Now You Know

Disillusioned with Obama? Thinking about staying home this November, because the Democrats couldn't clean up eight-to-thirty years of greed, mismanagement, lies, and lust for power in eighteen months? Well, our own Michelle Bachmann (R-Crazytown) finally told the truth about what will happen if the GOP regains power in the midterm elections:

Three Fingers of Politics via DailyKos and Mother Jones:

“Oh, I think that’s all we should do,” Bachmann said. “I think that all we should do is issue subpoenas and have one hearing after another. And expose all the nonsense that is going on. And it’s very important when we come back that we have constitutional conservative leadership because the American people’s patience is about this big.”

[...]“This is the year – this is it,” Bachmann continued. “All of our chips are on November. If we don’t get it back and then starve the beast – the House, we have the power of the purse – so we can starve ObamaCare. We don’t have to fund any of these programs and that’s exactly what we need to do – defund all of this nonsense and then unwind it.”

Do we really want health care rolled back, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act repealed, secret deals with energy companies setting our energy policy again, Blackwater (or Xe, or whatever name they're trying to hide under this week) in charge of the Border Patrol, John Boner (sorry, that's closer to how his name is actually pronounced in the original German than that crap he says!) as Speaker, and Pres. Obama arrested as an illegal alien and impeached? Are we really that eager to see the federal government in gridlock once again?

Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly sees an even more dire situation, should the GOP win back the House this fall:

To be sure, it was farcical on the Hill in the mid- to late-'90s. Rep. Dan Burton (R) of Indiana and his House committee on administrative oversight launched pointless investigations into every wild-eyed Clinton-related accusation unhinged activists could manufacture.

[...]Over the last six years of Bill Clinton's presidency, Burton's committee unilaterally issued 1,052 subpoenas -- that's not a typo -- to investigate baseless allegations of misconduct. That translates to an average of a politically-inspired subpoena every other day for six consecutive years, including weekends, holidays, and congressional recesses.

A Republican House majority in the next Congress would likely take this even further. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has already made clear that he intends to make Burton look like a meek, submissive toady, leaving "corporate America" alone, so he can attack the White House relentlessly.

For that matter, let's also not forget that some Republicans, including two members of Congress, have raised the specter of presidential impeachment once there's a GOP majority. One of them is Bachmann -- who thinks "all" Republicans should do in the next Congress is launch witch hunts.

As Paul Krugman noted recently, "[W]e'll be having hearings over accusations of corruption on the part of Michelle Obama's hairdresser, janitors at the Treasury, and Larry Summers's doctor's dog."

Is this serious enough to you? We cannot afford to lose a single seat in the Congress this fall.--not one. Look at how "60 is the new 59" became the law of the land in the Senate after Ted Kennedy died. Look at how much opposition Pres. Obama has faced even when his party controlled both chambers of Congress, and then think about how things might go for his presidency - and our lives - if the Repugs control even the House, much less the Senate, after the midterms.

brooklynbadboy at DailyKos has it right:

In a rare moment of honesty, Michelle Bachmann illustrates the real agenda of the GOP. They are going to do all of the things their nutcase base is calling for. They are going to focus on one thing and one thing only: turning the federal government into the soundbyte factory for Fox News.

Breitbart will be brought in for testimony on civil rights. Tancredo will be given a large platform for discussion about changing demographics. Orly Taitz will be brought in to provide perspective on the Constitution. Name your conspiracy. Every single nutcase teabagger fantasy will be placed front and center on the legislative calendar.

Is this what you really want? Is this the kind of country that you'd like to live in? Or do you want to see the promise of Barack Obama's election to the presidency come into full bloom? This country and this planet cannot endure the return to power of the Republican Party. We have to hold on, we have to elect more and better Democrats (Nebraska, are you listening?), and we have to fight in this election even harder than we did two years ago.

There really is no other choice.

Ooooh, Scary Black People!

Rachel Maddow blasted the Fox/Neocon/Tea Party cabal last night, in a twelve-minute tour de force that left the "something for nothing crowd" - as Keith Olbermann (who also had his own "Special Comment" on the subject last night) calls them - a smoking, blasted ruin. Recounting the history of the fear tactics used by wingnuts for the last forty-fifty years, Rachel showed them for the racist, anti-American demons that they are. Here she is:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Make no mistake, these are the real sowers of hatred and racism in our country. These are the tactics they've successfully used for almost fifty years. It's way past time that we stopped being fooled by these bastards.

That Infamous Clip

Why did anyone believe Andrew Breitbart? About anything?! If he told me it was raining, I'd look out the window first. This is the same guy whose "creative" editing skills killed ACORN. Why does he have any credibility? And why did Sec. Vilsack fire Ms. Sherrod without a full and complete airing of the facts?

DailyKos:

If you're not familiar with the Shirley Sherrod story....Until Monday, Sherrod was the rural development director for the US Department of Agriculture in Georgia. Andrew Breitbart released a heavily edited video purporting to show Sherrod saying that 24 years ago she refused to help a farmer because he was white. It turns out that Breitbart twisted Sherrod's words; Sherrod was actually telling a story designed to illustrate why all forms of racism are wrong and describing how she overcame racism in her life. Indeed, she not only helped the farmer, but according to the farmer's wife, Sherrod saved the farm.
Despite the fact that Sherrod did nothing wrong -- in fact, did everything right -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack fired her after Breitbart's video was released. As you can see in Ben Smith's article, the White House is trying to simultaneously support Vilsack's position and deny responsibility for it. Obviously, Vilsack fired her out of the misguided belief that Breitbart had turned her into a political liability. But not only is that immoral, it's stupid; the backlash against the unjustified dismissal of Shirley Sherrod will dwarf whatever teabagging nonsense Breitbart could have drummed up.

Obama needs to reinstate Shirley Sherrod. Now. He can claim it's Vilsack's decision if he wants, but do it, and do it now.

"Refudiate?" I Got Yer Refudiate Right Here!

So Half-Gov. Sarah Palin thinks that she can: 1) say any mishmash of syllables she wants and expect us to understand what the hell she means, 2) repeat her ignorance and persuade people that she has the requisite intelligence and education to seek and win high political office, and 3) finally address her ignorance and be corrected for her illiteracy, while comparing herself to William Shakespeare, thinking that this is the perfect explanation for her malaprops.

So inventing new words is kosher, but erecting places of worship are verboten, according to the woman who once abandoned her studies at the University of Hawaii because there were "too many Asians" enrolled there? I say, shove your "refudiate" up your ass, Caribou Barbie--you're an ignorant, arrogant, evil woman.

"What If The Tea Party Was Black?"

My SO over at Free-Spirited Ruminations passed this along to me. I totally agree with the argument this video presents:



While Palin, Beck, Limbaugh and the other demons pretend that there's no racist element of the Tea Party, while they use their coded messages to promulgate a message of violence, fear, racism, and hatred, yet there are still those of us who can see what's really going on. And we will not be defeated.

Surprisingly, there is one thing that Glenn Beck and I agree on: I fear for my country.

Yesterday marked the 147th anniversary of the Second Battle of Ft. Wagner. I sincerely hope that we don't have to do it all over again.

"You Shall Know Them By The Company They Keep": Sharon Angle Outs Fox

Everyone who thinks that Fox "News" is a legitimate news organization, raise your hands!

< crickets >

Bueller? Bueller?

< crickets >

No surprises there; around these parts, Fox (or "FAUX," as I like to call them) has never been seen as anything other than a shill outfit for the GOP. And now, the clueless Sharon Angle has outed them as the Rethug mouthpiece that they are!

Media Matters, via DailyKos:

In a July 14 interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) suggested that she prefers to appear on Fox News over shows like Meet the Press because Fox gives her an opportunity to raise money. From the interview:

David Brody: Not to harp on the point but when you're on Fox News or talking to more conservative outlets but maybe not going on "Meet the Press" or a "This Week", those type of news shows, then the perception and the narrative starts to be like you are avoiding those mainstream media outlets.
Sharron Angle: Well, in that audience will they let me say I need $25 dollars from a million people go to Sharron Angle.com send money? Will they let me say that? Will I get a bump on my website and you can watch whenever I go on to a show like that we get an immediate bump. You can see the little spinners. People say  'Oh, I heard that. I am going and I'm going to help Sharron out because they realize this is a national effort and that I need people from all around the nation. They may not be able to vote for me but they can certainly help."

On Monday, Angle began an interview with Neil Cavuto by stating, "Well, first of all, Neil, it's great to be on your show to talk about this campaign against Harry Reid who needs $25 million -- and I have been saying I only need a million people to send $25 to SharronAngle.com." Angle also made fundraising pitches on Hannity and Fox & Friends. 

So now the question about Fox is like the punchline of the old joke about the traveling salesman and the hooker: "I know what you are, it's how much you cost that I'm trying to find out!"  Man, talk about "creating your own reality".....is Angle clueless or crazy? Please, Sharon, stay on Faux, and away from all other media outlets--that's the way to certain victory!  *LOL*

"An Accidental Senator?" Look Who's Talking!

Wingnut Central is apparently agog over the idea that felons voted Al Franken into the Senate:

TPM:

Fox News -- an outlet that has a long-running bad relationship with Franken -- claims: "The final recount vote in the race, determined six months after Election Day, showed Franken beat Coleman by 312 votes -- fewer votes than the number of felons whose illegal ballots were counted, according to Minnesota Majority's newly released study, which matched publicly available conviction lists with voting records."

As usual, the local rag sheet dutifully reported Coleman's thoughts on the matter:

Coleman said Wednesday that he is "not looking back." But he also termed Franken an "accidental senator," who benefited from court rulings that overlooked an array of alleged voting irregularities.
"There's always going to be a cloud of doubt that hovers over this election, and this thickens the cloud," Coleman said.

"A cloud of doubt," Normie? Really? I don't think I even have to mention Florida in 2000 to shut these fools up. All I think that needs to be recounted (pun intended) is how Normie got into office in the first place: the untimely death of Sen. Paul Wellstone, scant weeks before the election that put Norm into the Senate.

So, Norm: