Let's take a peek at Twitter to see how the Trump meltdown is progressing shall we? Update!

Major story that the Dems are making up phony polls in order to suppress the the Trump . We are going to WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2016

"The THE Trump?" Good lord he stutters when he types too.

By the way those "phony polls" he is referencing are all of the most accurate polls that cannot be skewed by Trump's crazed supporters voting multiple times to give him the lead.

Why has nobody asked Kaine about the horrible views emanated on WikiLeaks about Catholics? Media in the tank for Clinton but Trump will win!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2016

We are winning and the press is refusing to report it. Don't let them fool you- get out and vote! #DrainTheSwamp on November 8th!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2016

Really? He's winning?

Yeah he's wining so much that CBS is now calling deep red Texas a "battleground" state.

 And he is winning so much that even Karl Rove is now saying that he has no hope of winning.

Are we sure that Trump is not Charlie Sheen in disguise?

Update: This is Trump today complaining that the system is rigged and the bad pollsters are only polling Democrats and that is why it looks like he is losing.

.@realDonaldTrump: "The system is corrupt and rigged and broken and we're going to fix it." pic.twitter.com/rbA6oCdurv

— POLITICO (@politico) October 24, 2016

So much cognitive dissonance, so little time.

Update 2: Here is Trump trying to enrage the crowd against the media covering the event.

.@realDonaldTrump on the media: "They might even be more crooked than Hillary. Without the media, Hillary Clinton would be nothing." pic.twitter.com/7LG1ehQpyG

— POLITICO (@politico) October 24, 2016

That shit is very dangerous and has forced law enforcement to protect reporters from some of Trump's supporters in the past.

I hope that if any journalist is ever injured at one of these events that the news agency they work for sues the crap out of Donald Trump and that the police pursue criminal charges against him for inciting violence.

Sarah Palin accuses Ted Cruz of being a "typical politician" and begs the Carson and Trump supporters to grab their pitchforks and torches and storm the "GOP machine."

Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz before Donald Trump bought her support.

Courtesy of the the Trump Tramp's Facebook page:  

Phony GOP Establishment Preaches "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" 

Dr. Ben Carson and Donald Trump are RIGHT for trying to get SOMEONE IN AUTHORITY to hear what We, the People are saying!  (I swear every time she says "We the people," I visualize it as being "We the people who have never read the Constitution.") The shenanigans in the bogus Iowa vote count tell you what the GOP machine is all about. It's sick. It rails against Obama's unethical practice of never holding his people accountable when they engage in obvious deception, yet must idolize the guy because they're doing the same thing he does. 

(I actually had NO idea what that last part meant.) 

No more politics as usual! These corrupt, unaccountable actions of typical politicians are why our Republic is in jeopardy. (She does know that this is HER party she's talking about, right?) Carson and Trump: you are right, and shame on these establishment shills and candidates for trying to sweep their deception under the rug. THIS is why the status quo has got to go. 

Carry the torch on this (You thought I was joking about the torches didn't you?), Carson and Trump supporters. Ignore the pundits telling us to sit down and shut up. Don't make our candidates do it alone. We, the People must be heard. 

- Sarah Palin

To be fair there really WERE voice mails sent out during the Iowa caucus that claimed Carson was shutting down this campaign. Whether or not that had any significant impact on the final tally is debatable.

Besides the voice mails may in fact ultimately have been accurate.

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

Ben Carson, the famed neurosurgeon whose bid for the Republican presidential nomination has struggled to keep pace with rivals, will cut more than 50 staff positions Thursday as part of an overhaul and downsizing of his campaign. 

Salaries are being significantly reduced. Carson’s traveling entourage will shrink to only a handful of advisers. And instead of flying on private jets, Carson may soon return to commercial flights.

Of course the Carson campaign claims that they are staying in the race, but isn't that what ALL failing campaigns say before they close up shop?

Let's face it nothing that happened in Iowa is going to mean jack shit in determining who will be the GOP nominee.

The only people who seem upset about this thing in Iowa anymore is Sarah Palin and, believe it or not, Karl Rove.

According to his Twitter page it looks like Trump himself is moving on to more important things.

Taking a helicopter to New Hampshire, boarding now. Amazing activity planned. New UMASS poll, very nice! pic.twitter.com/xFvGE0dRlA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2016

Actually I think the fact that Palin was assigned to continue beating this dead horse is an indication of how little value Trump places on her participation in his campaign.

So just why is Karl Rove helping Bernie Sanders?

Courtesy of Salon: 

Why is Karl Rove trying to help Bernie Sanders win the Democratic nomination? 

Four years after Karl Rove wasted over $300 million from establishment GOP donors in his unsuccessful attempt to use his Super PAC American Crossroads to elect Mitt Romney president, he’s started running ads in the Democratic primary race against Hillary Clinton in Iowa. Why? 

Back in 2012, Rove raised all that money to run anti-Obama and pro-Romney ads. This year Crossroads is probably finding it hard to make an argument for investing in its efforts, because donors are still smarting from 2012’s failed campaign, and they are feeling fleeced again after giving to Jeb Bush’s lackluster 2016 presidential campaign and Super PAC. 

In a year when advertising dollars have done little to move voters, that won’t stop Rove from trying. So how is a GOP establishment Super PAC manager supposed to survive in 2016? He just has to be more creative in his dog-and-pony show to donors. “It looks like the Brooklyn Bridge isn’t for sale, but look over here. Here’s the Manhattan Bridge. Let’s see if we can buy this one!” In other words, pivot away from helping establishment GOP candidates, and run ads in the Democratic primary. 

Now, Rove is likely making the case to the big GOP donors, who are a little Super PAC shy, that he’s the only one who can stop Hillary from being elected president. More specifically, they have to stop her in the Democratic primary because the leading GOP candidates, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, can’t beat her in the general election. The old socialist from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, is an easier opponent for Trump or Cruz in November. So don’t waste your money with Bush, Rubio, Kasich, Christie. Send it to Crossroads. That’s the best investment. Rove will beat Clinton in the primary, so we will have a chance of winning in the general. That’s the pitch from Rove, and it’s just got to be the motivation behind the anti-Clinton ads.

Now we should start off by saying that Karl Rove has virtually NO credibility when it comes to predicting who will or will not win an election.

(Remember how convinced he was in 2012 that Romney had won Ohio.)

However he does have a point that Sanders will have a tough time in the general convincing folks, who are learning about him for the first time, that he is the best choice.

Like it or not, a lot of people vote based on name recognition, and if he is up against Donald "The Apprentice" Trump he is going to have a hard slog.

However with Clinton the name recognition is not a factor.

And of course the other problem is the term socialist, which, like it or not, is indeed a big deal in a general election where such a seemingly un-American label may possibly be an insurmountable obstacle.

WE may be okay with it, because we understand the distinction between a Socialist and a Democratic Socialist, but that does not mean the average voter is going to take the time to learn the difference, or even care once they do.

Well at least that is what Karl Rove is banking on. 

George H. Bush calls Dick Cheney "Arrogant" and "Iron ass." Oh now it's on!

Courtesy of The Guardian: 

Former US president George HW Bush has hit out at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, two of the most senior figures in his son’s administration, labelling them too “hardline” and “arrogant” in their handling of the 11 September attacks. 

A new biography of the 41st president – Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey Of George Herbert Walker Bush – reveals that Bush Sr held Cheney and Rumsfeld responsible for the hawkish stance that “hurt” his son’s administration, Fox News reported on Wednesday. 

“The reaction [to 9/11], what to do about the Middle East. Just iron-ass. His seeming knuckling under to the real hard-charging guys who want to fight about everything, use force to get our way in the Middle East,” Bush told Meacham in the book, which is due to be published next week.

Of course Papa Bush does not extend the same criticism to his son:  

“He’s my son, he did his best and I’m for him. It’s that simple an equation.”

Well what did you expect?

Still Bush senior coming out against Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the response to 9-11 is huge.

And it comes at a rather inopportune time for Darth Cheney as there is a resolution about to be introduced to the Senate to honor the former VP and war criminal:  

Starting in December, the likeness of former Vice President Dick Cheney will grace the U.S. Capitol, in accordance with a Senate tradition honoring former vice presidents. 

The Huffington Post was tipped off by a Senate resolution "authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of the marble bust of Vice President Richard Cheney on December 3, 2015."

Yeah well they better plan on having around the clock security because I CANNOT imagine a more likely target for vandalism than a bust of Dick Cheney.

Personally my all time favorite fantasy is seeing Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rove, and Wolfowitz all marched off in chains to serve out the rest of their lives on a federal penitentiary as war criminals.

Karl Rove does not consider Donald Trump to be a serious candidate. Duh!

Courtesy of Bloomberg:  

Republican strategist Karl Rove says he has a hard time imagining Donald Trump actually going through with his presidential bid and submitting filings that would reveal details about his finances. 

“This guy is not a serious candidate,” Rove said on Fox News Sunday. “As of Friday at 5:00, he had yet to file the one-page declaration of his candidacy with the FEC [Federal Election Commission]. The reason he's not is because once he does that, that triggers a 30-day period during which he has to lay out in excruciating detail the range of his liabilities and his assets. He gets to have two 45-day extensions. He will delay filing that piece of paper, and mark my words, he will delay and ask for extensions as long as possible.” 

“Ignore him. Look, he's completely off the base. 'I'm going to negotiate with ISIS'? 'I have a secret plan to deal with ISIS but I can't tell you about it because of my enemies'?” said Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. 

“We ought to treat him as a serious candidate when he finally files that declaration and commits himself to unveiling all of his assets and liabilities,” Rove said.

I can't believe I am saying this but Rove has a good point.

After all how many times now has Trump  played this game?

He may be a bigger political prick tease than Sarah Palin herself.

Of course Trump being Trump he could not let this go without a response:

.@KarlRove, who spent $430 million in the last cycle and didn't win one race, said I'm not a candidate until I file papers. Next week Karl!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2015

And of course he wasn't done there.

.@KarlRove stated clearly that he wants to repeal the 2nd Amendment. I thought @FoxNews was going to fire that jerk after his Romney fiasco?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2015

.@KarlRove still thinks Romney won! He doesn't have a clue! @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2015

Man I love it when these arrogant assholes fight in public.

Before he leaves the Senate Alaska's Mark Begich would like to do something about those SuperPAC robo-calls.

Courtesy of The Hill:

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is taking a departing shot at super-PACs following his defeat in the Alaska Senate race. 

 Begich introduced legislation Thursday that would add super-PACs and other outside groups to the list of groups that must comply with the National Do Not Call Registry. 

His legislation, titled The Do Not Disturb Act, would also keep people on the list from receiving robocalls and "push polls," which are surveys that attempt to get a desired result with leading questions. 

"I have long been an advocate for protecting Alaskans’ privacy and for limiting the ability of outside groups to spend endless amounts of money on our elections,” said Begich, a member of the Commerce Committee. 

“I heard from Alaskans all across the state during the campaign, and enough is enough. My bill will allow individuals to opt out of receiving these sorts of pestering phone calls from super-PACs and similar groups,” he added. 

If Begich is successful this may be the most impactful, and welcome, legislation that he has ever introduced.

As I have mentioned before the number of calls I received from pollsters, recorded campaign messages, and other interested parties, was completely overwhelming.

I quite literally hated the sound of my phone ringing. It seemed like it was never a call that I wanted to take.

Personally I think this is a good step, but I would also like to see something done about the advertisements that pop up on every YouTube video that I tried to watch this last few months, and the avalanche of television advertising that seemed to use up every second of commercial airtime since August.

And it is no wonder that Begich is the one to spearhead this effort.

I think it is pretty clear that he lost this race solely due to the efforts of outside groups, and that without the interference of the folks like Karl Rove and the Koch brothers he would have almost certainly retained his Senate seat.

Instead we are stuck with a political whore bought and paid for with corporate money, who has little interest in anything that Alaskans need or want, and is solely focused on pleasing his masters.

The Koch brothers and conservative PAC's are spending millions to defeat Mark Begich in Alaska. So here come the labor unions to the rescue.

AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami with Rachel Maddow

Courtesy of Mother Jones:

Republicans' most likely path to retaking the Senate in November requires GOPers to pick up seats in six key states: Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Of the six, Alaska—where Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is facing off against former Republican Attorney General Dan Sullivan—may be the closest race. That's why right-wing groups backed by the likes of the Koch brothers and Karl Rove are dumping millions into the state—and why Alaska unions are pulling out all the stops this year to make sure Begich, a fierce supporter of labor, carries the day. 

"This is literally the most active we've ever been in an election cycle," says Vince Beltrami, the president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, which represents nearly all unions in the state. 

Union members have been working the phones, pushing out mailings, and canvassing on behalf of Begich. Volunteers have even taken the unusual step of door-knocking in areas far outside of Alaska's urban centers, says Jerry McBeath, a professor of political science at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Because of the unprecedented level of campaign action this year, Beltrami says, the AFL-CIO had to rent out an extra 7,000-square-foot warehouse.

The giant push by labor this year comes not only because the race is one of the most competitive in the country and could decide which party controls the Senate. The wave of union action is also a backlash against the onslaught of money pouring into the state in support of Sullivan from the billionaire Koch brothers' dark-money group Americans for Prosperity and GOP operative Karl Rove's super-PAC, American Crossroads. The groups—which support the rollback of collective bargaining rights and back right-to-work laws, which prevent unions from compelling employees to join or pay dues to a union—are dumping money into the Alaska Senate race for the first time ever. 

"They're up here on the airwaves 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to tie Mark to Obama," Beltrami says. "They say things 50 times a day on the airwaves that aren't true. You gotta push back."

Don't forget these are ALASKAN union members fighting against forces outside of our state throwing truckloads of money at this election in order to elect an outsider who will jump through any flaming hoop they hold up for him.

We are fighting for our very lives up here, and this is absolutely a David and Goliath story of a local Anchorage man facing off against giants of industry willing to bury him under a mountain of campaign spending.

I know Vince though, and if this thing can be turned around with good hard work and a never say die attitude then he and his union brothers and sisters are certainly the ones to make that happen.

Sean Hannity: Talk of impeachment is "stupid for the Republicans." Sarah Palin to unfriend Hannity in 3..2..1

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

Rove told Hannity Republicans can’t be President Obama‘s “useful stooges” in allowing them to continue exploiting the impeachment meme. After all, the Democrats are fundraising off impeachment and Republicans talking about it would just embolden them. 

Hannity agreed and said, “This is a huge distraction, and politically, it would be stupid for the Republicans to bite that apple.”

You know this just keeps getting better and better.

However wasn't it just earlier this month that Hannity was not only allowing Palin to rant about impeachment on his show, but was also encouraging her to do so?

It looks like the higher ups at Fox News took Hannity aside and let him know that this talk of impeachment makes the cable news outlet and the Republicans look like idiots.

The more the Right Wing fringe pushes for impeachment, the more the slightly more reasonable folks try distance themselves and attempt to lay it all at the feet of the Democrats.

 Boy that's certainly going to make SOMEBODY a little pissy.

Uh oh! It looks like Tea Party favorite, and future presidential hopeful, Scott Walker did a no no!

Courtesy of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:   

Prosecutors allege Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fundraising among conservative groups to help his campaign and those of Republican state senators fend off recall elections during 2011 and '12, according to documents unsealed Thursday. 

In the documents, prosecutors lay out what they call an extensive "criminal scheme" to bypass state election laws by Walker, his campaign and two top deputies — R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl. The governor and his close confidants helped raise money and control spending through 12 conservative groups during the recall elections, according to the prosecutors' filings. 

The documents include an excerpt from an email in which Walker tells Karl Rove, former top adviser to President George W. Bush, that Johnson would lead the coordination campaign. Johnson is also chief adviser to Wisconsin Club for Growth, a conservative group active in the recall elections. 

"Bottom-line: R.J. helps keep in place a team that is wildly successful in Wisconsin. We are running 9 recall elections and it will be like 9 congressional markets in every market in the state (and Twin Cities)," Walker wrote to Rove on May 4, 2011.

Look I don't want to be all "I told you so" here, but I totally KNEW this guy was a lowlife.

He looks like the kind of skeevy used car salesman who is always turning back the odometers, lying about the vehicles accident history, and trying to sell you unnecessary rust proofing just to screw you out of every nickel possible.

And the fact that he was working with Karl Rove to me is just about proof positive of his guilt.

These Teabagger Republicans really ARE just like the old Republicans, corrupt, larcenous, and willing to bend or break any law in order to get elected.

More outside money being spent in Alaska than anyplace else. They are trying to buy OUR election.

Senator Mark Begich, in the GOP cross hairs.

Courtesy of The New York Times: 

A big part of being an Alaskan is harboring a suspicion of all things Lower 48. It’s an inclination that runs so deep that locals have a proper noun to describe everywhere else — Outside. 

So, naturally, there is quite a bit of alarm here over the state’s newest political distinction. Alaska has unwillingly become a giant receptacle for money from “super PACs” and other out-of-state groups fighting over control of the United States Senate. 

In no other state have so many ads about a Senate race run so far; in no place else has more money been spent to book commercial time through Election Day. More than $20 million worth of ads have been reserved so far — the bulk of the money coming from Washington-based outfits like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads, which wants to elect a Republican, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is defending Senator Mark Begich, one of the most targeted first-term Democrats. 

Five months before the November election, that sum would be extraordinary in any state. It is all the more staggering considering it will be spent to reach only about 490,000 registered voters.

Personally I would not categorize the spending by  Democratic Senatorial Campaign in the same way I would the Crossroads and Koc brother money.

After all the Democrats are spending in response to the PAC money flooding out airwaves and to protect one of their own.

I this this reporter, Jeremy Peters, has really hit it on the head when he describes the suspicion with which Alaskans view outside money and influence.

Simply put, we don;t like that shit!

We may be quirky and a little crazy, but we are far more likely to trust a whack-a-doodle from Seward than some uptight suit from the lower 48.

I think that all Begich has to do is continue reminding people Dan Sullivan's ties to outside influences, and remind Alaskans of his similarities to our most famous carpetbagger John Lindauer and he should have little trouble hanging onto his seat.

Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Karl Rove's attacks on Hillary Clinton. Well, except Republicans of course.

Courtesy of the Washington Post:

Two-thirds of Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll disapprove of the Republican strategist raising questions about Clinton's age and health in advance of her potential presidential run. The lopsided negative reaction to Rove's commentary -- just 26 percent approve of his topic of criticism -- includes majorities of every age group as well as Democrats and independents. Republicans split evenly on the issue, with 45 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving of Rove broaching the issue.

In the overall category, combining all political groups it was 66% to 26% disapproval. For Democrats  it was 84 to 11 percent. Independents 64 to 27. And of course as pointed out in the above paragraph only the Republicans were evenly split on the issue.

Of course since most Republicans will undoubtedly vote against Clinton based simply on principle, and every other demographic is turned off by this, it is probably not something that the rest of the GOP should adopt as a viable method of attack against Hillary.

Of course this information comes too late to stop a certain Grizzled Mama from stuffing her Naughty Monkey pumps into her gaping maw.

Karl Rove receives blow back for suggesting that Hillary Clinton may have brain damage.

Courtesy of MSNBC:

 Republican strategist Karl Rove has denied a report that he said Hillary Clinton may have suffered brain damage, claiming he “never used that phrase.” 

“I didn’t say she had brain damage; she had a serious health episode,” he said Tuesday on FOX News. According to The New York Post, at a conference last week, the former George W. Bush adviser brought up the topic of Clinton’s health after she was hospitalized in December 2012 for a blood clot. 

“Thirty days in the hospital?” Rove reportedly told the conference, according to the Post. “And when she reappears, she’s wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what’s up with that.”  (The glasses were actually to correct a temporary case of double vision.)

Clinton’s health scare hospitalized her for three days – not 30, as Rove reportedly suggested. The incident occurred after Clinton was recuperating from a fall and concussion, forcing the former secretary of state to push back her scheduled congressional testimony over the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya. 

Though he denied characterizing Clinton’s injuries as “brain damage,” Rove on Tuesday largely stood by his reported comments. He said he brought up the issue to raise questions ahead of the looming 2016 presidential elections. 

“My point was is that Hillary Clinton wants to run for president, but she would not be human if this didn’t enter in as a consideration,” Rove said Tuesday on Fox. “This will be an issue in the 2016 race, whether she likes it or not.” 

“When you go through a health incident like this, any presidential candidate has to ask themselves, ‘Am I willing to do this for eight years of my life?’ ” he continued. “She’s hidden a lot of this.”

I think it is pretty clear that what Rove is doing is attempting to frighten Hillary away from the idea of running in 2016, by demonstrating how ugly things will get for her.

Personally I think that Hillary is well prepared for the Republican smear merchants, as she dealt with plenty back during Bill's presidency and her own Senate career.

However I also believe that incidents like this really speak to the almost overpowering fear that the Republicans feel concerning Hillary, and her chances of taking the White House in 2016.

Perhaps the best smackdown I have seen in response to this attack from Rove, came from our own KatieAnnieOakly.

#Rove sez #Hillary may have #BrainDamage; it didn't bother him when #McCain picked @SarahPalinUSA in 2008... #Coulter pic.twitter.com/6oxertfecI

— KatieAnnieOakly (@KatieAnnieOakly) May 13, 2014

Could not have said it better myself.

Karl Rove tells Rand Paul that bringing up Monica Lewinsky to hurt Hillary Clinton is a waste of time.

Courtesy of TPM:  

Bashing former President Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky scandal isn't a good strategy to use if Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wants to position himself as a presidential contender in 2016, according to election oracle Karl Rove. 

The veteran Republican strategist said Tuesday in an appearance on Fox News that Paul needs to shelve personal ambition and focus on a bigger message if he wants to field a viable campaign. 

"Frankly, Rand Paul spending a lot of time talking about the mistakes of Bill Clinton does not look like a big agenda for the future of the country," he said. 

Paul has lobbed a series of attacks at Clinton in recent weeks, ranging from calling him a "serial philanderer" to suggesting Democrats return money they raised with his help. 

Rove said the Kentucky Republican ought to focus on strengthening his "skills" as a candidate, rather than on a White House affair that's already 15 years old. 

"I'm not certain again that beating up on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky is a particularly good thing to strengthen your skills for the 2016 contest," he said.

Okay I don't trust Karl Rove as far as I can roll him, so I am not sure if he is really trying to help Paul here, or if he doesn't like him for a candidate so he is undermining him publicly.

Whatever the reason, Rove is right. (Did I just write that?)

Trying to defeat Hillary by bringing up Bill's dalliances is going to be about as effective as calling Obama a Kenyan socialist was to stopping his reelection.

I wonder if this means that Rove is giving up on 2016, or that he has something he considers much more effective up his sleeve to use against Hillary?

Like I said, I don't trust ole Turdblossom.

DJ makes a citizen's arrest of ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair for war crimes. Well good for him!

Courtesy of The Telegraph:  

One of the world’s most controversial political figures had an unlikely brush with reality on Friday, with Tony Blair subjected to a humiliating citizen’s arrest by a DJ working as a barman at trendy London eaterie the Tramshed. 

It appears Blair was caught off-guard during an intimate meal with family and friends. The former Prime Minister has been haunted for almost a decade by the legacy of what many term an illegal war which saw up to a million Iraqis die and the country left ravaged by rival militia groups. 

While Blair is used to facing protests wherever he goes, from high level conferences to book signings, he has never been ambushed in a social setting – until now. 

DJ and aspiring producer Twiggy Garcia told Vice he had fantasised for years about ‘arresting’ Blair. He couldn’t believe his luck when he discovered he was in the very restaurant he was working. It was not a plan, he claimed on Monday but “something I have wanted to do for a few years. I had been waiting for the opportunity after seeing the website arrestblair.org and it just so happened that we were in the same place at the same time.” 

Mr Garcia recalls his “heart rate increased” when he discovered Blair’s “eerie presence” was in the building. He feared Blair’s security detail might have overheard him saying “should I citizen’s arrest him?” 

His motivation? “I believe Blair is responsible for the mass murder of Iraqi civilians after taking our country into an illegal war.”

I love this!

I don;t know about most of you but I have a similar fantasy when it comes to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Karl Rove.

 Apparently this is the fifth time that somebody has tried to place Blair under a citizen's arrest, mostly due to the urging of this website, which offers a reward for anyone who successfully arrests him.

Okay my question is why isn't there an ArrestBush.org, an ArrestRumsfeld.org, and an ArrestCheney.org?

Because I think it would be awesome if the criminals in the Bush administration were afraid to go out into to public for fearing of being accosted by justice loving Americans.

Jon Stewart slams Karl Rove and John McCain for not taking responsibility for their creation, the Tea Party. Uses Sarah Palin to spike his point in the end zone.

Click image to play video

"No matter how coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs you think your wacko colleagues are, they don't come anywhere close to your hatchling. You opened Pandora's box!"

Okay THAT was great.

I swear that Jon Stewart sometimes seems to have a better research staff than even Rachel Maddow.

And he is dead on to use Sarah Palin to shame John McCain and leave him much of the blame for the creation of the rabid Teabaggers that have virtually destroyed the Republican party.

Former Karl Rove operative, Tim Griffin, says he will NOT seek reelection in Arkansas to "spend more time with his children." Now why does that sound so familiar?

Courtesy of Politico:

 Arkansas Rep. Tim Griffin, a second-term Republican, announced on Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2014, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. 

“It has been an agonizing and difficult decision involving much prayer, thought and discussion. We have decided that now is the time for me to focus intently on my top priority, my family, as Elizabeth and I raise our two young children,” Griffin said in a statement to the Arkansas news site Talk Business. 

“To that end, I will not seek reelection to a third term. I will complete my second term, but I have made no decision as to my plans after Congress except that I will continue in public service, including as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve,” he said. 

In an interview taking place only hours after his announcement Griffin claims that “This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody who actually knows me" Well I cannot say that I know this guy, thankfully, but I DO know that he seemed to gladly accept just about every underhanded thing that Karl Rove assigned to him in order to get ahead, and that included purging voting rolls in 2004 to help Bush beat Kerry, and even flying up here to help battle against Alaska's Clean Water Initiative.

So do I really think that little Timmy Griffin has suddenly decided that politics is not for him, and that it is time to stay at home with the kids?

Not on your life.

Stay tuned my friends, I'm pretty sure I smell the scent of a scandal drifting in from Arkansas.

Political pundit Juan Williams speaks the truth to Fox News panel on Benghazi: “It’s gone, baby. It’s in your head. That’s about the only place.”

So as we get closer to the one year anniversary of the Benghazi attack many on the Right Wing are doing a full court press to resurrect the Benghazi "scandal." This includes Ted Cruz, among others.

And of course Fox News is serving as the main stage for this tired old rerun.

So yesterday on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace had as his panel, Karl Rove, Brit Hume, Howard Kurtz, Karl Rove, and token liberal Juan Williams.

However this time Williams decided to provide a little more than simply token resistance to the Right Wing conspirators.

Here is a breakdown courtesy of Raw Story: 

Williams pointed out that there was “not one shred of evidence that the White House knew about this beforehand, they covered up anything.” 

“To make a scandal out of this, really — you say this is not going away, let me tell you, this is gone away,” William said, turning to Rove. 

“No, no. No, it hasn’t,” Rove replied. “The American people were lied to. Somebody concocted a deliberate lie that this was not a terrorist attack, that this was a spontaneous response to video that no one saw. The American people were having [the] legitimate question, why were efforts not undertaken to save our people.” 

“Efforts were made,” Williams pointed out. 

At that point, Rove lost his cool. 

“No, they weren’t!” for former Bush senior adviser shouted. “The death of four Americans and why they were allowed to die and no one went to their aid is not in the weeds, with all due respect, Juan! It’s not in the weeds!” 

“What’s in the weeds is that you continue to prosecute this like there’s some huge crime,” Williams remarked. “Karl, stop living in the past and trying to get after Susan Rice and whoever. This has nothing to do with Ambassador Stevens [Christopher] Stevens.” 

“We don’t who is responsible for lying to the American people!” Rove yelled. “You may be comfortable with the American people being told a deliberate lie by the administration, but I’m not. And I think we need to get to the bottom of it.” 

“Karl, you can continue to raise your voice, but it does not speak to the heart of the issue,” Williams said, rolling his eyes. 

“One more thing, think of the list of — going around this table here — the list of questions that remain unanswered to this day are what make this still a legitimate topic,” Hume opined. “And, Juan, I’m sorry to say that this is simply not over.” 

“It’s gone, baby,” Williams quipped. “It’s in your head. That’s about the only place.”

My favorite part was the uncomfortable chuckling after that last statement.

I don't often give Williams much credit for being the voice of reason on Fox, because to be honest I think most of the time it is an orchestrated charade, but THIS one really seemed to leave a mark.  So good for Juan Williams, and let's see if they invite him back for further discussions on Benghazi.

Karl Rove takes his cues from the ScyFy network in newest attack on Obamacare.

Courtesy of Political Ticker: 

Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS has a new online attack video criticizing Obamacare in a howling, chomping mass of fury and destruction that shall forever terrify the shark/tornado/health care-phobics of the world. 

Parodying the SyFy network's phenomenon "Sharknado," the anti-Obamacare version is called "ObamaCareNado." 

"Just when you thought it was safe to go to the doctor," the schlock-stick narrator tells viewers, "a rising tide of health care costs." 

Tornadoes rip through scenery and people in the 47-second 'trailer,' bearing the faces of prime Crossroads targets like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, and of course the president. 

"Nobody is safe from its wrath," the video says of "ObamaCareNado." "Leaving a path of destruction through our economy."

Sharknado for those of you who had the good taste to hear nothing about it was a ridiculously over the top low. budget cable, film that took advantage of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week by combining a natural disaster with sharks.

References to it exploded all over Twitter and other social media outlets, and apparently that was all it took to get Karl Rove's attention.

After all combining actual problems with the imaginary ones inside of his own head is a Karl Rove point of pride.

Interestingly enough this comes while news of the incredible savings enjoyed in New York due to the Affordable Care Act are all over the news, and on the same day that President Obama gave a speech touting its many positive impacts on the lives of the American people.

You know at this point it is becoming almost impossible to miss the fact that the Republicans are living in abject fear that Obamacare will be a huge success and they will forever be the party of obstructionism that did everything in their power to keep the American people from receiving better healthcare and lower insurance premiums.

At some point you would think that some GOP politicians might start jumping off from this Republican version of the Titanic and start swimming to safety before the waters of public opinion pull the party into the inky blackness of obscurity and irrelevance.

But instead they simply keep steaming ahead as if completely oblivious to the monstrous icebergs rising up out of the fog before them. And yet no such clarity seems to be asserting itself.

Well as a Democrat I do not feel compelled to point out the obvious, however once all the dust has settled I do plan to dance on a couple of partisan graves. Just letting everybody know.

The history of the Karl Rove/Sarah Palin feud.

I did not realize how long the back and forths had been going on, but this started essentially as soon as McCain chose Palin as his running mate.

Personally I found this list by New York Magazine fascinating. I think you will too:

September 1, 2008: Rove, a Republican ostensibly trying to help the Republicans win the presidential race, suggested that the selection of Palin as John McCain's running mate was "not a governing decision but a campaign decision." 

September 19, 2008: Rove reiterated the point by telling the AP that Palin was a "political pick" and was not the most qualified candidate for the job. 

September 24, 2008: Asked whether Palin would make a good president, Rove responded, "I don't know." It is becoming clear that Rove is not really a Palin fan. 

November 13, 2008: After the election, Rove said that if Palin "wants to run for president she's gonna have to get somebody to move to Anchorage, Alaska and help her take her game to another level." Tough but fair. 

July 5, 2009: Rove said he was "perplexed" by Palin's decision to abruptly resign her governorship before her term was up. "It is not clear what her strategy here is by exiting the governorship 2 1/2 years through the term and putting herself on the national stage that she may not yet be prepared to operate in," he said. 

September 15, 2010: After Rove slammed Christine O'Donnell for being probably one of the worst Senate candidates of all time, Palin, who endorsed O'Donnell, struck back against the "good old boy" and his establishment mindset. "Well, bless his heart," Palin said on Fox News. "We love our friends, they’re in the machine, the expert politicos. But my message to those who say that the GOP nominee is not electable, or that they’re not even going to try, well I say, ‘buck up!’” 

October 27, 2010: As Palin's reality show was about to debut, Rove implied to the Telegraph that she lacked the "level of gravitas" that voters look for in presidents. "With all due candor, appearing on your own reality show on the Discovery Channel, I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of 'that helps me see you in the Oval Office."

October 31, 2010: Palin insisted that Sarah Palin's Alaska was not a reality show but a show "documenting Alaska’s resources." Therefore, "Karl is wrong right there in calling it a reality show." Okay. 

March 7, 2011: As detailed in the very pages of New York, Rove did a "withering impersonation of Palin" for writer Joe Hagan: "'Did you see that?' he says, adopting a high, sniveling Palin accent: 'Holy crap! That fish hit my thigh! It hurts!’” Amazing. 

August 23, 2011: For whatever reason, Palin lashed out at Rove after he predicted that she would run for president in 2012. "Any professional pundit claiming to have 'inside information' regarding Gov. Palin's personal decision is not only wrong but their comments are specifically intended to mislead the American public," Palin's PAC said in a statement. 

August 24, 2011: Rove fired back the next day. "It is a sign of enormous thin skin if we speculate about her, she gets upset," he said on Fox News, "and I suspect if we didn't speculate about her, she'd be upset and trying to find a way to get us to speculate about her." 

March 7, 2012: In a private conference call, Rove declared that Palin's endorsement of Newt Gingrich "demonstrated that endorsements don’t mean snot." 

March 16, 2013: Palin referred to Rove by his nickname, the Architect, in a scathing CPAC speech over the weekend. "If these experts who keep losing elections and keep getting rehired and getting millions — if they feel that strong about who gets to run in this party, then they should buck up or stay in the truck," Palin said. "Buck up or run. The architects can head on back to the great Lone Star State and put their name on some ballot — though for their sakes, I hope they give themselves a discount on their consulting services." 

March 17, 2013: Rove's comeback came the next morning. "If I did run for office and win," he said on Fox News Sunday, "I would serve out my term and I wouldn't leave office midterm."

God that was fun!

You know my favorite part of this is that Rove and Palin are being used by many in the media as the figureheads for the two sides of the current Republican party schism. Which is amazing if you think about it, because that means the Republican party is sort of unofficially represented by a failed politician/reality show participant and a disgraced political operative whose own boss referred to him as "Turblossom."

In other words, the Republican party may be in even MORE trouble than many of us imagined.

P.S. At the link New York Magazine has provided links to the articles it cites if you are interested in reading more.

My friend Geoffrey Dunn believes that Sarah Palin's attack on Karl Rove at CPAC is personal.

Geoffrey wrote this earlier over at HuffPo concerning Palin's not so veiled reference to Karl Rove as the "architect "of the Republican's most recent failed campaigns:

According to my sources in south-central Alaska with direct links to the Palin family, Palin now has a personal vendetta against Rove. She blames Rove not only for her rather unceremonious departure from Fox News, but for her embarrassing bid for the presidency in 2012. In a widely cited interview in 2010 with Great Britain's Daily Telegraph, Rove suggested that Palin lacked the level of "gravitas" required to hold national office. It was a stinging rebuke of Palin aimed at GOP powerbrokers. 

Nobody holds a grudge like Sarah Palin. Her memoir, Going Rogue, is a handbook on personal vengeance. She's not going to let it go. 

Indeed, Palin kept gnawing the same old bone at CPAC, winding her way back to a constant meme. And as she did, she ramped up her attack. "Now is time to furlough the consultants and tune out the pollsters," she admonished. "If we truly know what we believe, we don't need professionals [read Rove] to tell us." 

Palin was there to stick the knife in Rove's "political bubble," as she dubbed it. "The last thing we need," she proclaimed, "is Washington, D.C., vetting our candidates." 

And just so there was no mistaking who she was talking about, Palin snidely invoked George W. Bush's nickname for the Texas-based strategist -- "The Architect" -- taunting Rove and his associates to "head on back to the great Lone Star State" and to "buck up and run" for office. "I hope they give themselves a discount on their consulting services," she intoned derisively, the cynicism dripping from her lips. 

Palin delighted in attacking Rove at the pocketbook. It's her favorite target -- because it's how she herself calculates her own worth. "Get over yourself," she bellowed, with an emphasis on the singular. "It's not about you." 

It was classic Palin. Only this time around, her appearance at CPAC served to remind Americans from across the political spectrum just how far Palin has fallen. She is a sad and emaciated caricature of the once-bright star that emerged on the Republican political horizon in the summer of 2008. She's more vapid, more shallow, more narcissistic, more bitter, more insignificant, more delusional, and, almost impossibly, more mean spirited than ever before. 

What a difference half-of-a-decade makes.

Of course Geoffrey is right, there may be NOBODY on earth who holds a grudge like Sarah Palin. And if Palin truly does blame Rove for her departure from Fox (Though we have evidence that Roger Ailes soured on her well before Rove spoke out against her,) then it does not appear that this will go away anytime soon.

In fact at this point it seems that all she has left to sustain her is her hatred, and spitefulness toward others. However, considering how wasted away she looked at the convention, it appears that may NOT be enough to keep her going indefinitely.

Geoffrey had much more of interest in this post, so go ahead and click the link at the top to read the rest.