MetaFilter posts tagged with Politics and GOP

The Crack-Up Continues

StrikeTheViol — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:55:05 -0800

The conservative movement continues to suffer problems, within the Republican Party, without, and, well...

Rush: 2012

Ironmouth — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:53:11 -0800

Democrat's efforts to paint Rush Limbaugh as GOP leader pay off. Since Rush Limbaugh famously stated that he wanted Obama to fail, Democrats, led by President Obama, have been trying to paint him as the intellectual and spiritual head of the GOP. Eyeing his low 25% approval rating amongst independents, they have hoped to equate the Republicans with Limbaugh. It appears they may have succeeded. When GOP Congressman Phil Gingery was recently forced to retract his criticism of Rush, it added to the perception that the portly talk show host was running the Republicans. But the real coup was yet to come. Michael Steele, the newly-elected head of the Republican National Committee, was quoted Saturday as describing Rush's brand of talk radio as "ugly" and "incendiary." On Sunday, Rush, rising to the bait, appeared at CPAC, the yearly conservative conference, giving a long and rambling speech. On Monday, Rush struck back at Steele on his show, stating that Steele was attacking him "for wanting [Obama] to fail." Steele caved quickly, saying, he was "saying one thing and it came out differently." Republicans such as Bobby Jindal hastened to praise Rush and indicated that they were glad that Steele apologized. By Monday night, left-leaning commentators such as Josh Marshall were giving "props to the Democratic psyops operation that's paying off Michael Steele to get into a gonzo spat with Rush." Will Limbaugh lead the GOP out of the wilderness, or deeper into the hole they've dug for themselves? Seemingly in tune with the wishes of Democratic strategists, Republican bloggers now want Rush for 2012.

You Betcha

digaman — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:41:01 -0800

This f*cking election. A babble tower.

And protected from witchcraft, too!

jaduncan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:01:43 -0800

Palin for 2012? She's popular with conservatives, and even before any potential makeover 6 out of 10 evangelicals think she is experienced enough to be president. She'd potentially get the Huckabee evangelical vote in the primaries *and* the talk radio wing. If Obama succeeds in taking moderates, the evangelical and talk radio wings will only be stronger. And the GOP would appear to already be talking about it.

Tom Davis Gives Up

schroedinger — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:52:15 -0800

Tom Davis Gives Up (SLNYT). “Tell them about the important work we’re doing while Rome burns,” he said. A candid accounting of American politics from a member of the GOP disillusioned with both sides of the aisle and an overview of how he became that way.

Sarah Palin as McCain's running-mate

HaloMan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:52:01 -0800

Fox, the BBC and CNN have all revealed that Republican US presidential candidate John McCain has picked Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate on his 72nd birthday on the eve of the start of Republican National Convention. Despite being wildly popular in Alaska, Palin has recently been involved in an investigation over whether she dismissed a public safety commissioner because he refused to dismiss her former brother-in-law.

Popery, Free Love, and Women's Rights.

EarBucket — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:23:36 -0800

John C. Frémont is a secret Catholic.

America the Godly

digaman — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:32:10 -0800

One nation under God. The "bold conservative" GOP Congressman Paul Broun from Georgia is intent upon removing a vexing comma from that phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance, which was amended in 1954 when President Eisenhower was moved by a sermon by one Reverend George M. Docherty on the need to defend America from the "militantly atheistic communism that has already enslaved 800 million of the peoples of the earth, and now menaces the rest of the free world."

Strange Bedfellows

psmealey — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:29:58 -0800

Pat Robertson Endorses Giuliani for President Back in mid-2001, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani was busy committing adultery, lurching into his divorce and third marriage and rooming with a gay couple he promised to marry as soon as the law allowed, who among us would have imagined that one day he would be endorsed for president by Pat Robertson? Truly, Sept. 11 changed everything. Odd though this may be, it raises the question of what an endorsement actually means.

The store clerk, who had talked with Curtis, referred to him as “The Cross-Dresser” ...

amberglow — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:07:09 -0800

Closeted gay GOP elected official with an anti-gay voting record #756,394 --(Special Halloween Edition!) GOP Washington State Representative Richard Curtis says he’s not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women’s lingerie and met a Medical Lake man in a local erotic video store which led to consensual sex at a downtown hotel and a threat to expose Curtis’ activities publicly…. He resigned today.--Curtis is the third conservative lawmaker in just as many months to resign amid allegations of soliciting gay sex.
Bubbling up--and being sat on--by the DC Press Corps is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading Presidential candidate.

Thompson's Glitch-Folk Debut

digaman — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 20:47:29 -0800

"I want those two minutes of my life back." Musique concrète Fred Thompson-style -- a merciless videohack of the candidate's performance at the GOP debate on MSNBC, October 9, 2007. While almost anyone can be made to look foolish edited this way, not everyone was impressed by Thompson's unedited presence at the debate, his TV debut as a presidential contender. Some believe, however, that the former Law and Order D.A. is just the man to "restore the Republican Party to Reagan's default settings."

The Best and The Whitest

jonp72 — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:06:12 -0800

Late Night Shots is an "invitation-only" social networking site for elite GOP youth of Washington, DC that the late Steve Gilliard mockingly described as "the best and whitest." The Wonkette blog has devoted an entire section to the site that documents Late Night Shots' racism, date rape, anti-Islamic prejudice, and incest with second cousins, at least until Wonkette's editor started getting invited to their parties. The founder of Late Night Shots, Reed Landry, plans to take his networking site to other cities, but even though Wonkette has lost interest, the Washington City Paper has attracted scrutiny to the site again with a juicy new exposé.

"i honestly don't have a recollection..."

amberglow — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:23:07 -0800

"I do not recall" --meet Lurita Doan, Administrator of the GSA (Our mission is to help other agencies better serve the public by meeting – at best value – their needs for products and services, and to simplify citizen access to government information and services.), and hear about the powerpoint presentation from Rove's office all about electing Republicans in 08 and how her agency should help. Her office supplied it to Congress--but it was just a (GOP) "team-building exercise" and "brown-bag lunch". (YouTube) Read up on the Hatch Act too.

Scooter throws Turd Blossom under the bus

ibmcginty — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 17:23:13 -0800

Politics/PlameFilter: In opening arguments today in the Plame investigation perjury case against Vice President Cheney's former Chief of Staff I. Lewis Libby, the prosecutor portrayed Libby as an agent of a Cheney-driven media offensive. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came from Libby's attorney, who portrayed his client as a White House-chosen scapegoat for Karl Rove's misdeeds. A conservative reporter saw in Libby's emerging defense a "dramatic split inside the Bush White House." An MSNBC host asked whether this hullabaloo could lead to Cheney's resignation. Background on the case. Liveblogging of today's arguments from an anti-administration perspective.

The Baker's Dough

Postroad — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:21:31 -0800

Baker to the rescue Is this guy the most powerful lawyer in the world? And he is now beginning not just to advise Bush but also it seems to dump Israel as an ally in favor of giving various Arab and Muslim groups--including our enemies-- what they have long wished for. As for the tiny democracy called Israel, they can have this for their future. Follow the dough (and oil)

Republican girls gone wild

madamjujujive — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:27:43 -0800

Described as "the View meets the Daily Show and takes a right turn," The America Show, Episode 1 and Episode 2 are pilots that are being floated for possible TV broadcast. Weigh in on their potential. The driving force behind the show is conservative comic Julia Gorin, who also recently launched Political Mavens as "a celebrity-studded conservative answer to Arianna's Huffington Post."

Still The One

jonp72 — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:18:02 -0800

The Democrats' Sonny Bono? When George Bush used the 1970s Orleans hit, Still the One, as a campaign song in 2004, John Hall issued Bush a cease and desist order for using his song without permission. A founder of the antinuclear group, Musicians United for Safe Energy (best known for the 1979 concert film, No Nukes), Hall decided to run for Congress in upstate New York, winning upset victories this year in both the Democratic primary and the general election against GOP incumbent, Sue Kelly. Before his Congressional victory, Editor & Publisher posted From Soundchecks to Soundbites, an interesting discussion with Hall about music journalism vs. political journalism.

His cheekbone is crushed, his eye socket is shattered, and his nose is broken

amberglow — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 12:56:38 -0800

Meet the next generation of GOP leaders, part 8,493: Justin Zatkoff, Dan Carlson, & Jim Runestad. ... the conservative student Web site Truth Caucus posted photos of his (Zatkoff's) injured face, pronounced the incident a "hate crime,' and speculated it was the work of "liberal thugs.' A Republican organizer in Michigan e-mailed campus Republicans, warning them to travel in groups until the election was over. ... Um, no--Zatkoff was severely beaten by his own friend while both were drunk.

so this is working very well for them

four panels — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 09:41:17 -0800

"Democrats passed those black codes and Jim Crow laws. Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan." The National Black Republican Association airs a radio ad (mp3).

Win is irreversible, says ruling party's candidate

amberglow — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:43:16 -0800

Mexico's election: now being recounted, but some are saying it was stolen with our help. Many countries in Latin and South America have been moving to the left lately, following in the footsteps of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile. Argentina actually caught us messing with things during their election, too. Exit polls in Mexico (as in Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004) showed a lead for the more leftist (relatively) candidate, and for those who scoff at using exit polls as evidence--in 2004, US Republican Senator Richard Lugar, in Kiev, cited the divergence of exit polls and official polls as solid evidence of “blatant fraud” in the vote count in Ukraine. As a result, the Bush Administration refused to recognize the Ukraine government’s official vote tally. So, honest election, or what?

(affair, divorce, affair, divorce)

amberglow — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:57:48 -0800

the most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history --meet 3 leading GOP candidates for 08. We've already read about Hillary's sexlife (or lack thereof), but will the double standard hold? ...if the top three Democratic presidential hopefuls each had extra-marital affairs in their backgrounds, it stands to reason that Republicans would have something to say about it--and if the past is any guide, those concerns would find their way into the papers. Will the same happen when it's about the "party of family values and morality"?

How the GOP Lost Its Way.

js003 — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 09:57:38 -0800

How the GOP Lost Its Way. And they should be worried (pdf) about November, according to Charlie Cook. But don't underestimate the Democrats' propensity to blow it, says the Economist.

Downgrading the Fourth Estate

digaman — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:58:04 -0800

Rollback. Media critic Jay Rosen rises above the McClellan/"shake-up" foofaraw to put several pieces of the puzzle together and show how the Bush administration has significantly altered the long-standing relationship of the press to the White House. (More from Rosen here.) Another piece that fits: Donald Rumsfeld's bold, frequent, and rarely-challenged assertions that the American press is being expertly "manipulated" by Al Qaeda "media committees" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. "Immigrant" is not synonymous with "Latino" ...

amberglow — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 04:02:45 -0800

Some facts about Latinos and immigration, and chances are good they haven't been mentioned at all during coverage of the "immigration crisis" . (and take a stroll down memory lane to past GOP platform statements on the issue)

Exit Card, Rove Flips?

digaman — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 06:39:44 -0800

Intrigues at the White House: Andrew Card, Bush's longtime chief of staff -- the guy who briefly interrupted the President's reading of The Pet Goat one rough morning in 2001 and took heat for the Katrina and Dubai debacles -- is out, replaced by budget director "Yosh" Bolten, the one-time founder of a club called "Bikers for Bush." Meanwhile, is Rove rolling over for Patrick Fitzgerald, and if so, what's the angle?