Anger And Hate As A Political Platform

SIMPLE FORMULA:

For every suburban Republican who loves tax cuts and the National Review there are a half-dozen of the people you see at a Trump rally. No matter how many times Republican elected officials and opinion leaders have tried to convince themselves otherwise, these people do not give one shit about Conservative Values or the principle of small government. They're angry and they've been convinced that government is to blame. That is about the extent to which they have opinions that could be called "political." The rest is simply nativism, the politics of blood. They just hate everyone different. It sounds like I'm oversimplifying that to insult them, but unfortunately that's all there is to it. They hate the gays, the liberals, the environmentalists and their "science", the Pope, the Jews, the blacks, the Mexicans, the Mormons, the young, the poor, and anything remotely "foreign" or unfamiliar (including, from the looks of his crowds, fruit and occasional exercise)...

Anger and hate do not provide rational and reasoned solutions. Usually, anger and hate simply produce more anger and hate.

America deserves better than this.

Man Falsely Accused Of Insulting Bible

GOP candidates make intense 11th-hour arguments in Nevada:

For his part, Cruz spent significant time Monday seeking to explain the ouster of his spokesman for tweeting a story that falsely accused White House hopeful Marco Rubio of insulting the Bible.

Is it even possible to insult an inanimate object? And, if it is possible, why would that be a negative thing to do?

Also, could someone be arrested for assaulting a Bible with sticks and stones?

GOP Lawmakers Accept Bribes

GOP backers of defense budget hike got millions in donations:

House Republicans urging a steep increase in the Pentagon's budget have received $10 million in campaign contributions over the course of their congressional careers from defense contractors that would benefit from higher levels of military spending.

"Republicans claim that throwing more money at the Education Department won't make our kids smarter," said David Williams, president of the nonprofit Taxpayers Protection Alliance. "If that's the case, then just throwing more money at the Pentagon won't make us any safer."

The Republican Candidates Are Acting Worse Than Second Graders

Jeb Bush misses his teddy bear. Donald Trump acts like a bully and then is afraid when someone stands up to him. Ted Cruz resorts to mocking the bully when he is not around. 

GOP rivals mock Trump, try to make the most of his absence:

Absent Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidates strained to take advantage of a rare opportunity to step out of the front-runner's shadow in Thursday night's debate — a staid, policy-heavy contest that offered a glimpse of what the GOP contest might have been without the unpredictable businessman.

Still, the candidates couldn't resist mocking Trump, who boycotted the final debate before Iowa kicks off voting in the 2016 campaign on Monday.

"I'm a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly," said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is competing with Trump for the lead in Iowa. Cruz then thanked his fellow candidates for showing Iowa voters respect by showing up.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a frequent target of Trump, said with a wry smile, "I kind of miss Donald Trump; he was a teddy bear to me."

All of this seems incredibly childish to me, especially Trump being afraid of a little girl.

The GOP Scrapes The Bottom Of The Barrel And Finds Icky Stuff

Unfortunately for Americans the GOP and the media insist on shoving all the things from the bottom of their barrel down our throats.

Gotcha Antics

From The Stimulus and Jobs: Can the GOP Read? by David Corn:

Can we be adults here? There are no programs -- in or out of government -- that don't include some waste. In fact, all human endeavors contain inefficiencies and errors. If the stimulus package were 99 percent cost-effective, that would still leave nearly $8 billion in waste. Picking out a couple of questionable projects is gotcha antics, not serious political debate.

At this point, Republicans have nothing to fear but Republicans themselves. If unemployment stays at or near 10 percent for the coming year, the GOP might well be able to ride the ensuing anti-incumbent anger to victory in the 2010 congressional elections, perhaps even draw close to retaking the House. But the more they act like, well, jerks, the more they will undercut their own chances.

There is a system that is supposed to help the unemployed in times of need. It is a dirty word in the United States. The Republicans hate it, and a Democratic president helped destroy it. And of course it is supposed to be the most wasteful of all government programs. And on that basis alone it must be evil and destroyed according to the Republicans. Never mind that it could be helping some American citizens today. Both Democrats and Republicans.

From Welfare:

Welfare systems differ from country to country, but welfare is commonly provided to those who are unemployed, those with illness or disability, those of old age, those with dependent children and to veterans.

I don’t think that the welfare system that was in existence before Bill Clinton would have given very many benefits to Wall Street. I do think it would be providing some assistance to all the Main Streeters of America who could use a little help right now. Too bad it is no longer around when it is needed the most.

If you are thinking of voting Republican in the near future because of the unemployment situation, try to remember that they are the ones who pushed the hardest to take away your safety net.

Sometimes I think we are a nation of idiots, and that we deserve exactly what we get. Ironically, that sentence sounds like it could come from a Republican.

What The GOP Stands For

Perhaps GOP should be changed from “Grand Old Party” to “Greedy Old People.” Better still would be “Greedy Old Corrupt People.” So let’s change GOP to GOCP.

From Despite Indictment, Stevens is GOP's Pick by Lindsay Renick Mayer:

What does it take to be your party's candidate-of-choice for the Senate even after you've been indicted in a scandal? Apparently it takes $4.2 million and 39 years in Congress already under your belt. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) won his party's primary race Tuesday, despite being indicted for allegedly failing to report $250,000 in gifts from the embattled oil services company Veco. Veco employees have given Stevens $28,500 for his re-election campaign this election cycle. Stevens's competitors in the primary were self-financed and came nowhere near bringing in his haul.

Read more here.

Since Sarah Palin is not as old as Ted Stevens or John McCain perhaps a change to GCP (“Greedy Corrupt People”) would be best.

From Alleged Reformer Sarah Palin’s Ties To Indicted Senator Ted Stevens by smartcrow:

John McCain’s alleged reformer VP pick, Sarah Palin, is closely tied to indicted Alaska Senator Ted Steven’s who boosted her 2006 gubernatorial campaign with a last minute endorsement. Palin was a director of Steven’s 527 group which has been questioned on ethical grounds, as reported on the Washington Post.

The WP also reports that a campaign commercial featuring Stevens and Palin during Palin’s 2006 gubernatorial race was removed from her gubernatorial site AFTER receiving the VP nod from McCain.

This Is Not My Daunting Problem

From Bush-McCain Fundraiser Scaled Back Due To Lack Of Takers by Eric Kleefeld:

A planned mega-fundraiser for the GOP, featuring President Bush and John McCain, has now been scaled back in the face of a daunting problem: Too few people actually wanted to buy tickets.

According to the Phoenix Business Journal, fundraiser set for this Tuesday in the city's convention center failed to sell enough tickets, leading to fears that the anti-Bush protesters might end up outnumbering actual attendees.