The Fold Blog

It Is What It Is

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:13:00 +0000

I think we've seen the worst of the worst circa the Civil War of any political party with the Republican reaction to health care reform.

Republican opposition has consisted not of the typical political posturing that we all are so accustomed to, but of the very atypical extremist rhetoric that has not been seen in this country in 150 years. The only thing comparable might be the Civil Rights movement, but I would argue the opposition movement then was not directed at any one person like it is today.

Just as a quick summary:

Multiple elected Republicans have latched on to the ridiculous and false claim that Obama wants to setup "death panels" to kill undesirables.
That HCR could kill you.
That people should make a pact to "slit our wrists" to keep reform from passing.
Numerous Republicans have labeled the Obama presidency as a socialist takeover and that he is an illegitimate president born on foreign soil. His presidency and his policies result in what Republican Gov. Rick Perry calls a "punishment" for our country.
That HCR poses a far greater risk to this country than terrorism. Put another way, those who favor reform are worse than terrorists.
That the terrorists attacks on 9/11 are nothing when compared to HCR.
That the president is an "enemy of humanity."
That Obama is indoctrinating young people to support his "socialist agenda."
That Obama wants to kill veterans with HCR.
GOP Member of Congress actually posted a socialist indoctrinated photo of the president on the House Floor.

Now this is just a quick summary of some of the things elected Republicans have said about President Obama and health care reform. I've omitted the wacko Fox News pundits, talk radio drug addicts and various other non-elected Republicans who routinely say some of the same things listed above. They're crazy, we all know that. What I'm highlighting is the fine line we crossed to get where the official platform of the minority opposition party in this country is as radical as it's ever been. It is what it is. We can't tiptoe around it anymore.

No more surprises. No more media astonishment when Republicans say fringe things like Obama is "hell bent on socialism," because all they are doing is repeating their platform. No more excuses. It is what it is. They will own it.

Deep Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:38:00 +0000

I think Sarah Palins knows that unless she says something really stupid there's no reason for her to be on television. So as long as she keeps saying stupid stuff, she gets more and more attention. Whatever it is, you know it's bad when her fellow running mate says her story is "100% untrue" but can it get any lower than when Fox News has to fact check you?

Under the Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Sorry everyone, I've been a little under the weather these last two days and have barely been off the couch. Not that lying around on the couch isn't normal behavior for me. It's that I felt like crap while lying on the couch. I seem to be better just in time for tailgating this weekend, which is great news.

Other than that, I wanted to do a followup on a stats post from August.

Avg. Daily Hits = 3,500- that's down about a thousand hits.

Top Keyword Searches
bush idiot
walk with god
republican tea baggers
health care reform
Obama

Returning Readers = 250/day- that's up 75 from August.

Most Viewed Post = They Really See Themselves as Revolutionaries

Rick Perry Impersonates Koko the Ape

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:19:00 +0000

It's more than excessive to accuse the president of being an enemy of this country. But that's just what Super Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas does. He claims the president is trying to punish the country and is "hell bent" on a socialist takeover.

Now come on. This is ridiculous. Why can't Republicans just say they disagree? Why do they always have to make everything a manly struggle between freedom and tyranny, with them, of course, being the side of freedom? Anyone with half a brain can figure out for themselves that all insurance programs are socialist in nature. Even Spinner agrees to as much. There's really no reason for Perry or anyone to be doing what they're doing. He dances around a stage like Koko the ape and calls the President of the United States an enemy wanting to punish the country.

There's no excuse for this anymore. I couldn't imagine if the governor of the third largest state in the Union called President Bush a socialist enemy how much Republicans would have cried and wet their pants. Nor can I imagine what would have happened if Democratic Members of Congress had organized protests against Bush where they gleefully called him everything from Hitler to Lenin like Republicans did two weekends ago.

No doubt there were massive protests against Bush but not a single one was organized by opposition members of Congress. In fact, the one lowly person that organized a massive protest movement against George Bush was painted by the conservative media as un-American and aiding the terrorists. To this day, when Republicans detest un-American activities Cindy Sheehan is their main target. But what possibly could be more un-American than saying the president is a socialist enemy that wants to punish the country and states should secede in order to prevail against the coming tyrannical amercement? There really isn't much more a person can say that would have been labeled the worst of the worst by Republicans than what Rick Perry already has.

Republican Chickenhawk Smack Down

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Isn't it great to watch Chickenhawks get mad and throw hissy fits when someone calls them out on their on their lack of patriotism when their country needed them most.

Republican Tom Tancredo was of prime fighting age during Vietnam but received a deferment because he told the military doctors that he had depression. Even though he was a vocal proponent of fighting war without end, like so many today, he just couldn't bring himself to go fight.

Pretty Certain These Should Be Points Made by Someone Other Than a Comedian

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:58:00 +0000

Fox News' Uber Patriot Sean Hannity gets busted using footage of the 9/12 Tea Bagger protest for Michelle Bachmann's Tea Bagger protest two weeks ago. Big deal right? Well, considering only about 4,000 people showed up at psycho chick's rally, using footage of one that had 20 times that is neither Fair or Balanced. To me, though, the real story is look who it took to bust Fox!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

I'll say again, the only way to effectively stop Fox is if other media networks hammer them for their coverage. Until then a fake news program is the best we got.

*Update:

Hannity, sort of kind of apologizes for cropping video of 9/12 Tea Bagger protest to make Bachmann's protest look bigger. Again, just goes to show how a fake news program is doing the work of network media.

Fox News: Pelosi Did Everything But Whore Her Body to Pass HCR

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:30:00 +0000

This must be part of Fox News' non-news programming: "Nancy Pelosi basically did everything except sell her own body to get this bill passed. OK. [laughter] She did everything!"-- Laura Ingraham- Fox News, Nov. 11, 2010

I think Fox should give its viewers a disclaimer when they switch from news to opinion programming. Actually they would have to keep the disclaimer up at all times.

Tea Bagger Porn

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:01:00 +0000

A tad bit of truth would really do the Republican Tea Bagger movement some good. But when reality means you are the very things you hate, it takes massive lies to keep yourself going every day. Fox News host Sean Hannity helps his fellow Tea Baggers do just that by LYING OUT HIS SKINNY ASS THAT 20,000 TEA BAGGERS ATTENDED LAST WEEKEND'S CIRCLE JERK. Absolutely no evidence to back him but giving Tea Baggers a hard on is really all his job is.

Don't Let Facts Get In the Way

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:28:00 +0000

There hasn't been near enough said in the this country about the two nations we fight our endless wars with today, and how they got where they are. The main reason for the silence is because it was the Reagan administration that helped arm, fund and provided intelligence to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Bringing that up only opens me up for being called anti-American or having my patriotism questioned by some tough guy who thinks Rush Limbaugh is smart. I bring it up only hesitantly for that reason. But, there is also the situation in Pakistan that is largely responsible for world instability and just so happens to be neighbors to the American occupied country of Afghanistan. It just so happens, too, that while Reagan was busy supplying Saddam with WMD and arming the mujaheddin in Afghanistan, he was also giving the thumbs up to the Pakistani's and their atomic bomb.

Now I'm certain, in a very Serious and Freedom Fighting Republican sort of way, that none of that has anything to do with what's happening today. Reagan had to do what any tough guy Republican had to do. But could you imagine if Bill Clinton had given one penny to Saddam Hussein or if Clinton had given one bullet to the Afghan rebels, what kind of crazy conspiracy debate this country would be engulfed in right now. I mean my goodness we might even be talking about ceasing our wars for the simple sake of we started them.

Deep Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:14:00 +0000

How long until the right wing claims the Ft. Hood shooter went to the same mosque as Obama? Not long actually.

War, More War, Thank God for Glorious War

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Anonymous sources report Obama is preparing to send 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Why don't presidents fight the war?

Time To Listen

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Even though there has been a lot going this weekend in terms of health care reform, I want to highlight just how wrong the Obama administration was in regards to unemployment. This way or that way, doesn't really matter, the Obama administration said we would be at 8% unemployment by November unless the stimulus was passed. We are currently at 10.2%. Being wrong is nice for discussions and games of trivia but we're talking about people's lives here. Not only was Team Obama way off, they shrugged any suggestion that clearly demonstrated job losses would be much deeper than anything we've seen in nearly a generation. So "wrong" is one way of putting it, totally clueless is another.

Deep Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:39:00 +0000

Considering more than 60 Congressional Republicans showed up at yesterday's Tea Bagger protest in DC, I don't think there is any way anyone can say with a straight face that the fringe nut jobs have not taken over the GOP. They are in control. And they are, by far, the only motivated faction of the Party. When can we start this over? Wheeee!

Tea Baggers Lie Again About Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:30:00 +0000

What happened to the millions of Tea Baggers yesterday?

Looks like a few forgot to show. Aerial picture taken from Lynn Jenkins' (R-KS) cell phone during a fly over.
Of course all that depends on who you talk to and what planet you live on. Capital Police put the number at about 4,000. Others reported it as double that. As far as protests go, that's tiny. I'll see more people than that tomorrow at the local high school football playoff game.

Those living in the Republican Fantasy World, a world where George Bush was a popular president and Iraq had something to do with 9/11, put the attendance any where from 45,000 to a million!

They just can't tell the truth. When a billionaire buses in people to your circle jerk and the most watched cable news channel promotes it endlessly and all you can muster is a few thousand people that's pretty sad.

Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:28:00 +0000

What a terrible thing in Texas. Sickening to anyone that has a soul.

Comparing HCR Bills

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:43:00 +0000

I do hope Republicans line up behind Boehner’s alternative health care reform. After all, that is what they said they would do: present a bill that will whip the Democrats’ and take care of health care once and for all. I have a feeling, though, the Republican “unity” on the bill will be some sort of hogwash mix of Fantasy World jubilation about how their bill rocks and nearly creates world peace with lukewarm support for a bill that does absolutely nothing to reform health care but will have to be supported if they still want to be referred to as Freedom Fighters.

In comparison, the Republican bill will actually accomplish nothing other than ensuring 5 years from now we will have to yet again reform health care in America.

Based on CBO estimates:

In the end, the Republican bill costs substantially less but provides nothing in the way of reform. Furthermore, in comparison of deficit reduction and costs, the Republican bill will cost less, cover much less people, and put a much larger burden on the deficit (increase the deficit more than the Dem bill).

So would you rather pay $8 billion to regulate health care that will do nothing to cover people already without insurance; that will-- in comparison-- increase the deficit, and still would allow Members of Congress to partake in a publicly financed system by denying such a system to everyone else? Or would you rather pay $870 billion for health care regulation that will cover 96% of Americans, decrease the deficit, forbids denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions, and allows tax payers to opt-in to a plan Members of Congress currently enjoy and raise their entire families on?

The Storming of The Hill!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Don't dare miss out on the millions of Tea Baggers ascending upon Capitol Hill today to stare their enemies in the eye.

Super Crazy Lunatic Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) is leading the charge to march Freedom Fighters through the Halls of Congress in a last ditch effort to stop health care reform.

"Nothing scares a member of Congress more than a freedom-loving American," Bachmann said. "We learned that during the town halls."

Reminds me of the frenzy of whiskey burning.

In other news, Bachmann's chief of staff has resigned. I have no idea why.

*Update:

The flaming liberals at the pink commie rag known as TPM outright stole my labeling of one of the greatest mass social movements of my generation. Normally I wouldn't care, but since my grand kids will be reading about The Storming of The Hill in their history books, I can't help but speak out and demand some credit.

I Hate the Yankees

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:09:00 +0000

All was right in the world. Cubs sucked it up for months and didn't come close to post-season play. Cardinals won the central, made the playoffs and then threw their bats in the garbage. Alabama is undefeated. Illinois football still sucks. Democrats picked up two more House seats this week. And then the Yankees had to go off and win the World Series.

Boehner Introduces Health Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:02:00 +0000

Republicans have a bill. Wheee!

The real question is does the Republican bill keep freedom fighting on the front lines?

*Update:

The Republican alternative introduced by Boehner, if indeed Republicans do line up to support it, will only reduce the uninsured by 3 million so says CBO. CBO also estimates roughly 52 million will still be left uninsured by 2019. In other words, the Republican bill absolutely guarantees that we will be back in 5 years reforming health care again. Leaving 52 million without health care is not reform.

Deep Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:01:00 +0000

Is anyone aware the Democratic Party picked up 2 House seats yesterday? Their total now is 258 seats versus 177. Considering one of those Democratic pickups came in a District that hadn't voted D since Reconstruction, I'd say some significant importance is being widely overshadowed by the Renaissance!

I'm the cow on the tracks, moo moo!

Powerhouse Le Moyne Takes Down No. 25 Syracuse

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:41:00 +0000

What in the world would be wrong with waiting until after the first three games of the season, or at least the first week, before ranking college basketball teams? You can still throw your big boy rich schools into your meaningless rankings, just wait until after the Division II schools beat them first.

Republicans Always Win

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:34:00 +0000

I knew it wouldn't be long until Republicans claimed NY-23 as a victory. Hipster doofus Erick Erickson doesn't let me down. Within hours of a historic Democratic victory, he writes:

The race has now been called for Democrat Bill Owens.

This is a huge win for conservatives.

Erickson goes on to state that it's a victory for conservatives because the outplay of the race showed that they would stand up to the establishment GOP and refuse to support fake Republicans. Win or lose, it was going to be with a conservative. And if you could combine the votes, conservatives would have won. Therefore, it's a victory. Let the Renaissance! begin.

Will's Own Unicorn

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:08:00 +0000

It's rather fascinating, in an ignorance of history sort of way, to watch Republicans like George Will squirm their way out of blithely ignoring George Bush's handling of the war in Afghanistan. Americans went years without really referring to Afghanistan as a war. It was merely Afghanistan-- largely because Republicans turned our attention to greater spoils in Iraq.

Now that Bush is gone, it seems almost a feverish pitch by Republicans that Obama should decide in a nanosecond what do do next to expand that war. For Will,-- at least from this latest op-ed-- installing Karzai as the defacto ruler of Afghanistan impaired democracy not one bit. But now that election fraud caused almost exclusively by Bush's negligent if not criminal mishandling of Afghanistan, President Obama has turned a blind eyed toward democratic transgressions in the once blooming paradise of Bush's Afghanistan. Like I said, fascinating to watch.

Teaching Afghanistan to elect good men really isn't something Republicans should be lecturing anyone about. If there was ever a fantasy creature roaming in the desert it had one hell of an unfettered party for nearly 8 years.

Results

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Not surprisingly Republican gubernatorial candidates won in VA and NJ. Neither races were all that close. However, in NY-23 Democratic candidate Bill Owens did pull out a surprising victory over Conservative Party candidate Dough Hoffman. I gotta admit I didn't see that one coming. Either way, two states with incumbent Democratic governors both carried by Obama in '08 just changed direction and elected two Republicans. I would have to say that's nothing to scoff at.

Maybe now we can return to passing health care reform.

Today is a Referendum

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Today’s elections are receiving quite a bit of national attention, and rightfully so I might add. The big three are two gubernatorial elections in VA and NJ and the House race in NY-23. Whatever the outcomes may be and I’ve looked at enough polling to realize the only real shot for Democrats is the NJ governor’s race, but whatever happens today, both sides are exaggerating the results. Democrats are downplaying the races saying that they are not a referendum on the president. While Republicans are bending over backwards to demonstrate that today’s elections are proof Obama is unpopular and that they have regained their footing.

Is it a referendum on Obama? Of course it is. Whoever says it’s not is mistaken. Obama supporters are a little less than motivated right now to do much more than half of what they did a year ago. What was accomplished this time last year was nothing short of amazing. Millions of people worked extremely hard to elect the first black president; someone who garnered hope and change and someone that sought a new course for this country not seen since JFK. Inspire us it still does but we are still waiting on results. We’ll take a hit in a couple governors’ races and a U.S. House race if it means our efforts are needed for the midterms rather than for this off year.

Results, however, are greatly needed from this administration before the base gets re-motivated. We are still waiting on health care reform, repeal of DADT, jobs to return and a president that will quit reaching out to an opposition that calls him a socialist, says he wants to setup death panels to kill undesirables, that organizes protests against him and labels his government as an un-American socialist tyrannical takeover. All of us are tired of that stuff. 69 million people voted for Obama so we wouldn’t have to kowtow to knuckle dragging Republicans anymore. There’s no quicker way to simmer the base than to motivate them to work harder than ever and then after your landslide election, tell us to be patient while the opposition party that has been tossed en masse the last 3 years gets to dictate policy.

So I do very much believe today’s elections are a referendum on Obama, especially from his base. We are all still waiting on results and we’ve been patient. If we are going to work hard again next year for the midterms, then we’re going to need more than patience. I don’t think the outcomes today spell out a national trend or showcase some sort of resurgence on behalf of the GOP. But it might if conspiracy theories are allowed to dictate the national debate. It definitely could be a long hard slog, or a bump, but whatever it is, it’s real.