Wingnuts on Parade

John Cole: The Most Useless People On the Planet

Your United States Congress:

The House overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday in support of Iranian dissidents as that country’s top cleric warned protesters to end demonstrations.

The resolution was approved in a 405-1 vote, with two members voting present. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) was the only lawmaker opposed to the resolution. Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and David Loebsack (D-Iowa) voted present.

They simply just can not keep their mouths shut, and rather than working on issues within their authority, they waste everyone’s time with this nonsense. Additionally, the administration had to scramble the troops to water down the resolution from the one wingnut in chief Mike Pence was offering:

The White House worked with House Democrats to moderate a fire-breathing resolution circulated by Republicans to rebuke Iran for its post-election crackdown on dissent, according to an Obama aide.

The new resolution, similar to a version introduced in the Senate, “condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cellphones.”

It’s expected to pass the House today.

The language, while relatively strong, is a toned-down version of the resolution pushed for by House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.).

There was no point in offering this resolution, and I bet that Iran and the rest of the world will find any resolution about as compelling as the Bush administration found the Berkeley City Council’s vote to impeach Bush and Cheney.

Only Ron Paul voted against it.

JedL is Paging Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck says he's not a partisan tool, and claims that the only thing he cares about is stopping the "brutal thugs" running the Federal government from telling states what to do.

Time for him to put up or shut up, because John Boehner is hailing a decision by the federal officials to force Ohio state officials to change their allocation of stimulus dollars.

The stated intent of the so-called stimulus package was to create jobs, and certainly a $57 million slush-fund studying projects did nothing to achieve that goal. With Ohio’s unemployment rate the highest it’s been in 25 years, I’m pleased that federal officials stepped in to order Ohio to use all of its construction dollars for shovel-ready projects that will create much-needed jobs.

So, Glenn, how about targeting John Boehner with one of your black helicopter rants about how the Federal government is coming to take us all away?

Or would that be biting the hand that's feeding you?

(Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, it's nice to see Boehner concede the stimulus bill will generate much-needed jobs.)

Yglesias: Mike Pence’s Dangerous Game

Tom Ricks watches a Mike Pence (R-IN) appearance on Fox News and comes away fearing for the lives of Iran’s brave protestors:

I just hope that Iranian protestors know not to take this clown seriously.

This problem goes to the essence of strategy: A “tough” stance that Fox’s anchors are pushing might feel good, but it likely would be unproductive. A sober stance of the sort that Obama has taken is more difficult but likely more effective in the long run.

For quite some time now I’ve been trying to emphasize the point that Pence is not an intelligent man. It’s good to see Ricks notice this as well. But I think it’s important for people in the journalism game to get a bit more interdisciplinary on this. Oftentimes people are inclined to grant the benefit of the doubt. A Ricks might say “well, this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about on national security, but maybe his energy ideas make sense.” Ask around, though, and you’ll see it’s not the case. He’s just got dumb ideas on all sorts of topics. And it’s worth aggressively making that point. It’s all well and good to “hope” that Iranian protestors recognize that he’s a “clown” and shouldn’t be taken seriously. But the odds are actually pretty good that foreigners will take the situation at face value—he’s one of the highest-ranking and most prominent members of a major political party, so surely his pronouncements should be taken seriously. Right? Because if such a high-level party leader were, in fact, a “clown” then people would hear about that. Right?

• Benen adds: SO MUCH FOR 'WATER'S EDGE'....

  I remember a time -- I believe it's known as "2001 through 2008" -- when congressional Republicans believed politics had to end at the water's edge. They also believed that the United States couldn't have individual members of Congress coming up with their own foreign policies -- these responsibilities were in the hands of the president.

  Ah, the good old days.

  House Republican Caucus Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) has spent the last few days advocating in support of a resolution, weighing in on developments in Iran. Pence has said he realizes where President Obama has "drawn the line," but he "respectfully disagrees" with the administration. Pence added that the U.S. can't "stay neutral," so his resolution is necessary to "condemn the violence."

  In our reality, Obama has already expressed "deep concerns about the election," and publicly shared his concerns about "violence directed at peaceful protesters," but maybe Pence wasn't paying attention. Maybe he doesn't care. Maybe he wants to intervene in such a way as to undermine U.S. foreign policy, just to see what happens.

  After watching Pence grandstand on (where else?) Fox News this morning, Tom Ricks expressed concern that Iranians might not realize why it's important to ignore Mike Pence.

  I just hope that Iranian protestors know not to take this clown seriously.

  This problem goes to the essence of strategy: A "tough" stance that Fox's anchors are pushing might feel good, but it likely would be unproductive. A sober stance of the sort that Obama has taken is more difficult but likely more effective in the long run.

  I was cautiously optimistic that Republicans would realize this, especially after Obama's approach was endorsed by prominent conservatives who focus on foreign policy (Lugar, Kissinger, Sick, et al). Alas, a few too many GOP leaders have other ideas.

  Watching this unfold, I am reminded of something Matt Yglesias wrote earlier this year: "The larger issue ... is that Mike Pence is a moron, and any movement that would hold the guy up as a hero is bankrupt.... I would refer you to this post from September about the earth-shattering ignorance and stupidity of Mike Pence.... [I]t's really staggering. In my admittedly brief experience talking to him, his inability to grasp the basic contours of policy question was obvious and overwhelming."

BarbinMD: Republican Tantrum: Your Tax Dollars At Work

If you thought the Party of No had already shown us the outer limits of what whiney-ass victims they could be, think again:

Republicans angry over what they regarded as mistreatment by the majority Democrats retaliated by demanding roll call votes 52 times on one bill, a $64 billion spending bill for law enforcement and science programs next year.

They asked for votes on some two dozen amendments, even noncontroversial ones that passed unanimously. Then they asked for revotes. Then they demanded votes on whether they could vote for a third time. Once they ran out of amendments they came up with a couple more revisions to the bill they could vote on.

And these are the people that Democrats are bending over backwards to placate on issues like health care reform.

Benen: ENSIGN'S EVOLVING MOTIVATION...

So, why did Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) publicly acknowledge his extra-marital affair with an aide? It's a humiliating revelation, which has already cost Ensign his leadership position among Senate Republicans, but it's still a little unclear what Ensign was hoping to achieve.

The original line was that Ensign believed his mistress' husband, another former aide to the senator, was going to blackmail him. Today, we get another possible explanation -- the husband sent a letter to Fox News' Megyn Kelly, giving her the scoop on the story.

In a letter dated five days before Sen. John Ensign's public confession of an extramarital affair, Doug Hampton pleaded to a national Fox News anchorwoman for help in exposing the senator's "heinous conduct and pursuit" of Hampton's wife.

Hours before the Sun obtained an unsigned copy of the letter, Ensign's spokesman said the senator disclosed the affair with Cynthia Hampton because her husband had approached "a major television news channel before Tuesday," the day Ensign admitted the affair. "We learned of this fact before the news conference," the spokesman noted in an e-mail.

Doug Hampton's letter to Fox News' Kelly is a little odd, but it explains Ensign's "relentless pursuit of my wife," which "ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles." He offered to present a "paper trail, phone records and personal witnesses" to bolster his accusation against Ensign, and urged Kelly to "please help" him.

He added that he "could have sought the most liberal, Republican hating media to expose this story, but there are people's lives at stake and justice is about proper process as well as outcome. Senator Ensign has no business serving in the US Senate anymore!"

The Politico added that this letter "sheds new light on why Ensign decided to make the announcement Tuesday." Well, maybe.

Doug Hampton wrote a long, strange letter to a pseudo-journalist who works at a network committed to helping conservative Republican officeholders and candidates. Are we to assume John Ensign's Senate office heard about the letter to Fox News and leapt into action, genuinely worried that Megyn Kelly would humiliate the senator by launching an exclusive Fox News investigation into this? Isn't it far more likely that Kelly would have ignored the letter?

Maybe Ensign and his aides figured that Hampton would, sooner or later, find someone in the "liberal, Republican-hating media" to report on this, and it was better to take control of the story before that happened. But I find it hard to imagine the senator and his team were seriously worried about a hard-hitting Megyn Kelly expose against a fellow Republican.

• Marcy Wheeler adds: Ensign’s Senate Colleagues Confronted Him about His Affair in February 2008
  

  The Las Vegas Sun has posted the letter John Ensign's cuckold, Doug Hampton, sent Fox News not long before Ensign admitted his affair. In it, he reveals there was a confrontation over the affair in February 2008 that Tom Coburn attended.

  The unethical behavior and immoral choice of Senator Ensign has been confronted by me and others on a number of occasions over this past year. In fact one of the confrontations took place in February 2008 at his home in Washington DC (sic) with a group of his peers. One of the attendee’s (sic) was Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma as well as several other men who are close to the Senator. Senator Ensign’s conduct and relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal in April of 2008. I would like to say he stopped his heinous conduct and pursuit upon our leaving, but that was not the case and his actions did not subside until August of 2008.

  No wonder the Republicans don't really want to talk about this--they've known about it for over a year. Here's what Coburn had to say:

  Reporters mobbed Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who shares an apartment with Ensign on Capitol Hill. "I'm not answering any Ensign questions," he announced. "You can ask all you want."

  "You don't have any thoughts?"

  "I don't have any thoughts."

  "Have you had a chance to talk about it?"

  "I'm just not going to comment."

  Finally, Coburn was badgered into making a defense. "He is a bright young man," the senator said of his 51-year-old colleague. "Lots of people make mistakes."

  Also in the letter, Hampton describes his fears that efforts to pursue justice in this matter may put his family "in harm's way."

  The actions of Senator Ensign have ruined our lives and careers and left my family in shambles. We have lost significant income, suffered indescribable pain and emotional suffering. We find ourselves today with an overwhelming loss of relationships, career opportunities and hope for recovery. Our pursuit of justice continues to place me and my family in harm’s way as we fear for our well being (sic).

  Ut oh--this is Las Vegas this guy is talking about.

  Hampton talks about a lot more details in this affar--I wonder who Hampton is going to give the exclusive to for that story?