Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Is Bombing In U.S. Polls, Too

Republican Senator from West Jerusalem and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's coalition is behind in most polls in Israel.  Now, it seems the Republicans' favorite co-conspirator in undermining the Obama Administration's foreign policy is tanking in U.S. polls, too:

After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's much-publicized and controversial address to Congress, Americans' opinions of him have worsened. His favorable rating is down seven percentage points, to 38%, while his unfavorable rating has increased five points, to 29%. These changes are largely confined to Democrats; Republicans' views are essentially stable.  (our emphasis)

If Bibi and his stumblebum Republican partners =cough= John Boehner =cough= thought they were pulling off a brilliant maneuver by having Bibi dis the American President while trying to push America into war with Iran, all in front of a chamber full of whooping yahoos, they sadly failed. May they all sink slowly to the bottom of the polls (at the very least).

We've got a real streak going here with the dumbass, backfiring letter to Iran's mullahs signed by 47 traitors Republican Senators, on the heels of Bibi's blustering to Congress, and Republicans caving on holding Homeland Security funding hostage to Obama's immigration executive actions.  We can't wait for their next brilliant maneuver.

(Photo:  Boehner and Bibi - two peabrains in a pod)

Boehner And The Looming Republican Shutdown

Lots today about the potential shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, starting with this poll showing who the American public would blame:

Republicans in Congress would shoulder the blame for a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security if they are unable to enact a new spending bill to keep the agency running, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. The survey finds 53% of Americans would blame the Republicans in Congress if the department must shut down, while 30% would blame President Barack Obama. Another 13% say both deserve the blame. 

If a spending bill is not passed by Feb. 28, the agency's funding will run out. (our emphasis)

The 30% who would blame Obama?  That's the reality-averse Republican base.

Here's a sampling of the analysis from pundits and editorial boards that underline where the problem lies:

Eugene Robinson

The House of Representatives seems to be trying mightily to make itself irrelevant, with Speaker John Boehner leading the effort. I can’t help but think of the old proverb: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.” 

The caravan, in this case, consists of President Obama, the Senate and the American people. It’s still early, but one has to wonder whether anything but yipping and yapping will emerge from the House before the next election. Prospects, thus far, are not promising. 

Under Boehner’s leadership, House Republicans are holding the Department of Homeland Security hostage in an attempt to force Obama to undo his executive actions on immigration. (our emphasis)

The Miami Herald

Congressional Republicans bungled just about every chance to take action on immigration reform. President Obama, eventually, took action on immigration reform. So the GOP doesn’t want to fund the Department of Homeland Security. 

Makes sense, no? Only in that parallel universe called “Inside the Beltway.” 

DHS, is set to run out of money on Feb. 27, less than two weeks from now. For all its faults, DHS should not be the political football with which the Republican-controlled Congress attempts to score a touchdown against President Obama. (our emphasis)

The once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle

“The House has done its job,” Mr. Boehner (R-Ohio) said, imperiously. 

By Washington’s cynical standards, Mr. Boehner may have a point. The Republican-controlled House indeed did do a job — a job on the American people. It passed a funding bill for DHS — with poison-pill riders attached to defund President Obama’s immigration policy — that it fully knew had no chance of passing the Senate or being signed into law. 

Mr. Boehner’s implicit argument is that the obligation of lawmakers begins and ends with posturing. Not compromising. Not moving the ball forward. And not accepting political reality and doing the responsible thing, which in this case is to maintain funding and operations at a department with 240,000 employees that oversees border and airport security, the Secret Service and dozens of other critical government functions. 

The bill passed by House Republicans would defund Mr. Obama’s executive order to shield several million illegal immigrants from deportation. In the kabuki theater of Congress, the bill has followed a predictable course. It has been taken up three times in the Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to clear procedural hurdles, and three times it has been filibustered by Democrats, just as Mr. Boehner and every other member of Congress knew it would be.  (our emphasis)

Only a fool or a shameless right-wing partisan (same diff?) would lay the blame for this destined- to- fail "strategery" at the Democrats' doorstep.  No, it's the same old government-hating cranks and crackpots that have taken over the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party back to playing their old games.  Anyone who seriously thought this bunch was ready for "governing" needs to take a remedial class in recent American history.  Their aim has been, is and always will be to undermine, discredit and stymie government in order for their klepto-plutocrat sponsors to ultimately run amok. If, in the process, they can demonstrate to their racist, nativist base that they want to stick it to the children of Hispanic immigrants, so much the better.

The Bibi And Boehner Show, Cont.

It seems Democrats in Congress are increasingly unwilling to be used as props for Weeper of the House John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner's ham-handed attempt to embarrass the Obama administration through fellow right-winger Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's scheduled speech to Congress in March:

A growing number of top Democrats plan to skip next month's Capitol Hill speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Reps. James Clyburn (S.C.), the third-ranking House Democrat, and Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), are just the latest lawmakers to indicate they won't attend the March 3 address before a rare joint session of Congress. 

The Democrats join other leading Capitol Hill liberals – including Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights hero, and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), head of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) – in protesting the speech by vowing to steer clear of it. 

And the White House re-entered the fray on Friday, announcing that Vice President Biden will also miss the speech as a result of travel abroad. 

No Joe Biden?!  Say it ain't so, Joe!

Let the recriminations begin!

(Reuters) A senior Israeli official suggested on Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been misled into thinking an invitation to address the U.S. Congress on Iran next month was fully supported by the Democrats. [snip]

"It appears that the speaker of Congress made a move, in which we trusted, but which it ultimately became clear was a one sided move and not a move by both sides," Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told 102 FM Tel Aviv Radio on Friday.

This mis-adventure, cooked up by Boehner and Bibi to stick it to President Obama at a critical juncture in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, is righteously blowing up in their smug, too- clever- by- half faces.  Look for Bibi and Boehner to arrange to call it all off in the near future.

UPDATE:  Even the Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman says cancel it.

(Photo:  Messrs. Alphonse and Gaston)

The Bibi And Boehner Show (Cont.)

Rick Ungar writes in Forbes.com about the political miscalculation "screw-up" that neither Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu nor Weeper of the House John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner saw coming with their "Don't tell Obama you're making a speech to Congress" scheme:

Boehner’s hubris, in conjunction with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s desire to interfere with American policy while seeking to bolster his re-election campaign, may turn out to be the very political screw-up that will allow the joint ticket forged by the Labor-Hatnuah political parties to bring an end to Netanyahu’s long reign atop the Israeli government. 

According to a Channel 10 poll out this past Thursday in Israel, the joint ticket offered by the Labor-Hatnuah coalition currently stands to grab 24 seats in the Israeli Knesset in the coming election—up one seat from the previous poll—while Netanyahu’s Likud Party is holding steady with just 20 seats.  [snip]

It turns out that there are no shortage of Israeli voters who don’t care for the idea of their Prime Minister jumping into the middle of America’s internal disagreements over foreign policy and further understand that, at the end of the day, Israel remains deeply dependent upon the United States for critical assistance in the never-ending battle to preserve and protect their nation. 

Ungar also discusses the role of current Israeli ambassador to the United States and former Republican operative (and therefore ethically challenged) Ron Dermer played in the burgeoning fiasco for his boss:

It turns out, the plan to have the Israeli Prime Minister speak to Congress, without first discussing with the White House, was the brainchild of Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer who has, for weeks now, been endorsing the re-election of Bibi Netanyahu on American television programs despite explicit Israeli Civil Service regulations prohibiting him from doing so.

And "Mr. Tangerine Man?"

Considering that Speaker Boehner has failed to accomplish anything of note during his Speakership, I can only wonder how it must feel to have his legacy be his effort to disgrace the American President in the effort to bolster the political chances of a foreign leader.

Ungar has a lot more to say, so please read the entire post.  (h/t to dear P.E.C.)

(Photo: "After you, Alphonse." "No, you first, my dear Gaston.")

Today's Cartoon - The Bibi And Boehner Show

(click on image to enlarge)

(Jeff Danziger, via gocomics.com)

Note "Merlot Industrial Strength" on the box.  Not kosher!

But, reckless.

Today's Cartoon And Reads

Love "The G.O.P.'s Long-Term Plan" diagram.

(click to enlarge)

(Brian McFadden, via gocomics.com)

From E.J. Dionne, Jr., on dealing with the Republican Congress:

[Sen. Mitch] McConnell’s main argument with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), and his followers is not about ends but means. McConnell is no less focused than Cruz on bringing down Obama and discrediting Democratic governance, but McConnell needs to be more subtle about it.  [snip]

Solving the country’s economic riddle would be a much better use of their time than investing in the fantasy that McConnell and [Weeper of the House] Boehner will try to make Obama look good. 

Charles Blow looks at the more general mood and methods of the right-wing opposition:

His term must be tarnished; his accomplishments erased. 

Some people blame the president for not cultivating more congressional relationships, across the aisle and even in the Democratic caucus. There may be some truth to that, but not much, I believe. No amount of glad-handing and ego-stroking would compensate for the depths of the opposition. Nor would messaging. 

This is a president who was elected by an increasingly diverse national electorate that some find frightening, a president who is pushing a somewhat liberal agenda that some have found intrinsically objectionable, and a president who is battling some historical personality tropes that many cannot abandon. 

To his opponents, this president’s greatest sins are his success and his self. 

So, if you're listening Democrats, don't repeat the mistakes of the past 6 years by thinking the Republicans are acting in good faith or with good intentions.

Republican Message To Gays And Lesbians: "Please Forget Previous Messages"

Here's Stephen Colbert on the latest Republican effort (via Weeper of the House John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner) to "send a message" to gays and lesbians following the Supreme Court's declining to weigh in on same-sex marriage cases.  As Stephen says, the message being sent is "Please forget all of our previous messages" (lol), following the inevitable ad:

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As Colbert notes at the end, one day in the distant future, Republicans will claim they were on the side of gays and lesbians all along.  Once again, we despair of the rebranding.

You'll Always Find A Republican At The Intersection Of Ignorance And Hypocrisy

Jon Stewart takes on the things Republicans don't actually know and things they (think) they do.  Guest appearances by Rep. Michelle "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann, Weeper of the House John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner, and the execrable felon Oliver North.

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Boehner's Leadership Fail

David Ignatius writes today about the weakness of Speaker Weeper of the House John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner in the once great Washington Post  Bezos Bugle:

We are seeing the consequences of a leaderless House in the GOP’s renewed threat of a government shutdown or debt-ceiling default. These reckless actions are part of a grandstand play to reverse the Affordable Care Act, more parts of which begin to take effect in October, but they’ve assumed an illogic of their own. The House Republicans seem almost to enjoy holding the country hostage. Their version of Russian roulette has become so familiar that we forget just how outrageous it is.

Boehner surely knows this course is folly. Legislation to defund Obamacare won’t pass Congress. And the GOP’s brinkmanship, however popular with the right wing, is damaging the party nationally. Boehner this week struggled to find an alternative strategy — to avoid a shutdown by delaying Obamacare a year, or by attaching the defunding plan to the debt-ceiling extension. Both were seriously bad ideas, but even these extreme proposals were rejected by his caucus.

Ignatius also mentions the sleazy backroom role of unfaithful lieutenant and Rethug Majority Leader Eric "Cancer" Cantor in undermining attempts by Boehner to rein in his Crackpot Caucus.   Frankly, we can't remember a time when a Speaker has been so unable or unwilling to control his members.  But, then again, we can't remember a time when members included such dolts and extremists as Louie Gohmert, Steve King, Michele Bachmann, and their entire teatard cohort.

(Image:  It takes a strong man to cry... except in John Boehner's case.)

Monday Read: Republican Band of Anarchists

From Jonathan Chait in the New York Magazine:

"The Republican Party has spent 30 years careering ever more deeply into ideological extremism, but one of the novel developments of the Obama years is its embrace of procedural extremism. The Republican fringe has evolved from being politically shrewd proponents of radical policy changes to a gang of saboteurs who would rather stop government from functioning at all. In this sense, their historical precedents are not so much the Gingrich revolutionaries, or even their tea-party selves of a few years ago; the movement is more like the radical left of the sixties, had it occupied a position of power in Congress. And so the terms we traditionally use to scold bad Congresses—partisanship, obstruction, gridlock—don’t come close to describing this situation. The hard right’s extremism has bent back upon itself, leaving an inscrutable void of paranoia and formless rage and twisting the Republican Party into a band of anarchists."

Chait's article is well worth reading, although it will be familiar territory to readers of this blog who by now will have read account after account of the mindless rage fueling the hard right's losing struggle with the realities of 21st century America.  But, hey, let's get it all on the record.

Naturally, Weeper of the House John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner is proud of this procedural extremism and of his caucus' race to the past:

House Speaker John Boehner says Congress "ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal."

The Ohio Republican makes the comments on an interview aired Sunday on CBS "Face the Nation." He was responding to a question about how little Congress is doing these days.

Boehner says Congress "should not be judged by how many new laws we create."  (our emphasis)

Yeah, you keep working on that Obamacare repeal (39 votes so far)!

With raising the debt ceiling later this year looming as the next Republican target for hostage-taking sabotaging government and the economy (the sequestration being the most recent job-killing blunt instrument employed), expect an increasingly desperate Republican Party to pull out all the stops in its anarchistic war on America's future.

Quote of the Day

"It is pretty galling for Speaker Boehner to be laying down demands for another debt ceiling agreement when he won't even abide by the last one." -- Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), yesterday on Weeper of the House John "Orange Boner" Boehner's threat to use raising the debt ceiling early next year as an "action forcing event." Yes, "action forcing," like the last debt-limit hostage-taking, when the U.S. credit rating was down-graded thanks to Orange Boner and his teatard Rethug caucus. Nice work there!

Boehner To Be Primaried

Davis Lewis, a 26-year-old tea bagger, has announced he will run in the Rethuglican primary against House Speaker John "Orange Boner" Boehner (Obstructionist-OH). [Let us pause for a moment of schadenfreude.] Among the reasons Lewis is running against Orange Boner is that Lewis wants to phase out Social Security, and because Orange Boner won't do that, Lewis says he's a "socialist". [Pausing for more schadenfreude.]

Brings to mind that saying, "When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."

(Photo: Orange Boner, him have a sad.)

It's Why We Call Them "Rethugs," Cont.

Earlier this week, Weeper of the House John "Orange Boner" Boehner spoke to the true Rethuglican base: Wall Street. His speech was meant to reassure the assembled money men that they were still masters of the universe and would remain so as long as Rethugs could do anything about it. Needless to say, facts never got in the way of Orange Boner's presentation. Here's a slam dunk rebuttal of Orange Boner's outright lies (and another reason why we call them "Rethugs").

(Photo: Look, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings... jeez, man up!)

People Are Being Mean to Orange Boner

In case you missed soon-to-be Speaker of the House (gag) John "Orange Boner" Boehner's interview on "60 Minutes" last night, as we made a point of doing, TPM has memorialized it. The best part: wherein Lesley Stahl induces Orange Boner's waterworks. See Orange Boner un-persuasively (to us) claim he don't use no stinkin' tanning products, he's always been that shade of burnt sienna! Also, the "no compromise" Orange Boner thinks Obama was mean to him by calling him a hostage-taker. Well, just for that, we're going to have to start referring to him as Osama Bin Boehner! How do you like that...er...no, don't cry, please!

Boner Boning Lobbyist?

Is Rethug House Minority Leader John "Orange Boner" Boehner (Adulterer-OH) having an affair with lobbyist Lisbeth Lyons, as the New York Times is purportedly about to publish?  If so, it would mean, among other things, that Boner is already violating the sanctity of the "traditional marriage" tenet of the Lemon Pledge.  (That didn't take long!)  Boner and Ms. Lyons, who lobbies for the American Printing Association, both deny any improper entanglement.  Boner is trying hard to keep a stiff... upper lip, and needs to make sure his thrusting and parrying isn't flaccid, lest someone penetrate to the crux of the matter.

But really, if true, Boner doesn't have much to worry about.  Look at John Ensign, David Vitter, Nikki Haley, etc.  The micro-brow sheeple that are the Rethug base are a forgiving lot, as long as the transgressor is a right-wing hypocrite.   Also, isn't this simply a physical manifestation of what lobbyists and pols do on a regular basis anyway?

(Photo: Is that a putter in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?)

The Orange Boner: "Hell No You Can't" Remix

"So, hit-tit!"

John Boehner's Message to Constituents

House Minority "Leader" and Man-Tan abuser John "Boner" Boehner has a message for his constituents, courtesy of The Onion. Every word laid on with a trowel. Don't miss his special thanks to Democrats at the end!

(h/t to Germantown Bureau Chief and undrafted free agent Brian)

Unintentionally Hilarious Comment of the Day

"Sunshine really does work if you allow it to." -- Artificially orange-hued House Republican minority leader John "Man Tan" Boehner, commenting on the Rethug-favorable ruling by the Supreme Court allowing unlimited corporate funding of political ads.

But Man Tan would prefer bottled sunshine over the real thing any day.

(photo: "I can't believe how much my corporate sponsors are paying for this golfing vacation!")

"Orange" John Boehner's World (And Welcome to It!)

Just for giggles, check out this "Wonkette" piece on House Minority Leader John "Man Tan" Boehner's appearance at the annual Congressional Baseball Game and how it may have impacted Intern Riley's life, perhaps forever.

(Photo: A rare picture of Man Tan when he's not in a tanning bed.)

Dumb and Dumber

Climate-change legislation will be developed and debated this summer and fall. As one might expect, the Rethugs are in a de-evolutionary spiral to see who can come up with the most ignorant, knuckle-dragging comment about global climate change. With contestants such as Reps. Joe "Methane is Fartin'" Barton (Rethug-TX), Dana "My Mommy Wanted a Girl" Rohrabacher (Rethug-CA), and Sen. James "Duh" Inhofe (Rethug-OK), this will be a hard-fought competition. Here, courtesy of today's WaPo, are several (un)worthy candidates already under consideration:

"The idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical"-- Rethug House Minority "Leader" John "Man Tan" Boehner (aka "Boner"). The article helpfully points out that, of course, no one is on record suggesting such a thing. But strawmen can be so fun to make for your pea-brained base to froth about.

"We're cooling. We're not warming" - Michael "Tin Man" Steele in March. Maybe you thought the question was about Rethug prospects, My Gangsta?

As Al Gore has been quoted as saying with regard to climate change deniers, "There are people who still believe that the moon landing was staged on a movie lot in Arizona." For Hackwhackers, it only goes to prove the Rethugs are simply adhering to one of the pillars of Republicanism: ignorance.

(Photo: "Man Tan" Boner, the only "comical" thing about the climate change debate.)