Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult

Read this. Nothing really new, but the writer sums it up very nicely.

It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant.

[...] But domestically, they don't want those people voting.

You can probably guess who those people are. Above all, anyone not likely to vote Republican. As Sarah Palin would imply, the people who are not Real Americans. Racial minorities. Immigrants. Muslims. Gays. Intellectuals. Basically, anyone who doesn't look, think, or talk like the GOP base. This must account, at least to some degree, for their extraordinarily vitriolic hatred of President Obama. I have joked in the past that the main administration policy that Republicans object to is Obama's policy of being black.[2] Among the GOP base, there is constant harping about somebody else, some "other," who is deliberately, assiduously and with malice aforethought subverting the Good, the True and the Beautiful: Subversives. Commies. Socialists. Ragheads. Secular humanists. Blacks. Fags. Feminazis. The list may change with the political needs of the moment, but they always seem to need a scapegoat to hate and fear.

It is not clear to me how many GOP officeholders believe this reactionary and paranoid claptrap. I would bet that most do not. But they cynically feed the worst instincts of their fearful and angry low-information political base with a nod and a wink. [...]

As for what they really believe, the Republican Party of 2011 believes in three principal tenets I have laid out below. The rest of their platform one may safely dismiss as window dressing:
...

3. Give me that old time religion. Pandering to fundamentalism is a full-time vocation in the GOP. Beginning in the 1970s, religious cranks ceased simply to be a minor public nuisance in this country and grew into the major element of the Republican rank and file. Pat Robertson's strong showing in the 1988 Iowa Caucus signaled the gradual merger of politics and religion in the party. The results are all around us: if the American people poll more like Iranians or Nigerians than Europeans or Canadians on questions of evolution versus creationism, scriptural inerrancy, the existence of angels and demons, and so forth, that result is due to the rise of the religious right, its insertion into the public sphere by the Republican Party and the consequent normalizing of formerly reactionary or quaint beliefs. Also around us is a prevailing anti-intellectualism and hostility to science; it is this group that defines "low-information voter" - or, perhaps, "misinformation voter."
...

The Constitution to the contrary notwithstanding, there is now a de facto religious test for the presidency:
...

Politicized religion is also the sheet anchor of the culture wars. But how did the whole toxic stew of GOP beliefs - economic royalism, militarism and culture wars cum fundamentalism - come completely to displace an erstwhile civilized Eisenhower Republicanism?

It is my view that the rise of politicized religious fundamentalism (which is a subset of the decline of rational problem solving in America) may have been the key ingredient of the takeover of the Republican Party. For politicized religion provides a substrate of beliefs that rationalizes - at least in the minds of followers - all three of the GOP's main tenets.

Please God, Rapture them all away. Just take 'em. You made 'em, cop to it, fix it. Give the rest of us a Divine fuckin' break.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

I once was lost and now I'm found...sorry, wrong song...lazy, too. Brought this one back over from Fixer & Gordon . I still ain't got no audio. Lazy.

Note: When I hooked my desktop back up I musta skipped something because I have no audio, so I posted this without being able to hear it. Lemme know if it plays OK or not.

Thanks to DrBlindopolis.

Headline of the Day

Drivers scramble for free weed after drug smuggler wrecks truck

Ah, to dream...

Heh ... again ...

Tengrain:

Quisling turd and holier-than-thou Senator JOE LIEBERMAN is quite angry with Kenyan Usurper Hawaiian Devil Baby BARACK OBAMA. It seems that TRAITOR JOE wants to call a spade a spade, ahem:

...

***

Off to the Recycler/Beer Distributor to trade in my empties for fulls. Heh ...

Heh ...

The General writes a review of Voldemort Darth Vader Dick Cheney's book:

In the days leading up to the Iraq Phase of Our Glorious and Eternal Crusade to Resubjugate The Brown (GECRB), Leader Cheney sat down with Tim Russert and spoke about our need to embrace the "dark side." This book chronicles His leadership down that sacred path into darkness, His battle and ultimate triumph over the forces of light, and His emergence as America's Dark Lord.

...

Hint: Poke through some of the comments too.

Quote of the Day

Mr. Philadelphia:

...

The world is ruled by fools.

Ya think ...

Anything will come of this?

As the Washington Post and others have reported today, an obscure court case in New York state has led to the disclosure of new details on CIA's extraordinary rendition program, in which the U.S. captured dozens of alleged terrorists and sent them to secret prisons overseas.

...

But what really caught our eye are potentially forged State Department letters authorizing the flights. The letters were sent to each air crew before flights, and signed by a State Department official who may not exist. [my em]

...

Yeah, me neither.

WTF?

Every time I go over to Fixer & Gordon it lasts about 5 seconds, barely enough to start scrolling, not long enough to c&p a link, and goes to something called Blogrolling.com and I can't get F&G back. What gives?

The good news is I found last Saturday's Emmylou Blogging. Apparently I had a brain fart. So what else is new?

Cheney's Memoir

Thanks to YubaNet.

Wouldn't take it ...

If it was free.

How much more ...

Do we have to give the "job creators" before they actually, you know, create jobs?

Can you be ...

A bigger pussy?

After squaring off with House Speaker John Boehner over when President Barack Obama could address Congress on his job plan, the White House announced late Wednesday that they'll move the speech back a day to Thursday, Sept. 8. Republicans were upset that Obama had originally scheduled his speech for next Wednesday, which conflicted with the Republican presidential debate.

...

Yeah, and faced with the choice of watching the NFL or the President, which one you think most Americans are gonna make?

Does anybody in the White House know what they're doing?

You got a couple choppers ...

We can borrow?

Me and the Mrs. always joke (though it's no laughing matter), especially this weekend when Governor General, Lord Cuomo II was givng a press conference on the storm and he had 4 National Guard troops standing behind him. It's like "these 4 guys are the NY National Guard and they're here to help you because everybody else is in Iraq or Afghanistan". In Vermont it's true:

Eight helicopters on loan from the Illinois National Guard were expected to arrive Tuesday night in Vermont to help the Vermont National Guard deliver food, medicine, water and other supplies to 13 Vermont towns cut off from the rest of the state in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.

The outside helicopter support is needed because all six of the Vermont Guard’s Black Hawk helicopters are still in Iraq, where they and 55 Vermont soldiers are wrapping up a yearlong hospital transport mission, said Lt. Lloyd Goodrow, spokesman for the Vermont Guard.

...

It's about time we stopped using the National Guard as a front line force and let them do what they were intended to do. The only way to do that is to end these shitty, misbegotten, little wars.

Thanks to Chris for the link.

Tea For ‘12

TPM

For some undefined but Texas governor-sized-and-shaped reason, Mitt Romney is suddenly very interested in attending tea party events.

It's a strategy that's easy to mock, considering the tea party-friendly Rick Perry's poll numbers -- and Romney's penchant to say the right (read: well-received) thing -- but it shows that Team Romney is actively stepping up to the Perry challenge, which could have a dramatic effect on Perry's march to the top of the field.

Willard's gonna try to out-redneck Perry. Can't be done.

Sex tax. You knew they'd get around to it...

Spiegel

Prostitution is a legal and taxable trade in Germany, but enforcing taxes among sex workers on the street can be problematic. The city of Bonn has come up with a new solution, though. Prostitutes must now pay a nightly tax to automated ticket machines.

The machine looks remarkably like the ones that sell parking time in my town. The "receipt" must be placed on the dashboard (I put 'em slightly under the gas cap on my bike). One wonders where they will be displayed on the working girls. Right next to the safety inspection sticker?

Lends a whole new meaning to the term "meter maid", don't it? What's next, coin-operated sex workers? They probably already have that somewhere.

Read the article. IMNSHO Germany has a practical approach and an enlightened attitude.

A tip o' the Brain to The Dish.

Wilkerson: We talked about Cheney’s people like the ‘Nazis’

RawReplay, with video:

In an interview with Russia Today’s Alyona Minkovski on Tuesday night, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson continued his barrage against former Vice President Dick Cheney, who’s been a prominent face in the media lately thanks to his newly published book, “In My Time.”

Wilkerson, formerly chief of staff to Sec. of State Colin Powell during President George W. Bush’s first term, has been outspoken in recent days in his criticism of Cheney, going so far as to tell Democracy Now that he would be prepared to testify, if only someone would “Pinochet” the former vice president.

Speaking to Alyona, Wilkerson revealed that internal discussions within Powell’s office often regarded Cheney and his men the “Nazis” or “Gestappo” within the Bush administration.

“It often went like this: Those Nazis in Vice President Cheney’s office; the Gestapo in Vice President Cheney’s office. That’s kinda the way, by 2003 and 2004, we’d come to look at Scooter Libby and David Addington, including the vice president himself, in that office.”

He also criticized President Barack Obama for failing to pursue charges against Cheney and other Bush-era officials, suggesting that Cheney has repeatedly and openly admitted to “war crimes,” indicating that he fears a potential prosecution.

I'm glad that people higher-higher were talking about them just like we did. I'm not glad they didn't do anything about it. And still are not.

Politics Plus, videos:

The former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged Tuesday to testify against former Vice President Dick Cheney if he is ever tried for war crimes.

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson told Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman that he would participate in a trial even if it meant personal repercussions.

I hope you get the chance, Colonel. You probably won't. America protects its war criminals, seems like. Especially if they turned a tidy profit for the M-I-C.

Joining Wilkerson and Goodman to discuss Cheney’s new book "In My Time," Salon’s Glenn Greenwald said that it was disturbing to see the former vice president treated simply as an "elder statesman."

"The evidence is overwhelming… that Dick Cheney is not just a political figure with controversial views, but is an actual criminal, that he was centrally involved in a whole variety not just of war crimes in Iraq, but of domestic crimes, as well, including the authorization of warrantless eavesdropping on American citizens in violation of FISA, which says that you go to jail for five years for each offense, as well as the authorization and implementation of a worldwide torture regime that, according to General Barry McCaffrey, resulted in the murder — his word — of dozens of detainees, far beyond just the three or four cases of waterboarding that media figures typically ask Cheney about," Greenwald explained… [emphasis added]

Cheney isn't looking too good lately. He deserves to die alone in some nice quiet prison. Maybe one grunt when the rope runs out.

Fat fuckin' chance.

Update:

The last sentence of a good piece by Dahlia "Yummy!" Lithwick:

Dick Cheney is living proof that if we are not brave enough to enforce our laws, we will forever be at the mercy of a handful of men.

Yep.

“Homescholers for Perry”

Political Carnival

If he becomes the nominee, or anyone remotely like him, it is my hope that those who are angry with President Obama (as I have sometimes been) will see that voting against him will result in one of these bigoted, right wing loons moving into the White House. That unpleasant visual, along with one of an even more conservative, corporate Supreme Court, should convince Democrats that every vote against the president counts as one for an extremist chief executive.

Lifting the rock ...

That's what I feel like after the last couple days. After posting my last update on Sunday afternoon, the Mrs. and I figured we were done with the storm. We mixed up drinks (pink lemonade with raspberry vodka) and had a 'hurricane party' after the fact. We knew the wind would still be rough but we'd weathered most of it. Well, Mother Nature had different plans and it seems we celebrated a bit too soon. A 90 mph wind gust took the power out about 6 pm Sunday night.

We got it back later but cable, phone, and interwebs were out until about 2 this morning. I haven't heard any news or information until this morning and truthfully it wasn't half bad.

Dad-in-law had some damage but minimal. The roads are still a mess with traffic lights out at many major intersections all over the island. So many that the cops don't have the manpower to watch them all. Driving back and forth to the old man's house has been an adventure, along with finding a route not blocked by a downed tree. He just got power back yesterday morning. If it didn't come back by yesterday afternoon, we were gonna move him to a hotel.

I spent Monday cleaning up the back yard and in 8 hours of dedicated ass-busting, I managed to get everything cut up and picked up.

Before:





After:





I got some more shit to do at the old man's today but I'll be back in form tomorrow. Like I say all the time, thank god we live on this big sandbar. The 6 inches of rain we got was gone in an hour. The people in upstate NY, New Jersey, and New England aren't so lucky. Downed trees and no power is one thing, but the water will be there for a long time.

Darth Vader Vents

I woulda went with Dark Lord Voldemort but not everybody's read Harry Potter. MoDo on The Dick's book.

Cheney may no longer have a pulse, but his blood quickens at the thought of other countries he could have attacked. He salivates in his book about how Syria and Iran could have been punished.

By that time, W. had belatedly realized that Cheney was a crank whose bad advice and disdainful rants against “the diplomatic path” and “multilateral action” had pretty much ruined his presidency.

The weakling Bush ruined his own Presidency - and the nation - by letting that son of a bitch pick himself as Vice and then going along with him.

But on all the nefarious things that damaged America, Cheney got his way for far too long.
...

He acts like he is America. But America didn’t like Dick Cheney.

It’s easier for someone who believes that he is America incarnate to permit himself to do things that hurt America — like torture, domestic spying, pushing America into endless wars, and flouting the Geneva Conventions.

Mostly, Cheney grumbles about having his power checked. It’s bad enough when the president does it, much less Congress and the courts.

His power should have been checked Russian-style - with a bullet behind the ear.

Cheney remains true to form, an unrepentant capitalistic imperialist warmonger and unindicted war criminal. Until he's in prison, nation of laws my ass.

Update:

Stories Not Mentioned in Dick Cheney's New Memoir:

1. During sex with Lynne, he has his own version of autoerotic asphyxiation. As she's fucking away on top of him, just before he orgasms, she pulls the battery out of his artificial heart. It's a huge turn-on, the beeping alarm, the unstable fluttering "heartbeat," like some kind of rusted steampunk villain. If the timing is right, and it rarely is, just as the last blood is flowing through his arteries, Cheney will come in waves.

Once, just recently, Lynne was startled by daughter Liz walking in on her parents to check to see if a document should go in the shredder or the "fuck you, fuckers" blackmail safe. Madame Cheney dropped the battery, which led to an awkward scene of Liz and her nude mom scrambling to find it and shove it back into the power pack of very naked Dick as he sprayed them both with spooge. Instead of "Thank you," the post-coital former vice president looked at his sticky wife and child and said, "Shoulda left it out for just a few more seconds. Woulda been the best load I've blown in ages."

5. Best thing about his job at Halliburton? All the Iraqi children he could bone, sent personally by Saddam Hussein. Best thing about being Vice President? Making sure that Saddam was silenced.

More about his contemplative side and regret for things he didn't get to despoil.

Headline of the Day

Fox Business host accuses Bill Nye of ‘confusing viewers’ with science

Specifically about climate change. The Science Guy explains stuff so 3rd-graders can get it, but I guess he needs to tone it down for F**Bidness viewers.