Jindal’s Failure Is That He’s Gotten Ahead of Himself In the Ambition Department

Bobby Jindal’s relative youth may give him a second chance later in life to mount the national stage; but at 37, the Louisiana governor is letting his ambition get in the way of acquiring the wisdom it will take to truly change the Republican Party.

Tonight, at about 30 seconds into a feature on Jindal on 60 Minutes, he said, “I think the Republican Party needs to stop thinking about who’s the next messenger, is they need to stop thinking about how do they fix their party. We need to start thinking about how do we help fix our country?”

I would call that wise.  That’s Jindal, unscripted, answering a question.

Then there’s the Jindal being handled – by God knows whom – who gave the Republican response the other night.  There’s also the Jindal who says he won’t take any of the federal government’s stimulus money for his state – Louisiana a state that needs it more than most. (I think his fingers are crossed behind his back … he knows damn well his state legislature won’t let someone ‘move their cheese.’)

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Watson on HuffPo Nails It on “Limbaugh in the Lead”

If you don’t go read Tom Watson’s entire post, at least bask in this bit of loveliness:

Looking for all the world like the sweating floor manager on the late afternoon shift at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club in an unbuttoned shiny black shirt and undersized sport coat, Rush Limbaugh leaned his meaty hands on the lectern at the CPAC conference and slipped a greasy dollar bill into the G-string of the writhing conservative dead-enders packed into garishly lit Omni Shoreham in Washington DC.

Jowls rolling like thunder from the right via CNN’s unfortunate high-definition feed, Limbaugh took control of the sad and tattered remnants of the mainstream conservative movement, and urged continued allegiance to the noble Lost Cause of Reagan, metaphorically carrying his rebel-yelling followers into the hills like modern-day Quantrill’s Raiders standing firm against change.

If there’s any doubt that the GOP’s own Paulie Walnuts  is now firmly in command of the Party of Lincoln, the “breaking news” style coverage of Limbaugh’s bellow-cose rant dispelled the notion.

NYT Magazine: Matt Bai Writes on Newt Gingrich

CLICK NEWT FOR STORY

Congressional Republicans Fiddle While Economy Burns

Apparently, GOP leaders still don’t get it.

The events of last Fall should’ve been enough failure, enough repudiation for even the most stubborn to take a step back and rethink their world view, re-evaluate their approach.  Rational people might think that the continuing unwinding of the economy should be enough to appeal to Republican lawmakers’ sense of patriotism and push them in favor of government investment in jobs and the future.  On the contrary, President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill received not a single Republican vote in the U.S. House and is only moving in fits and starts through the Senate.

Notably, one Republican amendment which passed the Senate last night added $19 billion to the bill.

Today, in the Washington Post, Obama made a direct appeal to Washington in an op-ed piece.  Two things stand out form me in what the president wrote.

First, he reminds political Washington about the ‘fierce urgency of now.’

What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives — action that’s swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis.

We are in historic times, perilous times in fact.  At this point it doesn’t matter why we’re here, what matters is what moves us forward.

Second, Obama illustrates the stakes and describes the solution:

Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.

That’s why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come.

As the fundamentals of the broad economy begin to turn positive and unemployed Americans go back to work and those with jobs shed their anxiety, we can rebuild parts of the system and have all of the big government/small government arguments from a position of economic security.  The time for Democrat v. Republican is not suited for this stage of the game.  We’ve tried trickle down tax policies as an economic engine and the horsepower just isn’t there for where we need to go today.  Barack Obama and the Democrats have the ‘hemi.’

Final Reason I’m Voting for Obama – 3 of 3 – John McCain

I can remember during the Republican primaries in 1999 – 2000 thinking that John McCain is a Republican I would consider voting for. He distinguished himself by rejecting party dogma on a few important issues. He set himself apart as an independent operator who talked straight and seemed like he would put the needs of his country first and the special interests and big business last in line. Finally, he rejected the right wing of the Republican Party’s efforts to divide America over issues of faith and morality.

That was then, this is now. Read more

Republican Perversions of Christianity

The silly season is starting early for the Rapture Wing of the Republican Party. The use and abuse of the Christian faith for the advancement of political candidates or the cosmic zapping of public discourse has begun.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, gets the C&C Twisted Theology Award for today. In responding to the legitimate public policy debate over energy policy, global warming and the environment, Bachmann told OneNewsNow that the planet didn’t need to be saved because Jesus already did it! Bachmann referred to a statement made by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, in which she voiced support for an energy policy that helps “save the planet.”

“[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she’s just trying to save the planet,” Bachmann said. “We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet — we didn’t need Nancy Pelosi to do that.”

Problem. Bachmann I assume is referring to one Jesus Christ. Read more