Thread: GOP: now & in the future

Originally Posted by misskit

It's sinking in now. The Republicans are already taking about the next election and their chances of winning. (0%)

Gingrich on Meet the Press yesterday:

“I mean, if their competitor in ’16 ia going to be Hillary Clinton, supported by Bill Clinton, and presumably a still relatively popular President Barack Obama, trying to win that will be truly the Superbowl. And the Republican party today is incapable of competing at that level.”

Gingrich: GOP “is incapable of competing” if Hillary runs in 2016 - Salon.com

as long as Citizens United stands, the Republicans have a chance no matter how bad the outlook is.

Citizens United : really an abuse of democracy and equality

Another Republican clown car update.

GOP’s continued war on women,……

A gift from “we the people”,………Your sorry ass lost and not because of the media.

“After a bitter, hard-fought campaign, many Republicans all over the country were forced to accept defeat rather than celebrate victory. In our case, we found our campaign caught in the liberal media crosshairs. Never has Indiana seen a more obvious example of media bias by reporters more interested in defeating conservatives than reporting the news,” Mourdock Finance Director Ashlee Walls writes in a fundraising plea to supporters.

“We fought back and invested heavily in a last-minute push to combat the slew of false accusations Democrats and the liberal media churned up to distract voters.”

Mourdock’s rape comments were made at a debate — he was in no way trapped by the media when he chose to call a baby born of rape a “gift from God.” : Senate Candidate Who Made Controversial Rape Comments Blames Liberal Media For Loss

Rick (so fuckin’ stupid) Perry’s goal.

To be clear, my goal, and the goal of many of those joining me here today, is to make abortion, at any stage, a thing of the past. While Roe v. Wade prevents us from taking that step, it does allow states to do some things to protect life if they can show there is a compelling state interest. I don’t think there is any issue that better fits the definition of ‘compelling state interest’ than preventing the suffering of our state’s unborn. [...]

Again, the ideal world is a world without abortion. Until then, however, we will continue to pass laws to ensure abortions are as rare as possible under existing law.: Rick Perry: Outlawing All Access To Abortion Is 'My Goal'

GOP’s new outreach program,……..

Keep it up and we’ll continue to come out in droves, again and again and again

Republican campaign consultant Scott Tranter appeared on a panel Monday hosted by the Pew Center on the States to discuss the long lines and voter ID controversies that plagued the 2012 election. In his comments, Tranter seemed to imply that he believed these issues were helpful to Republicans and should be pursued for that reason. : Scott Tranter, Republican Consultant: Voter ID And Long Lines Help Our Side

The Republican Party is a dying party of bitter old white men.

Resurgent Republic surveyed Latino voters in four states — New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, and Florida — and concluded that the GOP brand was on life support. Respondents said Republicans did not respect their community’s values and concerns by a 51-44 margin in Florida, 54-40 in New Mexico, 59-35 in Nevada, and 63-30 in Colorado. By contrast Democrats were seen as respectful by a dominant 67-28 spread in Florida, 72- 23 percent in both New Mexico and Nevada, and 76-20 in Colorado. : GOP Pollster: Republicans Have ‘Run Out Of’ White Voters

The things college kids will do.

State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-FL) and GOP chair of Alachua County, Stafford Jones, cooked up one of Florida’s many new laws specifically to keep college students from voting in the 2012 election. The vote-suppressing measures were inspired by the 2010 victory of Gainesville’s first openly gay mayor, Craig Lowe, which Republicans claim was stolen by Florida college students.

Baxley’s law prevented people from voting if they did not change their address a month before Election Day. Many of the people affected were college students or young people who were moving for a new job. Jones explained this vote suppression was intentional and accused liberals of bringing in students to swing the election:

“The liberals do a good job of bringing in college kids to vote on local issues,” Jones said. “The kids vote on raising our taxes, but don’t have to live here to pay the consequences.”

Jones said he has no proof to support his claim, only recollections of liberal blog posts that people were moving to vote. : Florida Sought To Disenfranchise College Students In 2012 Election, Lawmaker Admits

Other GOP news,……….

You don’t fuck the help.

The Minnesota Senate faces an ever-growing legal bill thanks to a scandal involving a former Republican leader and her senior aide.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the legal costs associated with a lawsuit filed by senior staffer Michael Brodkorb had nearly doubled to approximately $200,000.

Minnesota Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned from her leadership position in December 2011 after facing accusations that she had an “inappropriate relationship” with Brodkorb. One day later, Brodkorb was fired from his position. : Minnesota Senate faces mushrooming legal costs due to GOP sex scandal

Looking out for their own.

A Republican state representative in Michigan proposed an amendment to exempt her husband’s job from the so-called “right to work” law which limits the ability of unions to collect dues.

State Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R) on Monday offered an amendment that would have added corrections officers like her husband, Brad, to the list of types of jobs not covered by the anti-union law. Police and firefighters had already been exempted from the legislation.

“When we talk about the brave women in police and fire we need to remember people in corrections,” Lyon explained earlier this week, according to MLive.com. “These guys work in conditions that we can’t even begin to imagine.” : Republican lawmaker’s proposal exempted husband from Michigan ‘right to work’ law

Paranoid?

A recent fundraising email from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign suggested that President Barack Obama ordered the firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) to “manufacture” a survey that said the Kentucky Republican was the “most unpopular Senator in the country.”

A poll released by the left-leaning firm on Tuesday indicated that only 37 percent of Kentucky voters approved of McConnell. : McConnell suggests Obama ‘manufactured’ poll to make him ‘most unpopular’ senator

Good thinkin’, dip shits.

On Thursday, one day before the tragedy in Connecticut where at least 29 people were killed at an elementary school, the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature passed a bill that would allow people to bring guns into schools. : Day Before Connecticut Shooting Massacre, Michigan Legislature Passed Bill Allowing Guns In Classrooms

But just news today.

Gov. Rick Snyder plans to veto legislation allowing concealed weapons in public schools, according to bill sponsor Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville. : BREAKING: Michigan Gov. Snyder To Veto Bill Allowing Guns In Schools

But wait, just today another republican Governor/asshole did step up to the plate.

McDONNELL (R): I know there has been a knee-jerk reaction against that, I think there should at least be a discussion of that. If people were armed, not just a police officer, but other school officials who were trained and chose to have a weapon, certainly there would be an opportunity to stop aggressors trying to come into the school, so I think that’s a reasonable discussion that ought to be had. : Virginia Governor McDonnell Wants More Guns In Schools

Another dip shit.

RALSTON: What measures would you take as an elected official to prevent this from ever happening again?

FIORE (R): My campus carry bill goes in the higher education, it doesn’t go K-12, so looking at this tragedy that happened with K-12, we might have to have an armed employee at the schools, that’s a measure, that’s a measure. : Nevada Lawmaker Proposes Arming School Officials To Prevent Mass Shootings

Dip shits fill this Republican party.

Appearing on a special Fox News Sunday dedicated to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said that an armed teacher or principal could have taken the killer’s “head off before he can kill those precious kids”:

GOHMERT: Having been a judge and reviewed photographs of these horrific scenes and knowing that children have these defensive wounds, gun shots through their arms and hands as they try to protect themselves, and, hearing the heroic stories of the principal, lunging, trying to protect, Chris, I wish to God she had had an M-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids. [...] : GOP Rep Suggests Teachers Should Be Armed With Assault Rifles

They leave, but their stain remains.

Yes, New Jersey's pension problems have their roots in 1997, when Gov. Christine Todd Whitman first began to play games with state pension money to fund (you guessed it) tax cuts. She floated a pension bond that haunts New Jersey to this day, and all NJ can afford to pay is its interest. : With Gov. Chris Christie, It's Corrupt Business As Usual | Crooks and Liars

One Bat shit crazy [Nikki Haley (R)] fills position left by another bat shit crazy [Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)] with another bat shit crazy, Tim Scott (r).

Meet Sen. Tim Scott: The Tea Party Lawmaker Who Wanted To Impeach President Obama And Kick Kids Off Food Stamps

Here’s a quick look at Scott’s record:

Floated impeaching Obama over the debt ceiling.
Proposed a bill to cut off food stamps for entire families if one member went on strike.
Wanted to spend an unlimited amount of money to display Ten Commandments outside county building.
Defended fairness of giving billions in subsidies to Big Oil.
Helped slash South Carolina’s HIV/AIDS budget.

Slow holiday week for the Republican obstructionists, but they still managed to wreak some havoc on the American public.

The GOP’s continued War on Women,…..

They’ll tell you they love you.

A GOP lawmaker is looking to make Texas the latest state to restrict the use of abortion medications in a way that some experts warn could increase the drugs’ side effects while making them more expensive.

Anti-abortion activists and legislators can’t enact an outright ban on abortion-inducing drugs like mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486). Instead, they have sought to force doctors to strictly adhere to U.S Food and Drug Administration guidelines that appear to be significantly out of step with the current scientific understanding of how the medications should be used. : GOP Texas lawmaker’s efforts to ban abortion medication could increase risk of side effects

The GOP’s New outreach program,……….

GOP trying to win their vote.

Unnamed sources told the Washington Blade that House Republicans were seeking to including a so-called “conscience protection” clause in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. Unnamed sources also told Mother Jones that Republicans were “pushing pretty hard” for the controversial provision, which was proposed by Missouri Rep. Todd Akin (R) and included in the House version of the bill.

The provision would require the U.S. military to “accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and religious beliefs of the members of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality.” The provision would protect military chaplains and other service members who do not wish to work with LGBT individuals.: House Republicans push for anti-gay provision in defense spending bill

It’s not going to work Newt, not with this bunch of Rethugs.

11. The challenge of Latino, Asian American, Native American and African American supportI must be met or the GOP will become a permanent minority party. We must think through inclusion and not outreach. Out reach occurs when five white guys have a meeting and call minority activists. Inclusion is when the activists are in the meeting. As a start, the RNC should bring together minority elected Republicans and those white Republicans who do best in minority communities. New strategies and systems have to be built starting with listening to the people we want to recruit and attract. This challenge is so big, so hard, and so central to our success that it should be one of the top three items at every meeting and have one of the larger budgets at the RNC. Anything less will simply fail as it has for the last 50 years. The same model of inclusion has to be applied to expanding Republican strength among women and especially among younger single women. We should establish specific goals for increases in support within each group for 2014 and 2016. : Newt Gingrich: The challenge confronting the Republican Party - Conservative News

The GOP is not what “we the people” want.

And a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that a slight majority of Americans sees the Republican party's policies and views as too extreme, a first for the GOP, and fewer than a third say they trust congressional Republicans more than President Barack Obama to deal with the major issues facing the nation. : CNN Poll: Are GOP policies too extreme?

Other GOP news,………..

The GOP has some great ideas, for wasting everyone’s time.

A Republican lawmaker in South Carolina has introduced legislation that would send state and federal officials to jail for implementing the Affordable Care Act.: New South Carolina bill pushes jail sentences for state workers implementing ‘Obamacare’

About the hypocrite Senator-Designate Tim Scott (r-SC)

Like most of the Tea Party Republican House Class of 2010, Senator-Designate Tim Scott (R-SC) ran for Congress vowing to eliminate “earmarks” — the system Congressional lawmakers once used to direct federal spending to their districts. But a ThinkProgress examination of public records reveals that in his two years in Congress, he instead used an even less transparent method known as “lettermarking” to attempt to secure funding for his district. : Documents Show 'Anti-Earmark' Senator Tim Scott Sought Federal Funds

Dip shits thinking.

They attack teachers and their unions and their collective bargaining rights, and then turn around and expect them to do double duty as law enforcement. Here's what's becoming an all too common idea from the wingnuts out there who think more guns is the solution to everything: Oklahoma Republican’s bill would arm teachers and train them like law enforcement: Oklahoma GOP Rep Wants to Arm and Train Teachers Like Law Enforcement

Dip shits working for you.

Georgia Republican state legislator Rep. Charles Gregory (R-Kennesaw), has introduced four new bills for the 2012 legislative year, all of which loosen current restrictions on guns. The measures, according to the blog Georgia Progress, which come less than a week after the national tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, would put more guns into circulation and lower barriers currently blocking firearms sales. : Activist: Georgia

Soon to be out the door without a government job.

We now find Snyder (R, Michigan Governor) as one of the most unpopular Governors in the country. Only 38% of voters approve of him to 56% who disapprove. There are only 2 other sitting Governors we've polled on who have a worse net approval rating than Snyder's -18. He's dropped a net 28 points from our last poll on him, the weekend before the election, when he was at a +10 spread (47/37).: Snyder's popularity plummets - Public Policy Polling

Tea Partiers want you ready.

From the patriotic Americans who brought you the hit family event MACHINE GUN SOCIAL comes THE GREAT GUN GIVEAWAY. For just a $20 or $10 donation respectively, you can be entered to win the DPMS Panther Oracle AR-15 or the Keltee PMR-30 .22 Magnum pistol. Want the details? Sure you do!

The DPMS Panther Oracle AR-15 provides its owner with SO MUCH PROTECTION because you can fire a lot of rounds very quickly – and look! It comes with two 30-round magazines, so you’ll be ready for some serious protecting the instant your prize changes hands.: PSA: Get Your Own Patriotic Protection Apparatus, Courtesy of the Asheville Tea Party

Nothing better to do with their time.

A Texas state representative pre-filed legislation that would allow public school officials to use “traditional winter greetings” such as “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Hanukkah” on school grounds.

The “Merry Christmas Bill” would grant “the right to celebrate on school property with displays associated with those holidays, including Menorahs, Christmas trees and Nativity scenes.” : Texas Lawmaker Files Bill To Help Schools Win The 'War On Christmas'

Republicans/FOX news watchers are not big thinkers.

Randolph Linn, 52, accepted a plea deal in which he pled guilty to all charges in connection to setting a fire in the prayer room at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo on Sept. 30. Under the deal, Linn is expected to serve 20 years in prison instead of 40.

Linn explained to the court that he had gotten “riled up” after watching Fox News.

“And I was more sad when Judge [Jack] Zouhary asked him that, ‘Do you know any Muslims or do you know what Islam is?’” one mosque member who attended the hearing recalled to WNWO. “And he said, ‘No, I only know what I hear on Fox News and what I hear on radio.’” : Mosque arsonist tells court: ‘I only know what I hear on Fox News’

Another GOP hypocrite.

A conservative U.S. senator from Idaho who has said he doesn't drink because of his Mormon faith has been charged with drunken driving.

Sen. Michael Crapo, a three-term Republican with a reputation as a social and fiscal conservative, registered a blood alcohol content of .11 percent after police pulled his car over in this suburb south of Washington, D.C., authorities said.: ALEXANDRIA, Va.: DUI charge: Jan. 4 court date for Idaho Sen. Crapo - Nation - MiamiHerald.com

Must be nice.

Gov. Tom Corbett (R) and his wife accepted a Rhode Island vacation last year from a businessman even as regulators from the state Department of Environmental Conservation were looking into his firm's operation of a natural-gas waste transfer station without a permit.

The StateImpact Pennsylvania project is reporting that the governor just last month amended his original 2011 ethics filing to add that John Moran Jr. of Moran Industries had paid $1,422 to fly Corbett and his wife to a hotel in Rhode Island and put them up in a hotel for a long weekend in July of that year.

Moran -- also identified as a major Corbett donor who has given at least $75,000 to his campaigns and was named by the governor to his privatization panel -- is a trucking executive who launched an oil-and-gas subsidiary. He told a reporter at last year's opening of his "natural gas park" in Williamsport that the rise of the gas industry here is "a gift from God." : Natural-gas exec paid for Corbett 2011 vacation

I have always said character matters and Romney doesn’t have what it takes to be president (never will).

More than being reticent, Romney was at first far from sold on a second presidential run. Haunted by his 2008 loss, he initially told his family he would not do it. While candidates often try to portray themselves as reluctant, Tagg insisted his father’s stance was genuine.

“He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life. He had no desire to . . . run,” said Tagg, who worked with his mother, Ann, to persuade his father to seek the presidency. : This should go over well with donors: Mitt Romney ‘had no desire’ to be President

Romney took the GOP for a ride, he didn’t want to be on.

I was going to update this thread with the intentions of adding only one story, since it’s the holidays and I thought the Retugs couldn’t/wouldn’t do too much damage to the American public this past week. I was wrong! These people can fuck up a wet dream, even during the holidays. They wake up every damn day with so much hate.

I am doing everything I can to limit the amount of filth and hate they push this week. But here are just a few stories,………..

Their War on Women continues. Happy Fuckin’ New Year.

For most of 2012, Texas officials have been working hard to strip funding from the Planned Parenthood clinics in their state. Those officials advanced their anti-choice agenda on Monday, when a visiting judge ruled that Texas may deny funding from Planned Parenthood affiliates in the new year simply because the organization advocates for abortion rights.: Texas Will End Funding For Planned Parenthood Clinics Tomorrow

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed into law new regulations for abortion clinics, reported Reuters, which Planned Parenthood claims threatens access to the procedure in the state.

Clinics that provide more than 120 abortions annually will now have to be licensed freestanding surgical outpatient facilities.: Mich. governor approves new regulations for abortion clinics

The GOP's outreach program,………..

Rasmussen offered some friendly advice about approaching minorities. “You show them that you really care (repeating it time and time again will not make it true as the republicans would want you/minorities to believe, because the majority of republicans have no compassion for others outside their own), you talk to them as grown-ups on a range of issues, you get them involved,” he suggested, “and you accept the fact that it’s a long-term investment. And you accept that you can learn as much from them as you can teach them.”

This was harsh medicine to reluctant patients, and afterward some of them made their discomfort known. “That depressed me!” one woman said. To my right, a man snapped, “That’s bullshit!”: Sail Away With Me

Other GOP news and the only story I had planned to post today, but,……

Chart says it all. Republicans days are numbered.: The GOP’s demographic problem — in 1 chart

New year has started and we have a new congress, but it still hasn’t changed enough. There are still a handful of rethugs/obstructionists that want to hurt America and the American people.

Case in point: With Millions Still Waiting For Sandy Relief, Republicans Reintroduce Obamacare Repeal

The 112th Congress gaveled to a close on Thursday afternoon without passing a relief package for victims of Hurricane Sandy or reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, but Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) isn’t too concerned about finishing what Republicans had left undone. Instead, at 12:00 PM she introduced the very first piece of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which states are now busily implementing.

House Republicans have unsuccessfully voted 33 times in the last two years to eliminate health care reform and wasted at least 88 hours and $50 million, while failing to pass a single piece of job creation legislation in the last session of Congress.

Dozens of Republicans, including 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, ran against Obamacare, yet the party suffered losses every step along the way. The Supreme Court upheld the law, House repeal efforts went nowhere in the Democratically-controlled Senate, and President Obama has pledged to veto any effort to rescind the measure. Even newly reelected Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was compelled to admit in November that Obamacare is now the law of the land (though he later backed away from his own comments and pledged to do everything in his power to undermine it).

But House Republicans are apparently not quite ready to give up the fight. At this rate, they could be on track to becoming even less productive than the least productive Congress in U.S. history.

We can only wish that 2014 will bring us new hope and “We the people” will show more rethugs the door.

The GOP’s continued War on Women.

State lawmakers will reconvene to kick off their new sessions this week, and Republican legislators are already gearing up for the new abortion restrictions they hope to introduce this year.

2012 was a banner year for attacks on reproductive freedom — according to the Guttmacher Institute, 19 states passed 42 different abortion restrictions last year, second only to the record-breaking 92 anti-abortion provisions enacted in 2011 — and anti-choice lawmakers show no sign of letting up in the new year. Even though November’s election results demonstrated that voters rejected far-right anti-abortion ideology, state legislators in the following states are moving forward with their attempts to continue restricting women’s right to choose: Republican Lawmakers To Kick Off New Year By Limiting Women's Reproductive Health

The GOP’s new outreach program.

I guess he thinks his statements are appealing to the black voter,……..

A Republican state Senator in Wisconsin is upset with everyone paying so much attention to Kwanza, a made-up holiday he claims, “almost no black people today care about.”

According to the Shorewood Patch, Sen. Glenn Grothman railed against the holiday in a December press release, saying it was invented by a racist radical in the 60s and is kept alive today by fanatical liberals who want to destroy America. African Americans, however, have almost no interest in the holiday themselves.: Wisconsin state Senator: Kwanza is a fake holiday that black people don’t even like

GOP purging voters,……….

When Secretary of State Matt Schultz attempted to purge voters from the rolls in advance of the November 2012 election, a county judge temporarily blocked the move, finding that the rules issued by Schultz created fear and uncertainty and could deter legitimate voters. But that risk of voter suppression hasn’t stopped Schultz from proposing a new slightly tweaked rule to remove registered voters in the name of alleged voter fraud.: Undeterred By Court Order, Iowa Official Tries Again To Push Through Voter Purge

Other GOP news.

What are they thinking?

Eliminating ‘gun free zones’ in schools. HR 35 and HR 133. Following the lead of the National Rifle Association, Reps. Steve Stockman (R-TX) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) are both proposing more guns in schools. They want to eliminate “gun free school zones.” In a press statement, Stockman used this highly flawed logic as the reasoning for his bill: “In the 22 years before enactment of ‘gun free school zones’ there were two mass school shootings. In the 22 years since enactment of ‘gun free schools’ there have been 10 mass school shootings.”: Eight Smart Gun Bills Introduced On Day One Of The New Congress -- And Two Stupid Ones

Who’s to blame,…..

In addition to being seen as the losers in the recent deal, the American people also strongly disapproved of how Republican leaders handled the negotiations. Americans approved of Obama’s handling by 48 percent to 40 percent disapproval. By comparison, only 19 percent approved of how Republican leaders handled the negotiations, while 66 percent disapproved.: Obama Seen as Winner of Fiscal Cliff Deal

They want it but don’t want anyone else to have it,……..

After Republicans from Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) lit into Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) for cancelling a promised end-of-session vote on Hurricane Sandy relief, the House overwhelmingly approved a small portion of the needed funds on Friday. While the first vote provided just $9 billion in funds — compared to the $60 billion total requested — 67 Republicans still voted against even this bare-bones package. The majority of those Representatives had, however, supported emergency aid efforts following disasters in their own states.: 37 Congressional Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Aid

The simple mind of some republicans,……..

Sean Hannity: Apparently there is a sign. National Park Service, the US Department of the Interior, and it says "Please do not feed the animals. And the reason: The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not take care of themselves.

Well, I -- - "You don't want to help people who are poor. And starving. See?" No, it's -- the dependency issue is a lot different. You teach people how to fish, how to be independent, you create an environment where jobs are plentiful, versus people being dependent on government."

This is where conservatives like Hannity really show their true colors. Ordinary people who receive benefits like Medicare and Social Security which they paid for all their lives or who are in need of temporary assistance while unemployed, are scorned and ridiculed as dependent bloodsuckers.: No Low Is Too Low For Hannity, Who Compares the Poor to Animals

Goodbye Michelle Malkin,…….

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution expressly provides that nearly anyone born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. Yet, despite the Constitution’s clear command, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) wants to ignore our founding document and prevent the children of undocumented immigrants from becoming citizens:

It’s the first week of the 113th Congress, and one House member is already trying to stop children born in the United States to undocumented parents — whom he calls “anchor babies” — from gaining citizenship.: Conservatives Open New Congress With Unconstitutional Bill To End Birthright Citizenship

They approved the spending and now they don’t want to pay the bill,………

Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation this morning, Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) enthusiastically called for a government shut down: GOP Rep: 'It's About Time' We Had Another Government Shut Down

And they vote these type of people to congress,…..

Newly-elected Sen. Ted Cruiz (R-TX) accused politicians of exploiting the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut to advance gun safety legislation and argued that efforts to limit assault weapons and high capacity magazines are unconstitutional. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Cruz said he would back efforts to strengthen the federal database used to determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms, but argued that any other reforms would violate the Second Amendment: New Republican Senator Says Gun Safety Is 'Unconstitutional'

Another idiot (makes it 10 Rethug governors now),………

Idaho will not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act at this time. In his state of the state address Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter said that he will not seek an expansion this year. : Idaho Governor Will Oppose Medicaid Expansion

Lying sack of crap,………

Internal email messages uncovered by Health News Florida reveal that Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) is knowingly citing inaccurate cost estimates to justify his refusal to expand Florida’s Medicaid program. Though the governor’s office is fully aware that the numbers are wrong, Scott continues to use them anyway, the documents show.: Florida Governor Inflates Cost Of Medicaid Expansion By 2,500% To Avoid Implementing Obamacare

World Net Daily/Crazy People and what they do with pen and paper,……..

Dear Mr. Roberts,

When you administered the oath of office to Barack Obama for his first term as president, you could have been excused for believing that Mr. Obama was qualified under the Constitution to hold the office of president, which he had sought and won. After all, Obama’s opponent, John McCain, never raised the issue of Mr. Obama’s qualifications.

Now that Mr. Obama has been re-elected and is preparing to serve a second term of office, there can be no doubt regarding his qualifications.

This is because by Mr. Obama’s own admission, his father was of Kenyan nationality and perhaps holding British citizenship as well.

In addition to the nationality of Mr. Obama Sr. listed on Barack Obama’s birth certificate, we know that Obama Sr. was not an American citizen because of correspondence surrounding his stay in this country.

Because Obama Sr. lacked American citizenship, Barack Obama is not a natural born citizen, as required by our Constitution. He is not natural born, and can never be natural born, because of his father. Therefore, Barack Obama is not qualified to be president and never will be qualified. This would still be true, even if he received every vote cast.: WND Will Impeach Chief Justice For Swearing In Whats-His-Name, The Black Guy

It's difficult to see being the "winner" in a manufactured crisis as much of an accomplishment, especially since Obama doesn't seem capable of negotiating well enough to avoid a segue in the next manufactured crisis.

This week, a dark vein update (the republican party will not see a republican president in the white house for eons)

GOP’s continued War on Women

There’s a history of people who have run as a republican vice-presidential candidate and lost. Afterwards they are (pretty much) never heard of again. I think Mr. Ryan is on that path,…..

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), erstwhile vice presidential candidate in the failed presidential run of former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA), has signed on as cosponsor in a draconian new bill aimed at curtailing women’s reproductive freedoms. According to Huffington Post, in spite of the defeat of so-called “fetal personhood” laws in 2012, Ryan and his colleagues are forging ahead with a new measure that classifies all embryonic tissue as a human life from the moment of fertilization. : Paul Ryan signs on as cosponsor of new ‘fetal personhood’ bill

I wonder if the females in her family vote for this idiot.

Tuesday on Mike Huckabee’s radio program, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she hoped to start the year off right by cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

“It is the right fight to have on so many different levels,” she said (MP3). “We know that Planned Parenthood is basically big abortion business.”: Rep. Blackburn: Now is the time to defund Planned Parenthood

Mississippi,………

Republican Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says that there is one abortion clinic in the state and “of course” his goal is to “shut it down.” : Miss. gov. targets last abortion clinic: ‘My goal of course is to shut it down’

Treading cautiously?,………

State lawmakers across the country are gearing up for their new legislative sessions — and, just two weeks into the new year, Republicans are already planning their next attacks on women’s reproductive rights. Since voters largely rejected extreme anti-abortion ideology in the November elections, some Republican lawmakers are now treading somewhat cautiously to avoid risking more public outrage over their positions on women’s health.

But at least one anti-choice lawmaker in Wyoming isn’t as worried about disguising his radical agenda. Despite the fact that a similar measure was unable to gain traction in Ohio because the state’s Republicans admitted it was too controversial even among abortion opponents, Wyoming Rep. Kendall Kroeker (R) has introduced an extreme “fetal heartbeat” bill to redefine the medical concept of viability for the women in his state: Wyoming Lawmaker Introduces Radical 'Fetal Heartbeat' Bill To Ban Abortions After Six Weeks

These people and their problem with science,……

In an address to the Cobb County, GA Chamber of Commerce, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) told the assembled group that Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO)’s remarks on rape were “partly right” and unfairly maligned by the U.S. media. According to the Marietta Daily Journal, the congressman believes that adrenaline can prevent pregnancies, and that women who are frightened during sex will not ovulate. : Rep. Phil Gingrey: Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock are right about rape

The GOP’s new outreach program

Telling it like it is,…….

POWELL: There’s also a dark — a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. What do I mean by that? I mean by that that they still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that?

When I see a former governor say that the President is “shuckin’ and jivin’,” that’s racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow. He was tired. He didn’t do well. He said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of us who are African Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with that (black men). The birther, the whole birther movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party? : Colin Powell Calls Out The GOP's Racism Problem: There Is 'A Dark Vein Of Intolerance'

Reaching out for that female military vote,…

To have women serving in infantry, though, could impair the mission-essential tasks of those units. And that’s been proven in study after study, it’s nature,upper body strength, and physical movements, and speed, and endurance, and so forth.

Cotton (R-AR) appears to assume that allowing women to serve in the infantry would necessitate a double standard in physical testing for male and female soldiers, but that’s not so. : GOP Congressman: Women In Infantry Roles Could 'Impair' Missions Because Of Their 'Nature'

Trying to rig the next election,……

A little over a year ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) proposed rigging the presidential election for Mitt Romney by allocating electoral votes based upon which candidate carried each individual congressional district, rather than upon who wins the state as a whole. Thanks in large part to Republican gerrymandering, if Corbett’s election-rigging plan had been in effect last November in the Republican-controlled states of Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, Romney would have won the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote by nearly four points. : RNC Chair: Rig The Next Presidential Election For Republicans

Other GOP news

Who the GOP associates with,…

An Alaska militiaman and former Ron Paul campaign worker was sentenced on Tuesday to 26 years in prison for a plot to kidnap and murder state and federal officials.
Schaeffer Cox, 28, was arrested in March 2011 after authorities learned he planned to dodge a court hearing and go underground, protected by several fellow militia members who’d stockpiled weapons. The group allegedly hatched a plan to kidnap and kill police, judges and other officials they believed were a threat to the republic. : Alaska militiaman and former Ron Paul campaign worker sentenced to 26 years for murder plot

More association,………..

Darlene Wink made a tearful apology to Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday during her sentencing for doing fundraising work for the governor while at her taxpayer-paid county job in 2009.

Wink, 62, was sentenced by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Daniel Konkol to a year's probation, 50 hours of community service and $1,000 in fines. He also prohibited the longtime Republican political activist from taking part in any political activity, other than voting, for a year. : Ex-aide apologizes to governor during sentencing for county crimes

They OK the spending but don’t want to pay the bill,……..

The new head of the Republican Study Committee — a caucus of ultra-conservative House Republicans — said yesterday that he might favor the United States defaulting on its obligations, rather than raise the debt ceiling. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) posited that, as long as the United States continues to pay interest on its debt,all would be well: Head Of House Republican Group Is Okay With U.S. Default

Another republican (that doesn’t want to pay her bills), with a bright idea,…

Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN) insisted that shutting down the government should be “on the table” as Congress and the Obama administration deal with passing a continuing resolution, raising the debt ceiling, and addressing the sequestration cuts. : GOP Rep Promotes Shutting Down The Government: It's A 'Good Thing'

Idiot,……

A Republican lawmaker in the state of Georgia is pushing for a bill that would allow students to carry concealed firearms on college campuses, despite the reservations of Georgia law enforcement and school security.

Kicking off the newly-elected state assembly, state Rep. Charles Gregory (R) introduced four piece of legislation that would weaken gun laws in the state. Among them is a provision that would allow any student with a permit to carry a concealed weapon on campus. : Georgia Lawmaker Pushes For Concealed Carry On Campus, Despite Objections From Security And Law Enforcement

Another idiot that just doesn’t get it (thank goodness Florida gave this asshole the finger),……..

Former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said gun control comes down to the finger you pull the trigger with, calling the larger discussion on gun violence part of a "political agenda." : Allen West: Gun Control Is 'Your Index Finger'

Eating their own,…..

A conservative advocacy group has targeted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, running ads in his home state of Kentucky highlighting his key role in negotiating a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Brent Bozell, the president of For America, the group pushing the ads, called them a “statement to make it emphatically clear that what the minority leader did was 100 percent unacceptable. Conservatives are going to hold him responsible for this.” McConnell negotiated with Democrats to create a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, although many Republicans felt betrayed by the ultimate deal, which allowed for tax increases. : Conservative Group Targets McConnell

Ever wonder why this idiot lost (besides being the father of the year),……

After Republicans spent the past three years unsuccessfully opposing health care reform en masse — introducing dozens of failed repeal bills, losing a Supreme Court case, and being defeated in a presidential election — former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) is promoting a last-ditch effort to undermine Obamacare: simply “break the law.” : One Republican's Last Ditch Effort To Undermine Obamacare: 'Break The Law And Engage In Civil Disobedience'


Bat shit crazy Bachmann,……

Over a year after she dropped out, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has refused to pay five staffers from her failed presidential bid, according to a former top campaign official. Peter Waldron, her controversial former national field coordinator, told Salon the dispute started when former Iowa straw poll staffers refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would bar them from discussing any “unethical, immoral, or criminal activity” they witnessed on the campaign with police or reporters. : Bachmann still hasn’t paid presidential campaign staffers

He’s back after taking a couple geography classes to tell you that the Appalachian Mountain chain is not in Argentina,………..

Mark Sanford, the former governor of South Carolina, will run for the House of Representatives, sources close to Sanford confirm. He will try to win election to the seat formerly held by Tim Scott.

Sanford, a Republican who held the House seat himself from 1995 to 2001, will announce his intention to run early next week, ahead of the January 18 filing deadline. The special election to succeed Scott, who was appointed to the Senate by Governor Nikki Haley last month, will take place on May 7, with a GOP primary being held on March 19. : Report: Disgraced Former Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) Will Run For Congress

Another bright idea from a republican,….

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), who just began his second stint in the U.S. Congress, is already threatening to impeach President Obama should the administration use executive power to implement gun violence prevention efforts. : Republican Congressman Threatens To Impeach President Obama Gun Safety

Bobby loves the people of Louisiana,……

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) recently rolled out a plan to replace his state’s personal income and corporate taxes with an increased sales tax. Such a move would shift taxes from the rich to the poor, who aredisproportionately hit by the sales tax.

According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Jindal’s plan will raise taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Louisianians, while cutting them for the richest 1 percent: Louisiana Governor's New Plan Would Raise Taxes On Bottom 80 Percent Of Residents

You can dress it up, put perfume on it, but in the end, it’s still trash,…….

"Jolted by the re-election of President Barack Obama, the defeat of congressional tea party icon Allen West and the cracking of Republican anti-tax orthodoxy during the recent federal budget showdown, the tea party movement is trying to rebrand and repackage itself in South Florida."

"The South Florida Tea Party — the group that helped Marco Rubio launch his Senate bid and that hosted Donald Trump during his last flirtation with a presidential run — is shedding the words “tea party” as it undergoes a name change."

'“We felt for branding reasons that we wanted to differentiate ourselves from certain organizations that have the name ‘tea party’ and we can’t control,” said Everett Wilkinson, leader of the organization that will now be called the National Liberty Federation."

The real reason for the name change couldn't possibly be the results of this poll from last week.

"Views of the Tea Party movement are at their lowest point ever, with voters for the first time evenly divided when asked to match the views of the average Tea Party member against those of the average member of Congress. Only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law." : Lost, Lonely Little 'Tea Party' Undergoes Name Change

Originally Posted by robuzo

It's difficult to see being the "winner" in a manufactured crisis as much of an accomplishment, especially since Obama doesn't seem capable of negotiating well enough to avoid a segue in the next manufactured crisis.

I don’t know why he does it. He folds when he holds all the cards. You would think in his second term he’ll learn to say “Shove it” and stop trying to appease the handful of loony far right nuts (just to say he worked with them to get something accomplished).

This week, a mean streak update. The GOP wakes up everyday full of hate.

GOP’s continued War on Women

Lawmakers in Montana are set to again consider giving human rights to fetuses, taking up a controversial “fetal homicide” bill in the forthcoming session.

House Bill 104, sponsored by state Rep. Keith Regier (R), adds “unborn child” to statutes covering deliberate homicide, giving fetuses rights that are currently reserved only for living, breathing humans.: Montana reconsiders bill to place fetuses at legal odds with women


The GOP’s new outreach program

Rubio’s Ream Act.

Marco Rubio’s latest DREAM Act version – call it, the Ream Act II — has ballooned in its extremism, following the president’s huge win among Latinos. The plan is split into phases, including one featuring mass deportations and a literal round-up of remaining immigrants to be fingerprinted, fined, and forced to pay back-taxes.

To say the least, fiscal-conservative Marco Rubio makes no mention of how the deportations of perhaps thousands or hundreds of thousands of immigrants will be paid for. Conservatives are so worried that “socialized medicine” will result in three-month long waits for a doctor’s visit — well, just wait until you call the cops because someone’s breaking into your house and they’re all too busy fingerprinting Marco Rubio’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.

The second phase of Marco Rubio’s plan involves extending possible permanent residency to immigrants, but makes no mention of citizenship or the wait-time to achieve citizenship.: Marco Rubio's immigration plan continues to push anti-Latino myths

More from Powell.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is calling on fellow Republicans to and speak against “idiot presentations” by people like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and the so-called birthers who insist that President Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen.

As Monday’s inaugural ceremonies got underway, Powell told ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos that Republicans needed to “look in the mirror” instead of attacking him after he recently called out Palin and former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu for using “slave terms” like “shucking and jiving” to describe President Barack Obama.: Powell: Republican leaders should stop ‘idiot presentations’ from Palin and birthers

He should think before he opens his trap.

An Idaho lawmaker on Thursday compared abortion to prostitution, arguing that both are “a choice” that women make, and asking members of the Idaho American Civil Liberties to defend prostitution, since they were willing to protect women’s access to abortion services.

Presenting abortion and prostitution as cavaler choices women make and ignoring the real danger of sex slavery, State Rep. Ron Mendive (R) elicited “audible gasps” on Wednesday during a meeting with representatives from the group, which later condemned his comparison: Idaho Lawmaker Compares Abortion To Prostitution

Gerrymandering. The only reason the GOP controls the house today.

This week, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus endorsed a Republican Party plan to rig future presidential elections by changing the way electoral votes are assigned. Under the Republican plan, GOP lawmakers in several states that supported the Democratic candidate for president in recent elections would stop awarding all of their electoral votes to the winner of the state as a whole, and instead award most of them one-by-one to the winners of individual congressional districts. In part because of widespread Republican gerrymandering, if Republicans had implemented this election rigging plan in six key states where they currently control the state government — Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin — Mitt Romney would have won the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote by nearly four points.: Michigan GOP Considering Republican Plan To Rig The Presidential Election

More on Gerrymandering.

MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough admitted on Sunday that Republicans only kept their majority in the House of Representatives as a result of gerrymandering, noting that the GOP received less votes than Democrats in the 2012 election. Scarborough argued that Republicans must prevent radical ultra-conservative voices from dominating the party’s message and pointed out that the GOP is already losing electoral ground among voters who view it as too extreme and out of touch with middle class Americans: Joe Scarborough: Republicans Only Kept House Majority Because Of Gerrymandering

Even more on Gerrymandering.

Although a small number of ballots remain to be counted, as of this writing, votes for a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives outweigh votes for Republican candidates. Based on ThinkProgress’ review of all ballots counted so far, 53,952,240 votes were cast for a Democratic candidate for the House and only 53,402,643 were cast for a Republican — meaning that Democratic votes exceed Republican votes by more than half a million.: Why Americans Actually Voted For A Democratic House

And one last piece (this week) on the GOP’s gerrymandering.

While the eyes of the nation were turned toward President Barack Obama’s second inauguration on Monday, the Virginia State Senate managed to hurriedly pass a bill that would redistrict the state’s senate seats.

The vote, 20-19, would have been a tie had Democratic Senator Henry Marsh been present. Marsh, a civil rights leader, was in Washington, D.C., attending the inauguration.

Had Marsh been present, however, the state’s Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling, would likely have broken the tie. The bill was reportedly pushed through in a matter of hours.

According to Virginia politics blogger Ben Tribbett, the move could potentially eliminate at least one Democratic seat, the 25th district, which currently belongs to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Creigh Deeds (D).: Virginia Senate Sneaks Through Gerrymandering Bill While Country Watches Inauguration

Other GOP news

When no one is looking.

So the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, set up a lawyers’ group to defend DOMA, with a half-million dollar budget. Lawyers being lawyers, they blew through that budget while losing their cases at every appellate level. Now they have to put together their case before SCOTUS.:

House Republicans secretly agreed to raise the cost for defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court to $3 million in the first week that the 113th Congress was sworn into office, according to a copy of the contract obtained by the Washington Blade on Tuesday.

The contract, signed by new House Committee on Administration Chair Candace Miller (R-Mich.), allows for expenses to pay for outside counsel to defend DOMA in court to reach $3 million — a full $1 million more than the previous cost cap agreed to in September. In a statement this week, House Democrats said the agreement was reached in secret and they weren’t aware of it until late Monday.: Congress Secretly Raises Lawyers' Budget for DOMA Defense to $3M

Rick Perry, still as thick as a brick.

There is evil prowling in the world – it shows up in our movies, video games and online fascinations, and finds its way into vulnerable hearts and minds. As a free people, let us choose what kind of people we will be. Laws, the only redoubt of secularism, will not suffice. Let us all return to our places of worship and pray for help. Above all, let us pray for our children.: Rick Perry's Solution To Gun Violence: 'Pray For Our Children'

Not all children need to go to college.

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says that colleges are “indoctrinating” students in a “sea of antagonism toward Christianity” and marriage equality, abortion and pornography are all symptoms of the problem.: Santorum: LGBT rights, abortion, porn are ‘symptoms’ of college indoctrination

Rubio a physical conservative

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)’s leadership PAC, the Reclaim America PAC, boldly lists its motto as “electing conservatives to the United States Senate.” But despite raising more than $1.6 million in the 2012 cycle, less than five percent of that money went to other political candidates.: Marco Rubio's PAC Spends Five Times More On Overhead Than Political Contributions

What would Jesus do?

A Republican lawmaker in California who disagrees with President Barack Obama’s effort to prevent mass shootings says that guns are an “absolutely essential” part of God’s plan.

“Guns are used an average of 3 million times a year according to the Clinton Justice Department,” Assemblyman Tim Donnelly told the Christian talk radio show The Bottom Line on Wednesday. “That’s like 6,900 times a day. That’s the high end of the statistics, other people say it’s only 200 times a day.”

“Whatever that number is, they are used to defend human life,” he explained. “They are used to defend our property and our families and our faith and our freedom, and they are absolutely essential to living the way God intended for us to live.”: California lawmaker: Guns are ‘essential to living the way God intended’

Another slow republican

Coming off of the hottest year in U.S. history and 333 months of higher-than-average global temperatures, Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) first move as the new chair of the House Science and Technology Committee includes a hearing on climate science, according to Dallas News.

For Smith, who criticized “the idea of human-made global warming,” the hearing will be an opportunity to give a platform to the committee’s climate zombies:

I believe climate change is due to a combination of factors, including natural cycles, sun spots, and human activity. But scientists still don’t know for certain how much each of these factors contributes to the overall climate change that the Earth is experiencing. It is the role of the Science Committee to create a forum for discussion so Congress and the American people can hear from experts and draw reasoned conclusions. During this process, we should focus on the facts rather than on a partisan agenda.: House Science Chair's First Action Is To Hold A Climate Change Denier Hearing

Unhinged.

A report published by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point Military Academy on Jan. 15 discusses the potential dangers of “violent far-right” organizations, which has angered some conservatives that believe the military should focus on international threats.

The executive summary of the paper, “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right,” claims that “since 2007, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of attacks and violent plots originating from individuals and groups who self- identify with the far-right of American politics.”: West Point study on ‘violent far right’ shows ‘dramatic rise’ in attacks

Santorum is an idiot.

World Net Daily columnist and former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Sunday insisted that Americans were entitled to armor-piercing bullets because they are “a right in our country.”: Santorum: Armor-piercing bullets are ‘a right in our country’

Not the best or the brightest.

A freshman Republican congressman is arguing that the 2nd Amendment could be interpreted broadly enough to allow ordinary citizens access to the same equipment that the military uses.

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), who unseated longtime Rep. Cliff Stearns last year thanks in large part to Tea Party support, sat down with Florida political blog The Shark Tank over the weekend to discuss gun violence. The freshman GOPer said he’d spoken with a number of constituents recently and approvingly relayed their sentiment: “when you read the Second Amendment,” Yoho said, “the militia had the same equipment as the military to protect them against the tyrannical government.” Preserving those protections, he argued, is “more important today than ever”: Tea Party Congressman: Citizens Should Have Same Weapons As The Military

GOP’s mean streak.

Florida's Republican governor Rick Scott loathes Obamacare so much that he turned down $40 million in federal health care funds that would keep hundreds of disabled kids at home with their parents, rather than warehoused in nursing homes. So says the Department of Justice, whose civil rights division recently investigated the situation in Florida.

ABC News reported this weekend that, in a letter to Florida's attorney general, the Justice Department cited the case of a "5-year-old child, a quadriplegic after a car accident, who had been living in a state facility for three years. The mother wants to bring the child home but has been told the waiting list for community and home-based services was five to ten years.: Rick Scott Rejects Health Care Funds That Would Keep Disabled Kids Out of Nursing Homes

Continued Rick (I am a dick) Scott’s mean streak (he’ll give our money away to help gun co’s but will not help our children).

‘Sweetheart Deal’

In Florida, Republican Governor Rick Scott hailed an incentive for the West Hartford, Connecticut-based Colt Manufacturing Co. in 2011 saying it showed the state was “a defender of our right to bear arms.” The deal, for 63 jobs, was worth about $1.66 million in state and local incentives, according to Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development arm.: Gunmaker Tax Breaks to Lure Jobs Face Renewed Scrutiny

Florida with Rick (I am a dick) Scott at the helm.

Nationally, Florida ranks 49th in mental health funding, and first in gun ownership. The state has been a trailblazer in providing lucrative tax incentives to a smorgasbord of companies in return for promises to create jobs.

In 2012, a tough budget year when the Legislature cut funding for school safety by $1.8 million and Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $5.7 million for mental health programs, lawmakers were able to find more than $10 million for economic incentives that went to violent film productions, bloody video games and gun manufacturers.: TALLAHASSEE: Gun makers feast on Florida tax breaks - MiamiHerald.com

What's your opinion of Bobby Jindal the current Governor of Louisiana?

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

What's your opinion of Bobby Jindal the current Governor of Louisiana?

My opinion is this:

His name is not Bobby it is Piyush

He attended an exorcism when younger

He's a pathetic speaker, he somehow manages to make W look like a great orator

God mocks him

He's a creationist (even though his conversion to catholicism should prevent that)

Oh, and he hates libraries too, even though he was Rhodes scholar

When he takes charge of the response to an oil spill this is the result:

How do you think he would do with Hispanic voters if he were the next Republican nominee for President?

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

How do you think he would do with Hispanic voters if he were the next Republican nominee for President?

That will all depend on how the GOP handles Immigration Reform legislation (hopefully within the next two years).

And Rubio’s Ream Act is not the proper way.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

The GOP’s new outreach program

Rubio’s Ream Act.

Marco Rubio’s latest DREAM Act version – call it, the Ream Act II — has ballooned in its extremism, following the president’s huge win among Latinos. The plan is split into phases, including one featuring mass deportations and a literal round-up of remaining immigrants to be fingerprinted, fined, and forced to pay back-taxes.

To say the least, fiscal-conservative Marco Rubio makes no mention of how the deportations of perhaps thousands or hundreds of thousands of immigrants will be paid for. Conservatives are so worried that “socialized medicine” will result in three-month long waits for a doctor’s visit — well, just wait until you call the cops because someone’s breaking into your house and they’re all too busy fingerprinting Marco Rubio’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.

The second phase of Marco Rubio’s plan involves extending possible permanent residency to immigrants, but makes no mention of citizenship or the wait-time to achieve citizenship.: Marco Rubio's immigration plan continues to push anti-Latino myths

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

What's your opinion of Bobby Jindal the current Governor of Louisiana?

Governor.

Extreme practicer of a Catholic version

policy wonk

Smart

Young

Maybe a token VP.

Never will be Presidential.

He's talked about because of his background and race, because it' vogue. That's why he gave the response to the State of the Union in 2009.

The only other Republican I can think of at the moment who might have the charisma to pull in the swing voters is Christie. Do you think he's a threat? If not, is there any serious Republican candidate for President?

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

The only other Republican I can think of at the moment who might have the charisma to pull in the swing voters is Christie. Do you think he's a threat? If not, is there any serious Republican candidate for President?

I think Big Chris is a contender.

He's numbers (favorability ratings) seemed good last time I checked.

US Presidential races are strange. In a 4 year period, a lot of things change as for candidates.

I'd like to see a swing back to a moderate Repub in 4 years.

I think Christie has appeal.

Originally Posted by barbaro

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

The only other Republican I can think of at the moment who might have the charisma to pull in the swing voters is Christie. Do you think he's a threat? If not, is there any serious Republican candidate for President?

I think Big Chris is a contender.

He's numbers (favorability ratings) seemed good last time I checked.

US Presidential races are strange. In a 4 year period, a lot of things change as for candidates.

I'd like to see a swing back to a moderate Repub in 4 years.

I think Christie has appeal.

He came to WA and stumped for Rob McKenna and up until then I just saw him as a fat loud mouth slob ... Which he likely still is, but he's been acting a bit differently pissing in the Republican rice bowl since Hurricane Sandy. He could turn into a serious threat.

Is there a chance that under the current leadership, the grass roots GOP supporters will feel so alienated that a new party could conceivably break through and fill the void; a conservative right party as opposed to the very scary talibanesque republicans?

Originally Posted by pseudolus

the grass roots GOP supporters will feel so alienated that a new party could conceivably break through and fill the void

There are plenty of them, but forming a new, third party has a very poor success record in our anglo style democracies. Much better for moderate republicans to take their party back, and let the loonies flounce and form a new National 'Patriot' Party or sumfin.

The same could be said of the NRA and AIPAC, as well as the GOP. To what extent they speak for the average American Jew, firearm owner, or middle of the road conservative is dubious in the extreme. In each case, they have been taken over by an ideologically committed but fairly extreme faction, or element. Ultimately, this has been allowed to happen by the apathy, indolence and ignorance of the broader membership of these organisations.

I think those real conservative "grass roots" are either already voting Democrat or are too old to be bothered with voting at all next election.

Now all that remains of the Republican Party are the evangelicals and the libertarians. The scary ones.

10. Chuck Winder (R-ID): ”I would hope that when a woman goes in to a physician with a rape issue, that physician will indeed ask her about perhaps her marriage, was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape. I assume that’s part of the counseling that goes on.” - March 2012

9. Rick Santorum: “I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you… rape victims should make the best of a bad situation.” - January, 2012

8. Mitt Romney: “I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.” – January 2012

7. Mitt Romney: “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.” — January 2012

6. Roger Rivard (R-WI): ”Some girls rape easy.” – October 2012

5. Mitt Romney: “I went to a number of women’s groups and said ‘Can you help us find folks?’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.” —October, 2012

4. Richard Mourdock (R-IN): ”I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” – October 2012

3. Todd Akin (R-MO): “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down” - mid 2012 Senate Campaign

2. Mitt Romney: ”As president, I will create 12 million new jobs.” —Second presidential debate

1. Mitt Romney: ”Government does not create jobs. Government does not create jobs.” — 45 minutes later (Oct. 16, 2012)

This top 10 quote of the GOP sort of sums it up to me.

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Originally Posted by barbaro

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

The only other Republican I can think of at the moment who might have the charisma to pull in the swing voters is Christie. Do you think he's a threat? If not, is there any serious Republican candidate for President?

I think Big Chris is a contender.

He's numbers (favorability ratings) seemed good last time I checked.

US Presidential races are strange. In a 4 year period, a lot of things change as for candidates.

I'd like to see a swing back to a moderate Repub in 4 years.

I think Christie has appeal.

He came to WA and stumped for Rob McKenna and up until then I just saw him as a fat loud mouth slob ... Which he likely still is, but he's been acting a bit differently pissing in the Republican rice bowl since Hurricane Sandy. He could turn into a serious threat.

His numbers are good (or were, and probably still are).

If the GOP "establishment" thinks he is viable I think they will dump a lot of money into him (no pun).

It depends on if he actually runs.

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Is there a chance that under the current leadership, the grass roots GOP supporters will feel so alienated that a new party could conceivably break through and fill the void; a conservative right party as opposed to the very scary talibanesque republicans?

Won't be a third party.

The system basically excludes a third party from any chance.

The GOP will have to sort out its differences AND get the demographics needed (enough women voters, which are 25% of all voters, Center & Independents, suburban voters).

^ Tell you what Barboro, if I was a successful republican, middle of the road (as in not a taliban impersonator at the weekend) and was well connected I would be talking to the like minded individuals in the party occupying the seats asking them what they thought of going off by themselves. What happens in the US if someone one day decides "fuck being a Republican, I want to be liked again, I'm being a democrat" and switches allegiance? IS there a new election for his seat?