Once I ran to you, now I’ll run from you: (careful, Politico link)
California Republicans optimistic about their prospects in November could find themselves with a bit of a problem after the votes are counted in Tuesday’s primaries — a statewide ticket with the so-called “Birther Queen” as one of their candidates.
Orly Taitz is an Israeli émigré who has spent the past two years filing lawsuits challenging President Barack Obama’s right to be president on the grounds that he was born in Kenya. In the process, she has earned herself $20,000 in court fines.
Now she’s running for the GOP nomination for secretary of state, and with her establishment-backed primary opponent mounting a less-than-stellar campaign against her, operatives say there’s a chance she could win.
“It’d be a disaster for the Republican party,” says James Lacy, a conservative GOP operative in the state. “Can you imagine if [gubernatorial candidate] Meg Whitman and [candidate for Lt. Gov.] Abel Maldonado — both of whom might have a chance to win in November — had to run with Orly Taitz as secretary of state, who would make her cockamamie issues about Obama’s birth certificate problems at the forefront of her activities?”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Someone pinch me and tell me this is real and could happen.
The Republicans have spent the last couple of years doing everything they could to feed this kind of nutbaggery in the shadows while “respectable Conservatives” pretended to not know anything about it. The very first thing the Republicans did when Obama won the nomination was to court frothers and birthers in the PUMA movement and court the lunatic fringe with attempts to “otherize” Obama. Whisper campaigns about him not saying the Pledge or refusing to swear on a bible or not wearing enough USA #1 bling on his suit led to “underground” email campaigns that led to the continued existence of birthers and other nutjobs who insist Obama is a socialist Muslim Kenyan. You thought that rhetoric from Sarah Palin was a mistake when she said “He doesn’t look at America the way we do” and he “pals around with terrorists?” They knew what they were and are doing. They teased and teased, introducing citizenship bills and hinting he might not be American, and now Orly is one of them
But somehow or another, they lost control of the freak show and the teabaggers and the frothers are now running things, and now this is going to come back and bite them on the ass.
And it’s fucking awesome.
*** Update ***
Similar thoughts from Mario Piperni (and a fun graphic!).
Ash Can
And how, it’s awesome. They can cry us a fucking river.
Lysana
I’ll give you all a loon can give you, take my hate and that’s not really all…
It’d be the one bright spot to me as a Californian. Knowing she would ensure a Dem landslide of epic proportions.
fubardaddy
Live long, and birther!
r€nato
speaking of batshit insane nutbaggery, Minuteman founder Chris Simcox threatens to shoot his wife, kids, and the cops:
And if you read the comments, apparently the problem some folks have with this is that the liberal media reported the facts, rather than covering up for this good and true patriot.
SiubhanDuinne
Pinching leaves bruises. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll just chuck you under the chin.
demkat620
I just mentioned this in the last thread. You and me John Cole, great minds and all that.
This could be so much fun!
Darnell From LA
The GOP ‘base’ that shows up for the primaries here in California is a crazier than average variety. It’s very possible “Oily Taint” could be making us laugh, and the GOP squirm well into the new season of Dexter!
i.e. We could have the makings of a bitchen’ summer. (Yes, I said “bitchen”)
And…..I voted today here in the Golden State, and for every single race, proposition, and even damn judgeships.
I drink you, Democracy! I drink you up!!!!! DRAINAGE!!!!!!
Lev
I bet Taitz gets the nomination. California Republicans are exactly that stupid and self-sabotaging. I used to be one, so I know quite well. Of course, the whole premise that, if not for good ol’ Orly, the California GOP will get anything to show for their efforts other than a random, obscure downballot office like Insurance Commissioner is terribly wrongheaded.
My only question would be: will the GOP try to force her out like the Dems did to that wife-beating pawnbroker in Illinois who won the Lt. Governor primary? I bet they’ll try, but Taitz doesn’t seem like someone who would be swayed by all that.
El Cid
@r€nato: Why are you and libruls and the police trying to repress this man’s 2nd Amendment Right to express himself via firearms?
bemused
No one could have possibly anticipated…….
CMB
If the chickens don’t come home to roost this November, they will in 2010.
Josh
This is good news for John Connor.
joe from Lowell
The Republicans are going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
But here’s the really great part: their party is still going to pick up seats this fall, no matter what. Slow economic growth, first midterms in a new president’s term, and a totally unsustainable majority after 2006 and 2008.
So, even if they only pick up two Senate seats and eight House seats, they’re still going to declare the tea bagging, Mexican-bashing strategy to be a success.
El Cid
Bill Ayers! ACORN! Michelle never loved America! Madrasah! Bowing! 10th Amendment! 17th Amendment!
Josh
@joe from Lowell:
I don’t see why declaring the tea-bagging Mexican-bashing a success will be all that helpful for the Republicans. So by all means, let them do it, and let them rot in it.
I mean, sure it will mean instability in our political system. Sure their will be a bunch of whack jobs running around screaming about how some Mexicans are coming and taking all the welfare money.
But I don’t see how this is different than any other day.
August J. Pollak
I did a strip about this three years ago when it was Huckabee, not Orly.
Pander to lunatics, lunatics discover democracy.
SB Jules
I almost, just almost wish I had known about this earlier. I might have changed my registration just to vote for her. But no, there was a new assembly person I wanted to vote for. There really was no drama on the demo side.
We have been inundated with ads from Carly & Meg. My greatest fear is that they will start up again almost immediately. It will surely backfire, people are sick of them already & Jerry Brown saved all his money for the general election.
Wag
I love the Taitz of GOP tears.
bemused
Some of our CA friends just could not fathom Al Franken running for senator. It would be in really bad taste for me to tease them about Taitz…wouldn’t it?
Elisabeth
Lie down with (some) dogs you get up with fleas. At some point the GOP will have to “bomb” the house.
Midnight Marauder
Yeah, because Meg Whitman has absolutely been lighting it up in terms of getting ready for the general election:
I think Jerry Brown might be able to take the entire election off and still coast to victory if this kind of madness keeps up. Pete Wilson?! Campaign Manager?! IN CALIFORNIA?!
L.O.L.
Josh
@SB Jules:
Isn’t the amount of money she’s spending insane? $81 mil so far? And she’s all about fiscal responsibility?
Give me a fucking break.
Her version of fiscal responsibility is firing 4,000 state employees. Right. So what.
WereBear
I keep hearing that the Democrats will be losing seats because that’s what has always happened, historically.
But, you know, the rules have changed. If you want to add a codicil, like “when running peabrains the differential becomes 873 to 1” then I could think you have a point.
Bubblegum Tate
Damn, I should’ve requested a Republican ballot today so I could vote for her. Curse my stubborn nonpartisanship!
jl
I did not know Taitz was running for statewide office.
I should have changed my registration so I could have voted for her in the primary.
BTW, something really has to be done about the initiative referendum process in California. I wonder if the PG and E monopoly, and Mercury Insurance measures will pass.
I am not even sure whether the Mercury Insurance measure is a good idea.
But from what I read in the voter pamphlet, the sponsors’ commercials for both were so misleading and incomplete that I am surprised no one challenged them in court. I guess the opposition to funky Big Corporate bought and paid for ballot measures has no money at all to put any opposition at all.
And several of the radio ads sounded like they were made by the same ad guys. Same strumming guitar, same vaguely hepcat knowing wiseass Denis Leary type narrator voice. I guess the efficiency of the private market understood that the same sounding pitch would work, so they recorded several ads in the same day with the same music and same voice actor.
For starters, they need to increase the number of signatures needed, and these things should only be on the ballot for general elections. Now in CA we may find that one third of the population voted to allow one third of the population to block any new public power projects, or expansion of current public power districts. That would not be good.
Keith G
Sorry Helen, that’s one that needs to go back.
jl
@Bubblegum Tate: Beat my thought by just that much. dang.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
Sorry for the OT but Steven Strasburg is making his major league debut for the Washington Nationals about 5 minutes from now on the MLB network.
Darnell From LA
This could be great. A high profile GOP nominee whose insanity knows no limits.
I can imagine GOP Nominee Orly Taitz on national TV pushing such Birth-Bagg positions such as repealing the 17th amendment, thereby taking away American’s ability to directly elect their Senators!
Ohhhh….the possibilities are ENDLESS! Yay!
May this evening bring us the joy of an Oily Taint. Amen.
kay
I don’t think she’s amusing at all. I think she’s a vicious bigot who abuses the legal system, because she doesn’t have any respect for it. Sadly, if polls are correct, she’s persuaded a hell of a lot of people that Obama is illegitimate in that office.
She’s suing her opponent in this race, by the way:
She’s got some fucked up ideas about how this democracy thing works, and Republicans lack the balls to stand up to her. They’re mainstreaming this, as far as I’m concerned. They should be ashamed.
freelancer
This would be the happiest moment of George Michael’s life.
demimondian
@Keith G: Actually, she’s a Moldovan émigré who arrived in the US by way of Israel.
CalD
True.
Polish the Guillotines
@jl:
This. In a big way.
My rule of thumb is: If it amends the state constitution, and/or if it’s supported by the Howard Jarvis lunatics, I’m voting no.
Origuy
I tend to doubt that Orly will win the primary. I haven’t heard anything about the SoS race, but I live in the Bay Area; not a Republican stronghold. Since Dunn played football for Stanford, he probably figures to get most of the votes here.
Even if she loses, Taitz could make things interesting. She’ll probably sue Debra Bowen, Damon Dunn, and everyone else she can think of.
Matthew Dessem
It’s an open primary, you know…
MikeJ
Had to stop into Freeperland and see what they had to say. Or actually I didn’t. You can guess, but the thread exists if you want to point and laugh.
Josh
@kay:
As someone who had immersed himself in the birther land of magic and dread, I can assure you that Taitz’s influence is minimal at best.
You’re overlooking Phil Berg and Leo Donofrio and several other fringe-types who have much more sway than this batshit insane psychopath.
Taitz is nothing more than a dentist/lawyer who is a vexatious litigant. She’s been kicked out of more than one courtroom.
Have you ever taken the time to read any of her briefings? PURE INSANITY. I do have to admit to laughing my ass off when I read the responses of the judges in the various cases she’s brought. She’s an idiot.
And that other case will be thrown out really quickly, so Damon really doesn’t have much to worry about. She probably wrote half of the briefing with the CAPS-lock on.
Martin
I’ll be voting for her in about 20 minutes. There’s no action on the Dem side, and nothing could be better for Dems than having her on the ticket. Out of consideration for the open primaries, I am making conscientious decisions on the other races.
As for the rest of the ballot: No on 14, 16, 17, Yes on 15. 13 I could go either way on.
From the polling, 14 and 17 will pass, 15 will fail, and 16 is a tossup. Voters are too gullible and the people that back these measures are too powerful and well funded. Once again, we’re screwed. Prop 14 will mean that we never manage to un-fuckup the legislature.
Bubblegum Tate
@jl:
Agreed. The whole thing is just appalling.
El Cid
Yeah, but what if she won? I mean, the election, not the primary? That would be fun, too. Fun in a sort of acid trip while reading Revelation way.
SiubhanDuinne
@Origuy:
Fixed.
arguingwithsignposts
I can’t believe Taintz hasn’t been disbarred by this point, especially after that crap she pulled in Georgia.
Darnell From LA
@jl:
I made sure to vote no on both the energy AND insurance scam propositions.
It’s just amazing how every single election brings us more of these bullshit propositions that claim to put more power in the hands of the voters, while actually just tying the hands of our state government more and more, exacerbating our yearly budget travesties.
Most non-Californians have no idea how the idea of “direct democracy” has been bastardized here, basically forcing the voters to do much of the job we elect our lawmakers to do. I love to vote, but Jeebus, the whole point of representative democracy is delegating to your representatives. We vote on EVERYTHING here.
Libby
It would be so delicious if she wins. Don’t think she’ll be avoiding the lamestream media. She loves the spotlight. Can’t wait for her to became the “face” of the GOP. Massive amounts of eye makeup and badly applied lipstick so becomes them…
Jay B.
She could win like the Republican hack thinks Meg Whitman can win. She spent millions of dollars on an ad buy that attacked her opponent for giving money for Gore’s recount challenge.
Only in the wreckage of our stupid, withered world could that be considered a bad thing in 2010.
Christina
It’s the funniest damn thing & makes my state returns even more interesting than I found them on the Dem side ;-) Go Taitz!!
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:
Oops, sorry. Stephen Strasburg.
Josh
@Darnell From LA:
I got into an argument with someone who steadfastly believed that all of California’s problems could be solved by drastic spending cuts.
Seriously. There was no other solution.
Just a shitload of spending cuts.
JL
They lost control of nothing. The California GOP is the freak show, and Taitz is the walking, talking (and talking and talking and talking…) personification of its rank and file.
Calipygian
It’s only awesome until they are actually elected and the planet heats up 6 degrees celcius, we shoot the last panda, there is oil exploration on the national mall, church attendance is mandatory, the tax rate on incomes under 50k/yr is 90 percent and there is no capital gains tax.
Yeah, awesome. Like having a pineapple shoved up my ass sideways awesome.
graeme
As an independent, I decided I would enjoy voting against Whitman, Fiorina, and Taitz more than I would enjoy voting against Mickey Kaus. So I went with the GOP ballot.
We’ll see if it matters…
Josh
@Calipygian:
Sometimes I wonder if Republican voters actually know what they’re voting for.
And then I look at the Republican candidates, platforms, and voting record and I am struck by the blatant stupidity.
It burns like acid.
Fax Paladin
The secretary of state runs elections, yes? So her basic platform is, what, that she’ll keep Obama off the ballot in 2012?
LD50
@Polish the Guillotines:
I’ve been voting in California for 30 years, and that’s always been my policy. I check the voter information guides, and I ALWAYS vote the opposite of the ‘Howard Jarvis Tax League’ (or whatever the fuck they call themselves) want.
Really, you could just vote ‘no’ on every California ballot initiative and get it right 90% of the time.
lane
As a devout follower of the O’Rly website and other psychoses associated with her – w00t; I live to see the fail. And the fail is her winning :D
kay
@Josh:
I have. I just don’t think it’s funny. She’s using a court to lend credibility to her claims. How many times have you read “but they wouldn’t let the case be heard!”. I’ve read her site. She’s deliberately deceiving people about jurisdiction, and not a single national Republican has called her on that. She’s lying.
She’s contributing to this profound stupidity and fear, and she’s using the court system to do that. I don’t think vexatious litigants are at all amusing, in any set of circumstances, and I don’t think GOP members of Congress should be appearing at events where she’s a “special guest”, and they have.
They had umpteen chances to shut her down, publicly. They flat-out refused to do so. They see some benefit in this. It’s reprehensible behavior.
I hope they continue to keep her around. She’s very motivating to me. I hate this sleazy shit, under cover of “law”.
bemused
A friend said she saw Michele Bachmann with Taitz in CA on the teevee. What a freak show.
Litlebritdifrnt
@demimondian:
Who, more than likely, is an illegal immigrant. The folks over at Politijab (who can find the proverbial needle in a haystack given the mind) have done exhaustive research on her and there are no immigration or naturalization records to be found for her. She has never spoken about her immigration status only that she “married an American citizen” and therefore she is an American Citizen. She does not understand that it does not work that way. I would bet the farm that she is an illegal immigrant, which when you think about it would be priceless.
Polish the Guillotines
@LD50:
Yup. It’s just a crying shame most Californians don’t seem to know better.
Ailuridae
Ms Taitz won’t even provide half of the entertainment of a Sharron Angle Senate run in Nevada.
Josh
@kay:
Kay, I don’t think she’s funny, either (by the way, make sure you’re careful when visiting her site—last I knew it was infected and was causing people to have problems with security issues and viruses).
She appeals to stupid people. And stupid people are always going to be stupid people no matter what you do. There isn’t anything you can do about stupid people, so if it wasn’t her lying to them it would be someone else.
So I think her influence is entirely negligible because these morons are people that are predisposed to think a certain way.
Darnell From LA
@Martin:
Ahhh, a little ‘Operation Chaos.’
I considered doing the same. However, with my Rep. (Diane Watson CA-33) retiring and some disgusting crap being thrown by the local GOP at her likely successor, Karen Bass, I got pissed and gave her my vote.
Plus, it just felt really good to cast a vote for Gavin Newsom for Lt. Governor. He rocks…
Cat Lady
@El Cid:
2012. Oh yah, oh baby, ohh baaby, ohhhh baaaaby, yessssss!11111
/mayan
lane
@kay:
She’s trying for a DoS attack on the court. Let it play out and hope that none of the judges give in. It’s ugly, but…
Her incompetence needs to shine. Let.Her.Rock. And show her idiocy,
kay
@Fax Paladin:
Bingo. She struck out in the last election, and she struck out in court, and now she’s going to try to keep him off the ballot.
But it wouldn’t have gotten this far had a single national Republican had balls. They were perfectly content to have 43% of Republicans (or whatever it is) believe that Obama is not really the President. Two of the members of my county board of elections believe he is not the President.
They are waiting for this gross injustice to be rectified. It’s appalling. I recognize the dupes can be led. What’s the excuse of members of the US Congress?
CynDee
Whew! Time for pictures of sane mammals. Dog and cat pictures preferred, but dolphins and whales would do.
How about ants? They’re sane and they work together for the good of the entire Hill.
Darnell From LA
@Polish the Guillotines:
Damn straight. I voted no on all of them except for a local tax prop for LA schools. When it comes to the LAUSD’s money troubles I don’t care who gets taxed, or how much. The schools need the dough, period.
Calouste
@Litlebritdifrnt:
You’d expect that to run in a primary election she would have to show some proof of eligibility, like a naturalization certificate in her case. Obviously she doesn’t become an American citizen just by being married to one, but she’s had enough time to apply for citizenship in the mean time.
debbie
What does it say about the California GOP that Meg Whitman brags that she’s rarely voted in the past?
Polish the Guillotines
@kay: I wouldn’t exactly disagree with your take on Orly, but I don’t think it’s as much matter of sleaziness or viciousness as it’s a case of her being truly, clinically mentally ill.
I’m no shrink, but I’m convinced there’s a serious mental/personality disorder at work here.
I’m not excusing her shenanigans, I’m just suggesting that she’s not a competent actor.
kay
@lane:
What’s a DoS attack? I don’t file harassing lawsuits. I’m a decent human being, and I (generally) respect both democratic and legal process.
She wants to be Sec of State so she can subvert the ballot process, I assume. is that what you mean?
Lev
I’m just really looking forward to the ads with Whitman, Fiorina, Taitz and Palin in the same picture. Maybe someone could do some subliminal thing (like Bush 43 and the Democrats “Rats” thing), where a picture of Taitz and Palin flashes in front of Whitman and Fiorina.
ET
In this case karma really is a bitch, and her name is Orly.
BDeevDad
I’d love a televised debate where the Dem just said O’RLY after each crazy statement.
Mark
@Darnell from LA
You must be from LA if you think Newsom rocks! As a 10-year San Francisco resident, let me say that he was the most ineffectual sack of shit we could have ever elected.
From having the Getty family stake him in business to getting dropped into his supervisor seat, he’s failed upwards for years. And even in a town where most of my elected representatives still go to leather bars, Gavin Newsom’s personal life is seedy. His legislative accomplishments are about as numerous as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. But he’s great on Bill Maher.
lemma
@joe from Lowell:
brilliant point-i love it
lane
@kay:
Sorry – yes you got my point without knowing what I meat.
Are you Illuminati? ;-)
DoS – A denial of service attack on a server to prevent a reaction before the next attack comes. O’Rly’s attacks are similar to that method on the court system.
Josh
@kay:
DoS attacks are “Denial of Service” attacks. Usually refer to an attack on something on the internet.
I think in this case he’s referring to Taitz’s patented “send mail to the court in support of this” or “e-mail the judge” maneuvers.
By the way, kay, I think you underestimate the culture of morons on the internet. They don’t know party identification. They just know hate.
The internet is a deep, black, scary place–and that’s just the surface layer—under that is, well…It’s terrifying how stupid and paranoid and crazy people are.
bemused
btw, are any legislators having townhall meetings this summer & if so, where are the tea partying disruption teams?
kay
@Polish the Guillotines:
Do you remember when every Republican on the face of the planet was spouting that nonsense that if the Swift Boat Veterans were liars, Kerry would have sued for slander (libel, I guess, because broadcast, but whatever)?
They promote these ideas. It’s not like 43% of Republicans woke up one morning and said “long form birth certificate!”
They have elaborate mean-spirited, truly offensive theories. I got an email where they now believe Obama’s mother was his half-sister. Whether this particular person is crazy is beside the point. There are a lot of non-crazy people that believe her.
Michael Scott
@kay:
My response when I read that? Oh, good. Because by the time the State Bar of California takes away her license to practice, I’d hate to see her perfect record sullied by the filing of even a single arguably-meritorious lawsuit.
BR
I should add that Debra Bowen, the current CA secretary of state, is probably my favorite elected official today. She’s no nonsense, sticks to the facts, and does her job expertly. She’s the one that crushed the makers of broken, insecure voting machines after she had security experts analyze and hack their machines.
Bowen will rightly demolish Taitz at the polls. (I was hoping Bowen would run for Gov. but maybe another year…)
kay
@Josh:
Thank you. I had no idea what it meant.
Denial of service. Email, or, she can’t file electronically, perhaps? I can hope, right?
Litlebritdifrnt
@Calouste:
She can’t even fill out a court form correctly, hell she couldn’t even fill out her own candidate forms correctly (unless her address is Secretary of State). I am very familiar with immigration forms (trust me) the chances that Taitz ever filled one out correctly are astronomical. There is no way she went through the immigration process and no way she went through the citizenship process. She married an American citizen therefore she is one, it is all that matters in her mind.
Polish the Guillotines
@kay: Do the Republicans use smear-tactics to try to win elections? Yes. Hell yes. I completely agree with your general point. I’m just saying that in the specific case of Orly Taitz, this isn’t run-of-the-mill GOP ratfucking. She’s a seriously disturbed person who actually believes this stuff — as opposed to Karl Rove, for example, who knew damn well what he was promoting about Kerry was bullshit.
Again — not excusing Orly. I’m just saying that it’s possible, with the right medication, she might not actually continue saying and doing the shit she says and does — whereas nothing short of the loving touch of the Grim Reaper would stop Karl Rove from spouting his crap.
LD50
@BR: Agreed. I forgot Bowen was the current Secty. of State. She’ll squash Taitz like a bug without even trying, tho that won’t keep Taitz from getting ~33% of the vote, from the CA GOP True Believers.
Mark S.
@kay:
Teach the controversy!
burnspbesq
Leaving the office shortly to go vote. I, too, am tempted to cast a Donald Segretti Memorial Ballot in the Republican primary, but I’m afraid I have a bit too much self-respect for that (I’ve only ever voted for one Republican, Marge Roukema).
I will vote against every ballot proposition. I have never voted for a ballot proposition other than a couple of bond issues. I think the initiative and referendum process is the worst thing evah (even worse than electing state trial court judges, which in California means we get the most anti-defendant people possible, because the endorsements from cops’ and DAs’ associations are outcome-determinative).
Bubblegum Tate
@Josh:
Was it Mark Noonan?
Darkrose
@Darnell From LA: Go you! I mailed my ballot last week, because vote by mail = teh awesomes.
LD50
@burnspbesq: I think 13 & 15 are the only ones I’m voting ‘yes’ on.
Darkrose
@SB Jules: I want Carly and Boxer to debate, so Barbara can turn to Carly and say, “Okay, seriously: demon sheep? WTF?”
trollhattan
@bemused:
Wha, wha, wha? They gave you grief about Franken whilst enjoying the administration of the Governator? Even from the Golden State I can tell Franken has a working noodle.
The Orly show–I dunno if I can take it for five months (although I can’t imagine her having the bank for ads on anything but shopping channels). I for certain can’t take five more months of reptile Meg and evil sheep Carly’s ads. Arrrrrrrrgh!
LD50
@Josh:
That is what California Republicans are all like. Turbocharged Grover Norquist/Ayn Rand. People who literally see no problem with ALL state services just evaporating.
Calipygian
@Mark S.: Now that is some good Operation Chaos shit there!
LD50
@bemused:
This doesn’t sound like any Californians *I* know. We’re all about electing celebrities to high office.
bemused
@trollhattan:
Yes, they did. Go figure.
BR
@burnspbesq:
The tax and regulate cannabis proposition this fall is an exception – it’s the sort of thing that if left to politicians who are scared of their own shadows would never ever happen. It’s the sort of the thing we need to pass as voters, directly.
Darkrose
@Darnell From LA:
This. I’m a reasonably literate human with a halfway decent education, and when I try to read half of these ballot initiatives, I inevitably get confused and frustrated and wonder why we’re paying legislators when I still have to do all the legwork.
Origuy
There’s some confusion about whether or not California has an open primary. From the Voter Information Guide:
tonyatlas
@kay:
Yeah, folks are laughing now. I hope they can still laugh in November because if god forbids, she does win SoS I can only imagine what shenanigans she’ll play during the 2012 election.
http://www.smartvoter.org/1998jun/ca/state/race/secst/duties.html
blockquote The Secretary of State is the chief elections officer of the state and has the responsibility for administering the provisions of the Elections Code. ……….He must compile the election returns and issue certificates of election to successful candidates.;
Can’t see where things can go wrong there.
grimc
@bemused:
Do you friends live in, say, Orange County or the Central Valley? It’s a big state. California may be blue, but it’s not without it’s wingnuts. Michael Savage broadcasts from San Francisco.
And yes, if they were aghast at Franken they deserve to be Taitzed.
bemused
@LD50:
Heh. CA definitely beats out MN in that category.
Josh
@Bubblegum Tate:
No. But it was someone who believed that any levied taxes were somehow a punishment placed onto the people. He has pictures of himself holding huge assault weapons.
He has not the faintest clue what he’s talking about, ever, and he doesn’t understand how taxes work and what they pay for.
I tried to bring up the concept of water management (having just received my copy of Ann Arbor’s drinking water report for 2009) and why that’s a necessity to be paid for by taxation and he would have none of it.
Private business and free markets and all that.
Josh
@LD50:
Oh, God. Ayn Rand.
Don’t. Get. Me. Started.
…
FUCK YOU, AYN RAND!
kay
@tonyatlas:
It just hasn’t been my experience that crazy people who abuse state process are harmless.
Quite the opposite. They’re dangerous.
Someone is headed for court martial as a result of the influence of this sleazy piece of crap, correct? She’s not just an amusing sideshow, IMO.
burnspbesq
The best part of the campaign so far was when the first debate among the Republican Senate candidates was staged at (I swear I’m not making this up) the Museum of Tolerance.
And nobody seemed to find that the least bit ironic.
bemused
@grimc:
Suburb of San Francisco.
All they knew of Franken was the SNL stuff. They had no idea what Al had been doing politically in recent years. I just kept telling them he was a serious dude who had been doing his homework & building his contacts & then proceeded to fill them in on ladies man Coleman.
burnspbesq
@Darkrose:
Then the consultants who write that crap have done their jobs well.
LD50
@tonyatlas:
Don’t worry. Bowen’s the incumbent and she’s quite popular. Taitz is, once again, wasting her time. Trust me.
Even a sane Republican would have an uphill struggle unseating Bowen, much less an obvious mental case like Taitz.
LD50
@Josh:
“I may be dying of cholera — but at least I’m free from the tyranny of the NANNY STATE!”
Fax Paladin
@kay: Not quite sure what was meant (can’t speak for lane), but I think specifically the analogy is to the way DoS attacks are usually carried out: by flooding the target server with pings, requests, etc., to bog everything down. Taitz similarly floods the court with filings to keep the legal process bogged down.
Mnemosyne
@Polish the Guillotines:
At this point, my rule is that I vote no on all propositions. QED. I’ve gotten burned too many times by things that looked reasonable on their face and turned out to be Trojan horses. (Three strikes, anyone? “Only serious crimes,” my ass.)
Ruckus
@kay:
I get your point but someone who has the educational background to be an officer and a doctor and buys into this crap at all deserves to be court martialed. For gross stupidity if nothing else. I was not a doctor nor an officer and I knew the penalty for not showing up or following orders. They make sure you know that very early on in training. And they made sure we knew what happened to those who failed to follow orders.
She may be an idiot, or even have some pathological mental illness but this dude is on his own here.
Ruckus
@kay:
I get your point but someone who has the educational background to be an officer and a doctor and buys into this crap at all deserves to be court martialed. For gross stupidity if nothing else. I was not a doctor nor an officer and I knew the penalty for not showing up or following orders. They make sure you know that very early on in training. And they made sure we knew what happened to those who failed to follow orders.
She may be an idiot, or even have some pathological mental illness but this dude is on his own here.
Polish the Guillotines
@Mnemosyne: Yup. And I won’t even sign any petitions to put anything on the ballot these days. I feel for the folks gathering signatures (it’s a paycheck of sorts for them), but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna contribute to the ongoing clusterfuck.
PurpleGirl
A quick Google got the following:
1. You don’t become a citizen by marrying one. You still have to go through the whole process.
2. In one article it is stated became a citizen in 1992, about 5 years after she married Yosef Taitz.
3. She was born in Soviet Moldava and lived in Romania before moving to Israel where she became a dentist. She met Yosef Taitz in Israel. He was already a US citizen after having come here from Latvia.
But she is indeed crazed.
JCT
@Mnemosyne: I grew up in California, still remember the upheaval over Prop 13 with our high school teachers warning us that it would be a disaster for the schools — my younger sister lives in a perfectly nice suburb of Pasadena but has had to yank her kids out of the public schools– they were going to be the 4th generation of our family that went through the LAUSD. Just a terrible disaster.
My late father spent the last few years of his life fighting against that horrid piece of legislation.
And one fun thing about this insanity with Orly Taitz, just called my 72-year-old mother in LA to ask her what the hell was going on out there and for the first time in my life heard her use the word “motherfucker” ( when I asked her about Taitz. ) I almost dropped the phone. Yowza!
But I am with kay– these crazy people are not harmless, and should not be part of the political process. In the end, it really isn’t funny, it’s pathetic that the process is so fucked up.
Xecky Gilchrist
I cannot share your laughter – it’s never good news to have nutbars on the ballot, IMO, because they might win. Shudder.
SiubhanDuinne
You know, for the *longest* time I truly believed she was a Borat-style perfformance art. No longer. Sadly.
Morbo
Plant melons; harvest melons.
JoyceH
You know, the media keeps referring to Taitz as an “Israeli emigre”, but that’s misleading. Yes, she moved to the US from Israel. BUT! She wasn’t born in Israel. She moved there as an adult from Moldavia, back when Moldavia was part of the USSR.
{significant pause, accompanied by quizzical raised eyebrow}
Taitz’s background is a heck of a lot murkier than the crystal-clear story of Obama’s birth and ancestry. Who were HER parents? Where is HER birth certificate? Where was SHE born? Where was SHE educated and what was she trained to do?
And if she were a KGB plant, how would she be behaving differently?
Delia
@JoyceH:
And what’s with the eye make-up? Is she dedicated to single-handedly keeping Maybelline in business? Or is she a drag queen?
trollhattan
@Delia:
I say she’s the reincarnation of Tammy Faye Baker. Think about it–has anybody seen them in the same place at the same time?
I foresee a resurrection of “the shirt.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trespass/4496972703/
RalfW
Sadly, as of 9:09 pm PDT, the CA Secy of state reports, with 11.7% of precincts in:
Damon Dunn – 322,326 – 74.8%
Orly Taitz – 108,956 – 25.2%
I have no idea what precincts that is, may not be a very good blend of areas, but Orly’s gotta floor it if she’s gonna win this one for the Gipper.
mutt
rats! I VOTED for her!!! it would way too much fun…..
mutt
rats! I VOTED for her!!! it would way too much fun…..
wyliecoat
As an Independent, I opted to vote in the Republican primaries in California this time and was faced with the classic dilemma – vote for the crazies to make the Democrats’ job easier in the fall or vote for the sensible ones so we Californians are not screwed either way.
Ultimately I voted for the (relatively) good guys. Unfortunately, with the exception of Damon Dunn, everybody lost. Now we have to put up with Meg’s money bombs and Carly’s hate-mongering in the fall. Sigh.