They never learn:
Another mark of just how far to the right the GOP has moved:
Barely moments after the news broke that Governor and stimulus-supporter Charlie Crist has entered the Florida GOP primary, his conservative opponent already has a new ad attacking him — with an image of President Obama, whose performance is supported by strong majorities and by Independents.
Rather than a sure win, they will sabotage Crist in the name of purity. These guys remind me of a poem about the value of defensive driving my mother taught all us kids before we learned how to drive :
He was right, dead right
As he drove along
But he is just as dead
as if he were wrong.
They’d rather be dead right.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Burma Shave.
Little Dreamer
Love the “Lessons” title reference. One of my most favorite songs off of Rush’s 2112 (don’t ask me why).
Crist said he would be willing to work with Obama’s administration instead of fight against it, so now he is left outside the party. I hope they continue this practice, it’s making things so much easier for our side.
Wile E. Quixote
I cant wait to see the movie Outrage. Supposedly the movie outs Charlie Crist and if it does it should be loads of fun to see the wingnuts use this to go after him.
Laura W
On this very same defensive driving issue my dad used to always say: “Laura, it’s not you I worry about.
It’s the other guy.”
Life lessons for all of us right there.
(And 35 years later, I still drive with this burned into my forehead. Other people scare me to death.)
John Cole
@Little Dreamer: I love the song. It just feels good.
asiangrrlMN
No, they just want to be dead.
I like Crist. He can’t be much worse than Ben Nelson.
As for driving, I am the person your father warned you about, Laura W.
Brian J
If they could make the case the right blogosphere would probably make were it combined into a candidate and win that way, they might have a point in going after him. After all, why settle for something less than idea when it’s not absolutely necessary? Of course, that’s probably just it: Crist remains their best candidate by a long shot, and if they allow a Democrat to gain control of that seat, it will probably remain in his or her hands for a long time.
I’ve said for some time it’s not out of line to think that the Democrats could get to 67 Senate seats in 2010. It won’t be easy, but with the Republicans throwing themselves into oncoming traffic every chance they get, it’s much more possible than it should be.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Little Dreamer:
I agree, their attack on Crist is perfectly in character.
As for the lessons thing, what my parents told me was more to the point: Take the driving course, always do what the instructor says, and if you ever put a scratch on anything, your car privileges are gone.
I know, I know, you’ve seen me drive, and you are going to say, what did I do with the money they gave me for the driving lessons?
kommrade reproductive vigor
When I first read Crist’s opponent was running an attack ad, I assumed it would be dark hints about the fact that he isn’t married. I also wondered why Rubio’s name sounded familiar. I think I first saw it in relation to this story.
Great. Sprinkle some Youbetchas and Alsos throughout and you’ve got Sarah Palin with a dick. This is going to be very amusing.
I see the blockquote function is suffering an attack of the fails. Also.
Little Dreamer
@John Cole:
Wow John, we do actually have something in common. ;)
(well I guess that’s not exactly true, we both seem to like Pink Floyd Animals too).
Little Dreamer
Yeah, I’ve seen you drive. Where’d you get that license, out of a cracker jack box? Next time you try to pass an eighteen wheeler on the left and my head is less than two feet from the edge of the trailer again, I’m WALKING home.
southpaw
The destruction here will be total. In addition to ruining Crist’s life, the fight will widen the gap between the base and the national party establishment and Marco Rubio–an otherwise relatively promising youngster–will be forced to define himself as a fringe figure by running a far right gay-baiting campaign.
Mousebumples
From 538 – Should Democrats Be Rooting for Charlie Crist?
slag
Except that they’re actually dead wrong.
Little Dreamer
I’ve never considered this a political song before, but it seems to work.
Lev
Crist does have the endorsement of the NRSC. There are some non-insane Republicans out there, though Cornyn is a complete a-hole. It might or might not be enough, but Crist would be a real improvement over Mel Martinez by any perspective.
I actually like Charlie Crist quite a bit. He’s a principled guy and reasonable, too. He’s exactly the sort of Republican who could pick off states like Oregon and New Hampshire. If the GOP ever figures out that it actually has to win votes instead of hoping for the 70s to recur.
Geeno
@southpaw:
Sarah Palin was – for all her personal wingnuttery – very accommodating to the AK legislature. She would’ve been re-elected easily – troopergate would’ve been nothing more than a local footnote scandal – and ready for the national stage in 2012. They put her out early to grab the base; she went about doing just that, and the rest – and Sarah herself – is history. They’re eating their seed corn; it’s Rubio’s turn.
Beauzeaux
“Do you know…once, off the hump of Brazil I saw the ocean so darkened with blood it was black, and the sun fainting away over the lip of the sky. We’d put in at Fortaleza and a few of us had lines out for a bit of idle fishing. It was me had the first strike. A shark it was. Then there was another. And another shark again. Till all about, the sea was made of sharks, and more sharks still. And no water at all. My shark had torn himself from the hook and the scent or maybe the stain it was, and him bleeding his life away drove the rest of them mad. Then the beasts took to eating each other. In their frenzy they ate at themselves. You could feel the lust of murder like a wind stinging your eyes. And you could smell the death reeking up out of the sea. I never saw anything worse until this little picnic tonight. And you know…there wasn’t one of them sharks in the whole crazy pack that survived.”
–Michael O’Hara (Orson Welles)
The Lady From Shanghai, 1947
Little Dreamer
My father only taught me three things about driving:
1. If learning how to drive a stick shift, the only place to learn is after work hours in a huge DuPont parking lot.
2. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
3. Don’t ever go more than seven miles over the speed limit and you’ll never get a ticket (and it works, I had several cops ready to pick me off but they couldn’t because I was exactly seven miles over the speed limit – Thanks Dad!)
My mother taught me one thing, that when someone does something to piss you off, the correct response is to yell “Jackass!” at the top of your lungs.
asiangrrlMN
You wanna know what MY driving instructor told me? He said, “Learn all the rules for the driving test and then forget it all after you pass.” He also said that he had gotten ten speeding tickets in ten years.
Yup. That was my driving instructor.
As for the Crist and Obama bill, really. That’s their strategy. good luck with that!
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Little Dreamer:
Please don’t insult me.
It was from a CHiPS(tm) board game, and signed by Ponch.
Ned R.
@asiangrrlMN: See, that just reassures me in my decision to not drive at all, that story.
asiangrrlMN
@Ned R.: Heh. Tell me about it. He told me this as we were driving downtown.
Third Eye Open
I have said it before, and I will say it again. Crist is no worse than Ben Nelson. The Dems in Florida seem to be a laid back bunch who couldn’t get their base excited if they were giving out free AARP memberships and sugar-free Godiva. If they insist on running milqetoast blank slates, ill take the devil I know.
Slightly off-topic, but us state employees just got our budgets slashed this past week, the head of the Dems in the Senate is now offering up a new tag to go along with the zombie-Jeebus tag we are destined to get.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/04/a-brotha-can-get-a-plate-senate-says.html
Sorry I don’t know y’alls fancy-dancy link things, mybad
Ned R.
@asiangrrlMN: Well you could have scored major points depending how many nuns you ran over. (You score more if they’re in a wheelchair, I hear.)
TenguPhule
Fixed.
And who’s to say it’s not for the best?
We can introduce them to genuine 26th century suicide booths.
Little Dreamer
Aww, how cute!
Now I’m wondering if it was ever wise to give you the keys to drive my car.
Mike in NC
Colbert Report recommends that the GOP replace the endangered elephant logo with that of a cockroach. FTW.
Little Dreamer
@Third Eye Open:
It’s not fancy dancy, it’s just a button that says “LINK” on the edit bar. Erase the “http://” if you’re inserting one already in the address you are pasting.
southpaw
@Geeno
Exactly. Which makes me think Wilfred Owen might be a better poet for their predicament . . .
Left Coast Tom
Good thing he’s a conservative (according to conservatives, that is)! Could you imagine the snarky-goodness if he were really an EvilLibbrul?
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Little Dreamer:
Heck yeah. These newfangled cars are hard to hotwire.
asiangrrlMN
@Ned R.: Well, to be fair, he didn’t mention anything about hitting people. To be fair. Maybe it just didn’t enter his mind.
Ned R.
@asiangrrlMN: Hmm, granted. Perhaps it was implied.
gizmo
I learned to drive on a frozen lake in the middle of winter in Minnesota. The ice gets 3-4 feet thick up there, and will support any vehicle. Dad would let me take the wheel and fishtail around a bit, getting the feel for controlling the car in a way that they don’t teach you in driver’s training.
Douche Baggins
I am in crisis! Colorado law prevents me from buying snack foods with my foodstamps, and even though we’re only four months into the political season, I’m already out of popcorn! Whatsoever shall I do? (Keep it up, Republiturds – I’ll improvise.)
Geeno
@gizmo: I learned to drive during winter. It’s really an excellent preparation – at least in northern climes.
Chuck Butcher
I ride a motorcycle, the GOP could learn something from it. Being right and arguing with a couple tons of steel on a bike isn’t smart. Like any good Democrat I assume everybody is out to get me.
Thankovsky
I’m a big-time devotee of Loveline and all things Dr. Drew, so I tend to look at the GOP right now as a major addict. The sooner they hit rock bottom and realize how self-destructive their overall Religious Right strategy is, and subsequently abandon it, the better.
Unfortunately, “rock bottom” is oftentimes death when it comes to addicts. We’ll see where rock bottom happens to be for the Republican Party.
Zuzu's Petals
@Laura W:
And I still have my dear late dad’s admonition ringing in my ears whenever I pull out of a parking space:
“Never back up an inch more than you have to.”
Viva Brisvegas
When I was learning to drive I was told to never stand on my rights, stand on the brake instead.
Little Dreamer
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker:
Well since you managed to put some damage on your front fender trying to mow down a post in my parking lot, I guess you aren’t allowed to drive anymore… and umm… that accident last week, that musta been your fault too! ;) – j/k
bago
@Third Eye Open: Well son, it’s called HTML. It’s a bastard child of UML and hopefully will entirely be supplanted with XHTML.
Whuzzatmean? Well, read w3schools.com, as I don’t know how many times the stupid comment script unescapes things, and this makes rendering html control characters to teach someone about html a pain.
Seriously, the filter script that does the preview is TOTALLY different than the posting script. It’s not so much a preview, as it is A view, held by someone somewhere on this planet who isn’t on speaking terms with your server code.
Cyrus
Well, maybe. The ad in question is stupid, but it’s being run by Marco Rubio, a candidate in a Senate primary, and Rubio has a much lower profile than the ad’s target. Greg Sargent doesn’t even say what kind of reception the ad has got so far.
If Rubio wins the primary in 10 months or whenever it is, then yeah, the Florida GOP will have shot itself in the foot. But at the moment, from the point of view of Rubio himself, this ad seems like as good a strategy as any other.
Punchy
This Rubio guy is Cuban?
This will be high comedy. Cuban immigrants are by and large an extremely arrogant and stubborn lot. Their superiority complex is obvious. I can guarentee he’ll employ no limits to the depths of the shit he’ll shovel.
Digital Amish
My three daughters all learned to swear while being driven around by their mother.
Face
Try this “only 7 over” in a school zone. I double-dog dare ya.
Senyordave
Sarah Palin was – for all her personal wingnuttery – very accommodating to the AK legislature. She would’ve been re-elected easily – troopergate would’ve been nothing more than a local footnote scandal – and ready for the national stage in 2012. They put her out early to grab the base; she went about doing just that, and the rest – and Sarah herself – is history. They’re eating their seed corn; it’s Rubio’s turn.
Ready? If you mean could she run, sure. I could run too. At some point if you are the candidate you will be forced to show that you have a fairly high level understanding of foreign policy and domestic affairs. She has never demonstarted that she has even the most basic knowledge of any policy matters. When she talks off the cuff about matters she does know something about she still sounds like a bubblehead.
As far as accomodating to the legislature, governors work with state legislatures – that’s part of their job.
And is she were ever the candidate, then they start really examining her record with a fine tooth comb. I’d be willing to bet anything her pipeline deal would not stand up under scrutiny. Too many people in the company that won the contract with connection to her.
Johnny Pez
Not to get carried away, but this is how realignments happen.
Persia
@gizmo: My driver’s ed instructor (this was in Vermont) would hit the brakes on us and let us skid around the school parking lot if it was snowy. It was awesome.
Balconesfault
@Brian J:
And yet Harry Reid will still worry about not having 70 votes …
Roger the Cabin Boy
‘Scuze me, gotta go send another check to the Club for Growth.
Notorious P.A.T.
Or in East Lansing. The ELPD would probably pistol-whip someone for doing this.