AlterNet: Will Doig- Tampa: ‘Screwed Up Tampa- Is Home To The GOP Convention’

Source:AlterNet– Tampa, Florida- home to the Christian-Right GOP & porn

Source:The Daily Journal 

“This piece originally appeared at Salon

Poke around the White House website and you can still find the hopeful “fact sheet” for a 324-mile high-speed rail line linking Miami, Orlando and Tampa.

No such system exists, of course — it was killed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Today, there’s a 40-acre vacant lot where the Tampa terminal would have stood. And when Republicans arrive for their national convention in about a week and catch a glimpse of it, they’ll likely see a big win. In fact, the GOP will find a lot of things in Tampa that exemplify their commitment to not investing in the future.”

From the AlterNet

“Strip clubs may not be the most politically correct venue for those attending the Republican National Convention, but that doesn’t mean Tampa’s well-known adult hot spots won’t be ready for the influx of visitors. One place is bringing in a stripper who looks like former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin…”

Source:The Young Turks– An apparent Sarah Palin lookalike in Tampa, Florida.

From The Young Turks

“The trend [in Tampa] today is to say, ‘We don’t need it — no new taxes — we are not going to invest anymore,’” former Pinellas County Commissioner Ronnie Duncan recently told Tampa Bay Online. “And that message resonates from not only the constituents, but the leadership of the Republican Party.” You could fairly call the GOP vision for the country the Tampafication of America.”

The adult entertainment capital of the United States, is hosting the Christian-Nationalist political party that is the Republican Party in name only, ( or RINOS ) since a lot of them don’t even believe in the concept of the republic at all and would prefer a Christian-Theocracy for the United States.

I make the old joke you would have a better shot at seeing prostitutes at a Southern Baptist Convention, than fill in the blank. Whatever fill in the blank is at the time, like you would have a better shot at seeing prostitutes at a Southern Baptist Convention, than the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, the Cleveland Browns even playing in a Super Bowl. Or a hurricane in Arizona. ( If you want to be more age appropriate )

But since Southern Baptists dominate the so-called Republican Party now and with Mitt Romney having to pretend he’s actually not a Yankee ( New York or otherwise ) and trying to convince people he’s really just from down South and has never had the progressive or liberal views that he’s had in the past about American culture and social issues in general, the so-called Republican Party or Southern Baptists at a porn convention, no longer sounds like an Onion story.

It still sounds like a joke and something that you would read from The Onion, but they’re actually going to be in the porn capital of the United States, if not the world for their summer national convention. Which sounds as ridiculous as seeing Kanye West perform at a Ku Klux Klan rally country music singer Kenny Rogers performing in Compton, California. Something just seems off about that story and looks like who ever prepared this convention didn’t do their homework. And didn’t stop to realize that probably most if not a majority of Republicans would like to outlaw pornography altogether ( not just Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum ) And yet the GOP is going to the biggest city in America if not the world where pornography is not just legal, but performed all over town and in multiple ways.

Source: Black News Zone– Stormy Daniels, President Donald Trump & Family Research Council President Tony Perkins

It would be like a gamblers anonymous group, having their convention or meeting in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Or an alcoholics anonymous group having their convention or meeting in Boston or New Orleans. A gay therapy conversion group having their convention or meeting in San Francisco. Something just seems really off about this and it’s like you need a punch in the face to make sure you’re not dreaming about this when you see this news and story.

Source: Good Ole Woody’s Blog– Mitt Romney’s, new girlfriend?

We knew ( we, meaning anyone who follows American politics objectively ) that there was serious hypocrisy amongst the so-called Christian-Conservative movement in America as early as 2005-06. With Christian Pastors who claimed that homosexuality is a sin and would then be caught cheating on their wives with men and sometimes even boys. U.S Representative Republican Mark Foley, having to resign from the House in 2006, because he had an affair with a Congressional male intern. That these so-called Christian-Conservatives would have one view in public that was against what they saw as threats to American culture like homosexuality, adultery, and pornography, but then in private would engage in the activities that publicly they would put down and even call for the government to outlaw them.

Source: Christians For Donald Trump– Ride The Donald Trump Train

But now take it up ten years and we have a Republican that is still in bed with the Christian-Right and in the House has seats drawn up for them so they can’t get reelected without the support of the Christian-Right, but who ignore or are completely unbothered when a Republican is caught doing the acts that they claim to hate. Republicans running on draining the swamp in Washington in 2016, throw all their political support around a man who has built his own personal swamp for himself and his allies just as long as they don’t question anything that he does and deliver on the polices that he ran on. Of course I’m thinking of President Donald Trump and his EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Using taxpayer dollars who further their own business’s in President Trump’s case and on Administrator Pruitt’s case, flying first class on taxpayer’s dime, when coach is always available for him and giving his staff extra financial bonuses that aren’t deserved on taxpayer dime and there’s whole other list of Pruitt corruption that I’ll save you from, for now.

Source: The Critical Mind– Donal Trump, in bed with the Christian-Right

We have a Republican Party that claims to be a Christian-Conservative party, who twenty years ago believed that President Bill Clinton, should not only be impeached for lying about sex, but should’ve been impeached for adultery alone. Who now twenty years laters have no issues with adultery and lying, just as long as the serial liar and adulterer is a Republican they approve of. And of course I’m talking about President Trump once again and his multiple affairs and bad behaviors that he always gets caught lying about. And then attempting to cover it up with either made up conspiracy theories, or trying to deflect and blame someone else.

Source: Bilgrimage– Donald Trump & The Christian-Right

The modern Republican Party, is now Donald Trump’s latest reality show. That from looking at it you would think it’s filmed in either Manhattan, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, or Hollywood, but instead from my hometown of Washington coming to you at taxpayers expense. Publicly the Republican Party might still be the a Christian-Conservative party, but privately when no one else is looking is where it still counts. People tend to be their most honest for good and bad when they believe no one else is looking or listening. And in private the Republican Party has no issues with the issues that they saw as threats to American culture and molality just ten years ago, just as long as the people engaging in those activities aren’t loyal to Donald Trump and come from his Tea Party Nationalist wing of the party.

 

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Real Time: Bill Maher Interviewing Mike Huckabee

 

Source: Real Time

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat Plus

Is it just me, or does Mike Huckabee sound like he’s moderating? One of the advantages of living in such a huge vast diverse developed liberal democracy like America, is that we have all types of people, cultures and lifestyles. That we are all free to be ourselves. But we can’t force our lifestyle and way of life on to other people. And I think that is what Governor Huckabee was essentially saying, at least when it came to language and how we communicate with people.

If your way of life is going to church seven days a week and never doing anything without praying to Jesus first, dad works hard, mom stays at home and raise the kids, the only music you listen to is country or gospel, the only channel you get to watch is Fox News or CMT, great. If you want to party like it’s still 1955, except for the creation of Fox News, be my guess. Just as long as you don’t kidnap anyone from outside of your world and force your lifestyle on them. Or try to get big government to do that for you.

Americans can live in modern America. Which is really everywhere outside of the Bible Belt. And yes the Bible Belt covers a lot of land in America. Just not that many people. You got to go where the people are. Which is how Democrats win presidential elections with only winning half of the states or less. Because they win most if not all the big states. Or you can live in modern diverse America, where you may see five people at once who don’t look like you. And perhaps practice five different religions, or don’t practice at all. But one thing that makes us great is our diversity and freedom. We can all live our own lives, without big government forcing one lifestyle or another on the whole country.

Real Time: Bill Maher Interviewing Governor Mike Huckabee

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Chris Rabideau: Video: HBO’s The Newsroom: Gun Control

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This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of what I call and others on the center-left call common sense gun control. And no that doesn’t mean gun prohibition and outlawing the second amendment. It means prohibiting stupid and crazy people and criminals who might be both, or even highly intelligent from owning or possessing firearms in America. And I’m not talking about preventing your average serial jaywalker from having a gun. Or even above average or below average serial jaywalker. For example since I qualify as a serial jaywalker and damn proud of my illegal walking across the streets, I wouldn’t be banned under common sense gun control from owning or possessing a firearm. As long as I don’t go stupid or nuts or become a real criminal that actually hurts innocent people. Which is who I’m talking about.

But gun control is like putting out a burning house with a baby’s spit, to try to solve a much larger problem and to put it simply. And if that is still not simple enough for you, you might be on my list of people who shouldn’t own or possess firearms in America. We need to go much further than that and if you are seriously interested in passing a constitutional amendment and are concern about gun violence, I might have an idea for you. How about we pass a constitutional amendment that prohibits idiots and mental patients from owning or possessing firearms in America. We’ll call it the mentally handicapped violence prevention amendment, or HVPA for all of you acronym junkies. Who obviously have way too much free time, or you wouldn’t be an acronym junkie.

I know what you are thinking, the politically correct crazy Left (MSNBC) would go nuts over this, because for one their gun rights would be taken away. But they would have a problem with Americans being denied rights simply for being stupid or crazy and claim discrimination towards stupid and crazy people. And perhaps invent new terms like nutism, which would be like racism for crazy people. And perhaps idiotism, which would be like racism for, well for idiots, if you’re keeping score at home. And if you are, similar to the acronym junkie, get a life.

I’m not trying to make fun of a very serious subject here. Strike that, of course I am, but hopefully doing it in a way that makes a serious solid point. Which is as long as we have stupid and crazy people with access to firearms in America, legal or illegal they’ll find ways to get guns and then take out their frustrations on people that they see as threats, who are completely innocent. If you don’t believe me and perhaps see me as a reporter for The Onion or something, (I wish) just look at the mental condition’s of our shooters the last what four years now and the people they’ve hurt or killed as a result.

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Gingery Oddity: Video: HBO’s The Newsroom: Maggie on Michelle Bachmann and Christianity

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This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

What the Maggie character from The Newsroom didn’t mention and perhaps didn’t think of, is that perhaps Representative Michelle Bachmann’s whose career in Congress will be over in just a few weeks, (counting the days, can’t wait) that perhaps Michelle believes her own propaganda. See I’m not sure if the distinguished Representative from Minnesota is an escaped mental patient, someone who should be committed, but because she’s married to Markus Bachmann who perhaps should be committed as well, or is not smart enough to see that her dear wife needs professional help. Or is a complete idiot who believes her own, lets say propaganda about “God wants me to run for President”.

You know not all politician’s are liars. Which is as difficult to believe that it never snows in Minnesota, or the New York Yankees aren’t from New York, or there isn’t a lot of oil in Texas. But there are politician’s that are simply flat nuts or complete morons, or perhaps in Michelle Bachmann’s case a case of both. And yes there are politician’s that lie, well their mouths off, who the only way to know what they think and know about anything, at least important is to always have them on truth serum. I’m just throwing it out there that there are politician’s who are nutty or dumb enough to actually believe their own words and aren’t always lying.

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Scientarist: HBO’s The Newsroom- Rick Santorum on Gay Rights

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat Plus

Rick Santorum and the broader Neoconservative-Right and Christian-Right are exactly why Americans are seen as stupid. We get stereotyped as people who think like them, as people who not only have warped religious and moral beliefs, but people who want to not only enforce those warped values on the rest of the country and do it through law. Will McAvoy asked a rhetorical question with an obvious answer to it. “How does someone’s same-sex marriage a threat to someone else’s straight marriage or make it less valuable?” The obvious answer is that it doesn’t.

The Christian-Right at least some of their militant members who go out of their way to put down people who don’t live like them, are simply assholes. Now are simply stupid and ignorant and know any better, or are they just rude bastards? I’m not a mind-reader, so I can’t tell you, but they have a bad habit of saying things about people and different communities that are flat false and as a result have a bad habit of speaking out of their ass. The definition of an asshole, someone who speaks out of their ass. Speaks to things they aren’t knowledgeable about as if they know what they are talking about.

Christian-Conservatives have the absolute constitutional right to look down upon people who are not like them and do not look at the world like they do. Gays case in point, but they don’t have a right constitutional or otherwise to harass people they do not like or even hate. And certainly don’t have a right to force their beliefs on the rest of the country, by law or otherwise. We live in a liberal democracy, as much as the Far-Right hates that and is against that. We all have the right to live our own lives and believe what we believe. Not try to dictate how others should live and what they should believe.

Scienytarist : The Newsroom- Rick Santorum on Gay Rights

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Josh Glass: HBO’s The Newsroom- The Tea Party Explained

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

Will McAvoy with an interesting explanation of the Tea Party. I would put it differently because similar to the Left in America, where I am on the center-left as a Liberal and New Democrat, the Tea Party is a very diverse movement of Americans. You have the Rand Paul win, the Conservative Libertarians that Senators Jeff Flake, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson and Representatives Justin Amash and Walter Jones are part of in the House. And then you got neoconservative Far-Right in the Tea Party as well. Neo-Cons like Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann, who are very hawkish when it comes to national security and not fans of personal freedom. And then you have the Christian-Right as well.

I think a good comparison of the Tea Party, would to look at Richard Nixon’s Silent Majority coalition of the late 1960s and early 1970s. That was made of Progressive Republicans, Republicans who weren’t in favor of big government. But who believed in things like environmental protection, public education and workers rights. Or look at the Reagan Coalition of the 1970s and 80s, that had Barry Goldwater Conservatives, people who are like those members of Congress that I mentioned earlier, that Ron Reagan was also part of. And then you have the Christian-Right as part of this coalition as well. People who were simply used for their votes, but who politically Reagan didn’t have much in common with.

One way to view the Tea Party is as an actual party. A melting pot of different political groups. Or look at it like a stew with all sorts of different ingredients that by themselves might not seem like much, but them together in one package and then you have a coalition big enough to make a real difference in politics. But what these groups have in common is that they believe that government is too big and spends too much at least as it relates to the economy. Do not like American intervention oversees other than to defend America. And depending how far to the Right, drunk or high they are, question whether Barack Obama is a Christian, an American citizen and born inside of the United States and view him as a Socialist.

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Nat Bishop: HBO’s The Newsroom- Will McAvoy: New Kind of Republican

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat Plus

I’m not sure that you can describe Republicans who’ve been in the GOP since the mid to late 1970s, people like former Senator Jess Helms of North Carolina as ‘New Republicans’. Well I guess of course you can, but it’s simply not true. I mean the fact is the Far-Right that is made up of the Christian-Right and Neoconservatives like Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann have been Republicans since the mid and late 1970s. Actually you can go back to the late 1960s with Richard Nixon’s so-called silent majority. That today would be called the Tea Party.

The fact is the Republican and Democratic Party has a nut house. A coalition of people who are more interested in their own political ideology and political movement and promoting it as much as possible, as they are on facts and information. Things that are considered old school by a lot of young people and elitist propaganda by the Far-Right and corporate propaganda by the Far-Left. At least when facts and information contradict their political ideology and partisan arguments. And that is assuming they are interested in facts and information at all. Which is not a safe assumption.

What Will McAvoy calls ‘New Republicans’ are people who live on their own planet or in a time capsule. Somewhere around 1955 or so when mom stayed home and raised the kids and dad went to work and said, “honey, I’m home” everyday at least during the week at around 7 PM. Where gays were trapped in a closet or basement like people who have been kidnapped. Where African-Americans were officially free, but still serving as servants to rich Northeastern and deep South Anglo-Saxon Protestant family families.

America has changed completely since the 1950s and doesn’t look much like it did sixty-years ago. The rest of the country has moved forward as well and modernized. The Tricky Dick Silent Majority, is now an extremely loud and obnoxious tiny minority, but with their own public microphones called FOX News and talk radio so their message and believes are always public. The so-called New Republican is an insult actual Republicans and republicanism. The New Republican is not much of a fan of the republicanism or the republic.

The so-called New Republican doesn’t believe in the federal republic or perhaps any other type of republic. Other than maybe some theocratic Christian republic. The Separation of Church to the New Republican doesn’t exist. The New Republican claims to love America, but doesn’t seem to like Americans, at least Americans who aren’t completely like them and agree with them somewhere around a hundred-percent of the time. The New Republican claims to love freedom, while at the same time puts down Americans for what they do with their freedom.

The so-called New Republican is not new at least when it comes to modern American political history. But they are real and a huge part of the actual Republican Party today. To the point that when actual Republicans, you know people who believe in the republic and republicanism has the balls to go against them and propose things that the so-called New Republican sees as Un-American, the real Republican puts their political careers in jeopardy. And I believe that is the type of Republican that Will McAvoy was talking about.

Nat Bishop: The Newsroom- Will McAvoy: New Kind of Republican

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McCain Through X-MSNBC’s Hardball With Chris Matthews: Bill Maher on Sarah Palin & Michelle Bachmann: The Dumbing Down of American Politics

Duh & Uh

This piece was originally posted at FRS Daily Journal

I don’t want to sound like a preacher because I’m completely unqualified to be one, which doesn’t stop many other people from preaching by the way. But it stops me from doing it, so one up for me but having said that I do like offering my views on everyday life. And when I see hypocrisy I like to jump on it, like an obese person at a free all you can eat buffet.

But Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann represent what happens when we as people put style over substance and give people attention, responsibility and allow them to run for public office because we like them, we think they are cool, (oh I’m sorry awesome) or they have a great sense of humor deliver a lot of great humor intentionally and unintentionally and I can give you a long list of people in both parties. So long that we would have to tear down almost every tree in the country, or at least in the Northwest to have enough paper to finish this list. But since this is about Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann I’ll start there and if I need more paper, I’ll chop down a tree or save myself some time and buy some paper.

Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachamnn aren’t political stars because of their great depth and intelligence on anything. Because they don’t have any great depth or intelligence about anything. Sarah Palin didn’t even know the role and responsibilities of the office she was running for back in 2008 when John McCain nominated here for Vice President. (Hint, hint pretty big clue there) Kinda like when you have a hot stove and instead of putting your hand on the hot stove to decide if its hot or not, you already know that its hot because you feel the hot air from it.

Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann are popular at least among the Far-Right in the Republican Party and outside of the party (at least among the Far-Right that doesn’t see women as property), because they’re likable, funny, attractive. And yes to use a word I try not to overuse, except when I’m impersonating valley people, awesome or at least considered awesome. Sarah Palin is famous because John McCain was scared to death about losing the presidential election in 2008.

Because Senator McCain was the Republican Leader replacing George W. Bush and had to have a running mate that the Republican Party would love and could appeal to the Far-Right and they either knew about Sarah Palin going in about how unqualified she was for any high Federal office. And figured they would try to teach her in the McCain Administration or perhaps nominate someone else for Vice President in 2012. Sorta how George H.W. Bush felt about then Senator Dan Quale in 1988. Or didn’t do their homework about Palin at all and believed she was worth the risk. It was the ultimate riverboat gamble that blew up in their face, but they were probably going to lose anyway. Thats why Sarah Palin is famous in America and makes for great TV because she is very entertaining and attractive. Just not cut out for public office.

Michelle Bachman is famous because she’s the first mental patient to ever get elected to Congress, House or Senate and is very provocative, funny (sometimes intentional a lot of times not) and very attractive so she shows up well on TV and in public. But knows very little to anything about anything she’s talking about and has a habit of attacking people based on quotes that were given to her. But then when’s she’s asked about where she got her info, she doesn’t know because she didn’t actually the read the info herself. Which is what happened when she got on Rick Perry about health care back in a Republican debate in September when GOV. Perry was the frontrunner.

Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann aren’t famous and popular with their bases because of their intellect or depth on any on the important issues that we face as a country, but because they both make for great “reality TV” and both represent the dumbing down of American politics.

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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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