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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

John Boehner's Monster

I have to tell you, Senator Obama is a decent person and a person you don’t have to be scared of as president of the United States.

Quick, who said that?

Senator Obama is a decent person.

You don’t have to be scared of him as president of the United States.

Stumped?

I’ll give you a hint: It was at a campaign stop in Minnesota during the 2008 presidential campaign, and the guy who said that got loudly jeered.

Senator Obama is a decent person, you don’t need to be afraid of him.

The crowd booed and yelled out “Oh come on!” and “terrorist!” and “Liar!”

They were terrified of Barack Obama and they weren’t going to be mollified.

Figured it out, have you? Of course, it was Senator Obama’s chief rival for the White House, Republican Senator from Arizona John McCain. 

I have to tell you, Senator Obama is a decent person and a person you don’t have to be scared of as president of the United States.

Heh.

2008 was an ugly, ugly election.

And that, right there, was one of its ugliest moments.

The country was crashing into a recession that showed every sign of becoming another Great Depression.  America was at war, two wars in fact – ugly, brutal, horrible wars. America needed a leader, somebody they could believe in, somebody to give them hope and inspiration. And John McCain, whatever his virtues, has all the warmth and charisma of a spiny sea cucumber.  McCain sure wasn’t a Reagan, he wasn’t going to win the vote with his movie star charm and confident smile. Hell McCain wasn’t even a George W. Bush (speaking of cold flopping fish).

They needed another Reagan, they got Johnny Walnuts.

When John McCain speaks he sounds exactly like what he is, a garrulous grumpy old man whose hemorrhoid medication isn’t up to the task of keeping his asshole in check. 

Worse, unlike 2000 and 2004 when the Democrats fielded bland wooden candidates, in 2008 Barack Obama was young, dynamic, warm, charming, well spoken, handsome, fresh, new, inspiring, and basically everything McCain wasn’t. 

The GOP wasn’t even a little bit happy with their candidate, but, barring a stroke brought on by an extended bout of cloud shouting, at that point they were stuck with him.

They were stuck with McCain, and he for damned sure wasn’t going to get elected on his charm and likability.

McCain sure wasn’t going to get elected on his record. In fact, the less said about that, the better.

And, let’s be honest, McCain wasn’t going to win the White House on his education and intellect - not that Americans have ever elected their leaders based on, you know, education and intellect.

The Republican Party didn’t like McCain. Conservatives didn’t like McCain. Libertarians didn’t like McCain. Liberals didn’t like McCain. Nobody liked McCain. But they were all stuck with him (though, amusingly enough, four years later, they managed to find a guy even more unlikeable than John McCain, something I didn’t think was possible in 2008).

Hell, most of the time it would appear that John McCain doesn’t much care for John McCain.

So what do you do?

What do you do when you’re stuck with an unlikable candidate? What do you do when you can’t rebrand him, can’t make him more hip and affectionate and heroic – even if you give him a comedic sidekick.

Well, you do what political parties always do in that situation, you admit you’ve got a shitty candidate and then you try to make the other guy look worse.

Sure, our guy sucks, but the other guy sucks even worse!

Sure, our guy shouts at invisible people in the sky, yeah,but the other guy isn’t even an American! That’s right, he’s a gay commie socialist Nazi from Kenya with a robot lizard brain from outer space who travelled through time in order to destroy America! It’s true! It’s all true! And his wife hates white people! Ook! Ook!

By the time McCain got to Minnesota he and his political party had spent months plying the fears of their base. In addition to the time-tested trope of equating liberals to communism and socialism and Marxism and totalitarianism and atheism and Satanism and whatever vaguely defined ism that happens to be handy, they pulled out the all the stops. The strategy meetings must have been like that scene out of Blazing Saddles where Hedley Lamarr demands his henchmen “round up every vicious criminal and gunslinger in the west. I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists!” If Obama was talking about hope and change, these people were pounding the podium in gloom and pessimism.  They told conservatives that their worst fears would come true: America would be destroyed by the communists, the teetering banks would fail, the ruined economy would collapse completely, the poor would riot in the streets and slaughter all the God fearing white men and take their women and skull-fuck their babies. Oh the end times were nigh and it was all Obama’s fault. Vote for John McCain, sure he sucks, but Obama is the Anti-Christ, folks, the Anti-Christ!

And so, John McCain came to Shakopee, Minnesota on a campaign stop and there he made the mistake of handing his microphone to a sweet looking little old lady: 75 year old Gayle Quinnell, who said:

I don’t believe him. I can’t trust Obama. I have read about him, and he’s not, he’s not, he’s uh, he’s not, he’s an Arab!

The look on John McCain’s face in that moment was exactly, exactly, the same as those white parents who engage in casual racism in the privacy of their own homes … and then one day, in the middle of some public place, their sweet little 4-year old points at a black man and loudly blurts out “Nigger!

Oh, heh, heh, woo boy, sorry Mr. Negro, sir. Why, heh heh, I have no idea where he could have learned that word. Heh Heh.

No idea indeed.

Heh heh. Oops.

Right.

These people, they’re always shocked and dismayed and embarrassed when the hate and rage and naked fear they themselves created and encouraged boils over and the howling mob rises up and starts lighting shit on fire.

McCain snatched the microphone away from Quinnell and tried to walk back his own bullshit, “Ixnay on the Arabway!  No ma'am, He’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues."

The crowd at first appeared to applaud McCain’s response, but months of manufactured paranoia and fear aren’t so easily contained and it became obvious in short order they were actually cheering Quinnell’s drooling dementia. 

The crowd screamed their fear at McCain, throwing his campaign’s own words back at him, Liar! Terrorist! Muslim! Socialist! Arab!

A man shouted from the crowd "The people here in Minnesota want to see a real fight!"

"We want to fight. And I will fight," McCain promised. "But I will be respectful. I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments and I will respect him."

At which point he was soundly booed.

In that moment, you could actually see the last tiny wisp of John McCain’s tortured soul escape from its withered husk and drift up towards the light.

And the twisted monstrosity John McCain himself helped to build whole cloth from rotten scraps and bits of dead meat finally broke free of its chains and smashed out of the castle to roam the countryside terrorizing the villagers. And for the last six years it’s been bellowing in pain maddened rage and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Six years. Six fucking years of birth certificates and fake social security numbers and the imminent End of Days and Biblical Antichrists and teleprompters and FEMA death camps and secret reeducation centers and 911 truthiness and supposed gayness and Michelle’s sex change and Black Panthers and Tea Parties and Communists and Nazis and Socialists and Arabs and gun grabbing and Israel hating and death panels and painting over Old Glory on Air Force one and killing his own ambassadors and killing Breitbart and killing the kids at Sandy Hook and killing the soldiers at Fort Hood (twice) and NOT killing bin Laden and spilling oil in the Gulf of Mexico and HAARPing himself up a hurricane to punish New Jersey and disappearing Malaysian airliners and ordering IRS outrages and alien reptile lizards from the 4th Dimension and Sharia Law and, well, it just goes on and on and on.

Honestly, at this point, you’d be hard pressed to find something, anything, that Obama hasn’t been accused of.  By the ugly tentacled face of Dread Cthulhu, Folks, if Obama was even one tenth the evil mastermind these people have made him out to be, he would have herded us all into the ovens long ago.

Six years they’ve been telling us Obama is going to destroy America.  And every year it gets louder and more shrill and more strident and more panicked and more desperately insane.

And yet – and yet – far from an America destroyed, our nation has steadily improved day by day, month after month, year after year during the entirety of Obama’s Administration. We are better off here in the United States than we have ever been and better off than nearly anywhere else on the planet.

In much of the rest of the world the problems are starvation, hunger, malnutrition, pervasive poverty, epidemic disease, war, rape, terror, slavery, horrifying oppression, homelessness, murder, genocide, natural and manmade disasters in endless succession.

But here in the United States, we are so well off that our worst problem at present, the “crisis” that presently dominates our headlines, is that millions of the less fortunate desperately want to become Americans.

Think about that for a second, won’t you?

Today, we are so well off in America, that we actually have to invent things to be afraid of.

Six years and conservatives are running out of time and running out of insanity.

Six years they’ve been screaming that Obama is going to destroy America.

And yet – and yet – here we are.

There’s only two years left and what if America keeps improving? What then? What if Obama leaves office and the country is measurably better off than it was when he was sworn in?

That, that right there, is what keeps Republicans awake at night (well, that and gay prostitutes, but I digress).

Today, led by Speaker John Boehner, the House of Representatives votes to sue President Obama for not implementing Obamacare fast enough – a law Boehner himself has attempted to repeal or delay 52 times.

Boehner would have you believe that this isn’t about impeachment.

Of course, that’s exactly what he said about impeaching Bill Clinton – and then voted, loudly, to impeach Bill Clinton.

Paul Ryan would have you believe this isn’t about impeachment.

“I see this as a ridiculous game by the president and his political team to try and change the narrative, raise money and turn out their base for an upcoming election that they feel is not going their way. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Oh, ah, so, a “ridiculous” game is it?

Tell me, given the last six years, why shouldn’t Democrats, why shouldn’t President Obama, expect anything other than lunacy from Paul Ryan and his fellow Tea Partiers? After all, they’ve been calling for Obama’s impeachment since the day he was sworn in. Hell, a significant fraction of the crowd that Ryan runs with has vocally and repeatedly called for the President to be dragged from the Oval Office and hung from the nearest lamppost.  Ridiculous? In a political party made up of Birthers, Truthers, religious nutters, revolutionaries, extremists, bigots, conspiracy theorists, rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists, you go right ahead and tell me when it gets too fucking ridiculous, won’t you?

“He said we’re not going there. We’re not interested in that, there’s no way it would be successful. Most of this discussion is coming from the White House, and there’s no reason to talk about it.”

That was Louisiana Representative John Fleming, quoting the Speaker of the House.

We’re not interested in impeachment, because there’s no way that would be successful.  Funny, there’s no way voting to repeal Obamacare 52 goddamned times would be successful either, and yet here we are.

We’re not interested in impeachment … because there’s no way that would be successful.

Because there’s no way that would be successful.  Keep that in mind, because that right there is the whole thing – Fleming let it out of the bag without realizing it. 

Because there’s no way that would be successful.

So, tell me again why I shouldn’t suspect the worst from these people? Go on, I’ll wait while you bullshit yourself up an answer.

Most of this discussion is from the White House.

Ah, and that’s what has conservatives upset.

Obama didn’t run from their threats. 

So sue me, Obama taunted them - and then he smiled.

The Democrats are using conservative insanity to make money. Lots and lots of money. Boy, that’s got to chap those clenched little GOP asses, now doesn’t it?  Especially since the Republican Party has been using this same threat, fueled by their ridiculous conspiracy theories, to milk money out of conservatives for the last six years. 

Sure sucks when the other guy beats you at your own game, don’t it?

And now? Now it seems that the shambling monster McCain let loose has returned, clomping along, leaking noxious fluids and dropping chunks of stinking dead flesh in its footsteps, bellowing insanely and making a mess of things.

Early last month, Sarah Palin’s PAC printed her op-ed on Breitbart, calling for, that’s right, impeachment of Barack Obama.

Impeachment.

And suddenly, there was John Boehner, looking all Cranky McWalnuts, Oh, heh, heh, woo boy, sorry. Why, heh heh, I have no idea, no idea, where little Sarah could have learned that word. Heh Heh.

Impeachment. Palin didn’t invent the idea – she has never had an original thought in her life. She’s just a screeching attention whore too damned stupid to realize she’s crapping all over her own party’s carefully laid plans – but then, that’s pretty much what she did to the McCain campaign, isn’t it? So nobody should be all that surprised.  Palin is only saying out loud what conservatives have been saying to themselves in private all along. These people, McCain, Boehner, Ryan, et al, they’re the white parents who use those words when they think they are alone. When they think nobody is listening.

They unleashed a monster and now they have the effrontery to act surprised when it bellows out their dirty little secrets.

Boehner doesn’t expect to win this lawsuit.

That’s not what this is about.

It’s about impeachment.

It’s about getting Obama out of office in disgrace before he doesn’t destroy the country.

They’re running out of time, the economy has recovered, the stock market is at all time highs, America is moving forward again. And they simply cannot, can not, allow that to be Obama’s legacy. He must be impeached and Boehner is testing the waters.

If Republicans take the Senate this year, you watch and see if the first order of business isn’t impeachment.

Don’t you believe for one goddamned second that this isn’t about impeachment.

That’s exactly what they are up to. 

Because if they don’t destroy Barack Obama before the end of his term, they will have to own their bullshit.

And nobody knows that better than John Boehner.

Except perhaps, John McCain.

141 comments:

  1. I've been thinking similar thoughts for a long time, but you said it so much better than I could. Thank you for blogging.

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  2. There is so much righteousness in this post that I'm both overwhelmed and thankful. Thanks, Jim, for saying what has needed to be said about republicans since 2007. No one in the MSM has had, or has, the courage to confront them about the odious, and, imho, anti-American, things they've said and done since 2009. The Frankenstein monster did indeed leave the castle and begin roaming the countryside wreaking havoc in 2007, and none of the "establishment" republicans did anything to capture/control it. In fact, they cheered him on and used him for political gain, but now that the monster is knocking on their doors in the village and is trying to destroy them and their homes, they're appalled. Imo, it's too late. Americans and others in the world now know that the monster's release can be traced right back to the GOP. I believe this is Boehner's biggest fear at this point--that Americans are recoiling from the GOP in disgust at what they've done to us and our country.

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  3. You really are my God. I have turned 4 more people onto the God that is Jim Wright this week. I will keep spreading the gospel that is Jim Wright. I would be your first deacon. You should do a speaking tour, starting in Connecticut. I will be sitting in the front row.

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  4. A minor correction: where you have said "baring a stroke" it should be "barring a stroke"... Well said otherwise, though.

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    1. You were fixing while I was writing. :D

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    2. Another small correction, because I want this to be as perfect as it deserves to be: you wrote, "Tell me, given the last six years, why shouldn’t Democrats, why shouldn’t President Obama, expect anything other than lunacy", and I believe you meant to say, "why should [we] expect anything other than lunacy?"

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    3. And one more: out the all the stops. -- extra 'the'

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  5. And, of course, if impeachment actually succeeded, they'd be dealing with President Joe Biden. They'd just *love* that ...

    Near as I can tell, the Birthers and the impeachment fans think that, if they get rid of Obama, that they'd get Romney as president. Doesn't work that way, guys.

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    1. I agree! I've suspected from the moment the thought of impeachment began to form in their tiny minds that they actually think if they somehow managed to impeach Obama, Romney would then be sworn in.

      Their stupidity is almost as mind-boggling as the audacity of their lies.

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    2. Please know that I agree 100% with the characterizations of the dim, foolish, vile and conniving Republicans who have run our country into the ground.
      Our two party system betrays us with moneyed control of both parties and Obama has failed to put a bridle on the pony that is corrupt capitalism.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Thanks for explaining how some of my mostly intelligent friends have turned into drooling zombies at the mention of President Obama. They seem to have lost their ability to think independently or actually research past Faux News or other conservative sources for information. Then there are those who don't even bother, they just KNOW that President Obama is EVIL...those ones have fallen off the bridge of Ignorance straight into the pit of Stupid on that topic.

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    1. Yes, some of my friends also turn into drooling idiots when President Obama is mentioned, doesn't have to be a positive mention either, but then they become rabid, frothing stupids. Normally critically thinking, nice people who transform before my very eyes. Sad.

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    2. Eyes glazed, loud, unintelligible rants, jumbled and paranoid quotes from Fox and Friends...most of my family have succumbed to this insanity. It is useless to argue with the delusion, but also not useful to feed it.

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    3. Do yourselves a favor and ask Google to tell you about "Terror Management Theory" sometime. IMO, it goes a long way to providing an understandable and semi-rational explanation to the incomprehensible animosity that the Republicans in general and Tea Party in particular have towards Obama.

      In a nutshell, TMT explains an intense fear response that comes from having one's fundamental world view come under attack. In my opinion, a significant part of the RW response to Obama comes down to the "fact" that a black man can't possibly do anything that would benefit (rich) white people.

      In essence, the fact that Obama is NOT failing, and IS providing an environment that is ripe for financial gain (hello, record high stock market?) as well as his efforts to bolster the most vulnerable in our society (poor, very young, very old) completely up-ends the idea that this is a zero-sum game.

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    4. excellent essay! thank you for being the voice of reason!

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  8. Absolutely spot on, Jim. Thank you for once again articulating my thoughts into neatly arranged written words.

    I'm liking your new gig as a full-time writer!

    (I hope this doesn't double-post. It looks like it didn't take the first time.)

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  9. Once again you wrapped it all up in one tight, tidy, totally terrific package and as always you have my gratitude!

    Inge

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  10. Anyone who doesn't think impeachment is the plan has to be buying a bridge, too... I hope to see at least a few of these idiots own their bullshit.

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  11. I'd been wondering what I'd do without Molly Ivins.

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    1. Me too, I miss Molly but by golly, Jim Wright is the next best thing to Molly, even better than fresh hot sliced bread and honey butter ;)

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    2. I am sure Miss Molly is reading, laughing, and cheering the estimable Mr. Wright on as a very worthy successor....from whatever precincts she currently occupies.

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  12. I just read this and if any of my FB friends read it they will think one of my responses today was based on this essay . I said , they , the Republicans , have been after Obamas ass the first day he took office and did the same thing to Clinton. It is sad we have people in this country who can’t think for themselves . Thanks Jim !

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  13. Jim you get hate mail. I DELIVER hate mail! As I've previously mentioned, I'm a USPS Letter Carrier. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the right-wing screeds I deliver on a daily basis.
    Then again, maybe you would.
    No, I do NOT read peoples mail but one can get a pretty good idea of the contents by seeing what is printed on the envelope.

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    1. Just curious, to whom are you delivering this hate mail? Is it private citizens, elected officials?

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  14. Jim while I agree with your assessment that Obama leaving office with the country in tact and not in tatters as the doomsayers have been shouting for 6+ years I don't think it's gong to hurt their base all that much. Remember that the far right has been eating their own this whole time, labeling anyone left of them as RINOs and unseating even long standing GOP office holders for not toeing the extreme right's idea of a line - compromise be damned. These people do not let facts get in the way (Obama is Kenyan, remember - despite the fact that no matter where he was born he is a natural born U.S. citizen by virtue of his mother's citizenship - go ask Cruz), so even if all of the indicators of a healthy and growing economy show improvement - they will just deny it. So impeachment may cause a lot of GOPers to burn political capital they can't afford, I don't see it changing anyone in the far right's mind come election time - they'll just delude themselves that he's still the devil, for whatever personal reason they have for hating him.

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    1. THANK YOU for pointing out what I have been saying since the beginning of the "birthers" Obama could have been born ANYWHERE on the planet and he would still be AMERICAN because his mom is. I just love that Cruz likes to overlook that he is in the same boat- except no- he's not as he's "white."

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  15. As a lifelong, card carrying nitwit, I must protest pairing nitwits with Ryan, Palin, and others of that ilk. Nitwits of the world unite!!!!!!

    Danny
    Nitwits Engaging in Gross Redundant Obfuscation

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    1. You are a disgusting bigot Danny.

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    2. Re read it and look at the caps; it spells out NEGRO. Sarcasm doesn't come across very well via keyboard.

      whitelilly

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  16. Jim, this was everything I've been thinking & saying for 6 years, thank you for summing it up in total. I worry that the Dems won't hit the one thing the GOP can't fight...their own words. I think all any Democrat needs to do is run the tag for every Congressional GOP ad in 2010 saying "vote for me and we'll create jobs" then run the bills they've tried to pass - 52 tries to stop Affordable Care, NO jobs bills, naming a few post offices and end with the tag...you trusted them once, you trusted them in 2012, they count on you forgetting their record. Vote for me, for real change, for jobs and if I don't deliver don't re-elect me." All this screaming of fear, hate and pure lies has to be apparent to a few GOPers with a thinking brain or am I being too hopeful? Marlene

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    1. I hate conspiracy theories; and because of that, I'm refusing to look seriously at conspiracy as an explanation for why absolutely NO Democrats running for office actually use tactics like this, despite it being pretty clear that it's the only thing that works. But I just don't have any other explanation. (This still doesn't mean I'm accepting the conspiracy theory; it just means I'm flummoxed. But I'm definitely flummoxed.)

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  17. "So sue me, Obama taunted them - and then he smiled."
    NEVER, not ever, never never never, play "Go" with a Master. And Mr. Obama is The Master of this political game playing.
    People have sneered,"He's a 'community organizer'" as if that were somehow a worse epithet than "Kenyan Muslim Gay Socialist Facist Nazi Communist". Frankly, our country needs a community organizer. We need someone who is used to pulling diverse people together, forming a cohesive group, helping us develop the unity in community and learning how to commune with that community.
    The GOP (suggested new meaning: Group of Pricks) makes it their main task to divide us up into cute little groups: "Rabid Man-Hating Lesbian Feminists" over here; "Angry Black Men" over there, "God-fearing Righteous Christians" in this group, and so on, ad nauseum. And then they work extra hard to keep us divided and without the cohesion we're going to need to kick their sorry asses out of the Capitol. They pander to those of our citizens who are, to put it nicely, a few dimes short of a dollar. Paddling a rowboat with one oar. A few crayons short of a full box. The lights are on, but nobody's home.
    Ignorance is NOT bliss. It's ignorance. Willful ignorance ("Doncha try'an teach me none of your damned college shit, I got all the smarts I need from the Bible, the 700 Club and my daddy, may he rest in peace) is just another name for stupidity. You can't fix stupidity. You can try to teach a pig how to sing, but it just wastes your time and it pisses off the pig. Dump a little chlorine in the gene pool, please.
    And the Democratic-voting citizenry is just as bad. The Democrats act like this is a minor disagreement between two gentlemen; worst that can happen is a duel of honor, at dawn in the mist by the river, with our best friends as our seconds and a doctor standing by. I have news for you, gentlemen! This GOP that you think is a gentleman? Oh hells no. It's a rabid dog, slavering at the mouth and ready to bite anyone, to infect them with the same mindless insanity and parroting of hateful, divisive talk. There is no duel. It's time to pull out the pistols and go put that poor dumb beast out of our...ahem, its misery.
    Go ahead. Try to impeach the President. You might even win. Then you'll have Uncle Joe to deal with--and he'd be the incumbent for 2016, eligible to run for TWO more terms.
    Talk about choosing between the Devil and the deep blue sea: successfully impeach Mr. Obama and face the real possibility of Joe Biden in charge for 10 years OR fail at impeaching him and have to own all the bullshit you've been spouting and packing down for the past 6-7 years.
    I'll get the popcorn. This is going to be GREAT show.

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    1. It would be a great show if the American populace didn't happen to be sitting on the stage with the actors.

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    2. Ms Chmielewski: This was an awesome response. I hope you don't mind if I post it on my FB page as a corollary to Jim's comments. If you do (mind) contact me and I'll take it down.

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    3. Too bad they can't think ahead and see the results of their scheming. I live in KS, you should hear the ads for candidates. Each and everyone talks about standing up to Obama and getting rid of Obamacare. No one mentions what they will do in the future for Kansas. But, we don't see any Democrats with ads on the TV for the Primarys. We don't even have D's running for lots of the positions. We are a hopeless cause. Most people here believe all this stuff that they hear. No one has any thinking skills. They've been told this, it fits with their prejudices, and they believe every word of it. Thanks Jim, I'm going to share on Facebook. Will probably lose some more friends,

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    4. "...and then he smiled." Ahhh, please...continue.....

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    5. Every voting Democrat I know understands perfectly about the rabid dog, and wishes to hell their elected officials -- on the Democratic side -- would figure it out already and get their tails in gear!! I don't see the blindness in the citizenry; I see it in the politicians. Even Obama is still offering up rabid conservatives for plum judicial appointments in the hopes of being able, finally, to announce that he got something done in a bipartisan fashion... as if he couldn't have learned ever since he got hoodwinked into the Supercommittee and its bastard child, the sequester, that Grand Bargains with these maniacs never work.

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    6. As cogently said as anything Jim has said. Bravo zulu (Navy speak for "well done")

      whitelilly

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  18. Can't disagree, sigh. Except I really do know a lot of very nice Methodists.

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  19. This throw anything at the wall and see if it sticks routine started with Karl Rove, Limbaugh and the rise of Fox news against Bill Clinton. With the addition of new, more vile voices on talk radio and the internet, it's become standard operating procedure for the conjobs. It isn't going to stop with Obama. No democratic president will ever NOT be subjected to the right's insane attack machine from now on.


    Say anything, fling anything, just flat out make up the most ugly, damaging accusations. It's a guaranteed money maker for these snake oil salesmen. If Hillary is the next democratic presidential candidate hold on to your hats, the slime machine will be in full force. She hasn't even announced she's running and the right wing ooze has already began attacking her. Every democratic president from now on will automatically be declared worst president ever from day one in office. Our future looks dark.

    Rob in Philly

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    1. This, in a nutshell, is why I don't agree that we're doing as great as Jim says.

      Are we doing a lot better than we were when Obama took over, when the world was on the brink of international financial crisis? Sure. Is our future rosy and our present pretty nifty as well? Um... well, our government is hamstrung; the corporations are taking over because they are capable of wielding power and the feds aren't; the judiciary is entirely in the hands of the corporations; and the destruction of the labor movement has combined with the weak economy to mean that they can get away with treating us all (employees and customers alike) like serfs, and they do. I know almost nobody who is happy with their job anymore -- nobody who feels like they do respectable, interesting work for people they can respect and who respect them, for compensation which allows them to run their life decently, and without the constant dread of being laid off (and the current financial strain which means that a layoff would put them one inch away from homelessness). Some -- a few -- people seem to have one or two of those factors now; many have none of them. Nobody has them all, and I remember when, among reasonably well-educated people of good character, it was expected that you could have all those factors, because that's what *happened* when you had skills and worked hard.

      The world is sliding toward fascism again because unhappy people are looking for someone to blame and the corporate masters whose fault it really is are making a very effective desperation effort to make sure that whoever is blamed, it will be Somebody Else. The lot of women, in this country and elsewhere, has not looked so bleak since the early 1960s. The environment is careening toward disaster, and because environmentalism doesn't make people as much money with as little effort as oil does, we're being blocked from protecting it at every turn.

      So no, I don't really think we're in as good shape as Jim seems to think we are. I think Obama is a pretty decent president, who's done as much good as he reasonably can with his hands tied and the ends of the rope in Boehner's hands. But he *can't* do most of the things we need done; not alone, and he won't get help. And even the ones he could do alone -- he needs the corporate world too, or he thinks he does. I had hoped to see him more aggressive on the subject of wealth inequality in his second term, but I think he's afraid that if he tries that, they really *will* impeach him, whereas the financial sector might be willing to block its semi-tame party from actually going there so long as he keeps it placated. Other than that limited bit of timidity, he's done a fairly good job. But a fairly good job by one man in one branch of government isn't enough to stop the rise of concentrated power and the corresponding ills which follow it.

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    2. I'll go one step further: no one is HAPPY anymore - at least no one that tunes into the "boob tube" on a regular basis. Doom and gloom punctuated by screaming hatred for the other team (been to Little League lately?! my GOD!), or sport, side, nation, political party, religious group, sex, fill in the blank - and occasionally lightened up with some lecherous unfunny drivel - that's what people are filling their minds with. All meant to convince you that you ARE unhappy, DEEPLY unhappy and unfulfilled, and you need to spend more money on Schlitterbahn, aromatherapy, Oil of Olay, Bud Ice, season tickets, tooth whitening...what a pack of idiots we are!

      Jim is so right. I have been griping about the RW fear machine since the Clinton witch hunt started (like Prez Obama, the day he got elected, I think) and my hope is that Mary Shelly was prescient and the fearmongers will be the ones destroyed. This is real life though, not a literary masterpiece, and I'm afraid the first casualty is going to be our middle class which seems to be eroding faster than the Antarctic ice sheets, as you so eloquently described above!

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    3. Just and addendum to Rob in Philly's post. Karl Rove learned it all from Lee Atwater, someone who saw the evil of what he was doing too late to turn it around.

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    4. Sorry, Jim, I loved everything you usually have to say but I have to agree with Naomi and take issue with your statement: "We are better off here in the United States than we have ever been and better off than nearly anywhere else on the planet."

      We are not better off than we have ever been:
      1. When I went to school almost 25 years ago, my tuition was never more than $1000 a year. My son graduated a couple of years ago and he paid $7000 a year at the same institution. I got a job that paid 35 times my tuition so it was easy to pay back my school loans. He got a job that pays 7 times his tuition so it is going to take him forever to pay back his loans. School and everything that goes with it like rent and books, etc have gotten sky high these days. Why? How do young people who don't come from money do it without sacrificing their future any more?
      2. I have good insurance but I still had to pay $154 out of pocket for a simple blood test after the insurance paid thier part. WTF? Medical costs have become outrageous.
      3. We are getting more jobs and the unemployment rate is falling but many of those jobs require that the worker also be on government benefits. How is that better than in the 70's when you could actually raise a family on one paycheck?
      4. We've lost manufacturing jobs and a great many high tech jobs. One thing I know for sure is that we will never go to war with China because they have captured the market for REE that we need to make our fancy weapons! How is that good for America when we can't even manufacture our own weapons without depending on a Communist country for rare metals? And we DO have those same metals in this country - it's just that we shut our mines down in favor of buying them elsewhere.
      5. The Middle Class is shrinking and we are rapidly becoming a "caste" society - not all that different from India. Even our Middle Class standard of living is less than that of Canada. I know we are better than most third world countries but is that who the US should be comparing itself to? It's like a guy thinking he is a world class runner because he can run faster than the guy in the wheelchair.....we should be comparing ourselves to like countries....not the Third World.

      I could go on, but I do think I have made myself clear. We are on the wrong trajectory and there is no one in Washington who seems to be interested in turning that trajectory around. Do I blame Obama? NO - I blame the Washington Insider Democrats (the ones who control the party) who seem to have decided that they need to be just like the Republicans and "follow the money". Republicans aren't shy about saying that's what they are after, but really, didn't Democrats once have other goals?
      PS. I would really love to use my real name but I have to stay Anonymous for now because my daugher (same last name) has her own company and she has to work within the political world - so I promised her I would not use my real name when making my usual "librul" comments....

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    5. I make about twice as much money as I made 20 years ago (and a decent wage for where I live) but it doesn't come close to keeping up with the increases in the cost of gas, power, food, insurance, etc etc. I had far more money left after paying for the essentials back then as well, Until there is a big step up in wages, this country will never be prosperous for anyone who isn't already rich, or for those fortunate few who make the NEXT BIG thing (and promptly get bought out by one of the mega corporations.

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  20. Jim,

    It's not that I don't agree with your assessment of the "Right" and their nonsense. You are indeed spot on. At the same time though I have to admit that the Democrats and their fundraising push has me a little offended. There are far more important issues, genuine issues such as campaign finance reform, infrastructure repair, etc. that need attention and funding. The Reptiles lawsuit is unlikely to go anywhere, nor is an impeachment attempt likely to succeed, due in large part to the fact that any politico who has dreams of attaining the Presidency is loathe to set any precedent that could be used against them. Plus a successful impeachment would just leave us with President Biden, which personally I'd love to see, since I suspect he'd be less likely to play it cool with these jagoffs. Ultimately, all I'm seeing is political theatre from both sides and I find the whole thing both tiresome and insulting to my intelligence.

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    1. I agree. Yesterday I received 31 emails from various Democratic organizations asking for money based on the impeachment scare.

      Great essay Jim. I can't say that I disagree with anything. Keep at it.

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    2. A political party fundraises off whatever's in the news that they think will get their base's attention long enough to write a check. The Rs are just pissed off that the Ds are doing what the Rs have practically raised to an art form.

      The media's complicity in this latest round of Republican bullshit (the President is the one talking about impeachment, not us!), by which I mean the total lack--as far as I know--of any reporter, anchor, or Sunday pundit getting up in a Republican's face for this truly breathtaking lie, is depressing as all f!k. Dunno who was the first to coin the term "press corpse", but it's never been more accurate.

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    3. Nick formerly from the O.C.July 31, 2014 at 12:42 PM

      As far as I can tell, the entire and sole purpose of a political "party" is to raise funds that can then be doled out to that party's candidates in return for future favors. If there is another purpose to a "party" then I've missed it.

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  21. The one bit of reality that gives them some traction , is that the economy isn't quite the best it ever was. Lots of metrics are up. But pensions, home ownership and layers of employment are still screwed up from the 2008 meltdown. Or people at least worry about what it was like. These are scattered around enough that the forces of darkness can mutter and people can think of someone they know, maybe themselves. One bit rings true and suddenly another bit gets swallowed. It doesn't all have to be true to feed the monster. Just a little.

    And memories are like the pantries of those who live through the Depression -- filled with old cans so they will never be hungry again. It's emotional, not rational.

    Dr. Phil

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    1. Hey, Doc, pension contributions by businesses, full time employment and inflation-responsive wages, and the housing market started going downhill long before the 2008 meltdown. Your timeline should go back to the mid-1990s at least.

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    2. The one thing all republicans seem to forget about the crash of 2008... Obama took office in 2009 after 8 years of this country very nearly being ACTUALLY destroyed by Dubbya. So if there is any single president who should be blamed (there isn't), it is a republican president. Funny how all their tirades always conveniently seem to overlook the actual dates involved with America's decline and recovery cycle...

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  22. Brilliant assessment. I have just one part that I disagree with. That's when you say we are better off than we have ever been. I 'm afraid I must disagree as I see a country that is being dismantled. Wages have dropped. Significantly. Government agencies like the EPA and FDA crippled with lack of funds to operate properly. Communities struggling to fund schools and basic infrastructure as the Feds have drawn down funding. An educational system that is in real trouble. The list goes on. But we are gaining ground, we are coming back from the brink. I just think how much faster it would have happened if Congress had cooperated instead of trying to sabotage the presidents success.

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    1. I agree.

      The only point of argument I have with this essay is the statement that we are better off today than we have ever been.

      While we are without question, better off economically today than we were 6 years ago, I don't think anyone can demonstrate how we are in better shape in terms our political process, (lack of voter involvement,Citizens United ), individual wealth,(wage disparity, home ownership, economic mobility, etc.), religious freedom (Hobby Lobby, women's rights, abortion rights Lily Ledbetter etc.)

      I hope we are gaining ground, but as soon as it looks like sanity starts to reappear, the SCOTUS drops another bombshell destroying another issue thought put to bed long ago.

      If Liberals and Progressives don't begin to take notice and get involved in our "Grand Experiment", I am really quite concerned for the world we are leaving for our children.

      Rick Morton

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    2. I've had trouble with the concept that 'humans are becoming better', which is espoused by my better half regularly. I read The Sea Wolf by Hemingway 10 years ago, and it wrecked my positive attitude toward humanity. This year, it's ocean acidification. Woe!!

      However, it's worth noting that we're recognizing autism and other neurological problems now, we are still trying to get food stamps to people who need them, and there IS Obamacare..... so there appears to be a half-step forward for every third-step back. Oh, yeah, and we're hearing about things that have been hidden for so long -- Maybe not change yet, but maybe change on the horizon?

      Yeah, okay -- I've fallen for the Hopey-Changey thing. So sue me.

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    3. I agree with you on the above about the economy etc. being better. We have learned of the HFT problems with the stock market from Michael Lewis' book and there is a lot of other BS going on to cover up our failed banks.

      On another point: "HAARPing himself up a hurricane to punish New Jersey"

      I thought the Fukushima nuclear disaster was supposed to be HAARP, and of course that affects the WEST Coast.

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  23. Oh shit howdy, big guy. You done did it this time. You're my new hero, and I love you. Hitting the proverbial nail on the head, over and over and over. I can't wait to share this on my page and sit back and watch the dogs begin to gather...some of them from my own fam damily (unless I was adopted, which I've always believed). LMAO Thanks again for speaking the words of my tortured heart.

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  24. All hail Jim Wright, the Newly Minted Freelance Writer!

    Seriously, Jim, this is great.

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  25. Love your writing, and I go with all your points on the socialism / racism / demonizing front. It was and continues to be disgraceful. But I have two quibbles with you:
    1. the economy basically didn't tank until mid September 2008 when the stock market nose dived. About 7 weeks before the election. A few people had some clues that summer, and the economy was pretty stagnant, but it did not become a big campaign issue until late September-October. Up until then they were fighting about Afghanistan and Iraq and terrorists. After the crash McCain wanted to suspend his campaign and tried to get Obama to do the same so they could both go back to Washington to vote on some relief bill. Obama, who was polling ahead, said a President should be able to deal with more than one thing at that same time.
    2. McCain grabbing that mike was one of the two best moment of his campaign. Up until the time he ran for President, he had earned all the "maverick" monikers he campaign on. He had broken with his party on principle, he had spoken unpleasant truths, he had disagreed with the leadership. Then he ran for President and got saddled with GWB and the Republican platform. Might as well have rubbed him in dog doo and sent him to the prom. He couldn't say how stupid the war was, he couldn't say what he would have done differently. And he went along with all the crap of the campaign as you said. But when he grabbed that microphone it was like he saw a live grenade and he knew to jump on it. His last shred of decency came out (on its way to the light) and he did the right thing. the other good thing he ever did was his concession speech. THAT John McCain might have been worth voting for. but he'd been in hiding (except for once) for the previous 18 months.

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  26. I completely agree that this is what the GOP is lying to themselves (and the rest of their base) about, but one thing that I've noticed is that anyone in politics in the last 22 years has decided that the only way to attempt to change the legacy of the person in the White House has been to threaten, and in one case actually file for, articles of impeachment. What it reminds me of is children, unsupervised children, on a private school playground fighting over how to build the best snowman and threatening to do increasingly bad things to one another because they can't agree. When they get called out and told to "nut up or shut up", the only thing they can do is the worst thing they can think of just to prove that they're not scared. Instead of actually finding a way to work together and build one kick ass snowman, they have to bloody the other kid's nose and roll him in the snow.
    The American voter is the only real playground monitors there are for these coddled, candy assed, turd-burglers but they've gotten threatened with everything from a kick in the shin to claiming abuse and getting them fired and the playground attendants are so afraid for their job that they are willing to let them do whatever they want instead of asserting their Constitutionally guaranteed authority.
    Obviously an incomplete metaphor, but that's what it feels like watching this from this side of two and a half decades of this kind of childish one upsmanship. Sadly, there are members of society that believe that anything these children say is "God's-honest-truth" and think that the having the authority of playground attendant can be taken away by these brats, so they won't grab them by the ear and drag them to time-out until they can play nice together.

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    1. It seems to me that the GOP will not rest until they have successfully impeached and removed a Democratic president from office and laid to rest the ghost of Richard "I am not a crook" Nixon. They start yapping about impeachment the day a Dem takes office. It's like Dubya's war. The moronic masses thought it was about WMDs; Dubya thought it was revenge for Poppy; it was always about re-establishing ourselves as a major player in the OPEC theatre. AND WE FAILED - except Dubya did get his revenge, they hung Saddam Hussien! For the GOP it is ALWAYS about a payback for Nixon! I wonder how many people under 35 even know who Tricky Dick was and how he got into trouble?

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  27. Damn the hits just keep on coming.....good one..

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  28. Jim, have I told you yet how much I adore what you write? You are, indeed, taking the place Molly Ivens left vacant, at least in my head & heart. I wish-wish-WISH that what you wrote would be able to change some minds. I fear it won't...facts and reason seem to be irrelevant, at least for the last, oh, 30 years or so. Still...I'll keep sharing it, and pointing people this way, and I'll keep hoping. Thanks for continuing to write what you write.

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  29. You said it, you said exactly what my father has said…"he beat them, he beat them at their own game, a black man beat them at their own game"
    And they just can't let it go, perhaps this will be their undoing?
    Now where is my check book?

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  30. I LOVE THIS BLOG.
    Testify, brother.

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  31. This is amazing. I'm going to share this with my parents (both of 'em, thank goodness, liberals). Exactly what I needed. Don't ever stop kickpunching the beast.

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  32. Thanks Jim.
    Indeed, here is hoping republicans, in the end,
    will be hoisted on their own moronic, insane petard.

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  33. I'm offended. I can't believe homosexual prostitutes would stoop so low. jcollier

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  34. Hey Jim,

    Have you ever thought about using Kickstarter to fund a book proposal? I don't know a lot about it myself, but it seems legit, and it looks like it works even for lowly author types-- and with your web popularity for your excellent penmanship, you could probably raise almost any amount of money---

    Just a thought.

    Hats off to the Bull.

    Anthony.

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    1. If there was time Jim could publish with Hatchett & earn a "Colbert Bump"...lol. Maybe Colbert's was against Amazon for not carrying books published by Hatchett will continue when he transfers to The Late Show....we can dream!

      I am acquainted with a few authors who have "self-published" with very positive results...the best method so far seems to be publishing in E-Book format with a hard copy follow-up once the book gains a bit of momentum via reviews from the different distributors (Good Reads, Smashwords, Amazon, B&N, ITunes....)

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  35. Been reading your blog for sometime. You are spot on with this one! Nice job!!

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  36. Fabulous and timely, Jim. May I suggest a follow up when the cynical, fear-mongering vote-whores return from their August recess? And although I'm poor as a church mouse, I think I'll send a donation or two to some key Dem Senate races for November. Wonder where would be best? I will echo what others have said here: a good number of folks I know have seen their real wages drop over time and my sister's losing her condo to foreclosure bcuz she can't find a job. Maybe it's just the great Northeast?

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  37. Man, you rock. You should run for office. I'd vote for you in a nanosecond.

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  38. Your description of Joh McCain is awful, yet I'm giggling as I write this. The poor old man is off his rocker and doesn't even realize it. What I don't understand is why people vote for him. But, then, I live amongst many Faux News watchers and am convinced that their alien implants need repairing. Strange folks. Some almost as awful as John himself. Keep saying what needs to be said. I think you're wonderful!! BTW, I'm over 80 myself.

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  39. Truth.

    How cowardly. Republicans vote to sue the President of the United States, and then leave town for a month.

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  40. I cannot understand, can not grasp, why every American citizen isn't outraged over the obstructionism and subversion of the Obama administration and the obstructionism and subversion of our government and our governance. Our laws against Seditious conspiracy and Treason need to be revised and enlarged. I cannot think of any other possible definition of what is happening to our government and governance. It is an assault against the Constitution itself and I don't see a way out if we cannot soon rectify it. Our current course is unsustainable, IMO.

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    1. Our current course is unsustainable, IMO, too.

      We ARE outraged, but after seeing how the 84+ year old ladies and seated UC Davis students were sprayed in the face during Occupy, while the TooBigToFail Banks gave "charitable donations" to the NY Police, you get the message you:
      *Don't have the right Assemble
      *Don't have Free Speech
      *Don't get to Petition the government because the NSA/FBI/CIA etc are spying on you using the latest USB undetectable malware on your computer, phone, etc.
      *Corporations are People, My Friend,
      *Corporations have religious rights, etc.

      People may have fought for our freedoms, but Corps have the freedoms and lowly peon people like you and me, don't. That, plus the bread and circuses will keep the masses placated.

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    2. Me too. I have to stop myself from letting it consume me. I have to step back, stop reading the Outrage websites, try to separate the actual important information from those who throw it out there to breed outrage (for profit, of course). Playing with puppies helps, and they like it too.

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  41. Jim, while I agree with your list of people who make up the GOP, I must take exception to your including the Methodists. Generally speaking, Methodists are the most accomodating and least offensive religious group out there. I would suggest that you, instead, include the Southern Baptists. They are a church that was founded, at the time of the Civil War, solely on the principle that people of African descent were inferior and should be kept as property by white Christians, and who have proceeded to get nastier and more bigoted ever since.

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    1. That was a quote from the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles - an utterly brilliant bit of satire that mocked bigotry, ignorance, and stupidity and held them up to the light of day for all to see.

      I included Methodists for two reasons, a) to keep the quote intact, and b) for the same reason Brooks did.

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    2. I’m well aware of where that came from. I love “Blazing Saddles.” I was trying to be facetious, and obviously failing miserably. Sorry.

      I have trouble keeping my feelings in check where the Southern Baptists are concerned. Still a bit miffed that they kicked Jimmy Carter out for insisting that they behave like Christians.

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  42. I wanted to stand and applaud! Thank you for telling the truth.

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  43. "Today, led by Speaker John Boehner, the House of Representatives votes to sue President Obama for not implementing Obamacare fast enough – a law Boehner himself has attempted to repeal or delay 52 times."

    This sums up the banality of the GOP, a party which has done nothing about global warming, jobs, healthcare, immigration, etc., but has wasted time and resources on 52 votes against the ACA knowing damn well that these votes were useless.

    And yet Republicans may take over the Senate in November. Oh Joy!!

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  44. Like pecooper, I agree with your entire "Monster" blog post but I want to register one protest about mocking the RWNJs.

    You ended one description of how the RWNJs verbalize their view of BHO with this: "...It’s true! It’s all true! And his wife hates white people! Ook! Ook!"

    Ouch. That last part brings to mind the mocking of George W. Bush, some lefties calling him "Chimp" as disparagingly as possible, sometimes with accompanying photoshopped images. And, of course, it also brings to mind the insulting racist nastiness aimed at both BHO and Michelle, complete with similarly ugly photoshop pix involving apes and witchdoctors.

    If the imagery of post-riposte political cartoon insults is what your "Ook! Ook!" was SUPPOSED to elicit, that's what it did for me. It goes a bit beyond what I'd say in mocking others, but it's YOUR blog.

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    1. You might be reading that wrong.

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    2. I've never been good at deciphering facetious or sarcastic anecdotes that have an obscure massage. My father used to tell shaggy dog jokes when I was a kid, and I rarely got the punch line; too much a literallist, I guess. So you might have to explain it to me... Or not.

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    3. Blazing Saddles was one of the greatest satires of racism I have ever seen. I loved your use of the quote from that movie.

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  45. Damn, you nailed it! Thank you so much.

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  46. I found the recent foofooraw over James Lincoln Collier's headline in the Westview News (a tiny little New York monthly) about "The Nigger in the White house", and how that's the basis of the right wing's problem with Obama, a real puzzler. What he wrote in the article is almost word-for-word what I've been telling people since early '09, when it became obvious. Here it is: "There's a nigger in the White house and their brains are on fire". Yeah, I used that horrible word, but honestly, that's the only way to get the point across. And I have to say, not once, even when I said it to a wingnut--which I did a few times--did I get any "*gasp!* What You Said! You can't say that!" Not once. Did I just get lucky, and only say it to people with the irony gene, who would get my point, that that is, literally, what's going on in these people's heads? Can't be, because I said it to wingers, and they famously don't do irony, and subtlety just whizzes past their ears.
    Maybe the difference is that you just don't say it in print or on the air where a lot of people can see or hear. Do that, and the concern trolls and those who love to be insulted on others' behalf come out of the woodwork. Still, it's just about the truest statement that could be made for the last 6 years. And ain't that something...

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    1. Exactly. My vision of them the day after the 2008 election: The esteemed president of the uber exclusive "Old Boys Country Club" calls an emergency executive meeting of lifelong members. With tears streaming down his expensively tanned face, he screams "By god, boys, this just breaks my heart. We've been violated. By now you're probably aware of what happened last night. One of 'em got past the guards, got right into the clubhouse. Might even have sneaked into the pool--hell, he probably shit in it. Gentlemen, I think we'll all agree on what has to be done now. We have to destroy this hallowed ground that we all love so much. Burn the place down, burn it right to the ground NOW. Fill in the pool. Raze any trace of what remains. Only then can we begin to rebuild and pretend this never happened. No, it'll never be quite the same, but what choice do we have? Gentlemen, we have been VIOLATED! Are we gonna just bend over and take it? Well are we?". Speaker is then drowned out by a hysterical chorus of "No we're not" and "Burn, burn, burn".

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  47. On the eve of election night, 2008, when the networks started saying that Obama had won, I cried. Tears of pride for my country. Goddamn was I proud at that moment! America had just elected its first African American president. A man I knew and respected as one of the smartest persons I had ever known (I worked with him when I was a staffer on the Illinois Senate Democratic staff). Someone who I knew wanted to do the right thing, and was bright enough to be able to figure out how to do it. Someone that I knew was REAL—the guy I had one-on-ones with in his office was the same, exact person I now saw on stage before tens of thousands. At such a dark moment in our nation’s history, this was a blinding burst of light, streaking across the horizon. I felt like we’d just elected FDR to a fifth term.

    As he settled into his presidency, however, something dark and sinister began boiling up. It was alien at first, but it did ring a vague bell of memory. As this Thing began rising into our national conversation, coming more clearly into the open, I remembered: this was the same vile hatred and paranoia that was the constant theme from the right during Clinton’s presidency. Back then, my boss at the time listened to the AM hate radio that was much further on the fringe than it is now. The Black Avenger. Rush Limbaugh. Others whose names I’ve forgotten. It was a constant stream of shouting that Clinton was out to destroy the country. That he hated America. That he sent all of our jobs overseas. That he was corrupt. That he was a murderer. That he needed to be removed from office. Jack-booted thugs would be breaking down our doors at any moment, coming to take our guns away and herd us into concentration camps under the all-seeing eyes of the black, unmarked helicopters. After eight years of silence during the Bush presidency, the hatemongers were back in force. Only now, however, they’d gone mainstream. No more fuzzy radio broadcasts; they now had their own television station. All hate, all the time. Be afraid.

    If you recall, they threw one “scandal” after another at Clinton. They spent tens of millions of dollars on constant investigations. Nothing really stuck. Then Clinton slipped up, big time, and handed them the juicy scandal that finally clung to the slick: he got a blow job from an intern and lied about it under oath.

    AH-HA! GOTCHA!

    For the past six years, they’ve thrown one thing after another at this president. He’s been smart enough to keep his pants on so far, but they’re not going to stop. They’re either going to eventually uncover something they can get him with, or one of their tales of bullshit will cling just enough that they can drag him down with it. That’s their goal, anyway. They must not let this president move into history as a success—he must leave office disgraced.

    Whatever happens, I hope years from now when, as a country, we look back on our first African American president and all of the vileness that was flung at him, it will be a story of triumph. A victory of Good over Evil, Hope over Cynicism, Civil Rights over Oppression. I hope when we look back we see this as one of those dark times in American history, where some Americans went down an evil path and tried to pull us all along with them, but were stopped and brought back to the right and good. We have the power to stop them, if we care enough to use it.

    Oh, and I’m still giggling over the Blazing Saddles references—awesome!

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    1. I'm a little more optimistic than you. I believe that President Obama will leave office with his head up and be hugely popular among Democrats for decades to come. Unlike the last President Bush, he'll actually attend the next Democratic Convention (lol). There are no scandals for his White House as yet despite Republican's attempts to portray everything as a scandal.

      He'll be alright. If I were Republican, I'd save some energy for the next President, who I expect to be Hilary Clinton. She's a White woman so I don't know what they're going to throw at her since President Bill Clinton easily survived their B.S.

      Delete
    2. Wolff, I so picture that moment. After a blistering campaign, (Obama wasn't my first choice), I was so proud. Up until they began to call states, I wasn't sure it could happen, When it comes right down to it, I wasn't sure that enough Americans could actually vote for him when alone in the voting booth. It was like a vindication of the ideals we want to believe our country stands for in spite of our history. Before he was even sworn in it started. Now when politics comes up in real life it is embarrassing. Instead of dealing with world issues such as climate, war, infrastructure, and equality, the parties work hard to obstruct and slander each other, and to divide and distract us. It is time to use what we have. We still have the vote, and we spend money.

      Delete
  48. Another "knockout" post from Jim Wright, Black Belt Blogger ...

    Just for yucks, here's the video of McCain's teeth-gritten defense of "decent person" Obama -- and his supporters' immediate and loud reaction.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c-Ijky95dc


    Different day, different town -- even a different asshole shouting "Traitor!!" -- but same ol' McCain, refusing to let a little vicious racism get in the way of his "grampaigning":

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PplDN7zMr1s


    For those of us who miss Keith Olbermann ranting almost to the point of hyperventilating, here's his take on McCain's Obama-bashing -- and for those who DETEST Obermann, it's definitely a must-miss! (I had totally forgotten until watching this that, when asked about his supporters' resemblance to a lynch mob, McCain's deflection was pure, classic Turdblossom: that the exact same kind of insults were being yelled about HIM at Obama's rallies!):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EosVGRFq2XM


    And, finally, on 11/8/08 The Telegraph (11/8/08) provided a horrifying new measure of how effective the anti-Obama slurs had been: the Secret Service publicly announced that Sarah Palin's campaign rhetoric was directly responsible for an increase in death threats to Obama. How PROUD she must have been!

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/sarah-palin/3405336/Sarah-Palin-blamed-by-the-US-Secret-Service-for-death-threats-against-Barack-Obama.html

    P.S. Question for Jim (and just so it's clear, NO "conspiracy theory" or character assassination intended or implied, I'm just curious): Do you have any info, insights or opinions about an anti-McCain slur that kept cropping up in '08 -- that he was to blame for the terrible fire aboard the USS Forrestal? It's of course perfectly understandable if you prefer NOT to wade into that particular cesspool.

    Either way, thanks so much for the great post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. An INCREASE in death threats?

      Like the guy hasn't lived with them from about Day One.

      I assume the 2008 Presidential debates are available online via YouTube or similar. Take a look at the first one. Sen. Obama is wearing a ballistic ("bulletproof") vest; it's not terribly obvious, but it prints through his shirt and lightweight suit far more than an undershirt ever would.

      (In fairness, McCain might be wearing one as well, but since he's already stiff enough to suggest his joints are semi-welded, and his suit appears to weigh 20 pounds, it's hard to tell.)

      Delete
    2. If the Democratic party gets out the voters across the nation, the United States Senate will NOT be majority Republican. I know I'm going to help in getting folks out to vote in my state.

      Delete
  49. Great post Jim - -
    It's too bad these idiots will NEVER accept or own their bullshit.
    Think about it, the only "trickle down" most of us (well, those of us of the male persuasion) have ever felt is froom not shaking off sufficiently after taking a leak.
    They've been wrong (with a capital R) on so many things and not once have they ever said "sorry."
    They resemble Americans in a foreign country who think that the solution to talking with someone who doesn't speak 'Murican" is to talk louder.
    Bear

    ReplyDelete
  50. Jim Wright for president, or at least a replacement for captain zero. How about it Jim?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not an adherent of the National Religion, nor will I pretend to be. As such, I'm unelectable.

      Make of that what you will.

      Delete
    2. Would that be "American exceptionalism" or "Khristinanity"? Just asking...they elected a Papist once, ya know!

      Delete
    3. I've never minded unelectable candidates in the primary, because they have the capability of shaking things up a bit. And I gotta say, Jim. you would do that in spades...:)

      Delete
  51. The GOP has depended for the last 40 years on low-information voters who vote on their current level of hysteria, and they've become addicted to cheap rage. It was evident when they went far over the top sanitizing Reagan's administration and his criminal behavior and incompetence while he was in office, and it has never let up since. Try talking to a hidebound conservative about how he was never St. Ronnie of RayGun, and it becomes an object lesson in unshakable ignorance fueling rage.

    The GOP knows that their greatest potential enemy is the spread of knowledge and truth about their programs, their lies, their manipulation, and their history. Their only hope is to keep the anger, rage, and distrust alive. Their scapegoats are the Democratic Party, a mixed-race President, and "libruls". Their tools are the branches of Murdoch's media empire, pundits, demagoguery, propaganda, outright lies, and the willingness of their base to spread the most ridiculous rumors and utter baloney that they believe to be the gospel truth. If the GOP was even vaguely honest, they'd be doomed.

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  52. I've asked it before, but what are these lunatics going to do when Obama leaves office and a Republican is not in the White House. Crazies don't stop being crazy just because the object of their crazy is no longer in the picture. They'll just find another Democratic object and the cycle will repeat. Only this time I believe things will be much worse. But then again I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan so I'm a natural cynic.

    Peace
    Chris in South Jersey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I get the idea that the Republican game plan from here on out is to malign whatever Democrat is in office, keep talking about tyranny and impeachment, and do nothing else.

      Delete
    2. Valerie,
      Yes, I agree 100% that that will be the Republican's MO. However, I'm more interested in the loonies, wackos, and misfits "outside" of the Republican mainstream. The militia members and Bundy Ranch tough talking pussies who can hold a job or a marriage. Those are the real problem children and must be watched.

      Peace
      Chris in South Jersey

      Delete
    3. I so hope that Hillary Clinton does run (along w/Elizabeth Warren would be outstanding) as she'd bring strength, education, experience, political knowledge and foreign affairs experience that NO Republican out there could compete!

      She'd kick their asses and I'd be one of the first to help her be elected!

      Delete
  53. I am saddened to report that I am rather cynical today, Jim. While the slightly more sensible side of the Republican Party has been eying impeaching Obama since 15 minutes after he was elected, I believe that there is a portion of the right wing that has been hoping for an assassination.

    The worst part of this is that all the Birthers and other impeachment fans can't seem to figure out that knocking Obama out of the presidency does not put a Republican in his place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has amazed me that he hasn't been assassinated yet. The secret service is apparently even more awesome than I ever thought!

      April

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    2. Thank god for the Secret Service and their protection of our POTUS and First Family (plus, all the others in our government in D.C. they care for!).

      Trust me on this - if there were ever an assassination or attempted one of our wonderful President Obama, there would be rioting on the streets that would shock the nation! Starting with me!

      Delete
  54. In the past month or so Sarah Palin has acquired a new title: The Whore of Babble On which has become very popular on Talking Points Memo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I am become derp; destroyer of words!" _____ $arah Palin

      Delete
  55. Oh Lordy, what can possibly be next? Maybe a WOMAN???? There goes the country, again.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Sir, did you edit this, deleting a reference to the Republicans being responsible for Jim Crow law? I read your commentary this morning, which was posted on a FB's page. The Jim Crow reference prompted me to read up on the Jim Crow era and the politico's involved. I think there is enough blame on both the Democrats and the GOP to go around.

    I would never think of reading your postings again, as I think this type of venomous diatribe is in part responsible for the division of this country, and is not at all helpful to the healing we need. However, if indeed the Jim Crow reference was included this morning (the post time now reads 2:21pm) I thank you for inadvertently pushing me to brush up on my history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I didn't edit the essay.

      This essay never contained the phrase "Jim Crow law," not in draft, not in final form. I don't know where you read it, but it wasn't here.

      It amuses me that you "would never think of reading my postings again" yet you don't really know what you read. And you expect me to answer your question even though you claim you don't intend to come back. It amuses me further that you think a) I'm responsible for the divide in this country despite that fact that you haven't read anything else I wrote and don't intend to. You're the kind of person who plots a curve from a single data point aren't you? and b) you think that keeping quiet and being polite about racism, bigotry, and ignorance will somehow make it magically go away.

      Thanks for dropping by, it's not every day I get a visit from the Special Kind O' Stupid Fairy.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for dropping by, it's not every day I get a visit from the Special Kind O' Stupid Fairy. Perfect..you do have a way with words...I'm still chortling..oh god that is classic......Rick Morton

      Delete
    3. Door, meet ass.

      Delete
  57. A few observations on race and the Republican party ..... I grew up in the south in the late '50s and '60s so am just old enough to remember segregated schools and "whites only" water fountains. As a kid you just "observe and take notes" on these matters but my first real exposure to the underbelly of racial politics came just before I voted in my first presidential election (1976) when a friend's father took me aside to make sure I understood the real meat of the issue before registering with a party and entering the voting booth. And this is what he told me:

    "The Democrats are the n****r party and the Republicans are the white party".

    Yep, that was it, the whole difference in the parties boiled down into a simple sentence. So, in addition to dumping the friend, who I determined was a "nut who didn't fall far from the tree" I registered as a Democrat and proudly cast my first vote for Jimmy Carter. Looking back, there's no way his opponents Gerald Ford or VP candidate Bob Dole could have made it through a primary in today's Republican party but then neither, I suspect could Bush 41 or, for that matter, Abraham Lincoln.

    Now sadly, my friend's father was not an oddity but rather a common garden variety bigot whose political interests were a product of Lyndon Johnson's support for civil rights legislation and Richard Nixon's so called Southern Strategy (a.k.a. when the Republican party sold their collective souls to Satan). President Johnson was heard to say that his signing the Civil Rights bills into law would hand the solid south to the Republicans for the next 100 years he hit the nail right on the head.

    I've heard a number of my conservative friends claim "Yeah, I hate Obama but it's not about race - I hated Clinton too!" (no legitimate reasons given in either case). Obama's race certainly makes the situation worse but whoever leads the Democrats will always be the leader of the "n****r party". So, 40 years after my first brush with political reality I'm convinced nothing much has changed other than this issue being magnifying by adding the proliferation of talk radio, the internet and FOX.

    Thank God Justice Roberts, in gutting the Voting Rights Act, proclaimed racism to over in this country. Good one, Johnny.

    JZinFL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember that "friend" every time the GOPholes claim their heritage as "the party of Lincoln" and/or bring up old embarrassments like Sen. Robert Byrd.

      A prominent Black leader (and minister) put it best back in the '40s when FDR was up for re-election: "My friends, go home and turn Lincoln's portrait to the wall, and then go vote. That debt has been paid in full."

      Delete
  58. Sorry for the typos but I just now caught them when I came back (out of sheer morbid curiosity) to find out the end of the story with the "Jim Crow" thing posted above. Yep - it turned out about as I expected. JW, I feel your pain on always managing to miss something that needs correction before hitting send. Oh, well. - JZinFL

    ReplyDelete
  59. Stuart in CincinnatiAugust 1, 2014 at 8:16 AM

    I like the idea of the lawsuit. Let the Republicans sue him for failing to implement the employer mandate. At the proper time, Mr. Obama should go to the press and very publicly capitulate, announcing that it was wrong to delay the employer mandate, and that he will now be instructing HHS to implement that mandate as soon as possible. thank you republicans and thank you John Bonehead....

    It is so easy to outwit these idiots, they come to a battle of wits half armed.

    Jim, your work is positively brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  60. I'll never be convinced this president is good for this nation. He has made life for me harder than ever in my life .Three years years looking for work because of the uncertainty in the market place over the so- called Affordable Care Act. When I finally was put to work, I had to have insurance. 3800.00 a year in premiums and a 7500. 00 deductible. Not sure but I think I was screwed in that deal. His foreign policy is non exsistant. The Obama doctrine on International affairs seems to be this...Make friends of our enemies and enemies of our friends. Does this sane?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where to start with what you said Anonymous. You have a right in this country to feel life under President Obama has not gone well. Life in good ol' US of A is not like it used to be, that is for sure. Reality is? a key reason why is thanks to the GOP since at least 1980. Truth hurts and verifiable evidence is a bummer, but it is all there for one to see and read. Got to be able to do both of those things to evolve or divinely grow, what ever blows your skirt up or makes your putter flutter.

      Been looking for work for 3yrs eh? Some legit concerns there. How many of you saying this are holding out for that cream job? to make exactly of more than you did before Obama arrived? The cold hard facts is that work can be found in this great country today - if you are willing to do so. Yes it may not be in your preferred skill set, or what your degree was in etc, it likely does not pay what you'd like, but the fact is - there is work. Right now, right today. Swallow the pride, put on the big-boy pants and go work at the local Five and Dime. Not great I agree but if you are working, no matter the job or pay, it will open other avenues that will meet your needs. Sitting on the ass and pissing and moaning does nothing but stink up the gene pool.

      The "so-called Affordable Care Act". Is it ideal? cheap? No, not for some and you can direct your thanks for that directly and solely to the GOP and their back pocket lining with the Insurance giants. Not Obama, not Liberals, not Commies, not even Mongo and his Candy-gram created that mess. It is and has been GOP to be thanked for those costs of AHCA.

      So Obama's Foreign Policy is non-existent. I must have been off the grid these past several years but I seem to recall seeing our President sitting down with multitudes of world leaders and religious leaders (yes real ones like the Pope type guy) of all types and locations. No, not "pal-in' around with them damn terrist" but actually having a coherent dialog with the ability to actually listen and seek common ground. Guess that is pretty Commie to do so. Not like good old Bush & Co. method of "yooz either with us or yooz ain't" Foreign Policy that includes vaporizing the shit out of entire regions with phosphorescence fun (I mean bombing). Yes, Obama sure doesn't know jack about Foreign Policy. Ask the World (yes, the area just outside of good 'ol U S of Ayee) what they think. Ask them their opinion on how it is working with President Obama as it was to President Bush.

      People like yourself that preach this scree are in fact the ones holding back this great, diverse country. Progress and forward thinking, human rights and equality for all is moving forward and will not stop. You can choose to piss and moan, throw a hissy fit, scream like a petulant spoiled child with diaper rash all you want. Cling to your guns and Jim Crow all you like, others of us are moving on and are leaving you in our dust.

      Jim, thank you for writing skills. Thank you for referencing Blazing Saddles. if there is ever a movie to watch today, it is that one. Please keep up the good fight Jim, we are moving in the right direction, you are being a great guide for us all.

      Delete
    2. Why do you blame Obamacare rather than the Great Recession for not finding a job? Understand that I feel for you greatly. I am self employed and have been scrambling for work in recent years.

      As far as your premiums and deductible go. You don't say if that is just for you or for you and your family, but that is still only a $317 or so monthly premium. Have you ever had to buy your own insurance before or did it just come out of your salary?

      I buy my own insurance and have done so for most of the last 20 or so years. Before Obamacare I would have been ecstatic at a premium that low for just me. In 2013, I had to go with a low premium plan that was cheaper but that covered absolutely nothing outside of hospitalization. There were only 4 plans from 3 insurers offered to individuals where I live and one was $1300 a month!! For this year, with Obamacare, I had a choice of more than 20 plans from four different insurers with a range of prices.


      Delete
    3. The govt should sue boenher for wasting the tax payers money and take away his free healthcare n tax breakd

      Delete
  61. "When John McCain speaks he sounds exactly like what he is, a garrulous grumpy old man whose hemorrhoid medication isn’t up to the task of keeping his asshole in check."
    I did a 'spit take' on that, too funny for words.

    whitelilly 

    ReplyDelete
  62. I'm sincerely hoping that we're witnessing the death of conservatism, or at least my definition of it; greedy, xenophobic, proudly ignorant, bigoted, fearful, over-compensating money-grubbing, worshipers of corporate celebrity and, not least of all, the representation of scooter cowboys and idiots. I'm hoping they are overwhelmed over time by attrition and rising populations of Hispanics, Asians, gerbils and weasels. I'm hoping I'm witnessing their demise rather than our country's. God save Queen. Not the queen, but Queen with Freddy Mercury.

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  63. Again, and as always... BRAVO!!! With every new post, I'm torn between wishing for daily columns and being glad the weight of your words isn't diluted by over exposure.

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  64. As always, you put into words what I believe. What a writer you are and thank you!!

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  65. thank goodness--read it yet again and found your name!

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  66. I guess the basis of the lawsuit could well be the Obama birth certificate, or the government assassination of Chris Stephens, or the murder of the SEAL Team 6 soldiers. All they have to say is that they have a sincere religious belief that these things are true.

    ReplyDelete
  67. President Obama was elected by many so he could be the scapegoat for all those crazy things that happen during his 2 terms. As it turns out, the President is quite hardy.

    ReplyDelete

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