Your Rethug Base

The reactions of some Rethug focus group members to the candidates' comments at the recent Rethug "debate" are telling: negative to any statement regarding helping the poor, and positive to any statement endorsing torture.

As Kevin Drum notes, "ladies and gentlemen, your Republican base."

The Great Debate

Noted in the Huffington Post: Bill "O'Really?" will be debating TV puppet character Alf on his show tonight.

Not fair. Alf will kick Billo's ass.

Surging Back

Today's New York Times has an article on a problem that will face displaced Iraqis that are returning to their homes: someone else may be living in them. Some one million internally displaced Iraqis are beginning to drift back to their old neighborhoods, only to find that the sectarian cleansing allowed under the "surge" has resulted in new sectarian boundaries for cities and neighborhoods. Officials in Iraq say that the Iraqi government has not adequately planned for this problem, and the result could be a new phase of violence as property disputes grow.

Creative Billing

9/11 Mayor Rudy "Toot Tooty" Giuliani's use of public funds to facilitate his extra-marital affair with current wife Judy Nathan (see our 11/28 post) is starting to grow into a full-blown shitstorm. ABC News says that Nathan used the NYPD as a "taxi service" when Rudy was carrying on an affair with her while married to Donna Hanover. She had a NYPD police officer and vehicle to chauffeur her around, while Rudy was mayor. Rudy had the charges billed to various New York agencies to cover his tracks.

But Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy Toot Tooty, so he must be OK with the Lord.

Need To Spend More Time "With The Family"

Yesterday, the brother-in-law and nephew of Rethug Senator Trent "Not A" Lott were indicted by a Federal grand jury for bribery. This comes just a few days after Lott announced his resignation from the Senate at the end of the year to pursue other "opportunities." Heh heh.

The GOPoo's Amazing Anatomy

"The Republican Party is a three-legged stool, and I represent all legs of the stool."

-- Willard "Muff/ Mousse/ Flip Flop Mitt" Romney describing the amazing anatomy of the steaming pile of poo that is the Rethug Party, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today. Muff, you not only represent the stool, you are the stool.

"America's Mayor" Billed Love Nest Expenses to NYC

"America's Mayor," Rudy Toot Tooty, had some interesting billing practices while in office, according to Politico.com. Seems when he was schtuping future wife #3 in the Hamptons, Toot Tooty was sending the bills to various city departments to cover (up) the cost of his trysts (he was married at the time to Donna Hanover).

Turns out, this was a bad day for Toot Tooty. First, the billing scam. Then there was the revelation on Keith Olbermann's show tonight (check out the video at MSNBC) that Toot Tooty has business ties to the ruling family in Qatar (the ones who helped Khalid Sheik Muhammad escape FBI's clutches -- and more). Then he got booed at the Rethug YouTube "debate" when he went after Willard "Muff/Mousse/Flip Flop Mitt" Romney a wee bit too aggressively.

The little man may never get his place on that balcony, after all.

Denial

Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum has a nice rejoinder to the reich wing's constant focus on supposed "liberal" hypocrisy on global warming. Shorter version: it's not about how much carbon dioxide was used in the manufacture of Al Gore's suit, it's the environmental policies of the most industrialized nation on earth, the United States, that matters most. Not that the reich wing cares. . .

Public Opinion: Get Out Of Iraq

Since the surge started earlier this year, the Assministration, when they're not asking for more time, are pointing to reductions in violence. But remember the whole purpose of the surge was to give the Iraqi government "breathing space" to work out political and economic problems. That hasn't been done. Sunni tribes in Anbar province have decided to work with our military and receive arms and supplies in return; the Mahdi Army has infiltrated Iraqi security forces and are in a self-imposed ceasefire. The civil war has just gone into a dormant stage, it hasn't gone away.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of the public want us out of Iraq, a level unchanged from last February. The question, as former Rethug Representative Vin Weber says in the article, is not whether we're "winning or losing", but whether it was worth it. And, as Weber says, the public decided that question some time ago.

Lying In Wait

Last August, Moqtada al Sadr declared a unilateral ceasefire for his Mahdi Army, and the ceasefire has been observed. But there is increasing evidence that the Mahdi Army has completely infiltrated the Iraqi security forces, and is waiting for U.S. forces to diminish before re-emerging as the major force in Baghdad and southern Iraq. Much of the surge's success in and around Baghdad has been facilitated by the sectarian cleansing of Sunnis from their homes; where there were mixed neighborhoods before, now there are none. Violence is down when all of your neighbors are the same religious sect as you (see Northern Ireland and Bosnia).

This displacement of Iraqis from their traditional homes, neighborhoods, and villages, along with the emigration of 3 million from Iraq, is perhaps the most significant human tragedy of post-invasion Iraq. It's something that this Assministration will be held accountable for ultimately.

Sean Taylor, Dead at 24

Redskins safety Sean Taylor died a day after being shot by an intruder in his home. A Pro Bowl player last season, Taylor had a few run-ins with the law and the NFL, but was turning his life around after the birth of his daughter 18 months ago.

(photo: Washington Post)

Surprised They Actually Located A Heart

Dead Eye is diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Nothing serious, according to his doctors. Lucky for him that he has health insurance.

Don't be surprised if from now on Speaker Pelosi starts sneaking up on him, shouting "boo."

Willard's Willie Horton?

Is Daniel Tavares Willard "Muff/ Mousse/ Flip Flop Mitt" Romney's Willie Horton? Rudy Toot Tooty would like his fellow Rethugs to think (oxymoron alert!) about that.

Trent Lott to Cash In...Er, Leave

Sen. Trent "I'm Going To Make A" Lott (Rethug-MS) will be announcing he's leaving the Senate before the end of the year, according to news sources. Lott, as Minority Whip, is the #2 (pun intended) Rethug in the Senate. It's believed he's leaving the Senate now in order to avoid more stringent future lobbying rules that would inhibit him from cashing in almost immediately on his Washington connections. His seat is not believed to be in any jeopardy for the Rethugs since Mississippi ranks last or near the bottom of all states in most social, economic and educational categories, and thus is prime Rethug territory.

UPDATE: The Onion has man on the street comments.

(h/t to Brian)

Troubles In Rethug City

The Huffington Post has a couple of amusing items to pass along. First, Fred "Foghorn" Thompson got in a snit on Fux News Sunday when some negative commentary from wingnuts Fred Barnes and Charles Krap-hammer was shown. He knows that Fux is squarely in Rudy Toot Tooty's corner, and will skew their programs to help the Mayor of 9/11. Foghorn was, to say the least, indignant and let the smarmy Chris Wallace know it. Heh heh, love it.

The second item reports that Fux fave Rudy is having trouble drawing crowds in New Hampshire, where he has been focusing his efforts. NBC reports that a couple of dozen supporters showed up for a rally in Manchester - - "Kucinich-size crowds" - -and that the mainstream media is beginning to notice. Again, heh heh, love it.