REPUBLICANS URGED TO GO OUT IN DRAG

The result would be as jarring as the color scheme.

I figured Obama would win a second term, but the polls were so far off that they made me wonder if I were wrong.

I so enjoyed the Wednesday "message to Republicans" that many commenters on tv were idiotically spewing: The GOP needs to take seriously the feelings and interests of Hispanic voters, African Americans, women, gay folks, the middle class ... and on and on.

What? Come again? What's been going on for the last 45 years, since the start of Nixon's Southern Strategy? The Republicans have built their brand upon capitalizing on the fear of scared white people. They've climbed every mountain looking for the next group to hate: uppity women, out gay people, black people trying to get along and get ahead, immigrants taking the miserable work no one else would do. They have worked feverishly to secure the aborted fetus vote and chain pregnant women to hospital beds until they give birth. This has been their agenda.

Sometimes they whisper it quietly, other times they deliver a vision of an old cavalry charging in with Jesus in the lead, riding a white horse, machine-gun blazing.

Occasionally you think the leadership believes their own nonsense, and some do. The Tea Party movement caused them the most frustration. These were people who drank the Kool Aid and lived to be elected to congressional seats. The leadership never really expected this development, and now the media is urging them to purge these crazies from their ranks and adopt a moderate tone.

It's too late. Boehner can't spray-tan over the extremists. The Republicans can't suddenly embrace people they've scorned. They can't throw on pink wigs and go out in drag without being laughed at. They cannot change in any meaningful way, and that's a good thing. They are at last stuck with being who they claimed to be all along.

ROMNEY CAUGHT ON TAPE: DEEP INTERPRETATION

The reality show that is the Romney campaign hit the rocks this week.

What no one has mentioned about the video is that none of the audience even coughed. No one stirred, fidgeted, or looked around. Does that mean they agreed with him? Not necessarily, but neither did they find his remarks outlandish.

And so, in private, these thoughts can be voiced. Hell, Paul Ryan says about the same things into any public microphone he finds live.

This is the ideology, often cloaked, rarely stated, tied with a bow. I admire Romney's boldness in stating it directly. How is he not a conservative now? Those calling on him to double down are the voices he should listen to. Why not have this argument out in the open, finally? Without the code words, without the dressing and drapery.

When the many conservatives pile on Romney now, it's a damn good spectacle. But what else have they been saying all along? About the same.

I'll take that debate. Then let the vote happen. Romney did not back off. Good first step.

Chris Christie's War on Love

This great moment of Chris Christie's speech choked me up. (Not really.) But it signified an important Rubicon moment in Republican party strategy. Many missed his declaration of the War on Love. Follow closely:

The greatest lesson Mom ever taught me, though, was this one: she told me there would be times in your life when you have to choose between being loved and being respected. She said to always pick being respected, that love without respect was always fleeting — but that respect could grow into real, lasting love.

Now, of course, she was talking about women.

But I have learned over time that it applies just as much to leadership. In fact, I think that advice applies to America today more than ever.

I believe we have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved.

Our Founding Fathers had the wisdom to know that social acceptance and popularity is fleeting and that this country's principles needed to be rooted in strengths greater than the passions and emotions of the times.

Our leaders today have decided it is more important to be popular, to do what is easy and say "yes," rather than to say no when "no" is what's required.

In recent years, we as a country have too often chosen the same path.

It's been easy for our leaders to say not us, and not now, in taking on the tough issues. And we've stood silently by and let them get away with it.

But tonight, I say enough.

....

Tonight, we choose respect over love.

We are not afraid. We are taking our country back.

video at Politico

So, continuing last week's Republican theme of screwed up, twisted views of women, we have Christie saying "All right, Mom, I'll take your advice. Who cares if a woman loves me? What basis is love for a relationship anyway?" And he repeats this as some sort of wisdom of the ages. Jerk.

Then he transfers that sick idea to the politician's relationship with the entire country. Thus, "The people are my bitch, and I must pimp-slap them if they don't give me my money."

And so, the circle is complete! The Conservative mindset is revealed as the smokescreen blows away in the wind. This is a War on Love itself. Hell, according to Christie, even the vaunted founding fathers had no place in their hearts for such a trifling emotion, such piffle. They were as hard and cold as their chiseled stone statues. Forget that part in the Declaration of Independence about friendship with your enemy in peace, and while you're at it, burn their love letters home. No, the people must be hated, loathed, and abused. Severely.

This country needs a strong hand, according to this ideal of governing mouthed by the governor, and if leaders like he are hated and feared, that's the goal. Being loved, or doing something for people that causes you to be loved by them, why that's weakness and failure. Love itself is a sign of something gone terribly wrong, a country utterly lost. It must be stamped out. Specifically, he is saying, "We thrive on your hatred of us!"

And so, from the people who declared the Culture War, we now have the War on Love. Welcome to it.

PAUL RYAN AND THE ANTIGOVERNMENT CROWD

Dear Paul Ryan,

If you're so damn antigovernment, could you please stop running for higher and higher office? It makes you, dare I say, government.

The rest of the antigovernment crowd is always headed up by senators, congressmen, governors, and the like. These people are the government.

This should be obvious to anyone, but I feel it needs to be stated. The media seem never to point out this simple truth.

Romney PAC: 10K to NOM

Ah, yes, thanks to HRC for getting the goods:

Financial documents obtained by HRC reveal that Mitt Romney donated $10,000 to the National Organization for Marriage in 2008 ...

Romney's group was something called the Free and Strong America PAC. Not the Subdued and Wimpy America PAC, mind you.

In sudden high-alert defense mode, the Romney campaign shot back:

“Gov. Romney believes marriage is an institution between a man and a woman and his PAC made a donation to a group supporting that view,” campaign spokesman Andrea Saul said Friday. - Washington Post

What timing, just as NOM's divide-and-conquer African-American-and-Hispanic-people-vs.-gays strategy is revealed:

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage, develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots…”

Another passage:

"The Latino vote in America is a key swing vote, and will be so even more so in the future, both because of demographic growth and inherent uncertainty: Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We must interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity - a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation."

I would like Romney to open his mouth, yet again, and speak from the heart regarding this news of the week. It's another episode in the Perils of Mitt. How will he escape the quicksand pit? Did he know about this strategy, which NOM was apparently cooking up at about the same time? Who were his or his PAC's contacts in the group? Will he offer details about the dates and times of their meetings and conversations?

Come back next week!

Related:
Romney the Erasable
Romney: Russia, Our Biggest Foe

Romney: Russia Our Biggest Foe

This does not look good. Romney seems to hanker for the good old days of the Cold War. Via CNN's Blitzer's interview:

What he did both on nuclear weaponry already in the - in the new START treaty, as well as his decision to withdraw missile defense sites from - from Poland and then reduce our missile defense sites in Alaska from the original plan, I mean these are very unfortunate developments.  And if he's planning on doing more and suggests to Russia that - that he has things he's willing to do with them, he's not willing to tell the American people - this is to Russia, this is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe.  They - they fight every cause for the world's worst actors. The I - the idea that he has some more flexibility in mind for Russia is very, very troubling, indeed. - CNN

Russia looks out for its own interests. The U.S. does ... about the same. With any luck we back the good guys more than the bad, but there have been quite a few bad guys on our payroll. Anyone remember Noriega? Hands? I thought not.

Who wouldn't want the Cold War back? Hiding under nuclear-blast-proof school desks, stocking the bomb shelter with crackers and Twinkies, the tense spy movies - it was a truly romantic era. P'shaw on disarmament.

Keep shaking, Romney. You're fading fast.

Related: Romney the Erasable

Etch-a-sketch Romney the Erasable

Someone actually should turn Mitt Romney upside down and shake him. A lot.

It might cause his brain to snap into place in some way that his foot does not reflexively stick itself into his mouth.

I don't know the neurology here. But there are stories of people being struck by lightning and suddenly knowing Swahili. Perhaps some sort of jolt might cause Mitt to speak Commoner.

There's an undertone throughout most media coverage that seems to repeat the mantra:

Poor Little Rich Guy Mitt. He just can't HELP it. He's been so coddled for s-o-o-o-o long. Can't you just feel for him? Imagine the burden of having to talk to real, actual, smelly people - after years of having everyone massage your ego on an hourly basis? POOR MITT!!!

No one I can think of begged him to run, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Related: Romney: Russia, Our Biggest Foe

Santorum Will Cleanse U.S. of Pornography

Ricky Prays for You Porn-addicted Heathens

Anti-porn campaigns are the fall-back witch hunts of conservatives. Little Ricky is raving like a lunatic, again.

Current federal “obscenity” laws prohibit distribution of hardcore (obscene) pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops and through the mail or by common carrier. Rick Santorum believes that federal obscenity laws should be vigorously enforced.  “If elected President, I will appoint an Attorney General who will do so.”

The Obama Administration has turned a blind eye to those who wish to preserve our culture from the scourge of pornography and has refused to enforce obscenity laws. While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration. 

I guess everyone in the Obama Admin went blind from watching porn in hotel rooms.

Methinks Little Ricky is "vigorously" doing something with his left hand.

He goes on to praise the work of a number of homophobic, anti-women groups (yes, the usual suspects) who will scourge the scourge, I guess.

Little Ricky Santorum Wants You Nasty Democrats to Vote for Him

Well isn't that INTeresting?

Rick Santorum wants evil, liberal, homo-loving, dog-fornicating-with Democrats to vote for HIM today.

Abandon your welfare-queen palaces, put down the white wine, and go vote.

Hear it here.

Democrats for Santorum? You cannot make this stuff up.

NEWT ALLIES TO INTRODUCE "DEFENSE OF OPEN MARRIAGE ACT" IN CONGRESS

Unnamed Newt Gingrich's supporters in Congress have leaked that they will introduce the Defense of Open Marriage Act during the spring session.

One wife at a time?

The act, unfortunately known as DOOMA, may just spell doom for the religious right's former stance on such matters. Supporters, however, disagree that this would change the conservative definition of family values.

 

"We want to keep marriage as God intended it to be," one Representative stated, anonymously for now. "One husband, one wife, one mistress, and maybe a few flings on the side. These are the family values that made Newt a great American, and made America great."

Asked whether this might be considered a hypocritical change of position, he responded: "What change? We've always been for hypocrisy. Besides, it's in the Bible. Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines, and heaven only knows what he did on business trips."