The Sunday Read

Frank Rich's column in the Sunday New York Times is becoming must-reading these days. Today's column is about the far-right's resurgence and mainstreaming in the Tea Party "movement". He has the Joseph Stack murder/suicide in Austin and teabaggers in mind when he writes:

"Two days before Stack’s suicide mission, The Times published David Barstow’s chilling, months-long investigation of the Tea Party movement. Anyone who was cognizant during the McVeigh firestorm would recognize the old warning signs re-emerging from the mists of history. The Patriot movement. “The New World Order,” with its shadowy conspiracies hatched by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. Sandpoint, Idaho. White supremacists. Militias.

His whole column is worth a read, and is chilling.

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Remember a few days ago the Villagers were calling Tennessee Rethug Sen. Lamar "!" Alexander the courtly, reasonable-sounding Rethug at the health care reform summit? Well, here's how "reasonable" the "reasonable" Rethugs are: on today's "This Week" Alexander said passing health care reform was a "political kamikaze mission" and that the Rethugs' efforts to repeal it would begin "the day it passes." "!'s" crocodile solicitude for the fate of Democrats notwithstanding, the more Rethugs pull out all the stops to defeat reform, the more Democrats should say to themselves, "They must be awfully scared this will work, so let's get it done!"

To which we say "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and Pass. The. Damn. Bill.

(Image: And this guy's supposed to be one of the sane ones.)

Saturday Song

A Most Understanding Congressman

Iowan wingnut Congressman Steve "Lyin'" King is known for his extreme right-wing views, the latest of which was a sympathetic shout-out to the disturbed pilot who crashed into the Austin, TX IRS office. Lyin' and fellow winger Michelle "I See Commies" Bachmann are two peas in a pod when it comes to rabid views.

Now Lyin' is going full disclosure mode, and dropping all pretense about who pulls his strings -- it's K Street lobbyists. He's quoted as saying:

"Lobbyists do a very effective and useful job on this hill. Somebody needs to stand up for the lobby. It is a matter of providing a lot of valuable information."

Hmmm, yes. The poor lobbyists need someone to stand up for them, and to take their campaign contributions. And Lyin' King is just the Congressman to offer his assistance. Hope this nugget finds its way into his Congressional race in the fall -- the teabaggers will just love it.

(photo: Rep. Lyin' King holds up a list of corporate lobbyists that he feels honor bound to represent)

"That's Their Problem"

Steven Perlstein writes in today's Kaplan Daily that one thing yesterday's health care reform summit accomplished was to demonstrate

"[W]hat Republican 'leaders' really think about health care and health insurance...The most important thing Republicans think is that if there are Americans who can't afford the insurance policies that private insurers are willing to offer, then that's their problem -- there's nothing the government or the rest of us should do about it."

To hear House Minority "Leader" Boner talk about how a $950 billion investment in the health of fellow Americans over a 10-year span would bankrupt the nation, as opposed to the hundreds of billions of dollars a year that former Rethug Preznit Chimpy's unnecessary war in Iraq cost this nation (not to mention the lives and terrible casualties), is to hear the squeaking sound of a moral mouse. Shame on Rethugs for saying we can't afford this. Oh, sorry - we forgot. They have no sense of shame.

What should one expect, though, from a Party and movement "long on anger, short on coherence."

Department of Unintended Humor

"My belief is in 2010 and 2012, public leaders need to have intellectual curiosity." -- Former Florida Gov. Jeb "Big Shrub" Bush, who must not know his own brother, Dumbya. Big Shrub was talking about former half-term Alaska Gov. Winky You Betcha, when he threw his verbal boomerang. Check out the full quote, and the hilarious picture, at Crooks and Liars.

Health Care Summit

As we watch the President swat away one Rethuglican misrepresentation after another at today's health care summit, it's worth reading a guide to their dishonest statements.

So far, Obama is confident, in command of the facts, and not letting the Rethugs get away with spin and lies, but responding to them immediately after they speak. Good show, and evidence again (as if it were needed) that the Rethugs' strategy is simply to stall and support the status quo that favors their benefactors -- the health insurance industry.

Because I'm Marco Rubio, That's Why

The latest wingnut heartthrob, Florida U.S. Senate candidate Marco "Chaarrrge It!" Rubio, is taking heat for running up thousands of dollars in personal charges to the Florida Rethuglican Party's credit account while he was speaker of the Florida legislature. Some of the personal expenses included a $100 haircut (maybe John Edwards' barber), car repairs, food and wine, computer and electronics items and "supplies" from a lumber store.

Chaarrrge It! says he's completely innocent, and blames allies of his rival Charlie Crist for the story. Of course, as a rising right-wing icon, Chaarrrge It! lives by his own rules and reality (see snowbilly queen Winky You Betcha), so whatever he was able to grab is his by rights, dammit. Survival of the greedi . . .er, fittest!

Show Me The Money

Rethuglican National Committee Chairclown Michael "Tin Man" Steele has some expensive tastes, and major Rethug contributors aren't happy about it. He's apparently spent millions in self-aggrandizing items, such as private aircraft, cars, and catered events. The RNC hasn't done very well in fundraising under Tin Man, so they were down to a relatively meager $8 million in reserves by the end of 2009.

Then again, as one disgruntled donor put it, Tin Man thinks he's a candidate for President, and wants all the trappings to go with it. We think Tin Man's bubble will be bursting before long as the Rethugs put even more constraints on his spending.

Rethug Values, Cont'd.

Nevada Rethug Governor Jim "Jim Dandy" Gibbons was caught lying repeatedly to a TV reporter about his girlfriend traveling to Washington with him to attend the National Governors' Conference. Jim Dandy has made a name for himself in Nevada for his amorous shenanigans while still married. He nearly was charged with assault after he accosted a cocktail waitress in a parking garage a couple of years ago. His hundreds of text messages to his girlfriend during business hours raised questions about exactly what business Jim Dandy was conducting on behalf of the people of Nevada. Monkey business, apparently.

(photo: Jim Dandy, seated, wearing what appears to be a diaper on his head, had fun in DC with his girlfriend)

Wanker of the Week

The Liberal Media strikes again!! Fred "Mr. Dinky" Hiatt's new hire at the Kaplan Daily, former Dumbya speechwriter Marc "Li'l Bush" Thiessen, has this to say today:

"What has gummed up the works during the past year has been the Obama administration's relentless partisanship. Obama's immediate predecessors, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, reached across the aisle in their first months to forge bipartisan coalitions on major issues...[Republicans] should come to the [health care reform] summit with this offer: 'Mr. President, you say we agree on 80 percent of the issues, so let's pass that 80 percent solution right now.' If Obama refuses, he will make clear who the real obstructionist is."

Heeheehee! Wowser. The alternate universe Li'l Bush lives in is, of course, one inhabited by all wingnuts and not a few low-information voters. But to try to sell Obama as the "relentless" partisan and "real obstructionist" over the past year is not just laughable on its face; it clearly isn't bought by the vast majority of Americans who rightly see the Rethugs as the ones playing politics in order to destroy the Obama Administration (see DeMint, Limpballs, etc.). (Love TBogg's moniker for Li'l Bush: "Dickless torture gerbil.")

Nice hire, Mr. Dinky!

(Photo: Li'l Bush Thiessen, Mr. Dinky's newest friend -- and a dickless torture gerbil)

OK, Just One More

As another break in the wall-to-wall politics, and at the risk of being accused of turning Hackwhackers into a nostalgia music site, here's It's a Beautiful Day (David and Linda LaFlamme) doing "White Bird" ("...in a golden cage, on a winter's day, in the rain."). Flower power (and some random folks).

Reality Bites

We saw this quote from Bill Maher's "Real Time" show the other day, and thought it was appropriate after the Conservative Political Action Committee's recent hate-fest in DC. Maher's talking about teabaggers, but it really applies to all fringe wingnuts:

"In a recent poll almost ninety percent of Tea Baggers said that they thought taxes had either gone up or stayed the same under Obama. Only two percent thought they went down. But the reality is taxes have gone down for ninety five percent of working families.

Think about that. Only two percent of the people in a "movement" about taxes named after a tax revolt have the slightest idea what's going on...with taxes."

The "conservative" movement -- as symbolized by CPAC -- has become a home for the John Birch Society and militia nuts more than ever. Reality won't intrude into their world. It's much more comforting for them to believe the nonsense they tell each other.

White House Posts Health Care Proposal

As promised 72 hours in advance of Thursday's health care reform summit, the White House has posted it's proposal for moving health care reform forward. TPM has the analysis and a link to the plan language. In brief, the proposal, as expected, builds on the Senate bill while modifying or stripping out some of the more objectionable elements (eg., the Nebraska Medicare kickback inserted by Sen. Ben "Dover" Nelson (DINO-Mutual of Omaha)), and adding what should be a popular proposal to curb or roll back excessive insurance rate hikes. The White House is also renewing its call for an "up or down vote," which sounds a lot like they're preparing for the reconciliation route to finish the health care bill once the Rethugs have had a chance to posture and pout. Oh, yes the Rethugs' plan? Nothing posted yet.

Partisanship and Rethug Hypocrisy

Sunday talk shows were loaded with examples of how unabashed Rethug hypocrisy is, examples provided by... Republicans. (Once again, we distinguish between "Rethugs," the cynical, nihilistic wingnuts, and "Republicans," those who hold principled, conservative positions.) Sunday's profiles in courage from the right (all courtesy of HuffPo):

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ripped Rethugs in general and Mittens/ Flip/ Willard Romney in particular for railing against the stimulus funds while happily taking credit in photo/ ops. Check out the link to the AP's fact checking of Willard's address to the CPAC crackpot conference. And,

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who rejected Dick "The Dick" Cheney's oft-repeated assertion that the U.S. is less safe under the Obama Administration that it was under the Cheney/ Bush Assministration. Powell's not the only one who doesn't know what The Dick is talking about!

For a refreshing bit of push-back against the Village meme that "bipartisanship good, partisanship bad", here's Arianna Huffington's rejoinder on "This Week", with a "hear, hear" from right-wing partisan Quill Will. Pointing out that the end of slavery, Social Security and the New Deal, Medicare/ Medicaid and voting rights were all born out of partisanship, she slaps down host Terry "Get a Brain, Morans" Moran's hypothesis that Americans are in a middle "muddle" (speak for yourself and other Villagers, Terry).

UPDATE: You can add Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist to the list of principled Republicans (i.e., he doesn't lie about the stimulus like a Rethug).

Quote of the Day

"Many, at that instant, expected to hear the words 'forgive me.' But the last phrase was Tiger's. I doubt I've ever heard an athlete ask the public to 'believe in me.' Isn't that more akin to theology? We keep learning, over and over, that some athletes (like all of us) prove over a lifetime that they are worth respecting, liking, admiring and cheering for. Others aren't. But 'believe in me?' We don't need to believe in you, Tiger. Come down off the mountain. Once you figure out some things, we'd just like to meet you. For the first time." -- Thomas Boswell in today's WaPo, commenting on Tiger "Hard" Woods' statement Friday. (Emphasis added) His odd choice of words sounded vaguely like a Toyota representative asking for customers to "believe in" them again.

Saturday Morning Snow-Away Song

The snow from the last 10 days is starting to slowly melt. We've definitely had enough this winter, so all we can say is, "Go now...before you see me cry." (A lot of moody swaying going on here!) Feel free to click off that annoying ad!

Caution Flags on the Right

First, it was George "Quill" Will's op/ed on the never- to- be- President Sarah Palin and her brand of faux populism. Today it's Mushroom Cloud Gerson on the tea baggers who are not only misinformed (all of them), but deranged (many of them). When Will, Gerson and some of the other opinion leaders of the flea circus that constitutes current right-wing politics start noticing they're beginning to itch, it's worth noting. The media/ punditocracy conventional wisdom that the Rethugs are absolutely, positively going to blow away the Dems in November (more than 8 months away mind you) ignores what is obvious to many others: that what we're witnessing on the right is a festering, fragmented extremism (see CPAC, here, here, and here, for example), encouraged by "leaders" who ultimately may not be able to control the pitchfork crowd. Unless, of course, the Dems snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory by not passing health care reform and more, successful economic stimulus measures.

The Unemployment Story

Sorry for the difficulty in reading the text, but this is one of the best graphic representations of what President Obama means when he says that we've turned the corner on job losses. Look at the job loss trend with the Bushit Assministration (Red bars), and the trend after Obama took office (Blue bars) and you'll understand that the Rethuglican lie about the stimulus failing is just that -- a lie.

Soap On A Rope Would Be A Thoughtful Gift

Former New York City Mayor Rudy! 9-11's best friend forever Bernard "Crooked" Kerik was sentenced to four years in prison today after pleading guilty to eight felonies. Crooked Kerik will start serving his sentence in mid-May. As a former police detective and police commissioner, Crooked will probably have a bit of a rough time in the slammer.

Crooked was a protege of Rudy! 9-11, who sponsored him to be the Secretary of Homeland Security during the Bushit Assministration. Good judge of character, that Rudy! 9-11.

(photo: Rudy! 9-11 showing Crooked Kerik the finer points of prison love)

Plane Crasher A Tea Bagger?

Possibly. Small plane pilot Joseph Stack crashed his small plane into an Austin, Texas office building apparently housing nearly 200 IRS employees, after he left a suicide note indicating a long-standing beef with Government and the IRS in particular. He has all of the anti-government nuttiness of a tea bagger in full hate mode. We'll be finding out more, but would anyone be surprised if he was a faithful listener of Pills Limpballs and Boo Hoo the Hoot Beck?

Huge Majorities Oppose Court's Election-Stealing Ruling

According to a new ABC/Kaplan Daily Snow poll, a whopping 80% of Americans oppose the recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision to let corporations spend without limits in elections. Sixty-five percent are strongly opposed to the ruling, across all party labels. What is supported are efforts to mitigate the Court's misguided ruling through Congressional action.

So, that would leave the 5 Rethug justices, Quill Will, Boo-Hoo Beck, Limpballs and other denizens of the extreme libertarian right on the stunningly unpopular side of the issue, right where they belong.

Some Stimulating News

The New York Times reports that the overwhelming consensus of economists is that the Obama stimulus added from 1.6 to 1.8 million jobs to the economy, and is on track to adding up to 2.5 million jobs to the economy.

Meanwhile, Think Progress reports that no fewer than 111 Rethuglican Congressmen and Senators who voted against the stimulus bill last year are taking credit for its job creation by appearing at ribbon cuttings, check presentations, etc. They have absolutely no shame. Let's keep reminding the voters of their utter hypocrisy right up to election day.

Quote of the Day

"If in fact he believed that the Senate was broken and dysfunctional, then he had a responsibility to stand and man the pumps rather than run for the lifeboat." -- Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker, stating what many Dems feel about spineless mediocrity Sen. Evan "Buh" Bayh's decision to quit the Senate at the worst time for the Dems and the Obama Administration.

No Boxing Gloves for Mittens

Oh my. Apparently Rethuglican Presidential hopeful Willard "Mittens" Romney aggravated a fellow airline passenger yesterday and nearly got his TV-game-show-host hair mussed. Mittens was flying from Vancouver to LA when the incident occurred, after Mittens told a passenger in front of him to put his seat in the upright position. (Hey Mittens, that's the flight attendant's job!) It's reported that "physical violence" ensued, but oddly Mittens wasn't touched (wow, he must have been wearing his magic Mormon underwear). Oops, wait: Mittens' wife was with him, so she must have protected Mittens from the ruffian.

(photo: Mittens demonstrates how he fended off the angry airline passenger using his wife as a protective shield)

Oops, He Did It Again

Virginia Rethug Gov."Blowdry Bob" McDonnell is back in the news showing off better flips than the aerialist skiers at the Olympics. The latest campaign promise that's been hastily abandoned is Blowdry's support for redistricting reform. Following on the heels of his reneging on selling Virginia's ABC liquor stores to raise transportation revenue, as well as his eagerly spending stimulus money he was emphatically against Congress passing, Blowdry is fast becoming a star hypocrite in a party that knows no bounds when it comes to hypocrisy and sham values. In other words, his future is bright.

Tea Party Nooz

The Onion reports on the split in the Tea Party movement, between the "Enraged" and "Apoplectic" camps. (h/t Germantown bureau chief and roof hydrologist Brian)

Also, "Joe (Not His Real Name) the Plumber (Not a Plumber Either)" has announced he won't be campaigning for Sen. John "Walnuts" McCain's reelection. "Joe's" quote: "I don't owe him shit." "Joe" was in Harrisburg, Pennsyltucky to speak to a group of teabaggers when he was interviewed by a public radio station. We're thinking "Joe" might be forming his own Tea Party camp: the "Ignorant Ingrates."

Buh Bayh

Conserva-Dem Sen. Evan "Buh" Bayh is announcing that he won't run for reelection this year. Buh Bayh is one of several Senators who like to distance themselves from progressive causes and align themselves with the "bipartisan" mirage. The lack of "bipartisanship" was one of the reasons Buh is citing for turning tail. The Rethugs will certainly rejoice at the bipartisan opportunity to pick up another seat in the Senate.

In an interesting note, Buh Bayh didn't let Senate Majority "Leader" Harry "Thin" Reid know of his decision before it was disclosed to the press. That shows two things: Buh's lack of class and respect for his party, and Reid's pathetic leadership.

UPDATE: Apparently Buh's surprise decision leaves Dems until this FRIDAY (!) to put a replacement candidate up. Which means no Dem primary, only selection of a candidate by the state's Dem party officials. Nice move, Buh.

UPDATE 2: Jed Lewison has a positive take for Dems over at Daily Kos.

Quote of the Day

"That Republican leaders can pass off deceptive faux-populism as “pitch-perfect populism” is in part a testament to the blinding intensity of the economic anger and anxiety roiling the country. It also shows the power of an incessant bumper-sticker fiction to take root when ineffectually challenged — and, most crucially, the inability of Democrats to make a persuasive case that they offer anything better."-- Frank Rich in this morning's New York Times.

The Dems better stop the hand-wringing and hiding, and grow a backbone if they ever expect to regain the political initiative. For the Rethugs to be identified with "populism" is like the Pope being identified with atheism.

Sunday Morning Reading

Check out these two pieces from Steve Benen, on Wall Street reform shenanigans by the right, and the Teabaggers. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Little Saturday Music

Snowmageddon #1 and #2 took their toll on transportation in the DC metro area. Not many planes, trains or automobiles; no one at bus stops either.

Great Moments in the Liberal Media

Word comes that the Kaplan Snow Daily is adding yet another wingnut to its op/ed lineup - Marc Thiessen, former Bush speechwriter (move over Mushroom Cloud Gerson!). Let's count who this libdemosocialistcommie newspaper is employing now: true believers Thiessen, Gerson, Kraphammer, Will, Kristol, Parker, Samuelson, and Kagan, as well as Rethug fellow travelers Broder, Ignatius, and Hiatt. Welcome to the liberal media!

Reneging on a Promise? Easy as ABC!

In the recently touted, victorious campaign of Rethug "Blowdry Bob" McDonnell for Virginia governor, one of the keystones of Blowdry Bob's plan to fund transportation improvements in the Commonwealth was to sell its Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) liquor stores. Blowdry Bob's claim that this would generate $500 million for transportation improvements was generally scoffed at, but it helped him get through the election.

Well, now that he's Governor, Blowdry Bob's Rethug cohorts are pulling back on his promise to sell the ABC stores -- in order to give the measure "more study." Be assured he will study it for 3 1/2 years, until he's ready to leave office, and the Rethugs will need to come up with another shell game to delay raising revenue to pay for transportation needs. It's how they (if not Virginia drivers) roll.

(Photo: Blowdry Bob McDonnell: "What, you expected me to have a serious plan?!")

Nighttime? "We can only assume the sun has been destroyed"

It's probably useless to try to explain to wingnuts that climate change experts have long predicted extreme weather as a harbinger of a warming Earth. They're having too much fun yukking at the record snowfalls. Most right-wingers can't seem to grasp that the warming of the oceans -- as in El Nino -- causes evaporation and atmospheric moisture in larger quantities, that, depending on the season, falls to earth as more rain or more snow. Sometimes it's manifested in category 4 and 5 hurricanes and typhoons, or in massive snowstorms, like the ones that swept up the east coast. Back to elementary school, wingers.

Steven Colbert gives the wingers at Fox, who have been idiotically mocking Al Gore for his warnings on climate change, a nice example of their stupidity. Enjoy.

No, "The Lady" is NOT Good, Dean

The blogosphere is buzzing with comments on "Dean of Washington Gasbags" David Broder's op/ed paean to Winky You Betcha in the Kaplan Snow Daily today. We like HuffPo's Jason Linkins' takedown best. (Sample Broderism: "The lady is good." Someone please wake him up!) The early Valentine to the Snowbilly Grifter doesn't come as much of a surprise, given that The Dean is famously one or two hundred beats too late on the pulse of the country, viz the latest poll. What a sad old man to write this drool, and what a sad newspaper for publishing it.

"Clueless"

After reading Paul Krugman's blog item on Obama's statement that he "doesn't begrudge" the millions in bonuses to JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon ($17mil) and Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein ($9mil) are hauling in, we must say in accord with Krugman: Oh. My. God.

We can't lay the blame this time on Geithner, or Summers, or Rahmbo. No, unfortunately this case of catastrophic tin ear is all Obama.

Blizzard!

It's blizzard conditions here in the Washington, DC, area today. Ten to 15 inches of new snow is expected, on top of the 27 inches already on the ground. Plus wind gusts of 35-45 mph expected until 7p.m. Stay inside, stay warm and hope for the power to stay on so we can continue to illuminate the internet tubes!

A Meeting Not Worth Holding

We're disappointed that President Obama is dragging out the health insurance reform debate and inviting the Rethuglican leadership -- which has no intention of cooperating -- to a meeting February 25. By now, it should be obvious that the Rethugs want Obama's signature initiative, health insurance reform, to go down in flames, along with Obama's presidency. If nothing else, the Rethugs tipped their hand again when they responded to the invitation by presenting a list of preconditions(!!) to be implemented before they would agree to meet. One of the preconditions is for the President and Congress to go back to square one, which means further opportunities for the Rethugs to stall and obstruct.

Their arrogance is breathtaking: the Rethugs don't acknowledge the 2008 election mandate, they refuse to address one of the nation's top domestic problems (as they ignored it completely when they were in control), and now, as the minority, they want to further delay health insurance reform legislation already passed by the Senate and House as thousands lose their health coverage every week.

"Delusions of Grandeur"

Mike Lupica gives the ultimate post-mortem on Winky You Betcha's palm-reading performance at the teabagger Nutfest in Nashville, her "delusions of grandeur," and her phoniness in dealing with the "retard" kerfuffle. The nail- on- the- head grab: in skewering her as a faux conservative "thinker," Lupica reminds us of the Palin-appropriate line from "All About Eve" where the ambitious Eve Harrington is said to be akin to "a piano thinking it wrote the concerto." Beautiful.

UPDATE: Speaking of the "retard" kerfuffle, Colbert had the appropriate response last night.

(Image: Indeed.)

Oh Yeah, This Should Work Out Well

The White House is inviting Democratic and Rethug congressional leaders to a meeting on February 25 to discuss possible compromises to move the health care reform process forward.

We must pause here for a moment to catch our breath at the sheer stupidity and destructiveness of this gesture. Who is the White House (and, one must say, Obama) kidding? Itself? Surely, the process has been compromised to death within the ranks of the Democratic Party alone. No single payer; no public option; no universal coverage. What more can the Democrats do, in negotiating with themselves, to weaken an already weakened bill? Meanwhile, E.J. Dionne keeps reminding the Dems of the peril of "assuming the fetal position" in politics.

Once more, with feeling: Pass. The. Damn. Senate. Bill. Now.

Dems Gone Wild

It hasn't been a good weekend for Democratic pols. First, we have NY Gov. David Paterson rumored to be on the verge of resigning his office over new allegations of sexual misconduct (noodling in public with a woman not his wife). Next, we have the Democratic nominee for Lt. Gov. of Illinois, Scott Lee Cohen, dropping out of the race less than a week after being nominated in the Democratic primary, after a history of sexual abuse and threatening a former girlfriend with a knife surfaced.

We hold Democratic politicians to a high standard simply because the Democratic Party is the party of government. (The Rethugs? How can nihilists be a party of government?) So, when Democrats in politics abuse the public trust, it's particularly disturbing and disheartening.

A Little More Love, A Lot Less Snow, Please

Snow, if not love, is all around. Your weekend nostalgic music fix (click off the ads when they appear):

Teabaggin' With Winky

Wasilla grifter Winky You Betcha was the featured speaker at yesterday's wind-up of the teabagger "Nutfest in Nashville" and, as expected, dumb-bombed Obama and the Dems in front of a horde of less than 600 credulous dolts. (Factoid: there were around 200 media covering the Nutfest - go figure.)

You recall the laughable Rethug meme of Obama not being able to function without his teleprompter? Check out Winky's "Palm Pilot" technique. (h/t Rising Hegemon)

Snow Daze

Half of the Hackwhackers team is without power, and the other half has been shoveling out of the Mid-Atlantic blizzard that dropped over 2 feet of snow in the DC metro area. It's going to set a record for certain. Shoveling snow today felt like trying to shovel sand off of a beach with a teaspoon.

Needless to say, blogging will be light -- very light -- for a couple of days.

The Maverick Hat Doesn't Fit Anymore

After his defeat in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McNasty has become increasingly harsh and bitter toward the efforts of President Obama to reverse the economic disaster that McNasty and his fellow Rethugs handed him on inauguration day. Steve Benen writes on the Washington Monthly blog that reporters who are just coming around to notice that McNasty isn't the lovable, independent conservative truth-teller that they thought he was, have been out to lunch for a while.

Granted McNasty is facing a primary challenge from extreme right-wing clown J.D. Hayworth, and he has to steer even further to the right. But he's been decidedly "un-mavericky" for a few years now, witness his embrace (literally) of Dumbya during the 2004 Presidential campaign. The fact that he is invited regularly on Sunday TV talk shows indicates that he's still seen by some clueless media "villagers" as someone willing to "reach across the aisle," even when he's often leading the Rethuglican charge against everything proposed by the President.

"Smart Woman, Foolish Choice"

Ruth Marcus has a review of Jenny Sanford's book "Staying True," that she says could have been titled "Smart Woman, Foolish Choice." Just reading the excerpts, one gets the overwhelming impression that her choice of "Gaucho Mark" Sanford was, indeed, foolish. To put it mildly, the guy was a HUGE douchebag, before and during their marriage. Self-absorbed - check. Insensitive - check. Cruel - check. Stupid - check. Yep, Gaucho Mark is all that and more... or rather less, if we're talking about character. As Marcus notes, this guy makes John Edwards look like a prince.

One can only hope that this rather classy lady does much better for herself in the future. It wouldn't be hard.

(Image: Gaucho Mark, as seen by the Whole World)

Great, More Snow

And this time, it looks like a record-setting snow storm arriving tomorrow afternoon and lasting into early Saturday evening. Up to 24 inches could fall around the DC metro area, which would place the storm in the top 3 of all time for this area.

Nothing to do but stock up, settle in and get ready to shovel. And shovel. And then shovel some more.

The Party of Wall Steet

The next time you hear a Rethug say they're for Main Street, not Wall Street, recall this bit of populism (courtesy of the Wall Street Journal - so you know it's unalloyed Rethug "thinking"). Dems should have the ads out on this within 24 hours if they have a clue. With the "Dunce" Luntz memo on derailing financial institution reform, and now this, it would be sweet to see ads asking, "Who's trying to keep the Wall Street fat cats happy? Who's trying to keep their big bonuses coming? Who wants to have things just as they were before the financial crisis last year? Turns out the Party of No can't say 'no' to Wall Street."

So, the only question that should remain is do we call them the Party of No, the Party of Wall Street, or the Party of Stupid?

This May Come as a Shock, But...

"Pssst.. hey buddy...yeah you. Guess what? Dis might shock you, and you dint hear it from me, right? Youse know that ACORN-exposing dude, the one who tried to diddle with Senator Lawndoo's phone -- what's his name?-- oh, yeah. "G. Gordon Diddy" O'Keefe!! Are you sittin' down?

Dude's a racist! Coulda fooled me!"

(Image: Hey, Diddy, where's your hood?)

Department of Cluelessness

"Oh, I'm a huge supporter of women. . .I love the women's movement, especially when walking behind it." -- Hate radio's Pills Limpballs, making what he thinks is a funny on the Fux "News" channel (surprised?). You're such a stud, Pills.

Guess you have to overcompensate in the extreme when you take "vacations" to a country known for its underage male sex workers, with a supply of Viagra that's not prescribed to you.

(Photo: From the looks of this, Pills may have gotten a little too close behind a behind)

Another Right-Wing Canard Implodes

With the "underwear bomber" now cooperating fully with the FBI (after being read his rights), it's worth remembering the dishonest and hypocritical blathering of the right wing which wanted to take him to Gitmo and waterboard him. Terrorists Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid were tried and convicted in Federal court during the Dumbya/The Dick reign, and there was not a peep from these same right wingers. It appears that since Obama's inauguration, they've lost faith in the American justice system. Couldn't possibly be anything political. . . .

It's also worth reading the statement of Federal Judge William Young, who presided over the conviction of Reid. If you treat these pathetic nutjobs as the "soldiers" that they imagine themselves to be, it only gives credibility to their sick actions. They want to be seen as soldiers in a holy war fighting America and her military, not as the mass murderers that they are. The right wing hasn't figured that out yet, and in almost every action that they've applauded -- from invading a country that had no involvement in 9/11, to torture -- they've been wrong, and actually have helped al Qaeda in its recruitment. Now, they want to treat these nutjobs as war "combatants" -- what next, do we salute them?

Let's Have a Tea Party!

Some Rethugs are learning that when you start a fire, sometimes you get burned. Texas Rethug Sen. John "Big Bad John" Cornyn is concerned that the teabaggers that Rethug front groups like Freedomworks and Rethug media arm Fux "News" sponsored and promoted might form a third party. That would certainly undercut Rethug turn out and endanger the election of Rethugs in 2010 and beyond. It also assumes that, contrary to the conventional wisdom of the Village media, the teabaggers aren't really "independent" centrists at all, but are unaffiliated right-wing voters who almost always vote Rethuglican when the chips are down. Compare the signs at the Palin rallies during the campaign, with those at teabagger rallies: interchangeable. As our posting earlier today notes, there are some strange attitudes among Rethugs these days.

Admiral Mullen on DADT

You can skip to about 1:35 in the video for the money quote regarding why it's wrong for gays in the military to have to "lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens":

"For me personally, it comes down to integrity: theirs as individuals, and ours as an institution."



Well done, sir.

Stupanity

Stupanity - the combination of stupidity and insanity - seems to be afflicting a large proportion of the Rethuglican party, according to a recent poll by Research 2000 for Daily Kos. Looking at this poll provides insight into the Rethug mind-hive, to wit:

36% still continue to think Obama was not born in the U.S.

31% think Obama is a racist.

A whopping 63% think Obama is a socialist.

Sure, you have a lot of low- and- no- information people out there, you have your garden variety racists, authoritarians, crackpots, and other sociopaths. An overwhelming percentage of the crazies seem to reside in the solid Rethug South. But the extent to which this is commonplace in Rethug ranks cannot help but send a chill down your spine. Having these people -- or rather their cynical representatives -- back in power again would mean setting the clock back decades in this country.

(Image: One of the saner thinkers on the Rethug right.)

Hopeful (Still) on Health Care

We hope Jonathan Chait's right in his feeling that health care reform will still pass soon. If you haven't called your Congressman (the action will be in the House) PLEASE DO SO. Tell them "Pass. The. Damn. Senate. Bill" -- or words of your choosing to that effect ;)

Bad For What Ailes You

Watching Fux "News" Channel chairturd Roger "Jabba" Ailes yesterday on ABC's "This Week" reinforced the fact that his operation is the media arm of the Rethuglican Party. Throughout the panel, Jabba repeatedly and openly defended the programming which has declared political war against the Obama Administration. He even mockingly said Fux was "fair and balanced" -- to the snickers of co-panelists Paul Krugman and Arianna Huffington -- when asked to explain why Fux cut away early from Obama's triumphant smack down of House Rethugs at their Baltimore retreat. He repeated false Rethug talking points about health insurance reform, and proudly dropped the names of his former bosses Tricky Dick Nixon and St. Ronnie Raygun of Hollywood. His defense of the decision to add Alaskan grifter Winky You Betcha to his channel's "commentator" roster was laughable, but it fits his plan to use Fux as a Dem-and-Obama-bashing outlet for at least the next 3 years.

The Rethug Game Plan to Sink Financial Reform

Rethug pollster whiz and Fux "News" contributor Frank "Dunce" Luntz has penned a long memo to Rethuglicans on how to defeat financial regulatory reform and not get blamed. It's a window into the soulless "values" of modern Rethuglicanism: protect the big banks and investment firms while pretending you're the "populists." This cynical memo should be at the top of every news program tonight, but of course it won't be. They'll be too busy being shocked! SHOCKED! by the nearly $4 trillion budget unveiled today, huge chunks of which are to fund the previous Assministration's two wars and recovery from the Rethug Recession.