Government Shuts Down; Obamacare Begins

Ken AshfordCongress, Republicans, Tea PartyLeave a Comment

(1)  I have to start with one crazy lady Bachmann said to crazy website outlet, World Net Daily: Pulling no punches, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told WND exactly why she thinks President Obama and Democrats are unwilling to negotiate with the GOP over Obamacare’s well-documented problems. “I think the reason is because President Obama can’t wait to get Americans addicted to … Read More

Digging That Rodeo Clown

Ken AshfordRace, RepublicansLeave a Comment

This is the week the right wing said, "We're all rodeo clowns now." Capped off by Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas): Stockman Invites Missouri Rodeo Clown to Perform in Texas | Congressman Steve Stockman. Yes, this is your modern Republican Party, denying the existence of racism in their ranks as they simultaneously excuse and enable it. Do I really need to explain … Read More

An Honest GOP Town Hall Discussion

Ken AshfordCongress, Obama Opposition, RepublicansLeave a Comment

I've had my fun poking at Republican Congresscritters returning to their home states, holding town hall meetings, and bringing up birth certificates and other dumb stuff that would normally get them laughed at if they were on TV. But I have to give credit where credit is due. In the clip below, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) gets questioned by a … Read More

Town Hall Follies

Ken AshfordRepublicans, Tea PartyLeave a Comment

The nice thing about when Congress is out of session, is that Congresscritters go back to their constitutents and have town halls, and then we get good stuff like this.  This is Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), fielding questions at the event in Afton, Oklahoma.  And a woman asks him about Obama's qualifications. That's right.  There are still people who STILL believe … Read More

RNC Chair Threatens NBC And CNN

Ken AshfordElection 2016, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Demonstrating once again that laser-like focus on jobs and the economy, Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus has sent a letter to NBC and CNN threatening that if they produce a miniseries on Hillary Clinton, the GOP will boycott them in the 2016 primary debates. It's August, Congress is gone, and it's time for the silly season — which gets off … Read More

Sabotaging Obamacare

Ken AshfordHealth Care, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Look, you can't intentionally derail a train, and then say that the train didn't work. But that's just what Republicans and Tea Party leaders are planning to do with Obamacare: "The Republican strategy is to focus on messages that this is not working in states where the law is still unpopular with voters and where there are really going to … Read More

It’s Okay, Bigots. The GOP Isn’t Really Embracing “Tolerance”

Ken AshfordRepublicans, Sex/Morality/Family Values, Tea PartyLeave a Comment

Following their 2012 election debacle, the Republican National Committee and the College Republicans issued reports which urged the party to go through an image makeover without adjusting its political stances. Essentially, they argued, the party should only appear to be changing and becoming more open-minded, empathetic and welcoming. Speaking with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network posted today, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus confirmed that the party will … Read More

Discouraged

Ken AshfordLocal Interest, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Light blogging lately, and that's in part because I'm very discouraged about the state of things politically.  It seems that conservatives have done a very good job at the local level of ruining this country, and doing so while cheating.  The recent Supreme Court decision striking parts of the Voting Rights Act has caused many states to roll out voter … Read More

GOP Giving Up On Latinos

Ken AshfordElection 2016, Race, RepublicansLeave a Comment

A good article by Benji Darlin suggests that the GOP is experiencing a backlash and revision when it comes to wooing the Latino vote.  After Romney lost last year, almost every Republican politician and pundit suggested that the GOP needed to woo Latinos if it was going to remain a viable party. After the past few weeks, and with an … Read More

GOP Really In Trouble With Youth

Ken AshfordRepublicansLeave a Comment

I guess that headline isn't exactly news, but a report out today shows that the GOP is really really in trouble with young voters. The 95-page report by the College National Republican Committee, based on in-depth research by the Winston Group looks at voters age 18-29.  In 1984, Reagan won the over by 25 points.  Now, the Demcorats enjoy a 25-35 … Read More

Repubicans Put Out A “Yes” Ad

Ken AshfordCongress, RepublicansLeave a Comment

This is pretty bizarre.   For those of you who can't play video, it is an ad from the National Repubican Senatorial Committee.  The thrust of it can be summed up from this narration within the ad: "It might not always seem like it, but we say yes a lot. We say yes on jobs for you. On opportunity. We … Read More

Summer Reading

Ken AshfordPopular Culture, RepublicansLeave a Comment

It's called… Description: Presidential candidate Danielle Powers, full of firebrand pluck and red state sex appeal, has the country in a tizzy. But on an international tour to beef up her foreign policy experience, disaster ensues—her plane explodes over Siberia. Miraculously, Danielle survives, along with one other passenger—a mysterious stranger named Steadman Bass. Trapped in a wilderness of snow and ice, … Read More

WTF Quote Of The Day

Ken AshfordDisasters, Republicans1 Comment

After Hurricane Sandy, Republican Senator Inhofe (and others) voted against a bill for $50.5 billion in Hurricane Sandy disaster relief. But he's all for relief for Oklahoma victims. On MSNBC, Inhofe argued that tornado aid for Oklahoma is “totally different” from aid for Hurricane Sandy. “Everyone was getting in and exploiting the tragedy taking place,” he said. “That won’t happen in Oklahoma.” Right.  Can … Read More

House Republicans Will Vote Tomorrow — For The 43rd Time — To Unsuccessfully Repeal Obamacare

Ken AshfordCongress, Health Care, Obama Opposition, RepublicansLeave a Comment

They know it is an exercise in futility, because even if (for some reason) the House Republicans manage to pass a vote to repeal Obamacare, the Senate won't take it up OR pass it, and even if THAT happened, Obama will never sign the repeal into law. So it's a symbolic thing. That's okay.  Symbolism has its place.  But this … Read More