Saturday, October 31, 2009

Last Call

Something I don't do very often: quote Evan F'ckin Bayh and actually agree with him.
Faced with anxiety in financial markets about the huge federal deficit and the potential for it to become an electoral liability for Democrats, the White House and Congressional leaders are weighing options for narrowing the gap, including a bipartisan commission that could force tax increases and spending cuts.

But even the idea of a panel to bridge the partisan divide has run into partisan objections. Many Democrats, including in the White House, are loath to cede such far-reaching decisions to a commission and doubt Republicans’ willingness to compromise. And most Republicans remain adamantly opposed to tax increases, leaving the prospects for any bipartisan approach limited at best.

The proponents, however, are pressing for a Senate vote this month. “If we have the same process and the same people, we are going to get the same results,” said Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, who recently met with Mr. Obama to discuss the idea. “The Democratic Party wants to spend more than we can afford; the Republican Party tends to want to cut taxes more than we can afford. So we are stuck.”
We're going to have to raise taxes. We're going to have to make cuts, and I believe those cuts need to come in defense spending.

Neither is going to happen without Washington telling us it's the end of America.

Not doing so is what will bring that about.

ODI Watch: Halloween Edition

Rasmussen's "Presidential Approval Index" is -10, while Pollster.com's Obama approval rating average back in reality is 56.1%, giving us an ODI number of -16.1. Not quite as bad as last week, but then again that's the scary part.

Teabaggers Collect Their Head

The Hoffman Effect just claimed its first victim as the Teabagger haterade for Dede Scozzafava has convinced her to quit the race.
As first reported by the Watertown Daily Times, the Republican nominee in the New York 23rd Congressional special election, Dede Scozzafava, announced this morning she's suspending her campaign. Her exit leaves Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, who had garnered plenty of national GOP support, as the favorite to win what was a hotly-contested 3-way race. Republicans had feared that Hoffman and Scozzafava would split the Republican vote in this somewhat competitive district and hand the seat to Democrat Bill Owens. Former Republican Congressman John McHugh resigned his seat earlier this year after he was named by Pres. Obama to be the Secretary of the Army.
Here's my take on all this:

1) The message this sends to moderate Republicans, centrist Independents, and especially women is "There is no place for you in this Republican Party anymore." If this was a battle for the soul of the GOP, then all three of those groups have lost in favor of extremism. The Purge is now officially on.

2) The corporate Club For Growth/FreedomWorks anti-government crowd is now 100% in control of the GOP. There is no middle ground. There is no choice but to tow the line or they will bring in someone who will and drive you out of the election. They're not even going to pretend anymore.

3) What moderate in their right mind will even run on the GOP ticket in 2010 now? Not a one. I forsee nothing but Teabaggers in House races, screaming that the Kenyan Usurper Other is coming to personally enslave your nubile daughters while wearing FREE ORLY TAITZ T-shirts.

4) I wonder what Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are thinking right about now...

Welcome to your new GOP, America. You wanted it? You got it.

[UPDATE 12:30 PM] Dave Weigel has Scozzafava's statement here, and notes that she did not endorse either remaining candidate on the way out.

Night Of The Living Dud

Shelly's back, calling for America to rise up on Thursday and take torches and pitchforks to health care reform as only a popular revolt can save America from the unending nightmare that is affordable health care.



Yeah, that's right! Go show them! Demand your right to be overcharged by a system that wastes $850 billion a year! Demand that Congress take another sixteen years to "get it right" in the meantime! Demand your right to have your health coverage dropped because you're sick so you can face medical bankruptcy! Demand your right to the House Republican health care reform bill which they still haven't even written yet, nor will they ever!

Demand the absolute nothing that the Republicans are offering you! And yes...they really do think you're that stupid. After all, voting against your own self-interest has been the definitive hallmark of the modern Republican Party for decades now.

Only Dirty F'ckin Hippies, broke-ass welfare queens and illegal immigrants want health care. Real Americans get sick and die. (Well, Shelly has a pretty nice health plan as a member of Congress there and of course Medicare and Medicaid have nothing to do with the government at all.)

So rise up and join her on Thursday to take back the country for the insurance giants the way our Founding Fathers wanted!

I mean...right?

StupidiNews, Halloween Edition

Ghoul morning, kiddies! Here's the news and boos this Halloweekend...


Have a safe one out there this weekend, folks. Hell, America in 2009 is scary enough without the ghosts n' goblins...