Category Archives: Teapublicans

The Continuing Destruction Of Our Two-Party System.

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Destroy limits on corporate political donations – check. Marginalize President Obama – check. Block Democratic presidential appointments – check. Block all attempts to improve the economy – check. Destroy ACORN – check. De-fund Planned Parenthood – in progress. Destroy labor unions – in progress. Suppress minority voters in key swing states – in progress. Destroy confidence in mainstream media – check. De-fund Public Broadcasting – in progress. Destroy the Environmental Protection Agency – in progress. Destroy confidence in government – check.

I will probably be dismissed as a leftist conspiracy crackpot for writing this. But if you think these things are unrelated, you’re wrong. More than 40 years ago, right wing Republicans along with conservative Christians set out to change the political landscape. They pushed moderate politicians from their party, labeling them RINOS (Republicans In Name Only). They attacked the media for daring to publish any story counter to their beliefs then eliminated the Fairness Doctrine to allow right wing media to lie as much as they want.

They focused on judicial appointments to replace moderate “activist” judges with conservative “activist” judges. Evangelist “Christian” Pat Robertson prayed (or should it be spelled preyed) for the death of moderate Supreme Court justices so George W. Bush could appoint “true” conservatives. They even attacked science for daring to teach such “leftist” ideas as evolution and climate change.

As a result, politics in this country have undergone a dramatic shift to the extreme right. Many traditional Republicans have switched parties or left politics altogether. Many moderate Democrats are former Republicans. And traditional Democrats are relegated to the Progressive Caucus and dismissed as extreme lefties.

In many states, thanks to the 2010 census and lack of Democratic voter turnout in 2010, Teapublican legislatures are hard at work gerrymandering congressional and legislative districts to benefit their candidates. But the most disturbing development of the Conservative/Religious alliance is the current attempt to suppress minority votes.

In 38 states (particularly swing states), Teapublicans are busy pushing bills to eliminate “voter fraud” by demanding photo IDs for voters. Nevermind that confirmed instances of voter fraud are virtually non-existant. In some states, it’s estimated as many as 50 percent of minority and elderly voters do not have driver’s licenses. Many of those people will find it difficult to obtain photo IDs. So Teapublicans are hoping that they won’t make the effort. And who will it help to suppress minority votes? Certainly not President Obama.

Our two party system and, as a result, our middle class have never been more at risk. If you think that’s accidental or the product of circumstances, think again.

Teapublican Lie #26.

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“The Housing Collapse was created by Democrats, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

If you listen to Teapublicans, you’d think Democratic Congressman Barney Frank was almost solely responsible for the collapse of the housing market aided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And they’d have you believe that the collapse is further evidence of an out-of-control federal government that forced banks to loan to the poor then guaranteed loans that could never be repaid.

Yet it was legislation authored and passed by Republicans that led to the collapse.

For example, in 1986, the Reagan administration eliminated tax deductions for credit card interest. Since interest on mortgages was still deductible, that encouraged many Americans to use their homes as credit accounts through home equity loans and refinancing.

The Republican-sponsored Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 excluded capital gains taxes on home sales encouraging speculation on real estate investments.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 deregulated financial institutions permitting banks to risk their customers’ deposits on risky investments.

Finally, Republican deregulation contributed to mortgage brokers and financial institutions writing questionable sub-prime loans in order to collect the origination fees. The loan originators then packaged the loans into mortgage-backed securities selling them to investors. They were even able to mitigate their risks through credit default swaps that allowed them to pass much of the risk onto other institutions such as AIG.

The result of all this was to encourage Americans to view their homes as investments. Those who did not already own a home felt that they could be shut out of the housing market if they didn’t act soon.  That encouraged them to overlook the looming balloon payments of Adjustable Rate Mortgages.

By 2006, the US housing market was a house of cards ready to collapse. And it did.

As for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, their only apparent role in the collapse was through the Community Reinvestment Act that encouraged banks to reduce discrimination by writing loans to borrowers in low and moderate income areas. But, in 2006, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac insured only 24 percent of subprime loans and the Community Reinvestment Act affected only one out of the top 25 subprime lenders.

So Teapublican anger about the housing collapse is entirely misdirected. They have almost no one to blame but themselves.

Teapublican Lie #25.

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“Climate change is a figment of Al Gore’s imagination.”

When Al Gore produced his highly successful An Inconvenient Truth, Republicans dismissed the movie as a liberal lie concocted to push renewable energy and to undercut the federal subsidies to the oil and gas industries. They also feared that increased environmental concerns would reduce the profits of their corporate masters.

Republicans claimed there is no evidence of climate change, and even if there were there is no proof that it is caused by human activities. Every time there was a large snowfall, they mocked climate change by saying, “Where’s your global warming now?”

Oil companies cited conflicting studies to raise questions about climate change. And Teapublican contributors even commissioned their own studies to refute the opinions of most of the world’s climate scientists. One such study was commissioned in part by the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder has contributed large sums to conservative causes, has confirmed the findings of mainstream climate scientists. The study by a long-time skeptic of climate change, Richard Muller, found that the earth’s surface is 1.6 degrees warmer than in the 1950s – numbers which match those of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.

“There is no reason now to be a skeptic about steadily increasing temperatures,” Muller wrote in The Wall Street Journal. Although Muller’s research did not address the cause of global warming, he said it makes sense to reduce the carbon dioxide created by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. He said that greenhouse gases could have a disastrous impact on the world.

Indeed, the World Meteorological Organization just released a report showing that global warming gases have hit record levels in the world’s atmosphere, with concentrations of carbon dioxide up 39 percent since the start of the industrial era in 1750. The report shows that CO2 levels have increased from about 280 parts per million to 389 parts per million. And WMO Deputy Secretary-General Jeremiah Lengoasa said, “…even if emissions were stopped overnight globally, the atmospheric concentrations would continue for decades because of the long lifetime of these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”

The WMO report cites fossil fuel-burning, loss of forests that absorb CO2 and use of fertilizer as the main culprits for the increase. And carbon monoxide may be the least of our worries. The methane being released by the thaw of the Arctic’s permafrost is potentially 23 times as powerful as carbon dioxide when it comes to global warming. This is why many climate scientists refer to a cascading effect that will cause irreversible changes that include the flooding of major cities and entire islands that will result in the displacement of millions of people.

The Teapublican refusal to acknowledge the possibility that humans have played a significant role by burning fossil fuels may already have taken us so far down the climate change road that our very existence is threatened.

Justice (At Least Temporarily) For Arizona.

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Two weeks ago, I wrote about Governor Jan Brewer and her political cronies’ removal of the independent chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. It seems the Teapublican congressional representatives were unhappy with the commission’s proposed maps which placed two Teapublican congressmen in the same district. More important, the Teapublicans were angry that the maps would create a few more competitive districts, which meant that the winner of the Teapublican primary wouldn’t be able to waltz through the general election.

So the scorpion-eating governor did the only thing she could do. She phoned her office from New York where she was peddling her self-congratulatory and largely fictional autobiography, demanding that the chair be removed for “gross misconduct.”

Of course, her obedient Teapublican minions in the State Senate voted in lockstep to impeach the chair. Then they patted themselves on their backs and crawled back into their hidey holes to plot the next attack on Democrats, independents, immigrants and anyone else who dares challenge their gun-toting, Latino-bashing, Obama-hating authority.

There was only one problem with the Teapublican power grab. The Arizona State Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the impeachment.

For some reason, the Supreme Court justices did not accept the argument that Teapublican power in the state is absolute. They didn’t buy the argument that Brewer could dismiss the independent chair if she didn’t like the chair’s haircut or dress (yes, Brewer’s attorney actually made that case). Instead the justices quickly ruled that Brewer’s action was an unconstitutional over-reach.

But reasonable people in Arizona (they actually represent about two-thirds of the state’s population) shouldn’t relax yet. Brewer’s spokesmouth says the governor is reviewing the decision and contemplating the next step. Of course, the next step should be to allow the commission to do its job without interference. But that seems unlikely. This is, after all, Arizona.

The Republican Debates. TV’s Best Comedy Series.

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If you haven’t been watching the seemingly endless number of Republican debates, you’ve been missing some great laughs. For humor, the debates have been every bit the equal of Dumb and Dumber, Beavis and Butthead, The Jerk, or Jackass 1-3.

The presumed eventual winner is Governor Mitt Romney who has been running for president almost as long as Harold Stassen. Yet he’s perpetually stuck in second place in virtually all of the polls. That’s because his support for a health care mandate as Massachussetts governor has put him at odds with the Teapublican hatred of so-called “socialist Obamacare.” He has, however, shown a unique skill of managing to find a position on every side of every issue.

One-time poll leader, Governor Rick Perry, was encouraged to run based on the mythic “Texas miracle.” As the myth goes, he created most of the jobs in America over the past 3 years. But the truth is, he used federal stimulus funds (which he now abhors) to create temporary minimum wage jobs without benefits. In case you’ve forgotten, he’s the man who advocated that Texas secede from the US. He’s also a serial executioner who has shown a disturbing fondness for maple syrup, and, if elected president, he wants to eliminate 3 federal agencies…assuming he can remember which ones.

Another outdated flavor-of-the-month candidate is Herman Cain, the accused serial sex offender and proud no-nothing on foreign policy and geography. He brags that his 9-9-9 tax policy is simple enough to be counted on the fingers of both his hands. Presumbably, the remaining middle finger is held erect for the poor and the middle class.  When asked the right question, he does a hilarious impersonation of a deer in the headlights.

Newt Gingrich is the shameless book peddler and hypocrite who led the impeachment effort against President Clinton while, himself, having an affair as his first wife was fighting cancer. No one describes Newt better than Congressman Barney Frank who calls him “a lobbyist and a liar,” a charge borne out by the revelation that Newt received $1.8 million from Freddie Mac as a lobbyist…er…consultant.

Sinking lower down the list, we come to Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann who made a fortune off agricultural subsidies from the federal government she claims to hate. The congresswoman has shown that she has no understanding of history, geography, foreign policy, economics or most anything else. She’s running, she says, because God told her to, which, if true, proves that God is a wrathful being who hates America.

Congressman Ron Paul is really a Libertarian. He hates the federal government he one day hopes to run, which is apparently the only reason he’s included in the Republican debates.

Congressman Rick Santorum? You don’t even need to listen to him to enjoy the good humor. The punch line to his joke is readily available on Google.

Finally, we come to former US Ambassador to China and former Utah Governor John Hunstman who seems rational, knowledgeable and moderate. Is it any wonder he’s running dead last in the Republican polls?

Teapublican Lie #24.

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“Private schools perform better than public schools.”

Indeed, many Teapublicans consider public schools to be a form of socialism. They believe public schools exist only to indocrinate our children in such “liberal” concepts as evolution. They believe public schools are anti-religious. They believe that only private and parochial schools are willing to teach our children the truth. Some even believe that home-schooling is the only way to prevent their children from being exposed to evil (aka science).

And they rationalize this lunacy by convincing themselves that students in private schools out-perform those in the humble public schools.

Unfortunately, they are wrong.

According to a report entitled Multiple Choice Charter School Performance in 16 States, published by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University in June 2009, only 17 percent of charter schools performed better than public schools, 47 percent performed at roughly the same level as public schools, and 37 percent performed worse! In five states, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, New Mexico and Texas, gains in math and reading skills for students in charter schools were significantly worse than for those in public schools.

Given the performance of charter schools, it would seem that the parents who promote them are the ones in real need of an education.

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Goodbye, Senator Pearce!

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This week, Boss Hogg wannabe, Russell Pearce was defeated in a recall election in Mesa, Arizona. You may remember him as the Godfather of SB1070, Arizona’s anti-immigration, anti-Latino bill. Thing is, he doesn’t deserve credit for writing the bill; only attaching his name to it and bullying it through the Arizona legislature.

One of the few things for which Pearce actually deserves credit is corruption and increased political devisiveness in Arizona. Yet, after the election returns were counted showing that he was defeated despite a litany of dirty tricks, Pearce was unapologetic. In a statement televised locally, he said, “If being recalled is the price for keeping one’s promises, so be it.”

Promises? Pearce didn’t promise anything. Promise is a term of hope. That hardly describes any of Pearce’s loathesome actions.

As former Chief Deputy for the self-proclaimed “nation’s toughest sheriff,” Pearce takes credit for having created “Tent City,” a Maricopa County jail located in the desert where prisoners are denied air conditioning despite 100+ degree temperatures and are served baloney sandwiches for every meal.

As President of the State Senate, Pearce not only unabashedly took $40,000 worth of free trips and football tickets from the Fiesta Bowl committee. He balanced the state’s budget on the backs of children and the poor. He demanded drastic cuts in education, while giving money to big business. He closed state parks in a state that depends on tourism. He drove tens of thousands of Latinos from Arizona further depressing the state’s economy. He fought to allow guns on school campus.  He challenged the 14th Amendment and President Obama’s birthplace. And he pushed for bills that would cement the Teapublican stranglehold on state politics for generations.

But despite the embarrassment of being the first Arizona legislator, and the first Senate president, to be recalled, Pearce vows a comeback. And if he’s ever successful, one suspects he’ll raise devisiveness and the corruption of power to entirely new levels.

The Fraud Of Voter Fraud.

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Following the 2008 presidential election, Republicans were convinced that President Obama could only have been elected as the result of massive voter fraud. They blamed ACORN (which they have since destroyed as the result of a fraudulent video scam) and labor unions (which are under attack by Teapublican-controlled legislatures throughout the country).

Now they have turned their attention to minority voters who overwhelmingly voted for Obama in 2008.

Despite the fact that there have been no proven instances of widespread voter fraud (a US Justice Department investigation in 2007 found only 86 instances of voter fraud nationally), Republican legislatures are pushing bills to require photo IDs.

Republican legislatures in Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia have all considered photo ID legislation. Conveniently, these states all happen to be key battlegrounds for the upcoming 2012 presidential election. If the bills are successful, the new laws could have a profound effect on the outcome of the election.

Looking at just one of the key states, North Carolina, as many as 1 million registered voters currently lack a photo ID. African-Americans make up 22 percent of active voters, but are 32 percent of those without a photo ID.  And seniors over age 65 are 20 percent of active voters, but are 32 percent of those without a photo ID.

At least three scholarly studies have concluded that Voter ID laws lower voter turnout by throwing up an extra barrier to casting a ballot, particularly among less educated and lower income populations.

As Rev. Al Sharpton recently stated, “The current push for photo IDs is not intended to fix a problem, but to fix an election.”

More Political Bullying In Arizona.

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If you think Teapublicans have run amok in Washington or in states like Alabama, Ohio and Wisconsin, nothing compares to the political lunacy of Arizona.

This is the state that refused to acknowledge a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It’s home to the so-called “nation’s toughest sheriff” who houses prisoners in tents in the middle of the desert and feeds them baloney sandwiches for every meal all the while misspending millions of his county’s budget.

It’s a state where handguns are a more common wardrobe accessory than wristwatches. It’s home to chronic liars John “McNasty” McCain and Jon Kyl. And it’s the state that introduced the Latino-bashing SB1070 anti-immigration bill.

Despite the apparent runaway lunacy, voter registration in the state is surprisingly reasonable. It’s almost equally divided between Teapublicans, Democrats and Independents. Yet, through a combination of vilifying immigrants, scare tactics and outright bullying, Teapublicans control virtually every major state office and hold a super-majority in the legislature.

Now that they’ve attained a death grip on state politics, Teapublicans are not about to let go. Which brings us to their latest shenanigan.

In the midst of the voter redistricting process dictated by the latest census, the self-proclaimed “scorpion-eating” Governor Jan Brewer called for impeachment of the chair of the Independent Redistricting Commission for “gross misconduct.” Of course, the Teapublican-dominated Senate went along with her recommendation thus removing the “I” from the IRC.

It seems Brewer and the Teapublicans were not satisfied with the proposed redistricting maps that would allow them to retain a majority of Congressional representatives, and all but guarantee Teapublican dominance of 16 of 30 legislative districts!

In Arizona, that’s what constitutes “gross misconduct” if you’re not a Teapublican.