Year: 2010
So Long, “Big Jim,” I’ll Miss You
Jim “Big Jim” Greer announced today that he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, effective Feb. 20. Pressure from a small, conservative group of Florida Republicans had been mounting on Greer to leave his post, mainly due to his blind devotion to Gov. Charlie Crist and his rabid dislike of Marco Rubio, Crist’s likely primary opponent in the U.S. Senate race.
I, for one, will miss Big Jim. I have used this space on several occasions to point out Greer’s idiotic, quote-bedecked ramblings that masqueraded as press releases. To me, Jim Greer is the embodiment of the fat-cat Florida Republican — dangerous as a crocodile, loyal as a hound dog, stubborn as a mule and mean as a rattlesnake — all of it wrapped up in a kind of good ole boy panache enhanced by expensive suits and fashionable polo shirts. And he could sure turn an unusual phrase as he repeatedly challenged the syntactical and punctuational norms of the English language in his periodic messages.
In announcing Greer’s resignation, the RPOF issued a document that consisted of a statement by Crist, a second statement by two of the RPOF members most responsible for kicking Greer to the curb, followed by Greer’s letter of resignation — an interesting and volatile document that effectively encapsulates the negative forces at work inside the RPOF without coming right out and saying it.
Here is two-thirds of Charlie Crist’s three-sentence statement regarding the man he handpicked for the chairmanship three years ago:
Jim has long been a loyal servant to the Republican cause, and I appreciate the many sacrifices the Chairman, his wife Lisa, and their four children have made to ensure our Party’s continued success in the Sunshine State. Chairman Greer has and always will have my unwavering support.
“I call on Florida Republicans to unite behind our common values of less government and more personal freedom and sincerely hope that we can move forward together to ensure statewide Republican victories in 2010.
You couldn’t get a broader and more inclusive statement of the Republican philosophy than the Big Tent of “less government and more personal freedom.” Hell, I bet even Marco Rubio could get behind that ….
Joint Statement by Senator Haridopolos and Representative Cannon Regarding Chairman Jim Greer:
As Chairman, Jim understands not only the importance of this critical election this year, but also the need to adequately prepare the State Party and diverse grassroots communities for the fight ahead, and we believe his legacy will be reflected in many victories yet to come.
It has never been more important that Republicans focus on the task at hand by uniting in support of our common goals. For the first time since Reconstruction, we are facing open races in a United States Senate seat, the Governor’s Mansion, all of our Cabinet seats, half of the Florida Senate, and the entire House of Representatives.
As the 2010 Election Cycle rapidly approaches, we encourage all Florida Republicans to unite together to ensure that Republicans carry the day in 2010.
So they say, but it’s the 2012 election cycle, the one where they want to elect the newfound neo-fascist Rubio over part-time governor Crist, that these two Bozos really are interested in.
And finally we come to Big Jim’s letter of resignation. As has been the case with his more recent RPOF ramblings, it is a mixture of hurt feelings, defense of his record and barely concealed anger with just a hint of a threat in it. Dispensing with the first four paragraphs that recapped his accomplishments, both real and imagined, here are some highlights of the fun bits:
However, despite the great progress our Party has seen over the last three years, a small but vocal group within our Party has made it a point to destroy this progress and negatively impact our opportunity for victory in 2010. There has been, as you may be aware, an effort by this group to seek my removal for reasons that hold no justification. The facts and accuracy relating to this issue have become lost and irrelevant to these disruptive efforts and despite my own efforts, in addition to the efforts of others, to correct the record with the facts and truthfulness, these divisive individuals and their efforts continue without any concern for our Party’s future.
Big Jim goes to great efforts — indeed four of them in one sentence — to allude to some vague untruthiness that shall not be named that’s been lost, but that’s put about by a group always described as “small and vocal.” However, he never gets any more specific than that.
While I am honored by your unwavering support and the support of Republican members of the Florida Legislature, many members of the State Executive Committee, and many RPOF donors, I have determined that this internal discord has many origins and political agendas, but the one common result is a detrimental effect on the Republican Party. Since 2007, I have made a point to put the best interest of the Party before my own, even when criticisms were misdirected and invalid, and I will do so again now. While some are more interested in tearing and shredding the fabric of the Republican Party to pieces, I will not be a participant in this destructive behavior. Therefore, I am putting the future of our Party first and shall step down as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida effective February, 20, 2010.
Nope, Jim’s not having none of that tearing and shredding the party into little pieces mess, though he is helping himself to heaping plate of unwavering. As the sacrificial lamb, he must dutifully call for party unity:
As I prepare to leave this post with Republicans maintaining a United State Senate seat, the Governor’s Mansion, three of four Cabinet posts, and strong majorities in the Florida House, Senate and Congressional Delegation, I look forward to continuing to work to elect Republicans to office, and now call upon all Republicans throughout Florida to put our differences aside, end our Party’s internal conflict and disagreements, and focus on electing Republicans in 2010.
See, that’s where Jim lost it — he should know that all Republicans throughout Florida are focused on electing Republicans in 2010 and 2012 — just different Republicans.
But my favorite part was how he closed his letter to Gov. Crist. Not with a heartfelt “sincerely” or manly “yours truly,” but with an icky “warmest regards.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I suspect that Greer ain’t gone for good, he’s just going guerrilla on ’em.
So long, Big Jim, we look forward to seeing you bob to the surface as the toilet bowl that is the Republican Party of Florida separates the floaters from the sinkers.
Annual List of Banned Words Is ‘Shovel Ready’
Since 1975, the wordmeisters at Lake Superior State University have submitted for the world’s edification and delight an annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.”
For additional commentary that accompanies each entry, check out the university’s Web site.
And now, without further ado, the 2010 list of banished words:
SHOVEL-READY — “Stick a shovel in it. It’s done.”
TRANSPARENT/TRANSPARENCY — “I just don’t see it.”
CZAR — “We have appointed a czar of such-and-such; clearly that’s better than a ‘leader,’ ‘coordinator’ or ‘director’!”
TWEET (and all of its variations: tweetaholic, retweet, twitterhea, twitterature, twittersphere …) — “People tweet and retweet and I just heard the word ‘tweet’ so many times it lost all meaning.”
APP — “Is there an ‘app’ for making this annoying word go away? Why can’t we just call them ‘programs’ again?”
SEXTING — “Any dangerous new trend that also happens to have a clever mash-up of words, involves teens, and gets television talk show hosts interested must be banished.”
FRIEND AS A VERB — “‘Befriend’ is much more pleasant to the human ear and a perfectly useful word in the dictionary.”
TEACHABLE MOMENT — “This phrase is used to describe everything from potty-training to politics. It’s time to vote it out!”
IN THESE ECONOMIC TIMES — “Overused and redundant. Aren’t ALL times ‘these economic times’?”
STIMULUS — “Everything in the news is about the stimulus packages…it is no longer a grant, it’s stimulus money, stimulus checks, etc. I think it is just being over-used.”
TOXIC ASSETS — “Whatever happened to simply ‘bad stocks,’ ‘debts,’ or ‘loans’?”
TOO BIG TO FAIL — “Does such a thing exist? We’ll never know if a company is too big to fail, unless somehow it does fail, and then it will no longer be too big to fail. Make it stop!”
BROMANCE — “I am sick of combined words the media creates to make them sound catchier. Frenemies? Bromances? Blogorrhea? I’m going to scream!”
CHILLAXIN’ — “Heard everywhere from MTV to ESPN to CNN. A bothersome term that seeks to combine chillin’ with relaxin’ makes me want to be ‘axin’ this word.”
OBAMA-prefix or roots — The LSSU Word Banishment Committee held out hope that folks would want to Obama-ban Obama-structions, but were surprised that no one Obama-nominated any, such as these compiled by the Oxford Dictionary in 2009: Obamanomics, Obamanation, Obamafication, Obamacare, Obamalicious, Obamaland … We say Obamanough already.
Photo Shows Top Tea Bagger Holding Sign with N-Word (Which He Misspelled)
It’s going to be a lot harder for Tea Baggers to claim they’re not racists now that a photo has emerged of Dale Robertson, who calls himself the “president and founder of the Tea Party,” holding a sign that reads,”Congress = Slave Owner; Taxpayer = Niggar.”
The photo was taken in Houston on Feb. 27, 2009.
Robertson is the operator of the Tea Party website (teaparty.org). Here’s what he wrote about himself on the website’s “About Us” page:
A Word From The Founder;
Dale Robertson is a man of courage and conviction, a rare commodity in today’s topsy-turvy world. Dale, is the Founder of the modern day Tea Party and also President of TeaParty.org
Dale Robertson, a public speaker, a family man with a wife and 5 children, has lead [sic] Tea Party rallies across America from its inception.
A little later, Robertson talks about this educational background:
Dale Roberson’s academic background includes extended training in theology, as well as excelling in the field of Engineering at Southwest College, San Diego, California. He went on to earn a second degree in Political Science at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
So what we know so far is that he is a racist and a poor speller.
Hospital Couldn’t Diagnose Limbaugh’s Chest Pain, Yet He Says His Care Was the ‘Best World Has to Offer’
Rush Limbaugh used his brief press availability upon his release from the hospital in Honolulu on Friday to prop up his party’s propaganda on health-care reform.
“I’ve been treated to the best health care the world has to offer,” he told reporters, “and that is right here in the United States of America. Based on what happened to me here, I don’t think there’s one thing wrong with the American health care system.”
The heartless disregard for the 45 million of his fellow citizens who aren’t rich, fat white guys who are supplied with Rolls Royce insurance plans by their employers was not just typical latter-day, right-wing, “let them eat cake” decadence, it was utter bullshit.
In describing events that led to his being rushed to the hospital on Wednesday, he said, “The pain was real and they don’t know what caused it.” It was “like [nothing] I have never experienced before.” (Emphasis added.)
After arriving at the Queens Medical Center on Wednesday, he was given an angiogram, but no arterial or coronary disease was detected. Presumably, there were other tests but, when all was said and done, his doctors couldn’t tell Rush Limbaugh what caused this excruciating pain. Their collective hunch is that he experienced an arterial spasm.
Let’s stipulate that the hospital probably provides top-notch medical care. But the fact is, they weren’t able to diagnose his condition. Perhaps it was nothing, a one-time event — or he could have a fatal condition that is ticking away like a time bomb on “24.” No sane person would be happy with that outcome.
Even for Limbaugh, his session with the press was a shockingly graceless performance. A person with character would have humbly thanked his fans for their messages of support and his doctors for their efforts and saved the politicizing for his next show. His broadside at health-care reform was carefully crafted to outrage his enemies — many of whom had not been wishing him well, not unlike the C Street Christianist cult member Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) who prayed that 92-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) would die or fall ill last month so he couldn’t cast the 60th vote to open debate on the Senate’s health-care reform bill.
One wonders how many of Limbaugh’s own Dittoheads are laid-off workers who don’t have insurance. Or maybe he knew he wouldn’t offend his base because of demographic data that shows that the average age of his listeners is 67, which makes them beneficiaries of the government-run socialist Medicare system and are so in the sway of their Supreme Leader that they are blind to his and their own grand hypocrisies.
Of course, we don’t know what really sent Limbaugh to the hospital on Wednesday. He didn’t take questions from reporters — although Ed Henry from CNN shouted a question, asking Limbaugh if he’d been taking any painkillers for his back. Limbaugh reported chuckled and said, “no.” And Digby noted that Oxycontin can cause chest pain and wondered if they did a tox screen.
The real reason Limbaugh was hospitalized could be any number of things:
- Viagra overdose.
- Acid reflux caused by, say, wolfing down a third cheeseburger so fast that he forgot to chew.
- He could have had a bout of anal poisoing or a flare-up of the anal cyst that helped him dodge the draft during the Vietnam War.
- He could have had an emergency cardiectomy, similar to the one then-Vice Pres. Cheney allegedly underwent in 2006
And remember, this is the same Limbaugh who regularly cites a 20-degree daily high in, say, Cleveland as proof that global climate change doesn’t exist. By a similar rationale, his hospital experience was great — he didn’t have to wait at all, no bureaucrats got between him and his doctor, he didn’t face a death panel — therefore 100 percent of the rest of the system gets the Limbaugh seal of approval.
Looking at the big picture, it’s puzzling why corporatist stooges like Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly and their ilk are still fighting health-care reform. After all, their side, the Republicans, have won. The Senate “reform” bill contains an enormous gift of 30 million government-mandated new customers for health-insurance companies.
The answer is they simply want the president and the government to fail, so that they can take control again and finish the job George W. Bush and minority leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner started — handing over the resources of the U.S. economy to corporate interests.
It would be nice to think that one day Limbaugh’s rhetoric will catch up with him — that the folks we used to call the “decent people” will notice that he’s not just a blowhard and a clown, he is a degenerate who should be shunned.
If and when that happens, maybe his statement about the health-care system on New Year’s Day at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu will join the pantheon of famously heartless and clueless quotes, like:
Let them eat cake.
— A French princess reacting to news that the poor had no bread, via Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1769
Portly Gentleman: At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time.
Ebenezer: Why? Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?
Portly Gentleman: Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.
Ebenezer: If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.
— Charles Dicken’s Christmas Carol, 1843
What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) — this is working very well for them.
— Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 5, 2005
The fundamentals of our economy are strong.
— Republican presidential candidate John McCain reacting to the stock market crash that caused the Bush Recession, September 2008
Based on what happened to me here, I don’t think there’s one thing wrong with the American health care system.
— Rush Limbaugh, January 1, 2010
Britt Hume Advises Tiger Woods To Reject Buddhism, Choose Jesus
Fox’s senior network anchor suggested on air that a celebrity who may be Buddhist — Hume was not sure — should convert to Christianity. This is not a joke. Click here for transcript.
Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person, I think is a very open question, and it’s a tragic situation with him. He’s lost his family, it’s not clear to me whether he’ll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal, the extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He’s said to be a Buddhist, I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith, so my message to Tiger would be “Tiger, turn to the Christian faith, and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.
