David Shuster takes Eric Cantor to task for getting his facts wrong during his interview on Meet the Press.Benen wonders THE 'FATWA' PARTY?....
There is nothing in any bill about a train to Las Vegas. ... ...
It looks like much of the California Republican Party has given up on moderation altogether. (thanks to reader M.R. for the tip)The California Republican Party has been pummeled by some tough body blows in recent years -- and results at the ballot box have been just part of the pain.
Now, at a time when the national GOP is trying to find its voice and cultivate new candidates, California GOP activists have begun engaging in a new pastime: issuing "fatwas" to punish state Republican legislators deemed too moderate on tax issues.
This circular firing squad was on display last week at a "Tax Revolt" rally that drew 8,000 people to a Fullerton parking lot.... The raucous California tea party featured such dramatics as the spearing of a likeness of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's head, and the sledge-hammering of a pile of Schwarzenegger dolls, videos and movie memorabilia -- even an action hero lunch box.
The radio hosts' "fatwas" target a handful of moderate GOP legislators who sided with Democrats to end the state budget impasse. Their calls to recall those lawmakers have reverberated throughout the Republican grassroots.
Hmm. In 2003, far-right activists smashed the Dixie Chicks' CDs. In 2009, they've graduated to Schwarzenegger lunch boxes.
Republican consultant Bill Whalen told the AP, "It's becoming the fatwa party."
Far be it for me to give a state Republican Party advice, but this doesn't sound like a recipe for electoral success.
GOP's missing plan March 16: GOP in Exile: Senate Republicans continue to criticize President Obama's budget plan, but they don't even have a plan of their own to counteroffer. What's going on with the Republican Party? Rachel Maddow is joined by MSNBC political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell.
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When South Carolina's far-right Republican governor, Mark Sanford, first starting making noises about rejecting federal stimulus funds, it seemed likely he was playing a little partisan game. He'd impress right-wing activists -- the types who help drive presidential primaries, for example -- but accept the money anyway, saying his hands were tied.If Sanford is just going through the motions, however, he's working hard on selling it. In his latest move, the governor asked the administration for a waiver, so he could direct $700 million of stimulus aid away from education and health care and towards the state's long-term debts. OMB Director Peter Orszag declined the request yesterday.
Sanford responded by saying he would continue to find new ways to oppose economic recovery efforts in his state.
To help capture just how incredibly foolish Sanford is acting, South Carolina's largest newspaper, The State, had a helpful editorial the other day, describing the governor's ideas as "bankrupt."
When you're starving and someone offers to buy you lunch, you don't say, "I only want your money if I can put it into my 401(k)." But that's essentially what Mr. Sanford wants to do. [...]
We'll start with the claim that using federal stimulus funds will dig the state deeper into debt. That simply is not true. Now, if the state were using federal funds to expand or create new programs, he would have a point, because if the economy hasn't recovered by the time the money runs out, we will have to either raise taxes or cut those programs. But the money is being used to sustain programs that we already have -- or, at most, restart programs that were cut back in the past few months. That is, to delay cutting programs that otherwise would be cut now. Sort of the way that lunch delays the moment you die of starvation; you hope it will buy you time to find a job. We hope the federal funds will buy us time for the economy to start recovering.
It's almost as if Sanford has something against South Carolinians. One wonders what they did to offend him.
For what it's worth, the DNC has launched its first ads since November, and they're targeting Sanford's bizarre recklessness. The governor called on the White House yesterday to pull the DNC's ad from the air, saying it stands in the way of "a productive dialogue on the merits" of Sanford's ideas.
What "merits"?
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