Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Tag: GOP

Friday Notes. Sorta.

I was going to link to Mike@Blueweed’s excellent The Tyranny of Quaint with a bit of mocking about how he needs to write more, but I think I need to take some Windex to this glass house, first.  So, here goes:

Remember, no matter what happens next Tuesday, “it’s good for conservatives“:

There is nothing, nada, zilch, zero, nothing, that is bad news for conservatives. When they win elections, it proves we’re a conservative country. When they lose, it proves it. When we pass health care bills, it proves it. When we lower taxes, it proves it. When we raise taxes, it proves it. Everything proves it always.

Always.

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Of course, Democrats do have a pretty solid claim on the suckage:

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) has proposed a variety of ideas on how to advance the [DC voting rights] bill. But the reaction from party leaders, as the Web site Politico reported, seems to be “forget it.” No doubt Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), looking ahead to his own tough reelection battle, sees no gain in irritating the powerful gun lobby. In fact, Mr. Reid voted for the Ensign amendment, making it easier for other Democrats to follow suit. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says that she’s looking for opportunities to pass the bill, but to date that hasn’t involved pressing members to put principle ahead of political interests. President Obama, who sponsored voting rights legislation as a senator, has done nothing on the issue.

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This man built a Pan Am 747 First Class cabin in his garage.  I’m not saying it’s okay, but I understand.

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There are, in fact, clever people with a sense of fun in DC.

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Aww, are “good white people” are under threat in the US?:

Here’s one of the “questions” asked in the poll, tailor-made for Fox News Channel:

Federal Communications Commission Chief Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd wants the FCC to force good white people in positions of power in the broadcast industry to step down to make room for more African-Americans and gays to fill those positions.  Do you agree or disagree that this presents a threat to free speech?

It’s worth noting that this question only elicited 51 percent support.

Hilarious.

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The willingness of Redskins fans to support an organization that does this continues to be beyond my grasp.   I’m not a football – or really even a sports – fan, but I moved to DC right after Jack Kent Cooke died in 1997, and haven’t been able to escape Redskins news since then.  And you know?  It’s been uniformly shitty the entire 12 years.  Why, people?

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Former Murky Coffee owner, tax cheat, and douchebag extraordinaire Nick Cho finally got booked on tax charges.

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If you ever leave me again,
I’ll down a bottle of
baby aspirin:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqBWMUMhIGE[/youtube]

Update: Wait, forget that crap copy.  Go here and enjoy the extraordinary talents of Subtle Sexuality’s  fabulous KELLY KAPOOR (and erin hannon).

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Readability helps with exactly that.  I like it.  Very much.

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How the public lost out on the battle between Big Pharma and generics.   It’s a short but informative look into one of the many battles with big consequences for the costs of health care.

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I find my stuff in the most interesting places.  (Okay, it’s probably not that interesting to too many people beyond me, considering the dearth of entries.  But still.)

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I know it’s supposed to be satire, but I kinda wonder if Ken Cuccinelli wrote this.   Cuccinelli is the GOP candidate for Virginia Attorney General, and is such a bigot that even the normally spineless VA Log Cabin Republicans not only won’t support him, but are calling for his defeat.  That link also helps illustrate why I think libertarian support for GOP candidates is misplaced (and that’s putting it very kindly):

No real libertarian has a record (like Mr. Cuccinelli does) of
· Opposition to repealing the state sodomy law, even though it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
· Opposition to allowing private companies to offer health and life insurance benefits to domestic partners of their employees
· Opposition to prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for state and local government employees
· Opposition to allowing local governments to choose what benefits they give their local employees
· Opposition to any kind of legal protections for gay and lesbian couples, even the limited rights embodied in domestic partnerships or civil unions
· Support for banning gay/straight alliances in public high schools
· Support for state funding of abstinence programs

Each one of those stupid little Gadsen flags ought to have an asterisk at the end of “Don’t Tread on Me”, leading to a “Tread On Him, Instead.”  That would be a far more honest and accurate portrayal of the beliefs of the vast majority of “libertarians.”

If the *GOP* Calls It Racism, It Must Be!

Assclowning of the highest order:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Jce236HZ8[/youtube]

The Continuing Imaginary Attacks on Conservatives

Once again, the active right fights more with its own imagination than anything else:

I’m sort of fascinated by the latest ACORN conspiracy theory, that ACORN activists are crashing right wing “tea parties” in order to sabotage them. I’m fascinated, because like Steve Benen, I don’t know anyone who actually cares about these things. Obama’s approval rating is in the 60s. The country is growing more optimistic about his presidency. I could see being concerned about the tea parties if they legitimately comprised some sort of mass movement centered around widespread public discontent with the president, but it just seems to be a bunch of sour grapes from hardcore conservatives who would hate Obama no matter what. The far right also seems to have a hard time mobilizing without an evil enemy, someone to hate.

Check out the rest, as Ezra Klein walks it back to – yes – a single post on the internet.    It’s just a part of a real blossoming of the wingers imaginations, lately.  Community service is slavery!  They’re going to put us in camps!  There’s a New World Order coming! Or maybe it’s not so much imagination, as following a script.  Because I’ve seen this story before, in the early 90s- service is slavery, they’re going to round us up, the New World Order is upon us!  Same shit, different administrations.

DC Represent!

The DC City Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states that have adopted equality laws.  It’s a solid step towards DC’s bringing same-sex marriage within its own laws.  There will, no doubt, be the challenge of overcoming Congress (which can overturn any DC law, no matter how petty).  It’ll be an interesting illustration of 1) the Democratic Party’s commitment to equality and 2) the hollowness of the Republican Party’s supposed commitment to states’ rights.

Steele: I Meant To Do That

Michael Steele?  Is the gift that keeps on giving:

And then came this exchange, when he insisted that his public face-off with Rush Limbaugh was all part of his plan — to scope out the state of the Republican field, and see who was with him or against him:

Lemon: There’s a rationale behind Rush, all that stuff?

Steele: Yup. Yup.

Lemon: You want to share it with us?

Steele: Sure, I want to see what the landscape looks like. I want to see who yells the loudest, I wanted to know who says they’re with me but really isn’t.

Lemon: How does that help you?

Steele: It helps me understand my position on the chess board. It helps me understand, you know, where the enemy camp is and where those who are inside the tent are.

Lemon: It’s all strategic?

Steele: It’s all strategic.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXU7EVXs2A[/youtube]

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