This Is Rediculous

More evidence that the teabaggers don't actually believe anything:

In her speech at the rally, Sarah Palin of course paid homage to the Constitution. “Our vision for America is anchored in time-tested truths that the government that governs least governs best, that the Constitution provides the path to a more perfect union — it’s the Constitution,” she exclaimed. And so it’s extremely puzzling that Palin introduced this new attack line against
President Obama yesterday:

"In these volatile times when we are a nation at war, now more than ever is when we need a commander-in-chief, not a constitutional law professor lecturing us from a lectern."

Ironically, the crowd cheered wildly at Palin’s line.

Fuck You, Kid!

Lighten up, douchebag:

The teenager who persuaded the California Assembly to approve a No Cussing resolution earlier this month has a message for Vice President Joe Biden: Watch your mouth.

South Pasadena High School student McKay Hatch held a news conference Friday in front of his city's post office where he asked the vice president to apologize for letting a profanity slip during a bill-signing ceremony earlier this week.

Quit being such an asshat!

It Would Be Funny, If It Weren't So Disgusting

Benen today:

THE LIMITS OF AN EXTREME IDEOLOGY.... The Washington Post ran a profile of Mike Vanderboegh, a 57-year-old former militiaman from Alabama, who disapproves of the new Affordable Care Act. Vanderboegh, who describes himself as a "Christian libertarian" and has been part of various clandestine militia groups, has been encouraging those who agree with him to throw bricks through the windows of Democratic offices nationwide.

It's about what you'd expect from someone like this, and Vanderboegh is unapologetic about his extremism. In his interview with the Post, he makes multiple references to people who "are armed and are capable of making such resistance possible and perhaps even initiating a civil
war."

Given the threat of domestic terrorism, all of this is disconcerting, to be sure. But Josh Marshall flags the punch-line from the profile:

"Vanderboegh said he once worked as a warehouse manager but now lives on government disability checks. He said he receives $1,300 a month because of his congestive heart failure, diabetes and hypertension."

I see. So, Vanderboegh has a physical ailment, so instead of working, he's turned to the government to supply him with a modest income. Whether Vanderboegh appreciates the irony of a radical libertarian, who demands that a small government leave people alone, getting taxpayer-financed checks from the government not to work, is unclear.

Seriously, W! T! F!

What He Said

The root of my obsession with the disarray on the American Right is summed up perfectly by Krugman today:

In the short run, Republican extremism may be good for Democrats, to the extent that it prompts a voter backlash. But in the long run, it’s a very bad thing for America. We need to have two reasonable, rational parties in this country. And right now we don’t.

I like the short-run political benefits of this insanity (assuming people don't actually start shooting) because the current GOP does not deserve to be taken seriously. But I share Krugman's concern about the lack of a coherent antithesis in this country. The sooner the GOP can add Pragmatism to its Reaganism, the better.

Update 1: Hope on the horizon?

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said GOP colleagues privately expressed weariness with the hardball political tactics that have heightened partisan tensions.

“There have been a couple of [Republican] senators who have said sometimes, like last night, that ‘this is pointless, I don’t know why we’re doing this,’ ” McCaskill said in reference to a voting session that lasted until the early morning hours Thursday to consider GOP amendments to healthcare reform.

As a side note, I really like Claire McCaskill. Don't rule her out as the first woman POTUS.

The Blood of Patriots

This is getting out of control, and Rachel is the only one covering it seriously:



Update: This is getting dangerous:

Updated: 1:55 p.m. Federal and local authorities are investigating a severed gas line at the home of U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello’s brother, discovered the day after Tea Party activists posted the address online so opponents could “drop by” and “express their thanks” for Perriello’s vote in favor of health care reform.

The gas line connected a propane tank to a gas grill on the home’s screened-in porch, according to sources in Tom Perriello’s office.

The incident is being viewed as an attempted threat to a member of congress, sources said.

Two members of the conservative Tea Party groups in Danville and Lynchburg posted the home’s address online Monday, mistakenly believing it belonged to the congressman. The home actually belongs to Bo Perriello, the congressman’s older brother.

Update 2: Here are some of the highlights from Stupak's voice mail:



Sounds like these people really love Jesus, huh?

Update 3: Their words, not mine:

If we can get across to the other side that they are within inches of provoking a civil war in this country, then that's a good thing.

All the Party People in the House Say "Yeah"

Tomorrow's the day, and the Teabaggers can feel it coming. You can tell because they're talking about getting their guns, whipping out their racist and homophobic epithets and spitting on members of congress. Meanwhile, in Fantasyland, Republicans in Congress are taking victory laps.

Getting Shit Done

Yglesias is a smart man:

Which is just to say that nobody lasts in office forever, no congressional majority lasts forever, and no party controls the White House forever. But the measure of a political coalition isn’t how long it lasted, but what it achieved. From the tone of a lot of present-day political commentary you’d think that the big mistake Lyndon Johnson made during his tenure in the White House was that by passing the Civil Rights Act he wound up damaging the Democratic Party politically by opening the South up to the GOP. Back on planet normal, that’s the crowning achievement of his presidency.

It's time to pass Health Care Reform.