Simple" Simon issues a challenge to the brainless)

Reid to Baucus: Move!

According to Roll Call this evening, Majority Leader Harry Reid has finally told Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) to stop chasing Rethug votes and pass the Democrats' health care reform legislation out of his committee.

Can it be Reid, who is famously known for his "gentle persuasion" methods, has finally stiffened his spine and realizes the Rethugs will never go along with a landmark health care reform bill? To try to pick up Assley Grassley and perhaps a few more Rethug votes, Baucus might have been willing to gut the public option, among other proposals key to a progressive health care reform bill (and lose 15 to 20 Democrats in the process -- nice math, Max!). Time to stand up as Democrats and get this done.

Winky in the Rear View Mirror

Both blind squirrel Richard Cohen and Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene Robinson give Winky You Betcha the political post-mortem treatment in today's WaPo. Nuggets:

"She is unfit for office...Naming Palin to the GOP ticket was the most reckless decision any national politician has made in the longest time, and while it certainly says something about McCain, it says even more about his party. It has lost its mind." [Cohen]

"There are basically two reasons the political class and the commentariat continue to speak and write about Palin as if she were a substantial figure whose presence on the national stage is anything but a cruel, unfunny joke. The first is fear - not of Palin and her know-nothing legion, but of being painted as elitist and sexist...The other reason Palin is taken more seriously than she deserves is that she has a constituency. Heaven help us." [Robinson]

Indeed.

Oops...Pip Pip...Cheerio...Carry On!

Upper crusty Lady Shelley Sawers has some dazzling news to share on her Facebook page! You see, she's the wife of Sir John Sawers, soon-to-be (?) head of MI6 - Britain's CIA. Seems Lady Shelley spilled the kidney pie about their address, family photos, etc. Bloody bad show, that! Doesn't say much for British intelligence - at least as far as Lady Shelley's is concerned.

Joe (Not His Name) the Plumber (Not A Plumber) Should Follow His Own Advice

Speaking to fellow wingnut teabaggers in Houston on Saturday, Samuel Wurzelbacher wants to close our borders and "get (the undocumented immigrants) the hell out of our damn country. . ." We would go further in the case of Wurzelbacher himself. Since we're certain that "Wurzelbacher" isn't a Native American name, let's make sure that this immigrant "plumber" is at the head of the line out of the U.S. And by the way, it's interesting that he referred to our country as "our damn country." Wingnut patriotism on display for everyone to see.

Ass of the Week

Yes, we have another racist Rethug "Ass of the Week" to give you. This dubious distinction is given to Rethugs who expose themselves as common racist thugs. It's a career in itself, in other words.

Courtesy of The Daily Beast, this week's winner (so far!) is Audra Shay, lead candidate for "Young" Republicans (Shay's 38, which does qualify her as young in the Rethug base demographic). Shay, whose candidacy is supported by her homestate's Gov. Bobby "Kenneth" Jindal, commented favorably on a Facebook "friend's" remark about the "...need to take this country back from all these mad coons and illegals." When a few other "friends" commented negatively about the racist remark, Shay de-friended them, not the racist who made the "coon" comment! Good ol' Rethug values, y'all!

(Photo: "Young" - heh heh - Rethug Audra Shay)

Quote of the Week - Hypocrisy Division

"You can. Just go work for the federal government." -- Iowa Rethug Sen. Charles "My Assley Is" Grassley, responding last Tuesday to a constituent's question about health insurance at a town hall meeting in Waukon, IA. The constituent had asked Assley "...[H]ow come I can't have the same thing you have?" Assley is opposed to a "public option" in health care insurance that, in essence, is what Assley has as a U.S. Senator. It's the old Rethug philosophy of I've got mine, you get yours, with a little extra noblesse thrown in. So, Assley is not just a hypocrite, he's a smug hypocrite.

(Photo: Sen. Grassley, Man of the People)

An Obama 4th

President Obama's July 4 radio address was a great mix of calling our nation to meet the challenges we face, and remembering the values that made us the United States. He took a shot at "naysayers" who "would have us try what has already failed, who would defend the status quo," reminding his listeners that "we did not get here by standing pat in a time of change."

He might have also said that we're not a nation of quitters, but that would have been rubbing salt in the wounds of Gov. Winky's fan base.

Wingnuts React to Winky's Resignation

From top left:
Wee Willie Kristol
Bill O'Liely
The Manatee
Glenn "I Can't Stop Crying" Beck

No photo was available for National Review's Rich Lowry, who was last seen with his copy of "Runner's World" heading for the bathroom with a soft towel.

One Step Ahead of the Law?

In her announcement that she was resigning the governorship of Alaska at the end of July, Winky You Betcha alluded to "political operatives" looking for dirt decending on the state, and that she was the victim of the "politics of personal destruction." The reason for her abrupt departure may be more practical than that:
there are indications of a Federal probe into possible embezzlement and bribery by Winky and husband Todd the Tool. Think Progress has the story, which involves a building supply company that provided the materials for and built Winky's house in Wasilla, and which later received a $13 million contract from Winky when she was mayor of Wasilla to construct a hockey arena. Sounds sweet.

Stay tuned. It all looks rather sketchy for Winky to pull the plug on her political career so suddenly, doesn't it?

Snowbilly Winky Resigning

Snowbilly Gov. Sarah "Winky You Betcha" Palin announced today that she's resigning as Alaska governor, effective at the end of July. Only Todd and God know what Winky's up to, but decreasing her wafer-thin resume by resigning mid-term doesn't bode well for a possible run in 2012.

At least she won't be a lame duck, or a sitting duck, anymore!

(h/t to Germantown correspondent Brian for waking us up to give us the news)

Happy Fourth of July!

Here's hoping you have a safe and happy Fourth of July! Oh yes, and one that's as teabag-free as possible!

Lessons in Journalistic Integrity from the WaPo

We're leaving it to Wonkette today to give us the latest evidence, in two parts, that the Washington Post is an ethics-free zone.

Exhibit A: Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz' expose on black female journalists covering Michelle Obama. Question to Howie: Does your marriage to Republican consultant Sherri Annis disqualify you from writing pieces like this or anything else about the media and politics?

Exhibit B: Via the acorn-averse squirrels at Politico, Wonkette has this take on the WaPo's side business of selling "access" to deep-pocketed CEOs. You heard right. So, the next time you see an editorial from the likes of Fred "Buy It" Hiatt about the influence peddlers in Washington, just remember that his outfit is right there in the scrum with the scum.

(Photo: Post ombudsman "Clouseau" Alexander looking for evidence of journalistic integrity at the WaPo)

The Legacy Continues To Unravel

Glenn Kessler reports in the WaPo (no link) that FBI interviews learned that, before he was hanged, Saddam Hussein said that he wanted the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction as a deterrence to arch-enemy Iran. Ironically, the main beneficiary of Preznit Chimpy's invasion of Iraq happened to be Iran, allowing it to become an unchallenged force in the region, and alarming the Saudis and Jordanians, among other Arab countries.

Hussein also denounced Osama bin Laden as a "zealot" and said his government had no connections with al Qaeda. That rings true, since Hussein's Baathist Party has long been seen by radical theocratic Muslims -- such as al Qaeda -- as a corrupt secular obstacle to establishing an Islamic caliphate.

Meanwhile, Tuesday marked the withdrawal of U.S. troops from urban areas in Iraq. The Iraqi government, now friendly to Iran, designated the day as "National Sovereignty Day" as thousands celebrated the pull out in the streets of Baghdad and other cities. It was what Preznit Chimpy and The Dick had promised when we invaded Iraq, but not as we withdrew.

It's A Grand Old Flag

Showing her respect for the flag, Alaska Gov. Winky You Betcha strikes a cheesecake pose in the new issue of Runner's World. To think she could have been a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

We're awaiting the howls of protest from the wingnut media about her disrespect for the Stars and Stripes. . . . < crickets chirping >

(photo by Brian Adams, Runners World)

More Reason to Savor Franken's Victory

Following Al Franken's victory, TPM canvasses the wacky wingnut media empire of Rupert "Arrrgh!" Murdoch, and finds more gaskets blown than from all the Indy 500's since 1947. They just can't understand how someone who ridiculed their heroes (O'Liely, Mannatee, Pills, The Old Fart Himself) could have possibly been elected. Wait... according to Murdoch's WSJ, the election was "stolen." Riiiiigt!

Maybe it's just me, but it's cosmically satisfying that these over-medicated crackpots are having peptic eruptions over this. I can't wait to watch their tiny heads explode when health care reform is law.

Quote of the Day

"I'm sure John McCain would be president today if only Bill Kristol had been in charge of the campaign. After all, his management of Dan Quayle's public image as his chief of staff is still something that takes your breath away." -- former McSame campaign manager Steve Schmidt, responding with a world-class snark to Wee Willie Kristol's charge that Schmidt was behind many of the negative whispers to Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum (see next post). Ouch! Wonder if Wee Willie was wearing a cup for that one.

The Wonderful World of Winky

Todd Purdum has a lengthy, hard-hitting article on Alaska Gov. Winky You Betcha in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, which is reproduced on their website. It's a great read, full of very revealing inside views and opinions by McSame's campaign officials on Winky and her obvious limitations. Some of McSame's advisors were convinced by mid-October that Winky was not prepared for the office of Vice President, let alone prepared to assume the highest office. McSame's choice of her was seen by many of them as reckless and ill-advised, as she petulantly refused to take advice and coaching for her media interviews, and played the prima donna to McSame's disadvantage as her wingnut fans cheered. Purdum writes,

"One longtime McCain friend and frequent companion on the trail was heard to refer to Palin as 'Little Shop of Horrors.'"

Toward the end, when it appeared that Obama's victory was near, Winky was more interested in getting a head start on the next Presidential campaign than in being McSame's running mate. As one Rethuglican political critic in Alaska put it, there's a reason her nickname was "barracuda" in high school.