I have to be honest. The circular stories about the "discussions" between Congressional leaders and the White House are as predictable as sunrise. While more amusing, watching the Republicans scramble around, attempting to figure out why America rejected them is losing its comedic value only because . . . well, I don't like to laugh at handicapped people.
There are a couple things careening around the political internet that I really feel a need to speak out about. First and foremost, this idea that Saxby Chambliss should face a primary challenge because he isn't conservative enough would induce laughter if I didn't think the GA Senator a humongous wad of camel poo. After more-than-hinting that wounded veteran Max Cleland was less than patriotic in a couple TV ads, Chambliss won himself a seat in the Big House. That there are people in the Republican Party who think that just isn't despicable enough to pass their Asshole Test for candidacy should tell any thinking American what the GOP has become. I heartily applaud any effort to rid the political world of Chambliss's presence, as long as there are enough voices making clear what a horrible person he is.
With the rejection of the UN Charter on Rights for the Disabled, the US Senate managed to make itself look both heartless and stupid in a single stroke. No mean feat, all things considered, but some commentators announce they are confused that a "decent" man like Orrin Hatch voted against it. Orrin Hatch isn't a "decent" Senator. His treatment of Anita Hill was despicable. His public lectures on the evils of Bill Clinton's penis were tiring. Even if he were The Last Sane Republican (which he isn't), he knows which way the primary winds are blowing. This vote was a tactical move on his part. Whether or not he believes a Treaty that codified the Americans With Disabilities Act as the gold standard for treatment of persons with disabilities was actually an attempt to steal Rick Santorum's daughter and teach her evolution without his consent, well, I couldn't care less (because, you know, Anita Hill again; I don't care for Orrin Hatch). Hatch has an entire career demonstrating his preference to side with crazy people. That's not decent, and no amount of special pleading will make it so.
As an aside, the encomiums for Bob Dole by liberals make me want to retch. The guy was a partisan hack, a nasty political operator who, when he was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential candidate complained loudly about "Democratic Wars", as if somehow the Kaiser and Hitler and Kim Il Sung and Ho Chi Minh were nothing more than overseas precinct captains . That he became some kind of cuddly celebrity after his political career ended is disgusting enough; that liberals who should know better are carrying on because the rejection of the Disabilities Treaty occurred in Dole's presence (in a wheelchair, no less) is ridiculous. Back when he replaced Howard Baker as Senate Majority Leader, lots of folks noted he was a right-wing party hack with a nasty disposition. He didn't change his spots because he got old. He just, you know, got old. He, more than many people, are responsible for what the US Senate on its Republican side has become. I'm glad he sat in his wheelchair and reaped some of that bitter fruit.
As I'm engaged in a fund-raising project for the United Methodist Committee on Relief until just before Christmas, my days are far more full and rewarding than trying to find new ways to say, "Ooo! Look! The Republicans are insane!"
There are a couple things careening around the political internet that I really feel a need to speak out about. First and foremost, this idea that Saxby Chambliss should face a primary challenge because he isn't conservative enough would induce laughter if I didn't think the GA Senator a humongous wad of camel poo. After more-than-hinting that wounded veteran Max Cleland was less than patriotic in a couple TV ads, Chambliss won himself a seat in the Big House. That there are people in the Republican Party who think that just isn't despicable enough to pass their Asshole Test for candidacy should tell any thinking American what the GOP has become. I heartily applaud any effort to rid the political world of Chambliss's presence, as long as there are enough voices making clear what a horrible person he is.
With the rejection of the UN Charter on Rights for the Disabled, the US Senate managed to make itself look both heartless and stupid in a single stroke. No mean feat, all things considered, but some commentators announce they are confused that a "decent" man like Orrin Hatch voted against it. Orrin Hatch isn't a "decent" Senator. His treatment of Anita Hill was despicable. His public lectures on the evils of Bill Clinton's penis were tiring. Even if he were The Last Sane Republican (which he isn't), he knows which way the primary winds are blowing. This vote was a tactical move on his part. Whether or not he believes a Treaty that codified the Americans With Disabilities Act as the gold standard for treatment of persons with disabilities was actually an attempt to steal Rick Santorum's daughter and teach her evolution without his consent, well, I couldn't care less (because, you know, Anita Hill again; I don't care for Orrin Hatch). Hatch has an entire career demonstrating his preference to side with crazy people. That's not decent, and no amount of special pleading will make it so.
As an aside, the encomiums for Bob Dole by liberals make me want to retch. The guy was a partisan hack, a nasty political operator who, when he was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential candidate complained loudly about "Democratic Wars", as if somehow the Kaiser and Hitler and Kim Il Sung and Ho Chi Minh were nothing more than overseas precinct captains . That he became some kind of cuddly celebrity after his political career ended is disgusting enough; that liberals who should know better are carrying on because the rejection of the Disabilities Treaty occurred in Dole's presence (in a wheelchair, no less) is ridiculous. Back when he replaced Howard Baker as Senate Majority Leader, lots of folks noted he was a right-wing party hack with a nasty disposition. He didn't change his spots because he got old. He just, you know, got old. He, more than many people, are responsible for what the US Senate on its Republican side has become. I'm glad he sat in his wheelchair and reaped some of that bitter fruit.
As I'm engaged in a fund-raising project for the United Methodist Committee on Relief until just before Christmas, my days are far more full and rewarding than trying to find new ways to say, "Ooo! Look! The Republicans are insane!"
