Good news: Matt Lewis finally feels liberated and admits that Sarah Palin is an idiot - Bad news: Matt Lewis now promotes other right-wing idiots, and the Koch Brothers are in charge

By Patrick

Good news on Sunday: After writing his "mea culpa" article at the Daily Caller, the conservative journalist Matt Lewis also admitted on MSNBC that he finally feels free to say in public that Sarah Palin is an idiot, that he is not shackled any more, as Sarah Palin would say it:

"Mea culpa", another latin word, and it means: Man, the Republican party has really been taken for a ride.

So, we have good news on a Sunday, and now we can all hope that the world will be a better place again.

It took Matt Lewis 6 1/2 years to realize what most people realized immediately when they first encountered Sarah Palin, but better late than never.

The above interview is very interesting indeed. Matt Lewis admits that a conservative who criticized Sarah Palin in the past was "in trouble", was in danger to get "beaten up". I also find it sweet that he uses the phrase "Palin fatigue", a phrase which is only too familiar to all of us.

In his article and his interview on MSNBC, Matt Lewis pulls no punches. The love affair is over, and from his remarks, it is more than obvious that Matt has been "disenchanted" for a very long time, probably for years. He also mentions Palin's famous bus tour from 2011, when the media was "chasing her bus caravan around the country", and Matt concludes that Palin now is just interested in "attention" and "fame".

But what is the alternative to Sarah Palin? That's where the harsh reality kicks in. The Republican party is now being ruled by nutjobs, and the Koch Brothers are the paymasters in the background. They seem to be in full control of the GOP these days.

Matt Lewis, naturally, has connections to the Koch groups as well - from an article from 2010, in which he defended the Koch Brothers:

"Disclosure: Matt Lewis has previously spoken for Americans for Prosperity, 

an organization founded by David Koch."

Also, taking into account that the Koch Brothers are notorious for their secrecy, we can probably assume that the above "disclosure" is only scratching the surface, as far as the connections of Matt Lewis to the "Koch empire" is concerned...but please correct us if we are wrong, Matt.

Just today, Matt Lewis published a new article in defense of the Koch Brothers, in the UK Telegraph - and don't even search for a disclaimer:

So, who are the other contenders? Matt Lewis names them (from 1:45 in the clip): Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Joni Ernst. At the end of the clip, from 4:00, he also mentions that people should "now focus on Scott Walker and Marco Rubio."

One really does not know whether to feel sorry, or whether to be angry. The new line-up of the Republican Party, these "fresh faces", as Matt Lewis calls them, is a joke. If any of these people that he mentioned became President, the happy days would be over.

People like Ted Cruz and Joni Ernst are simply dangerous extremists, who surely would in Europe be members of some right-wing fringe party, far removed from the "mainstream". But even worse: All of the people that Matt Lewis mentions in this interviews are just "puppets" of the Koch Brothers, they are all "Koch Suckers", short and simple.

This is not a  secret. As the San Francisco Chronicle wrote two days ago:

Now, any outside group — with unlimited donations from corporations, labor or wealthy individuals — can make a direct pitch to voters right up until election day. The only caveat with these “independent” expenditures is they cannot work in collaboration with a candidate’s campaign.

But make no mistake: The campaigns are well aware of the potency of this outside help. The Koch brothers’ annual winter retreat at Palm Springs attracted aspiring Republican presidential candidates Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas.

So who are these Koch brothers, who stir so much fear and ire among Democrats, and what is their agenda?

Charles, 78, and David, 74, own the Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries, the nation’s second-largest privately held company. They are worth an estimated $41 billion each.

Their overriding philosophy is promotion of deregulation, tax cuts and smaller government. Among their specific targets are opposition to climate change — they are heavily invested in energy — and repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

The Los Angeles Daily News wrote also on January 30 regards the power of the Koch Brothers as a threat for both political parties:

The notion that two individuals with no qualification or popular mandate beyond a fat checkbook now are free to make an entire party apparatus essentially irrelevant ought to trouble both Republicans and Democrats. Since the widespread adoption of direct primaries for state and national offices, the parties have become much more democratic institutions, subject to major course corrections at the ballot box. If ultra-rich industrialists and financiers, like the Koch brothers, are now free to buy a pass that circumvents the modern parties, we’re back to the days of Mark Hanna and his ilk, when both parties essentially were run by secretive back-room arbiters subject to the influence of self-seeking special interests.

In short: We can stop worrying about an imbecile like Sarah Palin, although her legacy as the "folksy demagogue" of the Republicans will last for much longer.

But we really have to worry about the Koch Brothers and their band of puppets, aka "Republican presidential candidates."

The intentions of the Koch Brothers have been known for years. They want to buy themselves a president, and they are deadly serious about it.

Already in 2011, secret recordings from the super-secret Koch meetings were published, which revealed that the Koch's form a coalition of ultra-rich donors, in order to buy themselves a president. In 2012, they failed, but in 2016, their funds seem to have no limits.

Watch:

If the Koch Brothers achieve their goal, to buy themselves a president, then you can say good-bye for example to environmental regulations and effective health insurance. The progress of several decades will be reversed.

The Koch Brothers might be billionaires, but their greed seems to have no limits.

Just a few days ago, I watched on German TV an excellent documentary about the early US industrialists, the "Men who built America." I only found out just now that this documentary by the History Channel won two Emmys, well deserved in my opinion. You should all definitely watch it!

The documentary also tells the story about how the industrialist bought their own presidential candidate in 1896, who finally managed to win the election, through excessive donations and bribes to the media: William McKinley.

Luckily, this excerpt from the documentary is available as a free clip on the website of the History Channel:

Then of course it struck me immediately: The Koch Brothers try to replicate the success from 1896. This is more than obvious, and this should worry us all, A LOT.

It is a shame that intelligent people like Matt Lewis are caught in their conservative bubble and cannot see this danger. It took him 6 1/2 years to finally speak out openly against Sarah Palin. Taking his pace into account, it will probably take decades until he finally admits that the Koch Brothers posed a huge threat to Democracy, and to the welfare and well-being of the "common people" in the USA.

It's a tragedy, and we can only all hope that the Democrats learn from 2014 and get their act together in 2016.

Hopefully the "sub-standard" line-up of the GOP will help the Democrats (h/t ScoutandAbout):

Have a nice Sunday, everybody!

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UPDATE:

Excellent new article by Politico, very detailed, worth reading (h/t again ScoutandAbout):

The poll is by no means a definitive assessment of the feelings of the hundreds of wealthy business leaders who comprise the vaunted network created by billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch. But it does provide an early glimpse into the leanings of a pool of megadonors who are being hotly courted by the field of would-be candidates, and whose checkbooks could go a long way toward determining who emerges with the GOP nomination — regardless of whether the Koch network decides to formally back a candidate.

The network has thus far steered clear of endorsing specific candidates in primaries, but it is coming under internal and external pressures to do so. It hopes to raise $889 million from wealthy backers like those who gathered in Rancho Mirage to push its agenda in 2015 and 2016, more than double what it spent in the 2012 election cycle.

In addition to Cruz, Paul and Rubio, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker paid a visit to the Ritz meeting, though he was not present for the forum. The three-day conference was organized by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit outfit that oversees the vast political and policy network created by the Koch brothers.

Particularly interesting is this excerpt:

The meeting — part of an ongoing series of twice-a-year “seminars” as they’re called in the Kochs’ orbit — featured a mix of presentations on policy, politics and business. This winter’s session included a discussion moderated by conservative journalist Stephen F. Hayes on principled corporate citizenship and a luncheon discussion featuring MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, according to an attendee.

Yes, the famous hosts on the supposedly "left" cable-channel MSNBC now turned into Koch-Suckers as well.

To their credit, Joe and Mika talked openly about this appearance on their show, and they clearly are impressed and actually seem to believe that the Koch Brothers are good people, believe it or not:

You really don't know what is more terrifying: Industrialists who try to buy a Democracy, or a mediocre line-up of candidates, or incredibly naive journalists who apparently lack any political education. In any case: The Koch Brothers need to be defeated, or Americans will be in real trouble.

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UPDATE 2:

There are two more clips which I would like to add to this post.

First: In a new segment with Howard Kurtz on Fox News, he and his three female guests now conclude that Sarah Palin was never relevant again after 2008!

The conservatives now basically try to "erase" the memory of the GOP politician Sarah Palin, who was highly regarded within the GOP as long as she was a useful idiot for relentlessly attacking President Obama.

Watch:

Second, Howard Stern did a brilliant new segment about the GOP, who in his opinion has been "hijacked by idiots like Sarah Palin":

Professional hater Sarah Palin says "Fuck You" to Michael Moore, together with gun sights in his name, and Bristol Palin proudly celebrates her mother's statement on her blog and on Instagram - UPDATE: Sarah Palin delivers bizarre speech at "Iowa Freedom Summit" - UPDATE 2: Conservative Republicans in Iowa are shocked by Palin's "terrible", "painful" and "disjointed" speech, now believe that she has become a "distraction"

By Patrick

I actually didn't plan to write another post about Sarah Palin very soon again, as I am really sick and tired writing about this disgusting woman, whose future in politics was decided long ago, when she quit as Governor and decided not to run for President in 2012. But here we go again, it's almost inevitable! Why? Because Sarah Palin is not a professional politician anymore, but she feels more and more comfortable in her role as political provocateur, and she goes even further: She has established her brand as a professional hater, and whoever is the "target" of her scorn, could be up for a pretty rough time.

Sarah Palin now plays the "I might run for President" game again, by saying yesterday that she is "of course interested" to run for President in 2016, a statement which was widely reported immediately. At the same time, virtually everybody knows that the last thing that Sarah Palin, the most divisive person in US politics, will ever accomplish these days is to win an election. And Sarah Palin and her team know this as well. However, what they also know is that there is no better way to get publicity and attention than to incite hate against the political enemy, which will bring lots of headlines, and will rally the base. It will most likely bring donations as well to SarahPAC, which is paying for her luxury travels, and God knows for what other things as well.

Nothing was ever more attractive for Sarah Palin than to whip up the hate against the other side, the perceived enemies, starting with her vicious personal attacks against Barack Obama right at the beginning of her Vice-Presidential campaign in October 2008. She instantly became famous and infamous at the same time by saying in early October 2008 that Obama "is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America", and that he is a person "who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists."

Her very unique way of dividing America into good and evil did not help her chances for winning the 2008 election, but it surely helped her to establish her own brand.

For Sarah Palin, there never can be "bad PR." In Germany we have a saying which translates like this: "Once your reputation is ruined, you can do in life whatever you want." This absolutely applies to Sarah Palin. She just wants the headlines, the attention. Everything else is secondary.

The problem is that her vicious attacks can still bring people in real danger, and this is one of the reasons why it is still necessary to write about this horrific woman, who has no conscience.

As you have all seen yesterday, Sarah Palin proudly posed in Las Vegas for a photo giving a "Fuck You" to Michael Moore, which also included two crosshairs in Michael Moore's name:

There actually exists a second photo of this moment, which was taken by Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, who published it on her public instagram account:

Bristol's comments about this unconscionable act by her mother is very telling:

Bristol's photo is pretty sharp, and when you enlarge it, you can clearly see Sarah Palin's signature, and the gun sights, the cross hairs:

But there is even more! While "some people" claim that Bristol Palin is super-private these days and does not want to be disturbed in her super-quiet private sphere at all, Bristol even proudly celebrated the statement by her mother on her very public, very own political attack-blog as well, and posts her photo again:

There she also posts the photo again:

So the Palins are clearly very, very proud of what they are doing, as usual.

So what if one whipped-up right-winger takes all this a bit too seriously and tries to take matters into his own hands by physically attacking Michael Moore, or even trying to shoot him? Doesn't Sarah Palin as well as her outspoken daughter Bristol think that gun sights in Michael Moore's name sends the "wrong message"...?

You only need to look at Michael Moore's facebook to discover that the hate against him is very, very strong - there are literally thousands of deeply hateful comments, just because Michael Moore refused to worship the US military:

I think that the Palins couldn't care less whether they even incite more hate towards Michael Moore, or whether they even send out a potentially deadly message.

They are far too interested in headlines, attention and luxury.

As Bristol Palin also proudly shows on her Instagram, the Palins still enjoy their private plane rides - yes, it's such a "fun trip to #vegas", isn't it:

So what is Palin doing now? After cleverly getting big headlines again, today she will attend the "Iowa Freedom Summit", which should rather be called the "Iowa Freedumb Wingnut Summit."

Yes, Sarah Palin is there, and the media already took note:

Some journalists snapped pictures of Sarah Palin in the lobby of the Marriott hotel on Friday, chatting away for example with Newt and Callista Gingrich:

So Sarah Palin desperately tries to stay relevant, and uses every trick in the book. She knows that ugly attacks against the political enemy always get the best response.

I actually planned to write a post about Joni Ernst, who is now starting to establish herself as "Sarah Palin 2.0." But even such a phony, flawed right-wing politician and Koch-sucker like Joni Ernst, who preaches water and drinks wine, seems to miss what made Sarah Palin famous: This special brand of nastiness.

Finally, I would like to remind our readers, especially our new readers, that the personality of Sarah Palin has already been exposed quite a long time again, by people who knew her very well.

For example in 2009, the Alaskan conservative publicist and radio presenter Dan Fagan, who was enraged about the spitefulness of Palin's autobiography "Going Rogue", published a remarkable piece, in which he named exactly what defines Sarah Palin: Her "dark soul":

Sarah Palin: A Dark Soul

Posted on 18 November 2009 10:16am

By Dan Fagan

Publisher

The Alaska Standard

I will not buy Sarah Palin’s new book because I believe the governor who quit to be a fundamentally dishonest person. Why support the work of someone you can’t trust?

I have read some excerpts from the book and it is clearly a work of vengeance, revenge, and pure meanness. Palin comes across as the rotten on the inside, faultfinding, petty teenage girl we all hated in high school. If you’ve seen the movie “Heathers” or “Mean Girls” you know what I am talking about.

Palin, when writing Rogue, set herself on a course of smallness, triviality, quibbling, sophistry nothingness, and worthlessness. From the excerpts I’ve read, it is hard to draw any other conclusion than Sarah Palin is small in stature, character, and integrity.

Yes I do believe Sarah Palin has a dark soul. A soul obsessed with her image. A soul focused on hurting others. Sarah Palin’s book reveals her as someone unwilling, unable, incapable of living a life of forgiveness. She is a grudge carrier. Settling scores drive her and she is hell bent on revenge, payback, getting even.

Her meanness comes through most clearly in her book when she attacks former legislative director, and former friend dating back to high school, John Bittney.

Palin describes Bittney in her book as someone who was slouching and had his shirt buttoned wrong and poking through his fly. Palin wrote Bittney was a “Blackberry games addict who couldn’t seem to keep lunch off his tie.”

What crudeness, heartlessness, and pure ugliness. Palin can cut to the quick with the best of them. She knows how to enrage her enemies with a cut to the bone insult. It’s one of the things she’s best at.

And you thought Palin laughing at Bob Lester’s vicious attacks on Lyda Green was an aberration. Plain and simple Sarah Palin wants to hurt those she has unforgivness in her heart toward, and she wants to hurt them badly.

Did you see the Oprah interview when she asked Palin about Levi? Palin answered by saying she would not talk about on him on national TV. She then immediately proceeds to slam Levi over and over calling him a porn star and making fun of his new ambition to be a movie actor. It was overwhelming evidence Palin cannot help herself. She has no self-control when it comes to letting things go. She must settle the score. She must. She Will!

Revenge has become the work and calling of her life. Maybe it always has been. It’s clearly what drives her now. Her cutthroat attacks on others will be her downfall. Her inability tocontrol her desire to hurt those who hurt her will end up in the end discrediting her as a leader, as a person.

It’s never too late to change. But time is running out on Palin’s political career. Her poll ratings drop every time she opens her spiteful mouth. Her book will not help.

Truer words have never been written by Sarah Palin, and what makes this piece especially relevant is the fact that Dan Fagan supported Sarah Palin's bid for Alaska Governor in 2006.

So what now? What will Sarah Palin's next desperate attempt to stay relevant be?

In any case, nobody else has developed the "art of dividing a nation" to such perfection like Sarah Palin.

This will be her greatest legacy, and future generations will scratch their heads why such an awful person was ever allowed to appear on the national political stage.

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UPDATE:

We actually have a source at the "Iowa Freedom Summit", which is taking place right now, where the top-wingnuts of the nation explain to an audience of mainly older conservative white people how they want to run the USA into the ground again, just as George W. Bush did.

Watch the speeches live here on C-SPAN. Ted Cruz is talking, just now where I am writing this, and Sarah "Queen Esther" Palin will follow soon.

Here are the first photos from our source - Sarah Palin's new best friend, top-Republican Iowa operative Becky Beach, is there with her dog (click on photos to enlarge):

What we would like to know is: Will Becky Beach take this opportunity to talk to Sarah Palin about using Jill as a stepping stool for Trig...? The dog "Jill" was supplied by Becky Beach, who is the founder of the "Puppy Jake Foundation", which Sarah Palin promoted heavily on facebook and in the media.

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UPDATE 2:

Here we go - Sarah Palin met Becky Beach in Iowa today:

Sarah, a word of warning: Don't try to use Jake as a stepping stool! We understand that Jake might bite...!

Here is another photo from the event in Iowa - Sarah Palin posing with Ted Cruz, his infamous father Rafael Cruz, and Steve King, and Becky's dog again.

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UPDATE 3:

Even by her own standards, Sarah Palin delivered at totally bizarre speech today at the "Iowa Freedom Summit" - I uploaded one minute from the speech to youtube, please try to understand what she wants to say here, because I cannot figure it out:

Transcript (many thanks to "Helen Wheels" at Raw Story):

"It must change, things must change for this cover, ihhhh, our government. Look at it. It isn't too big to fail, it's too big to succeed. It's too big to succeed, so we can afford no retreads or nothing will change with the same people and the same (slur)policies, that got us into this status quo another latin word status quo and it stands for, Man, the middle class everyday americans are getting taken for a ride, that's status quo and GOP leaders by the way, uh, ya know, the man, can only ride ya when your back is bent so strengthen it (laughter), then the man can't ride ya Merica won't be taken for a ride because so much is at stake and we can't afford politicians playin' games like nothing more is at stake than oh maybe just the next standing of theirs in the next election."

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UPDATE 4:

My favourite comment from the Conservatives4Palin:

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UPDATE 5:

Our friend James Rustad, who writes and performs songs about current political events almost on a daily basis, created a song specifically about Sarah Palin's speech in Iowa, and he captures her really well:

Also, check out his wonderful song about the Palin-Brawl!

There is another song which I had actually missed, and you will like this one as well, I am sure: "I am not your Steppin' Stool"

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UPDATE 6:

The Washington Examiner published a devastating article: The Republicans finally realized that crazy Sarah has become a huge problem for them.

Excerpt:

As 2016 race begins, GOP faces its Palin problem

(...)

The news, given big play on the Drudge Report, heightened the anticipation of Palin's speech to the Freedom Summit. After all, there were still memories in the crowd of her rousing speech at the 2008 Republican convention. But when Palin took the stage, it was clear this would be no inspiring effort.

First, Palin embarked on an extended stream-of-consciousness complaint about media coverage of her decision to run in a half-marathon race in Storm Lake, Iowa in 2011. She then moved on to grumbling about coverage of a recent photo of her with a supporter who had made a sign saying "Fuc_ you Michael Moore" in reaction to the left-wing moviemaker's criticism of the film "American Sniper." Then it was on to Palin's objections about the social media ruckus over a picture of her six-year-old son Trig standing on the family's Labrador Retriever.

It was all quite petty, and yet the complaining took half of Palin's allotted time. She then proceeded to blow through her time limit with a free-association ramble on Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, the energy industry, her daughter Bristol, Margaret Thatcher, middle-class economics — "the man can only ride ya when your back is bent" — women in politics, and much more. It would be hard to say that Palin's 35-minute talk had a theme, but she did hint that she is interested in running, although there are no indications she has taken any actual steps in that direction.

"Long and disjointed," said one social conservative activist when asked for reaction. "A weird speech," said another conservative activist. "Terrible. Didn't make any sense."

"There was a certain coarseness to her that wasn't there before," said yet another social conservative who noted that some in the crowd were uncomfortable with Palin declarations like, "Screw the left in Hollywood!" (It's not that they like the left in Hollywood — just the opposite — but the crudeness of Palin's expressions turned them off.)

"I know she is popular, but it is hard to take her seriously given that performance," said Sam Clovis, the conservative Iowa college professor, radio commentator, and sometime political candidate. "Palin was a sad story Saturday. With every speech she gives, she gets worse and worse. If one were playing a political cliche drinking game, no one would have been sober after the first 15 minutes of an interminable ramble. It was really painful."

"I think she has a role in the conservative movement and in the party," Clovis continued, "but she needs to get serious about what it is she can contribute and accomplish."

To be fair, it should be noted that Clovis ran in the 2014 Republican Senate primary against Joni Ernst — a race in which Palin endorsed Ernst. (Citizens United, a sponsor of the Freedom Summit, endorsed Clovis.) But Clovis was by no way alone in faulting Palin's performance.

"Calling Gov. Palin's remarks bizarre and disjointed would be charitable," said a well-connected Iowa Republican. "Her shelf-life, even with the most conservative voters in our party, seems to be near the end. In a day filled with strong performances from likely candidates ranging from Scott Walker to Ted Cruz, her remarks were a distraction."

Very interesting: Nicole Wallace explains at "Morning Joe" that Byron York, who wrote this devastating article at the "Washington Examiner", was one of Sarah Palin's "staunchest defenders" during the 2008 campaign.

Watch:

Elections 2014: Two Senate and One Governor Wannabes and Shouldn'tbes

by Sunnyjane

We're just three Tuesdays away from election day, and the Silly Season has morphed into the Pathetic Period.  The Silly Season officially began the day John Boehner's first tax-payer- financed lawyer bailed on him and the Big B decided it would be smart to hire the lawyer who lost Bob McDonnell's corruption case.  This circus stunt, of course, is merely a desperate ploy to earn votes for Republican Tea Party candidates on November 4.  Because, you know, those Benghazi/Obamacare/IRS thingies didn't work out too well.

The Pathetic Period took off when, in a debate with her Democratic opponent, one GOP candidate pivoted from a question she didn't want to answer and accused her challenger of suing a neighbor whose pet chickens had pooped in his yard. Pathetic.

One interesting bit to know while you're reading about a couple of the races for this mid-term election:  The Senate Conservatives Fund, which was set up by skanky old Jim DeMint before he skedaddled away to make his millions as president of The Heritage Foundation, is not having a very good year.  For some unfathomable reason, the SCF hired former Virginia attorney general and failed (thank God) gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli to be its new leader.  Of the six candidates the SCF shoved money at, three lost their primaries: T. W. Shannon (OK), Chris McDaniel (MS), and Milton Wolf (KS).  The other one, Rob Maness of Louisiana, is expected to lose to either Democrat Mary Landrieu or the other Republican candidate, Bill Cassidy. (Louisiana is a weird state; it will hold a jungle primary on November 4, and the top two candidates will be voted on in a runoff election on December 6.  Either way, Maness, a Palin endorsee, is gonna lose.  Heh.) So how's it going there for you, Cooch?

Since there are a gazillion House races and thirty-three Senate races, we'll only look at a couple of the more interesting ones.      

Deep in the Heart of Texas: Abbott v. Davis for Governor

Proving that you can shine shit for fun and profit.

The issue that got the attention of Democrats nationwide was Texas state senator Wendy Davis's noble filibuster effort to stop the legislature from passing a grossly restrictive abortion bill in 2013.  The bill passed anyhow, much to the delight of conservatives everywhere.  However, appeals have bounced around the Texas courts so many times since then that I'm not sure where it stands today; the latest decision on whether or not the restrictions on abortion clinics are too severe seems to change hourly.  But this is known: of the forty-four clinics currently operating, all but eight will have to close if the bill is upheld.

To Greg Abbott, forcing women who choose to obtain an abortion to drive 250 miles is merely a slight inconvenience, but a manageable one.  I guess it's according to how you define manageable.

Lest we be lulled into believing that shutting down women's clinics is all about being pro-life and, ahem, all concerned about the health and safety of female Texans, there's another side to this story: it's called PROFIT.  And who would profit from these restrictions?  None other than Gov. Rick Perry's sister, Milla Perry Jones, who is on the board of the doctors-owned Texas Ambulatory Surgical Center Society, which runs 420 clinics throughout Texas.  Since the need for abortions is not likely to go down, this little group could make tons of money, i.e., profit, by charging a higher fee than the shut-down clinics did.  See?  You knew it had to be about the money, didn't you?

On teh gays gettin' married, one of Abbott's arguments for banning such a thing is that it would reduce out-of-wedlock births.  (I thought that was contraception's job, but perhaps I'm wrong.)  Now I have no earthly idea what judge would accept that explanation as sound reasoning, but if it can be done, it will be done in Texas.

The current polls are inconclusive on this race, but most have Abbott leading by single digits.  It's extremely important that women and minorities vote on November 4.

The Bluegrass State:  McConnell v. Grimes for Senate
 

I'm not a scientist, but I'm right there with Paul Ryan when it comes to budgets!

It may well be called the bluegrass state, but politically it's redder than Rudolph's nose on Christmas Eve.  Despite the fact that Kentuckians detest Mitch McConnell, Democratic candidate Alison Grimes has an uphill battle on her hands.

One reason Mitch wants to become Senate Majority Leader is so that he and his senate cronies can shut down the government again, because, you know, it was such a $25 Billion success the first time.  And as Michael Tomasky wrote just recently concerning the debate, Le Turtle has an astounding ability to lie, dissemble, and misrepresent himself to voters.   The entire debate between the incumbent and Grimes should have convinced his constituents that Mitch is full of crap and needs to be replaced.  Now I don't know whether McConnell is stupid or if he thinks Kentuckians are stupid, but his response to the question on Obamacare was the epitome of contempt.  He hates it, and taking a line from Ted Cruz, he'd rip it apart branch and root.  But, he'd let his citizens have their little website -- Kynect -- if they wanted to keep it.  Gee, thanks Uncle Mitch!  Idiot.

For her part, at least Alison Grimes stated that there was no way she would take affordable health care away from five hundred thousand Kentuckians who had it under Kynect. 

When Grimes refused to answer if she had voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012, GOPers pounced like vultures on two-week-old roadkill in August.  Even Chuck Todd, newly anointed anchor of Sunday morning's Meet My Good Republican Friends Meet the Press, asked if not responding to that question disqualifies her.  It makes one wonder where Chuck Todd was in 2012 when Mitt Romney refused to answer questions about what policies he would propose on various issues, oh, like the following:  refusing to answer questions on Richard Mourdock's belief that a baby conceived through rape was something God planned; or refusing fourteen times to respond to questions right after hurricane Sandy on whether he would still get rid of FEMA and turn disaster relief over to the states and private sector groups; and  his refusal to answer what tax loopholes he would close, what he would do about immigration reform, his stand on the NRA, etc.  You really wanna talk about disqualifying a candidate, Chuck?  You really wanna go there?

Some polls have Grimes up in this race.

The Motor City State: Land v. Peters for Senate

I don't always run for the U.S. Senate, but when I do, I blow $6 Million of the Kochs' money!

She wasn't anybody's first choice, and now we're seeing why, said an in-the-know GOPer of Terry Lynn Land's candidacy.  Land is running against Democrat Gary Peters in Michigan's race for the U.S. Senate seat of Democrat Carl Levin, who is retiring after this term.

By most accounts, Land is simply not ready for prime time.  She's uncomfortable campaigning, has been called the invisible candidate, and once said I can't do this! when being questioned by a group of reporters.

Things got so bad that in mid-August the Kochs pulled their $1.1 Million dollar ad blitz for her.  And just recently, the National Republican Senatorial Committee left her all-dressed-up-and-no-place-to-go by yanking back an $850,000 ad campaign.

Needless to say, Gary Peters is ahead in this race with a 42 - 33 lead.

End Note

And don't let any new ones in!

(We will continue to look at Senate and House races until Election Day)

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Please note that due to a glitch in the Matrix, the first version of this post and the comments disappeared. We apologize for any inconvenience! :-)

The Far Right Still Can't Work and Play Well with Others

 by Sunnyjane

I've been punked -- again.  I actually believed that we would have a couple days of Republican Tea Party sanity and I could write a post that didn't have to call out their idiocies.  Alas, such was not to be; there seems to be no end to it.  The Tea Party is still calling a lot of the shots -- they're like that adorable litter of puppies you brought home and didn't bother to discipline right from the beginning: for a while it's terribly amusing, and then they become snarling, snapping ankle-biters who destroy everything you hold dear. 

We might as well jump right in and see what they've been up to for the past week or so.

What in the Hell is Wrong with Kentucky Politicians?

Git yer muskets, boys, Obamacare and Same-Sex Marriage is a-comin' over the mountains!

At the risk of insulting otherwise normal Kentuckians, I must say you are bedeviled by the most peculiar politicians in the country -- and they're not all Republicans.  Mitch McConnell doesy-doed to the right to win the primary over Matt Bevin, and now he's doing the two-step back toward the middle -- well, as middle as McConnell can possibly go.  Obamacare has him confused, you see, because even though he has promised to rip out the country's first healthcare program root-and-branch, he understands that going on half a million Bluegrassers are feeling pretty A-OK about having affordable health insurance for the first time in their lives.  So, he's announced that while he's still going to do his garden surgery on the ACA, he'll be glad to leave Kynect -- the state's health exchange program -- alone because, after all, the two are not connected.  Now is Mitch stupid, or does he think the citizens of his state are stupid?  And then there's Rand Paul, who thinks the whole thing about keeping Kynect and repealing Obamacare is a technical question.  Democrat Alison Grimes, who wants to win McConnell's seat in the senate, keeps peeking around her hoop skirted petticoat to see which way the wind is blowing on the issue -- which is exactly what Mitchie and Randy want her to do.  Good Lord, Alison, don't bother to call them out on this idiocy by telling the voters that Paul and McConnell will take their healthcare away from them.   

But it doesn't end there.  Democratic Governor Steve Beshear is in court defending his state's decision to continue the ban on same-six marriage because -- wait for it -- same sex couples can't produce children and he's concerned that not having couples produce children will be detrimental to increasing the state's population.  What!  He governs one of the poorest states in the nation and he wants more of the same?      

Perhaps this, um, strangeness is due to the fact that Kentuckians live in a two-time-zone state; that might tend to make you sort of weird, I admit.

Here a Gun, There a Gun, Everywhere a Gun-Gun

But if you had Obamacare, your insurance might pay for a penis pump.

The narrow-minded -- and small-membered -- population in this country have gone off the freaking rails with their God-given right (huh?) to carry weapons of mass destruction in public.  They pay no attention to the adage of Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.  Folks trying to sip their lattes or scoff down their burritos have protested to the point that businesses in open-carry states have had to post signs on their doors saying Leave Your Penis Extender in Your Vehicle, Idiot.

After the latest shooting in California, Joni Ernst was asked if she would take down her gun-riddled campaign ads.  She responded to the effect that shooting six people was an unfortunate accident, but her ads proved that she's a Second Amendment advocate, so, NOPE, she would not take down those ads.

Joe Not-a-Joe-Not-a-Plumber puffed himself up and declared that his right to own a gun was more important that some dead kid.  He then doubled down on that and said guns were for hunting down politicians who would take away his freedoms; obviously another male idiot lacking muscle in the family-jewels department.

Some yahoo in Alabama decided he needed his handgun and two magazines of ammo to vote in a recent Republican (naturally) primary.  Since a church was acting as the polling place for said primary, there was a sign on the door that clearly stated that guns would not be allowed.  He protested.  To no avail.  A deputy was called.  Voter put his gun back in his truck.  He's going to complain.  So there!  Hmpf!

The NRA initially wrote on its blog page that carrying weapons around just for the attention it garnered its owners was weird.  In about two days they walked that back, blaming the confusion on a hapless staff member.   

There's a Pond in Texas That's Missing its Scum

Holmes and Cruz: Racist Comrades in Arms

If the mere sight of this individual doesn't make you want to hurl your cookies, you might want to seek professional counseling.  No, seriously. 

Because President Obama refused to negotiate on a House budget that would repeal the Affordable Care Act last year, Canadian Senator Senor Rafael Edward Cruz got himself in a snit and decided to shut down the United States government for seventeen days -- to the tune of about $24 BILLION.  He then refused to admit his prominent role in that fiasco, blaming Obama and Harry Reid.   Fast forward: Rafael Edward now is taking full credit for the shutdown, and believes that, because of his leadership, the shutdown is going to allow the Republicans to take over the Senate and increase their membership in the House.

Oh, he's also spewing the meme that because the Democrats are trying to get an amendment to override the Supreme Court's decision on campaign spending, that they're going to ban books and movies.  Yes, seriously!  

On the Lighter Side...

 A new study just released says that Americans learn more about the news from Stephen Colbert than they do from mainstream news channels.  What does that tell us?

Joni Ernst won the Republican primary election in Iowa.  Now she's one step closer to going  to Washington to shoot a hog and castrate Obamacare -- or something like that.  However, Steve Lonegan did not win in New Jersey, which couldn't have been a outcome time for him, given that he's a real loser.  Why, the last time he lost, he rudely pushed his wife's hand off his shoulder during his concession speech.  I guess that taught HER a lesson, by golly!

Don't touch me, bitch!

With their math teacher's help, sixth graders in Massachusetts have sent the Department of Education a bill for more than $1,600 as payment for being used as guinea pigs to test the Standard of Learning exams for a private company.  Now that's thinking, kids!

And speaking of guinea pigs, there's a home schooling expert who believes that sex education is a liberal plot to desensitize children to sex.  This leads to no bonding in marriage, which leads to unstable and broken marriages, and when that happens, they all vote Democratic.  Instead, she recommends letting kids see guinea pigs doing it, because you can't really see anything: You really couldn’t see anything because they’re big, furry little fuzzball things. I mean, that’s why there isn’t guinea pig porn movies.  (Pardon me, but you can't make this shit up.)

And speaking of sex, Pat Robertson believes that if your husband washes dishes, you owe him a roll in the hay.  No word on what you owe if he only puts the crockery in the dishwasher.

Good news!  If God tells him to, Herman Cain will run for president in 2016.  I guess Herb didn't get the text messages God sent him in 2012.

Some anti-gay Christian groups are refusing to accept mail with Harvey Milk postage stamps on it.  Well, that will certainly show those gays a thing or two!

Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time GOPer Terri Lynn Land, who's running for something or other in Michigan, became so flustered while being questioned by reporters that she exclaimed, I can't do this!   Ain't that a hoot?


End Note
  

The Sarah Palin 'Kiss of Death' Endorsements for 2014

by Sunnyjane

Her endorsements are as toxic as West Virginia water.  Good luck, grizzlies!

Besides being paid and trying to shellac herself with a facade of relevance, why is Sarah Palin endorsing a bunch of loser, has-been, never-will-be, and otherwise inexperienced candidates this year?  Couple of reasons, I think.  First, she cannot run for any office herself and risk a rehash of how ill-informed and actually stupid she is.  Alaska wants no part of her, and Arizona won't give her the time of day.  Second, she'd love to screw over establishments Republicans by getting some ditzy, highly unqualified Tea Party types in the House and Senate.  After all, she's made it perfectly clear that Ted Cruz needs reinforcements in Washington.

Though in her long history of endorsements Palin has had a few victories, her record ain't that great.  Basically, she's all puff and no powder.

Early Victim Succumbs to Palin Kiss of Death

No, no...one to a customer unless you promise to vote three or four times.

Since teleportation has not quite been perfected yet -- it's that rascally old science thingy of moving molecules and atoms and stuff -- voters in Florida wondered how it was possible for Lizabeth Benacquisto to be slinging barbeque with Sarah Palin in one place and voting in the Florida statehouse at the same time.  That's taking multi-tasking to a whole new level.  Tut, tut!  Gov. Rick Scott is so concerned about voter fraud in his state, but he'd best look at the habits of his lawmakers before he continues his purge of the voter rolls.

Anyhow, Benacquisto lost her primary bid in the contest to take coke-snorting Tray Radel's congressional seat that's up for grabs since his resignation in January.

Another one bites the dust.

Porky Pig Threatened by Tea Party Candidate!

Good times a'comin' in the Corn State, folks!  We're bringing out the big desk drawers for Ernst! 

In Iowa, Joni Ernst also seems to have a little, um, problem doing the job for which she was elected.  Ernst doesn't try to be in two places at once, no sir!  She simply doesn't show up to vote -- 117 times.  After being called out about these missing-in-action periods, Ernst said that her responsibilities in the Iowa Army National Guard were the reason.  Well, it did not take much to find that her National Guard duties only accounted for about twelve days.  (What don't these lying fools understand about research?)  The other absences were because -- wait for it; this is disastrous for female candidates -- juggling roles as a wife and mother ... a state senator, and a very, very tough competitive race for the United States Senate.

So if she's too busy to be a responsible senator in her own state, how does she intend to do the job in Washington?  She may well have been, at one time, a hog-castration maven down on the farm, but there's more to the job of senator in Washington, D. C.  Or, given the Republicans' determination not to actually do anything for the American people, perhaps she would fit right in.

Take those hog cajones to D. C., Joni!

A Quitter Endorses a Quitter -- You Can't Make This Stuff Up

I wonder when she quit washing her face and her wig?

One has to assume that Karen Handel has had her anti-Palin KOD shots this time around.  But don't bet your 401(K) on it; Obamacare doesn't cover those.

Handel's reputation as a quitter and loser precedes her.  She was Georgia Secretry of State from 2007 to 2010.  When announcing her endorsement of Handel recently for U.S. Senate, Palin made the laudatory statement that, You know her background, you know her record. The conservative who has walked the walk. Cutting budgets, not raising taxes, how often do you see that in government?  The problem is, the Secretary of State has nothing to do with taxes or budgets, so Handel does not have a record on those issues.  (Have I ever mentioned that Palin is stupid?  Yes, I thought I had.)

So then Handel quit the SoS job in 2010 to run for the Georgia governorship, and Palin endorsed her then.  She lost.  The Susan J. Komen Race for the Cure was Handel's next gig, where she was the prime instigator in the plan for Komen to stop awarding grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings.  Little investigation was required to learn that her real motive was to see that the women's health organization did not provide funding for abortions.  There ensued the Mother of All Backlashes over this action, and Handel quit not long thereafter.  Komen reversed the decision later and began funding Planned Parenthood again.

Handel then went on to write a book titled Planned Bullyhood, condemning Planned Parenthood.  It ranks  #715,820 on Amazon.  (Heh.)

End Note