Birthers

I truly don't understand the Republican Party's appeal in pushing bullshit conspiracy theories.  Perhaps it's just an example of that old saying - history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.  It sounds like a lot of the paranoid fantasies from the Clinton era, but a lot goofier.  Are the "birthers" really supposed to be the future of the GOP?

To any wandering Republican, please, please - keep it up.  Keep foaming at the mouth about President Obama's fake birth certificate.  It's an election winner!

Hilarious

Michelle Bachmann is the funniest woman in America. She just cracks me up. Please give her a camera and a microphone every day. Pleeeeeease! Times are hard and we need the comedy.

Wisely-Paid Thought of the Day

Norm Coleman is a real drama queen. What's the deal with that?

Cars

No, seriously. What the bloody hell is going on? Are the Republicans really going to stop us from saving the Big 3 automakers? Are they really trying to kill GM, Chrystler and Ford? All just so they can screw over Obama and the Dems, and kill off the unions at the same time?

Why isn't anyone stopping this?!

Republicans Want Your Cars to Die

Let me get this right. The Detroit automakers are in imminent danger of bankruptcy, and the Republican Party is actively working....to kill them?

Doesn't that strike you as, well...strange? I don't think political parties are supposed to actively destroy the nation. It can't just be the urge to break the unions. There must be something more going on. No group of politicians could be that pathological.

Right?

Karl Rove Math

One of the more amusing things to emerge since the election has been the level of denial on the part of Republican conservatives. They're still squarely in the denial stage, telling themselves over and over that their defeat wasn't as bad as it appears. As usual, count on Fox News to help dispense with the medicine.

Still, you'd think that somebody would notice that Karl Rove Math, well, stinks. He's already done more damage to the Republican Party brand than just about anyone alive. Why are they still listening to him?

I suspect the GOP will have to lose a couple more elections before they begin to seriously deal with their problems. Which means, of course, the next four years are going to be...interesting.

Living in Denial

Conservative Republicans are going to find themselves on the sidelines of American life for a very long time. One key reason for this is simple denial. As long as conservatism ignores reality, wallowing in their alternate fantasy world, lost in their infantile security blanket, they will remain on the sidelines.

Johnathan Chait's opening line from his TNR article summarizes this perfectly: What part of "overwhelming electoral defeat" does the GOP not understand? The answer, of course, is very simple. The GOP does not want to understand. They've functioned in their strange alternate reality for so long, these people simply cannot function in the real world.

Better for the rest of us, I say. The tighter and tighter the hard right spins in on itself, the greater the damage to their party and the conservative brand. So go ahead. Live in denial. Make Sarah Palin the GOP standard-bearer. The longer the denial, the longer the exile. And America will simply move on.

Why the Republicans Must Lose

Because this is what the Republican Party has become in our lifetime:

AUSTIN — State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar isn't backing down from her claim that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is plotting with terrorists to attack the U.S.

The Texas Freedom Network, a watchdog group that monitors the board, released a public statement on Monday asking Dunbar to retract the statement.

"I don't have anything in there that would be retractable," said Dunbar, R-Richmond. "Those are my personal opinions and I don't think the language is questionable."

In a column posted on the Christian Worldview Network Web site, Dunbar wrote that a terrorist attack on America during the first six months of an Obama administration "will be a planned effort by those with whom Obama truly sympathizes to take down the America that is threat to tyranny."

She also suggests Obama would seek to expand his power by declaring martial law throughout the country.

John McCain Can Still Win the Election

So says Bill O'Reilly. You just have to not count the blue states. Huzzah!

I can't imagine why the Fox News comedy show was cancelled. Everything these guys do is funny.

Thanks to Kos for making me laugh this morning, and Sullivan for reminding me later in the day. These final days of an election always make me jittery. Memories of 2000, 2002, and 2004, no doubt. Fortunately, we're actually going to win this one, and win big.

Fun With the Crazies

I'm just about finished with posting videos of the racists and crazies at McCain-Palin rallies. You know the score by now, and you should have been paying attention enough to know these people were always wandering around this land. They will be a lot harder to ignore these next four years, so keep your eyes and ears open. Be mindful. And somebody get these losers some Ray Charles and Coltrane records!

Senator Ted Stevens - Guilty

Guitly on all counts.

So who is going to warn us about the dangers of the internet now? It's not just something you can drive a truck through! It's a series of tubes!

I wonder if this means he'll lose his reelection next week.

"Mugger" Hoax - The Police Press Conference

The Pittsburgh police were suspicious all along. I think anyone who could read two different news accounts and get a good look at the girl's photo would be suspicious, too. Good for them. And shame on the McCain campaign for shamelessly playing this incident for cheap political points.

It's almost funny. The gang of criminals has morphed into the Apple Dumpling Gang. I'll be so glad to see these Republicans gone.

Oops!

Please fire Michelle Bachmann. Pretty please with cherry on top.

Pennsylvania

It seems, weirdly enough, that McCain and the Republicans will make their final stand in Pennsylvania. And they are going to hurl the worst of their slime. We've already seen it with the racist "white girl attacked by black man" fraud (pushed heavily by the McCain campaign), now we're seeing it with, well, this:

"Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008," the e-mail reads. "Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake. Let's not make a similar one this year!"

A copy of the e-mail, provided by Democratic officials, says it was "Paid for by the Republican Federal Committee of PA - Victory 2008."

It warns "Fellow Jewish Voters" of the danger of a second Holocaust due to the threats to Israel from its neighbors and touts Republican presidential candidate John McCain's qualifications over those of Obama.

The state Republican Party is scrambling away from this mailer as quickly as possible, but there's a funny twist. The spokesman for the McCain campaign who is trying to move away from this story is Peter Feldman, the same man who aggressively pushed the "black mugger" hoax a few days ago.

The mid-level GOP operative who has been dismissed over the Jewish mailer insists that he was not a rogue element, and the party's authorization to mail them out.

You can catch up on all the details at TPM, and this post at Digby's blog as well. The final stretch will play out its worst elements here in Pennsylvania, so be sure to bring your raincoats.

The Republican Base

The latest video from a Palin rally in Las Vegas. Is this really the face of the Republican Party in 2008? Is this the face of movement conservatives? Consider the mood of this mob in light of the "mugger" hoax. That event seems almost specially contrived for this base, groups of people gripped in racism, paranoia, and violence.

I Hate the Republican Right

Reason #4,002: Riehl World View.

Tales From The End of The Line

More reports from the McCain-Palin mutiny. I don't expect to see anything happen beyond underground, "unnamed" sources, and the finer details of the coming fighting may not be known until it's over, but this will be an interesting story to watch. For me, it's like watching the vampire in a monster movie thrash wildly as the sunlight shines on. These were evil monsters and I'm glad to be rid of them.

Also, the heavier and bloodier the civil war becomes between these two factions, the better it will be for our side on election day. If only there were some way to stoke the fires, like Toshio Mifune in Yojimbo. A public meltdown by McCain or Palin is too much to ask for. I don't think even a saint could ask God for that. But humbling the arrogant and powerful is one of the Supreme Being's favorite hobbies.

More from CNN:

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly
frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what
she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling
reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan.

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.
"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.

"Is This a Joke?"

Ha ha ha! Now that was funny. You know your interview by the Republican Party hack has crumbled to pieces when the person you're talking to is laughing in your face. In a sense, this tv appearance by Joe Biden is a perfect microcosm of the two major political parties. The Democratic Party has become a true majority party, appealing to all parts of America, its leaders calm, collected, and sober. The Republican Party has collapsed into a farce, appealing only to the weak-minded, the stupid, and the delusional. This was once the "grown-up party?"

This is what happens when any movement has peaked, and burrows into smaller and tighter circles, its followers increasingly Puritanical and oppressive. They construct an alternate reality, a fantasy world where Daddy Is Perfect and everybody likes them. The GOP has become a party of sexually-repressed teenage nerds. All that's left is for them to start dressing up like Tolkein characters and carrying 12-sided dice.

All of these tired, comical lines from our wingnut reporter friend are all buzzwords for the geeks. Marx. Socialism. What a joke. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989; the Soviet Union died in 1991. Try telling it to these losers. Hell, the average American hears the name "Marx" in the 21st Century, they're probably thinking Groucho.

And you know the whole routine is only an act, a third-rate con game to be used on the suckers. No wonder the religious fundamentalists and televangelists are the ones in charge of the GOP. It's Jerry Falwell's party now, and it can follow him into the grave for all I care.

The End of the Line

Let the McCain-Palin civil war begin! Mutiny! Circle the firing squad!

There's a faction within the McCain campaign has begun to whisper about Gov. Sarah Palin to reporters. The faction includes staff members and advisers who consult with staff members. It does not seem to include any members of the senior staff, although the definition of the senior staff here is a bit elastic.

This faction has come to believe that Palin, perhaps unwittingly subconsciously or otherwise, has begun to play Sen. McCain off of the base, consistently and deliberately departed from the campaign's message of the day in ways that damage McCain. ("palling around with terrorists" was a line that escaped HQ's vetting... Palin's criticism of the campaign for pulling out of Michigan was greeted by anger internally... Palin's expressed opinion that Rev. Wright is a legitimate issue -- which subtly knocks McCain for not raising it -- was perceived as an attempt to preemptively blame McCain's wobbliness for his loss, which would theoretically enhance Palin's standing with the base.) The complaints extend all the back to Palin's vice presidential vetting. Major disclosures, issue positions and associations did not come up, and the campaign was so overwhelmed with new information early on, it largely abandoned an effort to defend them individually. This is the claim, anyway. For the record, senior adviser Mark Salter, accurately identified everywhere as the aide who is closest to McCain, calls this scenario "bullshit."

MN-06: Tinklenberg Ahead of Bachmann By Two

Today, a new poll by the University of MN shows Tinklenberg with a slight lead over Michelle Bachmann.

University of MN/Humphrey Institute (10/21 - 10/23); MoE: 4.7%

Tinklenberg (D) - 45
Bachmann (R) - 43
Anderson (I) - 5
Undecided - 7

Pretty much the same numbers as yesterday's poll. Bachmann is fighting for her life after last week's "anti-America" rant. Predictably enough, she tries to play it both ways in her media appearances. She apologizes for her statements, then flatly denies ever accusing Obama of being anti-American (and demanding that anti-American members of Congress be rooted out), then repeating the same charge in slightly different ways.

Bachmann made an appearance on a local radio show today, continuing to dig her own grave. Hopefully, this clip will make its rounds across the blogosphere:

But Bachmann was bringing up Chris Matthews on her own during an interview on the Mike Gallagher radio show. Bachmann raised some familiar-sounding issues just a day after her St. Cloud speech.

"What are Barack Obama's policies?" Bachmann said on the show. "Are they for America or will they be against traditional American ideals and values? And I'll tell you what, punishing tax rates, redistribution of wealth, socialized medicine, inputting censorship in the form of the un-Fairness Doctrine and taking away the secret ballot from the worker has nothing to do with traditional American values. That's why your listeners need to know. Otherwise the United States may be literally changed forever if Barack Obama becomes the next president."

Bachmann also told Gallagher and his audience that she's desperate for financial help. Her Democratic opponent, Elwyn Tinklenberg, has raised $1.3 million since Friday when Bachmann appeared on MSNBC. And, the National Republican Congressional Committee has canceled the TV ads it scheduled on Bachmann's behalf on Twin Cities stations. Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said it intends to spend more than $1 million in TV ads to defeat Bachmann.

"Desperate for financial help"? Now you understand what it meant when the NRCC pulled its ads from the district. Bachmann was left to drown in her own waters. Serves her right. Defeating this meanspirited demagogue will be one of my top goals for November 4. We must make this race a national priority. Send money now!

Tinklenberg for Congress