Republican Party Pretzel Logic 101

I hope they hand out dictionaries at the Republican National Convention when it convenes in Tampa, FL in 2012. They will surely need them to look up "poetic irony" once they figure out Ybor City is within walking distance of the hall. As the Florida GOP tries to court the Cuban-American vote while at the same time some of their noted national leaders are calling for a "review" of the 14th Amendment it will no doubt make for an interesting dance for four days. The real comedy though will begin as we watch the GOP try to give the Tea Party base a lap dance whose favorite derogatory and racist term "anchor babies" will be the 'buzz' and rage of the convention as these immigration reductionists call for action on one of their pet issues amidst Tampa's famous Corona factories. Now that I've brought it up I can't recall GOP Senate candidate and Tea Party darling Marco Rubio even mentioning the 14th Amendment considering his ethnic background. Wonder what brand of cigar John Boehner smokes....Speaking of the Tea Party it will be odd watching them embrace former Lt. Col. Allen West. Since they rely almost entirely on Fox News for their "information" I wonder how many of them even know what West's ethnic background is. The African American Congressional candidate will no doubt take advantage of the 2012 GOP National Convention in his run to unseat Congressman Ron Klein since he will stand out like a sore thumb amid the nearly all white fraternity that seems to characterize their quadrennial dog & pony show. I'm sure the GOP leadership will try to make him a permanent fixture on the podium to demonstrate their "big tent" bona fides....The Orlando Sentinel's gubernatorial endorsements have come out and the non-surprise factor is an understatement. Their endorsement of State CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic Party candidate, is the de facto choice here with her lack of serious opposition and was expected. I'm not sure the Orlando Sentinel had much choice in their endorsement of Florida Attorney General Bill McCullom, the Republican Party candidate, over Republican Rick Scott in that primary seeing they were one of the leading newspapers in Florida helping expose Scott's Columbia HCA medicaid and medicare scam practices which earned a whopping $1.7 billion dollar fine. Scott's a typical Republican huckster who hates "big gubmint" but sures likes how that taxpayer money that fuels it feels in his pocket....Early voting has already started here in the Sunshine State in our closed primaries. With Florida's more than 13 million registered voters that means 2 million of them will have to sit this out as they are registered as 'Independent.' There's no doubt of their clout in the general though as both sides pull out the stops to court them....and finally poor ol' Illinois transplant, attorney and Republican State Senate candidate Mike Lameyer laments in the Ft. Myers News-Press "There is no reason for the jobless activity in the state of Florida." Well, Mike, I can think of four very, very big ones: (1) two terms of Jeb Bush & (2) his slacker brother; (3) Charlie Crist; and (4) GOP control over both state houses of government for the same entire period just mentioned. How's that? I hope that helped and you can call on me anytime here at Truman's Conscience if you need anymore assistance.

9/11 And Some Troubling Aspects Of Its Legacy

In a recent post I mentioned the Dove Outreach Center, a church in Gainesville, FL, having a burn the Koran day on 9/11. I mused whether or not they would have a burn the Bible day on 4/19, the anniversary date that bible verse quoting Timothy McVeigh blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. To make my point I could have used other examples going as far back as Salem Massachusetts when certain members of that colonial community were hung after being charged with practicing witchcraft and/or being witches. Not withstanding the legacy of a fine practicinor of Christian orthodoxy like Torquemada, the legacy of Christian sensibilities being upset and subsequent actions following their apple carts being overturned is not a good one. That's why this business about the uproar over an Islamic Center at the Ground Zero site is so troubling.

Watching the likes of Newt Gingrich, Rick Lazio, and Sarah Palin pander to right wing Christian organizations by taking public stands against the building of the Center is par for the course in its hypocrisy. A case in point is the Pentagon. It also was a target on 9/11. Back in May of 2007 Salon's Justin Elliot pointed out that since 9/11 Muslim prayers have taken place daily in the Pentagon since we, you know, actually have Muslims serving in the military. The American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council estimates there are currently around 15,000 members of the United States military that are practicing Muslims. If one were to take a casual stroll through Arlington cemetery they might be surprised at the number of tombstones that have symbols of the Muslim faith etched in them. That's why this movement to quash an attempt to build an Islamic Center that includes a Mosque is so troubling. What about these individuals in Arlington who were self identified Muslims that died to preserve our freedoms that included practicing the faith of your choice?

The movement to oppose the building of this Center is driven by the Christian right. Their actions should give anyone pause when freedom of religion gets this kind of challenge in America. Don't take my word for it. Just ask the ghost of Sarah Good.

The Elliptical Goose & Gander Of Conservative Logic

Watching Ginni Thomas, wife of United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, bob and weave around the political conflict of interest she's building within the family is no longer entertaining. Her liaison front group lobbying for the Tea Party is not a pretty sight considering her husband sits on the highest court in the land. Funny how Republicans just can't wrap their heads around this. Justice Thomas, who is the most silent Supreme Court Justice in history, hasn't had much to say publicly about his wife's activities. She's also worked for two other ultra right wing groups: The Heritage Foundation & the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who never met a tax cut they didn't like.

Digby over at Hullaballoo makes the crucial point about this conflict of interest if the shoe was on the other foot using Justice Sotomeyer as an example:

"I'm sure nobody in the village [MSM] will dare say a thing about this because the Thomases are untouchable members of the social elite. But I do have to wonder if Justice Sotomayor married someone who started a progressive PAC devoted to open borders whether it would be accepted
with such equanimity."

Yep. No doubt about it. The uproar in the so-called "liberal" MSM would be deafening.

No Sunshine From The GOP In Florida's Political Arena

I'm sure watching GOP Gubernatorial candidates Rick Scott and Bill McCullom this past Thursday night in their debate informing the right wing Republican base choir how much they [gasp!] hate government and each other was entertaining for some but unproductive squabbling over who can cut the most taxes is certainly not news with these characters. I would really like to ask Rick Scott if he wants to eliminate "business taxes" why their access to tax funded public services should be subsidized by me, the voter. Use of the infrastructure, police, fire department, and other local and state government services too numerous to mention here would be free to them while my taxes pay for them. And btw, these are taxes he wants to cut as well so we can have an underfunded police, fire department and educational system because that's part of the dreaded evil "government." Watching these guys pander to a willfully misinformed and non curious tea party base gives me a headache......I'm pretty excited to see former local news anchor Debra Gianoulis take on Florida State Senator John Thrasher (R-Dist. 8) for his seat. Thrasher's still making noise about destroying the public education system as we know it and treat teaching children like a dime store retail business......Fake Democrat Jeff Greene's campaign in the Democratic Senate primary pretty much represents the sorry state of the Florida Democratic Party. Greene, who funded Republicans in California when he ran as a GOP Congressional candidate was also a supporter of offshore drilling in California. I'm not sure which is worse, tea party loving nuts like McCullom and Scott who hate the government in general or a Janus like Greene who thinks political office would be a cool social club of millionairs if it wasn't for those damned pesky voters......I sure would like to ask the leader of the Dove Outreach Center, a church in Gainesville, FL, making headlines in the news for their planned "burn the Koran day on 9/11" if they plan a similar burning of the Bible on April 19th the anniversary date white supremacist and biblical verse quoting Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Somehow I doubt it......and finally I love GOP contender Jeff Kottkamp for Florida Attorney General in his debate last month proclaiming, and I quote: "This lawsuit’s not about health care. This lawsuit’s about freedom." Ah yes, the ultra right wing GOP clarion call always has the word freedom in it. But in this case ol' Jeff didn't get to finish his sentence. Its about freedom alright, the freedom to make the already broken health care system a conduit for non regulatory access by big Pharma to continue to work in an environment where they contribute to the practice of putting a price on human life. How Darwinian of these guys.

Will The Gander Reject The Goose?

One of the leading darlings of the conservative movement is an..... [gasp!] "anchor baby?" Oh my, what's a 'Teaparty' lovin' conservative to do?

A Message From Ike

Watching the Republican party redefine "right-wing ideology" on a daily basis is starting to make my head spin. Historians of this period will no doubt be confounded by this bizarre transformation of the 'Party of Lincoln' as it careens out of control. One of the examples they will point to is the difference between 'Goldwater conservatives' and today's teaparty driven elected GOP politicos as they try to curry favor with a voting base that seems to have utilized a brand of ideological white-out that any sane person using a rational approach to political analysis will not be familiar with. Digby over at Hullaballoo turns me on to a quote that I, like her, would have bet the house on that could only be attributed to Howard Dean. Not only is it astonishing who the author of the quote in question is, it should also serve as a warning to those who do not heed its message:

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

And the dispenser of this infinite wisdom? One Dwight David Eisenhower. I'm just dumbfounded. Not only is the source of the quote astonishing it serves as a crystallization of the difference between yesterday's 'Goldwater conservative' and today 'Teaparty Republican.'

In the movie Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid Paul Newman's Butch Cassidy peers out at a posse they can't shake and wonders, "Who ARE those guys?" Historians will be looking back at today's GOP and asking the same thing.

Rick Scott Goes Orwell

As a Florida resident watching Gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott go all 'Animal Farm' on Bill McCullom in his latest ad comparing him to Sen. John Kerry one can only watch in hysterical disbelief as Bill McCullom is called a "liberal" on any issue. But then again whatever is in that teapary brew they both seem to be drinking its par for the course in this post President Obama election world. I knew the President's election victory would drive the looney's crazy, but this crazy? And while I'm at it for a guy calling "government" the root of all evil with every campaign missive he sure enjoyed the benefits of Medicare largess well enough.