The GOP's credibility gap

Jennifer Granholm speaks the same thoughts I have articulated in many of my writings.
Indeed GOP has a huge credibility gap

Text and Video: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83977.html








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Disgraceful exit of Romney, almost all the Key Republicans have given their opinions.

Martinez hits Romney for 'gifts' comments

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 11/16/12 8:14 AM

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, another GOP rising star, is the latest to denounce Mitt Romney's comments - and called for a change in approach and language to immigration reform, in an interview with POLITICO's James Hohmann:

Christie knocks Romney's comments, but not Romney

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 11/16/12 9:41 AM

Chris Christie joins those who are criticizing Mitt Romney for "gifts," but he took a more measured tone, calling him a "good man:"

Gov. Scott: Get over the election 

By TAL KOPAN | 11/16/12 2:15 PM

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said on Friday that it’s time for conservatives to put the election behind them, stop arguing over who is to blame, and focus on their goals at the state level in a speech the won a standing ovation at the right-leaning Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention. 

Pawlenty: 'Gifts' didn't elect Obama

By MJ LEE | 11/16/12 2:42 PM

Tim Pawlenty on Friday disputed Mitt Romney’s controversial remarks claiming that President Barack Obama won reelection by handing out “gifts” to his core constituencies, saying in an interview that American voters do not have th

Mike Ghouse

Allen West is a liability to Republicans

Its incredible, the more radical a Republican acts, the more hero they (those few) make of him. In the long run, the public does not like extreme positions. Any idiot who does not consider another American as a full American, is bad for the party. Allen West is not good, he repels Americans who are not Tea Party Republicans.  

Its time the Republicans speak up, he is gone, let him go, he is a liability to Republicans in 2016.

Mike Ghouse

The Huffington Post | By Nick WIng Posted: 11/15/2012 12:31 pm EST Updated: 11/15/2012 5:10 pm EST

 

 

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Wednesday turned down an offer from Georgia's Republican Party chairwoman, Sue Everhart, who earlier this week urged the congressman to run for office in her state at some point in the future, in the face of his apparent electoral loss.

“No,” West told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when asked if he'd consider Everhart's offer. “Look, let me tell you something. I have moved my wife around for 20-some-odd years, being in the military, and she was also the daughter of a career military guy. When I retired, she chose Florida. That’s where my daughter’s in school, in college, my youngest daughter’s in high school. That’s our home. It’s a very nice thing, but I’m not an NFL free agent.”

West is currently still clinging to the hope that his loss to Democrat Patrick Murphy earlier this month is not concrete, despite the fact that Florida officials have certified the result.

While he and other top Republicans continue to explore possibilities for recounting votes, in hopes of somehow producing a victory, Everhart suggested on Monday that West should move back to his home state of Georgia if the final outcome doesn't go his way.

John McCain drop it, don't screw the GOP

Is there a Republican out there who can tell McCain to shut up and not mess up for Republicans? John McCain is acting like a cranky baby, screaming and chasing Obama on Benghazi.

He demands information but chose not to go to the house intelligence meeting to learn about it.  

McCain will drive Americans against Republicans, Mitt Romney screwed it up with his 47% and Gift crap and now McCain is ready to mess it up.

Mike Ghouse

Could Muslims Swing the Goergia runoff?

 It does not take a million votes to win or lose, sometimes, it is just a few thousand votes and Muslims could make that difference, as Jews, African Americans, Hispanics and others.  We have to wait and see. Mike Ghouse

New America Media, News Report, Hazem Kira

Editor’s Note: Muslim voters could have a ripple effect on the close Georgia Senate race runoff says NAM contributor Hazem Kira.

Apparently, Nov. 4 wasn’t the last stop for American Muslims this election season. For the past two weeks, leaders and activists have been rallying community members in a series of "get out the vote" events prior to Georgia’s Senate runoff elections on Dec. 2 to get out large numbers to the polls. 

Muslim leaders are pushing hard for a stated goal of twice the state average for runoff elections, which tends to be around 30 to 35 percent, according to Georgia’s Secretary of State.

Arguably, a successful swing vote by Muslim Georgians will have a ripple effect way beyond the state lines of Georgia.

"Muslims could be four to six percent of the total voter turnout, if once again more than 70 percent of the eligible Muslim voters show up at the polling stations," says Dr. Agha Saeed, chair of a prominent umbrella organization, the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT). 

According to a post-Nov. 4 election survey commissioned by the AMT, and conducted by Genesis Research Associates, 95 percent of eligible Muslim Americans — both nationally and in states like Georgia — voted in the general elections. This is the highest voter turnout among all socio-religious communities. 

A unified four percent vote in Georgia could be a decisive factor in such a close race where recent polls show the Republican candidate Saxby Chambliss with a narrow four-point lead over Democratic nominee Jim Martin.

It is believed that the massive turnout by Muslims and other minorities in Georgia, during the general elections, helped move the once strong Republican state, which gave George W. Bush in 2004 a lead of over 15 percent, towards a relatively narrow lead of only 5.2 percent for John McCain.

Georgia Muslims, who tend to have a Republican streak, says Chris Burke of Georgia’s Council on American Islamic Relations, have been moving towards the Democratic Party after sensing hostility by many Republican leaders. 

Many Muslim Republicans strongly oppose Chambliss after his infamous remarks, immediately after September 11 that Georgia ought to "arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line." 

"Every Muslim I’ve spoken to knows of this statement and is intent on voting for his Democratic opponent," says political activist and Georgia native Saeed Raees.

Such remarks remind many Atlanta Muslims, most of whom are African American, of Georgia’s pro-segregation stance during the 1960′s Civil Rights Movement. 

"For American Muslims, civil liberties and the economy are by far the most pressing issues in this state’s runoff election," says Burke.

But regardless of who wins, says Salim Akhtar, an AMT national coordinator who was on the ground galvanizing the state’s Muslim voters, "I believe that the vote in Georgia will once again demonstrate the voting prowess of American Muslims, and how they have defied all odds to empower themselves."

There is hope for the Republican party - 95% of African American Vote, 56% of Women Vote, 83% of Jewish Vote , ~78% of Hindu Vote and now 85% of Muslim vote goes Democratic. Thank God it is not Zero! No one is against the Republican Party, but the party spokesperson are!

The Republican Party leadership needs to drop the bellicose, belligerent attitudes towards minorities for survival, and I hope they do it because, it the right thing to do, if you fake it, it will show up. Some loose ass Republican or the other is going to speak up... and the silence of  majority will affirm that all of them are like that. Which is not true.

It is a good party, and I have stuck with it, and am willing to coach and guide the party to a 2016 Victory, if not, we have to sit on the side lines for 16 years - Obama and Hilary combined.

Mike Ghouse

95% of Muslims Voted

November 15, 2012 by TMO

CAIR Press Release

Muslim voters in 2012 US election.

Poll: 85 Percent of Muslim Voters Picked President Obama

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/9/2012) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released the results of an informal exit poll indicating that more than 85 percent of American Muslim voters picked President Obama in Tuesday’s election.

[NOTE: A similar CAIR exit poll in 2008 showed that 89 percent of American Muslim voters picked then-candidate Barack Obama. Two percent of respondents said they voted for Sen. John McCain.]

CAIR’s email survey of more than 650 American Muslim voters indicates that just four percent of respondents cast their ballots for Mitt Romney.

Poll findings:

• 95.5 of the Muslim voters said they went to the polls on November 6.

• 85.7 percent cast their ballots to re-elect President Obama.

• 4.4 percent of respondents said they voted for Mitt Romney.

• Just over two percent (2.2) of respondents said they voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. The same percentage (2.2) of respondents said they voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. 

{NOTE: More than four percent of respondents declined to say who they voted for.]

• States with the highest number of survey respondents (in descending order) were California, New York, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio. 

• Of those who voted, 8.3 percent said they did so for the first time. 

• 41.5 percent said they consider themselves Democrats. A similar number, 40.6 percent, consider themselves politically independent. Only 7.4 percent said they are Republican.

“The fact that more than 95 percent of Muslim respondents went to the polls is a clear indication that they are fully participating in our nation’s political process and are part of the fabric of America,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Muslim voters in swing states such as Florida, Virginia and Ohio seemed to have played a critical role in tipping the balance in the president’s re-election victory.”

These results support the findings of a pre-election CAIR survey of 500 Muslim voters that rated jobs and the economy, education, health care policy, Medicare and Social Security, and civil rights as the top issues. That survey indicated that 1 in 4 Muslim voters remained undecided about their presidential pick.

“It appears that undecided Muslim voters broke decisively in President Obama’s favor at the polls,” said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor.

Saylor also expressed appreciation that a number of anti-Muslim candidates were rejected by voters nationwide.

Karen Hughes: I'll 'cut out' the tongue of GOPers talking rape

Karen, don't cut the tongue, instead give a lesson in Biology, I am planning to develop a leadership program for GOP and I will enlist you to speak, and put a barrier in front of the front seat.  Stupid statements were made nine known candidates, including Paul Ryan. Where do they go to School?  Mike Ghouse

 

 

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | Courtesy of Politico

Former George W. Bush adviser Karen Hughes dissects the lessons learned from the 2012 race on our home page, and cites a key one for the Republican party:

Finally, the Republican Party has to set a tone that is more respectful, positive and inclusive. The immigration rhetoric that came out of the Republican primary seemed harsh, unwelcoming and off putting to many minority voters. Obama increased his share of the Hispanic vote and won it 69 percent to 29 percent (per The New York Times exit poll); likewise he built a huge margin among Asian voters, 74-25, almost doubling the margin of his support compared to 2008. Both of those constituencies are hardworking, upwardly mobile, family-oriented, and should be open to Republican appeals if we don’t make them feel unwelcome.

And if another Republican man says anything about rape other than it is a horrific, violent crime, I want to personally cut out his tongue. The college-age daughters of many of my friends voted for Obama because they were completely turned off by Neanderthal comments like the suggestion of “legitimate rape.”

We've written about the problem that talking about abortion has caused for Republicans this cycle. Hughes' comments reflect a broader concern within the party, and an issue Republicans have to address.

Paul, 49, was elected on the tea party wave that fueled GOP landslide victories in 2010, often declaring on the campaign trail that he had a “message” from the tea party: “We have come to take our government back.”

Jindal on Romney 'gifts' comments: 'Absolutely wrong'

Republicans need to pay attention to this non-sense and speak out against badness.  Romney is a good duper, and those billionaire idiots fell for this logic..or perhaps laughed at him for his sour grapes. Instead of accepting the defeat gracefully, he finds something else to blame.

I thought Romney's character was better than this....to have stooped so low. Did he know that his private talk will be public? Does he still believe saying one thing in the public and other in the closed door meetings? There is a pattern out there, he did not share his tax returns, what else would he hide from us? 

Thank God I went with Obama, a genuine man. It is good to see Jindal speak up.  The Republicans in lime-light are chicken shit conformists or belligerent birthers. They won't speak up and let the party lose out more. Hell, I will do the speaking.

Mike Ghouse

 Jindal on Romney 'gifts' comments: 'Absolutely wrong'

Courtesy: Politico

By MAGGIE HABERMAN |

Incoming RGA head Gov. Bobby Jindal moved swiftly to cauterize the impact of Mitt Romney's comments to donors about all the "gifts" that were the reason President Obama was able to forge a coalition of younger, women, Hispanic and African-American voters on election day, via Jonathan Martin and James Hohmann:

“No, I think that’s absolutely wrong,” he said at a press conference that opened the RGA’s post-election meeting here. “Two points on that: One, we have got to stop dividing the American voters. We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent. We need to go after every single vote.

“And, secondly, we need to continue to show how our policies help every voter out there achieve the American Dream, which is to be in the middle class, which is to be able to give their children an opportunity to be able to get a great education. … So, I absolutely reject that notion, that description. I think that’s absolutely wrong.”

Jindal, who had been mentioned for months as a potential VP nominee before Paul Ryan was ultimately picked, is seen as one of his party's stars for 2016. He had been a surrogate for Romney, but has also made clear where he thinks the campaign failed in the last few days. Romney's remarks are also similar, if more pointed, than what various campaign aides have said since they lost the election - that it was the popularity of Obamacare, or that black turnout was inordinantly high, or that he was already so defined with Hispanics by Obama that it was hopeless.

However, Jindal's condemnation of the party nominee's remarks underscore the depth of the problem Republicans know they have after last week's trouncing in the presidential race, and in a slew of Senate contests.

GOP soul-searching, 2016 edition

This needs to be pursued aggressively, louder than a few loud mouths. Those few cannot see beyond their own feet, and we cannot sit and let them run over us. - Mike Ghouse

 

Courtesy - Politico

By MAGGIE HABERMAN |

11/13/12 2:14 PM EST

Jonathan Martin gets an exclusive with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, in which the incoming RGA head calls for a change in messaging and in candidate quality if Republicans are to make gains in the next four years:

“We’ve got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes, big anything,” Jindal told POLITICO in a 45-minute telephone interview. “We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys.”...
...“It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments — enough of that,” Jindal said. “It’s not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can’t be tolerated within our party. We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters.”

Sen. Rand Paul, another 2016 prospect, takes a similar tack but with a different twist in an interview with Manu Raju:

In an interview with POLITICO, Paul said he’ll return to Congress this week pushing measures long avoided by his party. He wants to work with liberal Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and Republicans to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for pot possession. He wants to carve a compromise immigration plan with an “eventual path” to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a proposal he believes could be palatable to conservatives. And he believes his ideas — along with pushing for less U.S. military intervention in conflicts overseas — could help the GOP broaden its tent and appeal to crucial voting blocs that handed Democrats big wins in the West Coast, the Northeast and along the Great Lakes.
“We have three big regions where we’re not competitive,” Paul said. “And we have to be competitive in those regions.”
Paul, 49, was elected on the tea party wave that fueled GOP landslide victories in 2010, often declaring on the campaign trail that he had a “message” from the tea party: “We have come to take our government back.”

Ted Cruz On Latino Vote: Republicans Need To 'Do Better'

I voted for Ted Cruz and I am glad he makes this statement, "If that happens, no Republican will ever again win the White House." if Republicans do not include.  More sane voices will emerge. Mike Ghouse

Courtesy : Huffington Post

Less than a week after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was candid about the GOP's troubles courting Latino voters.

In an interview with The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, Cruz opened up about concerns in some of the nation's largest states, headed by Texas.

“If Republicans do not do better in the Hispanic community, in a few short years Republicans will no longer be the majority party in our state," he said.

Cruz added that losing a state like Texas, which carried 38 electoral votes in 2012, would hold national implications.

“If that happens, no Republican will ever again win the White House," he said. "New York and California are for the foreseeable future unalterably Democrat. If Texas turns bright blue, the Electoral College math is simple. We won’t be talking about Ohio, we won’t be talking about Florida or Virginia, because it won’t matter. If Texas is bright blue, you can’t get to two-seventy electoral votes. The Republican Party would cease to exist. We would become like the Whig Party."

Cruz' words paralleled those of Mitt Romney adviser Carlos Gutierrez, who said on Sunday that Latinos were "scared of the Republican party." The former Commerce Secretary attributed that fear to the presidential primary process, which he said forces candidates "to say outrageous things."

President Barack Obama was reelected last Tuesday with the help of near-record levels of Latino support. Various polls found the incumbent Democrat securing more than 70 percent of that voting bloc.

Bobby Jindal: GOP Should 'Stop Being The Stupid Party'

I know Jindal waited to say this after the elections, he did not want to be the one to derail the election. Once again, bad things simply happen because good people do nothing about it. I am glad Jindal spoke up, and I have done my part when Romney said the uncouth things - Mike Ghouse

Courtesy: Huffington Post

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal hurled harsh criticism at his own party after the GOP was blindsided in the 2012 elections, telling Republicans to end "dumbed-down conservatism" by putting a stop to "offensive, bizarre" comments.

“It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments -- enough of that,” Jindal told Politico. “It’s not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can’t be tolerated within our party. We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters.”

Jindal told Politico Republicans should “stop being the stupid party” by working to embrace a larger group of constituents rather than becoming the party of "big anything."

The GOP governor criticized the idea that the GOP is "the party that simply protects the rich." Jindal even took a jab at Mitt Romney's now-infamous "47 percent" remarks, noting Republicans would have to be more inclusive going forward.

“The Republican Party is going to fight for every single vote,” he said. “That means the 47 percent and the 53 percent, that means any other combination of numbers going up to 100 percent.”

Other Republicans have attempted to explain the GOP's election failure in less harsh terms. Karl Rove gave nearly two dozen reasons for Republicans' election night losses, while 2012 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan said "urban areas" gave Obama the boost he needed to win.

Is the GOP Headed for the Boneyard?

Either Carl Madoff Rove was goofy, or the Republican leadership does not get the map, here is a realistic analysis by Pat Buchanan. 

 by Patrick J. Buchanan   

After its second defeat at the hands of Barack Obama, under whom unemployment has never been lower than the day George W. Bush left office, the Republican Party has at last awakened to its existential crisis.

Eighteen states have voted Democratic in six straight elections. Among the six are four of our most populous: New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California. And Obama has now won two of the three remaining mega-states, Ohio and Florida, twice.

Only Texas remains secure – for now. 

At the presidential level, the Republican Party is at death's door. 

Yet one already sees the same physicians writing prescriptions for the same drugs that have been killing the GOP since W's dad got the smallest share of the vote by a Republican candidate since William Howard Taft in 1912. 

In ascertaining the cause of the GOP's critical condition, let us use Occam's razor – the principle that the simplest explanation is often the right one. 

Would the GOP wipeout in those heavily Catholic, ethnic, socially conservative, blue-collar bastions of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, which Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan swept, have anything to do with the fact that the United States since 2000 has lost 6 million manufacturing jobs and 55,000 factories?
Where did all those jobs and factories go? We know where.

They were outsourced. And in the deindustrialization of America, the Republican Party has been a culpable co-conspirator. 

Unlike family patriarch Sen. Prescott Bush, who voted with Barry Goldwater and Strom Thurmond against JFK's free-trade deal, Bush I and II pumped for NAFTA, GATT, the WTO and opening America's borders to all goods made by our new friends in the People's Republic of China. 

Swiftly, U.S. multinationals shut factories here, laid off workers, outsourced production to Asia and China, and brought their finished goods back, tax-free, to sell in the U.S.A.
Profits soared, as did the salaries of the outsourcing executives. 

And their former workers? They headed for the service sector, along with their wives, to keep up on the mortgage payment, keep the kids in Catholic school and pay for the health insurance the family had lost.
Tuesday, these ex-Reagan Democrats came out to vote against some guy from Bain Capital they had been told in ads all summer was a big-time outsourcer who wrote in 2008, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt!"
Yes, the simplest explanation is often the right one. 

Republicans are also falling all over one another to express a love of Hispanics, after Mitt won only 27 percent of a Hispanic vote that is now 10 percent of the national vote.
We face demographic disaster, they are wailing. We must win a larger share of the Hispanic vote or we are doomed. 

And what is the proposed solution to the GOP's Hispanic problem, coming even from those supposedly on the realistic right? 

Amnesty for the illegals! Stop talking about a border fence and self-deportation. Drop the employer sanctions. Make the GOP a welcoming party. 

And what might be problematic about following this advice?

First, it will enrage populist conservatives who supported the GOP because they believed the party's pledges to oppose amnesty, secure the border and stop illegals from taking jobs from Americans.
And in return for double-crossing these folks and losing their votes, what would be gained by amnesty for, say, 10 million illegal aliens?
Assume in a decade all 10 million became citizens and voted like the Hispanics, black folks and Asians already here. The best the GOP could expect – the Bush share in 2004 – would be 40 percent, or 4 million of those votes. 

But if Tuesday's percentages held, Democrats would get not just 6 million, but 7 million new votes to the GOP's less than 3 million. 

Thus, if we assume the percentages of the last three elections hold, the Democratic Party would eventually gain from an amnesty a net of between 2 and 4 million new voters.
Easy to understand why Democrats are for this. But why would a Republican Party that is not suicidally inclined favor it? 

Still, the GOP crisis is not so much illegal as legal immigration. Forty million legal immigrants have arrived in recent decades. Some 85 percent come from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Most arrived lacking the academic, language and labor skills to compete for high-paying jobs.
What does government do for them? 

Subsidizes their housing and provides free education for their kids from Head Start through K-12, plus food stamps and school lunches, Pell Grants and student loans for college, Medicaid if they are sick, earned income tax credits if they work and 99 weeks of unemployment checks if they lose their job. 

These are people who depend upon government. 

Why would they vote for a party that is going to cut taxes they do not pay, but take away government benefits they do receive? 

Again it needs be said. When the country looks like California demographically, it will look like California politically. Republicans are not whistling past the graveyard. They are right at the entrance.

 November 10, 2012

Patrick J. Buchanan [send him mail] is co-founder and editor of The American Conservative. He is also the author of seven books, including Where the Right Went Wrong, and Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. His latest book is Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? See his website.

Republicans Say the Darndest Things

I hope to develop a leadership program to address our deficiencies, particularly in biology and maths - Mike Ghouse

Written by David Starr

Sunday, 11 November 2012 17:55

http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/78-78/14498-republicans-say-the-darndest-things

I could almost hear a loud, collective sigh of relief, not just in the United States, but worldwide, after Mitt Romney lost the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election. Nowadays in particular, the GOP, and those within its’ base, have combined gross ignorance with unbridled arrogance when making remarks and accusations. Some, at the least, could be useful material in any comedy monologue (and HAVE unintentionally spawned some funny ones).

But while Democrats swept to victory, the GOP will again be held only at bay. This vicious circle of two “parties” still exists, both with the same strategy, but different tactics. Loyal opposition will unfortunately continue in the near future.

As a reminder of potential absurdities-“legitimate” rape, pregnancy by rape as “God’s will,” only “whores” using free contraceptives, etc.-leading potentially to unwanted consequences, the following quotes show a need to oppose the GOP relentlessly:

First, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney:
(The second debate with Obama): “My plan will create 23 million new jobs.” (But 45 minutes later), “Government does not create jobs. Government does not create jobs.”

“I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much (1/2012).” (“Not very much” is $374, 000 in one year.)

“I should tell you my story. I’m also unemployed (2011).” (Trying to relate to former workers, but not revealing his net worth of $200 million.)

“He [Obama] says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. It’s time to cut back on government and help the American people.” “(Campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, 6/08/2012, “promoting” the general welfare of U.S. citizens.)

Former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan:

“I’m very proud of my pro-life record, and I’ve always adopted the idea that the position that the method of conception doesn’t change the definition of life.” (Referring to rape as a method of conception while ignoring it as a crime. Interview, WJHL. Roanoake, Virginia, 8/23/2012.)

“I voted to send people to war.” (Pro-life” and pro-war? A point to show his foreign policy voting record is better than Obama’s policy itself. Fox News interview, 8/18/2012.)
“Rand makes the best case for democratic capitalism.” (Making a contradiction in terms regarding Ayan Rand, who opposed democracy.)

Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry:

“I will tell you: its three agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone: Commerce, Education and the – what’s the third one there? Let’s see…O.K. So Commerce, Education and the – I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops (11/09/2011).” “Forgetting the Dept. of Energy as an agency he wants to cut.”

“Juarez is reported to be the most dangerous city in America (3/01/2012).” (Not knowing that Juarez is in Mexico.)

Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain:
“I’m ready for the gotcha questions and they’re already starting to come. And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan is, I’m going to say, you know, I don’t know. Do you know (PBS interview, 10/09/2011)?” (Unprepared for the “gotcha questions.”)

“They [China] have indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability…” (PBS interview, 10/31/2011) (Unaware that China has had nuclear weapons since 1964.)

Former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich:

“I worked [passionately for his country] too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.” (Referring to two extra-marital affairs, the first while his first wife suffered from cancer, and regarding the second wife, while pushing for Bill Clinton’s impeachment.)

“They have no habit of staying all day. They have no habit of “I do this and you give me cash.’” (12/01/2011) (His opinion on poor children.)

Former presidential candidate Michelle Bachman:

“And what a bizarre time we’re in, when a judge will say to little children that you can’t say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it.” (An appeal to homophobic fear while wrapping herself in the flag.)

“A woman [Terry Schiavo] was healthy. There was brain damage, there is no question. But from a health point of view, she was not terminally ill.” (Expressing her “medical knowledge.”)

Senator Tommy Thompson (R-WI):

“[W]ho better than me…to come up with programs to do away with Medicaid and Medicare?” (Admitting to a GOP objective.)

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin:

“He who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells, and um, makin’ sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.” (6/03/2011, not quite knowing the purpose for Paul Revere’s ride.)

“…journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.” (1/12/2011) (Not knowing what a blood libel is, i.e., a historically false accusation that Jews kill Christian babies for their blood.)

Representative Steve King (R-Iowa):

“They intend to vote on the Sabbath, during Lent, to take away the liberty that we have right from God.” (Glenn Beck interview, 3/18/2010) (Implying the U.S. Congress committed “blasphemy” when voting on the healthcare bill.)

Rush Limbaugh:

“Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.” (He also coined the term “feminazis.”)

“The only way to reduce the number of nuclear weapons is to use them.” (Showing his “compassionate conservatism,” while disregarding the inevitable consequences.)

Pat Robertson:

“The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” (A warning about an “evil, feminist conspiracy.”)

Bill O’Reilly:

“I just wish Katrina had only hit the UN building, nothing else, just had flooded them out, and I wouldn’t have rescued them.” (Radio show, 9/14/2005) (His death wish for the international representative of nations and those inside it…and his nonresponse.)

Former U.S. president George W. Bush Jr.:

“This is an impressive crowd—the haves and the have mores. Some people call you the elite—I call you my base.” (The 2000 Al Smith dinner; his working class supporters should have learned a lesson then.)

“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.”(Washington, DC, 6/18/2002; Right out of “1984.”)

Former vice president Dick Cheney:

“I had other priorities in the sixties than military service.” (6/25/2004) (Implying his five draft deferments exempted him.)

“Go fuck yourself.” (/25/2004) (Showing “bi-partisanship” to Democratic Senator Patrick, when challenged on his former company, Halliburton, accused of profiteering.)

Glenn Beck:

“When I see a 9/11 victim family on TV, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh, shut up.’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining.” (Radio show, 9/09/2005; another example of “compassionate conservatism.”)

“African-American is a bogus, PC [politically correct], made-up term. I mean, that’s not a race. Your ancestry is from Africa and now you live in America.” (Radio show, 1/07/2007; right. African + American = African-American.)

Ann Coulter:

“Marriage is not a civil right. You’re not black.” (9/26/2010) (Using the 14th Amendment to imply that women, gays, lesbians and LGBT individuals are not equal.)

“You will find liberals always rooting for savages against civilization.” (O’Reilly Factor, 5/07/2010; thinking that she can differentiate between civility and savagery.)

Former U.S. vice president George Bush Sr.:

“… I’ve worked alongside President Reagan. We’ve had triumphs. Made some mistakes. Had some sex…uh…setbacks.” (I thought they were homophobic.)

“Ozone, Man, Ozone. He’s crazy, way far out, man.” (Trying ineffectively to express 1960s phraseology in criticizing Al Gore, 1992 presidential election.)

Former U.S. vice president Dan Quayle:

“I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn’t study Latin harder in school so I could converse with these people.” (Mistakenly thinking that just because the region is called Latin America, the inhabitants speak Latin, showing his lack of knowledge regarding it.)

Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan (He was more effective with wit than others quoted here, but still had more in common with them in expressing “whoppers.”):

“My fellow Americans. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve signed legislation outlawing the Soviet Union. We begin bombing in five minutes.” (What turned out to be a tasteless joke gone awry during a mike check on his Saturday radio broadcast.)

“Well, I learned a lot…I went down to Latin America to find out from them and learn their views. You’d be surprised. They’re all individual countries.” (Having in common with Quayle ignorance of the region.)

“Trees cause more pollution than automobiles.” (Blaming nature for a human-made problem.)

“…a moral equivalent to our Founding Fathers.” (Referring to the Nicaraguan Contras, which included former members of Somoza’s repressive Guardia Nacional.)

No to be outdone, the following slogans were evident on Tea Party protesters’ signs, and evidently would disqualify them from a spelling bee:

“Thank You Fox News for keeping us infromed.”

“Hey Hussein, quit ‘Dixie Chickin’ Our Nation. Go back to Kenya.” (“Birthers” die hard.)

“Obama Half –Breed Muslin.”

“Get A Brain! Morans…Go USA.”
“Don’t Steal from Medicare to Support Socialized Medicine.” (Medicare, having positive benefits, was created by the federal government.)

“Obama LI ER I N CHIEF. Got a birth certificate?” (Shockingly, “birthers” still exist.)

There are more than enough examples here to see an obvious pattern. While it’s true anyone can potentially reveal their ignorance on whatever subject, the GOP, and those among its’ base, has made it second nature. There is no doubt then, more will come from the right. All the more, quoting Bush Jr., “you don’t get fooled again.”

Sources: “Political humor,” by Daniel Kurtzman, About.com; “The 10 Craziest Michelle Bachman Quotes,” by Matt Stopera, “The Dumbest Republican Quotes of 2011,” by Jack Moore buzzfeed.com; “9 Outrageous Things Said by Republicans Running for Office, by Bethany Imondi, emilyslist.org)

Republican Party and Mike Ghouse

Republican party and Mike Ghouse's commitment
URL http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/11/republican-party-and-mike-ghouse.html

I have been a Republican for nearly 25 years and will remain one. There is not a day, I have not been questioned for being a Republican, many simply cannot fathom that a guy like me with an inclusive pluralistic attitude can be a Republican.

Yes, I am a Republican, a moderate one, like the majority of us in every group. The few loud mouths in my party do not represent the central values of the party. Some one even said, "they will not allow you to speak up". My response was who is they? The party is open to every one, it is my party as much as it is Carl Rove's party.

Despite the problems I may face as I embark on the journey of putting the party back on the right track, to represent Americans, not just one homogenous group, but every American, I will not let any one harass me and I will not put up with any one's rants.

Those of you who are not Republicans, do sincerely wish that the party drops its anti-stance on women, gays and lesbians, atheists, Muslims, Hindus, immigrants and others, and wish a softening of their attitudes towards African Americans. Unless some one speaks up, how do you expect the change? There are better speakers than me, and that is good news, together we all can restore the party to be the party of the people.

To the skeptics, I am not a token, nor will I ever be. I earn my place where I want, rather than a easy way out elsewhere. I am committed to do my share of work and leave the results to the good energy.

I believe in the original ideals of the party. Carl Rove, Michelle Bachman, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Guiliani, John McCain, Tim Pawlenty and Paul Ryan do not represent the central values of the party, they are Republicans alright, but on the far right.

I am more like Chris Christie, Arnold Schwartznegger, Collin Powell, Joe Scarborough, and John Huntsman kind of Republican. I am searching for these folks to build a coalition to bring the Republican party to the center, to represent the values of most Americans.

Since the lies that led to the Iraq war, I have not been kind to President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney. There are many who are not kind to them, and many a Republicans have given them a free pass, which should not have happened. I am not kind to John McCain either. If you don't agree, welcome to the world of freedom of speech. You have a right to curse me or chew me out, but I expect you to give me facts and not bullshit.

I am as committed as you are, to have the party represent an average American. Our approaches are different, but the goal is same. I don't typically agree with Guilliani, but he said something right today - that the party should mind its own effing business and keep out of the bedrooms, to that I would add, keep out of the vaginas and religion as well. Let freedom prevail.

This is my index page, and I will be listing all the articles and my speeches that I wrote in the last few years with a an abstract summary and the link. I will list as many as I can find... It may take me a few weeks to pull them all together. I have just opened this inded today. November 8, 2010.