Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

If you don't think the Rethuglicans will pile on Hillary (Benghazi, Benghazi! BENGHAZI!!, brain damage, etc.), read the post below.

(cartoon:  Mike Luckovich, via Gocomics.com)

More on "Sabotage Governing"

From the New York Times:

On two crucial issues this week, the extremists who dominate the Republican majority in the House of Representatives made it clear how little interest they have in the future prosperity of their country, or its reputation for fairness and decency.

The House will refuse to consider a comprehensive immigration bill that could lead to citizenship for millions of immigrants, Republican leaders said on Wednesday, and will slowly and casually consider a few border-security measures that have no chance of passing on their own.

And, on Thursday, the House passed a farm bill that stripped out the food stamp program, breaking a pact that for decades has protected the nutrition needs of low-income Americans. It was the first time since 1973 that food stamps haven’t been part of a farm bill, and it reflected the contempt of the far right for anyone desperate enough to rely on the government for help to buy groceries.

These actions show how far the House has retreated from the national mainstream into a cave of indifference and ignorance. House members don’t want to know that millions of Americans remain hungry (in an economy held back by their own austerity ideology), and they don’t want to deal with the desperation of immigrant families who want nothing more than a chance to work and feed themselves without fear of deportation.  [our emphasis]

The public may be noticing:

There is gridlock because Republicans are determined to block any Obama initiative, 51 percent of voters say, while 35 percent say President Barack Obama lacks the skills to convince leaders of Congress to work together.

Asked another way, 53 percent say Obama is doing "too little" to compromise with congressional Republicans, but 68 percent of voters say congressional Republicans are doing "too little." Ten percent of voters blame Democrats for gridlock, while 23 percent blame Republicans and 64 percent blame both parties equally.

"Voters think the Democrats and Obama aren't playing nice, but they think the Republicans are worse," said Brown.

Ship of Shame Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

Cleaning up the mess left behind by years of Rethuglican misrule isn't going fast enough largely because the Rethugs have obstructed the clean up effort in order to blame the Dems/President for....the mess they're trying to clean up.

Headline of the Day

"Republicans Outraged That Obama Is Obstructing Their Obstruction"

It's the only game the Rethuglicans have, and they're beginning to lose at it.

About Time

President Obama's press conference yesterday was refreshing. For the first time in a long time, he directly and forcefully confronted the Rethuglican lie machine's position on the debt ceiling and budget. He repeatedly contrasted the Dem position of a balance of budget cuts and revenue increases / closing tax loopholes with the Rethug position of budget cuts only, using some vivid images of corporate jet loopholes and CEOs rolling in money. Referring to Rethugs having to speak to their constituents, Obama said:

“I think it would be hard for the Republicans to stand there and say that, 'The tax break for corporate jets is sufficiently important that we’re not willing to come to the table.'”

We say let's make them justify protecting the wealthiest Americans, who are paying the lowest tax rate in decades, and big corporations, which are sitting on $2 trillion in cash while exporting jobs and collecting tax breaks. Enough with the kid gloves.

It's good to see Obama more in campaign mode than the above-the-fray peacemaker, simply because the Rethugs aren't looking for "peace" or "compromise" or "solutions." They're looking to defeat Obama in 2012, and if it takes bringing the economy to its knees, then they'll do it.

Smelly Business

Alabama Rethuglican Sen. Richard "Smelly" Shelby has blocked the nomination of M.I.T. professor and Nobel laureate in economics Peter Diamond for a seat on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Sen. Smelly's reason? He insisted that Dr. Diamond lacked the qualifications for the job. That's what he said. Seriously.

We suppose Sen. Smelly's career as a political hack, lawyer, and small-bore magistrate qualifies him to pass judgement on an economist that could run circles around the Senator when it comes to understanding the Fed and monetary policy. But we're certain this wasn't about "qualifications" at all, just another cynical monkey-wrench thrown into the gears of Government by Rethuglican dead-enders.

The Rethugs' Phony Piety

Rethuglican Senators Jon Kyl and Jim "Demented" DeMint have accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of "disrespecting" Christmas and sacrilege, respectively, for threatening to keep the Senate in session to vote on bills that the Rethugs have blocked. Reid fired back, saying:

"As a Christian, no one has to remind me of the importance of Christmas for all of the Christian faith, for all their families, all across America. I don't need to hear the sanctimonious lectures of Sen. Kyl and [Sen. Jim] DeMint to remind me of what Christmas means."

Clearly, these two simply want the Senate to adjourn without voting on the START treaty, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and other bills that they have stalled through their relentless obstruction. They want a more Rethug-friendly Congress to act come January, and they're not ashamed to stall and demagogue using religion.

Reid needs to stay with an aggressive legislative agenda, and force these malevolent hypocrites to stick around and do their job.

The Rethugs' Most Important Product

While much of the spotlight has been on the Bushit tax cut extension fight, it's useful to remember what actions the Rethuglicans in Congress are obstructing, or have already defeated:

1) The DREAM Act
2) A cost of living adjustment for Social Security recipients
3) Aid for 9-11 first responders
4) Ratification of the new START Treaty
5) Don't Ask Don't Tell

This is just a taste of where the Rethugs are headed over the next two years. Add to that bogus "investigations" of the White House, etc., blocking of Executive Branch and judicial nominees, and generally trying to wreck the Obama Administration regardless of any damage to America.

Country First!

Quote of the Day

"Nearly all of America's international allies have offered their enthusiastic support the pending arms control treaty with Russia, New START. There are, however, some foreign leaders siding with congressional Republicans. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for example, is hoping the GOP succeeds."-- Steve Benen, posting in the Washington Monthly.

Russia suspended sales of an advanced surface-to-air missile to Iran, in expectation that the U.S. would ratify the New START treaty. Iran would like nothing better than for the treaty to fail, so that it can resume arming. Of course, it's more important for Rethugs to sabatoge everything Obama proposes, even if it harms U.S. national security and helps Iran (and North Korea).

Country First!

Post-Election Kumbaya Quote

"[I]f our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things is to put someone in the White House who won't veto any of these things." - Senate Minority Leader Mitch "Missy" McConnell (Turtle-KY), today at the Heritage Foundation. So much for bipartisanship and the spirit of cooperation. Did you expect something different?

UPDATE: We mustn't forget to check for conciliatory notes coming from wingnuttia: here, here, and here. Hmm, someone put too much Metamucil in their creamed corn today!

(Image: Don't fear the turtle; run over it)

Quote of the Day

"President Obama is leading in a time of multiple generational crises, all of which he inherited from a failed Republican administration. While trying to clean up the mess, Senate Republicans have opposed everything -- usually just for the sake of opposing -- and taken institutional obstructionism to scandalous levels, without precedent in American history. On most of the major policy challenges, the same Senate Republican caucus has not only blocked reasonable proposals, it's also spent a fair amount of time blatantly and shamelessly lying." -- Steve Benen in the Washington Monthly, referring to Rethuglican Senators carping that the President was "testy" during their caucus' luncheon today.

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.

Hit and Run

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has a new video out that clearly fingers the Rethugs as the "hit and run" perpetrators on the economy, who are now leaving the scene of the accident they caused by not working with President Obama.
It boils the problem with the Rethugs down very nicely. Good work.