What's Wrong With The GOP-- The Inside Scoop

In Arkansas GOP there's no room for Jews in this picture

Earlier today MSNBC's Chief White House correspondent, Chuck Todd, explained why the Republican Party is falling apart. "There are a number of ugly debates going on inside the Republican Party right now. There is the debate over whether or not there is even something wrong; there’s the debate over whether or not RNC chair Michael Steele should be trusted with making financial decisions for the party; there’s the debate over whether or not the party should come up with an alternative to being just a party for conservatives; and there’s the debate over whether or not all of this is just an overreaction." Todd didn't even get near the heart of the matter. Maybe he should take a trip outside the Beltway and visit with Republicans around the country. He could start in Arkansas.

One of the weakest Senate Democrats up for re-election next year is Blanche Lincoln, super-corrupt hack and charter member of Bayh's anti-Obama Bloc. Her favorability ratings stink, Labor hates her, McCain won the state with 59% of the vote, and no self-respecting progressive could possibly vote for her. But all the Republicans could come up with as an opponent is Asa Hutchinson's slow-witted brother-in-law, state Senator Kim Hendren, the GOP's uber-reactionary minority Whip from Gravette. Over the last few years the Republican Party has carefully moved away from historical right-wing themes that have targeted Jews (finding more fertile ground in using their demagoguery against blacks, Latinos and gays). But no one sent Hendren the memo.

Attempting to denigrate New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Hendren referred to him disparagingly as "that Jew." His excuse was that he didn't use a TelePrompTer!

"I don't use a TelePrompTer and occasionally I put my foot in my mouth," Hendren told Arkansas blogger Jason Tolbert.

"At the meeting I was attempting to explain that unlike Sen. Schumer, I believe in traditional values, like we used to see on The Andy Griffith Show," he explained. "I made the mistake of referring to Sen. Schumer as 'that Jew' and I should not have put it that way as this took away from what I was trying to say."

I bet this bigot isn't aware that the creator of The Andy Griffith Show, Sheldon Leonard, is also one of "those Jews!" Digging an even deeper hole for himself, Hendren explained that he likes Joe Lieberman-- like in "some of my best friends are..." People are already speculating about how long it will take for him to withdraw from the Senate race.

DWT called the only Republican Jew left in Congress, Eric Cantor (VA), as well as half a dozen congressmembers with large Jewish constituencies -- Peter King (NY), Mark Kirk (IL), David Dreier (CA), Dave Reichert (WA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL)-- for comments on Hendren. None would comment, although a few said they would call back. They haven't.

I managed to reach Barney Frank (D-MA) though to see if he could help me get a hold of any of them. Although Barney was famously attacked and smeared in Congress by Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey for being gay, no one has attacked him on the floor of Congress for being a Jew. He told us he loved The Andy Griffith Show when he was growing up-- "and not just because one of the main characters was named Barney. I do not remember bigoted arrogance being one of the traditional values that the show exemplified."

I guess the Republicans I called today were all too busy on the floor trying to talk their right-wing leadership into getting on board with H.R. 2187, Ben Chandler's 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, legislation that directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities. Every Democrat except hopeless reactionary Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS) voted in favor but only two dozen Republicans abandoned their obstructionist leadership and crossed the aisle to join the Democrats in voting for a brighter future for Americans-- no education/no future. Interestingly, of the seven Republicans I called and got the run-around from, only Dreier and Cantor voted in lockstep with the anti-education GOP dogma that took precedence in their party caucus today. The bill passed 275-155.