Check Your Brains At the Door

CBS Sunday Mornings'Nancy Giles voices her opinion of the SC debate Thu night and what the moderator should have said.

I Voted Today in the "1st in the Nation" NH Primary

I just returned from voting in the New Hampshire Primary.  

"Primary?" you say.  "You're voting in the Republican primary?"

I'm voting in the NH Primary and there is a Democratic ballot.  It's one of 17 states designated "Open Primary" although it is technically a "semi-Open Primary" state for reasons stated below: 

It is not a closed primary, in which votes can be cast in a party primary only by people registered with that party. Undeclared voters — those not registered with any party — can vote in either party primary. However, it does not meet a common definition of an open primary, because people registered as Republican or Democrat on voting day cannot cast ballots in the primary of the other party.^{[1]  Wikipedia}

Reported results thus far from our two smallest precincts who voted 12:01AM this morning.

Dixville Notch, NH  has 9 registered voters. They turn out 100%.

         Barack Obama    3 votes

         Mitt Romney        2 votes

         Jon Huntsman      2 votes

         Newt Gingrich      1 vote                                 

         Ron Paul              1 votes          

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8 Votes of Separation & Buh Bye Bachmann

Mitt Romney beats Rick Santorum by 8 votes.  Woo hoo!  He's on a roll now.  

Perry Tucks Tail,  Hightails to Texas to "reassess".  

Michelle Bachmann bows out in self-righteous style channeling Horton the Elephant  "I mean what I say and I say what I mean" and Prof. Harold Hill  'We Got Trouble Right Here in River City" which coincidentally takes place in I-O-WAY.  This woman can really yammer on.   She asserts the founding fathers wanted her to defeat Obamacare and Dodd-Frank among other things, and to "protect" us from Obama's socialism, our security, heterosexual marriage blah blah blah.

 If you want to waste another 10 minutes, here's the speech.  She's here for us.  

Newt in a snit.

Ron Paul & Rick Santorum...who cares?

Herman Cain: Adios M.F.

There is no other way to express it, Herman Cain is an egotistical, narcissistic, womanizing, lying disgrace for a human being whose "campaign" succeeded only in wasting tax payer money (body guards), debate time, tv time and the collective conscience of a certain demographic and psychographic constituent who actually considered voting for him.  Not that I care about their loss.

Rather than carry on with the rant, I'm re-posting tweets from Andy Borowitz, whose humor makes the whole thing almost palatable.   

Some Andyisms:

• BREAKING: As Cain Drops Out, Pro-Adultery Voters Switch to Gingrich http://bit.ly/sKnH9D
  
• Cain has suspended his campaign after his wife refused to suspend her disbelief. 
• BREAKING: Cain Quits Race; Comedians Declare Day of Mourning #Cain
  
• Gingrich is the intellectual of the GOP field in the same way that Moe was the intellectual of the Stooges.
• POLL: Majority of Americans Beginning to Think Republicans are 'Just Kidding'

I said "almost". 

Any Candidacy But Romney's Candidacy

With Newt Gingrich's resurgent candidacy for the GOP nomination in 2012, many thoughts assault me.

"I've got all this stuff twirling round in my head."

Nope.  Not it.  Wrong candidate; that's Herman Cain. 

 "Oops!"

Wrong candidate again; Rick Perry.

I keep hearing the mantra, "Any candidate but the Romney candidate" which puts me in mind of a favorite scene from a favorite movie, The Way We Were.  Barbra Streisand, as Katie Morosky, student president of the Young Communist Leage on her 1930s' college campus, is trying to motivate the student body to strike for peace in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.   She is repeatedly rebuffed by the other students until she gives a stirring speech.

For one shining moment, she has them.

 And then the signs go up.

"The Way We Were"  1973

Romney keeps thinkin' he has 'em.

And then the signs go up.  

Things to Come

First 2012 Republican Presidential Debate
June 13th 2010 New Hampshire
(AP photo)

You didn't think I'd let the very first Presidential debate go by without some kind of commentary, didya?

Held in our very own little "First in the Nation State" of New Hampshire last night at St. Anselm's College, the debate was moderated by John King who is excellent at keeping the talky talkers on point.  He did not allow diarrhea of the mouth or refusal to answer the question asked.  He was awesome!

Mitt did a good job.  He didn't talk too much and looked the part which is what everyone says about him anyway.  The big surprise to me was Michelle Bachmann.  I heard Joe Scarborough repeat someone else's comment along the lines of "...someone got her off the crazy juice" because she sounded reasonable.

Newt is toast.  Not sure why he showed up.  SNL did a great spoof of him leaving the debate a few weekends back after the moderator asked him, "You don't really want to be here do you?"

No reason to comment on the rest of the herd.  They stayed away from criticizing one another and stuck to a repititve onslaught of  Obama bashing.  It became just so much rhetoric.  

I lasted 45 minutes then turned to a much more interesting HBO movie called "A Matter of Taste" about Chef Paul Liebrandt.

Now that was theatre!   

 

The Ryan Bill, Newt Gingrich and the GOP

House Republicans approved a budget on Friday that would fundamentally alter Medicare and Medicaid, lower taxes on individuals and corporations and cut $4.4 trillion from the nation’s deficit over the next decade.  The Washington Post 4-15-11

Ryan's bill will end Medicare as an "open minded entitlement for new retirees", begin raising the age of eligibility from 65 to 67 and create a Medicare exchange from which we can all choose a private policy.  Individual states would receive less money from the federal government and have more management control over the programs in their state.  This is scary stuff to me.  I'm in the "Live Free or Die" state...emphasis on the die part.

Newt came out strongly against it and a firestorm of punditry from the media and alarm from members of the GOP.  But frankly, and I never thought I'd say this, he's right. 

“I think that that is too big a jump. I think that what you want to have is a system where people voluntarily migrate to better outcomes, better solutions, better options.” The Washington Post  Eugene Robinson  Op-Ed 5-19-11

And the talking heads were all over it this morning.  Both "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press" were on point with the subject. 

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

Even Mitch McConnell, if you believe Huff Post, is not wild about the Ryan bill. 

What I want to know is, why don't we just bring home our soldiers from all three fronts and save ourselves, a staggering $1, 198, 130, +++,+++.  

Sarah Trump Newtie and Mitt: Oh MY!

Hear Sarah Palin talk about "vanquish"ing a great enemy. Listen to the Donald flirt with Sarah as he invites her to join his run for prez. God, imagine those two on the same ticket.

For those of you looking for a bit more insight into Mitt than SNL can provide, go here!

Is Newt On Our Side? Maybe...

Newt as Lego Man by blogadilla.com

No point in me paraphrasing a perfectly marvelous post by Robert Reich.   Let's just see if history repeats itself.

The Republican Threat to Shut Down the Federal Government

              Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Newt Gingrich is saying if Republicans win back control of Congress and reach a budget impasse with the President, they should shut down the government again. GOP pollster Dick Morris is echoing those sentiments, as is Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R. Ga), and Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller.

I am continuously amazed at the GOP’s ability to snatch defeat out of the jaws of potential victory. It is the gift that keeps giving.

I was there November 14, 1995 when Newt Gingrich pulled the plug on the federal government the first time. It proved to be the stupidest political move in recent history. Not only did it help Bill Clinton win reelection but it was a boon to almost all other Democrats in 1996 (Gingrich’s photo was widely used in negative ads), and the move damaged Republicans for years.

Gingrich hurt his cause by complaining that Bill Clinton had put him in the back of Air Force One on a trip that occurred about the same time. Republican lore has it that it was this babyish behavior rather than the shutdown itself that caused the public to side with Clinton in the game of chicken Gingrich launched over the budget. Undoubtedly Gingrich’s whining didn’t help, but it was his cavalier attitude toward government itself that was the defining issue. Gingrich was the one who first bragged he’d shut down the government if Clinton didn’t agree to what the Republicans wanted. . .


Americans may be cynical about government but we’re proud of our system of governance. And we don’t want it to be used as a political pawn in partisan power games. That’s what Republicans forget time and again. They dislike government so much they don’t see the difference between government as a bureaucracy and democratic governance as a cherished system.

The framers of the Constitution developed checks and balances to assure one branch didn’t accumulate too much power. But they never contemplated that one party could shut down the entire governmental system if it didn’t get what it wanted

Robert Reich served as Secretary of Labor under President Clinton.  He's now Professor of Public Policy A UC Berkeley.
 
If that isn't condemnatory enough, how 'bout THIS?
 

An Open Letter To Newt Gingrich From His Gay Sister Candace

        

Dear Newt,


I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protestors of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O’Reilly on FOX News. I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, “There you go, again.”


However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked.


The truth is that you’re living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as — and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.


Welcome to the 21st century, big bro. I can understand why you’re so afraid of the energy that has been unleashed after gay and lesbian couples had their rights stripped away from them by a hateful campaign. I can see why you’re sounding the alarm against the activists who use all the latest tech tools to build these rallies from the ground up in cities across the country.


This unstoppable progress has at its core a group we at HRC call Generation Equality. They are the most supportive of full LGBT equality than any American generation ever — and when it comes to the politics of division, well, they don’t roll that way. 18-24 year olds voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8 and overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. And the numbers of young progressive voters will only continue to grow. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, about 23 million 18-29 year olds voted on Nov. 4, 2008 — the most young voters ever to cast a ballot in a presidential election. That’s an increase of 3 million more voters compared to 2004.


These are the same people who helped elect Barack Obama and sent a decisive message to your party. These young people are the future and their energy will continue to drive our country forward. Even older Americans are turning their backs on the politics of fear and demagoguery that you and your cronies have perfected over the years.


This is a movement of the people that you most fear. It’s a movement of progress — and your words on FOX News only show how truly desperate you are to maintain control of a world that is changing before your very eyes.


Then again, we’ve seen these tactics before. We know how much the right likes to play political and cultural hardball, and then turn around and accuse us of lashing out first. You give a pass to a religious group — one that looks down upon minorities and women — when they use their money and membership roles to roll back the rights of others, and then you label us “fascists” when we fight back. You belittle the relationships of gay and lesbian couples, and yet somehow neglect to explain who anointed you the protector of “traditional” marriage. And, of course, you’ve also mastered taking the foolish actions of a few people and then indicting an entire population based on those mistakes. I fail to see how any of these patterns coincide with the values of “historic Christianity” you claim to champion.


Again, nothing new here. This is just more of the blatant hypocrisy we’re used to hearing.  What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions. That’s really so ’90s, Newt. In this day and age, it’s embarrassing to watch you talk like that. You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because, there is no place for you in it.


In other words, stop being a hater, big bro.

  Posted 11/23/08 by girl du jour reprinted from The Huffington Post 11/22/08

Wow!  How did I ever miss this one first time around? 

From their mouths to God's ear. 

The Newt-ster

Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh-Post Gazette 8-20-10

When Joe Scarborough questions the wisdom of Newt Gingrich  as he did on "Morning Joe" this AM and wonders why nobody in the GOP has stepped forward to reprimand the Newtster, you know Newtie has crossed the line big time. 

Refer last week's post on Newt. 

Why Am I Not Surprised?

artwork from LAist

Newt Gingrich's second wife, Marianne, has some provacative insights into a man I can only describe as "icky".

Her broadsides on their marriage land in the pages of the August issue of  Esquire and  confirm his extra-marital relationship with this now third wife was going on while he denounced Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky affair.  At the same time he was giving speeches extolling the virtues of "family values" and the like, he was wooing his third wife, a woman he asked to marry him before he'd  asked his second wife for a divorce.

She says she should have seen the red flags. "He asked me to marry him way too early. And he wasn't divorced yet. I should have known there was a problem."...

"I know. I asked him. He'd already asked her to marry him before he asked me for a divorce. Before he even asked."

What a guy.  When asked if he'll ever be president, she says "There's no way."  She goes on to say

"He believes that what he says in public and how he lives don't have to be connected," she says. "If you believe that, then yeah, you can run for president."

She wanted to save the marriage. 

She called a minister they both trusted. He came over to the house the next day and worked with them the whole weekend, but Gingrich just kept saying she was a Jaguar and all he wanted was a Chevrolet. "'I can't handle a Jaguar right now.' He said that many times. 'All I want is a Chevrolet.'"

(Please God, make me a Jaguar)

The next night, they sat talking out on their back patio in Georgia. She said, "How do you give that speech and do what you're doing?"


"It doesn't matter what I do," he answered. "People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."

Did I say "icky"?  I think "HYPOCRITE", "NARCISSISTIC" AND "LYING SACK OF *!#!" are more appropos.

Referencing My Last Post

I've read and re-read the comments on my last post and one of then particularly resonates. Sixpence and a Blue Moon remarks she's heard Cheney's daughter is going to "run for something..." and "his poll numbers...going up?". This got me to thinking about the Republican strategy.

The Republicans have no clear cut candidate as of yet. Mitt is trying his best to get air time whenever and wherever. Newt Gingrich continues to make the talk shows. It's just too early to tell. Laying groundwork and testing waters is the best strategy for now.

Which brings up the suddenly ubiquitous Dick Cheney. Why is he all over the air waves? Why is he making the political rounds, firing up the faithful? Is older daughter, Elizabeth, going to run for an office? She's suddenly a news/talk show darling. Her political ambitions could explain Dick's sudden and constant presence on the media trail. Perhaps he's paving the way, keeping the Cheney name front and center until such time as a proper announcement can be made. Political folk live by poll numbers. The fact that anyone reports poll numbers on Cheney at all is a warning signal.

The idea of Dick Cheney running for anything is a frightening thing. I would think, after the heart surgery, running for President would be out of the question. But, "absolute power corrupts absolutely"so who knows? Or, is this about the transfer of power?

Perhaps it's all about his upcoming memoirs his political daughter, Elizabeth, is helping write. Nobody's gonna buy a book by a guy who's no longer news.

Last week he publicly endorsed same sex marriage. Some political pundits say the Republican party will never accept Cheney's stance on same sex marriage because it doesn't jibe with the religious right. But others aren't so sure. There is speculation the religious right may be in political withdrawal; that their power is diminishing. It's possible Cheney is simply supporting his younger daughter, Mary. She came out in 2004 and presented the Cheneys with a baby in 2007. That had to be one hell of a PR issue at the time.

What I do believe is the ongoing public appearances, sound bites and PR are not happenstance. They are purposeful and there is an agenda. We just don't know the agenda.

And, forgive me if I'm just a bit skeptical but I wonder what his position would be if his younger daughter were heterosexual?