Inspire Political Discourse

DRUDGE BYTES, or CRAZY WINGNUTS RANT

Yeah, I recognize an oxymoron when I type it, but sometimes, only an oxymoron will do.

Today's Drudge bytes are just more of the same old attempt to delegitimize this President, and have no basis in reality.

GINGRICH: Obama 'most radical president ever'...

LIMBAUGH: Obama 'inflicting untold damage on this great country'...

PALIN: Obama's Nuke Stance Like Kid Who Says 'Punch Me in Face'...

LIZ CHENEY: Obama Putting America on 'Path to Decline'...

HANNITY: Obama 'Is a Socialist'...

SAVAGE: 'Obama The Destroyer'...

An excellent response to the seditious racists via Bob Cesca:

Okay, let's look at the numbers since radical, socialist, damaging President Obama was inaugurated.

---The Dow? Up from 7,000 to 11,000.

---Jobs? 700,000 losses a month to 160,000 jobs created.

---Recovery/Stimulus Act? Added 1.8 million jobs.

---GDP (economic growth)? -6 percent to +6 percent. (Technically, the recession is over.)

---Housing prices? Up 20%.

OH HOLY SHIT! What a nightmare! IEEEEEEEEEEEE! Impeach!

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Republican Language BS101

Factory  = Marxist word

Storefront = Marxist word

Worker = Marxist word

Via Media Matters.

David Plouffe Takes Aim at the New Leader of the GOP

:: David Plouffe provides some perspective for the party of "NO!" on their choice of Rush Limbaugh-aka-the-sphereazoid-sleazy-manhood-cruncher-former?-druggie-I-hope-Obama-fails-right-wing-radio-show-lunatic, as their new leader.

Aren't you people (Republicans) embarrassed? For gawd's sake, the GOP has become a party ruled by 6-year-olds! From The Washington Post:

The 2008 election sent many messages. At the top: Americans wanted to turn the page on the politics of division and partisan pettiness, and they wanted a government -- and country -- that would put the middle class first.

Watching the Republicans operate this past month, it would appear that they missed that unmistakable signal.

Instead, Rush Limbaugh has become their leader.

Limbaugh, of course, told his radio listeners that he's rooting for President Obama to fail -- and hoping the president's ideas for bolstering our economy fail with him. For many Americans, hungry for leadership and cooperation, this sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. When Limbaugh reiterated the sentiment this weekend, hundreds of Republican conservatives cheered him on. But instead of rebuking the radio personality or charting their own course, Republican leaders in Washington are paralyzed with fear of crossing their leader. Less than 24 hours after committing the unforgivable sin of criticizing Limbaugh, RNC Chairman Michael Steele felt compelled to publicly apologize. He was not the first and will certainly not be the last.

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Michael Steele: No Steel in His Manhood

One of a number of prominent conservatives attempting to distance themselves from the new Republican leader(I am referring to the defacto leader, Limbaugh, not Steele), Joe Scarborough on Steele's apology to Rush Limbaugh:

"I'm afraid that Rush put Michael Steele's manhood in a lockbox"

And Jason Linkins on The Huffington Post:

RNC Chair Michael Steele, who's made all of the wrong kinds of news this week after he offered Rush Limbaugh a stooping apology for comments he made on CNN's D.L. Hughley Breaks the News, was the subject of a series of acid-tipped disses on this morning's Morning Joe, after canceling his planned appearance. Led by an unabashedly sharp-tongued Joe Scarborough, Steele was viciously mocked at seemingly every lull in the conversation, as the hosts speculated over whether or not Rush Limbaugh had given Steele a "permission slip" to come on the air.

Conservative opinions:
:: David Frum on Rush Limbaugh: The Republican Party's very own Jesse Jackson
:: Rush and Oprah
Video Source: County Fair
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WATCH: Rush Limbaugh Versus Michael Steele

:: Steele, annoyed by CNN's D.L. Hughley, who referred to radio host Rush Limbaugh as "the de facto leader of the Republican party", says "NOT. I am the defacto leader of the Republican party."
Steele goes on to say that Limbaugh is nothing more than an "entertainer" whose radio broadcast is "incendiary" and "ugly".

As was predictable, Limbaugh responded like the puffed-up pig he is, on his radio show today.

From HUFFPOST:

"So I am an entertainer and I have 20 million listeners because of my great song and dance routine," Limbaugh said. "Michael Steele, you are head of the Republican National Committee. You are not head of the Republican party. Tens of millions of conservatives and Republicans have nothing to do with the Republican National Committee...and when you call them asking for money, they hang up on you."

"I hope that changes," Limbaugh continued. "It's time, Mr. Steele, for you to go behind the scenes and start doing the work that you were elected to do instead of being some talking-head media star."

What a completely laughable entity the GOP has become.

Robert Gibbs' comments on Limbaugh today.
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Rush Limbaugh: the Real Leader of the GOP

Pat Robertson Takes a Swing at Rush Limbaugh

:: Robertson, apparently disgusted by Limbaugh's remarks about President Obama and Limbaugh's hope that the Pres fails, had this to say in a recent interview. From US News:

Q. - So you don't subscribe to Rush Limbaugh's "I hope he fails" school of thought?
“That was a terrible thing to say. I mean, he's the president of all the country. If he succeeds, the country succeeds. And if he doesn't, it hurts us all. Anybody who would pull against our president is not exactly thinking rationally.”

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Rush Limbaugh Wants Everything to Fail

:: You may recall that approx a month ago, Limbaugh said "I disagree fervently with the people on our [Republican] side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well, I hope [President Obama] succeeds.' ... I hope Obama fails. Somebody's gotta say it."
Limbaugh now goes for broke, and states: "I want everything he's doing to do to fail... I want the stimulus package to fail.... I do not want this to succeed."

And this guy is the shining light of the Republican Party. Could he possibly be any more ANTI-American????

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How the Republican Party Has Defined Itself, and What We Must Do About It

I hate that I have been unable to report the political news for the past two weeks. In part because I truly enjoy it, but primarily because it has been completely mind-boggling to watch the GOP as they finish themselves off via their refusal to work for their constituents and their country rather than the corporate interests who put them in office, and the party who now claims Rush Limbaugh as it's fearless leader, and Joe-the-not-a-plumber as a valued adviser (and don't even let me get started on Joe-the-freaking-loser-idiot!!).

On the other hand, I believe that it is naive to expect the GOP to work in concert with a Democratic leadership. Good for the country though it would most certainly be, the Republicans have shown complete disdain for Democrats for at least 28 years now, and during the reign of Bush-the-Fascist-King, the intensity of that disdain only grew ever larger. The Republican party with whom we often managed to find consensus in the distant past, is gone. In it's place is a a theo-fascist amalgam which seeks to serve only itself and corporate interests. That amalgam, combined with their unwillingness to live up to their original credo, and go for fiscal restraint, makes them a very out-dated, and dangerous force in this country, and yet still a force with which we must deal, until they go the way of the Whig party. More on the dealing with the Repubs in a later post.

At this point, the GOP has become, through it's own doing, nothing more than a regional fringe party for the wealthy, and the stupid, with common ground in their worship of theocratic values, social absence, and civil inequality. These people are not our partners or friends, in fact, they demonize and disdain everything even approaching liberal thought. We must make sure that they are even further marginalized and made completely irrelevant prior to the 2010 elections. We can not afford not to. 

 

Frank Rich/NYT on Michael Steele:

Steele’s argument against the stimulus package is that “in the history of mankind” no “federal, state or local” government has ever “created one job.” As it happens, among the millions of jobs created by the government are the federal investigators now pursuing Steele for alleged financial improprieties in his failed 2006 Senate campaign.

IPD Random Politics Weekly - February 1, 2009

Cartoon by Dan Wasserman

 

Where's the loyalty? Phil Gingrey, in his short-lived blast @ Rush Limbaugh, thoroughly emasculated in front of the world. The two GOP tools he was defending, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, watched without lifting the proverbial finger. Gingrey is forced to apologize to Limbaugh. McConnell and Boehner are completely pathetic asses. [H/T Jason Linkins]

Johnny and Rush -  John McCain, who has long loved to call himself bipartisan, and sure as hell shoved it down our throats falsely when campaigning, stands up for NO. 1 GOP partisan, Rush Limbaugh in his assholishness towards President Obama.
McCain.YOU.SUCK. Limbaugh.YOU.SUCK.MORE.

The Dems and the business tax cuts -  Give it up. The partisan Repugs are not holding out a vote, they are holding out forked, sharp sticks. Take the damn business tax cuts back out, and tell 'em to screw themselves. We have a freaking majority. Use that power. Repugs = IRRELEVANT.

President Obama, and the 111th Congress -  Wall Street needs to understand that they can not take taxpayer money and then proceed to do business as freaking usual. Make them take back those bonuses and put someone in place to monitor their every idiotic move. You owe it to us. The American taxpayers. Really. DO. IT. 2012 is approaching.

That's it for this week, unless you have something to add via a comment.

Political News Summary: Wednesday, January 28, 2009

:: More on HuffPost re Republican behavior (besides, I had to share this great graphic from HP). The headline over the elephant pic reads "Toeing the Party Line". Gotta admit, we Dems have a much keener sense of humor than the Repubs. Oh, and by the time you click on this link, the headline and the image may be different because it's on the HuffPost home page. From HUFFPOST:

:: On Republican behavior. From Bob Cesca (I love this guy):

Political News Summary: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

:: Rush Limbaugh copies GOP liars, makes false claim that ACORN is mentioned in the stimulus and will receive $4.19 billion. What a sad loser cherub-cheeked Rushie is...... From Media Matters:

Summary: Parroting GOP talking points, Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed $4.19 billion of President Barack Obama's economic recovery package "is going to ACORN." In fact, the bill does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding.

TAGS: Rush Limbaugh, Conservative Pundits, GOP/Republicans, President Obama, LIES,
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Weekend Political News Summary: January 24-25, 2009

:: SURPRISE....No comprehensive case files on many Guantanamo detainees. From the Washington Post:

President Obama's plans to expeditiously determine the fates of about 245 terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and quickly close the military prison there were set back last week when incoming legal and national security officials -- barred until the inauguration from examining classified material on the detainees -- discovered that there were no comprehensive case files on many of them.

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:: Palin aides being charged with new ethics violations. From HUFFPOST:

In her current complaint against McAllister, McLeod sites a series of activities that she contends violate Alaska's "Executive Branch Code of Ethics," which prohibits public officials from using or authorizing "the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource for partisan political purposes."

"These campaign activities have absolutely nothing to do with the public's business, and everything to do with promoting Palin's personal endeavors and political aspirations," McLeod declared in an exclusive interview. "This must not go unchallenged."

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:: According to the complete dick, Rush Limbaugh, Republicans should be against the stimulus plan because it could hurt their electoral chances. Politics as usual. From Think Progress:

Political News Summary: Tuesday, January 20, 2009

::The Pres,  the First Lady, and the first dance at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.
A gorgeous couple.

Photo courtesy of Huffpost. Click here to view the video on Huffpost.

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Political News Summary - Monday, December 15, 2008

:: Cheney denies perverting the constitution.

In an on-air interview with Rush Limbaugh [gag], via Politico, Cheney says that he believes that "the next president" will thank him for expanding presidential authority, and denies exceeding their constitutional authority.

"We did not exceed our constitutional authority, as some have suggested," Cheney added. "The President believes, I believe very deeply, in a strong executive, and I think that's essential in this day and age. And I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they'll find that given a challenge they face, they'll need all the authority they can muster."  POLITICO

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:: IPD Daily Cartoon Find

 

Bob Lang/Christmas Giving

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