Apparently, there is no talking to these people:
National Republican officials say they’ve done everything imaginable the past few years to convince the House rank-and-file that fiscal battles are eroding the party’s popularity and hurting its prospects in general elections. Trying again, they say, won’t do any good.
They don’t listen to their consultants; they don’t follow their leaders. The RNC came up with a game plan. No one cared.
Maybe we should just default on the debt.
Even then they’ve got so much Koch money and such safe districts and 25 million very angry voters homogeneously devoted to Fox lies and hate radio. I suspect a fair number of those Representatives are just itching to shut ‘er down and show the coloreds and libtards who is running this show. Then there are the more cunning neo-liberal very serious money men in the party (increasingly invisible yes but always there) who are happy to use teaparty extremism to take the economy hostage for the .1%.
Maybe we should let them shut it down is what I’m saying.
The Tea Party monster is out of control.
For years now these guys have lived in fear of being primaried from the right, but the inevitability of candidates appearing from the center may be coming down the pike. There’s only so much koolaid you can drink.
For years now these guys have lived in fear of being primaried from the right, but the inevitability of candidates appearing from the center may be coming down the pike.
Where? Where is the guy trying to primary Yurtle the Turtle coming from? Not from the center!!
I know, I know, I just had heard that comment from someone on MSNBC and thought how profoundly a mind warp that would be.
They’re called Democrats.
OT: Kangaroo Court, Part 2
The RNCC and others have discovered what everyone else figured out years ago — you can’t refute a theology with facts.
They’re dealing with true believers, who consider the story of Masada to be a breakthrough in game theory, and Samson eyeless in Gaza a role model for fiscal policy.
What penalty have they paid for their extremism?
They’re crazy, but they’re not stupid. Until someone figures out how to change their incentives, there’s no reason for them to change.
They should have won the Senate in 2010. They should have won it again in 2012.
They didn’t, because they keep nominating nut jobs for races that remotely trustworthy, responsible people would have won.
I agree (really, Joe!). Indiana should have been a safe seat for them until they put up Mister “gift from God”
Harry Reid should be in private practice. Mike Castle, too. Colorado should have a Republican Senator.
Yes, they do have a tendency towards suicide, luckily.
Yes, but you’re talking about the party as a whole. Imagine you’re a conservative, and you can’t understand any unit larger than a single individual: yourself.
No Republican who is currently serving lost in 2010 or 2012. They paid no price. Now, the losers who lost? As you say, they paid a price–but they’re losing losers. Who cares about them?
The Republicans still in office? They are winners. Their strategy worked for them.
We’re a long way from the days of Tom Delay and the lockstep, national-majority-seeking Republican Party.
Okay. So?
I was going to pay off another loan in September, but seeing as the government might be shutdown, I’m just going to save all my moneys. Good job, Republicans. I thought they hated “uncertainty in the market”?
Speaking of, what’s your new address so I can send you money, B?
Tweety’s Let Me Finish from last night:
http://youtu.be/3qT82CCv240
Next summer is the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer.
I think it’s going to be a humdinger. And not just in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and other places that are curtailing voting rights.
I was driving through my town a couple of hours ago, on my way home from the grocery. The local Tea Party had set up a kiosk in a restaurant parking lot right in the middle of downtown. They had a big sign with one of those pictures of Obama sporting a Hitler mustache,and a a second sign telling everyone to “Pull Over And Help Impeach Obama”. Apparently, they have some kind of signature drive on a petition which is demanding his impeachment.
I tried like hell to get a picture of this, but the traffic lights didn’t cooperate.
Sometimes I feel like I am living in an alternate universe. These people are absolutely fucking insane.
Probably Lyndon LaRoche followers. The Obama-with-Hitler-mustache is their thing.
You are correct. That is who it was. Since the local Tea Party had promoted this event in their weekly e-mail blast, I made the assumption it was them.
There were some of those last week by me too, on a toll way overpass. Some crazy stuff.
Try shouting, “Wait until the Queen gets drones!” out the car window.
that is great!!!!
OT:
@WikileaksTruck is a NY artist who has been the sketch artist for folks covering the court martial of Bradley Manning. He also drives a truck painted with the Wikileaks logo and labeled Wikileaks Truck that has fake antennas and a fake satellite dish on it.
The judge in the court martial has banned this guy from further coverage of the trial on the grounds that he made threats to folks in the court martial. The judge also sealed the details that would justify the charge that he made threats. No one in the media pool or folks tracking @WikileaksTruck online has seen any threats.
Watch for more on this.
Update:
Sage advice.
Another update:
According to AP (apparently) @WikileaksTruck tweeted a motel address and implied that the prosecution was staying there. Per Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing.
It doesn’t sound to me like the kangaroos are the ones running court.
The AP information was not first-hand; it was leaked from the military.
The comments are based on treating that version as true.
Not sure what the truth is yet.
The military “subject matter expert” who was briefing reporters turned out to be a member of the prosecution team.
The judge allowed the prosecution to change a charge before closing statements.
And the judge is reported to be considered for a promotion to the court to which appeals would go.
There is a lot of data out there for my conclusion.
This will give you and introduction to the coverage. There are unofficial trial transcripts; the military has not made official transcripts available to the press.
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Judge for yourself.
I was watching fairly closely this afternoon on Twitter and I didn’t see anything .. and I follow @WikileaksTruck .. it would be weird if he tweeted what they claim .. because from what I’ve seen .. he just tweets stuff like Alexa O’Brien does .. basically relaying what happened through what ever feed they get .. and also .. as kind of a courtroom stenographer .. as he’s a pretty good artist .. so I hear
I’m wanting to see the actual copy of the Tweet instead of taking AP’s report of the military’s statement of it.
The results of some negotiating or media exposure?
My reading was that the court actions during the closing statements were to communicate Wikileaks=terrorists. Armed guards patrolling the media center loooking over reporters’ shoulders (even freaked out Charlie Savage of NYT) and then floating the idea through AP that @WikileakTruck, who is not connected to Wikileaks at all (it’s protest art) was leak the location of the prosecution team’s lodging. A little media theater.
Judge is deliberating in the courtroom today. Media is on hand. No idea of when verdict is due.
I feel for those “National Republican officials.”
I’ve been trying for years to get progressive internet commenters to believe that fiscal battles were eroding the Republican Party’s popularity and hurting its prospects in general elections.
People just have trouble believing that, I guess.
When year after year you hear “Democrats are on defense in the Senate” and the House majority endures despite being the losing party it’s hard to see. They’ve done so much damage, the mind shies away from the idea that had they been rational they’d be in power and in a position to do even worse damage.
The fragile American economic recovery is almost stalled and these jokers are stealing underpants.