Outgoing Lawmaker to GOP: Obama ‘Hatred’ Destroying ‘Credible’ Conservatism
December 31, 2010
(ChattahBox Political News)— At least one outgoing Republican Congressman, who lost to a fringe tea party candidate, is refusing to engage in the rabid hatred of President Obama. As he prepares to leave Congress, Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) is warning his fellow Republicans to end the vicious character assassination of our President, or risk destroying the “credible conservative” movement altogether. The election of our first black president two-years ago in a landslide victory ushered in a new season of hope, after eight long years of war, illegal torture and economic malpractice under the Bush/Cheney administration. But the election of Barack Obama also unleashed a wave of hysterical xenophobia and racism from the right-wing malcontents, the likes of which our country has not seen in modern times. President Obama was smeared as an unpatriotic Nazi, Socialist, Marxist and Communist, as well as a secret Muslim, an illegal alien and a scary Manchurian candidate. The idea was to portray our President as some sort of “other,” a foreign usurper who is not a “real” American. The insane pathological hatred of President Obama by the right-wing teapartiers, became so intense, it was even given a name, Obama Derangement Syndrome. Read more
Gov. Richardson: A ‘Close Call,’ But No Pardon for Billy the Kid (Video)
December 31, 2010
(ChattahBox US News)—In the end, after the outgoing Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson (D) brushed off his feelings of historical romanticism for a Western folk hero, he found the evidence for a pardon lacking. After much deliberation and media attention, Richardson announced he will not issue a posthumous pardon for notorious 19th century teen outlaw Billy the Kid. Why? Well for one, after Territorial Governor Lew Wallace reneged on his promise of a pardon, Billy the Kid continued with his murdering ways, killing two lawmen. Read more
Unresolved Issue: What Will Obama Do?
December 31, 2010
courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
(ChattahBox Op/Ed News) This will be my last column for the year and as much as I want it to be a pep talk or a direct conversation with you about how amazing 2011 will be it would be a smoke screen at best. I am worried about plenty of issues and I am vastly concerned about Democratic leadership as we begin anew in a few shorts days. The number one question for Democrats and Progressives is who will President Obama be and what will President Obama do? They are two very separate and critical questions. Read more
Poll: Why do Republicans Want Their Own Country to Fail?
December 30, 2010
(ChattahBox Political News)—Soon after our first black President Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election in a landslide victory, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh was on the air rooting for his failure. “I hope he fails,” said the hate talker. Those hateful words kicked off an anti-Obama campaign, fueled by xenophobia, racism and blind hatred led by the usual group of right-wing Republican malcontents, re-branded as the tea party. The knee-jerk hatred and opposition to anything Obama even has a name, Obama Derangement Syndrome. Still, a new poll showing that a majority of Republicans are actively rooting for their own president to fail is shocking. These so-called patriotic Americans want their own country to fail. Why? Read more
Unresolved Issue: Is The Tea Party A Threat or An Opportunity?
December 30, 2010
(ChattahBox Op/Ed News) News yesterday of a federal investigation into Republican Tea Party Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell was an important reminder that we need to examine and reexamine the Tea Party movement and what it could potentially mean to the country at large, not just the Republican Party.
Clearly the Tea Party had an effect on the November 2010 mid term elections but to what degree is the question. In some parts of the country the Tea Party is a serious force to be reckoned with, while in other parts of the country they barely move the political dial. Christine O’Donnell is a prime example of what is wrong with the movement; namely candidates that upon further examination are less than qualified and lack serious acumen to lead. The inconsistency of the Tea Party candidates is an important consideration when weighing whether or not they should be taken seriously or if they will have longevity. Read more
Obama Battles GOP Obstructionism: Makes Six Recess Appointments
December 30, 2010
(ChattahBox Political News)— With hundreds of administrative and judicial nominees stalled in the Senate for months due to unprecedented Republican obstructionism, President Obama used his executive powers during the legislative break to make six recess appointments to fill vacancies in the Department of Justice and the State Department. This hardly makes a dent in the 79 nominees needed to run the government, who have been languishing in the Senate for months. The obstructionism of judicial nominees is so severe that it has caused a crisis in our federal courts. Really, just six recess appointments in the face of such legislative dysfunction is not much, but Republicans will whine and complain regardless. Read more
Fox News’ Tucker Carslon: Eagles’ Vick ‘Should Have Been Executed’ (Video)
December 29, 2010
(ChattahBox Political News)— Conservative Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson is seemingly a fairly bright person, but he has a history of making utterly moronic and heartless statements. Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart perfectly described Carlson’s tiresome boorishness during a 2004 appearance on the now-defunct CNN’s Crossfire, co-hosted by Carlson at the time. After a heated exchange Stewart said, “You’re as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.” And really that’s all you need to know about Tucker Carlson. So, it should come as no surprise that after weighing in on President Obama’s support for giving Michael Vick a “fair second chance,” Carlson spewed out something beyond absurd. What did he say? Carlson said Vick should have been punished with the death penalty for his crime of running a dog fighting ring. Read more
Poll: Alaska Really, Really Hates Sarah Palin
December 29, 2010
(ChattahBox Political News)—Poll after poll, after poll shows that Sarah Palin is a universally despised political figure, despite her popularity with the right-wing tea party base of the Republican Party. And those who know her the best, like her the least. A new poll found that 58 percent of all Alaskans hate the former half-term governor and divisive reality TV star. In fact, a majority of Americans in all ten states polled can’t stomach Sarah Palin. That doesn’t bode well for her future presidential plans. Read more
GOP’s Recipe for Fiscal Disaster: CUT/GO
December 29, 2010
(ChattahBox Political News)—The Republicans in the House are setting the stage to break the federal budget with more unpaid for tax cuts that would add to the deficit. And block any revenue stream to pay for the services and programs Americans have become accustomed to. So, what is their answer? Republican leaders want to cut existing programs to pay for any new spending and then cut again, until they have achieved their Randian Libertarian paradise, wherein the wealthy and the federal government can be relieved of their social contract to help the less fortunate. The House Republicans call their plan CUT/GO, as opposed to the Democratic PAY/GO policy. And as part of the plan to eventually dismantle the social safety net of Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid, the GOP also proposes altering the rules of the legislative reconciliation process to make it easier to pass deficit-busting tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. Welcome to the Republican controlled House of Representatives. Read more
Unresolved Issue: Who Will Run Against Obama in 2012?
December 29, 2010
(ChattahBox Op/Ed News) – As I look to clean up issues that are hanging over from the 111th Congress, this one is actually not a Congressional issue at all and in fact may seem like an odd issue at first glance. As of now, and for the first time that I can remember in many, many years, there is not an announced candidate for the Presidency after the mid-term elections. What I find so odd about that is a simple matter of fundraising. The first serious candidates do have a fundraising advantage and with no one clearly as a front runner or out there actively raising cash it makes one wonder why.
According to most political prognosticators the list of potential Republicans considering a run are: Read more