The Republican National Committee has sent out a "2009 Future of American Health Survey." Question #4 reads:"It has been suggested that the government could use voter registration to determine a person's political affiliation, prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system. Does this possibility concern you?"
Two quick thoughts. First, this is hopelessly insane.
Second, I was foolish enough to believe the RNC was incapable of surprising me. Live and learn.
- digby adds:
You can't dismiss this as fringe weirdos or "entertainment," can you? The official Republican Party is telling its members that Democrats may use voting registration information to identify and kill them.
How long is everyone going to deny just how fucking crazy mainstream Republicanism has become? And when are people going to start asking seriously where this is headed?
Benen: MICHAEL STEELE ISN'T VERY BRIGHT...
Let this be a lesson to all of us -- when major political parties are looking for a chairman or chairwoman, it's not a good idea to pick someone conspicuously unintelligent. It's an even worse idea to have that person pretend to understand the basics of public policy.This week, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele argued that Medicare is a) a great government program that Democrats are trying to undermine and the GOP is trying to protect; and b) a terrible program that doesn't work and should probably be privatized. The shift happened within 24 hours.
Steele spoke to NPR's Steve Inskeep this morning, and the host tried to get a better understanding of what Steele is thinking. Amanda Terkel posted the audio and a transcript, which are both worth checking out. Steele isn't very bright, and he made a fool out of himself on the air.
It started when Steele endorsed increased government regulation of the private insurance market.
INSKEEP: Wait, wait -- you would trust the government to look into that?
STEELE: No, I'm talking about the private -- I'm talking about citizens. I'm talking about -- (CROSSTALK)
INSKEEP: Who is it you -- you said it is something that should be looked into. Who is it that you think should look into that?
STEELE: Well, who regulates the insurance markets?
INSKEEP: That would be the government, I believe.
STEELE: Well, and so what. Now wait a minute. Hold up. You're doing a wonderful little dance here and you're trying to be cute. But the reality of this is very simple. I'm not saying the government doesn't have a role to play. I've never said that. The government does have a role to play; it has a very limited role to play.
INSKEEP: Mr. Chairman, I respect that you think I'm doing a dance here. I just want you to know that as a citizen, I'm a little confused by the positions you take because you're giving me a very nice nuanced position here --
STEELE: It's not nice and nuanced. I'm being very clear.
As David Kurtz concluded, "Hard to believe this guy really is the head of a major American political party."
There were several candidates seeking the RNC chairmanship this year. The party chose the most ridiculous, least qualified, most confused one. That Steele reflects poorly on the party, its agenda, and its ability to be serious about public policy is a dramatic understatement.
- David Kurtz adds:
On Morning Edition today, Michael Steele gets tied in knots trying to explain how the GOP (or maybe just Steele himself?) wants to preserve Medicare against cuts, while also cutting Medicare and opposing government-run health care programs in general. It's an impossible dance for anyone, but Steele is burdened with two left feet.
- John Cole adds:
This rambling and incoherent interview with Michael Steele was almost Palinesque- the only thing missing was a couple “you betcha’s!”
On display are all the contradictions, the lies, the spin, the confusion, and the chaos that is the Republican party. The party, as a whole, is like a congenital liar who has told so many lies and so many untruths that anything that comes out of their mouths contradicts what they said a moment and will contradict what they are going to say next.
There’s a show on A&E called Crime 360, and basically every episode walks you through a case, from the investigation of the crime scene through the evidence analysis to the capture of a suspect to the interrogation. Sometimes the interrogations are pretty amazing- the suspect, when under pressure, will immediately start to directly contradict what he/she said three minutes earlier.
That is what I think I am seeing every time I see most of the major Republicans on television. The only difference between any of them is who can most shamelessly lie (Gingrich, Palin, etc.) and those who very publicly trip over their own toes (Steele, Pence).
It's a bit like listening to Gollum talk about his precious ring. Bobby Jindal hates the recovery package; Bobby Jindal loves the recovery package. Mitch McConnell hates the recovery package; Mitch McConnell loves the recovery package. Eric Cantor hates the recovery package; Eric Cantor loves the recovery package.There's a lot of this going around.
Georgia's Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, voted against the $787 billion economic stimulus package, blasting the bill as a bloated government giveaway.
But their disdain didn't stop them from later asking Defense Secretary Robert Gates to steer $50 million in stimulus money to a constituent's bio-energy project.
Gates didn't do it, but Chambliss, Isakson and other Republican opponents of the stimulus aren't going empty-handed.
Billions of dollars worth of Defense Department stimulus money is paying for repairs and construction at military installations in areas represented by lawmakers who said "no" to the legislation, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
The request from Chambliss and Isakson isn't the only one Gates and other top defense officials received before and after President Barack Obama signed the stimulus law in February. Their pitch stands out, though, because of the GOP's staunch opposition.
It's a familiar pattern. Republicans aggressively opposed the stimulus proposal earlier this year, insisting that it was a wasteful effort that couldn't possibly improve the economy (as opposed to, say, a five-year spending freeze, which would have worked wonders). Ever since, however, the same conservative lawmakers who trashed the recovery bill are the same conservative lawmakers who think the economy in their area could really use some of those recovery funds.
This started within a couple of weeks of the stimulus package passing, and it's only become more common since.
The DCCC has even come up with a "Hypocrisy Hall of Fame" for recovery critics who are "celebrating the benefits of President Obama's economic recovery bill in their districts."
The campaign committee probably ought to save room for a lot of inductees.
Think Progress: Republicans Who Opposed The Stimulus Line Up To Criticize It Publicly, Request More Money Privately
The AP reports that Republicans who opposed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly referred to as the stimulus, are nonetheless vigorously pursuing money from the program. Many GOP members, like Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), are still slamming the stimulus as waste and a failure, yet at the same time are making internal appeals for more funds. Guthrie, attacked the Recovery Act for its “staggering” costs just days before he urged Defense Secretary Robert Gates to consider using stimulus money to renovate a military hospital in his congressional district.
Other opponents of the stimulus now pleading for stimulus money include:
– Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) opposed the stimulus and attacked it as a bloated government giveaway. However, both senators recently asked Gates to steer $50 million in stimulus money for a bio-energy project. Visiting a food bank aided by money from the stimulus, Chambliss exclaimed last week, “I’m very pleased that the government continues to play a key role, here, from the standpoint of providing food.”
– Rep. Mary Fallin (R-OK) — who called the stimulus a “Big Brother spending program” — asked Army Secretary Pete Geren to use $8.4 million in stimulus money for repairs to buildings at two Oklahoma National Guard sites.
– Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) told CNS News last month, “I don’t think it [failed] - I know it. I said at the time, there’s no stimulus in the stimulus bill.” He also called the Recovery Act simply “welfare.” However, a recent press release from Inhofe hails $1.9 million in funding for a Claremore regional railroad-based trans-modal facility, noting the investment will “help spur additional economic growth” and that the senator is “happy” about the way the money is being used. Inhofe, of course, makes no mention that the money is authorized by the Recovery Act.
– Rep. John Carter (R-TX) opposed the Recovery Act, and recently called the entire program a failure that should be “repealed.” Regardless, Carter’s public pronouncements did not stop him from requesting $621 million in hospital projects from the stimulus — then calling the funds a victory for the economy in central Texas.
– Rep. Bill Young (R-FL), another stimulus opponent, now lists various links on his website to help his constituents “take advantage of the federal stimulus money.”
Congressional Republican leadership, who helped corral every single GOP House member and a nearly every Republican senator to oppose the Recovery Act, are also shamelessly attacking the stimulus while requesting stimulus money. As ThinkProgress has reported, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) recently hosted a job fair filled with jobs fueled by the stimulus and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has been taking credit for stimulus projects in his home state. Indeed, even Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), considered a leading figure for his party, toured his state handing out jumbo-sized checks containing millions of dollars of stimulus money. Rather than credit the Recovery Act, which he refers to as a failure, Jindal printed his own name on the checks.
Think Progress:Inhofe admits he’ll vote against health care bill without even reading it.
One of the most vociferous opponents of health care reform has been Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who previously promoted blocking reform because it would be a “huge gain” for the GOP. The Oklahoma-based Express-Star reports that Inhofe told a town hall crowd yesterday that he will vote against health reform legislation without even reading it or knowing what’s in it:
At a town hall meeting Wednesday Sen. Jim Inhofe told Chickasha residents he does not need to read the 1,000 page health care reform bill, he will simply vote against it.
“I don’t have to read it, or know what’s in it. I’m going to oppose it anyways,” he said.
He went on to tell the crowd we are “almost reaching a revolution in this country” due to opposition to health reform. Inhofe is not alone in saying he will vote against any health reform bill. Last week Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) told Fox News that he doesn’t think a “single Republican” will vote for health care reform.
Benen: INHOFE RAISES PROSPECT OF 'REVOLUTION'....
One of these days, it sure would be nice if Republicans felt the need to denounce this kind of radical, vile rhetoric.
At a town hall Wednesday night, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) told constituents, "We're almost reaching a revolution in this country."
Inhofe also said he doesn't need to know what's in a health care reform bill to vote against it.
"I don't have to read it, or know what's in it. I'm going to oppose it anyways," he said at the event in Chickasha, Okla.
The senator was in good company, with most of the audience agreeing with him and expressing their disdain for big government and Democrats. One man said, "No more compromise. We're losing our country."
I can't begin to understand why Inhofe and his like-minded extremists are so angry. But for an elected member of the United States Senate to speak publicly about the possibility of a "revolution" is deeply frightening.
What's more, let's not forget that Inhofe isn't the only one throwing around insane rhetoric like this. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has encouraged her supporters to "rise up" and be "armed and dangerous." Several GOP lawmakers are talking up the idea of "nullification," which is effectively secession-lite. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's former press secretary recently wrote about "the coming revolution," which he suggested might be similar to "Project Mayhem" from the movie "Fight Club." (In the film, "Project Mayhem" involved militarizing terrorist cells that blew up banks.)
Inhofe is a U.S. senator, and he's decided to fan the flames.
I'm reminded of something Josh Marshall wrote a few weeks ago: "[L]et's all collectively throw a little cold water on our faces and just realize that this is some really crazy stuff. The health care debate is now being driven by a perverse nonsense feedback loop in which the Palin/Limbaugh crowd says all sorts of completely insane lies, gets a lot of ... how shall we put it, impressionable people totally jacked up over a bunch of complete nonsense."
It's getting worse, the perverse nonsense feedback loop is getting louder, and elected members of Congress are dues-paying members the Palin/Limbaugh crowd.
It was just a couple of years ago when prominent conservatives told us criticism of the president and the United States government in the midst of a crisis was borderline, if not outright, treason. The love-it-or-leave-it crowd, after just seven months of a Democratic administration, has reached a very different conclusion about standards of patriotism in the 21st century.
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