Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

So many bastards, so little time.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You cannot love your country only when you win.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

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34Comments

  3. 3.

    Gin & Tonic

    Ari’s just a whore. He may be pitiable, he may even be amoral, but I never thought of him as despicable.

  5. 5.

    Anoniminous

    He has to do something other than while away the hours, a’pissing on the flowers, and poisoning the rain. Otherwise his head he’d be scratchin’ while his thoughts were busy hatchin’ … another grift for gain.

  6. 6.

    Hal

    It will cost jobs and people will bring lawsuits if they are fired for being LGBT. Therefor it makes more sense to simply treat some as second class citizens as a cost saving measure. At least that’s what Boehner thinks. I wonder how he would feel if people discriminated against the orange?

  7. 7.

    KG

    See, more proof that W and all his minions are just RINOs and insufficiently pure! Burn them, burn them all!

    Also, from the article:

    No one should lose their job, or not get hired, because of their sexual orientation.

    I’ve done a fair bit of employment law over the years. A person losing their job because of their sexual orientation/race/creed/religion/disability is a fairly easy case to prove. Same with not getting promotions. But not getting a job because of it? Those are a hell of a lot harder to prove. Most employers won’t give you a reason why the didn’t hire you (some might give you a form letter saying how they appreciate your qualifications, but they found someone they think is a better fit/more experienced). It’s damn near impossible to prove, and I don’t think I’ve ever even talked to anyone that had a case on those grounds.

    Still, no reason why sexual orientation shouldn’t be covered in non-discrimination laws. Hopefully this will be another win for the business/mainstream wing of the GOP rather than the Teahadis.

  11. 11.

    jibeaux

    Ari Fleischer wants the Republican party to live another day, and is not dependent on voters for his job. This is the particular combination which is generally behind these rare bursts of honesty. He’s probably not even for the sharks-with-laser-beams moat at the border, either.

  14. 14.

    RP

    I thought this comment was interesting:

    Having been in the private sector since the end of the George W. Bush presidency, I’m not surprised. A large majority of Fortune 500 companies already have nondiscrimination policies on their books. And corporate titans like PepsiCo, Pfizer, Marriott, Alcoa, Bank of America and Nike publicly back the bill.

    A lot of people on the right don’t seem to get that stuff like this is the norm in corporate america.

  15. 15.

    kindness

    Saying nice things about Ari Fleicher(?) and linking to Politico?

    What have the critters done with John? There must be a pod person at the controls.

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I never thought of him as despicable.

    You didn’t think much about him. He’s an awful weasel and I’m sorry to be saying that about weasels. Remember when he got up in that press conference and said (proudly) that the bush43 Administration would do NOTHING about mileage standards as driving gas guzzlers was an American heritage?

  16. 16.

    Groucho48

    He obviously has someone in his family or close circle of friends who is gay. The only time right wingers show a spark of humanity is when one of theirs is affected.

  17. 17.

    burnspbesq

    This ought to be an easy call for any sentient being. I’m not seeing a road-to-Damascus moment here.

  18. 18.

    David Koch

    Fleischer works for hedge fund plutocrat Paul Singer, who’s son is gay.

    It’s not as if Fleischer is doing it out of the goodness of his heart, rather he’s doing it out of the goodness for his bank account.

  19. 19.

    Yatsuno

    @SmallAxe: E-mail him. Use all caps & swear a lot. Make sure you mention which commentors are annoying you & how the bog runs like crap. He LIVES for that shit.

  21. 21.

    johnny aquitard

    @Gin & Tonic:

    he may even be amoral, but I never thought of him as despicable.

    Amoral people do incredibly terrible things to other people, cause horrible damage to people and they can do it without spite or prejudice, without regard for how it affects others but merely for their own self-regard. How is it they are not to be despised? How is such selfishness, such egomania, such lack of concern for others not despicable?

    You do understand that sociopaths are amoral, don’t you? The worst examples of the human species are amoral.

  24. 24.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Sorry, the motivating principle of this bill is ‘You can’t be an asshole.’ That is exactly and specifically what the Teatards hate most. They want to be assholes. They’re disgusted that the government might help people, and seething with fury from a lifetime of the government telling them they can’t murder gays, run Jews out of town, beat their wives and children, or refuse to serve coloreds in their businesses. They can at least get some vicarious pleasure from watching big businesses be assholes to anyone they feel like. I predict the Teabagger Caucus will vomit bile all over this bill and Boehner won’t touch it.

  25. 25.

    johnny aquitard

    @kindness:

    Remember when he got up in that press conference and said (proudly) that the bush43 Administration would do NOTHING about mileage standards as driving gas guzzlers was an American heritage?

    I think obfuscating, stonewalling and spinning Bush war crimes and malfeasance in front of the world tops that by magnitudes.

  28. 28.

    Roger Moore

    @RP:

    A lot of people on the right don’t seem to get care that stuff like this is the norm in corporate america.

    FTFY. The fundamentalist wing of the party wants to be allowed to discriminate against gays, women, blacks, disabled people, and anyone else they don’t like. They no longer have the power to bully most big corporations into following along, but they damn well aren’t going to give up their own right to discriminate against anyone they choose without a fight.

  30. 30.

    Matt McIrvin

    Software and tech firms have generally tended to be way ahead of the governmental curve on giving domestic-partner health benefits to same-sex couples. They’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts; especially in places like the Bay Area where more people have been out for longer, they know they’re leaving good staff on the shelf if they’re not welcoming to gay people. It’s good business.

  31. 31.

    Ramalama

    @KG: I was patently denied a job because it was “clear” that I was “not a Republican”. I wore a dress. I was fit and very cute (emphasis on was, alas) in addition to having perfect job experience and references. It was for a fecking job in a mall, retail. I knew one of the managers. But the higher up did not like the fact that I didn’t wear makeup.

    Maybe she had her gaydar on.

    I have an uncle who got fired from 2 jobs for being gay – in the late 70s and 80s. He finally said screw it, loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly…Hills.

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