In the Corner

I actually think the Christian wing of the GOP has painted itself into an interesting corner here. To fully support a 3rd party run would show the limits of their voting power, which I suspect would be hard-pressed to surpass Perot's 1992 numbers. Maybe a 20-24% cap, the Bush base. But the entire party apparatus is dominated by this segment of the party. I agree with what Digby said, "they are in politics for the long run", and this run started possibly as far back as 1976, when they almost forced a Ford-Reagan "co-presidency" ticket. Since then, true believers (or at least those who dare not cross the God faction) have aggressively sought and won spots in the power structure from the top on down to the county chairs.

So what I see is a Titanic of a party, unable to change course for this election cycle, and almost certainly not for 2012 and maybe beyond. Determined to represent "values", but the "values" now in full display by the GOP are turning independent voters away. Without votes from the middle, or with the Christian wing going on it's own, either way the Republicans will have minority status for years to come. So I don't see the religious right leaving the GOP for another minority party, and I doubt the GOP can rid itself of them.

Brokered convention, anyone? And if Rudy manages to get the nod there, I think the GOP GOTV will go MIA.

Rudy!

Update:
Ok, I see Howie got there first. DWT!

Memo to Congress: Re: "Betrayus"

Memo to Congress: Re: "Betrayus"

No. YOU sit down, YOU shut the fuck up, YOU listen to US.

5 words:

Colin Powell.

End this war.

Signed,
2/3 of We the People
(some of whom are members of MoveOn.org)

p.s. And don't even THINK about starting another goddamn war.

Separated at Birth?

Fred Dalton Thompson















Vigo the Carpathian

In earlier days, they would have called us blasphemers, and simply burnt us at the stake

Ah, the Internet. Sweet bastion of free speech (so far) and home of the blog, a virtually limitless forum for dissemination and discussion. They provide the ability write and link to other writings so freely that it all can resemble a casual conversation between friends. And as friends sometimes do, the "coarseness" of some speech can itself become a topic. To them I say, then take a walk. Be alone with your Purity of Essence.

Too bad that the normal real-life response to encountering such a discussion is not also the rule online. If Someone walks up to a group of people chattering excitedly about a hot topic that interests them and wishes to chime in, the context matters a great deal. This group was already here, and they have established a norm that they are all comfortable with. Does anybody there know this Someone? A friend's voice is always welcome. And if this "friend" leaps in with a snide comment about the coarse language they are hearing, they are likely to either kill the conversation or to evoke a response like, "And who the fuck are you again? Who knows this guy?". Turns out nobody does, and the consensus is, Go to the PTA if you want a civil discussion. We're trying to stop another goddamn war here. If you wanna talk about that, have a seat.

And Someone walks away, looking for Someone else to cry to, about how badly the Dirty Fucking Hippies treated him. Swearing like a bunch of sailors.

My grandfather Jack was a sailor, serving in the Pacific in WWII. Around the time I came along in the late 50's, he bought The West Branch Times and ran the small-town paper for 25 years until retiring. And as the editor, he wrote the editorials during a period that spanned Sputnik and the Space Shuttle. Editorials about Vietnam, civil rights, the loss of a President and his brother, who would have been President. I once heard him say that a Republican would piss on your leg and try to tell you it's raining. Some things never change. But for the most part my folks kept me away from the places where people talked like adults until my tender ears were ready. You have to wonder how all those easily offended types ever survived Cable TV.

The blog concept runs completely counter to the authoritarian bent of the Right. As much as they claim to hate the "liberal" media, in order to start a war for pure neocon theories they truly needed a backup propaganda outlet besides the official government channels. And that same "liberal" media happily passed on the disinformation. Corporate consolidation has so poisoned the old media that if blogs did not exist, we would have created something else, some other detour around the power structure to find more credible sources. Because our lives depend on it, and because that shit positively drives them up the wall.

So. They wanna complain about us DFH's. Yeah, well, tough. Take a walk. See there? I could have sworn at them too, but I didn't want that kind of emphasis right there. And so, unable to control our speech, on their own blogs, they look for ways to bring back the fucking stake. Very Christian of them.

Impeach Gonzalez First

Crooks and Liars » Colbert Defends Alberto Gonzalez

Can you believe that sonofabitch? He said this UNDER OATH.

Impeach Gonzalez first.

Blogging for Choice - The True Choice

My personal philosophy on abortion?

Those not born with the ability to conceive, really have no vote in the matter. I know if I really wanted to (for instance) sterilize myself badly enough, you can bet I'd find a way. The potential for procreation is enough motivation.

Ok. Now that that's out of the way, what is the real choice here? Is it as the pro-lifers say, a choice to affirm life, or to opt for personal convenience (and murder)? OR is it the ability of a woman to choose how, when, and for what her body is used? Yeah, no, I don't know, who cares. Absolutism in the defense of ideology is the norm. God. I am so sick of the debate being framed in those terms.

I care about the enforcement end of the first position's characterization.

Yeah, I'm talking Johnny Law. You know. We write the laws, he enforces them. Does anyone in their right minds think that, for instance, South Dakota's recently defeated Rapist's Parental Protection Act would be the final stop on the war to control the act of conception? That law banned all but a single type of abortion procedure; those performed "when the life of the mother was in immediate danger." So the logical target for enforcement efforts would be the abortion providers. The doctors and clinics could no longer provide the procedure legally and would cease altogether. A static target taken out, victory for the God Squad. And - the number of abortions sought and received by the women of South Dakota would.....drum roll please!.....Not be zero? I can guarantee that. I can also guarantee that those who can afford it, will take a trip to Iowa or Colorado or Canada and reclaim control of their bodies.

Ahh, now the race to the bottom begins. The theocrats will next demand laws to prohibit interstate travel for having an abortion. And no, you can't take someone else there. Looks like we'd better revamp the state border crossings to include an area for strip searches and pregnancy tests. Enforcement, remember? Meanwhile, on the medical front, a thriving black market in Plan B pregnancy prevention doses and probably abortifacients like RU-486 begins to create incentives for other drugs or genetically derived solutions to the New Prohibition. So, now we need regular blood tests too.

I've written previously about what I think the theocratic agenda is on sex in general. In the long run, the only solution, the only way to know if a woman has prevented a pregnancy, or has somehow acted to end a pregnancy (and therefore has sinned against the government of Jesusland) is to count those eggs, baby. They'll have to start monitoring before the first ovum is released and will need an explanation for how that egg and each of the following eggs ended up. "You had a miscarriage? That must be the 100th time I've heard that one. Put on the hood, ma'am. Let's go."

I hereby nominate James Dobson as the first Minister of the Ovarian Census.

Is the true choice clearer now?

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for the hat tip

As a regular reader, I was looking for a clip from this hearing and posted a comment to that effect, I'm grateful to SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars for posting it and alerting other readers. I'm not a dedicated blogger, I use this site as more of an editorial page, for my own "Special Comment" when I feel so inspired. Hope you like it.

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C-SPAN’s Potty Mouth Broadcast

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