Awkward?

They're often old, white, and uneducated, but they're always conservative. They represent between thirty and forty percent of the American electorate, which means they're too big to compromise, but too small to win. No wonder they're always pissed off, and no wonder they've managed to fuck up the country for the past 5 or 6 years.

It's Been Coming.

Anyone paying attention to politics understood this was coming since Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush in the 1992 presidential election. That election triggered the so-called Gingrich Revolution of 1994 and the takeover of Congress by the GOP, which led to endless investigations and an effort to impeach Clinton.

Every two years since then, the Republicans have rolled out a new wave of lunatics, each group more insane and repulsive than the one before it. The sickness and craziness get a little more extreme, and when they have the opportunity, they run America into a ditch and smash out the windows with hammers

Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and the tea party movement were signals that Cruz and Trump were on the way. The only question was when they'd get here.

Compromising Positions

For most of my life, government operated on traditional political practices. Elected officials representing a spectrum of positions on various issues would hammer out compromise solutions to problems that needed to be solved. Politics was sometimes referred to as the art of compromise.

Now, one of the leading presidential contestants is Rafael Cruz, who won a vacant seat in the Senate by bragging he was the only candidate who would never compromise his True Conservative Values and his Holy Jesus Values. Crooze is popular with a small group of tea party lunatics in the House who also refuse to compromise the same values.

All politicians who claim they'll never compromise with their peers are acknowledging they're not qualified or competent to participate in the processes of governing in America, and should be allowed 24 hours to clean out their desks and get the hell out of town.

Conservatives are dangerous because they believe the only solutions are their solutions. In a civilized diverse society, nobody gets everything they want, but everybody gets some of the things they want. That's the nature of compromise, and people who aren't willing to get with the program need to find another society that isn't civilized and diverse. That will require overseas travel.

Amateur Hour?

According to The Washington Monthly, a poll of Iowa Republicans shows that 56 percent of their support goes to the three candidates who have no experience whatsoever in public service: Donnie Trump, Ben Carson, and Fiorina.

During the ascent of the tea party movement among Republicans, the trend has been to turn state and federal government over to people who hate the government, have no interest in governing, have no aptitude for governing, and lack the skills to govern effectively. Republicans who are qualified to serve in elected office are afraid to govern because they worry about primary challenges financed by tea party PACs.

It's no fucking surprise we're getting these shitty results. Government can work pretty well when it's left in the hands of people who understand how it's done and have the political skill to negotiate and compromise.

Who needs those MFers?

The bottom line is simple: The tea party movement needs the Republican Party about 1,000,000 times as much as the GOP needs the tea people. Without the GOP brand and the ability to threaten primary challenges, the tea movement would be extinct in less than 12 months. Just another fly-covered splatter of road kill on the highway of American politics.

Bad Hair Days

This is Senator Rand Paul, who plans to become your next president in about 22 months. I have my doubts that'll ever happen. First, there's that ridiculous haircut that says I'm an asshole. Even with a new hairdo, Rand still has the baggage of his crazy old man. Then, he has to survive scrutiny under the media microscope. Sorry, Rand. The odds aren't in your favor.

Equality

The basis of conservatism as practiced by 21st century Republicans is the simple premise that all Americans are equal at birth and have equal opportunities, ergo, anyone who is unable to succeed is a worthless loser with only himself to blame.

If this single organizing principle is shown to be false, it creates massive problems for Republicans in terms of their social agenda, economic policies, and political objectives. If the foundation crumbles, the whole structure collapses.

Dysfunctional

Negotiation, compromise, and deal-making are what politics and governing are about --- or should be. The basic idea is that you're willing to give up some things you want to get other things you want just as much or more.

When government is operating the way it should, deals are negotiated and compromises are reached. Nobody is perfectly happy, but the vast majority of Americans are happy enough.

The current problem starts with the insane overreaction to the Obama administration among the geezers in the tea party movement. In the Republican party, any politician who tries to govern via negotiation and compromise is asking for trouble in the form of primary challenges. Thad Cochran and Lindsey Graham survived theirs; Eric Cantor didn't.

If America is lucky, the tea crazies will split off from the GOP and the country can return to its normal condition, which includes a functional government.

What if...

In the long dead period between the end of one football season and the beginning of the next one, there isn't a lot going on that holds my interest. Still, conservative Republicans are usually up to something that (a) makes me laugh, or (b) makes me want to take one of those aluminum baseball bats to somebody.

Since the tea party movement emerged in 2010, the most interesting political news has often involved Republicans fighting among themselves. I've often said that what makes Republicans dangerous is their ability to march in lockstep, so I enjoy seeing them get pissy with each other (i.e., behaving like Democrats).

Anyway, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post asks the question: What would happen if the tea party splits from the GOP in the 2016 presidential election?

Standoff

It's still to early to know for sure, but Obama may have finally realized he's more effective when he tells the GOP to go fuck themselves instead of trying to keep them happy. If he successfully kneecaps the goddamned tea party, he'll go in the books as an American hero.

Default

Another poll confirms something we already knew: Republicans overall are crazier than shit house rats. Eventually, those motherfuckers need to be busted, and maybe we're getting closer to that.

Panic Time

Paul Krugman has written a New York Times column explaining the desperate measures the T People are willing to take to kill Obamacare. As Krugman sees it, if the ACA is successful, it pretty much destroys the foundation upon which the GOP has been built.

Gomer

Of all the shitty backwater hellholes on earth, the First Congressional District of Texas must rank among the shittiest. That would explain why Louie Gohmert keeps winning elections by large margins every two years. Another fucking waste of oxygen from the Lone Star state.

More Gomer goodies.

Career days

Republicans are always saying that government doesn't create jobs. Oh really? I guess they've never heard of Rick Perry and Paul Ryan.

Blips

As I read the blog coverage of Romney's veep selection, I had one of those fantasy blips that occur now and then, maybe a side effect of brain surgery: If Romney wins in November, will the Republicans in the House initiate impeachment proceedings against him next year so that Ryan can replace him ? Something Mitt should think about.

William Kristol of PNAC and The Weekly Standard is alleged to be the architect of the Palin selection in 2008, and strongly urged Romney to pick Ryan. Motherfucker has a lousy track record, and needs to find a new hobby.

Marco

The subject under discussion among RWers in an online discussion forum was Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and why Mittens must choose him for the VP slot. Although it was not requested, I threw in my own opinion as follows:

The only reason I think Mittens might bypass Rubio is that with him on the ticket, Mitt immediately becomes 2nd banana, just as McCain became an afterthought after he selected Palin. If the GOP has nominated you grudgingly (as McCain was, and Willard will be), you're just asking to be ignored if you put a rising star onstage with you.

Where'd he go?

Is it just my imagination, or has Rick Santorum dropped out of the headlines lately?

Tea Time

It's still January. The GOP primaries are barely underway, and the candidates described as Tea Party favorites are nowhere to be found. The Snow Bunny wisely decided to sit out this race and rake in the kale as a TV talking head. Sugar Cain, Moochele Bachmann, and El Perrito went down in a matter of days -- bang, bang, bang, just like that.

There's possibly a lesson here about the Tea Party, maybe more than one. First, when it comes to choosing favorite candidates, the Tea people are clueless assholes. The congressmen they helped elect in 2010 are a bunch of unqualified fumble-fucks who would destroy the country if there weren't a few grownups around to tell them they can't have candy before supper.

Furthermore, the Tea Party apparently exerts minimal influence in Republican Party politics at the national level. They do pretty well in small elections, like those for House seats. In November 2010, Tea Party pick Bachmann ran in the most conservative district in Minnesota, the 6th district. She spent nearly 9 million dollars on her campaign, and received about 160,000 votes (53 percent). The bimbo let success go to her head, and decided she was ready for the White House. The Tea Party wasn't strong enough to get her there... or Herman or Rick either, for that matter.

The Tea Party people are always talking about taking back their country. Those assholes aren't a majority in America -- they aren't even a majority in the GOP. Fuck 'em.

The Other Rick

Rick Santorum, henceforth known as S-Rick to distinguish him from P-Rick, is no longer The Other Rick. Based on his showing in Iowa, he's now Big Rick, and Perry is The Other Rick. It looks like P-Rick will stay in the race indefinitely, since he realized that he can be out cruising the highways for months at a time, and nobody in Texas misses his sorry ass.

Santorum is one of those weird religious zealots who believe that abortion, school prayer and gay marriage are the most important issues facing America today. He runs as a "family values" candidate, meaning his goal is to make his particular religious beliefs the law of the land. As a family values guy, he appeals to the 50 percent of Republicans who are hardcore evangelunicals and dominate the party even more than the tea people. The big wheels in the religious right-wing hierarchy are getting together to work out a plan to consolidate behind an anti-Romney candidate. As a Mormon, Mitts is viewed as a member of a Satanic cult and can never be allowed near the presidency lest he convert America to his evil ways.

It has been easy to ignore S-Rick since he's spent most of the campaign thus far barely casting a shadow while the publicity went to Bachmann, Perrito, Sugar Cain and Gingrich. Now he's starting to accumulate a little clout because he's just as fanatical as Bachmann (without appearing insane) and Perrito (but able to express an articulate thought). The big cheeses in the evangelunacy visualize a large majority of Americans fighting for spots at the head of the line so they can vote for this asshole.

One of the bedrock principles of my political philosophy is separation of church and state. I don't begrudge the right of religious people to believe any nonsense they choose to believe, but keep it in church and keep it out of my face. If the fucking evangelunicals are right, and if S-Rick wins the GOP nomination and subsequently the White House, he'll be in position to move the nation toward the Christian theocracy that his supporters dream about. That sucks.

Newt News

In the most recent debate, Newtie told his backup group, the Blowfish, that he'd go out on a limb by taking a reasonable, sensible, even compassionate position on the issue of illegal immigrants. Occasions when Newtie says something with which I can remotely agree are rare, but this was one of them. The latest speculation is that being sane and sensible will diminish his support among the tea people and other bottom-feeding scum who register to vote Republican, and if the past twenty years are an indication, maybe it will. On the other hand, if Newtie says things that seem rational and compassionate often enough, and gets away with it, he may be motivated to become a better president than we have any right to expect.