"Restoring America"

Burning houses of worship? I hope the likes of Beck, Palin and others pushing the fear and hate are proud of what they've wrought. The ignorance and hate in the quotes given straight-faced to the news crew in this story are enough to turn one's stomach.

I'd like to say "I don't recognize this country anymore" but sadly, I do: It looks just like the early 60s when the Klan was firebombing black churches.

Peak Wingnut, cont.

I think this piece by Andrew Sullivan on Sarah Palin's chance of running and her prospects should she do so, is worth reading. He accuses the media of being far too complacent on the topic of Palin and the de-evolution of politics—but in classic Sully style, he counters by being in my opinion, too alarmist. I think the truth lies somewhere in between: she's too dangerous to ignore, but too extreme to emerge victorious.

For now.

Links

"DONT TALK ABOUT GRAYSON"
That's what will be written on Sarah Palin's palm after this.

GAME SHOW POLITICS
This has been around for a little while, but I haven't. It's excellent: Democrats are playing "Jeopardy," while Republicans play "Family Feud."

BEATING THE DRUM
Kevin Drum rants about Republican mendacity—in this case, from Lindsay Graham—and at the end wonders, "Who do these guys think they're kidding?"

That's easy, Kevin: The guy sitting across the desk. And it's working.

TOM TOLES IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

[h/t Ezra]

Bullseye

John Cole breaks down the Tea Party Movement pretty perfectly:

Personally, I see a number of elements to the tea party:

1.) Republican operatives bankrolled by the usual suspects, with the sole intent of using the tea party to advance the GOP and corporate agendas and to regain political power (FreedomWorks, DeMint, Palin, etc.)

2.) Cynical operators like media operations, talk show hosts and glibertarians and snake oil salesman who see a way to raise their profile and raise a buck (Fox news, PJTV, Breitbart, Glenn Beck, Reason, all the little for profit hucksters starting their own tea party funds). To a lesser extent, I would throw in the hundreds of cynical “new media consultants” the GOP seems to burp up on a daily basis.

3.) Straight up Birchers, birthers, flat-earthers, racists, militiamen, Patriot movement members, and that motley crew of scumbags and lunatics.

4.) A very small group of folks who honestly are very upset about government spending, but manage to never care when the GOP is the one doing it. They probably make up the smallest chunk, but you can pick them out quite easily- they are the somewhat sane looking people that the folks from the three previous groups try to hide behind every time the cameras are on.

At any rate, the fact that the Tea Parties have gotten this far with their incoherent and often times hypocritical message (to say nothing of the lunatics and racists and militia types) is a sign to me there is no amount of bullshit our media won’t swallow. The fact that it is allegedly a “populist” movement that was inspired by a tantrum from millionaire tv financial personality and a Brooks Brothers mafia on the Chicago trading floor, upset over meager plans to help troubled mortgage holders in the wake of a near trillion dollar bailout of the the wealthy elite who pay Rick Santelli’s salary, just ups the humor value in this theatre of the absurd. Nothing cracks me up like an angry peasant mob screaming for the repeal of the estate tax and ending the capital gains tax.

A sad state of affairs.

Proof We Elected the Right Guy

Thanks to 60 Minutes and Mark Halperin's new 352-page gossip column, by now you've all heard that:

• Harry Reid used the word "Negro" and he should resign. (1)

• Bill Clinton told Ted Kennedy that Obama is a coffee-slave. (2)

• Sarah Palin is a pathological liar and dumber than a box of Todd's snowmobile parts (3)

• Poor John Edwards is the totally innocent filling in the Oreo cookie of his nasty, harpy wife and seductive mistress. (4)

• Cindy McCain was busted making out with someone other than her husband. (5)

So how does that prove Obama was the right candidate to become President? As Balloon Juice commenter JenJen astutely points out:

You know, one important point completely missed by our Awesome Liberal Media as they thumb through the index of Mark Halperin’s shitty book is this: There are literally ZERO revelations about the President, or his campaign staff, in this book. Nada. Goose Eggs. Nothing. And that says a lot about our President, and his campaign staff, who apparently were far too aware to give Halperin even one toss-off quote.

(1) Reid made a clumsily-worded but entirely valid and accurate statement on racism in America. Much as I hate Reid, this isn't the reason he should lose his job.

(2) According to the hearsay from an unnamed source regarding a second-hand conversation with a now-deceased person.

(3) 100% true.

(4) Because between chemo treatments, terminal cancer patients should be watching their husband's backs and keeping their dicks zipped for them.

(5) "This is excellent news for John McCain."

Person of the Year

DougJ summed this up just about perfectly:

I have nothing special against Bernanke. I think he probably deserves credit for averting financial catastrophe.

But this is a pretty strong signal that elite media still worships the architects of our awesome financial system. Some things never change.

Though, ...given the alternative...

Miscellany

I STILL WANT HIM ON MY TEAM
Half the lefty blogosphere, including our good friend, Toast, have their panties in a bunch over Matt Taibbi's latest Obama-beatdown in Rolling Stone. It's not Taibbi's best article—and I say that because I was unable to get through it—and he seems to have botched and/or stretched some things to make a point, but count me with John Cole and Kevin Drum, and then John Cole on Drum—Taibbi's larger point handily outweighs any flaws in the article, and focusing only on Taibbi's scatological writing style or the disputed "facts" is really missing the forest. As for Tim Fernholz's "takedown" of Taibbi, I'm not so impressed, and I counter with Felix Salmon, or Taibbi himself.

Let me repeat something I said at Toast's (again):

I have a high tolerance/threshold for Taibbi's style and his conclusions and implications—even if speculative and ultimately proven wrong.

Why?

Because he and NPR's This American Life seem to be the only two entities in the whole of the fucking media that care enough to look into this stuff at all.

And he is one of the very few columnists with a national outlet (RS) that is attacking the Administration from the left.

Does Taibbi drive too fast and have his eyes closed some of the time? Sure. But he's a useful balance to the rest of the fucking establishment media that won't even take the car out of the garage.

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POTY > POTUS
August J Pollak thinks TIME is going to name Sarah Palin its "Person of the Year." Much as that thought makes me want to retch, he makes a good case. Losing works out nicely for Palin, I suppose—fame, $$$ and attention without actually having to do anything or have responsibilities...

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WORTHLESS
The House passed a "sweeping financial regulation" the other day, though, several Democrats jumped ship to scrap a key component designed to help ordinary citizens—the "cram-down" provision:

Republicans were successful in killing an amendment sought by housing advocates that would have given bankruptcy judges the ability to rewrite terms of mortgages so borrowers could remain in their homes. Judges can do this for second or vacation homes, luxury yachts and other areas where consumer debt is involved, but current laws prohibit reworking the terms of first mortgages.

Numerous Democrats joined GOP lawmakers in defeating this amendment — sometimes referred to as a cram-down provision, since judges could impose terms on banks — on the grounds that it could weaken bank finances and represented too steep a change from current practice.

And they did it without a Lieberman of their own... Since banks getting slowly paid off on a mortgage at a lower rate is less short-term profitable than foreclosing on people now, it had to go.* Even though in the long run it would probably be better for everyone—banks included—and would actually, you know, allow people remain in their homes? Pathetic. Especially since this has already cleared the House before.

*What was Matt Taibbi thinking—there's no banking conspiracy...

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RICKEY LIVES
I was about to take the slackers at ATK to task for the paucity of posts over there—even with the big free agent signing of Mr. Henderson, when I decided to check Rickey's previously moribund site—lo and behold—Rickey's back from the grave and ready to party.

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UNGOVERNABLE
Matt Yglesias explains the current state of the union... Pretty tough to disagree.

Stay Classy, Sarah!

Speaking to the conservative talker Rusty Humphries today, Sarah Palin left the door open to speculation about President Obama’s birth certificate.

“Would you make the birth certificate an issue if you ran?” she was asked (around 9 minutes into the video above).

“I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue. I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers,” she replied.

“Do you think it’s a fair question to be looking at?” Humphries persisted.

“I think it’s a fair question, just like I think past association and past voting records—all of that is fair game,” Palin said. “The McCain-Palin campaign didn’t do a good enough job in that area.”

Not to get all Andrew Sullivan on you...but if she wants to see a birth certificate for Obama, she make an even exchange for Trig's.

There are honestly more questions surrounding the proof of the birth of her last child than there are about Obama's. Even Glenn Beck isn't sailing on the U.S.S. Birther.

[h/t Balloon Juice]

Quote of the Day

"[Tea baggers and conservative bloggers] want Obama to be ruthless and authoritarian because they want to think of themselves as a heroic resistance. They evoke Hitler not because they fear another Hitler, their very obsession with Nazi imagery betrays their attraction; no, they're longing for a Leader, a Hitler of their own. Even a Hitler in high heels, if you can picture such a lady, and I think we all can..." — James Wolcott, Vanity Fair

An Insane Narcissist Republican Governor Resigned Today… and, No, It Wasn't Mark Sanford

Holy shit. Not the resignation—though that IS shocking—I've already read about that. I cannot believe that trainwreck of a speech. Watch it and see for yourself. It's insanity is contagious—it started making me feel crazy the more I watched it.

More on this later, but my initial take? She's done. This was involuntary political suicide.

Point of Fact

It is now less than a week until the election, and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has still never held a press conference. And it is clear that the McCain campaign has no intention of ever having one.

Someone potentially a heartbeat away from becoming leader of the free world has never faced unscripted questions from reporters. Fluff interviews (Hannity, etc.) and slightly-less-than-fluff one-on-one, pre-taped interviews (Couric, Gibson) do NOT count.

Four or five weeks ago when people like Andrew Sullivan were complaining about the same thing it seemed improbable that McCain/Palin could get away with it.

They have.

Just thought I'd point that out.

Unbelievable Palin Video of the Day

Sarah Palin is asked whether abortion clinic bombers fit her definition of terrorists... Watch for yourself:

"I don’t know if you’re going to use the word ‘terrorist’ there..."

What other word would you use, Governor?

I'm not sure which is more offensive: her ham-handed attempt to work her Ayers talking points into her non-response, or the blatant wink-and-nod this was to the fringe right.

I'd say the Army of God's record stacks up pretty well against the Weather Underground, and they are just ONE of these groups. They alone killed more people, set more bombs, sent out anthrax threat letters, maintain an online hitlist, and had members all over the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. The original Weather Underground only targeted property and gave warnings of their attacks. AoG bomber Eric Rudolph killed people at clinics and a gay bar—but I suppose they don't meet your definition of "innocent." What about the people killed and maimed by the bomb he set in the crowd at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta?

So yes, Governor, you fucking monster, you sure as hell use the word "terrorist" there.

And Senator? Sitting there with your fucking Maverick™ thumb up your ass while she spouts this bile right in front of you? You still "so proud of her?" Reap what you've sown, you worthless coward.

UPDATE: Look at the two of them again...Which one is the VP? McCain is baggage to her now—she's not campaigning for now, she's laying groundwork for 2012.

Palin To Visit Fake America

This is a pretty shocking development. North Carolina is a state where the McCain/Palin camp appears to be making a stand, but I didn't expect them to spend time or resources in a town where they will lose—and lose heavily. While western North Carolina certainly has its share of rural, Republican areas, Asheville is pretty much a Green Zone of liberal, progressive hippiedom. They should be doing this in Hendersonville or some other "pro-America" venue.

They'll be lucky to attract as many attendees as protesters here in Asheville. So much so, that I almost have to wonder if that's the idea...baiting to capture some ugly liberal crowd video. I actually hope DEms and libs here just ignore the whole thing rather than feed the beast. Eyes on the prize, Asheville—ignore this sideshow, and just GOTV.

Naturally the McCain site has no information for the media, so I am unclear whether or not I will be covering this.

Line of the Day

If Sarah Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe had a life of its own, it would [still] get a tax cut from President Obama.

[via TPM]

I hope to see something like this in the next Obama and/or Biden speeches.

New Rules

by August J. Pollock, via Cole. Click to embiggen.

Live from New York...

Just saw the Palin cameo on SNL...She didn't really do much but walk on set and let Amy Poehler take over, and she was pretty funny—her Palin-mocking rap took balls, and Palin showed she was a good sport for participating...but, as I said to Mrs F (ie: talking at the tv) when it was over, "Too bad I have to fucking hate you. You pathological liar and asshole."

Late Night Awesome 2: Geriatric Boogaloo

John McCain probably wishes he never rescheduled his Letterman appearance...



Letterman just hammers him—on Palin in particular. He uses disarming humor in many instances, but underneath it all he makes McCain try to defend the indefensible and McCain ends up looking like a fool, and all of his selling of Palin comes across like a watered down sales pitch for Obama. It's awesome television.

During the interview, McCain promises to have Palin appear on the show. Trust me when I say, there is no way in hell that actually happens. I would have put the chances of that at slim to none BEFORE Letterman ridiculed her selection to John McCain's face...After that? No fucking way.

Rogue

HuffPo:

In an interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin explained her reasoning in going on the attack against Barack Obama. Asked why she was more "forceful" than her running mate, she said: "Rush, I've got nothing to lose in this and I think America's got everything to gain by understanding the differences, the contrasts here between Obama and McCain."

"Nothing to lose..." Pretty much. The electoral chances of the McCain/Palin ticket are swirling in the bowl as we speak, but Caribou Barbie has a much softer landing place than McCain. She gets to go back to her day job: handing out oil checks and "Earning" her 80% approval rating. She's the new darling of the FOX Right, and the fundies want to groom her for 2012.

Five weeks ago she was a relative unknown. Now she is a few weeks from either becoming Vice President or a high-profile martyr for next to no effort or investment—it's really win-win for her. She has absolutely no reason to restrain herself, tell the truth or do anything honest or ethical. She owes McCain nothing and in a way probably benefits as much if not more from a loss.

I'm sure McCain wakes up every morning ecstatic about his choice...

Quote of the Day

John Cole:

Who could have imagined that if you take an ethically challenged know-nothing religious nut from backwoods America, have Bill Kristol and the Rove 2000 team whisper in her ear for weeks, that she would turn into a vicious political opportunist with no regard for the country and an eye on her personal future?

Another 1,000 Words

[h/t open thread at Kos]