Tea Party and Michele Bachmann Embrace the Bigots Again
The news is all about how John McCain “blasts unjust attacks” by Michele Bachmann on Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton in the Department of State. What the news should be about, however, is that once again the tea party has gone for the bigot vote.
It is despicable that the tea party represents bigotry. The tea party rallied around Donald Trump only after he made bigoted remarks. The tea party rallied around Herman Cain only after he made bigoted remarks. The tea party rallied around Rick Santorum only after he made bigoted remarks.
And now Michele Bachmann is trying to get the tea party (whose caucus she leads in the House) to rally around her – by offering egregiously dishonest and bigoted remarks!
Where is the rest of the Republican party? Why haven’t they stood up to Bachmann’s bigotry? Why? Because the Republican party has embraced the bigots in America. Their nominee, Mitt Romney, rather than speaking out against bigotry is cozying up to Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh while they spew bigotry. Without the bigots the Republicans cannot win. After all, the Republican party has waged war on immigrants, gays, women, Muslims, minorities, and pretty much anyone who isn’t a white male evangelical Christian. They figure that since they have disdained everyone else they have to encourage the bigots to come out and vote for them.
You can see the bigotry and dishonesty of the tea party in full neon here on Gather.
It’s disgusting. And it is NOT America.
Hilary Rosen, Ann Romney and the Dishonesty of the Republican Party
By now everyone has heard of Hilary Rosen and her comments related to Mitt Romney’s touting of his wife Ann as his go-to person on women’s economic issues. The Rosen comment is a perfect example of how the Republican party has devolved into abject dishonesty. After her comment the Republicans immediately extracted it from its context and created a completely new – and false – meaning for it, which they then have been browbeating to death. The goal is to distract from the original point.
So no, Rosen wasn’t saying anything against mothers, women, or any of the other straw men (or straw women) that the GOP has created out of whole cloth. She wasn’t even chastising Ann Romney for her choice to be a full time mom. Her point was directly, clearly, and unambiguously about the hypocrisy of Mitt Romney’s touting of his wife as some sort of mentor on “women’s economic issues.”
That concept is, of course, ludicrous. Mrs. Romney has zero experience dealing with “women’s economic issues.” She has enjoyed an economic life of comfort, attending private schools when young and then being considerably wealthy for most of her adult life (can we say “dressage”). She chose to be a stay at home mom to their five children and has endured serious medical issues, and done so with aplomb. Everyone acknowledges both her contributions and her tribulations. That isn’t the point.
The point is that she has had the major advantage of not having to worry about money while facing these motherhood and medical issues. “Women’s economic issues” were never even relevant to her decision-making or her ability to successfully raise a family. The same cannot be said for the other 99.9% of women and families. For the “not fabulously wealthy” of us, being a stay at home mom is not always a choice; it may simply be that day care costs would exceed the income generated from working outside the home. For most people a two-income family is a necessity, not a choice (even Mitt has admitted this as he sought to restrict funding for young mothers). And as far as Mrs. Romney’s medical issues, most people would have had to worry about both the costs of insurance coverage and the very real possibility that they would be dumped by their carrier for having the audacity to actually make a claim. Mrs. Romney did not have this concern.
In fact, Mitt Romney wasn’t even being serious when he said that he turns to his wife for “women’s economic issues.” He was merely trying to deflect an awkward question for which he knew he didn’t have an answer – why is the Republican party so arrogantly hostile to women? [The same can be said of the party being arrogantly hostile to gays, non-Christians, anyone not the super-rich, minorities, and a whole host of other groups that make up, well, the vast majority of Americans.]
It is this jokingly-offered ludicrous attempt at deflection to which Ms. Rosen was alluding when she made her comment. Romney’s stumbling assertion that a rich woman with no real economic concerns would be his source of insight for “women’s economic issues.”
But not wanting to miss a political opportunity, the Republicans took advantage of Rosen’s statement to create their lie and saturate the media with it. Their goal was to use a dishonestly reinterpreted comment by one of the thousands of self-avowed “strategists” as a means of distracting from the Republican party’s constant attacks on women’s rights.
Remember that prior to this fake controversy arising it was the Republicans who were spending considerable time arguing against something as basic as a women’s right to contraception. It is the Republicans who have been trying to roll back the legal right of women to make their own reproductive choices. It is the Republicans who have gone so far as to pass a law saying that women are pregnant two weeks before they even have sex, and that they must undergo an invasive medical procedure and be forced to adhere to the wishes of politicians prior to making the already difficult choice to do something they have the legal right to do. And those are only the most recent examples. The Republican party has a long history of attacking the very issues that allow most women to participate in the American dream. The very “women’s economic issues” Mitt Romney ridiculously asserted his wife is his source of guidance.
It’s clear why the Republicans have jumped at Rosen’s statement and intentionally reinterpreted it in their usual dishonest way – they recognize that American women are tired of having their rights attacked by Republican politicians and extremist religious zealots.
Does Santorum live in the United States?
Rick Santorum is giving his speech in Ohio before the votes are counted. That in itself says something.
But listening to his speech begs the question – what country does this guy live in? He seems to think he lives in a theocratic country, Iran perhaps?
In short, he seems unable to say anything that is remotely related to actual fact. He’s one bumper sticker after another. And I’m not holding him to a normal standard of actually being honest and reality based. After all, he’s a politician. But listening to him I have to wonder if he’s simply gone off into some parallel universe in which reality is whatever rhetoric he can come up with.
I’m sorry to be blunt, but the guy is unreal. Not only has he shown over the last few months that he is a maniacal bigot, he just seems not to realize that people actually are not all as uniformed as his rhetoric suggests he believes they must be.
Okay, Santorum won Tennesee and Oklahoma. That tells you something. What is interesting is that he is slightly ahead of Romney in Ohio with about a third of the vote in as I write this. That doesn’t bode well for Romney. But we’ll see that it bodes very well for Obama given Romney’s utter disconnect from anyone who isn’t a $200 millionaire.
Is this thing over yet? Seriously. The Republican party has effectively demonstrated that it is incapable of governing this country. Blame it on the tea party bigots.
Next.
Rick Santorum Goes All In for the Tea Party Bigot Vote
Rick Santorum, already known as an anti-gay bigot, has decided to shelve any pretense and go straight for the tea party bigot vote.
As we know, the tea party has embraced the bigoted factions of America whole-heartedly. They elevated Donald Trump to a ridiculous pedestal only after he went all birther on us. They elevated Herman Cain immediately after he repeatedly showed his anti-Muslim bigotry. And these are just a couple examples of how the tea party has rewarded abject bigotry with support for the candidate who expressed the bigoted views. Santorum has long gotten the anti-gay bigots in his camp. Today he went for the rest of the bigots.
Santorum today expressed this:
“Slamming the president’s agenda on a range of points, Santorum said the agenda is “not about you. It’s not about your quality of life. It’s not about your jobs. It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology, but no less a theology.”
When pressed to explain what he meant:
He insisted he wasn’t suggesting Obama, a Christian who has spent years getting hit with false rumors that he’s a Muslim, is less of a Christian.
“No one’s suggesting that,” he said. “I’m suggesting, obviously we all know in the Christian church there are a lot of different stripes of Christianity. I’m just saying he’s imposing his values on the church and I think that’s wrong…If the president says he’s a Christian he’s a Christian.”
Ah, the bigot code words – “If he says he’s a Christian…” Wink, wink, nod, nod…He “says” he’s a Christian…and the anti-Muslim, anti-minority, anti-anyone who doesn’t fit the tea party’s idea of “the right kind of American” goes wild.
Why is it that the Republican party, and in party the extremist tea party wing that has taken it hostage, is so damn bigoted? This is not a Republican party that deserves any respect. It’s time for the party to tell these extremist bigots that bigotry is unacceptable in America. Not for anyone, and most certainly not by anyone who wants to be President.
Donald Trump Endorses Gingrich…No Wait…Romney…No Wait…
In the never ending sideshow called the Republican nomination process, the tea party was all abuzz that famed hair piece holder Donald Trump would today announce his endorsement of Newt Gingrich for President of these here United States of America. Now why anyone would think that a Donald Trump endorsement is something to, well, trumpet, is beyond comprehension. But hey, the tea party reveled in the news.
It turns out that the news – like virtually everything the tea party believes – was false.
Trump is endorsing Mitt Romney.
Oops.
Yes, Donald Trump, the man who faked a run for the Presidency (again) and suckered the tea party into anointing him “savior of the week” immediately after making racist comments, has decided that someone must actually care that he is endorsing a candidate for the Republican nomination. And to make sure that he got credit for picking the right horse he conveniently waited until the horse was touching his hoof on the finish line while the other horses were still being dragged by their riders around the fourth turn. Yep, Trump’s endorsement will sure give Romney a boost.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Mitt Wins Florida – What Does Newt Do?
First off – Mitt? Newt? Barack? And they say the US isn’t a melting pot.
Anyway, Mitt Romney is likely to win the Florida primary by a significant margin today, with Gingrich a distant second and Rick Santorum and Ron Paul barely registering. And with the next few primaries/caucuses favoring Romney while Gingrich is short on cash (other than the bankroll one donor has given to his Super PAC), Gingrich is not in a particularly good position.
But wait. Florida lost half its delegates by breaking the rules and moving its primary up, so even though it technically is winner-take-all there is a move afoot to have the delegate count split at the convention (needless to say, that move is afooted by Gingrich supporters). Don’t forget the Iowa delegates are not bound by the vote and going into Florida Gingrich actually has 2 more delegates than Romney. And after April 1 all the states will be winner-take-all, so if Gingrich can get a head of steam he would theoretically have a chance to overtake Romney.
And of course Romney could implode like all the candidates before him.
So Gingrich has enough to convince himself to stay in for the long haul, assuming he can talk Santorum into dropping out and he can convince the conservative wing that he can lay a mitt on Mitt if given the finances to compete with ad buys.
Stay tuned. This could get interesting.
Cain Endorses Gingrich – Romney Rejoices!
In breaking news Herman Cain is endorsing Newt Gingrich in the Republican race for the nomination.
Mitt Romney breathes a sigh of relief. Begins preparing for the general election.
Think about it. Herman Cain. The man who dropped out of the race after a “lady friend” of his went public with what she claims was a 13-year affair. The man who had several women file sexual harassment charges against him 20 years ago. The man whose 9-9-9 plan would have raised taxes on the middle class and poor but lowered taxes on the super-rich, all while dramatically increasing the debt. That Herman Cain has officially endorsed Newt Gingrich for the nomination.
The Newt Gingrich whose 2nd ex-wife recently accused him of asking for an “open marriage” so he could dawdle with the woman with whom he had been having an affair.
For those values voters who seem confused, let’s recap:
Gingrich’s first wife was his former high school teacher. He married her when he was 19 years old and she was 26. One wonders when they started their relationship given Gingrich’s age.
Apparently bored with the older wife, Gingrich left her after beginning an affair with the woman who would become his 2nd wife, a woman who was 9 years younger than he.
Then, not long after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Gingrich divorced her to married his 3rd (and current) wife, with whom he had been carrying on an affair for some time. This wife was 23 years younger than him and was a staffer in the House of Representatives. So yes, Gingrich was impeaching President Clinton for having his intern escapades while Gingrich himself was actively engaging in his latest affair with a young Congressional staffer. One has to marvel at Gingrich’s ability to compartmentalize in order to avoid impeaching himself for such blatant hypocrisy.
In any case, it does seem that Cain and Gingrich have some things in common, though it’s uncertain whether this is the reason behind Cain’s endorsement.
The net effect, of course, is, well, actually, not really that much. After all, this is Herman Cain we’re talking about. It’s not like an endorsement from him carries a whole lot of weight. But it does help Mitt Romney. Romney’s biggest problem is that he has had to cant so far to the right to get the tea party bigot vote that he has been hemorrhaging independent and moderate voters left and right (and middle). With Cain offering to help solidify Gingrich’s extremist right vote, thus eliminating any chance of winning the primary in Florida or the caucuses in Nevada, the contrast allows Romney to start trying to track back towards the middle.
Or not.
Way to go, Herman Cain!
Rick Perry Drops Out – Romney Heads to the Cayman Islands!
Tea party savior of last week Rick Perry is dropping out of the Republican primary race after being ignored in New Hampshire (and most other places). His departure won’t change much as the three individual people who would have voted for him in South Carolina will probably split their votes between the other tea party flavors left unlicked.
But his departure does demonstrate one thing that is incredibly important – the tea party begged him to jump into the race because they thought everyone else was woefully insufficient. That didn’t stop them for raising those same others up on a pedestal in succession, the pedestal from which they fell face first into the mud once people started paying attention to what they had to say. Think Yertle the Turtle and you get the idea. Spaalaaaat.
This is who the tea party picks – Michele Bachmann (out), Donald Trump (not ever in, but the tea party begged the tycoon buffoon to run), Herman Cain (out and hiding from several women, think The Eagles), and, well, you get it. Throw in Sarah Palin and you have some of the most unaccomplished “leaders” in America.
Which gets us to Mitt Romney. PGH will have more on him later, but the latest news from Mr. $374,000 is “not very much” for speaking fees (plus millions of dollars in other income taxed at only 15%) is that he’s a poster child for how the super-rich get to hide much of their income from US taxation by popping it off to a beach resort in the Cayman Islands.
Oh, and he actually pulled back his hand that he had outstretched to the person speaking to him when he found out the person was “undocumented.” Ooh, cooties.
More to come.
Political Gum Hockey
He said what?
Political Gum Hockey 