Conservative Values = Strippers & Bondage

The Republican National Committee spent thousands of dollars last month at a sex-themed Hollywood club that features topless dancers and bondage outfits. Of course now they say they don't know the nature of the event, or who authorized the money, but they say it was inappropriate.

Bet those far rightwing Teabaggers, the rightwing Christian groups and the whole "family values" crowd are glad they donated to the RNC!

RNC Chairman Michael Steele has been criticized in the past for his spending, including $17,000 for private planes and $13,000 for car services last month alone. And Steele also spent $18,000 to redecorate his office. Some Republican officials want him to resign.

(Above right: Bondage Barbi. Every Republican boy's dream.)

They're Getting Uglier and More Dangerous

It started last summer, with busloads of so-called "average Americans," organized and financed by millionaires like David Koch and his group Freedomworks. These people appeared at town hall meetings all over the country to shout down anyone with whom they disagreed about health care. We've seen their racist pictures of President Obama and read their misspelled racist and hate-filled placards.

Since health care reform is now law, these people -- spurred on by hate speech, some members of Congress, and rightwing rabble-rousing AM talk hosts -- have gone much further. These Tea Baggers have recently spit upon members of Congress, screamed the N-word at black members of Congress, screamed the F-word at gay members of Congress, mocked a wheelchair-bound Parkinson's victim at a health care rally, vandalized local Democratic headquarters, thrown bricks through Democratic Congress members' office windows, and made death threats to at least 10 Democratic members of Congress. They and their leaders incite violence in their speech and actions. Sarah Palin produced maps with riflescope crosshairs to mark Democratic districts. Their signs threaten gun violence because they don't want (and probably don't understand) any part of the new health care reform laws. Yesterday, several signs were waved stating "If Brown [the new Massachusetts governor] can't stop it, a Browning [gun] will."

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These people call themselves patriots, but have no respect for the American system or the Democratically-elected officials with whom they disagree. Rightwing apologists claim these are "isolated incidents." One or two crazies would be isolated incidents. Hundreds of these occurrences all over the country for the past year define the far rightwing nutjobs that have taken over the Republican party.

Best of the Teabaggers

Although Jon Stewart and the Daily Show are off this week, at least we have a compilation of the more ridiculous moments from the past year in health reform, thanks to the bused-in teabaggers at town hall meetings and rallies around the country.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-march-22-2010/on-topic--scandal-list---tea-bagging

Top 10 Benefits from Health Care Reform

From the Huffington Post:

As soon as health care passes, the American people will see immediate benefits. The legislation will:

• Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;


• Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;


• Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;


• Lower seniors prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;


• Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;


• Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;

• Require plans to cover an enrollee's dependent children until age 26;


• Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;


• Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;


• Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.

By enacting these provisions right away, and others over time, we will be able to lower costs for everyone and give all Americans and small businesses more control over their health care choices.

Finally!

From the Associated Press:

Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35961584/ns/politics-health_care_reform/

Rude, Obnoxious Republicans

We saw how they acted last summer at town hall meetings around the country. The same apparently unemployed, loud, nasty "average Americans" were bused in to local meetings about health care reform all over the country. They screamed, they shrieked and they tried to shout down anyone who had a different opinion.

Here's how the rude, obnoxious "news anchor" at Fox interviewed the President of the United States. As msnbc's Lawrence O'Donnell states, it would be impossible to imagine Dick Cheney or George Bush treated with this kind of disrespect. Of course, at Fox they're instructed to keep their mouths shut when Bush or Cheney show up.

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And here are several rightwing nutjob Teabaggers being just as rude, obnoxious and disrespectful to a guy with Parkinson's Disease at a health care rally. These big mouths screaming and throwing money at the guy would be the first to whine and beg for assistance if they were in his shoes.



And they wonder why the majority of Americans can't stand them...

Hey, What's That?

Here is one of the older clowns on the Fox Comedy Channel who tries to mock President Obama for using a TelePrompter when giving a speech -- even though their hero Saint Ronald Reagan, Pappy Bush and Little George all used TelePrompters for speechifyin' .

But... what's that behind him, reminding him what his name is?

Texas -- Making Alabama and Mississippi Look Progressive

This week, the Texas School Board (with a 10-5 Rightwing Regressive majority) voted in some new rules, attempting to rewrite history through the eyes of its closed-minded right wing Christian zealots. Wait til you hear this.

Separation of church and state? Don't you dare teach that in Texas! The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the US government from promoting one religion over all others.”

Hating all things Democratic, it will describe the US government as a "constitutional republic," rather than a "democratic republic," which is what the US is. (In a Democratic republic a Constitution is followed and the public democratically chooses representatives to whom authority is delegated.)

In gun-crazy Texas, of course, in addition to learning the Bill of Rights, the board specifically required a reference to the Second Amendment's right to bear arms in a US government class about citizenship. ("This hour's lesson is sponsored by Smith and Wesson, and the National Rifle Association.")

Teachers will be mandated to teach "American exceptionalism," which refers to the theory that the United States occupies a special niche among the nations of the world.
("USA! USA! Number One! Number One!") Nevermind the fact that for more than 250 years slavery was legal in the US; please forget about the fact that for another 100 years after slavery ended, civil rights did not exist; erase from your mind the fact that until 1920 women couldn't vote; try not to remember that even today, right now, same-sex marriage is only legal in a handful of states.

Conservatives also prevailed on an amendment touting the superiority of American Capitalism, instructing students on the dangers of over-regulation on industry. (Nevermind the last 8 years of deregulation provided us with a 2 1/2 year recession-bordering-on-depression, record unemployment and record foreclosures.)

And amazingly, the Texas school Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”

It's funny and tragic at the same time. Texas has almost 5 million students, so it's a large buyer of textbooks. That means the nonsense they insist on may be in textbooks used in other states, too.

Perhaps we could either sell Texas back to Mexico and force them all to learn Spanish, or maybe we can convince them to take their crazy governor's advice and secede already.

And Even More Hypocrisy

...from the Repressive Rightwing. Seems there's this Congressman in California who consistently votes against every possible gay rights measure, including expanding anti-discrimination laws, recognition of out-of-state same sex marriages, and even a bill establishing a day of recognition of Harvey Milk, a longtime California gay rights advocate. His name is Roy Ashburn. Equality California, a group that advocates for expanded gay rights and other issues, has consistently given Ashburn a zero rating on its scorecard.

Well, guess what? Mr Ashburn was forced to come out after being arrested for drunk driving after leaving Faces, a gay club in Sacramento. Nice going. Now... how to explain all this to your wife and four kids. Oh, and who was that guy in the car with you?

Typical Repressed Republican -- forced to live a lie and vote against his own interests, and the rights of millions of people.

The Hypocrisy Continues

...from the everybody's favorite half-governor, Simple Sarah.

Seems behind all the screaming about "socialized medicine" and how the US should remain the only country in the civilized world without some kind of national health care, she and her family routinely crossed the border to Canada to partake of their health care system. Oh, the hypocrisy. Oh, the humanity. When will it ever stop?

From Huffington Post:

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who has gone to great lengths to hype the supposed dangers of a big government takeover of American health care -- admitted over the weekend that she used to get her treatment in Canada's single-payer system.

"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," Palin said in her first Canadian appearance since stepping down as governor of Alaska. "And I think now, isn't that ironic?"

The irony, one guesses, is that Palin now views Canada's health care system as revolting: with its government-run administration and 'death-panel'-like rationing. Clearly, however, she and her family once found it more alluring than, at the very least, the coverage available in rural Alaska.

Republican Strategy: Use Scare Tactics

We heard it all before when George Bush was running for re-election.
"Don't vote Democratic; they're weak on terrorism; we'll get hit again just like on 9/11."

Translation: "Try to forget that we Republicans are weak on terrorism, and the US got hit on our watch because we ignored months of explicit warnings."

Now their official playbook has been uncovered, and the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, pretends he knows nothing about it.

Regressives are told to USE FEAR as their number one tool to win back Congress this November. They are also told to use the word "Socialism" more often. They refer to their own small donors as "reactionary," and their large donors as "ego-driven." Amazing how a political party can display such contempt for the people who finance it. Click the graphic below to see it for yourself. (Both graphics from Politico.com)
When you don't have a clue how to govern, and everything you've done for the last 8 years has failed, fear is the only tool you have left. During the last Repressive Republican administration, they...
--failed to stop the biggest security breach in American history, with 4 terrorist attacks in one day on 9/11;
--purposely lied the US into a costly war against a country that could not threaten us;
--precipitated the biggest financial meltdown since the Great Depression 80 years ago;
--triggered a 3-year housing slump that caused the most foreclosures in US history;
--oh, and how did you like the $5-a-gallon gas prices during Bush's entire last year?

These are the people who are using fear of Democrats to get themselves back in power. If we give it back to them, we"ll get just what we deserve.