Tag Archives: Tea Party

GOP Debate – Round ?

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Last night’s GOP debate in Las Vegas focused largely on issues of national security – not a surprise with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer at the helm.

Red’s favorite topic was when WB asked the estimable candidates about enforcing a No-Fly Zone in Syria and whether they would order a Russian plane shot down.  As always, Red translates the responses for you.

Chris Christie –  Hell yes, I would shoot down a Russian plane. I call Putin and tell him, “No flying, fuckhead.” And then when he ignores that we shoot.  And unlike the other weenies on this stage, I would insist on shooting down the planes myself – you know because I was a tough ass New Jersey prosecutor.  How does that work?   Every time a Russian jet entered the NFZ, I would be on the line immediately, targeting that sucker, remotely pushing the button to launch the missile and then celebrating afterwards with a double-meat bacon cheeseburger.  Fuck Yeah!

Rand Paul – If you want World War III, here’s your candidate. [Pointing to Christie]  If you are not absolutely bat shit crazy – like most of the respected candidates on this stage – and would prefer a big wussy in the White House, look no further.  I am the biggest wussy on this stage and proud of it.

Jeb!!!!????$ –  I have called for the NFZ and I would shoot down a plane with my sainted mother in it if it was violating the NFZ. Sorry, Dad.

Donald Trump – I too would shoot down a plane with  Jeb!!!!$$$$?’s mother in it.   But I like Putin bombing the shit out of Syria.  I back it 100%.  I would back it 1000% if that were possible, and believe me percentages well in excess of 100 will be the norm when I am elected president.  100% will be old hat.  No one will be talking about 100% when I am President.  500% will be the absolute minimum.

Ben Carson –  We shoot down Russian planes absolutely.  Then afterwards, I deal with the possibility of nuclear conflagration in my thoughtful, deliberate and respectful way as we descend into chaos and world war.

John Kasich – Why are you asking this question?  Why am I even still here? Is Red spelling my name correctly?

Ted Cruz – After I finish carpet bombing Syria and explaining in excruciating detail why that is not a war crime, there will be no real need for a NFZ.  In fact tourist groups will want to fly over Syria to see the glowing sand.

Carly Fiorina –  I would insist on a NFZ and shoot down anything that flies.  But I would not call Putin first – who by the way I talked with earlier today.  Others on this stage talk about making America great again.  But what is their plan?  I have a plan.  You know what would make this country great again – World War III.  I promise you that we will have WWIII if I am elected president.

Marco Rubio – Thank god we are not talking about immigration.

 

 

Quote for the Day

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“You don’t have to be popular with other senators, but you need to be respected by other senators if you have what it takes to be President of the United States . . . I mean, Barack Obama wasn’t popular with all the other senators, but he was respected . . . I don’t think Ted [Cruz] has the respect of his fellow senators.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D- Mo.)

At lunch today, someone told Red that several months ago, Sen. John Cornyn asked a local GOP power broker (the source of the story) if there was something he could do to get rid of Cruz.

The Anti-Business (Tea) Party

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Richard Parker argues that the Tea Partisans are actually creating a poor climate for big business in Texas by wanting to secure a religious path to discrimination and by trying to keep undocumented kids poor and ignorant.

Welcome to Texas, Toyota, and all the accountants, lawyers, contractors and other companies — big and small — that are making the long trek to relocate here.

You will find Texas to be immensely friendly. We’re especially friendly to business, which is why you’re coming, of course. Hence, the outlook for Texas is bullish: It’s on track to supplant Germany as the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050. Texas is so friendly to business that even Democrats stress the word pro-business before mumbling the word Democrat.

But there’s something the eager chambers of commerce and glad-handing mayors probably didn’t tell you before you made up your mind to come to Texas. There’s a political party emerging in Austin the likes of which we’ve never seen.

Until recently known as the tea party, it’s the Anti-Business Party of Texas, and it’s about to open the door to a future of uncertainty that will affect your workers, worry your shareholders and befuddle your customers.

If you saw the uproar from businesses — from Apple to American Airlines — in Indiana over a so-called religious freedom act, then brace yourself, because Texas could be next.

Two measures in the Legislature would unravel a law that seems to have worked well since 1999. State Sen. Donna Campbell and Rep. Matt Krause, both of the Anti-Business Party, propose to bar state or local governments from enforcing anti-discrimination laws in the event of a religious claim. They even want to enshrine the ban in the Texas Constitution. This would effectively gut anti-discrimination protections, particularly for gay people, in most cities.

Campbell also is effectively trying to deny an affordable college education to the children of unauthorized immigrants.

Texas GOP Leaders Take a Step Back from Crazy

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State GOP leaders have denied GOP primary voters a chance to decide if they favor secession from the USA.   The Tea Party wing had requested that the GOP put the following  question on the primary ballot in March:

“If the Federal Government continues to disregard the Constitution and the sovereignty of the State of Texas, the State of Texas should reassert its prior status as an independent nation.”

The State Republican Executive Committee rejected the proposal which would have been a non-binding referendum.

The defeat was not unexpected, as the saner powers-that-be did not want this to become an issue in November’s election.   The SREC clearly disagreed with Tanya Robertson, the SREC member who introduced the proposal and argued that the measure would have been “harmless,” allowing voters to register an “opinion only.” She also suggested the ballot language would have helped “get out the vote” among some Texas Republicans who have been sitting out recent elections. “The goal of these is to take a thermometer of how Texans feels about an issue, and what better issue for Texans to do that with?” she asked.

Indeed, what better way?  Red thinks it is unfortunate  that the rest of Texas will be denied an opportunity to see exactly how crazy the Republican base in Texas really is.

 

Quote for the Day

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“The scum of creation has been dumped on us.  Some of our principal cities are more foreign than American. The most dangerous and corrupting hordes of the Old World have invaded us.  The vice and crime which they have planted in our midst are sickening and terrifying.  What brought these Goths and Visigoths to our shores? The manufacturers are mainly to blame.  They wanted cheap labor: and they didn’t care a curse how much harm to our future might be the consequence of their heartless policy.”

Thomas E. Watson, 1910.

The tune changes, but the lyrics are basically the same.  Red wonders how many of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the “scum of creation” are now Tea Party supporters of  Donald Trump’s updated version of Watson’s errant nativism.

For more on the curious political career of Tom Watson see the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Message From Loving Christians Who Want to Kill a Lot of People

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Jerry Falwell, Jr. really preaches the essential message of Jesus of love and forgiveness by advocating slaughter of Muslims.

“I always  thought that if more good people had concealed carry permits, then we could in those Muslims before they walk in and kill.”  Falwell also confirmed that he was packing heat while speaking at a religious  based institution of higher learning.

Falwell’s remarks drew wild applause from Liberty University’s students at the weekly convocation.  Meanwhile, Jesus wept.

Texas Sues the Federal Government to Stop Syrian Refugee Resettlement

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Gov. Greg Abbott (TP-Texas) has authorized the Texas Dep’t of Health and Human Services to sue the US, Sec. of State John Kerry and others to prevent the resettlement of Syrian refugees into Texas.  The suit seeks to immediately stop any such resettlement efforts and claims, as legally required, that Texas will suffer irreparable harm if a couple of Syrian families (who already have relatives in Texas) are placed in the Dallas area.  The suit quotes the FBI Director and others who have expressed some concerns about the ability to vet the Syrian refugees who are applying for status in the U.S.  The suit also quotes the Director National Intelligence as saying, “We don’t put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees.”

Whether those concerns create the prospect of irreparable harm (a required showing for the temporary relief sought) is perhaps questionable.  What is not questionable is the complete and total authority of the federal government over immigration including matters relating to resettlement of refugees.  There is no likelihood of success on the merits (another required showing to obtain temporary relief) here because Texas cannot and will never have any authority over immigration matters.

This lawsuit is a complete waste of time and taxpayer resources and clearly does nothing other than to burnish Abbott’s already glowing Tea Party credentials.  The Dallas Morning News has the petition filed by the State for your reading pleasure.

Non-Profit Defies Bogus Order from Gov. Abbott

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The fight over the right to resettle Syrian refugees in Texas is heating up.  Gov. Greg Abbott (TP-Texas) previously declared that Texas will not accept Syrian refugees despite having no authority whatsoever over the matter and in apparent violation of legal protections against discrimination based on national origin or religion.  Abbott then threatened non-profits who are doing the hard work of creating conditions for a better life in the U.S. for these refugees with legal action if they did not kowtow to his demands.  Well, at least one such non-profit is fighting back against Abbott’s baseless blustering.  The Texas Tribune has the details.

The New York-based International Rescue Committee said in a Monday letter to Texas health and human services chief Chris Traylor that its Dallas affiliate would continue to provide resettlement assistance to all refugees “who have been admitted lawfully to the United States.”

The nonprofit had received a letter earlier on Monday from Traylor urging the International Rescue Committee’s Dallas branch to discontinue resettling Syrian refugees or risk losing its state contract “and other legal action.” The International Rescue Committee — one of about 20 nonprofits that have a state contract to resettle refugees in Texas — had previously informed the state that it would resettle two families in the Dallas area in early December. Both families have relatives in North Texas, the nonprofit said.

The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement last week warned Abbott and other governors that they do not have the power to reject Syrian refugees, telling them they would be breaking the law if they denied benefits or services to refugees based on their country of origin or religion. States that defy the law could face suspension or termination of their refugee resettlement programs, according to a letter signed by Robert Carey, director of the office.

Abbott has insisted he has the legal authority to refuse to accept Syrian refugees, citing a specific part of federal law requiring resettlement nonprofits to work “in close cooperation and advance consultation” with the state.

Abbott is a well-versed constitutional lawyer who should know better than to put forth absurd claims of authority  based on statutory language that does not actually give the state any power to control the resettlement of refugees.  But that wouldn’t play well with his Tea Party base – now would it?

 

Gov. Abbott Visits Cuba – For Dinner and a Floor Show

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Gov. Greg Abbott (TP-Texas) embarked on a supposed trade mission to Cuba and apparently accomplished little other than having a nice dinner and taking in a floor show.  According to the pool report filed by a Texas reporter traveling with Abbott, the governor dined and watched a concert at a high-end private restaurant in the Miramar section of Havana on Monday evening.

On Tuesday, Abbott visited Cuba’s new Mariel port and free trade zone.  Abbott’s group was told by Cuban officials that the U.S. trade embargo – which Congress has refused to lift despite normalization of relations between the two countries – meant there was no opportunity for U.S. businesses to invest there.

Abbott told the officials that “Texas has an abundance of (rice and other commodities) and a very easy ability to export from Texas to Cuba,” according to the pool report.   The Cuban officials indicated that the island nation would continue to buy rice from other sources until the U.S. allowed the country to buy on credit, a measure currently prohibited by the embargo.

Despite the bad news, sources tell Red that the excellent flan and expresso Abbott was served after his fancy meal made the entire trip worthwhile and a really good deal for Texas taxpayers.

We Don’t Need No Smart Peoples Telling Us What to be Learnin’ our Childrens

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In the face of numerous absurd statements in a recently published history book, the State Board of Education – which authorized the ridiculed textbook – has rejected a proposal to have people who might actually know something about history review textbooks for accuracy.  The 8-7 vote against the proposal at least indicates that not every member of the Board is a Tea Party hack.  But it is clear, that the Board functions as a wing of the Tea Party and is attempting to indoctrinate Texas students with conservative ideology at the expense of actual facts.  The Trailblazer Blog of the Dallas Morning News has more.

State Board of Education members on Wednesday narrowly rejected a plan to create a group of state university professors to scour Texas schoolchildren’s textbooks for factual errors.

The vote against was 8-7, with all the board’s Republicans except two opposing the measure.

The push for more experts to be involved came after more than a year of controversy over board-sanctioned books’ coverage of global warming, descriptions of Islamic history and terrorism and handling of the Civil War and the importance of Moses and the Ten Commandments to the founding fathers.

A tipping point to add more fact checking may have come last month. A suburban Houston mom’s alert that a newly approved geography text described African slaves forcibly brought to North America as “workers” set off a national furor.

At issue is whether the board should continue to rely on publishers and the public to flag errors. Currently, citizen panels nominated by the board have a narrower mission – to determine whether a book fits into Texas’ curriculum standards. Mostly, current and retired teachers sit on the panels.

Board vice chairman Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, offered the backstop panel of university professors as an amendment to a proposed overhaul of textbook approval procedures. Under his proposal, the board could set up a new panel drawn “solely from Texas institutions of higher education” to check the books for errors.

“I know that people are concerned about pointy headed liberals in the ivory tower making our process … worse,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we reach out to them and say let’s make sure these books are as factually accurate as possible?”

Why indeed?