Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Every day Vance writes another chapter in the book called “Worst VP Pick Ever”.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

The willow is too close to the house.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

You are here: Home / Archives for Dennis G.

Dennis G. wrote at Balloon Juice from 2010-14.

Dennis is active with Green America.

Dennis G.

Fun with petitions…

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So a tiny fraction of neo-Confederate losers have directed the awesome power of their pork-rind-dust encrusted keyboards towards the White House citizen’s petition function as a way to express their great sadness at the ass kicking America gave them on Election Day. These simpletons have started petitions asking permission for their State to leave the Union. Once a petition reaches 25,000 signatures, the White House will issue a response (I expect some politely worded dismissive snark, but an amusing gif might be more appropriate).

In response, other citizens are using the tool to mock the impotent keyboard commandos of wingnutopia with petitions like:

Peacefully grant the City of Atlanta leave to withdraw from the State of Georgia and remain part of the United States

Peacefully grant the city of Austin Texas to withdraw from the state of Texas & remain part of the United States

Deport Everyone That Signed A Petition To Withdraw Their State From The United States Of America

Strip the Citizenship from Everyone who Signed a Petition to Secede and Exile Them

Somehow, I think there will be more of this stuff as neo-Confederates use social media to throw their pitiful public tantrums and others use it to make fun of them.

Still, like all social media tools, the White House petition tools offers the opportunity for moments of brilliance, like this:

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/59124558@N06/8186301245/” title=”punch-grover-in-the-dick by dengre.bj, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8337/8186301245_b0d135fc77.jpg” width=”500″ height=”301″ alt=”punch-grover-in-the-dick”></a>

These kind of things come down quickly as they are just too snarky, but I was glad I got to see it.

How about an open thread…

 

Fun with petitions…Post + Comments (108)

Briefings on the fiscal staircase of very gradual change…

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Keven Drum over at Mother Jones has two good posts up about the latest manufactured deadline of scary fiscal doom.

This one breaks down what the facts really are and this one points out that the tax solutions President Obama is offering are the same ones he put forth over a year ago–and made a core part of his re-election effort. He won decisively and he has a clear mandate from voters for his policies.  Nutters everywhere just hate that.

How about an open thread…

Cheers

ps: Pumkinhead the Younger met the Nancy Smash earlier this morning. Good times.

Briefings on the fiscal staircase of very gradual change…Post + Comments (90)

Hear Lee explain the core Conservative world view

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@Lee-Atwater-explains-how-it-works-in-the-GOP

Jimmy Carter IV (Jimmy Carter’s grandson) has found another bit of tape that explains how modern Conservatives/Wingnuts/Republicans view the world. This artifact dates back to the Reagan years. It is audio of the 42 minute interview with Lee Atwater where he explains how the Southern Strategy works and why it is the core of the conservative movement. His words are fresh and he could have been talking about 2012 campaign conservatives ran against President Obama.

The folks over at The Nation have published the audio. Folks around here have often pointed to Atwater’s quote, but it is something to hear him say it (and more) in context.

The current Republican Party and conservative movement has not strayed very far from Atwater’s playbook–ever. I do not think they are capable of doing so. Division, fear, race-based politics and code talking are the only tools they know. Without them, they have nothing.

They have suffered a defeat, but they could regroup and be back. That is what they did with the Tea-Bagger marketing ploy in 2009. Now is the time to take the fight to them. It is way past time for their Southern Strategy to die. Their CONservative movement is based on structural racism and sexism. They hate it when that is pointed out. They squeal, whine and fuss whenever the truth of their movement is mentioned, but now is a great time to mentioned it. They are down and we should kick them as hard as we can.

Cheers

Hear Lee explain the core Conservative world viewPost + Comments (155)

The answer is YES…

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The National Journal has an article up about the massive FAIL of Republican pollsters. It ends with a question/statement from an unnamed GOPer:

No matter what the answer is, the GOP knows it must come up with a more reliable method of measuring the electorate. It hurts to lose; it hurts more when a party doesn’t see it coming. And this year, Republicans were completely blindsided.

Democrats “must be looking at us like we’re the biggest f—– morons in the world,” one frustrated Republican said. “That’s what I’d be doing.”

Yep, that about sums it up.

The only folks dumber than the Republican candidates, fluffers and operatives would be the gullible suckers who vote for these idiots.

Cheers

The answer is YES…Post + Comments (100)

Not buying it

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<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/59124558@N06/8179109207/” title=”Scary_Count_Floyd_SCTV by dengre.bj, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8063/8179109207_7d4fb2d752.jpg” width=”352″ height=”500″ alt=”Scary_Count_Floyd_SCTV”></a>

Back in the day, Count Floyd was a reoccurring character on SCTV. He was a teevee horror movie host trying to make very safe and mild films sound “scary”. It was funny, nice and silly. All the beltway talk about the so called “fiscal cliff” sounds a lot like Count Floyd.

Yes, the CBO issued a report that if everything happened (tax increases, budget cuts, etc.) on January 1st as scheduled–AND nothing was done to change that–THEN bad things could happen in the short run, but good things in the long run.

The CBO and others are always issuing reports like this based on the status of the laws on the books. The trouble with these reports is that those laws and rules are always changing and making these reports obsolete. Do you remember the report before the Bush tax cuts were passed that we were paying the debt down too fast?

To believe the hype about the so called “fiscal cliff”, you have to believe that Congress will not make any adjustments to taxes if the Bush Tax Cuts expire. And you have to believe that Congress will keep all the budget cuts in place for the next decade. Believing either of those two things is silly–as is the “fiscal cliff” talking point.

There are real budget issues to sort out. And a plan must be made to retire the Reagan/Bush debt that Conservative magical thinking has inflicted on the Nation, but any embrace of wingnut framing like this “cliff” nonsense will not help.

I think the budget cuts and the long range debt solutions will be sorted out by the 113th Congress–especially because the Tea Party 112th Congress is incapable of doing anything.

The tax cuts are another matter. It is possible that Republicans might have a moment of clarity and decide that the Senate Bill keeping the tax cuts in place for the first $250,000 of income for ALL Americans is a good deal for them and the Nation, but this is the Tea Party Congress and they’re dumber than a bag of rusty broken hammers. So, expect them to force everybody to go over their “cliff” of talking points. The Bush tax cuts for all will expire and then in 2013 new Obama tax cuts for everybody making under $250,000 will be passed and signed into law.

President Obama will get more credit and the wingnuts will do even more damage to the GOP brand. They must really love their chickens.

Cheers

 

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How long before Grover and Rush make him walk it back…

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Bill Kristol told Fox News today the the GOP should throw in the towel on taxes and give President Obama what he wants:

“It won’t kill the country if we raise taxes a little bit on millionaires,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It really won’t, I don’t think. I don’t really understand why Republicans don’t take Obama’s offer.”

“Really? The Republican Party is going to fall on its sword to defend a bunch of millionaires, half of whom voted Democratic and half of whom live in Hollywood and are hostile?” he asked.

I think one of two things will happen: a) the GOP will take Kristol’s advice and make the deal before the end of the year, or b) the GOP will force everybody to go over their “cliff”, the Bush tax cuts for all will expire and then in 2013 new Obama tax cuts for everybody making under $250,000 will be passed and signed into law. The outcome will be the same, but one choice will do even more damage to the GOP brand.

Kristol wants to avoid that, but I suspect his fellow wingnuts will embrace “b”.

How about an open thread…

Cheers

How long before Grover and Rush make him walk it back…Post + Comments (138)

Good

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<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/59124558@N06/8173453447/” title=”Dead_Confederat_GOP_Logo by dengre.bj, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8064/8173453447_27e38b867d.jpg” width=”311″ height=”276″ alt=”Dead_Confederat_GOP_Logo”></a>

There are a lot of lessons one could take from the 2012 Election. One fills me with hope: the neo-Confederate ideology that has run the Republican Party since Nixon embraced the Southern Strategy is dead. It is still quite dangerous (as any viewer of any zombie movie knows full well), but it is dead. In time, it has been done in by math, demographics and reality.

This must be extremely painful to the lot of ’em.

I expect the Republican Party and the Conservative movement to fracture.  Like the malevolent evil that it is, I expect that neo-Confederate ideology will find a new home in some Conservative third party (perhaps ‘Libertarians’). Wherever it finds sanctuary, it is a force of racism and white supremacy that will plague America for a few more generations. And yet, as of last Tuesday, it will never again have the power it once had.

Nice.

How about an open thread to celebrate.

Cheers

GoodPost + Comments (174)