Is the GOP becoming a reigional party?

This chart (courtesy of Mother Jones) shows the regional favorings of the GOP. Notice the difference between the South and the rest of the country. I often wonder about their future. Are they going to become regional, or is a new conservative party going to form? This is what happens when you kick moderates out of your party.

I can't speak for the demographics of the South as I have never (nor do I intend to) live there.

I'd like to see the same survey regional surveying the favorability of the Democratic party. I wonder if it would be the same. Their stronghold is the northeast and the west coast.

Where the hell are the Democrats? Why are they not trying to cash in big time on this? I swear I need to take back my own party.

Limbaugh wants segregated buses

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/09/17/limbaugh-we-need-segregated-buses/

Excuse my language but WHAT THE FUCK??? Is Rush back on the OxyCotin? Cause I can't think of any other excuse why a rational person would actually say something like that on the public airwaves. But he's Rush Limbaugh that mentioned this, and he is NOT a rational person.

I knew that a good portion (but not all) of the opposition to President Obama is racist. We can see that in some of these signs. And unfortunately Rush, Hannity, Glenn BecKKK, and the slew of others are simply adding fuel to the fire.

It almost seems as they're calling for the worst to happen to President Obama due to his race. I sincerely hope it's not true, but when their followers do things like bring firearms to presidential events, I worry about the President's safety.

a village cannot reorganize village life to suit the village idiot

Yes New Jersey is a blue state, but we have our fair share of crazy CONservatives here. Rachel Maddow just reported that 61% of McCain voters here think that Obama is the antichrist. Seriously?

Video and the awesome quote above here.

Ten lessons for teabaggers

thanks to the great folks at DU and Crooks and Liars. This was pure brilliance and I had to cross post it

Here, then, are 10 Lessons for Tea Baggers:

1. President Obama Cut Your Taxes
2. The Stimulus is Working
3. First Ronald Reagan Tripled the National Debt...
4. ...Then George W. Bush Doubled It Again
5. Republican States Have the Worst Health Care
6. Medicare is a Government Program
7. Barack Obama is Not a Muslim
8. Barack Obama was Born in the United States
9. 70,000 Does Not Equal 2,000,000
10. The Economy Almost Always Does Better Under Democrats

The details can be found here
http://crooksandliars.com/node/31244

Letter from my Congressman

Glad to hear that people are still fighting for healthcare reform.

Dear Caroline,

Enough talk. It's time for action.

President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress helped focus the public’s attention on the urgent need for health insurance reform and the benefits of the reform plan in the House of Representatives, that I have spent more than a year working on. We have made a lot of progress. The plan has been approved by three committees and has generated a lot of support. That is more progress than any reform plan has ever achieved.
I've always believed health care is a fundamental right and not a privilege. I promise to work day-and-night to make sure we pass meaningful legislation that makes a real difference. This past summer, as I do every Congressional recess, I hosted town hall meetings in my district. This year, there were more attendees than ever before. As we've seen all across the country, the health care debate can at times be contentious, but that does not mean we should let our work be derailed.

I've continuously maintained that the public option is the best way to lower costs, increase marketplace competition and ensure that every American has affordable coverage. It is important, I believe, that everyone has choices, the ability to choose their doctors and the ability to choose their insurance plan. It is also important that insurance companies have competition. They should compete for our business, not tell us what they’ll cover and how they’ll do it.

Now is truly the season for action. We're so close to real health care reform. As President Obama said, this will issue will define America's moral character. We need your help, your voice and your passion to get this crucial legislation passed, once and for all.

Sincerely,

Frank Pallone, Jr.

P.S. As always, to stay up-to-date on the ongoing health care debate as it unfolds from Capitol Hill, or any other relevant issues from my office, please follow me on Twitter, connect with me on Facebook, or visit my website.

Billionaires for Wealthcare-- they did it again

with pure brilliance. Here's their response to DC teabaggers on Saturday.

GREAT article on the state of the GOP today

BACK IN 1970 when Richard Nixon nominated a little-known district court judge named Harold Carswell for the Supreme Court and Carswell’s opponents branded him “mediocre,’’ Republican Senator Roman Hruska of Nebraska famously rose to Carswell’s defense. Even if he were mediocre, Hruska said, “mediocre people are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they?’’ With that ringing endorsement, Carswell’s appointment was soundly defeated by the Senate, but not even Hruska could have foreseen how his prescription would be adopted by our political system.

Continued here

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/09/12/the_extreme_republican_party/?page=full

where were you?

It's now been 8 years since the 9/11 attacks. If you're anything like me, you still know exactly where you were when you found out, like it was yesterday.

I was asleep when it happened. My dad called me at 8:30 or so and all he told me was "turn on the TV" and did not state a reason. Since that is so unlike him, I listened. Living in metro NY then, the network stations were out (broadcast from the top of the WTC) so I put on CNN and was in disbelief the whole day.

The night before, I went to a Yankees/Red Sox game that was never played due to rain. The following day all I could think about was "what if they attacked Yankee Stadium when over 50K people were there."

I had a co-worker who lost his brother, sister, and sister-in-law in the attacks. One of my classmates at the time worked in the WTC and called in sick that day. Who knew that missing work would save his life (nobody from his company survived). I'm reminded of them every day when I walk around town, as there are 4 benches right next to each other in memory of first responders who died in the attacks.

President Obama's address to Congress

Last night, President Obama gave a kick-ass speech to Congress on health care. He debunked many of the right-wing lies that have been spread about health care (mandatory funding for abortions, they're going to euthanize Grandma, death panels, government takeover of healthcare, etc). However watching the behavior of the Republicans in Congress, I was absolutely appalled. Eric Cantor was on his Blackberry the whole time. But representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) was the most appalling. He had the nerve to yell out and call the President a liar.

If you are as appalled at Wilson's remark as I am, the old saying goes put your money where your mouth is. His opponent in 2010, Rob Miller is cashing in. http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19079

Here's the address to Congress (I can't find video I can embed on here yet. I will edit when I can find a complete version of the speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQhmRhqQsAE

President Obama's adress to students

And this is the "controversial" speech that the right was up in arms about. What is so controversial about staying in school, working hard, and applying yourself?

Response to David Horowitz

Dear Mr. Horowitz--

I agree with you that we are facing a budget emergency, and we have been since 1/20/01. Were you this vocal when opposing your boy George W. Bush when he redistributed massive amounts of wealth to the people who needed it the least in the form of tax cuts, most of which benefited the top 1% of income earners? Were you this vocal in your opposition when Bush also started a war under false pretenses and put it on the United States Visa card? We lost 8 billion dollars in cold hard cash in Iraq? Were you concerned with the deficit then?

I was just a baby when Carter left office. Sure he made some mistakes, but in hindsight he was absolutely right. I could just imagine the path this country would be on had Reagan never been elected. For one thing, we wouldn't have been at war for oil because Carter actually believed in alternative energy.

You seriously think that President Obama is a radical leftist? I would definitely disagree with you. Last year during the election cycle he was frequently called the "most liberal" Senator. I think Senator Bernie Sanders would disagree with you. Senator Sanders actually DOES call himself a Socialist and is not afraid to admit it. Compared to Senator Sanders, the people you mentioned in your letter look as far right as Reagan. And Rahm Emanuel is far from a leftist. In fact most on the left do not like the man, as he's a corporatist at heart with a brother in the health industry.

You seriously think college students are the next great hope for conservatism? Let's take a look at what a generation who does not remember Reagan got from 29 years of conservative rule. Many will graduate with massive student loan debt thanks to federal funding cuts for their education. And because of the bankruptcy laws that Republicans push with their "personal responsibility" talking points, should the worst happen, the debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. And that magical high-paying job that is sold to college students has now been outsourced to India thanks to conservative economic policies. If the Obama administration does not fix health care, many college will be uninsured the day they graduate thanks to the current system when they are no longer covered by their parents' plan.

You brag about doing a media tour and tout Glenn Beck. And you want to target young people by going on Fox news? Have you taken a look at the demographics of who watches Fox? It is most likely the grandparents of the college students you would like to target. And Glen BecKKK should just admit who he really is and appear on his show wearing a white hood and burning a cross.

You will not get one dime of my money. Never will so you might as well just kiss me goodbye right now. And don't let the door hit you on the way out. President Obama has promoted bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle, but I often wonder why he still does when all you guys do is spread lies like this piece of trash around.

Sincerely

Caroline

a cry to arms from the opposition

The Freedom Center urgently needs your support!

We have plunged deeper than ever into the fight against the far left...we've had to. Now we're facing a budget emergency, and it could not come at a worse time. Barack Obama and the socialist leadership in Congress are working furiously to change America! They want to transform our nation and they're spending trillions of tax dollars to do it.

I am not talking about the type of misery Jimmy Carter inflicted on our nation. Conservatives were able to reverse the course Carter had put us on. But what we're seeing today isn't like anything you and I have ever seen! I'm talking about a whole scale, radical transformation of our nation. From our national defense to our foreign policy to our free market economic system - Obama and company have implemented and have plans to further implement massive government control over each of us.

Americans - your friends and neighbors - do not fully realize the radical changes Barack Obama and the socialists in Congress are foisting upon our way of life!

But you do. And you know I do as well. Today the Obamaites, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel, Harry Reid - the small but powerful group of left-wing radicals who are at the controls of this transformation are all disciples of the 1960s radical Saul Alinsky. Alinsky's book, Rules for Radicals, was the Little Red Book for the college radicals of the 1960s. I know, I was one of them.

I understand better than most Alinsky's deep, deep hatred of America. A hate that ran so deep he wrote a blueprint for tearing our nation down. And while I outgrew and repented my anti Americanism and came to see how great and generous our country is, many agents of the radical left never grew up. In fact, today many of them are leaders in Congress and in our White House, all embracing Alinsky's Rules for Radicals - the road map for turning our nation upside down.

With every passing day we see what lays behind the Administration's piecemeal efforts to take over the car makers, the banks and the health care system: creating a new America that will bear little resemblance to the country in which we grew up. You and I must counter this. The Freedom Center willingly takes on the Paul Revere role. We have a massive media blitz planned including appearances on Glenn Beck and other widely viewed talk shows - detailing precisely the radical transformation we're undergoing.

I am writing a new booklet that I must blanket on college campuses as the new school year starts. This booklet - "Alinsky's Rules for Obama's Radicalism" - paints a clear picture of Barack Obama's agenda for our nation. And we have prepared an advertisement to run in papers around the country calling on Americans to derail this train before it's too late.

I urgently need your support. Will you help the Freedom Center with a contribution of $25, $50 or $100 would help lift us out of our budget emergency; $1,000 would be a terrific aid to getting our ads in newspapers and my new booklet published.

Use any of the links found in this email and help me and the Freedom Center expose the radicals and halt this transformation - while we still have time! Thank you .

Sincerely,

David Horowitz
President & Founder

P.S. Please keep in mind that our budget emergency couldn't come at a worse time. The idea that the disciples of Saul Alinsky - a man who so hated America he detailed a plan to tear it apart - are running our nation is hard to swallow. But the facts bear it out. Stand with me and the Freedom Center as we ride like Paul Revere across the nation and sound the alarm! Please follow this link to make your donation today.


I shall respond to this piece of trash in my next post

EDIT: I originally found this piece of trash from the great folks at Democratic Underground.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6486473

Fixing healthcare without a public option

I am in favor of a public option when it comes to healthcare. And frankly I am sick of my party bending over backwards for a vocal minority. I would rather not give a dime of my money to a for-profit insurance company that rations care to increase profits.

However thanks to the GOP's mob scene tactics and talking heads on TV, it may be compromised. Maybe fixing healthcare is a gradual process instead of something that could be done overnight. Here's a start to how to fix healthcare without invoking a public option.

1) Lower the age for Medicare from 65 to 55.
2) Raise the age to which young adults can be covered under by their parents' insurance to at least 25, maybe even 30.
3) End all TV and radio advertising for any of the following products. Prescription drugs, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, medical devices (such as wheelchairs), and specialists and any center they may work at (such as a cancer treatment center). Beyond the Yellow Pages, most doctors and specialists should not advertise.
4) Audit the books every year of any for-profit company involved in healthcare including drug and insurance companies. If a company is holding back a cure for a disease because it's more profitable to treat it, they should be shut down.
5) Make gym memberships and other wellness programs tax-deductible for anyone regardless of income.
6) Focus more on preventative care rather than treatment. Yes it is less profitable, but in the long run it will produce a healthier population.
7) We need more primary care doctors. In order to achieve this, the federal government should offer forgiveness of student loan debt to anyone entering family practice who stays there for X years.
8) Doctors should be paid on salary (yes they deserve over 6 figures) instead of per procedure.
9) Look at the leading causes for the chronic diseases that our country is suffering from and use policy to treat the causes. For example our diets are a leading cause of obesity and diabetes. So first start with the federal school lunch program and slowly make menus healthier by replacing hot dogs with things like wraps. Make it that a consumer in all neighborhoods has healthier food available at a reasonable price. And PLEASE PLEASE end the government's subsidy of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I drastically reduced the amount of HFCS in my diet and as a result lost 30 pounds. Perhaps adding a 1% tax to any product with HFCS in it would pay for any new healthcare initiatives.

Bipartisanship

I am still a supporter of President Obama. I voted for him, and I would against any Republican opponent. I do however have issues with his effort to "reach across the aisle."

Under normal circumstances I think bipartisanship is excellent, and compromise can be reached. After all that IS how Democracy works. However with this GOP, I don't see it happening at all. They want all this Republican bullshit in the bill (such as tax cuts for the wealthy, etc) then they all vote against it. I thought the Republican bullshit in the bill was in order to get them to vote for the legislation. Silly me, I thought they were actually negotiating.

And they're at it again with this health care bill. It already *IS* a compromise is what many fail to understand. The bill that the most progressive Democrats want is HR 676 which is a single-payer system. We've compromised on that in order to bring us the public option.

When Bush was in office, he never once tried to reach across the aisle. He basically thought Democrats were non-existent. Why can't President Obama do the same thing, especially when it comes to health care. Of course the Republicans don't have the equivalent of Blue Dogs (please neuter them now) either. There is no room in the GOP for moderates. I just wish the leaders in my party, including the President would grow a spine.

Billionaires for Wealthcare

This. is. brilliant.

Town Halls

After witnessing the riot act better known as Frank Pallone's town hall (and the TV clips of town halls around the country), I think that things need to be done differently so that people can actually be (gasp!) civil towards each other, and respect elected officials.

1) I would limit the town halls to constituents only. In order to prove that you LIVE in the district, I would require ID to be shown.
2) Anyone who speaks out of turn or shouts someone down should be ejected by the security at the event immediately.
3) No firearms allowed.
4) No signs/banners/flags should be allowed to be brought inside.
5) Upon entry, everyone in attendance should be given an index card. If they have a question for the Congresscritter/Senator, they should write it on that index card. Have a neutral 3rd party read over the questions and ask them. The 3rd party should read "this question is from John Doe from Anytown, John would you please stand up" so the Congresscritter knows who asked the question.

These simple options would make the last month so much more civil.