Republican Leaders Are Ginning Up The Social Distancing Protests, Not The GOP Grassroots

Noam Chomsky couldn't be more correct: Señor Trumpanzee is culpable in the deaths of thousands of Americans by using the coronavirus pandemic to boost his electoral prospects and line the pockets of big business. And he's not alone. The Republican Party is right there with him.

The memo was specifically for Louisiana, a red state with a Democratic governor, by it outlines how the GOP plans to stir up protests and undermine orders meant to stem the pandemic. I don't know if it applies to other states' Republican parties, but my guess is that it does. The talking points came from GOP operative Jay Connaughton and was addressed to state Senator Sharon Hewitt of Slidell, but has circulated to all Republican legislators in the state.

Last week Lamar White wrote at the Bayou Brief that Governor John Bel Edwards' "orders are in conformance with the guidelines issued by the White House and follow the recommendations of public health experts and medical professionals... Covid-19 has now killed more people in Louisiana than those who perished as a consequence of the Federal Flood after Hurricane Katrina. More than one out of every 1,000 residents of New Orleans have died from the virus, which had been disproportionately affected when the novel Coronavirus was first reported in the state. Since then, the pandemic has spread to all 64 parishes.

The GOP memorandum contains a series of factual distortions about the state’s response and falsely claims that Gov. Edwards’s order was made against the advice of the Trump White House. The White House actually recommended Edwards take the exact approach that he’s now implementing, telling governors to ensure their states have satisfied a set of criteria before ordering a “phased reopening.”

The Trump administration also makes it abundantly clear that plans for a phased reopening are at the “governors’ discretion,” and recommends that any phased reopening-- which could only occur after meeting the initial “gating criteria” listed below-- consider “local circumstances.” As an example, the White House distinguishes between urban areas with severe outbreaks and “rural and suburban areas where outbreaks have not occurred or have been mild.”

...Trump has repeatedly singled out Edwards, a Democrat, for his coordination with his administration, praising the governor’s leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic on more than one occasion. “In the case of Louisiana, we have a very good governor, John Bel Edwards, though he’s a Democrat,” Trump told Fox News.

Vice President Mike Pence also praised the state’s response under Edwards. “I have to say how proud we are, despite the heartbreaking loss of people in our community and the families who’ve lost loved ones, New Orleans has made great progress, and Louisiana has made great progress by putting the health of their neighbors first.” Pence told WWLTV on Monday.

In a list of talking points outlined in the Louisiana GOP document, legislators are encouraged to argue that they are “disappointed in the Governor’s decision to delay the restart of our economy” (emphasis added), and to share the fact that some cities in Louisiana are closer to Dallas, Jackson, and Houston” than they are to New Orleans, though the memo leaves out the words “New Orleans.”

Already, legislators have lifted passages from the memo- often verbatim- to share on social media. One of the first members to do so was Hewitt herself:

Hewitt also prompted her followers to sign a petition, which is mentioned in the memo to legislators as well, by sharing a tweet from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, announcing the state’s decision to no longer require visitors from Louisiana self-quarantine for 14 days. Abbott’s order created an almost entirely unworkable regime that attempted to force non-commercial traffic arriving from Interstates 10 and 20 into a check-in area (in the case of I-20, the area was located nearly five miles from the state border).

“Texas Governor lifts the quarantine of Louisiana citizens entering his state, but our LA Governor keeps us locked down,” Hewitt declared, misapprehending a “stay at home order” as an order preventing citizens from traveling anywhere. The Slidell lawmaker also failed to appreciate the justification Abbott provided for eliminating the requirement, which had been widely seen as an act of political theater.

“Louisiana has done a good job of corralling the coronavirus and because their increased rate of new coronavirus cases is less than what we have in the state of Texas now, it’s important for these people who either have families who live across the Louisiana border, or they may be living in Louisiana but working in the state of Texas, or they may need to come to the state of Texas for doing business-- whatever the case may be-- it was determined by the doctors and the data that it was fine at this time for people to be able to come into the state of Texas from Louisiana,” Abbott said.

While Abbott announced he would also let Texas’s statewide “stay at home order” lapse on Thursday, his directive is phased approach, and, like Edwards’s order, it follows the guidelines set out by the White House. 200 of 254 of Texas’s counties report no deaths as a result of the virus, compared with only 10 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes.

Although Texas’s population is 6.1 times larger, Louisiana has reported more than three times the number of Covid-19 fatalities than the Lone Star State.

As of yesterday Louisiana was reporting 6,844 cases per million and 496 deaths per million. Texas is reporting 1,376 cases per million and 39 deaths per million. The Louisiana Republicans are counting on no one bothering to look up the numbers.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a medical doctor and far right extremist, "is," wrote Melanie Zanona for Politico, "fed up with being locked down. He wants the freedom to get his nails done, even if it means steepening the curve and killing more people. Maryland is having one of the worst pandemic experiences in the country. From Sunday to Monday there were 786 more cases bringing the total to 33,373, and 39 more deaths, bringing that total to 1,683. Maryland's cases per million: 5,520, the 8th worst in the country, even though Maryland is just the 19th most populous state!

Harris fumed at a teletownhall that "They promised 2 million dead at the beginning of this... The media has a vested interest in making things sound worse so that you tune in the next day." A million was predicted if no precautions-- like social distancing-- were taken. And that's exactly what crackpots like Harris want to try now. He screamed and yelled-- without wearing a mask-- at a reopen America protest. And he's not the only one. Zanona wrote that "A growing list of House hard-liners say they have reached their breaking point with the stay-at-home orders, which flipped a switch on the once-booming economy in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus.

In recent weeks, Republicans have been angrily lashing out at the media, local and state officials and House Democratic leadership over the continued shutdown-- and are now actively encouraging the fired-up protesters swarming state capitols across the country.

“It’s ludicrous, it’s arbitrary and it’s absolutely unnecessary,” said Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), whose state has been one of the earliest to lift coronavirus restrictions. “In some cases, there’s no evidence whatsoever that they eliminate the spread of Covid-19. It’s just abusive, dictatorial, tyrannical-type leadership.”

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is also cheering on the protests.

"It's organic, it's nonpartisan, and it's basically an effort to send a message to government,” he said. “It's clear people across all spectrums are feeling the pain of these government actions."

The push among GOP lawmakers to end isolation orders comes as activist groups look to mobilize the conservative grassroots just as they fueled the tea party movement a decade ago. The move is intended not only to give the economy a boost but also potentially build momentum on the right ahead of the November elections.

“Time will tell if this will turn into a tea party-type movement,” Hice said of the growing social unrest. “Part of me is hopeful this will begin a movement of Americans taking a stand for constitutional liberties that have been eroding for quite some time, but rapidly eroding through this pandemic.”

Yet for all the heated protests taking place-- and as several states begin to wind down restrictions-- the desire to immediately end the lockdowns remains a minority opinion. According to new polling, most Americans do not feel comfortable with their states reopening salons, gyms, movie theaters and other businesses.

That might explain why some Republicans have taken a more measured approach to the debate, acknowledging it’s difficult to strike a balance between public health concerns and the need to get the economy humming again. And even if the economy is technically reopened, it’s not clear there will be many customers if fear of the virus is widespread.

"No matter what decision you make, there's going to be people second-guessing it,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is up for reelection this fall. “You need to do it gradually and you need to be careful... We all know how to manage risks in our own life-- that's if we have good information and know how to do that. But right now people are being inundated.”

President Donald Trump-- who has also encouraged protesters with tweets to "liberate" Democratic-run states-- recently tapped a bipartisan congressional task force to explore ways to get the nation back to work. It's a sign the White House wants some bipartisan buy-in for reopening the economy, one of the most consequential decisions that will be made during the pandemic.

Coronavirus casualties are still climbing, with over 80,000 Americans dead from the virus thus far. Republicans who have been clamoring to reopen the country have faced accusations from Democrats that they care more about the economy than people’s lives.

Many GOP lawmakers, however, counter that continuing the lockdown carries its own set of health risks, pointing to the increase in suicides and routine health exams getting pushed to the back burner.

“We need to get back to our way of life, because there are serious mental health issues,” said House GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). “You’re seeing suicides on the rise.”

Others have given more blunt assessments. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) told a local radio station last month that the health risks are the "lesser of two evils” compared with the economic damage from the virus.

Republicans have also begun to decry the stay-at-home orders as a violation of constitutional rights-- a call to arms that plays directly to the right’s fears about government overreach.

“Power has gone to their heads, and they believe government is the answer to everything,” said GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, who accused Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot of going “ballistic” with her threats to jail people who violate social distancing orders.

Meanwhile, Hice and Biggs wrote a letter to Trump over Easter weekend voicing concern that virus-related restrictions on public gatherings are infringing on Americans’ religious freedoms. They've complained that in some places, you can buy alcohol and a lottery ticket but can't attend your place of worship.

“Just because we have a pandemic does not mean our constitutional rights evaporate or disappear,” Hice said. “I believe there’s a tremendous abuse of civil liberties in certain cases across the country, and I’m hopeful some of these people will be held accountable.”

Attorney General William Barr has said the Department of Justice is monitoring the stay-at-home orders to ensure they don’t violate civil liberties, and he didn’t rule out stepping in if states go too far.

Republicans have also slammed various reports of law enforcement aggressively going after people and businesses who violate the rules.

“I don’t think [the police] should be going after them at all... It’s overkill,” Biggs said. “That’s where you begin saying, have we crossed the line? In some states, have we become martial law?”

The debate over reopening the country is also playing out in the Capitol. The Senate returned to D.C. last week, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has delayed the House’s return, citing recommendations from the Capitol physician.

Republicans hammered Pelosi for keeping lawmakers away from Washington in the middle of a crisis that requires congressional action. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is seeking signatures for a letter calling on the GOP to come back to D.C. no matter what this week and blaming the high infection and death rates in New York on "poor leadership at the state level."

“This is why we, as Republicans, must demonstrate leadership for the country by safely and responsibly coming back to work in Washington in order to minimize an impending economic calamity which could ultimately cost lives and dramatically increase misery across the United States,” the letter states, according to a draft copy obtained by Politico.

Some lawmakers have defiantly chosen not to wear masks in the Capitol. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), however, vigorously defended his decision not to wear a facial covering, maintaining that he is immune to the virus because he already contracted it in March while also denouncing the “Nanny State.”

“Modern medicine shows us that immunity is based on having antibodies,” Paul tweeted. “Why are fake news media and [petty] tyrants denying medical science? They so want to have everyone submit to busybody rules and regulations that they can’t stand it that someone might be immune and therefore immune to their people controls.”

Last week, the YouGov poll for The Economist asked if voters thought stay-at-home orders are an infringement of constitutional rights. 66% said no and just 19% said yes. But when you break that down by party, it looks very different. 85% of Democrats and 64% of independents say stay-at-home orders do not infringe on constitutional rights, while just 46% of Republicans agree with them that it isn't. Who thinks it is an infringement? 6% of Democrats, 19% of independents and 35% of Republicans. That's how out of step with the mainstream Republicans are!

The effectiveness of social distancing measures in limiting the spread of COVID-19 is agreed on by most of the population-- 90% of Democrats, 83% of independents and even 79% of Republicans. It is their leaders and a small radical contingent of extremists stirring up these protests. The answer to this question was important: "Many U.S. states have already announced plans to reopen large sectors of their economy. Do you believe it is likely or unlikely that this will result in an increase in COVID-19 cases ?" Overall 75% of voters think reopening will increase cases-- 87% of Democrats, 74% of independents and 61% of Republicans. 29% of Republicans disagree; they're going to be in for a big shock.

Another poll, this one for the Associated Press, reported that "55% of Americans disapprove of the protests that have popped up in some states as some Americans begin chafing at public health measures that have decimated the global economy. Thirty-one percent approve of the demonstrations."

Audrey Denney is the progressive Democrat running in pretty red terrain in a seat help by GOP radical Doug LaMalfa in northeast California. Yesterday she told us that "While Congressman LaMalfa believes we should disregard CDC reopening guidelines and that we should fully fling open our communities yesterday without any regard to public safety, I am grateful for the science and data based plan put forward by the state of California. No matter how worn down we are by the last two months, we must use data acquired from testing, contact tracing and tracking to establish how quickly or how slowly our communities and economies are able lessen our current stay at home guidelines. The only path forward to achieve our collective wellbeing is through facts, not emotions."

Chris Armitage is also running for a seat occupied by a Trump enabler, his in eastern Washington and the incumbent is shameless Cathy McMorris Rodgers. "Watching my opponent, who claims to be 'Pro-Life,'" he told us last night, "act as if human life doesn't matter, is unsurprising. This savage hypocrisy puts their dishonesty in full view and will cost them votes."

Lisa Ring's opponent is Buddy Carter in Georgia's coastal region, another one who has abdicated any pretense of independence to support whatever insane scheme Trump has cooked up. "Instead of advocating legislation assisting folks in staying home until the virus has waned and we have the resources to deal with it as responsible leaders should, Rep. Buddy Carter has joined his GOP colleagues in pushing to open everything immediately. In his weekly email, Carter highlighted expanded testing and stated, 'We must get back to work and fully reopen our economy, and testing will be critical to get us there.' I wonder if Carter and his donors in the pharmaceutical industry are looking for the many ways they will profit from a pandemic that has devastated his constituents and the rest of the country."

Kathy Ellis has a tough race in a deep red district. But that doesn't prevent her from talking with the people there in southeast Missouri about how to make their lives better. "The decision by Republican leadership to sacrifice lives in an effort to line their own pockets is shameful. Since the beginning of this crisis, my opponent Rep. Jason Smith, has applauded Republican leadership, claiming that we must 're-open' our state immediately because  'there’s a lot of people that will make more money sitting at home on unemployment than if they’re at their job.' Seriously. Look, nothing about this situation is ideal, and our Republican leadership has made the entire situation much, much worse. But, our priority has to be the health and safety (and lives) of our neighbors, which is why I strongly oppose 're-opening' our country. This feeling is echoed by the large majority of Americans, and folks like Smith and other Republican leaders should be ashamed of themselves for using political ploys and American lives to build campaign support."

Texas progressive Julie Oliver is also taking on a Trump clone, Roger Williams. She told us that "The leadership at the Federal and State levels has been anything but leadership. State leaders in Texas continue to weaponize the ignorance surrounding Coronavirus, and in doing so, jeopardize the lives of thousands of Texans, including those serving on the front lines. And it's so unnecessary. There were opportunities to thoughtfully navigate this pandemic to not only save lives but to save the economy, but those opportunities were squandered by Republicans who have an insatiable desire to rile up their base."

Trump's Xenophobia And Racism Is Very Appealing To Some In Tennessee

Elaine Chao, Trump's Secretary of Transportation-- and Mitch McConnell's beard-- was born in Taiwan and Trump's Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, Robert Wilkie, was born in Germany. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was born in Canada. Currently 28 members of Congress were born in other countries, including close Trump crony, Mark Meadows, who was born in France. Among the naturalized Americans in Congress today are Stephanie Murphy (Vietnam), Ilhan Omar (Somalia), Adriano Espaillat (Dominican Republic), Ted Lieu (Taiwan), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Ecuador), Norma Torres (Guatemala), Salud Carbajal (Mexico), Chuy Garcia (Mexico), Albio Sires (Cuba), Pramila Jayapal (India) and Mazie Hirono (Japan).

A normal American president would be thanking them for their service to the country and celebrating the fact that they chose to become citizens of the U.S. But no one ever accused Trump or being a normal American president. Many people have noted that, at least technically, he isn't even a legitimate president, since Russia helped to put him into the White House by stealing the 2016 election.

Sunday morning Trump was ranting and raving on Twitter about how "'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is too be run. Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done. These places need your help badly, you can't leave fast enough. I'm sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!"

Ted Lieu was on MSNBC a couple of hours later and he noted that Trump is a "racist ass." Want the full context? "I never thought I’d see the day when a president was telling immigrants to go back to where we came from. Donald Trump is demonstrating he’s a racist ass. He’s not uniting us. I can’t wait until he leaves the office of the presidency." James Slack, a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she thinks "the language used to refer to these women was completely unacceptable." Bloomberg reported that "May’s comments are likely to put pressure on the two rivals to succeed her, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, to join her in denouncing the president’s language when they take part in a live debate on Tuesday evening." The head of Britain's Conservative Party is calling at Trump-- knowing full well he will attack her as soon as he hears about it, while not ONE Republican congressmember has said "boo." Where is John Katko? Fred Upton? Brian Fitzpatrick? Elise Stefanik? Lee Zeldin? Peter King? Doug LaMalfa? Where's Mario Diaz-Balart, Don Bacon, Michael McCaul and Jaime Herrera Buetler? All hiding out! Not a peep out of any of these morally bankrupt enablers! (UPDATE: Texas Republican Will Hurd, the party's only African American member in Congress-- and who represents a 70% Latino district, was just on CNN and he agreed that Trump's tweets were racist. That's one.)




Earlier today, Señor Trumpanzee tried defending his Sunday tweets telling the 4 Democratic women of color to go back to the "broken and crime infested" countries they came from, apparently unaware that 3 were born in the U.S.A., and asserting, falsely, to reporters, "These are people that hate our country." When asked if he was concerned that most people see his disgusting tweets as racist, he said, "It doesn't concern me because many people agree with me." That's true; many do-- basically his own revolting Know Nothing racist base. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats rallied behind the AOC, Ilhan, Ayanna and Rashida-- and Pelosi is scheduling a vote on a resolution condemning Trump's comments. This will force every Republican to take a stand. I wonder if it will make any of her "Majority Makers" uncomfortable too.

Milwaukie, Oregon Mayor Mark Gamba, like Ted Lieu, wants Trump to know what he thinks of his racist, xenophobic and unAmerica attack on the 4 congresswomen. "The Conman in Chief is terrified of the four young congresswomen because even at his level of self delusion he recognizes what true patriots look and sound like. He recognizes that if they can start to shift our country towards a direction that truly serves the 99%, his game is up as is that of all the status-quo corporate sellouts. I stand with @AOC, @RashidaTlaib, @IlhanMN, @AyannaPressley."

Jim Himes, a congressman from Connecticut who was born in Peru, told us a couple of hours after Trump's crazy tweet storm, that "Once again Trump demonstrates the contempt he holds for people of color and those he doesn’t deem sufficiently American because they’re not of European descent. Apart from betraying our country’s core values, he is encouraging white nationalism. This white guy is not holding his breath for the President’s demand that I return to Peru, the country of my birth."

It's worth remembering that although Ilhan Omar was born in Somalia-- but has been living in Minnesota since she was 10 years old-- the other 3 women Trump was attacking were all born in the U.S. Ayanna Pressley was born in Cincinnati. AOC was born in New York City. And Rashida Tlaib was born in Detroit, which she now represents in Congress. Ilhan responded by e-mailing her constituents that "Trump knows exactly what he is doing with this bigoted attack. He’s stoking white nationalism because he is angry that I am serving in Congress and fighting against his hate-filled agenda.

Since the beginning of Trump’s time in office he has tried to ban immigrants from Somalia from entering our country. He may have succeeded in getting his Muslim ban but he won’t succeed in banning my voice and fight.

I will fight each and every day to repeal the ban and put it into the dustbin of history where it belongs.

His administration has created and is fueling a human rights crisis on our southern border. He is keeping children in cages, detaining immigrants for profit, forcing people to live in unsanitary conditions separated from their loved ones. I have spoken out about these terrible conditions at every turn, have called for abolishing ICE, and voted ‘no’ on the recent bill to give the Trump administration more funding on the southern border with zero oversight or accountability.

I have repeatedly called for impeachment proceedings to begin in the House because we have a constitutional responsibility to investigate Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Donald Trump is lashing out at me because I am fighting back against his hate-filled policies at every turn and that makes me a target. I am fighting for an agenda that is supported by the American people and that terrifies him.

By telling me that I should return to Somalia, Trump is trying to silence the voices of the people I represent. But I will always fight for what is right and will never back down in the face of Trump’s attacks on me.

I didn’t run for Congress to sit on the sidelines. I ran to restore moral clarity to Congress and to fight for and defend our democracy. And that is exactly what I plan to continue doing. Donald Trump lashing out at Alexandria, Ayanna, Rashida, and me shows that he is threatened and angry about our progressive, for-the-people movement.

One Republican congressman finally spoke up. Maryland's one Republican, far right crackpot Andy Harris, defended Señor Trumpanzee‘s tweets, telling a Baltimore radio station, WBAL, that they were not racist. "They’re obviously not racist. But again, when anyone disagrees with someone now the default is to call them a racist, and this no exception." So there you go! Harris' gerrymandered district-- by the Democratic-controlled legislature-- packs every Republican within reason into one big red district in otherwise all-blue Maryland. The state's PVI is a nice healthy D+12-- and Harris' is R+14. Trump beat Hillary there 62.0% to 33.4%, while statewide, she beat Trump 1,677,928 (60.33%) to 943,169 (33.91%).

Has anyone connected Trump's penchant for putting women and children into concentration camps with his German ancestry? Maybe instead of slamming these 4 women of color working for all of us in Congress, Trump should join Ted Cruz in condemning therapist Republican governor of Tennessee for honoring the founder of the KKK. Because of Bill Lee's proclamation, Saturday was officially Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in Tennessee, as it has been since 1921.

If if Trump refuses to condemn the Tennessee governor, Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents Memphis in Congress, sure did: "We should not be honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and the perpetrator of the massacre at Fort Pillow. Gov. Lee should be bringing Tennessee into the 21st century not backsliding into the 19th."

In Trump's world Forrest is the "real" American while AOC and her colleagues are not. Here's a biographical sketch of Forrest-- so you can decide for yourself:

Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the most polarizing figures of the Civil War era, was born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee-- a small town on the Duck River. When his father, a blacksmith, died when he was 16, Forrest moved to the Memphis Delta and eventually became a successful businessman-- indeed a millionaire-- dealing in cotton, land and slaves.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Forrest volunteered as a private before deciding to raise and equip an entire unit at his own expense. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel, and issued this call to arms in June, 1861:

“I wish none but those who desire to be actively engaged. COME ON BOYS, IF YOU WANT A HEAP OF FUN AND TO KILL SOME YANKEES”

In February 1862, Forrest’s unit was stationed at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant forced its surrender. Rather than accept Gen. Buckner’s decision to capitulate, Forrest and his men slipped away, through the snow, and fought at the Battle of Shiloh less than two months later. That summer he began to make the kind of lightning raids that made him perhaps the single most feared cavalry commander of the entire war and earned him the nickname “the wizard of the saddle.”

He was promoted to brigadier general and at the close of the year made himself a thorn in the side of Grant’s Vicksburg campaign, disrupting his lines of communication and attacking his supply depots. During a skirmish at Parker’s Crossroads on New Year’s Eve, Forrest and his men were totally surprised when a Union force suddenly appeared in their rear and threatened to surround them. “Charge ‘em both ways,” Forrest famously ordered. They did, and were able to escape the trap and to fight another day. Constantly on the move, bold on the attack and swift in retreat, no Union commander was able to effectively come to grips with Forrest’s cavalry during the war.  In September, they took part in the great battle of the Western Theater: Chickamauga. Forrest’s men pursued the retreating Union army into Chattanooga and took hundreds of prisoners. In December, 1863 he was again promoted to major general.

The following spring, in April 1864, Forrest and his men were involved in one of the most controversial episodes of the Civil War. After surrounding Fort Pillow, near Memphis, Forrest demanded the surrender of the garrison, which included 262 soldiers of the U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. When the Union forces refused, Forrest’s men easily overran the fort. Then, according to several eyewitness accounts, the Confederates, enraged by the sight of black men in Federal uniform, executed many of the colored troops after they had surrendered: an unambiguous war crime.  Though accounts varied, the incident stands as one of the most gruesome of the Civil War era; “Remember Fort Pillow” became a rallying-cry for African-American soldiers throughout the Union Army.

Later in the summer, Forrest won one of his greatest victories at Brice’s Cross Roads, defeating a force twice the size of his own. His legend was constantly growing. That year, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman declared: “that devil Forrest must be hunted down and killed if it costs ten thousand lives and bankrupts the federal treasury.”

Forrest continued to torment the Union high command as the war entered its fourth year. In February, 1865 Forrest was again promoted, to lieutenant general, becoming the only man on either side to rise so far. When Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant in April, Forrest surrendered as well, declaring that, “any man who is in favor of a further prosecution of this war is a fit subject for a lunatic asylum.” Over the course of the conflict, Forrest had given as much as probably any man for the cause.  He had 29 horses shot from under him, killed or seriously wounded at least thirty enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, and had been himself wounded four times.

After the war, Forrest is best known as having been a prominent figure in the foundation of the Ku Klux Klan, a group composed of mostly Confederate veterans committed to violent intimidation of blacks, northerners and republicans. He was “Grand Wizard” until he ordered the dissolution of the organization in 1869. Forrest died of diabetes in Memphis on October 29, 1877.

UPDATE: Mike Siegel's follow up:

I stand with Ilhan.

If you’ve been on this list for a while, you know I don’t spend much energy talking about the President. You hear enough about Trump elsewhere, I’m sure, and I prefer to focus on the concrete work we are doing here in the Texas 10th to improve the lives of the people.

But what the President said yesterday deserves comment. In essence, Trump told four members of Congress-- all women, from diverse racial backgrounds-- to “go back to where you came from.” A racist message, based on the assumption that only white people are “from here.”  Nonsensical, to an extent, given that three of the Representatives are American-born. But also targeted: in particular at Rep. Ilhan Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen who arrived here as a refugee from Somalia.

Trump thinks that attacking Omar, who is Muslim, Black, and progressive, is good politics.

We need to show the world he is dead wrong.

Mike's young family

I was lucky enough to be born in this country. But I come from a family that includes Jewish ancestors, who came here as refugees; much of our family was not so lucky, unfortunately, and perished in the Holocaust. I also come from a family that includes Protestant ancestors, who came here as refugees, fleeing religious persecution. And so many of us have similar histories: how we came here, recently or generations ago, for sanctuary and opportunity.

And that, truly, is what makes America great. Despite the structural flaws in this country, the history of injustice and inequality, there is also a recurring theme: of families from around the world, from hundreds of countries and cultures, who arrived here to build a better life, not just for themselves, but for all of us.

And the attack on Rep. Omar-- at the same time we are locking up asylum seekers in concentration camps, and announcing nationwide “raids” to terrorize immigrant communities-- is an attack on the promise of America itself. Trump knows he cannot win if the diverse, open-hearted people of this country come together. His regime only prospers through division, fear and hatred.

We must fight back. We must stand up for Rep. Omar-- not just because she is an important voice and leader, a loving community member and sincere and committed representative, but also because she represents the best of this country. The promise of a better life. The poetry inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, that all will be welcome within these borders.

So let’s stand up for Ilhan. Let’s stand up for refugees. Let’s stand up for all of the marginalized communities in this country. Let’s unite across cultures and differences.

Together, we are strong. Unbeatable, even. And Trump knows that. Let’s make sure his days are numbered.

Tea Party's Reign Of Terror Just May Save The Incompetent Democrats Next Year

Danton et Farenthold

The French Revolution spawned many important things aside from the motto "Liberté, égalité, fraternité." Before the French Revolution, for example, a debauched and unaccountable monarchy and aristocracy ruled mankind with impunity and conspired with the Established religions to give that the imprimatur of ruling by "Divine Right." Things really did change because of the monumental revolution, even if they've slipped back in the ancien direction-- substitute plutocracy and oligarchy for aristocracy-- in recent years. The whole "left"/"right" dichotomy of looking at politics comes from the 1789 Revolution as well-- and the idea that mere mortals could have a role in governance. The Revolution brought about the whole concept of universal male suffrage. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen came in 1789 and was earthshaking; suddenly "rights" were described as being "natural, unalienable, sacred and incontestable." It was bye-bye to the Divine Right of kings (and take your nobles and your clergy with you)... hello popular sovereignty. These are some of the principles we may recognize today that came out of that Declaration:

• Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.

• The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

• Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.

• Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.

• Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.

• No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.

• The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.

• As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law.

• No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.

• The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.

• A general tax is indispensable for the maintenance of the public force and for the expenses of administration; it ought to be equally apportioned among all citizens according to their means.

• All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.

• Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.

• Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of it, unless demanded by public necessity, legally constituted, explicitly demands it, and under the condition of a just and prior indemnity.

Four years later, however, the Revolution turned on itself with the rise of the Jacobins and Robespierre. As many as 40,000 were killed during their Reign of Terror (not to mention as many as 200,000 in the War in the Vendée). Revolutionaries like Brissot, Danton and Westermann were guillotined. Eventually, so was Robespierre. Danton-- Georges-Jacques Danton-- is often described as the man who overthrew the monarchy. He was the first President of the radical Committee of Public Safety but in 1794 he was executed for "counter-revolutionary activities."

I recall his story today when I read Michael Cohen's excellent post in The Guardian, Republicans' big problem with crazy. His point is that the Republican establishment pandered to Tea Party extremism to win the 2010 midterms and now that Establishment is "reaping the whirlwind." Andy Harris (R-MD) is an unlikely Danton but, says Cohen, "if you're "looking for a Republican congressman who truly embodies the ethos of the Tea Party, Maryland Representative Andy Harris is a pretty good pick." He hate RINOS and he hates Big Government. He primaried mainstream Republican Wayne Gilchrest and is a certified member of the Tea Party.

As a congressman, Harris has had a difficult time finding a single government program or legislative initiative he doesn't hate. He opposed the debt limit deal in the summer of 2011; he was one of the handful of Republicans to vote against the fiscal cliff deal in January 2013; he's against immigration reform, foreign aid, more money for Pell grants, and even the Violence Against Women Act.

And, of course, he hates Obamacare.

This record of conservative allegiance would, you might imagine, inoculate Harris from Tea Party criticism. Yet, earlier this month, in a town hall meeting in his home district, he was assailed by his constituents-- for not being strident and uncompromising enough.

"You guys are being nice guys" and "I want to see more defiance!" were just some of the accusations hurled at the congressman in a heated session that included questions about the supposed IRS scandal and the current lodestar of conservative lunacy-- Benghazi.

Harris is not alone.

Blake Farenthold, another Tea Party Republican from Texas, who voted against the fiscal cliff deal as well, and told constituents "there are several [cabinet] departments we could completely get rid of", was assailed by "birthers" for the GOP's failure to impeach President Obama. (His defense was not that impeachment would be insane, but that it would be infeasible.) Tea Partiers in North Carolina pummeled Congressman Robert Pittenger for refusing to support defunding Obamacare even thought he has supported a number of bills repealing Obamacare.

Indeed, across the nation, Republican senators and congressmen are finding themselves under withering assault from Tea Party critics.

After three and a half years of legislative hostage-taking and policy nihilism and unceasing, uncompromising obstructionism of President Obama's agenda, the message from the Tea Party is a simple one: we want more crazy.

So what's going on here? Quite simply, Republicans are being destroyed by the rightwing monster they created.

Although, once upon a time, the divide in the GOP was between moderates and conservatives; today, the intra-party cleavage is between the Republican establishment and the lunatic fringe. And the fringe is not so fringe-y.

For years, the GOP establishment mined this wellspring of racial and economic anxiety. They railed against gay marriage and abortion; attacked big government and out-of-control federal spending and demonized welfare and social programs.

But once in office, Republicans had a funny way of never really carrying through with their tough rhetoric. Rather than do away with social security or Medicare-- they strengthened it and expanded it. Rather than slash government spending or the size of the federal bureaucracy-- they increased it. The more visceral imperative for Republican officeholders was to provide tax breaks for their wealthy supporters, weaken regulation (be it financial, environmental or workplace) and, above all, hold on to their political power. Going after sacred cows like social insurance programs or popular spending programs, or working to enact abortion restrictions, were political nonstarters (or were quickly shelved once they became political liabilities).

Then, in 2009, things began to take a turn. With the election of Barack Obama, Republicans found themselves with a new political adversary uniquely capable of upsetting the far right-- and the GOP made sure this was exactly what happened. Playing on fears of social change, racial anxiety and expanding big government, Republican leaders inveighed against the evils of Obamacare and the president's alleged profligate spending.

They pulled out every stop to thwart Obama's legislative agenda, and even went far down the political rabbit hole as they flirted with "birtherism", charges of socialism, and allegations that the president was a secret Muslim. In the process, they both enraged and energized the party's most radical followers.

The result was a short-term political victory (control of the House of Representatives, won in the 2010 midterms)-- but an increasingly long-term political headache, like the one playing out in GOP town hall meetings across America right now. The establishment players in Congress found themselves with a host of new Tea Partier colleagues little interested in following the usual GOP script of compromise in the name of political necessity. They were willing to undermine the full faith and credit of the US government in order to force draconian spending cuts upon the White House. They've continued their assault on Obamacare, voting to repeal it 40 times, and now, one of the group's biggest bomb-throwers, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, is talking about shutting down the government in order to defund it. They've allowed sequestration-- and its devastating affect on communities across the country-- to continue. And they have resisted any and all effort to moderate the party's image, dragging the Republican establishment under the bus with them.

On immigration reform, the Tea Party contingent has made clear that the Senate immigration bill is dead-in-the-water-- thus, gravely undermining national GOP efforts to improve the party's image among Hispanic voters. On abortion rights, state legislatures filled with ultra-conservatives continue to pass legislation restricting access to reproductive health services and, in the process, further devastated the party's already poor relationship with women voters. In the struggle between those who want to moderate the party (albeit only slightly) and those who want to ride the train straight to crazy-ville, the latter are winning.

Finally, they've turned their guns on their own leaders and, in the process, driven the party more and more toward their uncompromising positions.

With deadlines coming soon on a possible government shutdown and an extension of the debt limit, Republican leaders like Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who is facing a Tea Party primary challenge are under growing pressure to not get off the politically suicidal path on which they find themselves-- but instead to stay the course.

The result of all this is more dysfunction, more budgetary shutdowns and more political black eyes for a Republican party unable to reason with its most ideologically fervent followers. None of this should really be unexpected. If you're going to tell radical conservatives that Obamacare is the worst thing to ever happen to America, is it really a surprise that those same extremists are not going to meekly nod when you tell them that it's now a fact of life? If you're going to tell voters that government debt is destroying the country, is it really a surprise when those voters demand that every step must be taken to reduce it?

Any hope that the defeat of Mitt Romney in November 2012 would begin to drain the GOP's fever swamp has gone by the wayside-- and Republicans have no one to blame but themselves. In nurturing and radicalizing its extremist fringe-- in pursuit of short-term gain-- the Republican establishment created a political Frankenstein. Increasingly, however, it looks as though the monster's first victim is going to be them.

Gérard Depardieu will play Andy Harris in the movie version

Who ARE These People?, Part 4: Rep. Andy Harris, Hypocritical Oaf

by Noah

How quickly they change. Some if not all of these Teabag-Republican congressdopes sure are special. Meet newly elected congresscreep Dr. Andy Harris, a Repug from Maryland, a typical newbie who said “me too” to the Teabag crowd and campaigned big against government-run health care and vowed to fight for the repeal of the recently passed health care reform measures. Then, on the first day of Congressional orientation, he throws a tantrum when he finds out he can’t get his government health care immediately upon joining Congress.

He couldn’t stand that he had to wait a month. Not only that, but he says members of Congress should be able to buy coverage from a selection of health care options out there while they’re waiting for their government-run health care to kick in upon taking office. Sound familiar? I wonder what we could call such a program. Let’s see. How’s public option sound? Oh my freaking God! This guy must be one o’ them damn socialistas! We bin duped!

Harris even gives the old Bush canard about how people should just go to their local emergency room where they can’t be turned away. Of course many of the costs will be passed on to all of us. A rich doctor clown who is about to collect bags of cash from insurance and pharma company lobbyists can afford that, but for most Americans that guy with the briefcase full of cash never shows up at their door. Well, Dr. Harris, no need for you to throw a tantrum. If you need care before your government-run health care starts, you can . . . just go to the nearest emergency room. Better yet, just walk out in front of a speeding bus on Constitution Avenue. Do it. Do it today. Make America a better place.

These guys campaigned on repealing health care. About-to-be Speaker John Boehner took the lead on this. Should we now expect these clowns to vote on the repeal of the government-run health care they themselves get as members of Congress? Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley (NY) has challenged them to do just that. Let them set an example for all of us by dumping their own government-run health care benefits. Seems logical to me! Take it away from everyone that works in the government and step back and see how many folks apply for the jobs! These clowns would have to answer their own phones and type their own memos. They wouldn’t even know how to take out the trash. (The wastebasket kind, I mean, not each other.) Take it away from the Capitol Police, our FBI, and Secret Service agents too, and see who applies to be an agent then. Sigh, more lawlessness from Republicans. We don’t need no stinking badges, indeed!

But maybe the older Republican folks in our government should cut their own Medicare and Medicaid first, and opt out of Social Security immediately, families included. Lead the way! Set that example for the austerity they want to force us into! Then they should do something about the retirement pensions and other benefits they enjoy. For instance, former members of Congress get health care for life, paid for on the backs of the taxpayers -- even if a congresscritter was so bad that he/she only lasted one term before getting the boot from his/her constituents. You can get elected, do a lousy job, maybe not even show up after swear-in day, and get still health care for life. Even Nixon got his pension. Now that's an "only in America" thing! I do have to say, though, that the way it is now, it’s kinda nice that when Michele Bachmann finally cracks up totally and gets carried off the Sean Hannity show in a straitjacket some night, and gets thrown into a padded ambulance, she’ll be well cared for by my tax dollars. Just call me a Compassionate Progressive.

But why stop there, with the health care and pensions? Since teachers often have to buy classroom supplies, including paper and pencils, out of their own pockets due to disappearing federal and state education funding, perhaps congressional staffers should do the same. And, you want air-conditioning in your offices for those hot, sticky Washington July afternoons? You pay for it! Do your bit to lower the deficit! If they can’t pay for it out of their bribes, maybe they should just get second or third jobs like most of their constituents have to so their kids can have a future. If they get too hot on those beastly summer days, let them wear thongs only. They’ll be cooler. No need to scan them going into the building either. Imagine: a Congress with nothing to hide! Let’s see ‘em sweat. Remote camera only, please -- no one needs to get close enough to smell a congressman, not even a mangy street dog or intern.

Morons like Andy Harris, who act like spoiled brats when they can’t get enough handouts and taxpayer-paid welfare (things Republicans call “entitlements”), may be about as pathetic as it gets. Harris brings new meaning to the all too often used phrase “congressional fraud.” Ah, that good old sense of entitlement -- you know, the thing that Repugs always bitch about, but only when others want something.

Yeah, Harris was pretty much a one-issue candidate, but he does take stands on some other issues. He wants to limit, even further than it already has been, the EPA’s ability to regulate. His ratings from environmental and conservation groups are routinely in the single-digit area. He gets 100-percent ratings from “pro-life” groups, and he gets a spectacular 0-percent rating from Maryland Equality, a civil-rights group in his state. Nice! And of course he wants to cut back on education. After all, just think: If someone got a good education, he or she might be able to apply to medical school like he did. That word hypocrisy just keeps coming to mind.

But perhaps Harris's real genius is best summed up by his position on cap and trade, as stated in a campaign debate in Queen Anne’s County in his home state: “Cap and trade will cost our country millions of jobs to be sent to India and China. . . . "

Wow! Imagine if that started happening! One has to wonder how a person with such keen vision and mental powers not only graduated from med school but got in in the first place.

By the way, are you wondering what kind of a doctor Dr. Harris is? Well, I’m happy to inform you that he is an anesthesiologist. That could explain things. Maybe he has just exposed himself to way too much of the stuff he carries in his bag. That might explain a lot, in fact. But if that’s the case, he would have plenty of liquid valium around, and he should have taken a double dose of it before that orientation get together where he blew his stack.

Rep. Andy Harris, I shun thee! And not just for Christmas, but for all eternity!


THE "WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?" SERIES TO DATE

Part 1: Freakshow Pollitics (Dec. 9)
Part 2: Elections do have consequences -- meet John Shimkus (Dec. 10)
Part 3: Meet the man who isn't as crazy as John Shimkus and Joe Barton -- Fred Upton (Dec. 13)
Part 4: Rep. Andy Harris, Hypocritical Oaf (Dec. 15)

#

Streams Of Consciousness

Dick Lugar To Teabaggers: Make My Day


The Hill had two stories about Indiana this morning, one about how it was one state Obama won in 2008 that he could probably just forget about in 2012 and the other about the senior senator, Richard Lugar, a mainstream conservative who, unlike-- say-- Olympia Snowe and Orrin Hatch, isn't afraid of the teabaggers. While Snowe and Hatch make unseemly and, at least in Snowe's case, unconvincing jags to the extreme right, Lugar just keeps on marching to his own drummer, working on the START Treaty, voting to confirm both Sotomayor and Kagan, sponsoring the DREAM Act, and announcing support for ending DADT.

While most of his GOP colleagues are heeding the advice of their Senate campaign chiefs and preparing for conservative primary challengers, Lugar is bucking his party on several high-profile issues.

Last week, he split with Senate Republicans, rejecting a voluntary, two-year ban on congressional earmarks.

He posed for pictures with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as part of a photo-op on the START arms-control treaty between the U.S. and Russia, which is expected to come up for a vote next month. Lugar, in contrast to most of his GOP colleagues, supports the treaty.

He’s also said he would vote to take up the defense authorization bill, which contains a repeal of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, as long as Democrats allow a fair amendment process.

And he’s one of nine Republican senators who did not sign onto a legal brief challenging the healthcare reform law. Aside from Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.), Lugar is the only Republican up for reelection in 2012 who didn’t lend his name.

In an interview with The Hill, Lugar said he is well-aware of his differences with other Republicans, but denied the party has become too conservative for him or that he is considering retirement.

“These are just areas where I’ve had stances for a long time,” Lugar said. “I didn’t adopt them to be contrary. I think what’s occurring is, the Democrats are trying to get passage for things in the last stages of their majority, so a number of these issues have arisen because of that. I have no other explanation.”

Alabama Aisle Jumpers

Republican voters didn't reward right-wing Blue Dog Parker Griffith when he switched parties. Already the most Republican-voting Democrat, he barely had to changing his voting pattern to redefine himself as one of the most reactionary Members of Congress. Even though he spent most of his congressional career as a Democrat, more or less, his voting record is already more conservative than 20 Republicans. But Alabama Republicans rewarded his perfidy with a resounding defeat in the primary and threw him onto history's junk heap. Monday four more Alabama conservatives, Alan Boothe of Troy, Mike Millican of Hamilton, Lesley Vance of Phenix City, and Steve Hurst of Munford, who were all elected to the state legislature as Democrats jumped the fence and handed the GOP a super-majority to do whatever they please with no interference from Democrats.

The legislators said they would be able to better serve their constituents in the Republican Party, which they said better represents their beliefs. They said they believe in small businesses and small government.

...They said the people of their districts, the people of Alabama and people nationwide spoke on Nov. 2, when there were sweeping Republican victories.

Boothe, who has not had opposition in his district in the past three elections, said he was listening to the voters.

"There was a message sent on Nov. 2 and that was that people want a change in Montgomery," he said. " ... If you do not listen, if you do not pay attention, you're not doing your job."

Hubbard, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said those four men approached them about switching. He said no other Democrats have approached them.

Hubbard said they do not want opportunists, but wanted like-minded conservatives, which he said is evident in those four legislators by their voting record. He said none of the men were promised anything and that they did not discuss committee assignments or any other arrangements.

Hubbard said he talked to the four Democrats about their motivations.

"They're switching for one reason," he said. "They are philosophically aligned with the Republican Party."

The Alabama Democratic Party criticized the move of the men, which just won re-election with the physical and financial help and votes of Democrats.

Republicans in the Legislature "have put on a full-court press to push all white Democrats to change parties after the election," according to a statement from the Alabama Democratic Party. The switch also demonstrates the partisanship that can be expected from the Republican majority with intentions of impugning the rights and voices of those Democrats who did not switch over, according to the Alabama Democratic Party.

"These gentlemen have been my friends for a long time, and I respect each of them personally, but I am saddened and hurt by their decision today," Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said in the statement.

If the four legislators believe that the ideals of the Republican Party are better for them, Democrats said each could resign and seek re-election in a special election as a Republican. They would have to win the primary and the general election "and let the voters of their districts validate their switch today," according to the statement.

The Losses Can Make Us Stronger... But Will They?

I didn't bother me much that blue t-shirt wearing/DADT supporting Solomon Ortiz conceded his loss in Texas today or that Blue Dog Jim Costa eked out a narrow win over some deranged teabagger. But it was tragic that Dan Maffei, an early endorsee of Blue America's back in 2006 (when he came so close) and 2008 (when the groundwork he laid paid off and he won), was confirmed to have been beaten by Ann Marie Buerkle by just a few hundred votes. He was a defender of the legitimate aspirations of working families. Buerkle is a raving lunatic and an imbecile and can be expected to cause as much damage as her limited brain allows her to. Meanwhile, though, Amy Dean drew two very useful lessons from the shellacking 3 weeks ago.

The first is that progressives need to build permanent grassroots infrastructure, so that they begin treating politics as a year-round endeavor and not merely showing up at the last minute to endorse a lesser-of-two-evils candidate.

The second lesson is that when you do have this type of infrastructure in place at the local level and are using it to push forward your own agenda, progressives can prevail even when there is no inspiring leadership coming down from national officials.

I've been wondering, for example, if there's anyone at the DCCC thinking beyond how to abscond with 15% of whatever Democrats donate and perhaps thinking about how to beat some of the dozens of Republicans who now represent districts that helped elect Obama-- from Paul Ryan (who the DCCC has protected for his entire career) to some of the new anti-family fanatics like the above mentioned Ann Marie Buerkle. Obama won her district 56-43. Even the DCCC should find that enticing. And Obama won in Ryan's district 51-48%. (He won WI-8 by 54-45%, where Reid Ribble beat Steve Kagen 55-45%, and in Obey's old district where a reality celebrity, Sean Duffy, beat Democrat Julie Lassa 52-44%, Obama beat McCain 56-43%. Imagine the Democrats getting busy in Wisconsin now and not waiting a year.)

Today's PPP Poll Was A Doozy



Above is the excellent ad Americans United For Change did to urge anti-healthcare fanatic Andy Harris (R-MD)-- who campaigned on a "Repeal ObamaCare" platform and got to DC and started publicly whining that he had to wait two months before his new government-subsidized healthcare kicked in-- to give up his taxpayer funded healthcare. It turns out most Americans agree-- and more so, most Republicans.

Most Americans think incoming Congressmen who campaigned against the health care bill should put their money where their mouth is and decline government provided health care now that they're in office. Only 33% think they should accept the health care they get for being a member of Congress while 53% think they should decline it and 15% have no opinion.

And, remember, if the Republican congressmen are serious about ending healthcare and reducing spending and the national debt, if they all give up their taxpayer-funded healthcare they'll not only make it harder to call them hypocrites, they'll also save the country $2.4 million a year. Leading by example is so awesome, too. And so is this new episode of The Simpsons: