In my previous post I mentioned how the IRS targeting political groups is an actual scandal and one that needs investigated and addressed. I also mentioned how the last thing we need is to turn something so serious into a run of the mill, beltway witch hunt. Well that's exactly what some of the darlings on the right is planning on doing:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Monday called on the IRS commisioner to resign in the wake of the agency's admission that staffers in the Cincinatti branch targeted conservative political groups for extra scrutiny in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

"[I]t is clear the IRS cannot operate with even a shred of the American people’s confidence under the current leadership," Rubio wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. "Therefore, I strongly urge that you and President Obama demand the IRS Commissioner’s resignation, effectively immediately. No government agency that has behaved in such a manner can possibly instill any faith and respect from the American public."

But there is a big problem with Rubio's statement here:

Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman, who was appointed by President Bush in 2008 and held by President Obama, left the agency in Nov. 9, 2012. Any pre-election misconduct would have had to occur on his watch. The current acting commissioner is Steven T. Miller -- a permanent replacement has not been nominated.

Yesterday Bill Richardson did a special web interview for This Week. In it he was asked what he thought about Ted Cruz:

ABC News: Do you think he represents most Hispanics with his politics?

RICHARDSON: “No, no. He’s anti-immigration. Almost every Hispanic in the country wants to see immigration reform. No, I don’t think he should be defined as a Hispanic. He’s a politician from Texas. A conservative state. And I respect Texas’ choice. But what I don’t like is… when you try to get things done, it’s okay to be strong and state your views, your ideology. But I’ve seen him demean the office, be rude to other senators, not be part of, I think, the civility that is really needed in Washington.”

Breitbart instantly noticed this and did a post. Soon after all the wingnuts went into outrage mode, including The American Thinker:

And yes, Richardson is Hispanic himself. It doesn't matter. Bigotry is bigotry wherever it rears its head. And in that interview, Richardson took bigotry out of the closet and paraded it in front of anyone watching.

I don't think Richardson should have really said what he did either, but this exposes the blindness to the bigotry that really exists within the GOP today. For example. Here is a clip of Rush Limbaugh in 2011 saying Obama isn't "authentically black":

The FBI has made a new arrest in the case of ricin letters sent to a U.S. Senator and the President. The charges come just days after charges against a previous subject, Paul Kevin Curtis, were dropped:

A spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed J. Everett Dutschke, the man at the center of the investigation into ricin-tainted letters sent to President Barack Obama and other officials, was arrested at his home in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

"James Everett Dutschke was arrested, without incident, at his residence in Tupelo, MS, at approximately 12:50 a.m. Saturday, April 27, by Special Agents of the FBI," Deborah Madden, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Jackson, Mississippi field office told Talking Points Memo.

When Curtis was arrested the right instantly went into the "OMG he's a Democrat" meme. Looking at the Facebook page of Curtis, it appears this is the case. But as you may recall, some big name rightwing bloggers continued to hound Curtis, even after being released. They even went as far as saying he actually committed the crime, without the man ever being charged.

But who is Dutschke? Well he is a taekwondo instructor, a musician in a blues band and a former Republican candidate for office.

Oh yeah, and the man is also out on charges of child molestation (or convicted if you go by the Jim Hoft standards of journalism).

Did I miss anything?

Wait. It also appears that Dutschke may have set-up Curtis in this case.

Yes, we have a Republican here, who may have sexually assaulted children as well as tried to frame and innocent person, and the wingnuts go silent! I guess this is part of the family values platform.

Paul Kevin Curtis, who was arrested last week for sending ricin laced letters to President Obama and Senator Wicker, has been released from custody:

Jeff Woodfin, chief deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service in Oxford, Miss., said suspect Paul Kevin Curtis has been released from custody, though Woodfin said he doesn't know if there were any conditions on the release.

The development comes less than two hours after officials canceled a detention and preliminary hearing without explaining the reason for the change.

His lawyer Christi McCoy, who has been pushing for the charges to be dropped, said in a text message Tuesday that she could only confirm that her client has been released.

And now there is the suggestion that Curtis may have been framed:

McCoy said in court that someone may have framed Curtis, suggesting that a former business associate of Curtis' brother, a man with whom Curtis had an extended exchange of angry emails, may have set him up.

When news broke of Curtis being the suspect, the right quickly jumped on what appeared to be his liberal leanings. But something seemed weird about the entire thing. I couldn't finger it, but the whole story just seemed off. Now it appears my suspicions may have been right.

Today was a real treat in just how screwed up our media is. It all started when CNN reported that they have a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. That quickly changed to an arrest being made. Soon after Fox and the AP went with the same story. Suddenly, the Boston Police Department and FBI announce that no arrests have been made.

If you like roller coaster rides, then today was a big one! But instead of pulling into the station at the end of the ride, we ended up with some of our biggest names in news with a lot of egg on their face. So how does the media respond to such an utter-failure in journalism? Well, if you are Fox's Megyn Kelly, you go on the defense and try to switch the story back to the actual bombing.

They key part is about half way through, when Kelly went on this little rant:

It's like the early 2000's all over again:

The U.S. Secret Service has intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance."

A law enforcement official said the letter is very similar to one recently mailed to Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker. That letter tested positive Tuesday for poisonous ricin.

The official requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

There are reports that they have a suspect in the mailings to Sen. Wicker this week. If the two are connected then it appears we don't have some partisan hack engaging in this terrorism, but rather somebody out to just get our elected officials.

The only other thing I can think of is that Wicker was one of the 16 Republicans that voted to end the filibuster on extended background checks last week, so there could be that connection.

When I talk to a client about what their website should do, the number one point I hit on is recognition. You want people to see your site and know what it is you are trying to sell. A big part of that comes from the name.

So if you look at this site, what do you think?

You do get that the site is NRCC, but what does that mean? Sure, we follow politics, so we will instantly recognize NRCC as being the acronym for the National Republican Congressional Committee, but fur the majority of people out there, they have no idea. As matter of fact, the site gives a feeling that they are avoiding the word Republican, until you get to the very bottom.

Having worked in the web business for over a decade, I have worked with countless PR professionals. They know what words sell and which ones don't. I'm sure the NRCC put money into research of this, and that is why they decided to hide the work "Republican" so hard on their new site, and that right there should tell us what Republican means in this country today - something not worth selling.

So, could this be the way in which Republicans heal after 2012?

A few weeks ago the GOP released their "autopsy" of the 2012 election. In that report a focus group used phrases such as "Scary", "Out of Touch", and "Stuff old Men" to describe the party. These are not phrases you want to hear when you are trying to win over a new generation of voters.

While a lot of people in the Republican Party have done a 180 on marriage equality, there is still a huge problem within the party. Take the comments this weekend of the chair of Georgia's Republican Party.

On Saturday the Marietta Daily Journal published a story, where chairwoman Sue Everhart warns that straight people would enter bogus marriages for "the benefits"

Everhart said while she respects all people, if same sex marriage is legalized across the country, there will be fraud.

“You may be as straight as an arrow, and you may have a friend that is as straight as an arrow,” Everhart said. “Say you had a great job with the government where you had this wonderful health plan. I mean, what would prohibit you from saying that you’re gay, and y’all get married and still live as separate, but you get all the benefits? I just see so much abuse in this it’s unreal. I believe a husband and a wife should be a man and a woman, the benefits should be for a man and a woman. There is no way that this is about equality. To me, it’s all about a free ride.”

All those gays and lesbians out there, fighting to enjoy the same rights as a straight couple are just interested in freeloading? I'm sorry, but this is total bullshit. I happen to know plenty of men and women, who are no longer in love and even see other people, yet they stay married just for the benefits. There is all kinds of proof of fraud from straight marriages like this, but none on same-sex marriage.

It's another strawman that the GOP is using to continue their platform of hate and fear. They also know this, which is why the Georgia GOP is refusing to talk about the comments.