The Young Turks: Panel- Kissing Representative Vance McCallister Caught on Camera

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat

Perhaps the new way to describe the Christian Right in America is to call them the “Do What I Say Not What I do Right.” Perhaps the so-called the “Family Values Coalition” (which has as much meaning as “jumbo shrimp”) should be called the “Moral in Public Coalition” or the “What We Do in Private is our Business and what other Americans do in Private is our Business Too Coalition.” Because of our morality and honesty we know best how each and every American should live their own lives. How about “The Give Me a Break Coalition?”

There’s a powerful religious/political block in the United States called the Christian Right or Religious Right. A lot of these people, despite their bigoted views, are otherwise good people. They are loyal to their spouses, loyal to their kids, volunteer for their communities, help the less-fortunate and a lot of other things that make people good. This voting block, at least in the South and rural America, is usually big enough to decide whether Republicans are politically successful or not.

But here’s a perfect example of why religion shouldn’t be mixed with politics. I’m not saying that religious people shouldn’t be active in politics but that when religion gets mixed into your political philosophy, or becomes your political philosophy as with the Christian Right, it becomes a big problem. Then your politics tend to oppose the constitutional rights of other Americans. They have constitutional rights to live their own lives as they choose, because of the rights of privacy, free speech, and freedom of religion, even if their choices go against your religious beliefs. Attempting to encode your religious beliefs in law, as in “Right to Life,” infringes the constitutional rights of citizens who do not agree with you.

But I can’t end this post without addressing the hypocrisy of politicians who claim to live by moral or family values. What does that mean? That’s like hearing Republicans say that they believe in individual freedom and responsibility. Individual freedom and responsibility for whom to do what? They tend to leave out the answers to these questions when speaking in public. In private, they do what makes them happy and try not to get caught.

Maybe the so-called Moral or Family Values Coalition should say we believe this is how other Americans should live their lives. If you don’t live your life as we tell you to do, we are going to label you as immoral or Un-American, even if we do the same things you’re doing.

The Republican Party needs this religious fringe because they can’t be politically successful without it. They have to pretend to care about their issues or they’ll not win elections.

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The Young Turks: Cenk Uygur: ‘President Obama Sets Bear Trap, Republicans Walk Right Into It’

Source:FOX News– Fox News, talking about President Barack Obama.

Source:The New Democrat

“Following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, where he called on Congress to end discriminatory workplace practices that “belong in a Mad Men episode” Fox News host Martha MacCallum proclaimed on the program American’s Newsroom that women did not want special laws ensuring equal for equal work because they already were compensated “exactly what they’re worth.” On the Fox program, two men, liberal radio host Alan Colmes and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, debated equal pay for women. Carlson assertedthat women actually made more than men if the time they “voluntarily” took off work to raise children was factored in. “The numbers don’t lie,” he insisted…”.* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.”

From The Young Turks

The current Republican governing policy is, “if Democrats are for it, we are against it, even if we are for it, or were once in favor of it”. And even offered it in health care reform a perfect example of that where the Affordable Care Act actually has a lot of good conservative ideas like the health care mandate and the health care market place in it. Which is the main reason why there hasn’t been much compromise in Congress between the House and Senate because when Democrats say okay we’ll agree to that, the House GOP just moves the ball further to get more compromises.

Then instead of Republicans saying okay let’s do that, Republicans just move the ball and say well, “if Democrats are willing to give us this, we can get them to give us this as well and hold off on a deal”. The deficit reduction negotiations are a perfect example of this where Democrats have put entitlement reform on the table and what Republicans is do is to say well, “if they will do that, then they’ll take exactly what type of entitlement reform we are interested in”. Like cutting Social Security benefits to future retirees or cutting benefits to current beneficiaries.

The only goal Republicans have right now is absolute power. And to accomplish this, they need to hold onto the House and 2014 and retake the Senate in 2014. To give them a united Republican Congress and to win back the White House in 2016 as well. While hanging onto Congress and the hard right partisan Republicans in the House and Senate have one clear strategy. “If Democrats are for it, it must be a bad idea even if it is our idea. So we are only going to put policies that are as far to the right as possible to get our partisan right-wing base behind us to avoid primary challenges”.

Which leaves us with gridlock when you have the Republican Leadership saying no to anything that the Democratic Leadership especially in the Senate and White House say yes to. Because now Democrats are in a position where they are only negotiating with themselves. Trying to find more moderate members in Congress to go along with some of these more conservative ideas in broader packages, while not losing any of their more, well lets say progressive members. Instead of negotiating with their own caucus’ in the House and Senate, along with Congressional Republicans.

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The Young Turks: John Iadarola: ‘Ted Cruz “Filibuster” On Obamacare’

Source:The Young Turks– U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (Republican, Texas) speaking at length (to quote John Iadarola) about ObamaCare.

Source:FreeState MD

“Ted Cruz finally released his grip on the Senate floor after more than 21 hours of speaking about the need to defund Obamacare.

The Texas Republican seized control of the Senate floor on Tuesday about 2:42 p.m. vowing to “speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand.” Cruz could have spoken all the way up to a 1 p.m. procedural vote on moving spending bill forward, but he relented at noon.”.* John Iadarola (TYT University, The Common Room) breaks it down on The Young Turks.”

From The Young Turks

Where Senator Ted Cruz’s speech about ObamaCare was a filibuster, or a crazy man with nothing better to do, then to go down to the U.S. Senate floor and prevent the presiding officer of the Senate from going home to get some much needed sleep, (like a selfish person, or something) Senator Cruz proved one point. He can speak for hours and hours about nothing, add nothing to an already controversial debate about ObamaCare. And apparently do this leaving plenty of coffee and candy bars for everyone else in Washington.

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Up With Steve Kornacki: ‘An Opening For Elizabeth Warren in 2016?’

Source:MSNBC– Steve Kornacki and company, talking about U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, Massachusetts) on MSNBC.

Source:FreeState MD

“From Video.MSNBC.MSN.com. UP With Steve Kornacki. Oct 5, 2013. The New York Times’ Jonathan Martin, The Washington Post’s Jackie Kucinich and Buzzfeed’s McKay Coppins join Steve Kornacki to discuss if Elizabeth Warren’s current “moment” will translate into a 2016 presidential run.”

From Marie Howell

I buy that there is anger I guess or this feeling that we need something different on the lets call it the Far-Left in the Democratic Party or at least with the further Left Progressive-Democrats (to be nice) like Senator Elisabeth Warren whose not a Far-Leftist as much as her followers may want her to be. Senator Warren is a mainstream Progressive Democrat similar to Ted Kennedy or Sherrod Brown or Tom Harkin. She’s from the FDR/LBJ wing of the Democratic Party. Not the Michael Moore or MSNBC wing, which is very different.

Elizabeth Warren is not a McGovernite government needs to be big enough to manage people’s lives for them, because people are too stupid to that for themselves. She’s not Dennis Kucinich or Ralph Nader but a center-left Progressive to the Left of me and I’m a Liberal, who want government to do basic things. Like regulating big business especially Wall Street, but not ending business and turning them into government agencies. And when Occupy Wall Street and others on the Far-Left figure this out, by sobering up, she’ll get less of their support.

Senator Warren is not an extremist and if that is what Social Democrats in the Democratic Party want a FDR or Ted Kennedy Progressive, someone whose also pretty mainstream, then great someone like an Elisabeth Warren would go far. And give someone like a Hillary Clinton who at best is a Moderate Liberal and that may only be when she feel she needs to be. Hillary is like a political calculator. She calculates where she believes she needs to be at the time to be politically successful. Which is her main weakness and I believe something she’s going to have to get past, if she really wants to be President of the Untied States.

If Elizabeth Warren were to run as that Progressive that I’m talking about and Hillary runs as the human political calculator, my support would go to the current Senator. Because at least I would know where she is on the issues and be with her on enough things to say voting for her was a good thing. But if she were to run as a McGovernite “big central government always knows best for the people. And people are too stupid to manage their own affairs”, she’ll make Dennis Kucinich look like Ronald Reagan when it comes to presidential politics as far as political support. And bomb as badly as Rihanna at a Southern Baptist Convention.

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The Young Turks: Cenk Uygur: ‘Harry Reid Full Of Cat Shit On Filibuster Nuclear Option’

Source:The Young Turks– Seriously, is this the best we can do to lead the U.S. Senate?

Source:FreeState MD

From The Young Turks

I was watching a little of C-SPAN today before I went bike riding and went out and did what I needed to do. Why, because I’m a political junky who is interested in other things than the George Zimmerman case. And actually interested in important news that affects the country and that makes me un-American, then so be it.

C-SPAN was showing a debate in the U.S. Senate and for all of you Zimmerman trial junkies who are perhaps reading this blog by accident, thinking this was also about George Zimmerman, one turn off your TV.

Source:FreeState MD– No wonder Washington gets so much heat and humidity: Congress is always full of hot air.

But C-SPAN is the network that covers the United States Congress and other current affairs events that are going on the country. And C-SPAN was showing an old Senate debate from 2005 when the then Senate Republican majority and the last one that they’ve had wanted to eliminate the filibuster on executive appointments. I was watching this old Senate debate and couldn’t, but help notice the hypocrisy on both sides.

If I had to guess there was more hypocrisy coming from the Republican side led by then Senate Assistant Leader Mitch McConnell. Who is now of course the Minority Leader a job he’s had since 2007 when Democrats took control of Congress. And if I had to bet there’s probably more hypocrisy coming from Senate Republicans than Democrats. But if this were some crazy contest it would be a nail biter. I mean it would be like trying to decide which is redder: or the red apple or tomato? How would you and besides why would you care?

Neither side has been very responsible here. But guess what, this is Congress and why would the Senate be responsible anyway, they don’t work for a living. Neither does the House of Representatives in too many cases as well. But the same people led by Mitch McConnell today Senator Orin Hatch and Senator Jeff Sessions all members of the Judiciary Committee and then Senate Leader Bill Frist who first proposed the so-called nuclear-option, are now saying this is a power grab by Senate Democrats and they’re the ones being unfair.

“Sure, if we do this, we’re acting in the best interest of our party, I mean country. But when the other side does it, it is a complete abuse of power and unconstitutional”. I mean seriously anyone who is actually familiar with Congress, still wondering why they have a ten-percent approval rating? And who are these ten-percent anyway? Any of them not living in mental hospitals and not in comas. Perhaps whoever does these polls, counts dead people. You know, the way they vote in Illinois, Louisiana and New Jersey.

Where do Congress people come up with these labels? “We’re saying the Democratic obstructionism is out of control. And we need to do away with the filibuster? Are now saying that: “The filibuster is a check on absolute power in America”. On the Democratic side back in 2005 led by then Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid who is now of course the Leader to go along with Senator Chuck Schumer who is also on the Judiciary Committee to go along with Senator Jack Reid, Senator Evan Bayh and others, those Democrats were saying eliminating the Senate filibuster would be a power grab.

“We’re saying that eliminating the filibuster would be an abuse of power and go against two-hundred years of Senate tradition and so-forth”. Wait, aren’t these Democrats supposed to be the Liberals, what do they care about tradition?

But now Senate Democrats are saying that: “The filibuster now represents ruling by minority. With one minority party in this case the Senate Republican Conference led by Mitch McConnell now running and having veto say on how the executive and judicial branches can now operate. When instead they are just supposed to be one voice and a minority voice at that”.

The point being that there’s enough hypocrisy and hypocritical people (to be nice) bullshit artists (to be accurate) here to form their own national club of bullshit artists. “We’re a club that creates and promotes bullshit across the country”. Apparently the agriculture sector is really struggling and then they need to create this national club, because they aren’t producing enough bullshit. Apparently Winnie the Bull is sick or something.

This club wouldn’t need any other members because all the available spaces would be filled by the United States Senate and an example of why ninety-percent of Americans dislike Congress. Because we have a lot of Senators like this. This whole Senate filibuster debate is all about “do what I say not what I do. Forget about my past record because this is what is important now and what I believe in”. They sound like your parents, right.

Which of course is the easiest near advantage that they can use against the other side and hit them as hard as they can with it until they lose power. Apparently unaware that will be used against them once they are out of power. Rather than doing what is best for the Senate and respecting the true role of the Senate as the upper chamber in Congress and its role in the Federal Government.

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The Daily Beast: This Week In Punditry- February 3rd, 2013

Source:The Daily Beast– Hardball With Chris Matthews. According to Chris Matthews.

Source:The Daily Journal

“Rush Limbaugh was his typical incendiary self, Chris Matthews got heated about Hillary, and Bill O’Reilly pushed Colin Powell’s buttons about race. See those clips and more in our roundup of the week’s most controversial news talk show moments.”

From The Daily Beast

I’m not sure there are three better examples of what’s wrong with so-called cable news (which is really just partisan talk TV) then Sean Hannity, Chris Matthews, and Bill O’Reilly. You want to know why the mainstream media is about as unpopular as the U.S. Congress or your average trial lawyer or insurance salesman, or used car salesman, listen to any of these three guys.

Source:The Daily Beast– Sean Hannity, Chris Matthews, and Bill O’Reilly: The Three Stooges of American politics?

This week in punditry. Let’s see, where should I start? Well, we just had a week with plenty of punditry in it, oh you want more than that, not sure why, but here it is if you want it, you’ve been warned.

Well, we had a Secretary of State step down, because she has better things to do than manage our foreign policy. I know right, what’s more important than that. Well she has another book to write and needs to decide if she wants to be President of the United States, or not. Wait, that’s more important, but of course it’s her decision. And I wish Secretary Hillary Clinton well with her new Gabby Giffords look in how she where’s her glasses. And I congratulate her with her service to the country the last four years by leaving Congress and not running for President and taking on President Obama. And the Democratic Party thanks her for that as well.

Let’s see what else happened, oh yeah we had a Secretary of Defense confirmation hearing, as if it’s not interesting enough that we would have a Progressive Democrat nominate a Conservative Republican for Secretary of Defense. But the fact that Chuck Hagel forgot to put caffeine in his morning coffee, or forgot to go to bed the night before and forgot to bring his memory, because not all of Chuck Hagel was at that hearing.

Did I also mention that Fox News claimed to be a serious news organization. No, seriously, I know when have they ever reported any news at all and that Fox News still remains the most trusted name in news. Well for the Republican Party anyway, but don’t take that very seriously. Because they also believe that it’s still 1955 and that President Ronald Reagan never raised any taxes. And that homosexuality was invented ten years ago and that Barack Obama is an African Muslim Socialist from Kenya. So take all of that for what it’s worth, borrow a dollar if you have too. Or use that money to actually buy something of value.

Fox News is as much of a news organization as Pat Robertson is a supporter of gay rights in America. And to be fair MSNBC is not much of a news organization either, but two cable networks that serve as mouthpieces for the two major political party’s in America.

What else happened this week? Oh yes, Rush Limbaugh who apparently still hasn’t died from a heart attack yet, declared that since the mainstream media won’t cover the real news in America, ( you know, anything negative towards Barack Obama and other Democrats) that if the mainstream media doesn’t do a job on Democrats, that Rush and his allies will. Perhaps force Democrats to listen to Rush’s radio show 24 hours a day and smoke his cigars till they get heart attacks.

Rush Limbaugh is about as much of a reporter as Ron Paul is a Socialist, it’s simply not believable. But the good thing for Rush is that as much as he may hate it, as well as the rest of the country may hate having Rush living in America, he lives in a liberal democracy with freedom of speech and beliefs.

That’s the way it is as Walter Cronkite the famous CBS News anchor always said to close the Evening News. A big week for a lot of people and more evidence of why we need to fully fund mental health care in America. And have a better public education system with all of the nutty and ignorant people we have on both sides of the aisle.

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