14 Nov 08 Joe The Leech
The infamous “Joe the Plumber”, whose name isn’t Joe and who isn’t a plumber, now has his very own website. Yes boyz and girlz, “Joe” is now Sam the Republican blogger. He hasn’t said much so far, just some tripe about taking back our country from the elites in Washington. His theme is Secure Our Dream, and by that he means secure his dream by sending him money.
A “Freedom Membership” in his “We Are Joe” organization costs $14.95. And just look at what you get for your money: a free copy of the book he hasn’t written yet, and your email address goes on his “newsletter” spam list. Oh, and you also “Become an integral part of an American movement to restore our government to the people.” Sounds like a great deal for Joe!
10 Nov 08 Greedy Republican Billionaires
It’s obvious to everyone that the Republican Party is in disarray and beginning to splinter. There are three distinct ideological factions that came together during the Nixon and Reagan years: the greedy billionaires, the Christian warriors, and the libertarian outsiders. These groups are moving in opposing directions, and may no longer be able to stifle their differences in the interest of exercising political power. We’ll take a look at all three of these factions beginning with the greedy Republican billionaires (GRB), or as I prefer to think of them sometimes, the greedy Republican bastards.
Though not all GRB members are billionaires, they hope to be someday. They are the primary source of funds for Republican candidates, and thus are the lifeblood of the party. Their primary motivation is the pursuit of money. Their focus is directed towards paying as little taxes as possible and exercising maximum control over the marketplace. For the most part they work from the shadows, occasionally popping up with self-serving propaganda such as “What’s good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa.” They profit from war, as long as it doesn’t get too out of control. Anyone or anything that might come between them and money is a potential target.
You don’t have to look far to see the GRB in action. GRB icon Rupert Murdoch owns FUX News and the Wall Street Journal, which promote the GRB agenda with every word and image. Walmart is the prime example of the GRB business plan. They would prefer to have no workplace rules, and no responsibility for pension funds or health care plans. The GRB hate unions with a passion that runs much deeper than in the other two party factions. Another hallmark is their authoritarian nature: George W. Bush “The Decider” personifies this inclination.
Next we’ll begin to explore the Christian Republican Warrior (CRW) wing of the party. Can they continue to co-exist with the GRB faction? If so, it’s going to be a bumpy ride at the very least.
26 Oct 08 Big Losers Always Make Excuses (BLAME)
McCain and Palin are on their way to being big losers and the knives are coming out. James Carville and Paul Begala threw a few on the table today to get the party started.
The smartest people in the conservative movement are already pointing like a bird dog on a South Georgia quail hunt. David Brooks and Bill Kristol are leading the way. Mr. Brooks, representing the intellectual wing of the conservative movement, called Ms. Palin, “a fatal cancer to the Republican Party.” Attaboy, Brooksie. Score one for the brainiacs.
Mr. Kristol, on the other hand, blames neither Ms. Palin nor Sen. John McCain, but rather McCain’s campaign advisers, writing of the campaign: “Its combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic.” See? That’s how you do it. Kristol can’t say McCain’s problem is that he supported the Iraq war, (which Kristol advocated) or that he chose Sarah Palin (whom Kristol praised). So rather than play defense, Bill went on offense, blaming McCain’s Steve Schmidt-led campaign. But we have a feeling this fight will only begin when the Schmidt hits the fan.
But where are the other voices? We need to hear, for example, from Karl Rove. Whom will he blame? We stipulate that Karl is a genius — albeit a genius whose advice took Pres. Bush from a 91 percent approval rating down to 26. With the House of Bush ablaze, Karl is going to have to do some quick finger-pointing before they change his nickname from The Architect to The Arsonist.
How about Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other radio personalities? They never liked McCain much — but his campaign cratered only when he embraced their wild attacks on Sen. Obama. It was only after Mr. McCain borrowed the Limbaugh-Hannity line on Bill Ayers, only after Gov. Palin accused Mr. Obama of “pallin’ around with terrorists,” that the bottom fell out for Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin. We’re betting the hot air boys will blame the intellectuals. After all, if you want to make an omelet, you’ve got to break a few eggheads.
Huffington Post link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-carville-and-paul-begala/let-the-blame-game-begin_b_136223.html
26 Oct 08 Cracks In The Republican Facade
There’s little doubt that the McCain campaign is a sinking ship at this point. Obama is expanding his lead in the key electoral state battles day by day. Key Republicans are already beginning to play the blame game, and rumors coming from behind the scenes say that Sarah Palin is a very unhappy camper. The question on many observers’ minds is whether McCain will do anything to help the Republican candidates for Senate who are on the bubble. If he doesn’t, the differences between the moralists and the fiscal conservatives in the Republican party may erupt into full-scale civil war after the election.
Image thanks to Gary Varvel
