Tag: Republicans
Is This What the Tea Party Calls Progress?
There is so much wrong with this story, it’s mind-boggling.
The House of Representatives is expected to take action Thursday on a bipartisan agreement ending a dispute over disaster relief spending that threatened to cause a partial shutdown of the government by the end of the week.
Specifically, the House is set to approve a one-week government funding extension on Thursday, followed by a more comprehensive measure next week that will keep Washington funded through November 18, according to the office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia.
The age of multitasking in Congress is over
So that’s how we’re doing it now? It’s a legislative victory when we muster all our resources to agree not to shut down the government and instead to continue relief for Americans devastated by disaster…for one week? And the more comprehensive measure, the big blockbuster deal, is to keep the government operating right through part of the month after next?
Houston, we have a problem.
The Line: GOP Debate in Orlando
- The room full of tea baggers at last night’s debate in Florida did not cheer at references to executing people or letting the uninsured die, but they could not pass up an opportunity to hate on the gays. The crowd booed during a video question from an active-duty U.S. serviceman who said he was gay. “I guess we only respect the troops Republicans approve of,” wrote Digby. “Good to know.”
- The soldier’s question was put first to Rick Santorum, the infamous homophobe. His response was typically bizarre: “I would say, any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military.” (Tell it to the Marines, Rick.) David Weigel wrote, “The truly odious moment on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell — possibly the first ever booing of an active duty soldier at a Republican debate — will be remembered beyond [Santorum’s] predictable attacks on the patriotism of anyone who doesn’t favor constant aggressive warfare.”
- “As with all the Republican debates,” wrote Jonathan Chait, at his new digs at New York magazine, “this one devolved into a contest to see whether Rick Perry or Mitt Romney could most persuasively paint the other one as reasonable.”
Republican Class Warfare: Women and Children Overboard
Democrats are pushing back on the Republican spin that raising taxes on the wealthy is “class warfare,” noting that, under the sway of the tea party, Republicans have been waging war on the middle class and poor, particularly on services for children and families, since they took control of the House in January:
Ryan Nickel, spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee’s Minority Staff, sent an email to Democratic press secretaries on Monday calling attention to dramatic cuts that Republicans have proposed to programs benefiting low- and middle-income Americans: “Are GOP cuts to WIC [Women Infants and Children], Pell Grants, Meals-on-Wheels, Low-Income Legal Services & Head Start ‘Class Warfare’?”
Some of the GOP cuts highlighted in the email:
After You
So one of the new talking points to combat the higher tax rates for millionaires is this line: “If Warren Buffett thinks he should pay more taxes, he should write a check.” Sounds good. But is that how we’re doing it now? If you propose something, you have to go first? If so, then there are a lot of chickenhawk, eager-to-wage-war politicians who should probably drag their asses over to the frontlines of Afghanistan.
Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel columnist, commenting on Facebook
Poll: Mainstream Republicans Share Only Tenuous Ties with Tea Party
Not all Republicans are comfortable in tin foil tricorn hats, according to a recent CNN poll. In fact about half don’t consider themselves active tea party supporters.
…roughly half (49 percent) of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say they support the tea party movement or are active members, with roughly half (51 percent) saying that they have no feelings one way or another about the tea party or that they oppose the movement.
More education is correlated with more tea partyism, which is odd until you remember that education is also associated with greater income. And no matter how successful the movement’s founders, Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, have been at portraying it as a grassroots effort, the tea party is all about protecting the assets of old, rich, cranky white guys.
Like Ron Paul, tea partiers are incoherent on social issues
…tea party Republicans are more likely to be male, older, and college educated, with non-tea party Republicans more likely to be younger, less educated, female, and less likely to say they are born-again or evangelical. Both groups are predominantly white.
