Republican 2018 campaign ads to focus heavily on Hillary Clinton. I'm sorry, what?

And get this, they are STILL running against me.

Courtesy of the AP:

Almost 18 months have passed since Hillary Clinton lost the presidency. She holds no position of power in government. And she is not expected to run for office again. 

Yet Clinton is starring in the Republican Party’s 2018 midterm strategy. 

With control of Congress up for grabs this fall, the GOP’s most powerful players are preparing to spend big on plans to feature Clinton as a central villain in attack ads against vulnerable Democrats nationwide. The strategy, which already has popped up in races in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Dakota, illustrates the resilience and political potency of Republican voters’ antipathy for Clinton. As difficult as it’s been for Democrats to move past the Clinton era, it may be even harder for Republicans. 

“STOP HILLARY. STOP PELOSI. STOP LAMB,” read pamphlets circulated during the special election in Pennsylvania earlier this year. 

That’s just a taste of what’s to come as the November elections grow closer, say those who control the GOP’s strategy in the first midterm elections of Donald Trump’s presidency. 

“I promise you that you’ll continue to see it — Hillary Clinton starring in our paid media. She’s a very powerful motivator,” said Corry Bliss, who leads the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super political action committee ready to spend tens of millions of dollars to shape House races this fall. “It’s about what she represents. What she represents, just like what Nancy Pelosi represents, is out-of-touch far-left liberal positions.”

Don't you just love the smell of desperation in the morning?

I mean come on!

The GOP are still leaning on the vilification of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi to drive their voters to the polls?

And keep in mind that the reason is not because they are incompetent or a danger to the country, the reason is because they were TOO DAMN GOOD AT THEIR JOBS!

That is what terrifies conservative voters, competent Democratic leadership. 

And to prevent that they were even willing to send a twice divorced, habitually lying, reality show TV clown to the White House.

Well my advice to these desperate morons is to go for it.

You campaign against liberal competence, because I am sure you can guess what WE will be campaigning against.

That's right. Now let's see whose voters are more motivated to show up at the polls.

Rep. John Conyers steps aside as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee amid accusations of sexual harassment.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), the longest-serving member of Congress, stepped aside as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee amid growing internal pressure as an ethics investigation of sexual harassment allegations against him begins. 

Conyers, 88, said he would not resign from Congress and instead would fight the allegations in the hope of reclaiming his spot atop the committee, which oversees federal laws and other legal issues. “I very much look forward to vindicating myself and my family before the House Committee on Ethics,” he wrote Sunday in a letter to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). 

Conyers settled a sexual harassment complaint brought by a former staffer in 2015, leaving her on the payroll as a temporary employee and paying out just under $30,000. 

Pelosi issued a statement immediately after Conyers’s announcement: “I particularly take any accusation of sexual harassment very seriously. Any credible accusation must be reviewed by the Ethics Committee expeditiously. We are at a watershed moment on this issue.”

And this is the appropriate response to allegations of sexual misconduct. 

However let me just point out that Roy Moore is still the Republican's candidate for the Alabama Senate, and that their president, Donald Trump, continues to reside in the White House.

Currently it appears that only one side of the political divide is taking sexual harassment seriously.

Unfortunately that puts us at a disadvantage, especially if we start freeing up Senate and House seats in response to these charges, while the conservatives jealously cling to theirs and then capture the newly vacated seats as well.

It appears the Democrats may have popped the champagne cork a little early on DACA.

Courtesy of CNN: 

President Donald Trump is moving closer to a deal with Democrats that would protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation and put off funding for his marquee campaign promise of a border wall along the US-Mexico border. 

The bombshell developments, which were first announced in a statement Wednesday night by Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi and reiterated by Trump himself Thursday morning, were met with immediate outrage from conservatives and put pressure on the President's Republican allies in Congress. 

The two Democratic leaders announced that following a dinner at the White House, they had "agreed to enshrine the protections of (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program) into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that's acceptable to both sides."

Yesterday when this news first broke I saw a number of pundits looking not all convinced that this was actually going to happen. Rachel Maddow in particular talked about "getting it in writing."

And it appears they were right to be cautious, because these were Trump's tweets from this morning.

No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

The lesson here is that nobody should take this asshole at his word EVER.

However it does appear that Pelosi and Schumer may have managed to move him just a little.

Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

...They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own - brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

So MAYBE there is a little room to negotiate, but then again maybe not.

It really depends on who Trump talks to next, because his opinions seem to be based on who he talked to last. 

Nancy Pelosi apologizes after accidentally referring to Donald Trump as President Bush.

.@NancyPelosi to @jonkarl: "I never thought I'd pray for the day" when George W. Bush was president again https://t.co/mc5NSfxbZx #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/BgMHuRwg5k

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 30, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during an interview early Sunday accidentally referred to President Trump as former President George W. Bush. 

After the mistake on ABC’s “This Week,” Pelosi quickly corrected herself. 

“I’m so sorry, President Bush,” Pelosi said. “I never thought I would pray for the day that you were president again.” Pelosi was discussing Democrats working with the White House when she mentioned Bush.

I totally get what Pelosi is feeling, because I feel it all of the time as well.

I started this blog to oppose George W. Bush, and I have no intention of engaging in revisionist history or minimizing my strong anger and frustration at his administration. 

However at the time I thought he was the worst president this country would EVER see.

And then November 2016 arrived and I had a whole new definition of "worst."

It is not even like comparing apples to oranges.

It is more like comparing the measles to leprosy.

George W. Bush was terrible, with a capital "T."

But Donald Trump is goddamn catastrophic.

And like that lady in the post below is saying, we have NEVER seen anything that him before, and I hope to never see anything like him again. 

Nancy Pelosi calls for an investigation to find out if the Russians are blackmailing Donald Trump.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) on Sunday reiterated her demand that the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe President Trump’s ties to Russia. 

She made the call one day after Trump downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s human rights record by questioning whether the United States, which has a long record of extrajudicial killings, is pure on the matter. 

“I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump. I think we have to have an investigation by the FBI into his financial, personal and political connections to Russia and we want to see his tax returns so we can have truth in the relationship [with] Putin, whom he admires,” Pelosi said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

Pelosi made the same demand on Jan. 13 after a closed-door briefing by U.S. intelligence officials about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The CIA has concluded that Russian intelligence tried to swing the election in Trump’s favor. 

Trump’s relationship with Putin has come under scrutiny again after he told Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly on Saturday that he respects the Russian president, who has cracked down on political opposition, non-government advocacy groups and domestic critics.

I think that this absolutely HAS to be done.

However the problem is that James Comey heads the FBI and we all know that he has NO intention of investigating the guy that he endangered his career to help to win the election.

UNLESS of course he received enough pressure from both the Democratic and Republican politicians in Washington.

Trump takes to Twitter to rant about the Democrats.

Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess)-just like Dem party!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2017

When will the Democrats give us our Attorney General and rest of Cabinet! They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesn't work!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2017

You know when I hear something like this I always wonder if Trump said it or if it was said by an internet troll. And then I realize that there is no difference.

Personally I find it hysterical that Trump is pissed off at what the Democrats have been doing to him for a week that the Republicans did to President Obama for eight years straight.

The only difference is that the Republicans were trying to stop Obama from making the country better, while the Democrats are working to keep Trump from destroying it.

Night Two of the Democratic Convention Open Thread. Update!

I thought I better post this thread earlier today and a whole lot of interesting stuff happened before last night's open thread.

Here are some of the featured speakers for tonight: 

President Bill Clinton headlines the convention Tuesday.. 

Other featured speakers include mothers who lost their children to gun violence such as Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr; Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton; and Michael Brown's mother, Lezley McSpadden. 

Other speakers will include former Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who will speak about the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he helped craft and pass in Congress. 

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will also address the convention. He served as chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign and chairman of Hillary Clinton's first presidential campaign in 2008. 

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will be speaking as well as Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who served with Clinton in the Senate and who's expected to succeed Harry Reid as the Democrats' next leader in the Senate. 

Former Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to speak as well as Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards and actors Tony Goldwyn, America Ferrara, and Lena Dunham. 

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, will speak and former President Jimmy Carter is expected to make an appearance in a video message to the convention.

Damn! So you see why we need to post this early.

As promised here is my second favorite speech from last night:

I love Al Franken as a Senator, but Al Franken the comedian is pretty damn awesome as well.

There is also a rumor that Bernie Sanders will officially nominate Hillary Clinton tonight, so I imagine we will see more of this:

Oh joy.

Update: Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate to represent a major party, has just officially hit the magic number of delegates to become the nominee.  Another history making day for the Democratic party.

Update 2: Sanders just officially named Hillary Clinton the nominee by acclimation.

And THAT makes it really official.

Update 3: Apparently this happened earlier tonight as well.

Bernie delegates have stormed media row and it's now locked down by police https://t.co/1CkTq8sX8P #DNCWalkOut pic.twitter.com/e48v9KhfkJ

— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) July 27, 2016

Didn't Frankenstein have to chase his creation into the farthest reaches of the north to finally end its existence?

Nancy Pelosi endorses Hillary Clinton on day of California primaries.

WATCH: @NancyPelosi tells @GMA she voted for @HillaryClinton in the #CAPrimary and is "proud to endorse her" https://t.co/ETTi85qA8Z

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 7, 2016

Courtesy of ABC News: 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Hillary Clinton for president this morning on "Good Morning America" before her home state's primary today. 

"I'm a voter in California and I have voted for Hillary Clinton for president of the United States and proud to endorse her for that position," the Democratic superdelegate said, though adding "it's not over until it's over."

Pelosi went on to say nice things about Bernie Sanders and said that it is important to wait for Californians to cast their vote before declaring victory.

But of course it really isn't.

And finally even the Sanders supporters in California are beginning to see that.

Courtesy NPR:

Bernie Sanders continued to campaign in delegate-rich California on Monday, ahead of that state's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, even after The Associated Press declared Hillary Clinton the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

And even though the candidate refused to acknowledge the news in a Monday night outdoor rally and concert with the Golden Gate Bridge as backdrop, the entire night, something was a little off. 

Walking up, you could hear people telling their friends, and themselves, that they knew Sanders was going to lose the nomination.

Gee, finally.

I was beginning to wonder if these Bernie Bros had any connection to reality whatsoever.

I have to say that personally I look forward to never writing about Bernie Sanders again. I am actually more tired of writing about him than I am of writing about Sarah Palin after over eight years of doing so.

Nancy Pelosi calls on Congress to establish a Select Committee on Gun Violence. About damn time.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants Congress to establish a Select Committee on Gun Violence in the wake of the Oregon college shooting that left 10 dead on Thursday. 

There's already a Select Committee on Benghazi, and there will likely be one to investigate Planned Parenthood. On Friday, Pelosi called on House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to create a committee to investigate the "crisis" of mass shootings. 

"The epidemic of gun violence in our country challenges the conscience of our nation," Pelosi wrote to Boehner. "As we pray for those who lost their loved ones at Umpqua Community College, we must address the tidal wave of grief guns have caused to so many families." 

"As Members of Congress, how can we in good conscience engage in moments of silence to honor these victims of gun violence, if we refuse to take action? We take a solemn oath to protect and defend the American people," she wrote. "We must not accept the horror of gun violence as routine."

Of course even if the Republicans agree to establish his select committee that is no guarantee that they will actually allow any progress to be made.

After all the majority of them are terrified of angering the NRA and having them unleash their letter writing minions upon them.

Instead they will more than likely throw up the straw man argument that the problem is mental health, and not guns, and then do nothing to actually address that either.

Here's just a reminder of what DOES motivate the Republicans in Congress.

TPP fails as Nancy Pelosi pulls her support.

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

President Obama suffered a major defeat to his Pacific Rim free trade initiative Friday as House Democrats helped derail a key presidential priority despite his last-minute, personal plea on Capitol Hill. 

The House voted 302 to 126 to sink a measure to grant financial aid to displaced workers, fracturing hopes at the White House that Congress would grant Obama fast-track trade authority to complete an accord with 11 other Pacific Rim nations. 

“I will be voting to slow down fast-track,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the floor moments before the vote, after keeping her intentions private for months. “Today we have an opportunity to slow down. Whatever the deal is with other countries, we want a better deal for American workers.” 

The dramatic defeat could sink the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a sweeping free trade and regulatory pact that Obama has called central to his economic agenda at home and his foreign policy strategy in Asia. Obama’s loss came after a months-long lobbying blitz in which the president invested significant personal credibility and political capital. 

Republican leaders, who had backed the president’s trade initiative, pleaded with their colleagues to support the deal or risk watching the United States lose economic ground in Asia.

Bernie Sanders was against it, Elizabeth Warren was against it, and with Pelosi jumping to their side this thing was dead in the water. 

It is also worth noting that Hillary never really took a firm position on this deal.

I think that can hurt her as many people in the country are clearly tired of politicians who do not seem to have the strength of their convictions. Or any convictions at all even.

I think that is why so many were clamoring for Elizabeth Warren, and now for Bernie Sanders.

Agree with them or not, they are forceful advocates for their agendas.

Understanding the Tea Party, not as a political movement, but as a religious one.

I actually did not expect to agree with this article by Daily Beast writer Jack Schwartz, but he makes some valid points.

See for yourself: 

While a traditional political party may have a line that it won’t cross,the Tea Party has a stone-engraved set of principles, all of which are sacrosanct. This is not a political platform to be negotiated but a catechism with only a single answer. It is now a commonplace for Tea Party candidates to vow they won’t sacrifice an iota of their principles. In this light, shutting down the Government rather than bending on legislation becomes a moral imperative. While critics may decry such a tactic as “rule or ruin,” Tea Party brethren celebrate it, rather, as the act of a defiant Samson pulling down the pillars of the temple. For them, this is not demolition but reclamation, cleansing the sanctuary that has been profaned by liberals. They see themselves engaged in nothing less than a project of national salvation. The refusal to compromise is a watchword of their candidates who wear it as a badge of pride. This would seem disastrous in the give-and-take of politics but it is in keeping with sectarian religious doctrine. One doesn’t compromise on an article of faith. 

This explains why the Tea Party faithful often appear to be so bellicose. You and I can have a reasonable disagreement about fiscal policy or foreign policy but if I attack your religious beliefs you will become understandably outraged. And if I challenge the credibility of your doctrine you will respond with righteous indignation. To question the validity of Moses parting the Red Sea or the Virgin Birth or Mohammed ascending to heaven on a flying horse is to confront the basis of a believer’s deepest values. 

Consequently, on the issues of government, economics, race, and sex, the Tea Party promulgates a doctrine to which the faithful must subscribe. Democrats and independents who oppose their dogma are infidels. Republicans who don’t obey all the tenants are heretics, who are primaried rather than burned at the stake. 

Like all revealed religions this one has its own Devil in the form of Barack Obama. This Antichrist in the White House is an illegitimate ruler who must be opposed at every turn, along with his lesser demons, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. They are responsible for everything that has gone wrong with the country in the last six years and indeed, they represent a liberal legacy that has betrayed America’s ideals for the better part of a century. Washington is seen in the same way Protestant fire-breathers once saw Rome: a seat of corruption that has betrayed the pillars of the faith. The only way to save America’s sanctity is to take control of Washington and undermine the federal government while affecting to repair it. Critical to this endeavor is the drumroll of hell-fire sermons from the tub-thumpers of talk radio and Fox News. This national revival tent not only exhorts the faithful but its radio preachers have ultimately become the arbiters of doctrinal legitimacy, determining which candidates are worthy of their anointment and which lack purity.

Not only does that make all kinds of crazy sense, it all explains Palin's attraction to the movement.

These are the new acolytes of a pseudo religious movement adorned in political camouflage, seeking a messianic leader to show them the path to salvation.

 Yeah, probably not going to be her.

Sarah Palin conflates Nancy Pelosi's desire to treat the thousands of immigrant children that cross the border alone with respect with her own pro-zygote beliefs.

Courtesy of Joan of the Arctic's Facebook page:

Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. (Well according to Darwin more of a very, very, very distant cousin actually.) My sister sent me a clip of Nancy Pelosi either speaking such gibberish, considering her track record, or confessing one heck of a great conversion. (Apparently her sister is Breitbart.) Yesterday, Ms. Pelosi spoke highly of illegal immigrants storming our U.S. border, including the children being used and abused in this crisis, and said America needs to look at this as an “opportunity,” not a crisis. She proclaimed, “every child, every person, has a spark of divinity in them and is therefore worthy of respect” because we are “all God’s children.” Amen, sista'! (Did she really say "sista?") But, really? How sincere is this politician’s concern? Never seen as a pro-child/pro-life advocate with respect for that sacred “spark of divinity” in every innocent human life in the womb, Ms. Pelosi often touts her Catholic faith but overlooks this doctrine her Church has preached for 2000 years. (As do the majority of Catholics these days.) Hopefully she’s changed her tune on the issue of life – in which case, I’m sure she’ll invite those who understand the impact a culture of life can have on America to use her new, refreshing advocacy statement. Her words yesterday are the foundational pro-life message that can educate those in her party who constantly claim to be “for the children" in one breath, but in their next breath advocate snuffing out the life of innocent children soon-to-be-born. Cynics (or those of us living in reality) recognize typical liberal hypocrisy here, but then again we can hope this is revelation of a profound Pelosi political conversion! Though I won’t hold my breath. (Oh yeah, it's Pelosi who's spouting gibberish.)

 - Sarah Palin

Okay well first off unlike the "pro-life" movement Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are much better at advocating for the needs of actual living human beings, whether it be educational needs, nutritional needs, or civil rights, than those who seem to only care about fetuses up until they are born and then could really could not care less what happens to them.

And secondly, well I seriously doubt that Nancy Pelosi, or anybody else, really cares what Palin has to say on this or any other matter of real importance.

Speaking of pro-child how is that custody case going in Wasilla?

I think I know, and if I'm right it is good news for everybody involved who's last name is NOT Palin.

DNC Chair expresses outrage at new Breitbart ad that depicts Nancy Pelosi using offensive sexual imagery.

Courtesy of TPM:

The chair of the Democratic National Committee on Monday called a Breitbart News ad portraying House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "disgusting" and urged Republican leaders to condemn the conservative outlet. 

Breitbart News launched a new vertical focused on California politics with an ad campaign that included a Miley Cyrus-referencing image of Pelosi in a nude bikini with her tongue lolling out. Pelosi-as-Cyrus is pictured on all fours below an image of Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) head photoshopped onto his predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger's body. 

“To say the least, the Breitbart News ad is foul, offensive, and disrespectful to all women," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said in a statement. "It is a disgusting new low and would be reprehensible against any woman – regardless of party. It’s no wonder the Republicans are having problems appealing to women." 

Invoking Republican efforts to change the way the party messages to women, Wasserman Schultz challenged GOP leaders to condemn the ad as well as stop publishing on Brietbart News. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote one of the pieces inaugurating the new Breitbart California vertical. 

"If GOP leaders are serious about their rebrand, then both their elected and Party leadership should condemn this outrageous behavior, call on Breitbart News to immediately remove the ad, and not continue to use this website as a forum for their views," the statement continued.

I can almost hear Sarah Palin's ghostwriters firing up their coal burning word processors now, preparing to offer the claim that Palin has also been portrayed in sexual terms as well, on late night comedian shows, cable news networks, and blogs. (Political pole dancer comes to mind.)

Of course the difference is that Nancy Pelosi is a serious politician, who has not lowered herself to play up her sexuality in order to gain attention, or used sexually charged comments to attack her enemies.

When Nancy Pelosi appears in a magazine spread with fake bolt on breasts like this.

Or like this, then clearly somebody can be excused for pointing out that the person pictured is using a provocative sexual image in order to garner attention and promote her brand.

However until Nancy Pelosi goes to these lengths to advertise herself in a prurient manner, then what Breitbart did must be considered completely out of line, and an attempt to demean a strong woman who they fear and wish to reduce to an image they find less threatening.

With Republicans fighting each other tooth and nail, is a possible Democratic takeover of Congress a real possibility? Maybe.

This is taken from a much longer article over at the Daily Beast concerning a new poll taken by Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin, in which he states that only 20 percent of the electorate thinks that the government shutdown is a rational or reasonable approach.

His take is supported by William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a veteran of the 1995–96 shutdown when he was President Clinton’s domestic-policy adviser.:  

Before the shutdown, Democrats were pretty much reconciled to falling short in efforts to retake the House next year. With so many gerrymandered seats, the 17 pickups Democrats need seem out of reach and may still be. But Galston points to research that says Democrats can overcome the structural disadvantage they face if they add 5 percentage points in their overall votes for the House, then they would have a better than 50 percent chance of winning control. “The Republicans are doing the only thing that could conceivably endanger their majority,” Galston says. The latest Quinnipiac and Pew polls show Democrats with a 9-point generic edge, twice what it was in late August. “After the dust settles next November and the generic Democratic edge is 9 points, I guarantee you the next speaker is Nancy Pelosi,” he says. 

On the Senate side, Republicans need six seats to gain control of the chamber. In just about every contested race, Republicans are battling each other in primaries to see who can be the biggest cheerleader of the government shutdown. “If Ted Cruz becomes the public face for the Republican Party, it will be a cold day in hell before they have a Senate majority,” says Galston. The last shutdown 17 years ago helped reelect Clinton. This one could give Obama the Congress he wants. 

I am cautiously optimistic, but if the Republicans were able to make such incredible gains in 2010, using unsubstantiated fear of the President to energize their electorate, I don't see why it would be impossible for the Democrats to use the very much substantiated fear of what these Teabagger idiots are doing to our political system to run the board on them in 2014.

I mean it is not like there is not ample evidence as to the negative effects of this group of insurgents on the country, so all it takes is to wait out the upcoming Bloodsport version of the GOP primaries and kick the broken and battered survivor in the face before he can regain his footing.

All I know is that I am going to keep a happy thought.

Sarah Palin resorts to nursery rhymes to attack Nancy Pelosi. To be fair Mother Goose was probably the last book she read cover to cover.

An oldie, but a goodie.

The Washington Times featured a quote from Nancy Pelosi concerning the Republican Party's never ending call for government cuts:

 “The cupboard is bare. There’s no more cuts to make. It’s really important that people understand that,” Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

“We cannot have cuts just for the sake of cuts.” 

Considering the devastating effects from the sequester she undoubtedly has a point.

However the Times decides it also needs to point this out:

The federal budget has doubled in size in 12 years, from $1.9 trillion in 2001 to $3.8 trillion this year. 

I am sure they are hoping that the budget increase will be blamed solely on Obama and the ACA. However what they failed to mention was that George W. Bush's decision to wage two unnecessary wars and create the office of Homeland Security had quite a lot to do with the increased size if the budget.

But it was enough to catch the attention of the Klondike Kracken who posted this on her Facebook page:

Recall that only Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard and cried t'was bare. Today millions see a $4 trillion bloated cupboard overflowing with political goodies to cut. 

And then linked to the Washington Times article.


I assume by "political goodies" she means over inflated defense spending, unnecessary farm subsidies, and equally unnecessary oil subsidies, right?

Nah, this is Sarah Palin. She probably wants to cut education money, food stamps, and medicare. You know what she and her kind consider the "fat" of the budget,

After three posts yesterday I was hoping not to have to write about this poorly wigged wingnut today, however I felt that this ridiculous attack required some attention.

Probably more interesting to those of us in Alaska is THIS photo from her Facebook page:

"Here's my nephew in Wasilla this morning enjoying the first snowfall." Reads the caption.

Yes that is snow, and yes it did indeed fall this morning.

In fact this is very early for us and even beat last year's early snowfall by six days.

Oh well at least I don't have to mow anymore this year.

By the way I have no evidence that she is in Alaska to even see this snow, and based on the fact that the time stamp on her tweet yesterday was several hours earlier than AK time and that her interview appeared to be in studio, I think it's safe to assume that she is not experiencing our snowfall first hand.

Not that I'm complaining, if she wants to spend all of her time out of state we, and her family, are all the better for it.

Congratulations Arizona, you win the fake boobie prize!

Nancy Pelosi rolls out economic agenda to help women, which causes Sarah Palin, long rumored to be a woman, to attack her for it.

So this is what Nancy Pelosi introduced yesterday in the Capitol: 

The California Democrat launched a legislative agenda of family-friendly policies, such as paycheck fairness for women, an increased federal minimum wage, and President Barack Obama's proposed early childhood education initiative. 

The agenda, coming as the legislative season begins to make way for next year's campaigns, was designed to stand in contrast to bills being debated under the GOP majority on the House floor. "It's all about letting women know there's an opportunity for something different," Pelosi said, over salads, sandwiches and sodas. 

Okay admittedly I am not a woman but this seems to me to be very good news for women in this country, and should, I would think, be welcomed by American females with open arms.

So what do we make of this from the Grizzled Mama's Facebook page?

Odd. Pelosi sees women as less than equal and thus needing government intervention. Glad girls today know the truth re: women's strength and equal opportunity. I'm glad my girls know the truth.

WTF? Is Sarah Palin (A woman who has benefited mightily from the work done by Women's Liberation movement by the way.) completely unaware that women are STILL being paid far less than men, STILL being  passed over for advancement due to their gender, and STILL needing help when it comes to finding childcare and educational opportunities for their children?

And just what is this TRUTH that Palin is teaching her girls?

That EVERY female in the country gets to ride their mother's coattails? That EVERY female in this country gets  multiple shots at their own reality show? That EVERY female can have a baby out of wedlock and get to write books and give speeches because of it?

In the immortal words of Keith Olbermann, "This woman is an idiot!"

But what is more than that is that her version of history, and women's place within it, is  dangerous to the young women who may actually think she knows what she is talking about. She doesn't!

Nancy Pelosi clearly understands the challenges and obstacles facing women today, Sarah Palin simply does not. Or if she does, simply does not care about them.

Which makes sense, because after all how can we expect a woman whose husband pimped women out for sex to understand or care about women's issues?

"Who cares?" Pelosi response to Michele Bachmann's freakout after SCOTUS finds DOMA unconstitutional.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

“No man, not even a Supreme Court, can undo what a holy God has instituted,” Ms. Bachmann said in a statement. “For thousands of years of recorded human history, no society has defended the legal standard of marriage as anything other than between man and woman.” She said the court action “will undermine the best interest of children and the best interests of the United States.” 

Asked to react to Bachmann’s statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi summed up what increasing majorities of Americans feel about such strident opposition with a dismissive “Who cares?”

That, THAT is my favorite response to a Michele Bachmann rant ever!

You know with Wendy Davis standing up to the Texas Republican uterus police, the  UK telling Right Wing bloggers to fuck off, and the Supreme Court knocking the legs out from under conservative homophobia, this has been a very good day for liberals.

A very damn good day indeed.

South Carolina election gets ugly, and weird.

Courtesy of Slate: 

 Mark Sanford's "weird your way to winning" campaign strategy comes replete with moves such as getting sued for harassing his ex-wife and "debating" (and still somehow losing to) a cardboard cutout of Nancy Pelosi. Sanford, a Republican, is running in a special congressional election on May 7 in South Carolina against Elizabeth Colbert Busch, who has the added advantage of being Stephen Colbert's sister. Now, the head-scratching tactics have caught on with those shadowy third party operations that run push polls. As Think Progress writes, voters in South Carolina claim to have received push polls from Survey Sampling International, at the behest of a non-disclosed client, that ask a bunch of leading questions about Sanford's Democratic opponent. A sample of the reported questions: 

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?” 

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you a judge held her in contempt of court at her divorce proceedings?

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if she had done jail time?”

 - “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she was caught running up a charge account bill?” 

Hey, they don't have to prove these accusations, since there are question marks at the end! Plus, we should remember that Colbert Busch can actually accuse Sanford of billing the taxpayers for his two-timing trip to Argentina.

This "push poll" is disgusting and very indicative of how the Republican party does politics these days. 

Elizabeth Colbert Busch has talked publicly about her divorce, though until recently has never discussed that she was arrested for contempt of court during the proceedings. However Drudge managed to get their hands on an old and faded copy of her mugshot and has now plastered it all over Right Wing news sites.

Of course that arrest was twenty years ago, under extenuating circumstances, and since that ONE INCIDENT Colbert Busch seems to have had little trouble staying out of court, and out of jail.

Still that has not stopped some shadowy group supporting Mark Sanford from making internet only political ads comparing Colbert Busch to axe murderer Lizzy Borden. (Yeah, because you know THAT seems reasonable.)

All I have to say is that if South Carolina allows this weaselly, lying, POS to win this election, they should be ashamed of themselves.

I mean the man literally debated a card board cutout of Nancy Pelosi!

How can ANYBODY take this douchebag seriously?

Well I certainly hope that South Carolina doesn't.

Gun nut posts "hit list" on Facebook of all the liberal politicians he wants to kill. You're not helping.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Police in Clarkstown, New York have confiscated a cache of high-powered weapons and body armor from a man who was arrested for posting death threats against against many Democratic politicians and every liberal supporter of President Barack Obama. 

According to WCBS, 49-year-old Larry Mulqueen was arraigned on Thursday on charges of “making terroristic threats, illegally possessing weapons and harassment.” 

Mulqueen’s landlady had tipped off police after she found a “hit list” posted on Facebook that threatened Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and all members of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

The Facebook posting said that all of the president’s follower were “traitor scum” and promised “death to them all.” 

Nyack-Piermont Patch reported that police searched Mulqueen’s home and found two high-powered rifles, two bayonets, a sword, a knuckle knife, body armor and ammunition. Included in the 100 rounds of ammunition were 27 so-called “tank buster” .50 caliber armor-piercing shells. 

Previous criminal convictions meant that it was illegal for Mulqueen to possess the weapons. 

Yeah gee I simply CANNOT imagine why we need stricter gun laws in this country. How in the hell did a guy like this get his hands on "tank buster" shells?

So go ahead, you 2nd Amendment fetishists, and tell me, is THIS the kind of "government invading our homes to take our guns" fear that you were imagining? Or is this 2nd Amendment lunatic different than your usual 2nd Amendment lunatic?

News Corpse produces a 2012 Retrospective of Sarah Palin's Humiliations and Hilarity.

Courtesy of News Corpse:  

The past year has presented a wealth of unintentional comedy from right-wing raconteurs whose generosity in embarrassing themselves was profound. There was Donald Trump and Dick Morris and Allen West and many others vying for the top spot in the Crackpottery Hall of Fame. 

However, this year, as in much of the recent past, the competition was too stiff and everyone had to bow, once again, to the Queen of Quackery: Sarah Palin. What follows are just a few of the most memorably humiliating hijinks in a year of world class buffoonery. 

Today Show Ratings Down With Sarah Palin As Guest Host 

In a desperate attempt to counter-program ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC invited Palin to guest host their Today Show. The result was an episode that underperformed NBC’s average and may have been the catalyst that led to ABC eventually beating NBC in the morning news wars for the first time in years. 

Sarah Palin Calls Nancy Pelosi A ‘Dingbat’ – No, Really! 

Appearing with fellow crackpot Sean Hannity on Fox News, Palin responded to a question about Democratic Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi by saying… “Well, first off, Nancy Pelosi is a dingbat. And she is the perfect spokesperson for this whole agenda of the far-left running the Democrat Party.”

These are only a few of the great examples  available at News Corpse, which you can see yourself by clicking the link at the top.

You know I was just thinking of doing something similar to this, and was wondering when I would find the time, so I am completely in the debt of News Corpse for doing such a fine job and saving me many hours of research.

Feel free to add any of your own examples if you would like.