The Truffle

Via WaPo , we find that Senator Tom Coburn, an Okie like fellow douchebag Jim "I Don't Believe in No Stinkin' Global Warming!" Inhofe, was holding out for one small, slim chance that health care reform wouldn't pass. "What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote tonight," he said. "That's what they ought to pray." It was difficult to escape the conclusion that Coburn was referring to the 92-year-old, wheelchair-bound Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) who has been in and out of hospitals and lay at home ailing. It would not be easy for Byrd to get out of bed in the wee hours with deep snow on the ground and ice on the roads -- but without his vote, Democrats wouldn't have the 60 they needed. A sitting senator wishing for a colleague's death. Disgusting. Of course, the reporter, Dana Milbank, went on a "Democrats do it toooooooo!" tirade, referring to Sheldon Whitehouse's speech. Excuse me. ...

Li'l Ricky Santorum still hasn't figured out he's irrelevant. Neither has the National Review . Ricky is supporting the Mittster. Even though he kinda sorta admits that Romney isn't really a conservative--in fact, he's just pretending to be one. “I think Romney, when he decided to run, he’s a smart business guy, and he sort of got his team together and said, ‘What do I need to do to be the conservative candidate?’ and give me the checklist and see if I can check them off,” Santorum said. “And I think over the course of this campaign, you know, I saw the migration from the checklist to his head and from his head into his heart and I really believe that’s where he is today.” So...Ricky. You're going to knowingly support a pandering GOP moderate, instead of an actual conservative Republican ? Dude, there's a reason you were voted out of office. Anyhow, Santorum is even starring in a series of automated phone calls courtesy of the Romney campaign. He is ...

Methinks Ruben Bolling is on to something. Via Jolly Roger.

What's up with all these recently re-elected Republicans suddenly up and resigning without bothering to finish their terms? Denny Hastert wouldn't deign to simply retire in 2008. That was silly enough. But now Trent Lott, who just won another term last year, is resigning at the end of 2007. There were rumors circa 2005 that he would retire, but he chose to run again. Not that I'm sorry to see yet another GOP slimebag leave Capitol Hill, but it sounds like a huge waste of time and money. Actually, it reminds me of professional loser Tom DeLay, who stayed on the GOP ballot until they couldn't get rid of him. Word has it that Lott wants to make money in the private sector. Could a Singing Senators reunion be in the works? Larry Craig is probably going to have a lot of time on his hands after 2008. In other news, is it just me? Or is Bush holding Middle East peace talks kind of like Nicole Ritchie hosting a cooking show?

There's just no nice way to put it. Steve Bates has this bon mot from Texas GOP congresscritter Joe Barton on SCHIP. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig. He's talking about SCHIP. WTF? What is it that makes Texas Republicans act like utter assholes? Something in the water down there? Is there some evil wizard who's got all them under a spell? Not only are GOP congresscritters mean and nasty, but they're utterly clueless as well. That, or they hate their jobs and they want to lose next year so they can go home and make lots of money in the private sector. "Lipstick on a pig." Feh.

Have the Senate Dems on the Judiciary Committee come to their senses and realized that, like, torture isn't cool? I know, I know; I've been disappointed before, too. And yes, I call my senators and tell them to vote no on these Bush-kowtowing schmucks. Of course, my senators are Schumer and Clinton, who are pretty liberal. (However, WTF was La Hill thinking when she voted for Kyl-Liberman?) It's those milquetoast Lieberman wannabes who are frustrating. The ones who don't "get" that Bush and company are a. bad people, b. bad for America, and c. NOT friends of the Democrats. The Dianne Feinsteins and Ben Nelsons, in other words. I'm sick of these idiots. Don't get me started on "principled" Republicans who cower at the sight of the Chimp. What part of "country before party" don't these morons understand? As usual, it's up to the Democrats to be big meanies and ask Michael Mukasey the big, big questions about whether he...

Well, this is wild. In a rare shift in party affiliation, the entire membership of the all-Republican governing body in Lyndhurst will switch from Republican to Democrat tomorrow. Nearly 60% of Lyndhurst’s Republican County Committee will become Democrats too. The party realignment, first reported in PoliticsNJ.com last summer, is far greater in scope than speculated. It represents, perhaps, the most massive shift in Party affiliation of elected and Party officials in a single community in one day. “It’s safe to say something like this certainly doesn’t happen in politics everyday,” said Lyndhurst Mayor Richard DiLascio. Lyndhurst has long been considered a swing town in general elections over the last twenty years. Not anymore, it isn't.

Via The Crone Speaks comes news of the kazillionth retiring Republican. From NYT : Representative David L. Hobson, a nine-term Republican from Ohio, announced Sunday that he plans to retire. He is the 12th member of his party in the House to do so since the beginning of the year. “I wanted to go out on top,” said Mr. Hobson, 71. "Go out on top"? Is this code for "get out of town before another GOP sex scandal hits the papers"? Sorry for making assumptions. I guess I've just got a dirty mind.

It had to happen. The same week that Larry Craig announces that he is not in fact resigning, a Republican group takes on one of the GOP's most obvious flip-floppers. I'm talking, of course, about Yosemite Mitt. Yes, the party's most unintentionally hilarious candidate is now the subject of a TV ad placed by the GOP's leading masochists gay and lesbian advocacy group, the Log Cabin Republicans. I knew that these guys existed, but wondered where they were hiding during this election cycle. (For the curious: no, Larry Craig is not a member.) Anyway, the ad can be accessed via the NY Times linky and features clips of Mitt talking like a total liberal. Wow. I wondered when the LCR's would finally snap. Especially considering Mitt's, uh, confusing views on gay rights. Basically, he was always a flip-flopper, even when he was governor. He promised the Massachusetts LCR's that he'd uphold the state court's ruling that upheld gay marriage. Then ...

This is the fifth Senate Republican to retire. After seven years of rubber-stamping every crappy decision Bush has ever made, it must be burnout city for Republicans in Congress. 2008 can't come soon enough.

2008 is almost upon us, and Republicans are squirming at the slim pickings on their side of the fence. The Dems have a black, a woman, a Latino, and a sensitive Alan Alda-type guy with a southern accent among their candidates. It's like the 1970s all over again in Dem-land. Meanwhile, the GOP is uneasy with their selection of white men. Specifically, a ex-mayor from the Northeast who's too liberal for their tastes. And if this guy gets the nomination, some ultra-right wingers are ready to go with a third-party candidate. Sort of like a reverse Ralph Nader to take votes away from the evil RINO on the ticket. Well, that settles it. I know who I want on the GOP ballot. Ru-dee! Ru-dee! Ru-dee! Digby seems intrigued by all this.

Remember President Stupid telling the press "strong asset" he'd be to 2008 GOP candidates? Guess again. Republican presidential candidates can't be any more clear: President Bush isn't welcome on the campaign trail. Maybe they'll take Laura or Barney the dog instead? Competing to succeed him, top GOP candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain barely utter Bush's name. They essentially ignore the lame-duck president, or give him only passing credit, as they rail against the status quo and promise to fix problems he hasn't solved. ``We all know Americans want change,'' said McCain, an Arizona senator, explaining the aversion to aligning with Bush. ``I give him credit for a number of things but I think the fact is Americans are turning the page, including our Republican primary voters.'' WTF? Since 2004, McCain's head has been so far up President Stupid's ass that he could wear the man's intestines f...

Those who are bummed over the Dems' frustrated efforts to end the war and the stupid MoveOn vote should take heart. 2008 is almost upon us, and guess who's offered his services to party candidates? No, Ronald Reagan has not risen from the dead. "Strong asset," Bush said emphatically, when asked at a White House news conference whether he would be an asset or liability for Republicans in presidential and congressional elections next year.... As they vie for the Republican nomination, Bush's potential heirs have had to balance the president's political liabilities and perceived errors on the unpopular Iraq war, with his still robust standing among some party activists. Unusually, in this election cycle, there is no vice president in the race, as Bush's right-hand man Dick Cheney has no plans to be a candidate. In a Republican debate in August, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney tried to distance himself from Bush, and to associate himself with him a...

That's the only explanation I have for why he'd take out a ad lambasting La Hill over a MoveOn ad. This is an obvious diversionary tactic. Rudy knows that he's not exactly Mr. Popularity with NYC's firefighters and cops. He knows this because a lot of them turned their backs to him when he was reading the names of the dead on 9/11. Meanwhile, perhaps he could explain why he's acting all chummy with wingnuts who keep predicting more terrorist attacks. What's that, you say? Rudy shouldn't apologize for shaking hands with Li'l Ricky? Look, folks, think what you will of the MoveOn ad--La Hill had nothing to do with it. If she is somehow obligated to denounce ads placed by assorted interest groups, then Rudy should be held to similar standards. Therefore, he needs to: a. Quit posing for photo ops with disgraced wingnuts. b. Personally denounce any and every statement by any right-winger who brands war critics as traitors, wishes for more terrorist ...

Although Rudy, McCain, and Yosemite Mitt are tripping over each other on the way to the GOP nomination, Republicans themselves are unimpressed with them. Gee, why could that be? Are GOP dog lovers appalled at Mitt? Are the Christian righties wary of Rudy (what? after that photo op with Santorum?)? Do they think McCain is just too darn old for the job? Do they wish Fred Thompson had remained on "Law and Order"? Who knows? Among the legions of undecided Republicans is Barbara Skogman, 72, a retired legal assistant from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She isn't at all excited about any of the prospects. At one point, she favored McCain. At another, she was open to Giuliani. Now, she's leaning slightly toward Romney but says she's far from sold on him. "I'm looking for a strong, honest person. Do you know of any?" she joked. She had an easy time detailing why she was queasy about each of the most serious contenders. "Isn't that sad?" Then she re...

...but it's GREAT to see the Republicans floundering like this. I'm sorry; I know it's bad. It's just that after all these years of "We GOOD! Donkeys EVIL!" it's kind of nice to see that the party can't figure out what they stand for. It's nice to see the base crying into their non-alcoholic beverages as they look at a slate of unappealing candidates as they pray for yet another actor to come be the fearless leader of their authoritarian dreams. This could be the new Republican Party in the making: a disappointed, dissatisfied and inward-looking coalition that abandons Reagan’s hopefulness and tries to hang on by playing on fears of terrorism and anger about immigration. If Fred Thompson’s job is to restore optimism to a dispirited bunch, he faces a task that might have overwhelmed even Ronald Reagan. Oh yeah, and the rightie bloggers are also miserable. Forget Situation FUBAR, Gonzogate, Plamegate, Foleygate, Katarinagate, or Insert-Scandal-H...

Mitt Romney is also kind of boring. He might as well hang a sign around his neck saying, "Hi there. In case you haven't noticed, I'll say anything to improve my chances of a nomination. Judging from his interviews, he is also not that bright. He named one of his kids Tagg. TAGG! What was his trying to do, ensure his kid suffered through twelve years of ridicule at school? What a doofus.

Don't believe me? Read this. The majority of Republicans in the United States do not believe the theory of evolution is true and do not believe that humans evolved over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. This suggests that when three Republican presidential candidates at a May debate stated they did not believe in evolution, they were generally in sync with the bulk of the rank-and-file Republicans whose nomination they are seeking to obtain. Independents and Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe in the theory of evolution. But even among non-Republicans there appears to be a significant minority who doubt that evolution adequately explains where humans came from. The data from several recent Gallup studies suggest that Americans' religious behavior is highly correlated with beliefs about evolution. Those who attend church frequently are much less likely to believe in evolution than are those who seldom or never attend. That Republicans tend to ...

Looks like the Senate couldn't muster 60 votes to give Gonzo a vote of no confidence. The final tally: 53-38. Before going into detail who voted against giving a disgraced attorney general a no-confidence vote, guess which party these 38 "nay" voters belonged to ? However, let's give credit where credit is due for the senators who voted yes: John Sununu, Gordon Smith, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Norm Coleman, Chuck Hagel, and Arlen Specter. And a pie in the face to Joe Lieberman, who voted no. Trent Lott, meanwhile, proves he simply does not get it: "This is a nonbinding, irrelevant resolution proving what? Nothing," said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. "Maybe we should be considering a vote of no confidence on the Senate or on the Congress for malfunction and an inability to produce anything." C'mon, dude. That's not the point and you know it. The point is to make a stand and show that the Senate does not support an attorney general who p...

Addressing a bunch of think-tankers with no sense of the real world, Newt Gingrich has recast himself as the Cassandra of the GOP. Addressing a conservative organization, the former House Speaker never mentioned the president by name, but his political point was clear. "If the Republicans run a stand-pat presidential candidate who ends up being on defense for all of September and October and who is seen by the country as representing four more years, the fact is that Republicans are not going to" win, Gingrich told the American Enterprise Institute. Guess what, Newt? By and large, the GOP race is all about standing pat. Everything about Romney, Rudy, and McCain have said have come to indicate that a. they have no idea what they stand for, and b. they really, really want the GOP base to come out and vote for them. That GOP base is reliable because a. they're guaranteed to never, ever vote for a Democrat and b. they're the only ones dumb enough to think four more y...