Breaking News: Speaker John A. Boehner will resign from Congress at the end of October, aides say http://t.co/xNxxzwFxkQ — The New York Times (@nytimes) September 25, 2015 I wonder if this has anything to do with his rift with others on the right — in particular, the pressure from the far right to shut down the government in order to … Read More
Yet Another Post-Debate Analysis
Junior Varsity Debate: Heard almost none of it, but my understanding is that Senator Graham did well and was folksy at times, even while predicting the end of the world as he is inclined to do. Varsity Debate: I saw and/or heard most of it, although some was in during the replay. First of all, kudos to CNN. It was, … Read More
GOP Debate #2 Thoughts
The second round of GOP debates are this evening. In related news, Facebook is coming out soon with a “dislike” button (bit not soon enough). Here are some random notes and thoughts: The candidates in the junior varsity debate are Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum and George Pataki. That starts at 6 pm. No news will come out of it. … Read More
Palin Word Salad: “Speaking American” Edition
Immigrants to the United States should “speak American,” former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said on Sunday, adding her voice to a controversy triggered by Donald Trump’s criticism of Republican rival Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish. “Speaking American” is a punchline of a joke to show how stupid we are as Americans. Yet, when Palin used it, she really … Read More
Bad Lip Reading Does The GOP Debate
All the yes
Video I Love And Hate
On the one hand, there’s nothing better than low information Fox News voters arguing with each other (over, of all things, Donald Trump). On the other hand, these people are from my home state of New Hampshire. (Thank God I don’t know any of them). Enjoy I’m still not too worried about Donald Trump. Because I’ve seen this movie before: … Read More
The New Word For “RINO” (And What It Says About Republicans)
In the early 2000s, just as the wars in the Middle East were ramping up, a new word started appearing in the Internet lexicon: RINO. It stands for “Republican In Name Only”. It is an insult hurled from Republicans to any member of the GOP who’s more liberal than a Republican “should be”. Any politician tagged as a RINO — and many … Read More
Planned Parenthood, the Abortion Debate, and 2016 Elections
There is very little to recommend being over the age of 50, but one of the nice things is that it gives perspective and wisdom — the kind of experience that can’t be taught, but can only come from having lived several decades. There is one thing I have learned – abortion rights are not going away. That wasn’t always … Read More
The Penny Drops
Over at the right wing site The Daily Caller — one of the many right-wing websites that has grown from a steady diet from Fox News and AM talk radio to form the final wall in the echo chamber — a lonely columnist quietly looks and Donald Trump’s antics and wonders aloud this: What If The Base Is Wrong? by … Read More
And Now Scott Walker
And I think that’s it. With Scott Walker’s entry this morning, all the major candidates and more than a few minor ones are in the GOP race for President. All the hats are thrown in the ring. All the clowns are in the car. What is it — 17? Walker could be a contender. He’s not very dynamic, which means … Read More
The Death Of The Moderate Republican
Yes, the moderate Republican is extinct. Like the dodo bird of the days of yore. But just in case you need a graph showing this, I proffer the following from the Washington Post wonkblog. The graph employs a widely-used measure of political polarization, a score of ideology based on voting developed by Kenneth Poole and Howard Rosenthal. Let’s look, for example, at the … Read More
Short Takes
Yeah, I’m playing catch-up. Been very busy since last week. I have a little to say about a lot of things, so now comes a slam of quick posts. (1) As for the clash in Phoenix between Islamophobes and would-be terrorists, the Islamophobes went home disappointed. No violence. No anything, really: Protesters at Friday’s “Freedom of Speech” rally outside a … Read More
Hastert Indicted
The Justice Department has charged former House Speaker Dennis Hastert with lying to FBI agents and trying to hide financial transactions intended to keep prior misconduct secret, prosecutors alleged. The 73-year-old Hastert, a top Republican on Capitol Hill before he left Congress in 2007, agreed five years ago to pay an unidentified person $3.5 million “to compensate for and conceal” prior … Read More
This Can’t Possibly Be A Thing
The Wall Street Journal: A budget advanced by Kansas legislators would eliminate funding for state courts if a judge strikes down a controversial law passed last year. Republican senators and representatives agreed Monday on a two-year judicial budget that would self-destruct if any court blocks or overturns a 2014 law that stripped the Kansas Supreme Court of some administrative authority, … Read More
Response To Amtrak Train Crash: Let’s Gut Amtrak
On Tuesday, an Amtrak train — the Northeast Regional train, No. 188 — was traveling from Washington to New York when it derailed around 9:30 p.m., just outside Philly. The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed that the train was traveling at more than 100 miles an hour or twice the speed limit in that part of the corridor. More than … Read More