Last week was one of the most depressing LOSERS post yet...so it's only fair that there are so many laughable LOSERS this week! (Thank you Michael Steele and the RNC)
We begin with the members of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps (MCDC) who took the invitation of their president, Carmen Mercer a bit too literally. The MCDC is a volunteer group based in Arizona that regularly patrols the US/Mexico border, and on March 16th, Ms. Mercer sent out an e-mail asking members to come to the border "locked, loaded and ready" as well as to bring "long arms". She also changed the so called "rules of engagement" for the group to tracking illegal aliens and drug smugglers instead of merely reporting them to authorities. The membership's response to Ms. Mercer's e-mail was so extreme and violent that she disbanded the organization out of fear of what might happen. Apparently she had no idea that her members would take the phrase "locked, loaded and ready" so literally. Imagine that. (In fairness to the membership, it's also suspected that part of the reason for disbanding may have to do with Ms. Mercer's lack of financial skills. Rumor has it that the MCDC is broke!) But whatever the cause, extremism or financial mismanagement.....you're LOSERS!
Singer Erykah Badu makes the LOSER list for her latest video, "WINDOW SEAT". Shot at Dealey Plaza in Dallas on the site of President Kennedy's assassination, Ms. Badu (whom I personally love as a singer) strips naked and simulates being shot at the exact location that President Kennedy was shot. Now, I'm not calling her a LOSER for the location, the "shooting" or the questionable use of nudity. That is her right as an artist to express herself, even if I don't agree with the location that expression took place at. But I am calling her a LOSER for involving people walking on the street who had no advance warning of what she intended to do. They had as much a right NOT to be involved in her art as she did in expressing it. (Although one 12 year old boy did look pretty pleased at being present.) And now she's being charged for disorderly conduct by Dallas police due to complaints filed by those onlookers. (One also has to wonder how much this stunt had to do with artistic expression and how much it had to do with media promotion for her new album....or is that jaded of me?)
Also along the lines of naked "artistic expression" (although this we DON'T need to see) is a video done by Kris Sickles, aka "Pale Horse". He was one of nine members of Hutaree (a Christian militia group) charged with conspiring to kill a police officer in order to launch a major attack at the funeral of that officer. Details are sketchy at this time, so we'll save the Hutaree plot for a future LOSERS post. But Mr. Sickles deserves the title LOSER for a video he posted on Youtube a while back. In it, he appears nearly naked (only a picture of George Bush covers part of his genitalia), wrestles with a half man/half duck character and has great lines like "scar my tattered body no more with your punishing dildo mallet". (No, I'm not kidding.....you can see it here, but I warn you it's NSFW and for once I advise you NOT to follow the link on this LOSER. You won't be able to count the number of ways this video is offensive....though it may make you laugh in spite of yourself!)
A more serious LOSER this week is the Obama administration which has replaced White House counsel, Greg Craig with Robert Bauer. The White House counsel is traditionally the legal conscience of the President. Mr. Craig was never afraid to take a political hit to preserve an important ideological concern as a lawyer. His replacement has different concerns. Mr. Bauer's law expertise is in campaign finance law...in other words, he's all about winning elections legally, not preserving principals. And that makes the Administration a LOSER this week.
A bi-partisan LOSER award goes to both Senate Democrats and Republicans. Last week they received the award for adjourning for break without an extension of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. The reasoning for the adjournment was that all benefits could be made retroactive so people would only have to wait a couple of weeks for their check. Of course, the National Flood Insurance Program was also a part of the same bill....and since that adjournment the East Coast has been battered by heavy rains and severe flooding. Flooding that has been described as a "once-in-a-100-year flood". And all of the residents living in flood plains affected by the flooding will face "complications" in pursuing their claims because of government inaction. This makes Senators of both parties LOSERS for the second week in a row.
Racist LOSER of the week goes to former editor of the Aryan Alternative and former leader of the White Patriot's Party, Glenn Miller. Mr. Miller is also a write-in candidate for Senate from the state of Missouri. His radio ads have been attracting a lot of attention lately for their decidedly racist content. Comments like "But you don't care, do you, Whitey? All you care about is satisfying your belly, pocketbook, genitals and watching the coons play ball on television" or "Your own women and children ought to spit on you every day" have prompted many Missourians to call radio stations to complain. But if a radio station sells air time to one candidate....they have to provide equal opportunity to ALL candidates. That means Missourians are the real LOSERS because they're going to have to listen to this garbage until November!
Under the heading of LOSERS who wasted their money, we have Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (the world's largest credit default swap clearinghouse) which stands to be heavily regulated by the upcoming financial reform legislation. So, they hired Peter Roberson, a senior advisor to the House Financial Reform Committee away from government service to be their chief lobbyist to the House Financial Reform Committee. This should have given Intercontinental a real "in" to the committee as they work on new regulations. Unfortunately for Intercontinental, Chairman Barney Frank has barred ALL members and advisors to the committee from having any professional contacts with Mr. Roberson for as long as he chairs the committee. Which makes that big private sector salary a real waste as far as Intercontinental is concerned.
Cable news network CNN also gets a LOSER award for their hiring practices. They recently added conservative blogger Erick Erickson to their list of commentators. Now, I applaud diversity on any news panel, but Mr. Erickson's brand of conservatism is probably not something that is going to win CNN many new viewers. He recently made news by proclaiming on his radio show that he would pull a shotgun on any census worker who came to his door! Said Mr. Erickson, "They're not going on my property. They can't do that. They don't have the legal right, and yet they're trying...The servants are becoming the masters. We are working for the government. We are becoming enslaved by the government." (Note to Mr. Erickson: it's a survey, not a raid! You can tone it down a bit.) Sounds like Mr. Erickson's rants should do a lot to improve the quality of the discourse on CNN. (Of course, I could be wrong on the ratings issue....Donna Brazile slugging Erick Erickson on air is something that would tempt me to watch!)
California Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina (R) makes the list for her attempt to bridge cultural divides by sending a letter to her supporters in honor of Passover. Normally I would applaud such efforts (especially coming from Republicans, who seem to disdain such acts) but Ms. Fiorina's letter reminded people that this is a time "we break bread and spend time with our families and friends." Perhaps she should have asked a Jewish staff member or friend to review the letter first since tradition dictates that Passover celebrations abstain from all bread-related products and instead serve matzah! Nice try, Ms. Fiorina! Thanks for playing but your still a LOSER! Mozal tov!
The DINO (Democrat in Name Only) LOSER of the week is Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR). She is facing an increasingly tough primary battle against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D). Now up to this week, I had grudgingly supported Sen. Lincoln. Polling indicated that while she might not win a primary fight, she was more likely to win the general election than her primary opponent. And I have always thought that she would be a better choice than the Republican candidate. Now I'm not so sure. This week, she has made news by running an ad on black radio stations talking about how she stood by President Obama on Health Care Reform. The problem with the ad is that she didn't stand by the President and last week she was running TV ads that talked about how she stood up to her own party on Health Care Reform. Does she think that the African-American community doesn't watch TV....or think? Then she ran an ad against her opponent that suggested that Halter had a prescription drug problem! What, you say? Is he sneaking valium behind closed doors? No, he was once on the board of directors of a pharmaceutical company that was sued for misleading investors. (And since Lt. Gov. Halter's service to the company was restricted solely to the Board, he wasn't even named in the lawsuit.) Sen. Lincoln's desperate tactics however, definitely make her a really big LOSER this week!
But this week's biggest (and most humorous LOSER) was Michael Steele and the RNC! They made it a very easy week for comedy writers through a series of revelations regarding RNC fundraising issues. First it was discovered that the RNC had spent $1,946.25 at a lesbian bondage themed strip club in LA, then it came out that they had sent a fund raising mailer with a phone number that did not call the RNC but instead a phone sex hot line. Then it was announced that the RNC had spent quite a lot on "office supplies" this year. These "office supply" expenditures included $982 from Boyden Valley Winery and $700 from Congressional Liquors. To say nothing of the $453 in food-related expenses from a posh Fifth Avenue handbag boutique! Who would have thought that fundraising for the RNC could be so much fun? The GOP...party of fiscal responsibility!!
]]>In many ways it is a very scary quote. It suggests that there are times when violence against fellow Americans in defense of a minority opinion is justified. What Jefferson mused on paper over 200 years ago has become a bumper sticker. And if you want to have some fun, ask anyone who quotes it to you...."What context did Jefferson say this in?" They'll look at you blindly, maybe stutter, hem and haw; but few can tell you the answer.
You see the people who quote this phrase, do so because they are romantics. Not because they are historians. They see themselves as grand patriots fighting for liberty alongside of George Washington. In their minds eye, they are a part of the SPIRIT OF '76, marching along, bandaged and playing the flute while the flag waves over them. They dream of the glory that they could have shared charging the Union forces, following behind JEB Stuart to the sound of "Dixie" playing in the background.
At the time Jefferson wrote his immortal phrase, our country was so new that the Constitution had not been ratified yet. And there was severe disagreement at the time as to whether the Constitution should follow the "Virginia Plan" (which advocated for an unprecedented, strong, central government) or the "New Jersey Plan" (which supported the idea of state sovereignty). The former colonies were suffering severe economic hardship and gold was hard to come by. There was constant threat of war with England. It was a time of great political turmoil and economic strife which was reflected in the mood of the people.
The state of Massachusetts was especially hard hit by the economic troubles. Businessmen who had loaned the new government money to fund the War for Independence were now nearly bankrupt and needed the loans repaid in gold, which was in short supply at the time. Farmers were especially cash poor. They had crops to sell, but nobody had gold to buy them with. This left the farmers with no gold to pay taxes. These taxes were needed to repay the loans made to the government. So scores of these farmers were sent to debtor's prison for failure to pay taxes. Rhetoric from both the farmers who fought the Revolution and the businessmen who had funded the Revolution became more and more heated. Tempers flared on both sides.
By 1786, these issues had come to a violent head. Daniel Shay (a veteran of the Revolutionary War) organized a group of farmers in a militia-style force to shut down the courts that were sending farmers to debtor prison. They were unhappy with the minor reforms to the system that the current state government of Massachusetts had made in order to aid the farmers.
In January of 1787, Shay led his men in an attempt to take over the federal armory in Springfield. An army led by General Benjamin Lincoln was pursuing Shay and the weapons in the armory were their only hope of survival. General William Shepherd, in command of the garrison, opened fire with cannon on Shay's men. Four were killed and over twenty were wounded. Their failure to take control of the weapons and their disorganized retreat broke the back of "Shay's Rebellion" as it came to be known.
In June of that same year, John Hancock (also a supporter of a central government) was elected as Massachusetts governor. But part of his election campaign was to address the issues of the farmers. In the end, the problem was solved by the vote of the people....not the guns of rebels.
The significance of "Shay's Rebellion" was not the act itself but the reaction it created in the people of our young country. Fears of future "armed insurrection" against a legal government galvanized our Founding Fathers to ratify a Constitution that had been stalled in debate for years. The rebellion significantly affected the discussion between those who favored a strong, central government for the states and those who supported stronger state sovereignty. Those who favored a central government won out in the end. The American people who fought the Revolution recognized the danger of actions such as Shay's. A republic should be governed by votes and not by guns.
General George Washington wrote of the rebellion, "I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned in any country... What a triumph for the advocates of despotism, to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves". He claimed that the rebellion was the deciding factor in his decision to attend the Constitutional Convention in order to advocate for a strong, central government.
Samuel Adams was even harsher in his assessment when he wrote, "Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death."
"The rebellion in Massachusetts is a warning, gentlemen" stated James Madison as he advocated for the adoption of the "Virginia Plan" and fought for the idea that a strong central government was necessary for the survival of the new Republic.
It was only Thomas Jefferson who seemed to support the actions of Shay and his men. And as was commented on publicly at the time....he was doing so while sitting safely in Paris as our Ambassador to France at the time.
Today, it ironic that Jefferson's words have become the slogan of those who claim the rights granted them by the Constitution to oppose the government by any means necessary. Jefferson, the ultimate colonial "elitist" is now the one founding father that all of these extremists can quote while expressing their disdain of an "elitist" government that they feel ignored by.
But irony aside, there is danger in this quote. A danger best illustrated by the fact that on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh was arrested wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Jefferson's words only hours after blowing up the Oklahoma City Federal Building killing 168 people (19 of whom were children) and injuring over 400 others.
McVeigh spent a lot of time writing newspapers to warn us of the dangers of the government.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Taxes are a joke. Regardless of what a political candidate "promises," they will increase. More taxes are always the answer to government mismanagement. They mess up. We suffer. Taxes are reaching cataclysmic levels, with no slowdown in sight... Is a Civil War Imminent? Do we have to shed blood to reform the current system? I hope it doesn't come to that. But it might."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Go ahead, take everything I own; take my dignity. Feel good as you grow fat and rich at my expense; sucking my tax dollars and property."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The government is afraid of the guns people have because they have to have control of the people at all times. Once you take away the guns, you can do anything to the people. You give them an inch and they take a mile. I believe we are slowly turning into a socialist government. The government is continually growing bigger and more powerful and the people need to prepare to defend themselves against government control."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Those who betray or subvert the Constitution are guilty of sedition and/or treason, are domestic enemies and should and will be punished accordingly.
It also stands to reason that anyone who sympathizes with the enemy or gives aid or comfort to said enemy is likewise guilty. I have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and I will."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You can't handle the truth. Because the truth is, I blew up the Murrah Building and isn't it kind of scary that one man could wreak this kind of hell?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do these quotes sound familiar? You can read similar quotes on any right wing blog site today. And the people making these comments are true believers in Jefferson's idea of "refreshing the Tree of Liberty". They emblazon Jefferson's words on shirts and signs with no understanding that the event that Jefferson was referencing was the very event that motivated our founding fathers to strengthen the central government over the rights of the states. And these self-styled modern "patriots" seem indifferent to the fact that the blood spilled is seldom that of the tyrants, but instead is that of the innocent.
]]>
But as I've often said, there is a little sinner and a little saint in all of us. Yesterday, Mr. O'Reilly proved that when he announced on air that he personally would be paying the legal fees of the father of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
During Corporal Synder's funeral, the Westboro Baptist Church picketed his funeral. With thier usual collection of loving signs that tell us how GOD HATES FAGS and how God is punishing our military for America's sins, these supposed Christians make as loud a spectacle as possible on the worst day of any parent's life.
We call it insanity...they call it Free Speech. And they are right. While the Constitution promises the Right of Free Speech, in does not promise that we as individuals show responsibilty in exercising that freedom. And the members of the Westboro Baptist Church have made a living for years by exercising thier Right to Free Speech to the point that someone reacts to them. And then they sue that individual.
Snyder's father, however sued them for thier protest. He won his case in a lower court and had the verdict overturned in an appeals court. When a verdict is overturned on appeal, the court costs are assigned to the loser. So now, Mr. Snyder owes money (which he doesn't have) to the attorneys for the church. And coincidentally, those attorneys are family members of the Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church. Like I said, it's how they make thier living.
So, kudos to Bill O'Reilly for proving that there is a little bit of "angel" in even the worst of the worst! And thank you Mr. O'Reilly for your generosity.
]]>So let's start with a harmless and funny LOSER. Vice-President Joe Biden gets named LOSER for his inability to follow the cardinal rule of public speaking....ASSUME THE MICROPHONE IS ALWAYS LIVE!!! By not following that sage advice, Vice-President Biden educated the viewing public on just HOW big the Health Care Reform Act really was!
Also in the funny and harmless category is Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) who makes the Great American Spelling Bee LOSER list for a search banner that appeared this week directing you to her official campaign website. "MICHELE BACHMANN--AMARICA'S CONGRESS WOMAN" (And yes, she not only misspelled America but as a note to future professional political campaign consultants....Congresswoman is only one word.) Rep. Michele "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" Bachmann is a LOSER.
And a Bi-partisan LOSER award to the Liberal Blogosphere and former President George W. Bush. Early this week, during a relief trip to Haiti, Bush was videotaped wiping his hands after shaking hands with Haitians. Now Liberals are screaming racism. And they might be right. Of course, he also might just have a germ phobia (which is actually well known) or it might have just been sweaty palms for all we know. The point is that he was there working on aid relief which is commendable and you can sometimes read too much into an incident seen only in a 15 second YouTube clip. You are welcome to put whatever spin your personal political ideology wants on the hand wipe...but you don't really know! So, it's pretty shaky ground to scream racism on. However, no matter what spin you put on it and even if you ARE a former president.....you don't have the right to wipe that hand on the shirt of former President Bill Clinton. And that makes "W" a LOSER too!
Also sharing a Bi-Partisan LOSER award are Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats both of whom decided it was better to play politics than to help America's unemployed. It was time once again, to pass an extension on unemployment benefits. And just like last month, the GOP pushed for the funding to come from unspent stimulus funds and Democrats wanted to appropriate more money. The GOP resorted to parliamentary procedure tricks (just like last time) and the Democrats were caught off guard (just like last time) and rather than vote for a compromise or stick around to resolve the issue....the Senate went on break. All the while, both sides saying that they would make these benefits retroactive when they come back. Nice idea, providing of course that you don't need those benefits before then to pay a utility bill or buy food to feed your family. Hope both parties enjoy their Easter Break....try reading some of Jesus' teachings on compassion and care for the needy while you sit in your nice house eating a big Easter dinner. Because you're both LOSERS for leaving your constituents hanging like that.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) makes the LOSER list for the new Childhood Nutrition Bill she just introduced. Improving children's nutrition has been a goal of the current administration. It has become a signature issue of the First Lady's. President Obama requested that as part of this initiative, that schools be given an increase of $0.18/meal to improve nutritional values of school lunches. Keep in mind, that the School Nutrition Association requested a raise of $0.35/meal just to keep up with rising food prices. So what does Sen. Lincoln's bill offer? How about a whopping $0.06/meal increase? And what's worse? Under paygo rules, the funding has to be budget neutral. Rather than cut money from agricultural subsidies to the largest farms (most of which are now corporate farms making a profit and not family farms), she took the money from a needed agricultural conservation program. Sen. Lincoln, it's bad enough that you vote like a Republican more often than not, but do you have to protect corporate interests like the GOP as well? LOSER!!
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) makes the LOSER list for what's NOT in his new financial reform legislation. After two years of hearing about banks that are "too big to fail", we finally get reform legislation that does NOTHING to cap the size of these banks. So during the next financial crisis....look to hear the same refrain, "We have to bail them out because we they're simply too big to fail". And then we can all thank the current Senate (both Republicans and Democrats) for their "fix" on banking, but special thanks goes to Sen. Dodd for his outstanding "courage" in the face of retirement.
New Hampshire State Representative Nick Levasseur (D) is our Facebook LOSER of the Week. He recently posted on his Facebook page the idea that "Anime is a prime example of why two nukes weren't enough". And while it's nice that you apologized for your comment....one still has to wonder what kind of LOSER are you that you didn't think this through a little better before you posted such a controversial comment?
But the signing of the Health Care Reform Bill gave us the worst of the worst this week. This week, we met individuals who seem to continually confuse violence with "civil disobedience". Those Americans who think that democracy is best measured in decibels as opposed to votes and act accordingly. You know who you are. You're LOSERS.
LOSERS like former militia member and conservative blogger Mike Vanderboegh, who wrote, "So, if you wish to send a message that Pelosi and her party [that they] cannot fail to hear, break their windows....Break them NOW. Break them and run to break again. Break them under cover of night. Break them in broad daylight. Break them and await arrest in willful, principled civil disobedience. Break them with rocks. Break them with slingshots. Break them with baseball bats. But BREAK THEM." And people listened. All over America, Democratic offices had windows smashed. Some call this "civil disobedience". But what these people seem to forget is that arrest is as important a part of civil disobedience as the illegal act itself. And in fairness to Mr. Vanderboegh (whom I personally find crazy as a loon), he did advocate that Americans await arrest. But what makes Mr. Vanderboegh a LOSER is that he advocates these acts of vandalism against our "Marxist government" while living off his government-paid disability checks!
I could respect the American Protestor who smashed a window and awaited arrest as a means of civil disobedience. But, what makes them LOSERS is that none of them seem brave enough to stay and await arrest. So, whoever did the following: "broke a window at Rep. Gabrielle Gifford's Tucson office, Rep. Louise Slaughter's district office, Democratic Party offices in Ohio, western New York and Kansas, as well as the GOP headquarters in Virginia, spray painted the word "dorks" on one party office in Ohio, faxed a noose to the offices of Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), who is black, and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who is white, sent white powder simulating anthrax and a threatening note to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), made threatening calls to Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO), Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA), Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR), Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), and Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH). YOU ARE ALL LOSERS FOR YOUR ACTS OF VANDALISM AND YOUR THREATS OF VIOLENCE MADE ANNONOMOUSLY UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS. You are the worst of the worst this week! (And yes, this includes those on the Left who were angered by the actions of those on the right. Just because they did it, doesn't necessarily mean that you should do it.)
Mike Troxel, an organizer for the Lynchburg Tea Party gets special mention as a LOSER for posting the home address of Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-VA) online with an invitation for people to "drop by" and let him know their thoughts on the Reform bill. Only problem, he posted the wrong address. Later in the week, Congressman Perriello's brother's natural gas line was cut by vandals. (And yes, the unknown vandal is included in the above listing for WORST OF THE WORST.)
In fact a special LOSER award goes to all those people who made it a point to call the home or protest the homes of Congressmen who were still in Washington. Not because I object to you protesting at a home....but at least have the balls or the brains to wait until the Congressman is at home. Otherwise all you do is scare the spouse and children....don't you feel brave? You know who you are....those people calling Bart Stupak's wife, the people who delivered a coffin to the front yard of Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), etc., etc.
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) gets special mention for claiming his office was shot at before he read the police report. If you had listened to Cantor's press conference, you might think the bullet had lodged in the wall behind his desk. The police report showed that the shot penetrated an office in the building that houses Rep. Cantor's office....but it wasn't even on the same floor as the Congressman's office. And the bullet penetrated the window but didn't have enough velocity to penetrate the blinds behind the window. That means that the bullet was a random shot fired into the air and fell to earth...well, we know where. Guess your broken window DOESN'T trump those of your Democratic colleagues after all!
Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) makes the LOSER list for his "apology" to Rep. Stupak for screaming "BABY KILLER" as the Congressman spoke on the bill. According to Rep. Neugebauer, he wasn't screaming it AT Congressman Stupak....he just sort of lost control at that particular moment. It was about the bill...nothing personal. And we wonder why so many Americans are so out of control over this issue.
Which leads us to RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who REFUSED to sign a joint statement between Gov. Tim Kaine (head of the DNC) and himself that would state that while both disagree on the Health Care Bill, they would "together call on elected officials of both parties to set an example of the civility we want to see in our citizenry" and ask "all Americans to respect differences of opinion, to refrain from inappropriate forms of intimidation, to reject violence and vandalism, and to scale back rhetoric that might reasonably be misinterpreted by those prone to such behavior." And Republicans wonder why they're called the Party of "NO"!
But Democrats are not blameless for incitement these days. They use it to raise money!!!! LOTS OF MONEY!!! Yes, that's right, Organizing for America (the Obama campaign organization) sent out a fundraising letter referencing the violence and threats. Kind of tacky and it definitely makes you LOSERS this week as well.
Yes, there were LOSERS everywhere this week. But one LOSER from previous posts showed up again discussing an incident where he had harassed a man suffering from Parkinson's at a Health Care rally. His response after the fact gives me hope that as a nation we will come to our senses again. Chris Reichert revealed that "people were hunting him" on websites. They were trying to find his identity and he was suddenly made to feel the same way that he had made an old man suffering from a chronic illness feel...afraid. Mr. Reichert said of the rally, "I snapped. I absolutely snapped and I can't explain it any other way....He's got every right to do what he did and some may say I did too, but what I did was shameful.....I haven't slept since that day....I made a donation (to a local Parkinson's disease group) and that starts the healing process."
Amen! May we as a nation gain the wisdom to know the difference between actions that make a statement and those that are merely "shameful".
]]>
Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) is back on the LOSER list this week. This time he's put a hold on two more Obama administration nominees because of a newly passed law that prohibits the sale of flavor-enhanced tobacco products. What makes his "hold" the action of a LOSER is that the law was not passed by the US Congress but by the CANADIAN PARLIAMENT!!! Which drives one to ask, "Dude, what have YOU been smoking?"
Democratic Donor and Super-Fundraiser Hassan Nemazee pled guilty to fraud this week. Fraud involving a $292 million dollar bank loan scheme, some of which was donated to the Obama Election Campaign. Mr. President, as the saying goes, "With friends like these......?"
The South Carolina State Legislature became LOSERS this week when they cut ALL funding to programs involving AIDS relief. This includes the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program and all AIDS Prevention Programs. This is important because the matching federal funds are also now in jeopardy. South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation as having the most AIDS patients per capita and its capital city ranks ninth. The South is the area of the country that has the most increase in HIV patients. Of course, the people of South Carolina who have AIDS are the real LOSERS....they are the ones who risk death due to the state of the economy and the will of their elected representatives.
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) makes the LOSER list for caving to the Pay Day Lending Lobby. His proposed financial reform legislation has been announced. This new legislation creates an agency that is charged with monitoring and enforcing regulations for LARGE Pay Day lenders.....but it doesn't specify what constitutes a Large Lender as opposed to a Small Lender. That lack of definition means that Dodd dodged a tough call as a RETIRING Senator and that makes him a LOSER.
The Florida State Board of Health made the LOSER list for having ordered Victoria Villa (an assisted living community) to fire Ray Fetcho who worked as a nurse at the center. The reason is that it was discovered that Mr. Fetcho had once been arrested. It seems that he was arrested on a misdemeanor, paid a $150 fine and thought he was done with it. Especially since the violation took place 34 years ago in 1976. At that time, Mr. Fetcho was a "drag queen" who in much less tolerant times was booked for misdemeanor "lewdness" during a show at a gay bar and now it apparently is reason to dismiss a valued employee. The families of Mr. Fetcho's Alzheimer patients and the Villa have all wrote the board requesting this decision be overturned. But apparently it's very important to the State Board of Health that no Alzheimer patient be exposed to such a degenerate! Nice job, LOSERS!
An unnamed High School Teacher from Central Falls, R.I. makes the list for the Obama effigy he hung inside his classroom to protest his firing. Apparently, the school has fired several instructors in an attempt to improve the accountability of the school and to reverse the high rate of student failure the school has been showing. President Obama supported the school's action and hence, the doll bearing a sign that says "FIRE CENTRAL FALLS TEACHERS". This Department of Education initiative to improve schools is tough and controversial....but that does not give you the right to hang people in effigy inside your third floor classroom. It doesn't make any statement other than...."I'm a LOSER and maybe there IS a valid reason I'm being canned!"
Rielle Hunter, mistress and Baby-Momma to former Democratic candidate John Edwards, gets the LOSER designation for her really stupid denials of any knowledge of how her recent GQ photo spread was being shot. She told ABC that she thought that all the photos would only be "head shots". So, why would you as a professional photographer think they would want you to wear a man's white shirt, string of pearls and panties for a photo shoot in your child's nursery if not to publish them? Either you are really dumb or you are a complete LOSER!
But for all of the LOSERS this week, one group and one issue stood tall among the rest of the LOSERS. Tea Partiers and other Health Care Reform opponents....the worst of the worst!
From the "Talking out of both sides of your mouth" LOSERS department, there's Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele who on Thursday stated without reservation that the CBO's budget estimate on the deficit reduction of the Health Care Bill was "a lie"! While in back in July, he cited the CBO no less than EIGHT times as an accurate source that claimed an older version of the bill would increase the deficit! So in July when it supported your view it was a great organization and now it's full of liars!
But it was the members of the Tea Party who get the award for biggest LOSERS this week. For their berating treatment of a Parkinson's patient at a protest outside the offices of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH). For the DC protestors one of whom spit on Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and several of whom shouted, "KILL THE BILL, N*GG#R"! For all of those conservatives who tried to deny that such things were actually taking place....THE TEA PARTY IS THE LOSER OF THE WEEK!!!!
]]>This time he has put a hold on two more Obama nominees. Michael Punke has been nominated by the Obama administration to hold the position of Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and was unanimously approved by the Senate Finance Committee (of which Sen. Bunning is a member) over three months ago. Yes, that's right...Sen. Bunning was for Punke's nomination before he was against Punke's nomination.
Islam Siddiqui has been picked by the Obama nomination to be the Chief Agriculture Negotiator, a currently unfilled position that puts the U.S. at a disadvantage in trade negotiations. Forty two different food and agricultural groups have banded together to urge his Senate confirmation as quickly as possible to relieve that disadvantage.
But Kentucky Senator Bunning has put an indefinite hold on both nominees. Why? Are they communist sympathizers? Do they have links to Islamic terrorist groups? Forgot to pay taxes? No. There's nothing controversial about either of them. No complaints on them personally at all.
The hold was placed in protest to a new law that bans the sale of flavored tobaccos. Now this might make sense when you consider that Kentucky provides over 80% of the tobacco that is used in flavored cigarillos. But what doesn't make sense is that the law that Sen. Bunning is protesting was not passed by the US. It's a Canadian law passed by the Canadian Parliament! And in reaction to its passage, Sen. Bunning is blocking yet more Obama nominees. (And NO, I can't explain the logic behind this obstruction other than Republicans will do ANYTHING to halt the functioning of the government when its run by Democrats.)
At this point in President Bush's first term, he had 5 unconfirmed nominations. President Obama has 88! And the sad part to this is that it hampers the government from doing what it's supposed to do. Govern! Regardless of who wins an election....the country needs to keep functioning. To do that, you have to have the personnel in place to run things. Republicans are using every parliamentary trick possible to keep those people out of even relatively insignificant positions. Just because!
Perhaps Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said it best on the floor of the Senate earlier this week: "I think you get the picture that this is a list of systematic efforts to undermine the ability of the executive branch to do its job....So I call upon my Republican colleagues who are conducting this attack on the president and his team to honor their constitutional responsibilities to advise and consent, to this list, and if there are a couple key nominees that you have serious concerns about, then indeed let's have that debate here on the floor."
The GOP is trying hard to live up to the media hype of it being the PARTY OF NO! And Sen. Bunning has become the Poster Child for its efforts. It is nothing short of insanity to place a hold on a Senate confirmation of a US nominee over a Canadian law! It's time to stop playing political election games in the Senate and start doing what Senators were elected to do....GOVERN!
Call your Republican Senator and let them know how disappointed you are with thier lack of action!
]]>Our first New York LOSER for the week is Cheryl Palmer, a V.P. for Club Quarter's Inc., the corporate entity owning World Center Hotel; a new, high-end property located on the edge of Ground Zero in New York City. "People choose to be here because they want to be close to it. They want to feel it, they want to celebrate. They want to remember," [Ms. Palmer] said, standing by an open-air patio overlooking the site. "We have a very accessible view on it." That's right....World Center Hotel is utilizing a marketing strategy based on 9/11! Way to go LOSERS!
Former E-bay CEO and current Republican candidate for Governor, Meg Whitman gets a LOSER mention for her treatment of the press. Seems she wanted to tour a Union Pacific facility (a major corporate donor to her campaign), so she invited the press to come along for the tour. Once they had the pictures of her shaking hands, the media was kept from the tour and instead escorted to a holding room. There were no questions allowed as promised. Now this is all her prerogative as the candidate...but when questioned about the treatment, Candidate Whitman told them it was due to Union Pacific rules. No cameras. Again, all well and good except it was a complete lie. Union Pacific confirmed they have no such rules. And eventually, Ms. Whitman called a local TV station to personally apologize by saying, "We did not expect nearly as much press to show up who did," she said, "so it was a last minute sort of change of plans. It just didn't work out the way I had hoped it would work out". Just for the record....telling the press it was Union Pacific's fault was still a lie. And no, I guess it didn't work out the way you hoped, LOSER!
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R) and new-found Republican Parker Griffith (R-AL) get the hypocritical LOSER award for Republican demands that Democrats return all money donated to their re-election campaigns by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). Since Mr. Rangel's been found guilty of ethics violations, the money is "tainted" according to Republicans. Now, I don't mind that they think the money's tainted. It probably would be a good thing for Democrats to return such money. But GOP leader, Boehner says that Griffith himself would have to decide whether to return any money and he's really not the issue anyway. And as for Rep. Griffith....he's not sure who contributes to his campaign and he's not sure of the money trail. Yea...Right!
Ex-Detroit Councilwoman Joyce Conyers and her husband Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) are husband and wife LOSERS this week. Joyce Conyers was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for accepting bribes as a Detroit councilwoman. That's why she's a LOSER. Rep. Conyers is a LOSER because may need to get a committee assignment changed. You see, John Conyers is the House Chairman of the Judiciary Committee which oversees U.S. prisons....which gives him a pretty significant conflict of interest! Making Congressman John Conyers are Inadvertent LOSER for the week as well!
Conservative comedian and News Commentator Glenn Beck earned a LOSER award for his latest attack against all those who threaten to indoctrinate you with un-American feelings. His target of choice this week seems to be (drum roll please)....Bruce Springsteen. Seems 26 years after its original release, Beck gained an epiphany that the lyrics to BORN IN THE USA were not some feel-good, anthem for 4th of July picnics....but instead as he put it, "You get filled with patriotic pride, and then you find out that Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.' is anti-American. 'Born down in a dead man's town/ the first kick I took is when I hit the ground/ you end up like a dog that's been beat too much/ so you spend half your life just covering up...' Now some would say he deserves LOSER status for calling the song "propaganda"....but he's entitled to his opinion. No matter how twisted it might be. Some would call him a LOSER because it took him 26 years to figure this out...but in fairness, he spends a lot of time chasing imaginary socialists and it's hard to look at everybody all at once. So give him a "buy" on that one. No, what makes Beck a LOSER is the fact that this self-professed "historian" didn't remember that his own conservative hero Ronald Reagan made the same mistake 26 years ago during a re-election campaign. Pres. Reagan was sued by Springsteen for unauthorized use of his song and the country laughed at Reagan because he never realized that the song was actually about the mistreatment of veterans following the Vietnam world. Reagan administration policies were the inspiration for the song. That's Glenn Beck's "propaganda" song. And it's his total lack of "historical knowledge" about his own supposed "favorite" conservative that makes him a LOSER this week.
Ex-Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) gets the LOSER Exit-From-Public-Life Award for the manner in which he resigned from Congress. He earned this with his multiple and daily changing reasons for resigning. First it's cancer, then it's an ethics probe of "salty" language in his office, then it's an Obama plot spearheaded by a naked Rahm Emmanuel (there's an ugly image we can thank Mr. Massa for), then it's nonsexual "groping" of a male staff member at a wedding and finally he confessed on the Glenn Beck show that it might have something to do with totally innocent 'tickle fights" he engaged in with his unmarried, male staff members who just happen to be roommates as well. But hey it was his 50th birthday! Can't a guy live it up a little on his 50th?
Note: Glenn Beck should by his own admission get a LOSER award for this as well. Since he wanted to find out as much dirt on the Obama administration as he could, he booked Massa for the entire hour on his Tuesday night show. Instead of headlines, he was treated to naked pictures of a Navy "Crossing" ceremony. And absolutely no evidence of an Obama conspiracy....just a lone, looney Democrat with a Tickle-Me-Elmo fetish. And in fairness to Mr. Beck, he closed his hour-long broadcast by returning to one of his original questions of the night: Do you believe what he says about corruption? And if so, does it affect you? And the admission: "This is why I said I'm sorry I've wasted your time," Beck says. "We learned a lot -- I think -- but what we learned I don't think affects you at all. From New York, goodnight America."
Racist LOSER of the Week was all ready to be awarded to former CBS newsman, Dan Rather for his comment that even as "articulate" as President Obama is, he "couldn't sell watermelons on the side of the road with state troopers to pull over traffic". Now I don't think Rather is a racist. In fact, I liked his explanation of his remarks in the Huffington Post with a well thought out opinion of medias attraction with meaningless stories. He has a long history of work that has fully supported the Black community from the time of the Civil Rights marches. But I also think that Dan Rather has been around long enough to have realized that you are probably going to stir up controversy if you attach the word "articulate" to the nation's first Black President and then discuss "selling watermelons". Just attach a "kick me" sign on your back the next time you want supposedly unwarranted abuse. And it's your lack of realization that would have earned you the title of RACIST LOSER OF THE WEEK....but it's always hard to top Rush Limbaugh!
Conservative Comedian Rush Limbaugh steals the award away from Rather by his reference to New York Governor David Patterson (D) as the "massa" (as in slave master). While discussing whether Patterson will get to appoint recently resigned tickle-fetishist Eric Massa's replacement, Rush said, "So, David Paterson will become the massa...who gets to appoint whoever gets to take Massa's place. So, for the first time in his life, Paterson's gonna be a massa. Interesting, interesting." The "humorous" musings of Rush Limbaugh....LOSER!
]]>
"What?" you say. "How can that be when the Obama administration has spent so much and in his FIRST year had the highest deficit ever?" "Pork barrel spending is bankrupting our country!" "Obamacare is going on the credit cards of future generations!"
We've all heard the same song over and over this last year. Always ending with the same chorus, "Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility and only they can return us to prosperity! Democrats are the party of socialist, spendthrifts willing to destroy our financial system!"
Now we must be clear that Republicans are right that current deficit levels are unsustainable. It is admirable Republicans are so willing to champion the cause of fiscal responsibility. Though many of us wish they had been this concerned back then....when they were in power. But you can't have everything.
Today's Republican is a far cry from the Republicans of the past. And by "past", I mean like five years ago.
You know "THOSE" Republicans. The ones that controlled the White House, Senate and House while starting two wars (without funding them), provided the largest tax cut in history (which lowered revenues thus becoming the single largest contributor to the current deficit) and voted for an unfunded Medicare prescription drug program.
But, hey, the myth is very clear.....these "NEW" Republicans of 2010 are the fiscally responsible party.
They're the ones that announce a party-wide moratorium on "pork barrel" earmarks....for one whole year! (I'm sure the fact that it's an election year has nothing to do with this new GOP initiative.) A proposal that was co-signed by 10 GOP House Leaders; who have received more than 244 million dollars in earmarks since 2008.
These NEW Republicans propose a budget without any numbers involved one year. Then for the next year's budget they have GOP Congressman Paul Ryan put forth a proposed budget with scary numbers. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities tells us it offers the largest tax cut in history for the wealthy offset by slashing Medicare and social security benefits, eliminating the children's health insurance program, by raising taxes on the middle class and establishing a consumption tax on all Americans. It is estimated that even with all of these cuts....the tax breaks given to the wealthiest Americans would drive the deficit up to 175% of GDP by 2050.
These are the Republicans that vote AGAINST the establishment of a Bi-Partisan Budget Commission, whose purpose was to propose ways to decrease the deficit. Seven of the twenty three Republicans who voted against the bill....were co-sponsors of the bill!
New Republicans in a party line vote; all voted AGAINST Paygo. A fiscally responsible measure that requires all new government expenditures be paid for by either increasing revenues or decreasing expenditures. It's ironic that this policy was a product of the OLD Republican-led Contract with America....and ultimately left President Bush with a 128 billion dollar budget surplus in 2001. (Ooooops!)
This NEW Republican Party is the one that constantly points to the amount the deficit grew under President Obama's first year without acknowledging that during 2009, President Obama was working under President Bush's budget.
NEW Republicans are the party that refuses to give credit to President Obama for INCLUDING the cost of the war efforts in the budget as opposed to funding it through emergency spending. Thus making the deficit productions of his administration higher than his predecessor but also more honest.
NEW Republicans cry about the size of the deficit while fighting against a Health Care Reform bill that the CBO estimates will cut the budget by $118 billion in the first 10 years and over $600 billion in the next 10 years.
Now fairness dictates that we admit that President Obama has increased the deficit in this country. But not nearly as much as NEW Republicans would like you to believe. An analysis presented by the New York Times and echoed by the Center for American Progress shows that 40% of the current deficit is directly linked to the policies of George Bush, 20% is due to lost revenues caused by the recession, 12% of the deficit comes from financial bailouts started by Bush and only 16% of the deficit is linked to the policies of President Obama. What's even more ironic is that most of the 16% that President Obama has added to the deficit comes from his extension of the Bush tax cuts that were set to expire at the end of this year.
As I stated, the budget deficit is one of the most significant problems facing our country. And both parties must claim a part of the responsibility for it's size. But I personally am tired of the hypocritical boastings of a party that gives lip service only to budgetary restraint and fiscal responsibility. The NEW Republican Party....the mythical party of fiscal conservatives!
]]>But we also seem hesitant to comment on one of our own when they also make questionable comments. This Sunday liberal newsman Dan Rather made comments during an interview with Chris Mathews that made hypocrites of us all. Mr. Rather discussed how sad it was that the "articulate" President "couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down traffic".
And the conservative blogosphere went crazy!
Mr. Rather posted a rather lengthy discussion of this issue on Huffington Post where he explained that roadside watermelon stands were a part of daily life in rural Texas when he was growing up. It wasn't a racial comment and he was sorry people took it that way. He then blamed 24/7 media coverage for making this into more of a story than it should be. He talked about his long history of reporting on the Civil Rights movement and how much he was hated by racists then.
And all of that is true.
But what is also true is that if a Michelle Malkin or a Rush Limbaugh had made such a statement, it would have been the lead on every MSNBC show on Monday morning. Chris Mathews would have immediately went into attack mode demanding to know what he really "meant" by that. CNN would have led a panel discussion on his choice of terms. Bloggers would have flooded DailyKos.com with scathing posts calling him things that shouldn't be repeated in public. But that didn't happen.
Instead, liberals closed their eyes, covered their ears and pretended it didn't happen. Just like the Right does on an almost daily basis with their own "inadvertent comments".
Honestly, I liked Rather's explanation on Huffington Post. I do think that media blows these types of stories out of proportion in an effort to fill air time. But that doesn't mean that when a racist comment is made (and it was racist) it shouldn't be noted. But noting it and dwelling on it are two different things. And the simple truth is that if we want to point to the right for their "sins", we need to make sure we are equally capable of pointing our own fingers in the mirror. The left is not perfect. We make mistakes and we become hypocrites when we ignore our own failings.
Dan Rather made a comment that could easily be interpreted as "racist". Even if he didn't mean it that way, he is smart enough and lived long enough through the Civil Rights Movement that he should have realized how it sounded and apologized for it. It doesn't detract from his huge body of work. It doesn't make him an evil troll. It means he's human. And we need to remember the next time we hear someone comment from the right in a similar fashion...it's wrong, it needs to be commented on. And then we need to move on and focus on the real issues that face our country.
]]>Senate Republicans get the first LOSER award this week for comments made regarding Alan Frumin, the Senate Parliamentarian. With the issue of reconciliation regarding Health Care Reform looming before the Senate, Republicans are already questioning his impartiality when it comes to parliamentary rulings! What earns Republicans a LOSER mention is the fact that in 2001 they fired the former Senate Parliamentarian because they felt he was biased towards Democrats since he was appointed by a Democratic-controlled Senate. So Alan Frumin, the man Republicans claim is biased towards Democrats was originally appointed by the Republicans and praised for his professionalism.
In the "Put Your Foot in Your Mouth" LOSER category, we have Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), who commented this week that 36,000 job losses was "really good". Now, he obviously meant that it was better than expected job losses, but his unfortunate choice of wording gave great material for Republican campaign ads and would be pretty insulting if you happened to be one of those 36,000 people. Not smart for a man who if his upcoming election were held today would be the 36,001 job loss...which would make you a LOSER on more than one level!
Conservative Hatchet Maiden and daughter of the former-Vice President, Liz Cheney makes the list for her comments regarding DOJ attorneys who have represented Gitmo detainees in the past. By labeling them "terrorist sympathizers" for providing the legal council required by the Constitution she even upset former Bush administration officials who called her out on her comments. Calling it an "attack that goes too far" and stating that she's "worse than McCarthy". (It's funny how she forgot to call an attorney who works for Rudy Giuliani's firm a terrorist for also representing a Gitmo detainee. What can I say but...Liz the LOSER!)
All forms of media made the LOSER list this week: including, The Huffington Post website which ran a story on John Edwards being indicted by sourcing the National Enquirer! (For inquiring minds...I'm sure. If using gossip rags as a source works, look for stories on Obama and the space aliens soon....or has WND already done that one?)
Fox News also made the LOSERS list for the quality of their coverage of the Obama administration when Fox News CEO Roger Ailes admitted that the Obama administration wasn't "whining over nothing and I think they have -- look, there's legitimate complaints that they could have. And I've had this dialogue with David Axelrod, who I like very much and, there are legitimate areas." (It's hard to claim "fair and balanced" reporting when your own boss publicly comments on his own network's bias!)
And finally, MSNBC also makes the list because Congressional Quarterly reporter Craig Crawford quit his job as commentator for the network. Not only is Crawford a good reporter & commentator but his comments on why he's leaving makes MSNBC a really big LOSER this week. Crawford wrote that he found his appearances on MSNBC "unrewarding" and that being called a "racist" by Chris Mathews for disagreeing was the beginning of the end. He also stated that he was tired of "being a cartoon player for lefty games". (Maybe you should listen to his critiques...otherwise you just become Fox News by another name.) MSNBC, FOX News and Huffington Post....Media LOSERS of the Week!
Gay involved LOSERS included California State Senator Roy Ashburn (R) known for his strong opposition to gay marriage and has consistently voted against gay-related legislation numerous times. He is outspoken in his criticism of the gay community and is the father of four. He was also arrested this week for DUI with a male companion in the middle of the night leaving an area filled with gay bars. It has since been noted by openly gay politicians that he is a regular in the California gay club scene. You go, girl!
The Vatican also gets noted as a LOSER. Recently they threatened to drop all charitable aid in Washington DC if the city passed a gay marriage law. This week, it was discovered that an Italian government wire tap on a crime figure had revealed that he was contacting papal aid Angelo Balducci to arrange for gay prostitutes. A member of an elite Vatican Choir was also implicated in the prostitution ring. Perhaps his Holiness could clean his own house before worrying about the sins of Washington!
And Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) will be resigning from Congress on Monday due to an ethics probe filed by a male staffer who has alleged sexual harassment regarding comments made to him by Rep. Massa.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) makes the gay-related LOSER list for his use of a letter signed by over 1,000 former military officers who oppose "Don't Ask-Don't Tell" in his attempt to block efforts to repeal the policy. While it's true that 1,000 officers signed the letter, Sen. McCain makes the LOSER list for what he DOESN'T tell you about them. Like the average age of the signers is 74. Which means that most never commanded during the time of DADT and even fewer have served during the 21st Century. This calls into question how authoritative they would be when discussing the mood of current 18-21 year olds. Many have died since the letter was published. One signer had suffered from Alzheimer's and was unable to communicate when his wife signed for him. Many of the signers stated that they NEVER agreed to be listed as signers. And one signer is best known for making a statement on TV that non-minority troops shoot better than minority troops! Go back to your rocking chair, Grandpa McCain and let the world move into the new century!
Ethically-challenged LOSERS include New York Governor David Patterson (D) for multiple allegations of ethical misconduct including soliciting gifts (like World Series Tickets he didn't pay for) and then lying about them, improperly awarding contracts to build a "racino", but on the up side, so far he's had no contacts with the Vatican to arrange for prostitutes!
But my choice for BIGGEST LOSER OF THE WEEK is the Republican National Committee for their recent internal fund-raising memo. The Cliff Notes version was simple: "What do you sell when you don't have the White House, Senate or House? You ask people to donate to "save the world from Socialism". It also refers to large donors as "ego driven" and urges fundraisers to capitalize on small donors "fears", "extreme negative feelings towards the current administration" and tells them to focus on the "reactionaries". Now it would be easy to just let this go...it says publicly what is often talked about in private among fundraisers of both sides. I don't care if they think large donors are self-important, ego driven money machines. But for the RNC to promote "fear" and "reactionary feelings" in a world where people shoot Pentagon police officers and fly planes into government buildings over those "reactionary feelings" is irresponsible and simply pathetic. You're raising blood money! And that's what makes the RNC this week's biggest LOSER!
]]>First we'll start with the ethically challenged LOSERS of the week. Like former-Governor Rod Blagovich (D-Ill) who after attempting to "sell" President Obama's senate seat he is now leading a lecture at Northwestern University on "Ethics in Politics". Then we have Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) who was finally admonished this week for taking corporate sponsored trips to the Caribbean (a clear violation of House ethics rules). He also gets labeled a DOUBLE-LOSER for his refusal to step down from his committee chairmanship because of his claims that the report exonerated him because while it showed that on three separate occasions his staff tried to warn him of this by memo....there was no proof he read the memos! So you are claiming you're entitled to lead one of the most important committees in Congress because you don't read staff memos? WTF???? And finally, along the lines of ethically-challenged and unbelievably stupid LOSERS, we have Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) who has dropped his bid for election due to his involvement with a criminal case of sexual assault against one of the Governor's top aids. Now, there is no evidence that the Governor threatened the woman, but it is clear that both he and his security detail had contact with the woman after the case was filed which leads anyone with half a brain to question the reasons for his contact. And it's that type of stupidity that makes Gov. Paterson a LOSER!
And in an ongoing effort to prove that the Senate is a dysfunctional body, we list six of the most hypocritical Senators in the country as LOSERS. Many have argued that the GOP is determined to stop all legislation in an effort to "prove" that Democrats can't govern and Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Thad Cochran (R-MS), James Inhofe (R-OK), George LeMieux (R-FL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) all did their part to prove this idea by voting against cloture for a recent Senate jobs bill, thus hoping to delay passage of the bill through the filibuster. When the filibuster failed because some GOP members voted for cloture, these six Senators then proceeded to vote FOR the bill. I guess it was a case of being against it before they were for it...but regardless, they are LOSERS for their actions! (Wouldn't it be nice if the Senate stopped playing political games and started working FOR the people they represent?)
Perhaps the Biggest Senate LOSER has to go to Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) who single handedly held up a vote for extending unemployment benefits for one month to over 1 ½ million out-of-work Americans by resorting to a parliamentary procedure maneuver that allows a single person to halt legislation. When Sen. Bunning was begged by Democrats to consider the consequences to Americans and even his Kentucky constituents of not allowing a voice vote on this extension to go forward...Sen. Bunning replied, "TOUGH SH*T"! He then really showed himself to be an even bigger LOSER by complaining that his single handed fight to prevent a voice vote was keeping him from watching the Kentucky-South Carolina Basketball game. As the saying goes, "well cry you a river". Senator, when even members of your own party claim that you have taken the GOP to a "new low"....YOU ARE A REAL LOSER!
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is a LOSER for his comment during the Health Care Reform summit that "nobody is talking about reconciliation". Huh? What planet have you been living on Senator? Whether you like the idea (which I do) or you don't....only a complete LOSER would try to deny it has been a major topic of conversation for months!
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is either trying to re-invent himself in order to win re-election by re-writing history or he is in serious need of treatment for senility! Either way he's shown himself to be a LOSER. This week alone, he has claimed that he suspended his presidential campaign during the financial crisis at the request of President Bush. This is a double lie: first, he never really suspended campaigning and second, President Bush never requested it. (Those cynics among us at the time suspected he just didn't want to debate Obama!) Then later in the week, McCain claimed that Obama also suspended his campaign...which was also a lie. (In fact, at the time, Obama commented that Presidents often have to "multi-task".) And then finally, McCain claimed that he had no idea that the bailout was about stabilizing Wall Street...he thought it had something to do with the housing crisis. And you wanted to be President? What a LOSER!
Chief Warrant Officer Greg Sailer is a LOSER this week for his stupidity in November of 2008. At that time, he allowed 250 AK-47's to be signed out from a US weapons supply depot to a Blackwater employee named Eric Cartman (a notably obnoxious character from the cartoon SOUTH PARK). Now Blackwater claims never to have had an employee named Eric Cartman and the weapons which were intended for the Afghan police are still missing. (Suspiciously enough, Sailer just happens to be close personal friends with several Blackwater employees...all of whom have claimed their Fifth Amendment rights concerning this issue.) However, an even bigger LOSER is going to be the Defense Department if they go ahead with a multi-million dollar contract to Blackwater (now re-named Xe) to train Afghan police forces. Surely they're not that stupid is our hope....but only time will tell!
Self-proclaimed Miss Beverly Hills 2010, Lauren Ashley is competing in the Miss California USA Beauty Pageant and has already followed in last year's winner's footsteps by issuing her views on homosexuality. The Bible, she proclaims, "is pretty black and white" about homosexuality and that it states that homosexuals should be put to death. (Not that she's advocating such actions from mankind...she says God will take care of it!) The city of Beverly Hills was quick to point out that not only does it NOT sponsor the competition or have anything to do with her title of Miss Beverly Hills, they want the world to know that Ms Ashley is actually from Pasadena! But columnist Dan Savage had the best take on her religious views when he pointed out that the same Bible that condemns gays to death also condemns women discovered to be non-virgins on their wedding night to death! (Duet. 22: 20-22) Isn't if funny that neither Carrie PreJean, Ms. Ashley or any other religious LOSERS seem to know about that verse? For that matter, the Bible offers the same punishment for adulterers which should make Gov. Sanford (R-NC) a little nervous!
And finally, last week I defended one of Congress's most reprehensible members because he chose to shoot a raccoon and tweet about it on the internet. (The shooting wasn't classy but was understandable to anyone who has lived in the country and the suggestion that his use of the word "coon" was racist made others the LOSER last week.) It really hurt to defend Congressman Steve King (R-IA) because usually he is one of the biggest LOSERS in Washington. But his recent comments concerning flying planes into IRS buildings have moved him back into the LOSER category this week. At last week's CPAC convention, Congressman King stated that he could "empathize" with the man flying the plane into the IRS building and stating that he would soon be holding a fundraiser to help others "implode" their local IRS office.
]]>You could start with the harmless LOSERS, like Conservative Comedian Ann Coulter who during a CNN interview this week from the CPAC convention compared the Iraq War with World War II. Host Rick Sanchez asked her if this was an "apt comparison"? After a moment's hesitation, she replied, "Well, in the sense that they're both wars". Thank you Ms. Coulter for reminding us all, that an Ivy League degree doesn't necessarily prove intelligence.
Also in the harmless LOSER category is Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) who repeated an often told internet story of how President Obama used a teleprompter to talk to grade school children in Virginia. "You've got to be kidding me. That's not a joke! THAT'S A TRUE STORY!" said the wanna-be presidential candidate. Except for one small detail....it's NOT a true story. The president used a teleprompter to give a media address at the school for cameras. But the talk to students took place in a classroom with the president seated on the same day. (Note: Comedian John Stewart of the Daily Show also gets named a LOSER this week for promoting this false story.) And since we're talking teleprompter comments, Senatorial candidate Marco Rubio (R-FL) also gets named a LOSER for commenting on Obama's use of a teleprompter....while using a teleprompter himself! Hypocrisy thy name is CPAC!
Violence seemed to walk hand-in-hand with the CPAC convention. Where else can one beat on a House Speaker Nancy Pelosi piñata or punch a Sen. Harry Reid punching bag? And who else but extremist LOSERS would want to do so? You may disagree with their policies or their beliefs....but they are still duly elected officials of a country we all claim to love and deserve a small measure of respect as such. These types of stunts do nothing to promote serious debate on real issues. And it makes the CPAC participants real LOSERS. (Note to the Left: If you laughed at the people throwing shoes at a George Bush effigy during the Obama inauguration, you are NOT allowed to be offended by this one! The rest of America however, will condemn both acts!)
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) moves from harmless to classless LOSER for his comment on how Americans need to "take a 9-iron and smash the windows out of big government" referencing Tiger Woods Thanksgiving alteration with his wife. As I said before, violent references seem to permeate the CPAC convention and this was said the day after a disgruntled Texan flew his private plane into the windows of an IRS office building. Timing like that makes Gov. Pawlenty an incredible LOSER. But his comments pale compared to HUMAN EVENTS editor Jed Babbin's introduction of anti-tax activist Grover Norquist at the Convention. Babbin joked that he was really relieved to find out that it hadn't been Norquist who had flown a plane into an IRS office. This might have been funnier if an innocent worker hadn't been killed. Or as Rachel Maddow commented, "couldn't you have waited [to joke] until after the building stopped smoking...or the dead have been buried?" Jed Babbin takes the title of LOSER to whole new low levels of class!
Perhaps one of my favorite CPAC LOSERS was Patriot Act creator and Bush administration DOJ lawyer Viet Dinh who criticized the President's tactics on the War on Terror while referencing the increased number of terrorists killed in combat over the Bush administration. His complaint was not that Obama was soft on terrorists but that he was killing too many of them! Huh? Thank you for making it crystal clear that there really is NOTHING that President Obama can do that will please the far right!
But LOSERS were not to be found only at CPAC this week, plenty of liberals found their way into the LOSERS circle. Perhaps the silliest example of LOSERS from the left came from Rep. Steve King (R-IA) who tweeted recently about killing a raccoon that had tried to enter his house by "clawing and scratching" during a recent blizzard. "Desert Eagle 1, Crazy Coon 0." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) took great offense at this and spoke out against the Congressman, suggesting that he could have called animal control instead of bragging about shooting the animal. To be fair, I tend to agree with them that he didn't need to use one of the most powerful handguns ever made and then brag about it on twitter. But in truth, it probably didn't matter to the raccoon whether he was killed by a .22 or a Desert Eagle. And Rep. King's reaction may seem vicious if you have never had experience with a raccoon. They can be very violent and are large enough to kill pets and injure children, especially when frightened. Worse, over 1/3 of all rabies cases found in American wildlife are found in raccoons. And animal control does not have rapid response teams in Iowa, so the King family could have had a long wait for help during a snowstorm in the country. Rep. King was justified in his actions if not his bragging. And PETA makes the LOSERS list as a result. But special LOSERS honors have to go to MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann, whose reporting of the story quoted Rep. King's comments about "killing a crazy coon" while leaving you the impression that he might have been referencing the President. In Iowa, many people refer to the animal as a "coon" and it really has no racial overtones in that context. Mr. Olbermann, I'm a big fan of yours but there is enough craziness in the world without you having to reach so far to prove how crazy it is.
Then there's Bronx City Councilman Larry Seabrook (D) who has been charged with falsifying receipts for fraudulent reimbursements. Specifically he changed a $7 lunch receipt for a bagel sandwich and a diet coke into a $177 total in an attempt to launder money from a bribe.
Seth McFarlane of the Fox animated series "FAMILY GUY" gets mentioned as a LOSER for an episode in which the main character dates a mentally disabled girl. His date tells him, "My dad's an accountant and my Mom's the former governor of Alaska". Now this might be acceptable if it weren't for the fact that perpetual quitter and former Governor Palin has a real son with Down's Syndrome....and that not only makes the cartoon not funny, but it makes the show's creator a real life LOSER! (Note: Children should always be off limits and it gets really annoying to me to call out the Left every time someone thinks they're being funny by going there!)
Moving back to the Right, there's Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) who signed an executive order regarding state workers that prohibits discrimination based on "on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities," as well as veterans". Actually sounds pretty good for a Republican....until you realize that it leaves out sexual orientation which was one of the first executive orders signed by former governor Tim Kaine in 2006. So the gay community now has fewer rights in the state of Virginia than they did last month. And Bob McDonnell gets the "HOMOPHOBIC LOSER OF THE Week" award!
This week the Justice Department released the findings of an investigation into the writings of the "torture memos" that found that Bush appointed DOJ lawyers had "engaged in professional misconduct" with their twisted interpretation of the law regarding torture. This would result in sanctions being filed against these attorneys in their home states...or would have until career DOJ staffer David Margolis overruled their findings and blocked the DOJ from taking any further action. What is unclear is whether this was him acting upon his own to protect the DOJ (in fairness, he is a career DOJ official and not a political appointee) or whether he was doing "dirty work" for Attorney General Holder. Either way....he's one of this week's most important LOSERS!
And the Asotin Washington Tea Party gets a LOSER nomination for the speaker who stated she wanted to do to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) the same thing that happened to the character Jake from LONESOME DOVE. Hang her! (So much for all that talk about "traditional values" the tea partiers keep telling us about!)
And along the same lines of suggested violence, CNN commentator (and ironically minister of the gospel) Roland Martin wrote this week that "Obama's critics keep blasting him for Chicago-style politics. So, fine. Channel your inner Al Capone and go gangsta against your foes. Let 'em know that if they aren't with you, they are against you, and will pay the price." While I actually agree with the basis of his comments, I have to disagree with how he worded his points. Two things you should keep in mind Rev. Martin: 1) There are probably a lot better and less polarizing ways to make the same point that Obama needs to get tough with the GOP that continues to obstruct his appointments and policies. (And it seems hypocritical of you to urge "gangsta" action when you object to every racial slur put out by the GOP) And 2) You also need to recognize that if Obama gets tough and makes Sen. Shelby pay for his obstruction....it's not Sen. Shelby who pays the price. It's the people (many of them poor and in need of help) from his district that do. That's a reality that cannot be ignored...or at least shouldn't be unless you like being a LOSER!
]]>
My first pick for a LOSER this week is House GOP Budget Guru Paul Ryan (R-WI) who tells us in his "shadow" budget that America can cut taxes (primarily for the wealthy) and balance the budget. What others in the GOP don't like to mention is that to do so would require huge cuts in Medicare & Social Security. But according to Congressman Ryan, the CBO backs up his math and verifies his claim of balancing the budget. What he doesn't tell you (but the CBO does) is that to make the numbers work and to show a balanced budget....the CBO made the assumption that cutting taxes would in no way decrease revenues. Huh??? The CBO also makes it clear that the only reason they did the math working under such an assumption is that Congressman Ryan told them to accept the premise that you can cut taxes without decreasing overall revenue. But if you do the math assuming that a tax cut will also decrease revenue....his shadow budget no longer balances. Which makes Congressman Ryan this week's first LOSER!
Muslim-American groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Fiqh Council of North America have issued statements supporting a Muslim cleric resolution that forbids Muslims to pass through airport full body scanners due to Islamic laws of modesty. While I can respect your religious beliefs, the simple fact is that these scanners provide a higher level of security for ALL travelers at the cost of an outline of your body. Your support of such a prohibition adds to the distrust that many feel towards the Muslim community and perhaps you should consider telling Muslim-Americans not to fly as opposed to attacking the technology that is used to keep your own brethren alive as well as non-Muslims. This deliberate blindness on your part puts you in the company of American soccer moms, Brits who see it as child porn and others who are scared that such scanners will show the world their "shortcomings"!
And speaking of terrorists, we also must name Newt Gingrich (R) and other assorted Republicans as LOSERS for their lack of understanding of Miranda rights. First, we had Gingrich on the John Stewart show telling us that the reason it was ok to read Miranda Rights to terrorist shoe bomber Richard Reid and not the underwear bomber is because Reid was an American citizen and Umar Abdulmuttallab was not. Just a couple of problems with this theory. First, Reid was a British citizen and not an American citizen. And second, ALL suspects taken into custody by the FBI are read Miranda rights regardless of citizenship. Which also makes Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) a LOSER since he admits that he was told on Christmas that Abdulmuttallab was in FBI custody but didn't realize that meant he had been read his rights until six weeks later. Congressman, either you are too stupid regarding the most basic workings of law enforcement to be a Congressman or you are simply looking for ANYTHING to attack the Obama administration on. Either way....you have earned the title of LOSER!
Defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin took out a full page ad memorializing the death of Congressman Murtha (D-PA) this week. Considering that Murtha as head of the chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee was constantly under scrutiny for ethics violations regarding defense contracts with Lockheed Martin, it seems inappropriate at best to put out such an ad. But when you read the tag line at the bottom, you move from inappropriate to LOSER! (The last line of the ad read, "We never forget who we're working for") Thanks for clearing that up.
California Senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina (R) of the "demon sheep" ad has come up with a rather novel suggestion to solve California's budget problems. The former CEO of Hewlett Packard suggested the state might be forced to file for bankruptcy during an interview with the Riverside Press Enterprise. Just one problem....states can't legally file for bankruptcy. And you want to be a Senator? Maybe Americans should consider some sort of "Basic Essential Skills Test" for candidates. That might help keep LOSERS like Fiorina from trying to run for important offices!
For those of us who like a few laughs with our politics....where would we be without the great state of South Carolina? This week it came out that the state legislature had passed the STATE SUBVERSIVE REGISTRATION ACT. A bill which makes it mandatory for any person, group or organization that is actively seeking to overthrow the government of the United States to register with the state and pay a $5 filing fee. So Republicans (who control the South Carolina legislature) advocate less government and lower taxes want people who plan on subversive activities to file with the state and pay a fee for the privilege. Can anyone on the right explain this to me? (Or do you know something we don't and are just looking to capitalize on that knowledge!) God, I love South Carolina!
Harold Ford Jr (D-NY or D-TN: depending upon whether you are a voter or an auditor) is considering a run for Senate in the state of New York (where he works). But he continues to claim residence in Tennessee (which has no state income tax). This is a real problem since New York requires anyone making money in the state to file a state income tax! Mr. Ford has NEVER paid taxes in the state of New York. It's bad enough that you are hopping from one state to another just to get back to Washington....but at least pay the proper taxes! This can't even be written off as a mistake due to the complexity of the tax code....it's just an example of you being a LOSER!
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) makes yet another appearance on the LOSER List for comments made this week regarding how inappropriate it is to accuse those who criticize the Obama administration's handling of the underwear bomber as "politicizing" the debate. This would not make him a LOSER except that in 2005 he said, "It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war, we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril." I wish I could tell the difference between then & now...and Lieberman's office has refused comment!
The Congressional Black Caucus between 2004 and 2008 took in over $54 million dollars for its non-profit organizations that are dedicated to providing scholarships and internships to needy students. Unfortunately, most of the money was spent on conventions, buildings, golf trips and an annual outing to a Mississippi casino. In fact, more money was spent on the caterer for one event than on the scholarship award the event was held to honor! And that makes you one of this week's biggest LOSERS! The next time any of you are back in your district, try taking a walk around the neighborhood and see if that extra "passed appetizer" is really the best way to spend the money people have given you to help make a difference in their community!
And finally, as an example of how all LOSER politics are local, I am naming a local Kansas City political blogger jstol3 as a LOSER for a recent post entitled, "Obama's "Jews"". In it, he compared the present day political/social attitudes to Nazi Germany and suggested that another local blogger would "willingly march captives into a closed building where automobile exhaust fumes were being directed all the while telling them that they were just going to get a de-lousing shower". The captives referred to were "Conservatives, Republicans and members of the Tea Party". The blogger that jstol3 suggested would be willing to kill these people, was accused of this monstrosity because this "other" blogger had dared to suggest on another post that Republicans were proud to obstruct the Obama administration's agenda. And from that mild statement, we made the leap to a modern day holocaust. Let's be clear about this one more time. During the time of Nazi Germany, somewhere between 4 and 6 million Jews were killed. They were killed because they had become a national scapegoat to a maniacal dictator who used their religion as a reason for the problems of their country. It involved government sponsored violence and a complete disregard for the laws of the German nation. It also has NO bearing to present day American politics. And it is wrong for ANYONE to make such comparisons about any US president both from a historical perspective and a moral one. (And that includes George Bush!) The memories of those who died deserve to be treated better than to be used as political fodder in our current culture wars!
]]>Like Sen. John McCain (R-Az) who in 2006 said his objection to gays in the military was based on the advice of military leaders. Back then he said, "the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, Senator, we ought to change the policy, then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it." In June of last year he expressed support of "Don't Ask-Don't Tell" because Colin Powell still had not changed his opinion. Said McCain then, "I supported the policy to start with is because General Colin Powell...is the one that strongly recommended we adopt this policy... I have not heard General Powell or any of the other military leaders reverse their position....These military leaders are responsible for the very lives of the men and women under their command, and that's why I am especially guided, to a large degree, by their views." But this week, when Gen. Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullins all came out in support of repealing DADT, Sen. McCain threw a temper tantrum on the Senate floor and told the military leaders who used to "guide his views" when they agreed with him that he was "deeply disappointed" in Sec. Gates when he disagreed with his views. Sen. John McCain...a LOSER regardless of which side of his mouth he's speaking from!
Then there's Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor of Illinois, Scott Lee Cohen, who insists that he is not an embarrassment to the ticket even though he has allegedly attacked both his wife and his girlfriend but as he explains, he was a steroid user at the time and now he's clean! And in fairness, his ex-wife backs his story on this. So, if you are the type of person who believes in redemption and forgiveness, you kind of need to give him a pass on this...I guess. But it still doesn't explain why he's spent 2.3 million dollars of his own money on his campaign while he's behind on his child support payments. And that makes you a LOSER! (UPDATE: Mr. Cohen has just dropped out of the race!)
In an effort to disprove the stereotype that the GOP is a party of old, white men; Republican National Committee Co-Chair Jan Larimer is attempting to get more women to run for office as Republicans. It sounded like a great idea until she said, "Women sometimes need a little more handholding, or they need their friends to help them make a decision". I bet you bake a mean cookie, Madam Chairwoman...but you're still a sexist LOSER. (Note: Fox News Anchor Chris Wallace also gets special mention as a sexist LOSER for commenting on air that he "hopes" Sarah Palin would sit on his lap during an upcoming interview.)
Democratic Senators spend a lot of time telling us how much they hate lobbyists, but twelve of those Democratic senators spent last weekend at a South Beach resort for a "winter retreat" raising money from over 108 top Washington lobbyists in attendance.
Sarah Palin (R) gets the MULT-LOSER award of the week. She showed herself to be a LOSER on many levels for many reasons! First, it was revealed that her PAC had spent $47,777 to purchase copies of her own book to give to people donating over $100 to her PAC. (Can you say "ROYALTIES"?) Since she's not a candidate for office, it's legal: but the fact that she spent more on books than the $43,000 she donated to candidates makes her a LOSER! (And that $43,000 looks even more insignificant when you realize that the PAC also spent $8,000 on bookmarks and $20,000 on a photographer!) Palin has also derided the Obama administration for all of the "tax cheats" appointed by the President. But this week it was learned that she "forgot" to declare property tax on two cabins built on land owned by the former governor! And finally, after properly calling out Rahm Emmanuel for his use of the word "retard" in a private conversation, she defended Rush Limbaugh for his repeated use of the word during a recent broadcast. No double standard there, Ms. Palin!
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) told us last week that he expected to see Health Care back on the floor by Friday. When asked on Friday about the deadline....Congressman Hoyer laughed! Guess what, Congressman....to millions of Americans, health care reform is no laughing matter! Perhaps you and your Democratic colleagues on both the House and Senate side should consider giving up your taxpayer sponsored health care until you reach a decision! But until then....only LOSERS laugh at their own failings!
My pick for WORST LOSER is Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Al) who has put a blanket hold on ALL of President Obama's nominees awaiting Senate confirmation. Is it because they are all incompetent, socialist, tax cheats? No, it's because Sen. Shelby is mad that funding for two pork barrel projects (which Republicans decry) for his state were cut by President Obama! If he were to try something like this anywhere but the Senate, his actions would be called "blackmail"! But whatever you want to call it....Sen. Shelby is a LOSER! (I should also add that all of the "tea baggers", who talk big about being against "pork" have been noticeably silent on this issue....which makes them LOSERS too!)
And finally, one non-political LOSER this week, New York PS 52 Principal Evelyn Matroianni threatened to suspend 4th grader Patrick Timoney for violating the "no tolerance" policy against toy guns at schools. What makes her a LOSER is that the "gun" Patrick brought was attached to a 4" lego policeman. The gun was smaller than a quarter. And the toy policeman is Patrick's favorite toy because his Dad is a former police man. You're doing a great job of encouraging our youth, Principal Matroianni!
]]>Like self-proclaimed Father of the Tea Party Dale Robertson, who previously earned a LOSER nomination for a sign he carried to a Texas Tea Party proclaiming that taxpayers were "n*gg@rs"! This week he doubled down on his claim to racist fame by sending out an e-mail that proudly proclaimed "Obama Pimping Obama-Care, One Last Time!" He accompanied the release with a photoshopped picture of the President as a stereo-typical African-American pimp with a pencil moustache, zebra-striped, fur lined fedora topped off with a feather! Careful Mr. Robertson or James O'Keefe is going to start bugging you for ideas on where to shop for his clothes.
Speaking of which, we have to mention conservative gadfly, film maker & pretend pimp James O'Keefe who was arrested and charged in New Orleans for entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony. Specifically, he sat in the lobby of Sen. Mary Landrieu's office to film two accomplices who were dressed as telephone repairmen. Unfortunately for them, while they had the tool belt and the hard hat...they didn't have those pesky ID's that intelligent people expect repairmen to have. Mr. O'Keefe claims that they were only trying to find out why the Senator was not answering her phones. It was probably a relatively harmless stunt....but it was still a highly illegal stunt. Which makes you a LOSER, Mr. O'Keefe (that and the fact that you are now required to live under your parents roof as a condition of your release and we all know that only LOSERS live with in their parents basement after the age of 21!)
However, the Left had plenty of LOSERS regarding this incident as well. They include Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) herself, who used the opportunity to take a swipe at one of the repairman's father's, Acting US Attorney William Flannagan. Mr. Flannagan only has his position because Sen. David Vitter (R) has put a hold on the Obama nominee for the position (which makes Sen. Vitter a LOSER). Sen. Landrieu stated, "This isn't a child - this is 24-year-old, I'm sure his parents are terribly disappointed, they most certainly should be," Landrieu told POLITICO, adding that it was "very disconcerting" that Flanagan's father is a top federal official in her state." Sen. Landrieu, you should never hold ANY politician responsible for the actions of their children...anymore than you want to be held responsible for your children's actions! And using the incident for political gain is pretty sad and it makes you a LOSER this week!
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R) (and current candidate for Governor) was a LOSER last week for comparing poor people to "stray animals". This week he tried to explain that "maybe stray animals wasn't the best metaphor" when discussing poor people. (You think?) So while explaining this on CNN, he tried to make things better by comparing poor people to domestic cats! Said Bauer, "I never intended to tie people to animals," he said, before...tying people to animals: "If you have a cat, if you take it in your house and feed it and love it, what happens when you go out of town?" Mind explaining how this is a better metaphor, Lt. Gov. and TWO-TIME LOSER Andre Bauer?
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NEB) makes the LOSER list thanks to the great state of Tennessee. Sen. Nelson enraged Republicans and Democrats alike all across the country with his back room deal that gave Nebraska special funding for Medicare in exchange for his vote on Health Care reform in the Senate. Now the Tennessee State Legislature is considering an ethics bill entitled: THE BEN NELSON ACT TO ENSURE POLITICAL INTEGRITY! This bill makes the act of trading your vote as an elected representative for political favors in your district an act of bribery. You know you're a LOSER when other states submit ethics bill named in your honor.
In an ongoing effort by the GOP to be known as the Party of NO, we honor Senators Snow (R-Maine), Collins (R-Maine), McCain (R-Az) and Voinovich (R-OH) for their NO vote on a pay-as-you-go rule for the Senate. This would require that any new expenditure be paid for as part of the legislative process either through taxes or cuts to other programs. What makes them LOSERS is that in 2006 they voted for a nearly identical rule, but they refused to break the unwritten code of the GOP in 2010 of "JUST SAY NO TO DEMOCRATS" and voted against it this time around! (And while no Republicans voted for the measure, it did receive 60 yes votes in one of the few instances we've seen of the Democratic Caucus sticking together)
The State of the Union Address this week brought us a couple of LOSERS. Sadly, they were mainly from the left. They include MSNBC News Commentator Chris Matthews who charmed us all with his comment on President Obama, of whom he said, "You know, I forgot he was black for an hour". (This is especially creepy when you remember that last year about this time, he apparently recognized the President as "Black" and told us that Obama made a "thrill" run down his leg.) And the Democratic National Committee gets named a LOSER for sending out an e-mail to reporters attacking Republicans 14 minutes before Obama's speech ended. A speech which urged lawmakers to avoid "gotcha" politics that create a perpetual and never ending campaign season. (Maybe you should have spent more time listening to the leader of your party rather than thinking about how to score political points!)
The Republican National Committee made the list for a fund-raising mass mailer that could easily be mistaken as an official census form. It was sent in the form of a survey and had the words "Congressional District Census" and "Official Document DO NOT DESTROY" printed on it. The envelope it was mailed in even had the words "census document" printed on the outside of it. Republicans have done this for years, but this year is a little different since there is an actual census taking place and many are concerned that it will confuse people into not filling out the REAL census materials they receive by mail!
Both Conservative Republican and Liberal Democratic Senators make the list as LOSERS this week for their refusal to authorize a Deficit Commission. A bi-partisan group designed to make non-binding budget recommendations that would help reduce the deficit. However, Republicans voted against it because it might recommend raising taxes and Democrats voted against it because it might cut favorite programs. No wonder everyone hates Washington! What's really pathetic is that you never realized that the President could simply appoint such a commission, which he has promised to do. So now, you get the same commission in place and you get the added bonus of hearing how you voted against it on the campaign ads of your next opponet. Good luck with explaining that one to your constituents on both sides of the aisle.!
And finally, my favorite LOSER OF THE WEEK is Fox News who decided on Friday to cut away from a question and answer session being held by the President with the GOP House retreat. Every other cable news network ran the session in full without interruption (and showed it repeatedly for the rest of the day) because it was a golden chance to allow Republicans to make their views known to the President in a face to face meeting that the American people could watch and evaluate. Unfortunately for the GOP, the President handled their questions extremely well so 30 minutes before it ended, FOX news decided to be fair and balanced by cutting the President's audio and bringing on commentators to attack his policies. How nice if FOX viewers could have seen an actual response to all the insane attacks FOX levels on a daily basis against the President. Fox News President Roger Ailes gets special mention for his evasive response when asked why his network elected to do this. His response..."We're the most trusted name in news"...which really doesn't tell you much except Mr. Ailes is really impressed with himself. Even if nobody else is!]]>