Happy Hour Discurso

Today’s opining on the public discourse.

I look at these idiots, and the only thing I can think is “barking fucking mad:”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has said he’ll reject some of unemployment insurance from the federal stimulus package. Not to be outdone, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) said he’ll not only reject unemployment insurance, but will also “not take $42 million in funding for green buildings.”

Yes, because there’s nothing worse than paying construction crews to make buildings more energy efficient.

There’s apparently a race among some far-right Republican governors — all of whom are already eyeing the 2012 presidential race — to see who can be slightly crazier than the other. Jindal is clearly a contender, and Sarah Palin and Mississippi’s Haley Barbour are obviously in the mix, but Sanford seems especially driven to get out in front of the pack.

It’s leading him to make unusually ridiculous decisions affecting the people in his state, while making truly odd policy prescriptions.

Sanford, asked about the stimulus, said he would probably reject some of the funds. “I think it’s a bad idea,” he said of the package. “Period. Exclamation point.”

“Good medicine to the wrong patient ultimately makes the patient sicker,” Sanford continued. “What we’re dealing with here is a fundamental misdiagnosis of the problem.”

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) told the WaPo, “I think people will … understand that it’s political posturing and you’re playing with people’s lives, and that’s a very, very dangerous game.”

That’s true, but for Sanford, it’s a dangerous game he can win by losing — he “wins” by currying favor with unhinged Republican activists, while “losing” as his state’s economy deteriorates and his constituents suffer.

The shape of the Con field in 2012 is shaping up as a contest between dumb, dumber, and outright fucking insane. In the meantime, there are real people in these states who will suffer so that these fucktards can play their political games. We’ll see what that does for them.

And as if we don’t have enough insane shit to deal with, here’s another George Bush tossing his dumbshit opinions around:

Delivering a speech before the Young Republican National Federation yesterday, George P. Bush — the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — ripped current Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) for being a “D light” (Democrat light). “There’s some in our party that want to assume that government is the answer to all of our problems,” Bush said. “I’m not going to name any names,” he added, but told the crowd, “You know who I’m talking about.” He clarified later:

Afterward, Bush said he doesn’t think Crist is a fiscal conservative and that he may have hurt himself with some Republicans for his appearance with Obama and his support of the stimulus plan.

“That will be on his track record and people are going to remember that,” Bush said, adding that Crist is running the risk of falling in the “D light” category of the party.

What does the young George P. Bush think of his uncle’s “track record”? President George W. Bush presided over the greatest expansion of government spending since World War II. “As a result of all this spending, the country has gone from a $128 billion budget surplus when Mr. Bush took office” to a deficit exploding over $1 trillion when he left office.


No word on that. I’d imagine his memory is just as selective as the rest of the Cons. And he’s got political aspirations, although he wants to “obtain success in my own right” first. What the fuck ever. I’ll guarantee you that we’ll have another George Bush running for office within the next four years – as if this country hasn’t suffered enough with the first two. If previous patterns are anything to go by, this one will be more batshit insane than the second one, who was exponentially worse than the first.

And as if Zombie Bushes weren’t enough, we’ve got Mitch McConnell busy spreading zombie lies:

In his first budget, President Obama apparently plans to keep his campaign promise to let the Bush tax cuts expire for Americans making over $250,000 a year. And just as during the election, Republican leaders are falsely claiming that Obama’s proposal constitutes a tax hike on small business owners. This time, it is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoing John McCain and Joe the Plumber in spreading the lie.

McConnell’s myth-making came during an appearance Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (WMV and QT videos here.) There, he fired the first salvo against President Obama’s plan to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans who need it least. Claiming that “a vast majority of American small businesses pay taxes as individual taxpayers,” McConnell thundered:

“I don’t think raising taxes is a great idea, and when our good friends on the other side of the aisle say raising the taxes on the wealthy, what they are really talking about is small business.”

Of course, they’re not talking about small business. As CNN concluded in October, “fewer than 2% of small business owners would pay more under Obama’s plan.”

As it turns out, McConnell is merely parroting the same fraud now that John McCain tried to perpetrate then. Last fall, then Republican presidential candidate McCain attacked Obama, wrongly asserting, “The small businesses that we’re talking about would receive an increase in their taxes right now.” As it turned out, McCain’s human shield and faux small business owner Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher will receive a tax cut, and not an increase, under the just passed Obama stimulus package.

But in case there was any doubt the Republicans’ deception on the point, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center quickly put it to rest. As the Obama campaign correctly claimed, 98% would see their taxes decline or remain the same…

Is there anything about reality that penetrates through their thick skulls? Any fragment, any factoid, any one fucking thing?

I didn’t think so.

And just when you think you’ve seen the limits to their insanity, they manage to find a new depth to the deep end:

Why is it so painfully difficult to take the Republican Party seriously in the 21st century? Because they haven’t quite figured out that credibility comes with a degree of political maturity. Take Sen. Richard Shelby (R) of Alabama, for example. (via Ben Smith)

Another local resident [in Cullman County, Alabama] asked Shelby [yesterday] if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama’s U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.

“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”

According to the Associated Press, state officials in Hawaii checked health department records during the campaign and determined there was no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.
The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document. In addition, Factcheck.org reproduced an announcement of Obama’s birth, including his parents’ address in Honolulu, that was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13, 1961.

This kind of stupidity took a right turn at annoying quite a while ago, and now rests comfortably in the realm of madness. When Alan Keyes launches into a ridiculous tirade about the president’s birth certificate, it’s not especially surprising — Keyes, based on all available evidence, is apparently not well. Anyone looking for lucidity from the poor man is bound to be disappointed.

It’s far more annoying to have elected Republican officials in Tennessee signing on as plaintiffs in a lawsuit “aimed at forcing” the President to “prove he is a United States citizen.”

But the Shelby example is a different magnitude of idiocy. Shelby isn’t just some random yahoo with a right-wing radio talk-show; he’s a four-term United States senator. He’s the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, for crying out loud. It’s incumbent on him to be somewhat coherent and conduct himself with at least a little sanity.

Apparently, such things as coherence and sanity are no longer requirements in the Republicon party. Oh, granted, someone in his office is making a weak attempt at claiming that’s not really what he meant, but how the fuck do you spin “I haven’t seen any birth certificate” into anything remotely resembling, “President Obama is an American citizen and I have no doubts as to his citizenship”?

You can’t. All you can do is marvel over how truly fucked-up these idiots have become.

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Happy Hour Discurso
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One thought on “Happy Hour Discurso

  1. GB
    1

    Oh boy, oh boy, I really hope the 2012 ticket is Jindal/Palin or Palin/Jindal. Pleaseohpleaseohplease.Barking/stupid or stupid/barking. Yep, I like that either way around, and its guaranteed to play well to the base.And can they get Joe the moron for media liaison?Barking/Stupid 2012!

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