Do The GOP Congressmembers Follow The Teabaggers, Inspire Them Or Lead Them?

Is it fair to hold Republican elected officials responsible for the violence, racism, homophobia and degenerate hysteria of their grassroots supporters? Before you jump to any hasty answers, please take a look at this short clip from our friends at BraveNewFilms:



It's starting to look-- even to the Village dullards Inside the Beltway-- like the American people are sick and tired of the GOP spoiled-child routine and that the teabaggers are likely to hurt the GOP at the polls in November. That may have a lot to do with why Cheney popped up to endorse the moribund McConnell cutout, Trey Grayson, in the Kentucky Senate race yesterday, trying-- probably futilely-- to derail Rand Paul's already sewn-up nomination as the first teabagger Senate nominee (unless you want to count Scott Brown, which I have a feeling teabaggers don't). And teabaggers running as third-party candidates are bound to help a wide array of Democrats, from Alan Grayson (more on that at 10AM), Tom Perriello, Mary Jo Kilroy, Billy Kennedy to Harry Reid and a whole battery of others.

But when normal Americans get wind of what angry, selfish ratings whores like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage and Ann Coulter are saying, they're revolted-- and they blame the Republican Party and the entire political right... as they should.

The latest manifestation of Republican Party obstructionism is that they're refusing to work past 2pm in the hopes of slowing everything down and grinding the functions of governance to a halt. That didn't work out too well for them when they tried it under Gingrich. And speaking of old GOP tricks... remember when they were all trying to claim the credit for the incredibly popular and successful projects created by the Stimulus bill they all voted against? Well, the ink wasn't even dry on the healthcare legislation he voted against when Iowa crook Chuck Grassley, petrified of a growing threat to his political longevity from Roxanne Conlin, tried claiming he deserved some of the credit for the bill. This is the memo I got from Conlin's campaign manager Mark Daley yesterday:

I could not make this up if I tried. Senator Grassley voted no on health insurance reform. He famously walked away from negotiations on the bill, declared “war on Obama-Care” and shamefully told Iowans we should fear the government may “pull the plug on grandma” and NOW HE IS TAKING CREDIT FOR THE BILL.

In a memo released to media his staff claims, “The provisions enacted in the new health care law are the result of Grassley's leadership on tax-exempt organizations' accountability and transparency, including hospitals.”

Chuck Grassley has done more to derail this bill than any other person in America. He has flip-flopped on health care. This bill will close the donut hole he created in 2003, cover 32 million Americans including 302,000 Iowans and reduce our debt by $1.2 trillion.

After 50 years in politics, Grassley is a career politician who will even take credit for things he voted against. This is pure hypocrisy. Stay tuned, by this time next week Grassley will have been a part of the moon landing.

Today Media Matters demanded that the Republican Party now tame the monster they created and singles out some especially seditious types among them, although I have no idea why they left out Steve King (R-IA):

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) said there is “no difference” between House Republicans and the Tea Party activists.
 
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): “I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back.  Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people-- we the people, are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country.”
 
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): “And are they going to listen? Oh yeah, oh yeah, they're going to listen. It was Thomas Jefferson who said a revolution every now and then is a good thing. What do you think?”
 
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): “The number one thing people can do is come, see their member of Congress, look at them in the eyes, especially with other freedom fighters in tow, and let them know that the lessons of August, they should not forget, at their peril.”
 
Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS): “We hunt liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition.”
 
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK): “We’re almost reaching a revolution in this country.”
 
The Republican National Committee created an offensive web ad featuring Speaker Pelosi looking down the barrel of a gun.  As the viewers hear a gunshot, blood drips down the screen.
 
The Republican National Committee paid for Tea Party signs. 
 
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): organized the Tea Party health care “House Call” rally on the National Mall.

UPDATE: Sort This Out Yourself

Here we have a combination of gays, Republican Party officials and demented teabaggers: