Of course you don't have to be nuts to be a right-winger. You could be an ignoramus, or just a greedy, thieving slimebag

by Ken

I know I put some noses out of joint the other day when I asked, in the headline to a post, "Is conservatism a mental illness?" The question, it should be noted, was offered in connection with an update on the activities of Missouri State Rep. Cynthia Davis, whose antics certainly suggest severe mental problems.

This is someone who chairs the state House committee that deals with children and families, and apart from her other wackadoodle obsessions, like the bill she's introduced to protect Missourians from the menace of energy-saving lightbulbs, she has actually said that the only issue of interest to her as committee chair is abortion. And then of course there's the Easter Sunday 2006 incident when one of her seven children was found abandoned wandering along a state highway. Don't they have child-protection laws in Missouri? (Perhaps not. Look who chairs the committee that would have to pass them in the state House.)

Obviously the people who waxed indignant haven't been paying any attention to what's going on in the world around them, which isn't all that surprising, because right-wingers never seem to have any clue what's happening anywhere in the world apart from the lies they've either been fed or made up themselves. If you spend any time listening to right-wingers in the media, in government, and in the Teabagger swamps, you can't possibly not wonder about the sanity of the participants, considering that every word, that comes out of their mouths is either psychotic delusion or a bare-faced lie. I thought I was offering the wingnuts a free pass by suggesting that this total, and I mean total, divorce from reality is a matter of mental incapacity, and thus beyond their ability to control. The alternatives are that they're either (a) too stupid to live or (b) diseased lying scumbags.

You spend enough time watching these public menaces, and you learn never to underestimate the "diseased lying scumbags" option. Can you spell gravy train? Here's Reid Wilson today on NationalJournal.com's Hotline:

Palin Spends More De-Icing Planes Than For Candidates

April 14, 2010 4:28 PM

By Reid Wilson

Ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) spent more money to de-ice her private jets than she did donating money to candidates during the first 3 months of the year, according to new filings made with the FEC.

The filings show Palin's political wing, Sarah PAC, paid a FL-based airplane service company $14K to de-ice a private jet. The PAC spent more than $16K -- twice as much as it donated to individual candidates -- on hotels from New Orleans to New York City to Richland, WA.

And it's good to work on Palin's behalf. Consultants for the PAC made more than $233K through their contracts, the report shows. Ex-spokeswoman Meg Stapleton, who left the PAC last month, had a $10K per month contract. Randy Scheunemann, one of Palin's top advisors during the WH'08 campaign, also makes $10K a month; during the last 3 months, Jason Recher, another aide on the '08 campaign, made $50K.

The amount she pays her staff pales in comparison to the amount she gives to help GOP candidates win elections. Palin gave just $7,500 to candidates running for office this time. She handed $1K checks to Iraq war vet Vaughn Ward (R), who is running against Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID); Iraq War vet Allen West (R), who faces a primary in his challenge to Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL); and ex-McLean Co. Commis./Iraq war vet Adam Kinzinger (R), the nominee against Rep. Debbie Halvorson.

Palin gave $2,500 to Ashland Co. DA Sean Duffy (R), running an uphill battle against Rep. Dave Obey (D-WI), and another $2K to ophthalmologist Rand Paul (R), the reports show. Meanwhile, she also gave $1K each to 2 PACs that support veterans running for Congress.

The $9,500 in checks represent just 2.3% of the money Palin brought in during the first quarter. Palin's PAC spent a total of $409,760 in the first quarter.

What's more, there is no evidence that Palin has kept her promise to donate money she earned from a Tea Party convention in Feb. Amid controversies surrounding the National Tea Party Convention, held in Nashville, Palin said she would donate her $100K speaking fee to campaigns, candidates and issues.

Palin did not contribute any money to her PAC, according to FEC filings. And in fact, it will be difficult for her to contribute the money this year. Palin, as an individual, would be able to give a maximum of $45,600 to different candidates -- maxing out to 19 contenders -- and another $69,900 to party committees, for a total of $115,500.

It has never made sense for Palin to contribute the money to political organizations. If she did that, she would still have to pay taxes on the reported $100K she earned from the speech; contributions to candidates and political parties are not tax deductible.

So far, while SarahPAC has given money to candidates, Palin herself has not contributed to any federal candidate this cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A Palin spokesperson did not return an email seeking comment.

Note: A commenter points out:

To be fair she raises a heck of a lot of money with her appearances for candidate fundraisers and causes.

So the de-icing of planes and traveling to headline a fundraiser for a candidate is a heck of a boost for that specific candidate/cause that doesn't show up on paper.

But of course Princess Sarah's appearances have nothing to do with the candidates she claims to be supporting. Like everything she does, it's always about her, and planting her puss in the spotlight, spreading the glory of her sociopathic self. Right now she and the political barnacles who've attached themselves to here are fattening up on all those bucks flying her way.

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