13 Dec 08 Bastard Republican Vampires
Michael Moore has a few words for those Republican Senators who went after the UAW:
We have a little more than a month to go of this madness. As I sit here in Michigan today, tens of thousands of hard working, honest, decent Americans do not believe they can make it to January 20th. The malaise here is astounding. Why must they suffer because of the mistakes of every CEO from Roger Smith to Rick Wagoner? Make management and the boards of directors and the shareholders pay for this.
Of course that is heresy to the 31 Republicans who decided to blame the poor, miserable autoworkers for this mess. And our wonderful media complied with their spin on the morning news shows: “UAW Refuses to Give Concessions Killing Auto Bailout Bill.” In fact the UAW has given concession after concession, reduced their benefits, agreed to get rid of the Jobs Bank and agreed to make it harder for their retirees to live from week to week. Yes! That’s what we need to do! It’s the Jobs Bank and the old people who have led the nation to economic ruin!
But even doing all that wasn’t enough to satisfy the bastard Republicans. These Senate vampires wanted blood. Blue collar blood. You see, they weren’t opposed to the bailout because they believed in the free market or capitalism. No, they were opposed to the bailout because they’re opposed to workers making a decent wage. In their rage, they were driven to destroy the backbone of this country, not because the UAW hadn’t given back enough, but because the UAW hadn’t given up.
12 Dec 08 Republican Economy Killers
Republicans in the Senate seem intent on creating a depression, perhaps so they can attempt to blame it on Obama at some point in the future. There’s a lot of confusion in the country over whether we should or should not keep American auto manufacturers in business. Instead of giving any recognition to the true issue, the lack of credit for new car buyers, the Republicans are fear-mongering. They say the car companies are bad and the unions are bad, when in fact the banks that got bailed out still aren’t making loans.
The real issue is whether we want to see three million jobs go into the toilet for Christmas. And after that? More millions of jobs and uncounted small businesses who are patronized by those auto industry workers would disappear within a very few months. All the neighborhood stores and restaurants will fall like dominos right behind them.
At this time the stock market has been open nearly two hours and is trending steadily down. How low can it go? We may be about to find out.
UPDATE: George W. Bush may be a fool, but he’s not as foolish as those would be union-busting Republican Senators. The White House announced this morning that cash from the $700 billion bailout fund will be provided to GM and Chrysler. The stock market responded positively and may close up for the day.
19 Nov 08 Ostrich In Chief
Mitt Romney is assuming the mantle of Ostrich in Chief for his party. In one those “let them eat cake” moments he strongly urged in today’s New York Times that the big three automakers should be forced into bankruptcy. He believes that bankruptcy, rather than putting them permanently out of business, will result in a Walmart-style royal screwing of their workers.
First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.
Now in the first place, I don’t believe there would continue to be an American auto industry if these companies are forced into bankruptcy. In an economy like this it doesn’t matter how energy-efficient your cars are, or how cool they are, or how cheap they are. Nobody’s buying anything, foreign manufacturers are just as screwed as the Americans. You know those foreign governments are going to keep their auto businesses afloat, they’d have to be idiots to let them fail.
But the real issue is whether the Walmart employee model is the one we want for this country’s future. Mitt Romney and the Walton family obviously love it. The Waltons have gotten mega-rich by screwing manufacturing and sales employees. I’m sure they’ve pumped a lot of contributions to their “free market” Republican friends to keep the status quo in place. It’s a simple equation, the very rich get richer and every cent comes out of a working man or woman’s sweat.
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.
07 Nov 08 Sarah Palin the Scapegoat
Sarah Palin does too know that Africa is a continent, you know she does and I know she does. So what if she only wore a towel to answer her hotel room door? Did she take it off for those big Republican guns? Nooooooo she didn’t, did she. What’s really happening here is that the Greedy Billionaire wing of the Republican party is afraid of her. Very afraid. And they should be.
30 Oct 08 The Temperament of a Rabid Badger
On his way to endorsing Obama last night, Steven Colbert had a few words to say about John McCain’s temperament (see above). He also described the Republican party as “A staggering mass of flaming agony” lol.
28 Oct 08 The Corpse of the Republican Party
A source in the McCain campaign has called Sarah Palin a “whack job”. The rats aren’t headed straight overboard, they’re taking a bite out of the party before they jump. Perhaps the neocons and extreme religionists will be able to coexist with moderate Republicans after this election, and perhaps not. It seems clear they’re doing their best to rip each other to shreds this week.
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
23 Oct 08 Change the Country, Change the World
Obama spoke in Richmond, Virginia yesterday, and focused on the politics of inclusion and unity.
Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, city dwellers, farm dwellers, it doesn’t matter, we’re all together. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and there are patriots who opposed it. There are patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies.
The men and women from Virginia and all across this country who serve on our battlefields, some are Democrats, some are Republicans, some are independents. But they fought together, and bled together. Some of them died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a blue America, they haven’t served a red America, they served the United States of America. Nobody should forget that.
At that point in the speech the crowd broke into a solid shout of USA! USA! USA!
Barack Obama sounded a whole lot like a former Senator from Illinois yesterday, with echoes of a former Senator from Massachusetts. It’s hard to be cynical about politics and politicians at moments like this.
22 Oct 08 Republicans Take Money From Bachmann
Michele Bachman is in a world of hurt today. She denied she said what she said, she apologized for what she said, and she’s begging for money that she desperately needs to stay in office. However, rather than give her more money, The National Republican Congressional Committee took away their money, and cancelled the ad buys they had made on her behalf. One word: Karma.
13 Oct 08 Desperate Republican Candidates
One of the diaries at the Daily Kos today highlighted some very vulnerable Republican candidates. The tip-off actually came from the pro-Republican Red State site, where they were bemoaning the state of the McCain campaign. The question in their minds is not if McCain can win, that just doesn’t seem very likely. At this point they’re wondering whether there is any way to offset the effects of an Obama landslide on the down-ticket congressional candidates. Their list of candidates who desperately need help is quoted below.
What this means for Democrats is simple: it’s both a reminder that every vote will count in November, and a huge opportunity to take action today. The following candidates need every bit of support you can give them, in time or money.
Al Franken - Senate Minnesota
Kay Hagan - Senate North Carolina
Bruce Lunsford - Senate Kentucky
Paul Kanjorski - House Pennsylvania
James Marshall - House Georgia
Chris Carney - House Pennsylvania
Nick Lampson - House Texas
Ashwin Madia - House Minnesota
Tim Mahoney - House Florida
Daily Kos link:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/13/154358/44/89/629444
The Senate races he wants to support as his firewall are:
Norm Coleman, Elizabeth Dole and Mitch McConnell!
So lets throw them an anvil and support
Al Franken, Kay Hagen & Bruce Lunsford
Red State link:
http://www.redstate.com/diaries/redstate/2008/oct/13/viable-options/
We must be aggressive and involved. Below are the races where, despite the expected smack down, we have a real possibility of picking up these seats. Note that the Senate side is primarily defending our own.
SENATE
Norm Coleman in Minnesota.
Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina.
Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.HOUSE
Lou Barletta in Pennsylvania-11.
Rick Goddard in Georgia-08.
Chris Hackett in Pennsylvania-10.
Pete Olson in Texas-22.
Erik Paulsen in Minnesota-03.
Tom Rooney in Florida-16.
