patrick.net

Jindal will be branded a RINO and relegated to the fringe just like all similar moderate elements before him.

Vicente says

Jindal will be branded a RINO and relegated to the fringe just like all similar moderate elements before him.

You can relegate the entire party to history if they continue to marginalize like this. They have not stopped attacking woman rights, redistricting and gerrymandering districts, infact they are getting worse as more and more of their power vanishes.

Virginia Republicans Give Blacks the Finger on MLK Day
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/01/virginia-republicans-give-blacks-finger-mlk-day

The Virginia state senate is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, 20-20. Republicans really hate this, but what can they do? Answer: wait for a Democratic state senator to be absent and jam through a mid-decade redistricting plan that switches one seat from D to R by creating a new pack-and-crack majority black district just south of Richmond. The vote was 20-19.

But wait! That's not all. The deed was done on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and at the end of the session Republicans adjourned in memory of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, whose birthday is today.

Oh, and did I mention that the state senator who was absent is a veteran of the civil rights movement? And that he was in Washington to attend the inauguration of our country's first black president?

Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has obvious presidential ambitions, said he was surprised by the move, but didn't denounce it and didn't promise to veto it. Quite the contrary: his spokesman said the governor would "review it in great detail" once the bill got to his desk.

It's truly a mystery why so few African-Americans support the Republican Party, isn't it? A real chin-stroker.

GOP SCUM !

Vicente says

Jindal will be branded a RINO and relegated to the fringe just like all similar moderate elements before him.

Yep, I don't think his star is going to be rising much longer.

leo707 says

Yep, I don't think his star is going to be rising much longer.

Hard to say. Its fairly clear from hearing the applause during his speech that other GOP members also know that they need to change direction. If they don't, they're going to become irrelevant. This is fairly important. We do in fact need a two party system. But the GOP is currently going down a wrong path. I too would agree that if they stepped away from focusing so much on social issues and more on fiscal ones, but not parroting back the same horse shit they've been stating " No more taxes! no more taxes! Sqauwk!" they might do well with more independents.

edvard2 says

Hard to say. Its fairly clear from hearing the applause during his speech that other GOP members also know that they need to change direction. If they don't, they're going to become irrelevant.

I agree that it is hard to say, and it is possible that more moderate minds regain control of the party, but currently it is hard for me to imagine the GOP turning their back on FOX "news" and the Tea Party.

The Democrat party's leadership of today is arguably about as conservative as Regan. I could see the RINOs joining Democrats and a new "liberal" party emerging.

The paul family is not "moderate libertarian". They're extremist libertarians who want virtually no government. That's not an attractive platform for very many people.

A moderate libertarian would accept the validity of government programs while working to minimize them.

Kevin says

Most importantly, intelligent Americans will actually have two legitimate choices again. Its impossible for me to even consider voting for a party full of anti science bigots.

Absolutely correct

If the reps were to run jindal/herman cain ticket in 2016, it would be an interesting matchup. All depends of course on who the dems nominate, but they would probably do no worse that mr. bain did in 2012. And if dems run hillary and whoever against jindal/cain, the reps may have a decent chance of winning assuming of course that jindal plays by the same playbook that he is speaking today.

edvard2 says

The thing is that I heard this on the radio: Many of the GOP leaders present were clapping. Obviously many agree and approve.

Clapping doesn't mean squat. People clap out of politeness, or just because they are the sorts of people who have bothered to show up to an event where Jindal was speaking. Does his audience represent a cross-section of GOP voters?

Boehner said today he wants to make abortion "a relic of the past".

The GOP is run entirely by zealots these days, there's just no getting around it. Trotting out a few fringers to say "see look how moderate & reasonable we can be!" just doesn't wash.

Unless fat, racist, middle age white guys can start breeding quicker they are done.

Moderate Infidel says

Unless fat, racist, middle age white guys can start breeding quicker they are done.

Well, the "white guys" are not really breeding quicker than many other cultures and thats regardless of whether they are progressives/liberals/conservatives/racists etc. While this choice has certain advantages from peace of mind and financial perspectives, it does have consequences one of which is that you lose political influence vs those groups that are "breeding" at a quicker pace.

SFace says

During the last election cycle, it was just draw dropping the stuff that was coming out of their mouths:

Agreed. I sometimes wonder how closely those in charge at the RNC actually pay attention to this stuff. Some of the outright stupidity displayed was awe-inspiring. Mostly because almost all of what was mentioned to get attention was totally ridiculous except to a very small demographic of extreme right followers. The GOP needs to learn to cast a wider net next election.

edvard2 says

I think this is actually one of the few times I've totally agreed with a Republican politician.

That's what he wants you think. If you look more closely though, he was only suggesting greater stealth next time. He didn't say anything about admitting that their platform was fundamentally wrong. He certainly didn't say anything about apologizing. He only said they needed to keep quiet about it. Basically, instead of being the loudmouth Rush Limbaugh party, he wants them to be the furtive Larry Craig party, because it's easier to fool people if you don't talk about what you're planning to do. And their party still depends, fundamentally, on fooling people into voting against their own interests. That's why they can't jettison the religious fundamentalists. They need $$$ from crony capitalists and endorsements from preachers in order to get the votes of religious fanatics. Half of all Americans believe the earth and man were created in their current form less than 10,000 years ago, as described in Genesis; they reject evolution and geology and they would probably still believe in geocentrism if their preachers told them to. Throw in a slick TV campaign, and scare the daylights out of people with war all over the world, and you can have a winning combination at the polls, as W demonstrated in 2004.

I'd love to see a major party stand for balanced budgets, peace abroad, freedom and prosperity at home. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough patronage money or sectarian bloodlust in that platform to compete with the existing major party patronage networks.

There were two very bad things that came up recently, first was that the House didn't pass a disaster relief package for Hurricane Sandy, second is the witch hunt for information about Benghazie.

Paul Ryan saying he would fire Clinton was a stupid comment to make to a politically savvy, connected, life long politician who has done an exhausting job as Secratary of State. That was pure grand standing, the way he does.

Republicans have a very tough row to hoe to get any traction in the next election. They need to start making positive movement rather than slogans.

"No Budget, No Pay?" That was a stupid representation of how to get things done.

I love how the Fox Newser's kick Hillary's comment around:

Hillary: What difference would it make?
NeoCons: 4 DEAD AMERICANS!

As if whatever State said about the matter after they were dead, would make them less dead or something.

Idiots!

SFace says

You can disagree with Obama's philosophy and politics, at least he's not going nuclear "stupid" like his competitors were.

Stupidly came from the likes of Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Stephanie Cutter smear campaign of lies and misinformation... still didnt prove that Romney did anything illegal signing the SEC docs or so called Swiss Bank Accounts...

Vicente says

Hillary: What difference would it make?

NeoCons: 4 DEAD AMERICANS!

No... it was about if al Qaeda was finished as Obama stated before the attack on 911 (2012) or cover up a full blown al Qaeda attach that wasnt supposed to happen.

It still is a cover up.. with no comments until AFTER the election.. Even CBS censored their interview to hide the Obama called the attach was due to the Anti Muslim YouTube video.

thomaswong.1986 says

cover up a full blown al Qaeda attach

Can you even conceive that this theory is completely insane?

I like a good conspiracy as much as the next guy, but this is a whole new level of just stupid. A conspiracy should at least be about something REAL and meaningful, not something a large chunk of Americans couldn't give a shit about whichever way it went down.

It's piss-ant bullshit that was CORRECTED later. Let's contrast this, did Bush and Cheney admit there were never any WMD and they shouldn't have invaded Iraq? NOOOOPE! Were there any concrete major military actions that hung on the outcome of which way the State Department reported their knowledge of Benghazi? NOOOPE!

Kevin says

The paul family is not "moderate libertarian". They're extremist libertarians who want virtually no government. That's not an attractive platform for very many people.

A moderate libertarian would accept the validity of government programs while working to minimize them.

The Rand Paul is also your tea party Representative

Thedaytoday says

A moderate libertarian would accept the validity of government programs while working to minimize them.

It will never happen. They are too extreme. So extreme infact I don't see how Rand Paul draws a salary from the Government!

Rand Paul is also an ultra social conservative. On one hand he says keep government off our backs, on the other he wants to outlaw abortion and gay marriage. He's just a tool.

Kevin says

Rand Paul is also an ultra social conservative.

His dad moved from Pennsylvania to Texas, so the acorn rolled downhill a long way from the tree. Same story with W and his parents. Not everybody in Texas is a jerk, for example Molly Ivins and Ann Richards and even Buddy Holly were all Texan, but most of the "men" get so riled up about God & Guns that they can't think about anything else. It might be even worse among some first generation Texans, who might grow up feeling a need to prove themselves "real Texans" and not closet Yankees.

Vicente says

Can you even conceive that this theory is completely insane?

The Sept 11 2012 attack on benghazi was another al qaeda terrorist attack...but the Govt said it was from a anti-muslim video. so it was also said by our UN ambassador on Sunday talk shows and by our President a few weeks later on 60 minutes. It was later revealed that part of the interview was censored by 60 minutes before the 2012 elections. The president continued to ignore it was a terrorist attack even though Libyans reported it was al Qaeda..

Not a theory.. all facts captured on video ...

Please elaborate on what difference it makes if the source of the attack was misreported during the first few weeks, before all the facts were in. Has it affected policy? Would four people still be dead? Was ANYBODY still confused about who was responsible for the attack after 3-4 weeks?

You people are really grasping at straws here. Why are you wasting your energy on something so irrelevant and petty? Its not like bad information was used to justify invading another country and spending trillions of dollars.

thomaswong.1986 says

The Sept 11 2012 attack on benghazi

Who gives a rat's ass?

A bunch of GOP dimwits determined to find SOME shred of something they can use to smear shit on Obama. Attempting to turn a molehill into a mountain through willpower and bullshit.

I mean really, let's say State Dept HAD gotten things right immediately. I rarely expect this in the "fog" that immediately follows some event like this. It usually takes YEARS or NEVER for some agencies to recognize errors. But let's say they had. Now what would have changed about our lives today? Please elucidate how this event being communicated one way vs the other, resulted in some major diplomatic or military change, that would have changed the War on Terror completely. Go ahead, convince me the tragic consequences of this error and the UTOPIA we missed out on by one screwup.

Vicente says

I mean really, let's say State Dept HAD gotten things right immediately.

and that would mean a contradiction what obama has been saying for months...al qaeda is finished... than came another "911" surprise right before election... al qaeda not finished after all... no smear just facts..

it seems the political life of a incompetent administration would come to an end. so they did a cover up.. while all the evidence was clear as day light.. and 60 mintues the independent arm of the media gets caught censuring the most damning evidence of all.

and all Obama did was become apologist for some anti Muslim video even during the UN speech

So Vicente was the attack on benghazi over the video or a preplanned terrorist attack... which one ?

Oh yeah, the huge cover up! Its a conspiracy! Obama would have lost the election if...something. Different?

Wtf? I don't even know what this is. They had bad information. Full stop. They got better information later and updated the official story. There were ZERO actions taken based on bad information.

This is such bullshit that it makes me happy. Republicans can't find anything legitimate to complain about, so they're wasting time grasping at straws.

Kevin says

Republicans can't find anything legitimate to complain about, so they're wasting time grasping at straws.

They could find plenty of legitimate things to complain about, but they can't propose any legitimate solutions that their coalition would tolerate. They shout about distractions to drown out any discussion of their backwards and dreadful policies. It's like Jindal's advice, except at higher volume: they can't muzzle their worst representatives, so they try to shout louder about something else, anything else, hoping nobody will notice the elephants in the room.

" GOP needs to stop being the stupid party"

That might require a miracle that even God can't preform.

chanakya4773 says

COME ON .. its 4 versus 4487 and a ratio of 1000 !!

LOL! a dinky scratch and some go crying home to momma...

Kennedy must be disgusted at what his democratic party has become...
This certainly isnt the democratic party he once was the leader of... the new brave generation. At least he wasnt a pussy compared to some today.

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty." President John F. Kennedy - January 20, 1961

chanakya4773 says

An error which cost 4000 lives is much serious than an error which caused 4 lives ....Period !

and that would mean even Lincoln made a bigger mistake than Bush...

else just capitulate and die... give up ! call it a day and surrender ! game over !

someone paid for your freedom.. and you cant handle it !!!

Kevin says

Oh yeah, the huge cover up! Its a conspiracy! Obama would have lost the election if...something. Different?

its about having the balls to know you were wrong and correct it without delay.
as was the case with Kennedy when he was dealing with the Soviets
and Arms built up in Cuba..

Dead people can't be disgusted.

Kevin says

Dead people can't be disgusted.

its ok to be a pacifists as long as you can get out of way of the people who will
make that sacrifice..

chanakya4773 says

It was a BIG ERROR by our intelligence team.

either way.. Iraq was gonna happen maybe in 2003 maybe in 2013...maybe by Bush or may be by Al Gore..

Al Gore: No Doubt Saddam's Weapons Are Grave Threat

http://www.youtube.com/embed/fFBl0fnMUVc

chanakya4773 says

precious 4000 lives.

4000 to save 10s 100s of MILLIONS ... sacrifices were made by our warriors..
as they have in past conflicts and wars... if your incapable of making that sacrifice
than step aside..

chanakya4773 says

now GOP got its panties in a knot for an error which cost us 4 lives.

nope.. thats where you wrong.. its about the political career of the President losing the election vs admitting that al Qaeda is still a treat even after the death of OBL.

Does... Osama is Dead and Ford is Alive.... Ring a bell.. clearly the marketing of Obama
was a farce...

robertoaribas says

If we hadn't have lost those 4000 lives in Iraq, saddam would still have all those weapons of mass destruction he had before...

we got a 2 for 1 deal...because of it... scared the fuck out of Gaddafi..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction

On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi made a surprise announcement that he planned to dismantle the program. Libya agreed to destroy all of its chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons. Libya provided the designs of centrifuges to U.S. officials and gave the name of its suppliers. The revelation led to the debriefing of Abdul Qadeer Khan, one of Pakistan's top scientists. In 2004, the United States, along with IAEA officials and Interpol, led the arrest of the Libyan nuclear program's former head Friedrich Tinner. On 22 January 2004, U.S. transport planes carried 55,000 pounds of documents and equipment related to Libya's nuclear and ballistic missile programs to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. In March 2004, over 1,000 additional centrifuge and missile parts were shipped out of Libya.

chanakya4773 says

4000 lives and then making up stories to justify the war.

sacrifices were made... its a concept alien to you.

I feel like there should be a party for the California conservative like me. I'm not racist, at least I don't think I am. I'm married interracially so I pass that test. I believe people should have the right to choose how to live their lives and do whatever they like until it hurts others. That's pretty libertarian, I suppose. I'm against propaganda, both sides. That means I won't be tolerating Fox rantings or gay mafia propaganda. People have a right to their beliefs in this country, even if others may find them repugnant. I believe that the government should do less. Less overseeing its citizens through endless regulation and policing. Less spent on invading other nations and less expensive war planes. Less intrusion into our lives over what we put in our bodies, be it raw milk or cannibis. I believe we could balance the budget, if sacred cows like homeland security were put on the chopping block. I believe the rich could pay more taxes if they're making 20 million annually and paying 11%. By anyone's math that is wrong. Close the loopholes! Then perhaps we can have the productive middle class tax rate at a sane level. I believe that corruption in government costs us all, and should be rooted out. We cannot afford to become a banana republic, which is increasing in likelihood as those from such cultures attain office and begin the double dealing.
I think we need to psychologically evaluate all politicians and place disclaimers on the ones who are likely sociopaths. That would discourage outright malicious activity in government. The Chinese had a tradition of this for centuries. We could learn something.
Anyone else have things to add to the list? Arguments?