Inspire Political Discourse

This Week in Bizarro World With Sarah Palin May 10 - May 15

Monday, 10 MAY 2010

Palin started her week by boldly lying about supposed pay decreases for our armed forces.The implication was that Obama was decreasing the pay of armed forces personnel, when in reality, he had requested a pay raise for them to take effect in 2011. Via BroadwayCarl:

Sarah's Facebook ghostwriter wrote:
“ Soldier pay decreases in the midst of overspending elsewhere and government union pay raises. Seriously? What are our priorities? ”
going on to cite a Newsmax article. Newsmax!

On the Facebook post itself, Palin's fawning, and unpaid, lackeys deleted all comments which called her out or cited the truth. I know this because not only did it happen to Broadway Carl, it happened to me when I posted a comment citing the truth of the matter. She scrubbed my comment, and banned me from her page.

VIDEO: Anderson Cooper Has Heated Debate With Army Birther Doctor

Cooper challenges Lt. Colonel Terry Lakin, 
who has refused deployment to Afghanistan [and has been court martialed] based on Lakin's discredited assertion that Obama was not born in the United States in spite of all evidence to the contrary. 

It seems to me that if you are going to make such spurious accusations publicly, you ought to be willing to defend your position without hiding behind your lawyer, but then again, we are talking about a member of the Tea Party

In any case, the Birther Meme is getting very old, especially considering that even our far right wing SCOTUS has refused to hear any birther case, and other cases of military personnel refusing orders on the same basis, i.e., questioning Obama's eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief, have been dismissed. . The Tea Party faction of the G.O.P. needs to find another way to depose Obama, as that is clearly their intent evidenced by so many of their actions over the past year or so. View the video below.

The View: Tea Party Director Claims Insult in Term "Teabagger" & Denies Racism of Tea Party Movement

On The View yesterday, the director of the Tea Party Express, Amy Kremer, claimed that using the term "teabagger" to refer to a member of the Tea Party, was just as bad as using the "N" word.

Really? Really, Ms. Teabagger?

First of all, the term "teabagger" is only really offensive when you consider it's sexual connotation, first used by the Tea Party to slur liberals.

The “N word” on the other hand, has the horror of hundreds of years of the oppression of black people behind it.

Not at ALL the same, lady, not even close.

Secondly, the term "teabagger" was first used by the teabaggers to refer to, themselves at the beginning of their non-grassroots movement.

Moreover, as Jay Nordlinger at National Review admits, the term "teabagger" was introduced to the political lexicon by Tea Party movement leaders:
The first big day for this movement was Tax Day, April 15. And organizers had a gimmick. They asked people to send a tea bag to the Oval Office. One of the exhortations was “Tea Bag the Fools in D.C.” A protester was spotted with a sign saying, “Tea Bag the Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You.” So, conservatives started it: started with this terminology.

Ms. Kremer also claimed that the Tea Party was not about racism or Obama’s race. No, not at all. While there are far too many examples pointing to the truth being the complete reverse of her statements, one of my favorites is from Taeggan Goddard [emphasis mine]:

“These people could be anybody. I wouldn't put it past the Democrats to plant somebody there. They're trying to label the tea party, but I've never seen any racial slurs."
-- Dale Robertson, self-proclaimed founder of the Tea Party, quoted by the Washington Times.

The only problem? The Washington Independent caught Robertson at a Tea Party rally last month holding a sign with a racial slur.

FYI, Robertson also runs the website teaparty.org.

The image is from The Washington Independent, and depicts Dale Robertson with a racist sign.

PS Ms. Kremer….your pearls are very obviously cheap imitations, rather like the ideology you espouse.

Teabagger "Woodstock"

Oh, gag me.

An event described as the “Woodstock” of tea parties is planned for Sept. 11 at the Monona County Fairgrounds in Onawa in western Iowa.

Craig Halverson of Griswold, who is helping to organize the event, said supporters hope to attract at least 1,000 people from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and other states. He said they are inviting prominent conservative speakers and plan to have bands perform patriotic music.

Yeah. Woodstock with guns, racist signs, and pure stupid. No hellp from drugs necessary.

Tea Party Protesting LOWER Taxes in Washington Today

From Pro-Obama protesters at a Tea Party Rally in Washington D.C. today. Via HuffPost.

"The American people need to be reminded that 98 percent of Americans got a tax cut last year," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday.

Reid was referring to the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus -- essentially, the only Obama policy to really impact people's 2009 tax returns. In fact, tax refunds reached an all-time high this year in part because of the stimulus, the president said in his weekly address on Saturday. Meanwhile, taxes are at their lowest levels in 60 years, according to William Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project at the Brookings Institution.

"The relation between what is said in the tax debate and what is true about tax policy is often quite tenuous," Gale told Hotsheet. "The rise of the Tea Party at at time when taxes are literally at their lowest in decades is really hard to understand." […..]

Not really hard to understand, Mr. Gale. The Tea Party is about race, Obama’s race, not taxes.

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Jon Stewart Warns Teabaggers to Stay Away From Republicans

The inimitable Stewart knocks it out of the park again, playing with the Teabaggers and the Republicans, who are, of course, one and the same.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Clash of the Teatans
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

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Army Birther Doctor to be Court Martialed for Refusal to Deploy

Birther – another word for ‘racist’.

Past time for birthers who are members of the U.S. military to understand that they, too, must obey President Obama.

U.S. military officials tell NBC News that the U.S. Army will court martial a lieutenant colonel who refuses to deploy to Afghanistan because he considers orders from President Obama to be “illegal.”

Army doctor Lt. Col. Terry Lakin believes Obama does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president and commander-in-chief, because he believes (incorrectly) that Obama wasn’t born in the United States.

Lakin refused this week to report to Fort Campbell, KY for deployment to Afghanistan, but instead showed up at the Pentagon, where he was confronted by his brigade Commander Col. Gordon Roberts, a Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient.

Lakin was informed by Roberts that he would face court martial, and his Pentagon building pass and government laptop computer were seized. [……]

This birther creep very likely did not have an issue with a president [ who wasn’t elected but was appointedby a 5-4 Supreme Court decision] who ordered his country to invade, and occupy another country for years based on little more than a poorly thought out neocon fantasy.

I hope they throw the book at this guy.

Via Balloon Juice

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Oklahoma Tea Party to Form Militia to Fight the Feds?

The Oklahoma Tea Party has decided that it would like to form an armed militia to defend Oklahoma against “infringements” by the Federal Government. They claim to have lawmakers on their side.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. [……]

The question begs to be asked…is the wind sweeping through their ears? Is this even legal?

Not according to the U.S. Code via Cornell (law school):

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 115 > § 2384
§ 2384. Seditious conspiracy
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If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

*Image of an Oklahoma City Tea Party Protest from Left Eye on the Media

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VIDEO: Interview With Tea Party Racist Moron Carl Paladino

Yesterday, we posted a link to a breaking story about Carl Paladino, the Tea Party gubernatorial candidate in New York.

Today, Paladino was confronted at a Buffalo, NY rally by WNYMedia on camera, and yet Paladino never answers a direct question, just babbles incoherently about how this expose is a “Democrat smear”.

Via Think Progress:

Q: Do you condemn the stuff that was forwarded in those e-mails?
PALADINO: I don’t know. I don’t know what e-mails you’re referring to specifically. I wouldn’t even know half of them if I saw them.
Q: Let’s take a look at some of them. … Is that appropriate for somebody who’s running for governor to forward to other people? It’s a very simple question.
PALADINO: Is it appropriate for the Democrats to want to smear — Q: Carl, I’m not asking about the Democrats.
PALADINO: They can hear the rumblings, okay, of something happening.
Q: What does this have to do with the Democrats?
PALADINO: Everything.

Kudos to WNYMedia.net for exposing this creep.

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Carl Paladino is a Tea Party Racist Moron

A tea party candidate for governor in New York named Carl Paladino has been forwarding around emails showing obviously racist images and jokes about the president.

Hint. There's a pimp costume, and a video of African natives dancing -- labeled "Obama Inauguration Rehearsal." [......]

I’m just waiting trepidatiously for the entire wingnut tea party to march on Washington in their pointy white hats, and declare civil war, version 2.0, using misspelled signage.

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So who are those Tea Party people?

Their claims to be of no party not withstanding, The Winston Group¹ just released a survey, the gist of which is that the Teabaggers are largely conservative/republican, old, white, and moderate to low income. Tea Party Memo April 2010
¹ The Winston Group is "a conservative-leaning polling and strategy firm run by the former director of planning for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich", via HuffPost.

Elected Republicans Fan the Flames of Hate

Nah. The GOP bears no responsibility for ginning up the hate in this country. Not at all.

And then there's Newt Gingrich:

I think the Democratic leadership has to take some moral responsibility for having behaved with such arrogance, in such a hostile way, that the American people are deeply upset. So let’s be honest with this. This is a game that they’re playing. People should not engage in personal threats. I’m happy to condemn any effort to engage in personal threats. But I think the Democratic leadership has to take some real responsibility for having run a machine that used corrupt tactics, that bought votes, that bullied people, and as a result has enraged much of the American people. And I think it’d be nice for President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid to take some responsibility over what their actions have done to this country.

Time to call these people what they are, and to that end, I am adding a new category; Domestic Terrorism.

Will the Republicans Attempt to Impeach President Obama? Yes.

From Bob Cesca, on the Huffington Post:

If the Republicans ever manage to retake Congress, they will absolutely try to impeach President Obama. And it'll be based upon a supremely ridiculous charge such as, say, the president refusing to nourish our crops with a sports drink instead of water.

Okay, so maybe the Idiocracy example is over-the-top, but if we follow the current trajectory of far-right attacks to their logical yet insane conclusion, it makes sense in a very eerie way. Have you seen the television commercials solemnly defending our right to poison our kids with "juice drinks and soda?" There you go.

I've been following the Republican descent into the realms of the bizarre for some time now, and it wasn't until the "czars" thing broke that I became convinced that if they retook Congress the Republicans might try to impeach the president. The grounds for both the impeachment and the language used to sell it will likely be fabricated by either Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.

I mean, 100 Republican members of Congress have signed onto Rep. Jack Kingston's cartoonish czar bill. 100 House Republicans out of 177 have attached their names to a bill that was essentially invented as a television bit by Glenn Beck without any regard for the fact that "czar" is a nickname invented by the press, and that every president -- all of them! -- has employed policy and political advisers within their administrations. But it functions as an effective Beck attack because he knows his audience isn't bright enough to distinguish "czars" from "communists." By the way, not to be out-crazied by his House colleagues, Senator Ensign introduced an amendment to the Finance Committee health care reform bill called "Transparency in Czars." This might as well be "Transparency in Hobbits" because it's just that ludicrous.

Nevertheless, there's a growing conventional wisdom in the press alleging that both sides of the political spectrum are equally guilty of wackaloon attacks and conspiracy theories.

Granted there might be one or two very fringe exceptions but this is otherwise a false equivalency written by the establishment media as part of their self-conscious effort to seem balanced. The distinction is that any "fringe" attacks from the left during the Bush years weren't mainstreamed and legitimized the way the wingnut attacks are today, even though the fringe attacks from the left turned out to be mostly accurate.

Continue reading http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-impeachment-of-presid_b_297330.html

Teabagging Liars

In case you missed the gathering of the teabagging wingnuts yesterday, here's a pic from Crooks and Liars. Please note that the wingnuts greatly exaggerated the number of them in attendance at the Hate Fest in DC.

ABC News also called them out for claiming greater numbers than were actually there.

Full DHS Report on Right-Wing Extremism

DHS Report on Right Wing Extremism - Free Legal Forms

Mitch McConnell: "Republicans are more fun and interesting people."

:: While the GOP has definitely become the party of clowns, I don't think too many people would describe them as "fun" and "interesting".
From HUFFPOST:

In his CPAC speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted that conservatives are more "interesting" and "fun" than liberals. Here's his proof: "who wants to hang out with guys like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich when you can be with Rush Limbaugh?"
And you can taste the difference, too! After all, Paul Krugman is an economist who worries that Obama might fail to restore the economy. Whereas Limbaugh is a radio talk show host who hopes Obama might fail to restore the economy. Which one sounds more "fun" to you?

And honestly, is a nuke directed at Chicago really very funny?.

Here's a prime example from the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.:

This morning, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He tried to up the fear quotient in the room by raising the prospect of an Iranian-sent nuclear attack on an American city. "It's [a] tiny [threat] compared to the Soviet Union," Bolton said, "but is the loss of one American city -- pick one at random: Chicago -- is that a tiny threat?" The audience erupted in cheers and laughter at the idea of Obama's home city being obliterated.

That's truly hilarious, isn't it--the nearly three million Americans who live in the third largest city in the U.S. wiped out in a nuclear holocaust? Definitely worth laughing at and, yes, cheering for.

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At C-PAC, Day 2: Cornyn Pleads for Moderation, Even as the Wingnuts Seek Revolution

:: It is a true pity that moderation, and the GOP, have long since parted ways. Nice try, Cornyn. Your brethren are not smart enough to listen.

From HUFFPOST:

"I would rather have a Republican who votes with me 80 percent of the time than a liberal Democrat who would vote with me 0 percent of the time," said the Texas Republican. "I understand that occasionally we get frustrated by the way that some of my colleagues vote, I do too. But a circular firing squad is no solution to the problems our party faces right now."

It was one of the few times that the audience had been asked to put aside their ideological orthodoxy in exchange for electoral leverage. Indeed, the vast majority of speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference had enthusiastically rejected the notion that the Republican Party needed a re-thinking of its philosophical pillars. What was needed, they offered, was firmer, more passionate and aggressive opposition to the Democratic powers that be. As if on cue, the very next speaker to address the crowd, Sen. Jim DeMint, laced into congressional leadership -- accusing it of a lack of willingness to say the word "freedom" -- and the president himself, calling Barack Obama "the world's best salesman of socialism."

Personally, I find it very amusing, as well as disgusting how the GOP consistently attacks spending when out of power; when back in power, the GOP spends like a 16-year-old girl with her daddy's credit card. And,  the GOP only spends the $ on the very wealthy. The GOP is the party that epitomizes pure GREED.
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Update on RNC Chair Race

:: UPDATE - 4:04PM:  Michael Steele will be the next RNC chairman, and the RNC's first African-American chairman.

:: The RNC is today electing a new chairman, with the battle seemingly between social and fiscal conservatives. Sprinkle on some issues involving race, it becomes more complicated.

Yesterday, Chip Saltzman withdrew from the race for the chairmanship of the RNC after another of his favorite little tunes was exposed, from the same cd that Saltzman distributed previously, which contained the racist song, "Barack, the Magic Negro".  This song, "The Star Spanglish Banner", is now under fire from enraged immigration groups. By the way, both songs were written by the same author, Paul Shankin.

Today, Mike Duncan, the current chairman of the RNC, appointed by Bush in 2007, has withdrawn from the race, after the third ballot,

In the lead currently is Katon Dawson, a social conservative, but MIchael Steele, the former lt. governor of Maryland, a fiscal conservative, and an African-American, is close behind him.

From HuffPost- bolding is mine:

This is shaping up to be a new direction v. social conservative showdown, one with racial components as well: Steele is African-American while Dawson once belonged to a white's only country club. The deciding factor, it seems, will be whom Anuzis and Blackwell instruct their backers to support.

UPDATE - 4:00PM: Steele is now ahead by a margin of 10 votes in the 5th ballot, and is now 6 votes away from the 85 needed for victory.

UPDATE - 4:00PM: Michael Steele is the next RNC chairman; he won the final ballot by 91-77. The RNC's first African-American chairman.

Daily Political News Summary - Thursday, December 11, 2008

:: The unfortunate state of the auto bailout.

I've been avoiding this topic all day, hoping that the news would be better by the end of it. No such luck, I'm sorry to say. My prediction - it won't get past the GOP in the Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor, the auto industry and lawmakers bargained in unprecedented private talks in the Capitol Thursday night, struggling to salvage a $14 billion government bailout of the Big Three carmakers.
"We're closer to agreement," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said after several hours of talks, although he also said an accord remained elusive.
Officials said the negotiations centered on possible wage and benefit concessions from the United Auto Workers union as well as large-scale debt restructuring by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.  Chicago Tribune

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:: Obama faces the Blagojevich scandal head on, with his usual sense of integrity.

At the Obama presser today, Obama didn't wait for the press corps to bring up Gov. Blagojevich. He brought it up, told us what he knows, and told us what he's going to do about it. Watch the video and/or read the transcript.

| Analysis: Illinois scandal gives Obama chance to set himself apart and burnish 'change' image
| Obama declares his staff not involved in Ill. governor scandal, orders internal probe anyway

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:: 73% of adult Americans approve of Obama's handling of the transition, and his preparations for taking office in January.

A really excellent polling result, indicating that Obama has been able to win over many McCain voters, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Overall, a majority of Americans are confident in Mr. Obama's ability to govern and unify the country, with many who didn't vote for him now seeing him in a positive light. The poll found that 73% of adults approve of the way he is handling the transition and his preparations for becoming president. 

Polling indicates that the nation is more unified around Mr. Obama than it was for either Bill Clinton in 1992 or George W. Bush in 2000. Americans say the challenges, too, are greater, with 77% of those surveyed predicting Mr. Obama will face bigger problems than most recent presidents have.  Wall Street Journal

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On Amendment 48, Measure 11, and Proposition 4

If you are pro-choice and live in California, Colorado or South Dakota, please help to defeat these ballot initiatives for they will eventually affect women nationwide.

The pro-life crowd may ever more frequently be heard saying "I'm pro-choice, but I believe that it should be decided by the states." Can you say "bait and switch" twice rapidly?  That is exactly what defines this statement, and here is why.

Local organizers have been busy at work pushing to get direct challenges to Roe Vs Wade on state ballots. Currently, three states have measures on their ballots which directly attack pro-choice.

Colorado is the most dangerous of the three as a challenge to Roe Vs Wade, and to the rights of women in the state of Colorado. Additionally, if Amendment 48 passes, women in Colorado may find it difficult to utilize certain types of contraception, fertility  and related treatments, thus affecting not only those who are pro-choice and wish to have an abortion, but affecting any woman who simply wishes to use contraception, etc., even the pro-life crowd.

The stewards of Measure 11 and Amendment 48 created these ballot initiatives in the knowledge that they will be challenged. They are gambling that when a challenge occurs, the Supreme Court will have enough conservative (via McCain selections) judges to overturn Roe Vs Wade.

1. California - Proposition 4 | would limit but not ban abortion by requiring parental notification for minors. ["Proposition 4 is endorsed by Americans United for Life, among others. This is an organization that has worked to slowly erode women's access to abortion care with bills that limit available abortion methods after 12 to 13 weeks of pregnancy; require waiting periods, biased counseling, and ultrasound viewings prior to an abortion; create burdensome and medically unnecessary regulations for abortion clinics; assert that fetuses feel pain during an abortion; and allow health care employees to refuse to counsel, refer, or treat patients for any service to which they object. In other words, Americans United for Life and its allies favor laws that make it exceptionally hard to get an abortion--through cost, distance, stigma, and delay--but do not explicitly ban abortion."  ........]
2. South Dakota - Measure 11 | would ban abortion except under very limited circumstances
3. Colorado - Amendment 48 | Would create a definition of a fertilized egg as a person, resulting in severe restrictions on access to abortion, fertility treatments, birth control, and stem cell research.

Videos after the jump. Cross-posted on Inspire Emotion.