Beach Peanuts

Tea Party Followers, You've Been Had

If there are still true believers in the so called Tea Party movement who haven't recognized it for the re-branded Republican party corporate funded scam that it is, this message is for you.

It's also a wake up call to the fact that in spite of what you've been told, and what you may believe, President Obama has been fighting for you all along, and still is. The Tea Party/Republicans? They're not. Never have. Never will. 

You've been had.

Like many others, this blogger has tried to tell you this before and I've been called a liar and much worse for doing so. If you're one of those who still thinks that after you read this, you're welcome to your opinion. It won't bother me in the least.

Facts are facts. Just because you may refuse to believe them doesn't make you immune to them. The Republican/Tea Party have been scamming you all along and in the coming days, if America is pushed off the cliff into default by this Republican manufactured "crisis" you'll be riding into the abyss along with the rest of us. Your so called "leaders" have no interest in saving you from the disaster they've created, and they won't.

In spite of what they tell you, they also have no interest in Democracy.

Let me give you just the latest examples of reality from the Tea Party world.

Rick Scott, John Mica

I'll start with your "leaders" in Florida. You've likely gotten the message from your Tea Party "Hero" Governor Rick Scott already. He made his bold statement against the "establishment" when he said F--- you to high-speed rail. You rallied around him in support for that move in spite of the fact that it actually resulted in F--- all of us. It cost many of your own a chance at a job and a step in the direction of boosting our economy in Florida. But then he turned around and sold you out not long after when he said yes to SunRail. Why did he do that? Well, because Republican John Mica, another big timer you supported put the pressure on the governor because SunRail helps his district. Your Tea Party organizers on the ground who enabled the Republicans made lots of noise and claimed they would go after Scott and Mica for selling out to that rail project unlike the first. How's that working out?

Crickets.

Mike Haridopolos, Dean Cannon

How about yesterday, when John Boehner buckled under yet again to his Tea Party members and passed a bill in order to hold the nation's economy for ransom, a bill that he knew had no chance of going anywhere in the first place? Zero? Governor Scott, along with stooges Mike Haridopolos and Dean Cannon jumped at the chance to kiss up to you by crafting a message in support of the Boehner non-starter bill, saying they "looked forward to Florida leading the way towards ratification of a federal balanced budget amendment.” As they wrote it they no doubt knew that the bill had less than a snowball's chance in Tea Bagger hell of passing. No worries though, they could safely go on the record for your benefit, no skin off their noses. Why else would Cannon and Haridopolos suddenly be so tight with the man they've been running from in recent months when his poll numbers were in the tank? To illustrate an empty united front to help the Republican Tea Party scam stay afloat. That's why. They want to keep you on a sinking ship. If you're still not convinced, grab a life preserver anyway just in case, and keep reading.

The crown jewel: Allen West 

Many of you have seen Allen West as a rebel for the average Tea Party Joe. You're in a very small minority who fails to recognize the crown jewel of crazy when you see it. However, your numbers just went down in the last couple days when he too sold you out by showing his true colors. You sent him to Washington because he told you he was an outsider who would never become a part of the "established Republican party." Remember? Well, file that memory away in your scrapbook, because it took him only a few short months before his status as a sellout became visible to true believers. When John Boehner bent over backwards to try and win Tea Party members over with his vast collection of rewritten bills, your hero Allen West folded into the party line when others didn't. He even offered to "drive the GOP clown car off the cliff." But alas, when reality kicked in and Boehner turned the bill back into the Republican version as it used to be, Allen West was still happily on board. West knows only the established Republican bread gets buttered in Washington even if his Tea Bag cohorts don't get it yet. He wants that butter so bad he'll churn it himself if he has to, but he doesn't want you to know.

That's why he was so quick to attempt to cover himself and his tracks by insulting your intelligence by writing "you" a letter explaining why he did it, invoking his fall back blind excuse of "patriotism" as he always does to get himself out of a bind. No one would dare call out this "steadfast and loyal" veteran! He writes as if all this congressional mumbo jumbo is really above your head, in a "trust me" fashion, claiming "It is now time for the focus to be on the United States Senate to produce a plan to take this country forward." If you've been paying attention to politics in the last few months, you know this actually translates to a "Republican party plan to take over the country" while moving forward as the lot of you remain behind and under that forward bus.

West ends his letter to you, his followers, as any "steadfast and loyal Washigton Republican would" with a rallying cry of patriotism wrapped in a flag: 

My fellow Americans, I ask you: If I had voted “No” on the Budget Control Act, who would I have been voting for?"

Who indeed? If you're curious and want an answer to that question, I would suggest you give him a buzz or send him an email in order to find out. Let me know who that is if you get a response, because the suspense is killing me.

Still convinced the Tea Party is a separate group from the Republican Party? Well, here's one more example to ponder. We'll move beyond just Florida.

Tea Party "Darling" Marco Rubio

Where to begin with this one? If you haven't seen through this Republican robot by now, there may be no hope. Still, I'll give it one more try.

This is the guy who many of you think might make a great President one day, or a great VP a little sooner? Take time to read up on him instead of reading his Tweets and listening to his script on the Sunday morning shows. He's a phony.

Fiscal conservative? Sure, if by fiscal conservative you mean not paying your bills and forcing a foreclosure, for starters. Can't get much more conservative than not paying for something I suppose. But there's plenty of investigations working on his past spending habits. For now let's focus on the fact that he is no more of a math whiz than Rick Scott is. He probably has trouble spelling the word "economy" much less understanding how it works. Sign up for Marco Rubio's world, and you'll be working until you drop dead, and if that doesn't kill you, having no health care will. You see he wants to kill everything from Social Secuirty to Medicare (but only AFTER his Mom has collected hers, of course). While Rubio has tries to paint himself as a Tea Party hero when it suits him, it's apparent he's anything but. He'll knock Allen West off that butter churn in a heartbeat and he's been at the Republican game a lot longer. He'll do anything they tell him to.

But most of all, he's been parroting one of the biggest scams of all: "American Exceptionalism." This is his all time favorite,  all purpose "patriotic" calling card. He's used it a lot, but what exactly does it mean? You could look to Rubio himself fr an answer the next time he reads his script on the air, but if you'de like a glimpse of the future from his world view of "American Exceptionalism," here's just a taste of the reality he has in store if he and the Republican/Tea Party scammers get their way when the country can't pay those bills come next Tuesday, and we all slide into default. 

You don't need to take my word for it. This is how some in other parts of the world see the scam for what it is.

From Think Progress:

But as the U.S. inches closer to defaulting on its debts for the first time in history, criticism of Congress is starting to come from beyond our own borders. From France and Germany to China and India, countries around the world are angry that American politicians play with the possibility of a U.S. default like a yo-yo with little regard for the international economic system that depends on American solvency.

Despite China’s traditional preference of staying out of the domestic affairs of other nations, senior Chinese officials’ frustrations are growing louder and louder. Stephen Roach, the non-executive chairman of Morgan Staley Asia, said senior Chinese officials told him the debt ceiling debate in the U.S. is “truly shocking.” “We understand the politics,” a Chinese official said, “but your government’s continued recklessness is astonishing.” And newspapers around the world are voicing discontent with Congress’s handling of the debt ceiling:

Conservative German Die Welt: “[T]here are few signs of self-doubt or self-awareness in the U.S. … [The Tea Party movement] sees the other side as their enemy. Negotiations with the Democrats, whether it’s about appointing a judge or the insolvency of the United States, are only successful if the enemy is defeated. Compromise, they feel, is a sign of weakness and cowardice.”

The German mass-circulation Bild: “What America is currently exhibiting is the worst kind of absurd theatrics and the whole world is being held hostage… Most importantly, the Republicans have turned a dispute over a technicality into a religious war, which no longer has any relation to a reasonable dispute between the elected government and the opposition.”

French newspaper Le Monde:”The American politicians supposed to lead the most powerful nation in the world are becoming a laughing stock.”

Chinese state-owned newspaper Xinhua: “Given the United States’ status as the world’s largest economy and the issuer of the dominant international reserve currency, such political brinksmanship in Washington is dangerously irresponsible.”

The founding documents of many nations around the world take their inspiration from and quote the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. But now, foreigners don’t seem to be too inspired watching the intransigent wing of one political party that controls one house of one branch of the federal government hold the entire U.S. hostage. American soft power has taken a self-inflicted hit as a result of the debt ceiling debate.

Even if Congress manages to forge a deal against the wishes of the Tea Party and deliver a bill to President Obama’s desk raising the debt ceiling before default, the damage to our international standing has already been done. Other nations won’t forget how some members of Congress were so careless to allow the international economy fall into another financial disaster in order to score a few political points.

There's your "American Exceptionalism." Does that sound like the future you've dreamed of?

No? Had enough? Because like it or not, believe it or not, this is what President Obama has been up against all this time. He's been fighting against it on your behalf. Now Republicans are fighting amongst themselves, and all the while this scam is trashing our country, our future, and our standing in the world.

It may not be too late. Call your leaders and tell them to get their act together. 

The scam is over.

Hell No He Can't!

All Gavel, No Votes

Ironic quote of the day:

“When the House takes action today, the United States Senate will have no more excuses for inaction,” Mr. Boehner said Thursday afternoon, just before the debate began. 

Oh really, Mr. Boehner?

Can't wait to hear his excuse for inaction.

Progress Florida Calls For Investigation Of Bondi Foreclosure Firings

Progress Florida has launched a campaign calling for an investigation into Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's recent firing of two attorneys who were conducting successful investigations of foreclosure fraud in the state.

Last May the two were abruptly told to either resign or they would be fired. No explanation was given.

From Progress Florida:

It's bad enough Gov. Rick Scott is hard at work dismantling key consumer protections, but now he has a partner: our own Attorney General Pam Bondi. She seems to think her first duty is to protect some of Gov. Scott’s biggest corporate pals – the banks – instead of hard working Floridians. Recently Bondi fired Florida’s two leading attorneys investigating the epidemic of foreclosure fraud ravaging our communities.

The attorneys investigating foreclosure fraud said they were forced out.

June Clarkson and Theresa Edwards were tasked by then-Attorney General Bill McCollum last year to investigate allegations of widespread fraud taking place in foreclosures occurring around the state. They did their jobs well…perhaps too well for Pam Bondi.

The investigation by Clarkson and Edwards produced a blockbuster presentation entitled “Unfair, Deceptive and Unconscionable Acts in Foreclosure Cases.” The presentation demonstrated numerous outrageous examples of blatant fraud and deception by banks and law firms initiating foreclosures known as “foreclosure mills.” Clarkson and Edward’s work was so effective it was used in other states in prosecuting foreclosure fraud³. Then in May, despite a recent glowing performance evaluation, both attorneys were suddenly told by a supervisor to immediately step down or be fired.

Foreclosures are ripping Florida families and communities apart. Due to investigations by attorneys general in all 50 states, journalists, and citizen activists alike, widespread fraud and abuse by the banks has been uncovered. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s attempt to slow or shut down investigations into illegal activities by banks must be met by thousands of voices of protest from Floridians. Too many of our neighbors are suffering for us to be silent.

Pam Bondi isn't supposed to work for Gov. Scott, her campaign contributors, or the banks. As the people’s attorney she’s supposed to work for us. Join us in making sure she does.

 

 

Memo To MSNBC: Pat Buchanan Needs To Go

When is enough enough?

From a network that routinely suspends and dismisses its anchors for saying things it doesn't like, I can only assume that MSNBC is good with its resident bigot Pat Buchanan. Buchanan, as far as I know, has never been suspended or thrown off the network for making outrageous and offensive statements, and he's done it again. He's now an apologist for the crimes of extremist Anders Breivik in Norway. As Think Progress noted (below) Buchanan seems to think Breivik "may have had a valid point."

Offering his take on the horrendous terrorist attacks in Norway, Buchanan joined the Wall Street Journal and the Jerusalem Post in arguing that the far-right extremist perpetrator Anders Breivik may have had a valid point. Arguing that Breivik was bringing attention to his cause, “a Crusader’s war between the real Europe and the ‘cultural Marxists’ and Muslims,” Buchanan declares that, on the “climactic conflict between a once-Christian West and an Islamic world…Breivik may be right“:

But, awful as this atrocity was, native-born and homegrown terrorism is not the macro-threat to the continent.

That threat comes from a burgeoning Muslim presence in a Europe that has never known mass immigration, its failure to assimilate, its growing alienation, and its sometime sympathy for Islamic militants and terrorists.

Europe faces today an authentic and historic crisis.

With her native-born populations aging, shrinking and dying, Europe’s nations have not discovered how to maintain their prosperity without immigrants. Yet the immigrants who have come – from the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia – have been slow to learn the language and have failed to attain the educational and occupational levels of Europeans. And the welfare states of Europe are breaking under the burden.[...]

As for a climactic conflict between a once-Christian West and an Islamic world that is growing in numbers and advancing inexorably into Europe for the third time in 14 centuries, on this one, Breivik may be right.

The sad reality is that Buchanan helps mainstream anti-Muslim intolerance. A regular MSNBC contributor and frequent guest on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Buchanan once invoked the Nazis’ attempt to march in Skokie, Illinois as an argument against the Islamic Center proposal in New York. He also used this platform to defend Rep. Peter King’s (R-NY) “McCarthyesque hearings” on the threat of terrorism from American Muslims, saying American Muslims are “most susceptible or vulnerable to the recruitment” by terrorists who will “radicalize them and make them enemies of America.”

It's people like Pat Buchanan who fan the flames of intolerance again and again, (and when the flames contribute to an actual fire, they absolve themselves of blame) and you would think that would rate MSNBC disassociating themselves from him. This is only the latest example in a long line of outrageous, bigoted and racist statements Buchanan has made. 

Before I'm accused of not believing in free speech, that isn't the case. Far from it. But MSNBC routinely bans and fires people who don't share their views, and suspends anchors for saying offensive things about FOX-GOP-TV anchors who make statements similar to Buchanan on a regular basis, but if a statement like the one above by one of their own is OK, that's practicing quite a double standard. 

By continuing to put Pat Buchanan on the air and giving him a platform to say things like this brands the network as the same, and we can only assume that Pat Buchanan in turn speaks the views of MSNBC or he, like others, would be banned, suspended or fired. 

Clearly, by their own standards, MSNBC feels the same as Buchanan.

If not, then Pat Buchanan needs to go.

Which "Americans" Are Republicans And John Boehner Speaking Of? (Updated)

(Updated below.)

If you're like me, you're getting really sick of hearing Republicans stand in front of the cameras and say "The American people don't want...(fill in the blank)" and then proceed to tell you a view very far from your own or that of anyone you've ever spoken to who wasn't a rich Republican or member of the Tea Party.

If so, there's a good reason. Here are the latest poll numbers from the Republican manufactured debt ceiling disaster:

Washington Post-ABC News:

The July 14-17 survey showed 77 percent said Republican leadership has been not willing enough to compromise on the issue.

CNN/Opinion Research Poll: 

A CNN/Opinion Research Poll July 18-20 showed 55 percent had an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, compared with 48 percent in a March 11-13 poll.

Reuters/IPSOS Poll:

Showing an intensity of interest among Americans who often ignore the intricacies of policy in Washington, 83 percent of those polled said they were either very or somewhat concerned about the potential for a U.S. debt default on August 2.

The poll found that 56 percent of Americans want to see a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases included in a deal to bring down the U.S. budget deficit and permit a vote to raise the country's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

This is the approach favored by Obama and his fellow Democrats to begin to put America's fiscal house in order.

Republicans oppose tax increases and instead want to cut back deeply on spending, saying the federal budget has gotten out of control.

"It does seem to be that the popular narrative is falling on the side of the president on this one," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

In the poll, 19 percent said the best approach is only to cut existing programs, and 12 percent said only raising taxes would be the favored solution.

Pew Research Center Poll:

Overall, President Obama and the Democrats are winning the debt-ceiling debate as such. As Pew reported, 68 percent of Americans “say that lawmakers who share their views on this issue should compromise, even it means striking a deal they disagree with. Just 23% say lawmakers who share their views should stand by their principles, even if that leads to default.” That’s a margin of nearly 3 to 1. Pew noted that compromise was favored by 81 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of independents – a key number for Obama’s political advisers — and 53 percent of Republicans. The only group that favored risking default consisted of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who said they agree with the Tea Party: 53 percent of them preferred lawmakers to stand by their principles even if it meant pushing the government into default. Just 24 percent of the non-Tea-Party Republicans and Republican leaners took this view. But the Tea Party still seems to be running the show in the House of Representatives at the moment.

This is not to say that the public isn't also growing impatient with the way Democrats have handled the debt ceiling situation, but overall this shows that they are more in sync with President Obama on this. They want the rich to pay their share of taxes for a change. They want Republicans to make reasonable compromises for a change. What a concept.

The other thing that recent polls show is that the American public that John Boehner speaks of do want something done about jobs. This is of course what Boehner and the Republicans ran on in the last election: jobs, jobs, jobs, to quote the Speaker, a subject he has scarcely spoken of since.

He says the American people are with him on cuts, cuts, cuts, but they're clearly not. They want jobs, and are asking him the question he tossed around before last November: "Where are the jobs?"

I can tell you where the jobs won't be found. In Boehner's latest budget plan:

It’s a plan that the usually “mild-mannered” Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is describing as “tantamount to a form of ‘class warfare’” that “if enacted, it could well produce the greatest increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern U.S. history.” Since Boehner’s blueprint contains no tax increases and his first round of cuts targets discretionary spending, the joint committee will have no choice but to achieve its $1.8 trillion in budget reductions by cutting entitlement spending, Greenstein explains:

– As a result, virtually all of that $1.8 trillion would come from entitlement programs. They would have to be cut more than $1.5 trillion in order to produce sufficient interest savings to achieve $1.8 trillion in total savings.

– To secure $1.5 trillion in entitlement savings over the next ten years would require draconian policy changes. Policymakers would essentially have three choices: 1) cut Social Security and Medicare benefits heavily for current retirees, something that all budget plans from both parties (including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan) have ruled out; 2) repeal the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions while retaining its measures that cut Medicare payments and raise tax revenues, even though Republicans seek to repeal many of those measures as well; or 3) eviscerate the safety net for low-income children, parents, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. There is no other plausible way to get $1.5 trillion in entitlement cuts in the next ten years. [...]

In short, the Boehner plan would force policymakers to choose among cutting the incomes and health benefits of ordinary retirees, repealing the guts of health reform and leaving an estimated 34 million more Americans uninsured, and savaging the safety net for the poor. It would do so even as it shielded all tax breaks, including the many lucrative tax breaks for the wealthiest and most powerful individuals and corporations.

I say it's not just a question of where are the jobs, but where are these Americans you're speaking of Mr. Boehner?

UPDATE:

Boehner proved again today that he's not concerned with what everyday Americans want, and instead only concerned with a plan the Democrats and the President will hate, and therefore not what these polls show, what Americans want.

From Steve Benen:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is obviously scrambling to secure as much Republican support for his budget plan as possible, and took his sales pitch to Laura Ingraham’s radio show this morning. One line in particular stood out:

A large number of conservative Republicans are opposing Boehner’s proposal, arguing it does not go far enough in reducing government spending.

 

But Boehner said he couldn’t understand why any Republicans would position themselves with Democrats opposing his plan.

 

“Barack Obama hates it, Harry Reid hates it, Nancy Pelosi hates it,” he said, naming off the Democratic leadership.

Now, at a certain level, it makes sense that the House Speaker would try to rally his side by leveraging partisan feelings. Boehner probably figures Republicans will be more likely to support a plan that Democrats “hate.”

But let’s not lose sight of the larger context here. The United States is in the midst of a crisis of Republicans’ making, and a potentially catastrophic deadline is just days away. We have a Republican-led House, a Democratic-led Senate, and a Democratic White House, so the nation will need a solution that can generate approval from all three institutions.

Speaker Boehner, meanwhile, isn’t just abandoning the search for a bipartisan solution; he’s publicly bragging about pushing a plan he knows isn’t a bipartisan solution.

 

 

A Lesson In Economics For Gov. Rick Scott

Call me crazy, but I think when someone is elected to higher office, there should be a requirement that they know a little something about governing before you put them in charge of running the government. I'm a stickler that way. Otherwise it's kind of like giving your car keys to a child and saying "here you go Timmy, let's see what you can do!" Just because a child can physically reach the gas pedal and see over the steering wheel doesn't mean you should actually let them drive.

That pretty much sums up the world of Florida Gov. WTF? Rick Scott. A little over a week ago Scott dazzled the locals with his views on the Republican/Tea Party manufactured debt ceiling hostage crisis which I wrote about here. At the time Scott said he didn't anticipate any halt in the flow of federal money to Florida. Generally speaking, he said, the federal government needs to live within its means and stop borrowing money.

It appears that a vacation didn't clear the cobwebs from his head, or he is actually that clueless and no one pulled him aside and explained how the world actually works. My money's on the latter.

This morning he went on national television to prove once again that he has no idea what he's talking about and elaborated on his view that the debt ceiling should not be raised:

Scott said the federal government should act like a family with one parent out of work or a business that has lost income. "They have to stop borrowing money," he said. "Our government is no different."

I'll get back to this ridiculous statement in a minute, but first, CNN hosts tried to clue him in on the errors of his reasoning, but even with help from CNN of all places, he still insisted the debt ceiling shouldn't be raised while using it as an excuse for his all purpose government band-aid: outsourcing. Seriously.

Romans asked Scott what he would prioritize if the debt ceiling was frozen. Such a move, she said, would leave enough money for Social Security, active duty military and debt interest payments and little else. That would mean huge cuts or the elimination of food stamps, disaster relief and federal education grants.

Scott said he'd outsource those things.

"You go through the most important things and then you have to cut back," Scott said.

"You have to figure out what do companies do," he said. "What they have to do, they have to say, 'You know what? I could outsource that and I could do it less expensively. You know, we don't need to do that to get the revenues we need. We can figure out a way to do that less expensively.'"

Well, Scott is well on his way to outsourcing disaster relief and education in Florida even without the added "benefit" of a government default that he and his Teabag ilk lust for. But outsourcing food stamps? That's a new one. (Keep in mind this is also the guy who went to court to block a blind woman from getting her food stamps.)

Outsourcing aside, lets get back to the governor's twisted logic on budgets and bill paying. Even when Scott is handed a dose of reality on the air from anchors on CNN (which is shocking in and of itself, I know.) he forged ahead on the record, again, illustrating that he doesn't understand the basics of economics (which he personally outsources to accountants):

"Your opinion and your advice here runs counter to what just about everyone from both parties are saying and it goes against what everyone in the financial markets is telling me and 15 years of my own capital markets reporting experience," CNN host Christine Romans, right, said winding up to her first question for Scott. "So tell me exactly why (not) raising the debt ceiling wouldn't have an effect on markets, the economy or states?"

Scott said the federal government should act like a family with one parent out of work or a business that has lost income. "They have to stop borrowing money," he said. "Our government is no different."

Earth to Rick Scott: this isn't a debate over "borrowing money" and determining where to spend it. This is about an eight year credit card spending binge that George W. Bush and the Republicans went on, and the "debate" is whether or not we're now going to pay the bill.

Or, to put it into terms that Gov. Scott might understand, say last month you went to, oh I don't know, Montana, feasted your eyes on a 60.6-acre property with a  $1.45 million mansion that was up for sale, decided to buy it and told the seller something like "hey I'm a multimillionaire, I'm good for it. Trust me." Fast forward to a month later and the seller takes you at your word and wants his money, and you say "I'm sorry, but I'm a little strapped for cash right now so I've decided not to pay you."

This is the logic of government belt tightening in the warped mind of Rick Scott and his Republican Tea Nut friends. Live beyond your means, then stick others with the bill.

That's the "debate" we're having now. A Republican manufactured crisis. The Republicans allowed the rich to stop paying taxes and bought mansions both here and in Iraq among other things, and now they expect the poorest among us to pay the bill that they refuse to own. Never mind that many of those stuck with the bill may already be homeless, without health care, or won't be able to collect on Social Security and Medicare that they've already paid into for decades. If Rick Scott and the Republicans get their way, that's the world we'll all live in.

Like a potentially future Florida, that world would probably look something like a cross between Las Vegas, Somalia, and Pottersville from "It's A Wonderful Life." 

If you let a child get behind the wheel of there's a good chance it will end in a car wreck, and so it goes when you elect (yes, I'll say it) idiots to govern. What would you expect to happen?

We despearately need to put some adults in charge and the next election can't come soon enough. Let's just hope it isn't too late. 

Allen West Volunteers To Drive GOP Clown Car And The Country Over The Cliff

Fresh from attacking U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz for pointing out the fact that he supported a plan that would make deep cuts to Medicare among other things with the House "Cut, Cap and Balance" demands in the debt ceiling hostage crisis, Allen West has been at it again, proving that he is "a gentleman who deserves great respect."

This time he did so again while throwing his support behind yesterday's "new plan" presented by House Speaker John Boehner. That plan of course was a rewrite of the Cut, Cap and Balance plan, which was itself a rewrite of the Ryan plan. The only big changes being that each plan basically doubles down on the already draconian cuts of the previous version.

If there's any doubt that the Republican/Tea-Nuts really enjoy sticking it to our President while cutting off the nation's poor at the knees, this should certainly remove any trace of it:

From Think Progress:

According to the Washington Post, the House GOP leadership played a short clip from the Ben Affleck movie “The Town” to rally their caucus around Boehner’s debt plan:

Ben Affleck: I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And we’re going to hurt some people.

 Jeremy Renner: Which car are we going to take?

Here is where the "gentleman from south Florida" chimes in:

According to the Washington Post, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) replied “I’m ready to drive the car.”

In the movie, the characters then put on hockey masks and bludgeon two men with sticks, then shoot one man in the leg.

Yes, this is what the Congress of the United States has been reduced to.

Full. Tilt. Insanity.

And Allen West is driving the car containing the Speaker of the House who can't do math but pulls a plan out of....wherever,  jots it down and quickly runs it by Rush Limbaugh for approval before taking it to his caucus, who have sworn they'll never raise taxes so that they may worship at the altar of Grover Norquist, the Koch brothers and the oil companies.

Unfortunately the clan got psyched up at their violent version of a pep rally all for naught. Allen West never even made it behind the wheel before Boehner's plan was shot down not only by several members of his own party, but the Congressional Budget Office as well:

In real life, Boehner has since decided to rewrite his plan and delayed a vote until “Thursday or Friday,” after failing to secure enough support for the current version.

That's right. Time for yet another rewrite.

Six days and counting before we hit the debt ceiling and the country defaults, at which time one might expect to find the Speaker of the House under the table, and Allen West cruising the want ads.

Good luck with that.

 

"If You Want To Be A Leader, You've Got To Lead"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It doesn't get much clearer than this.

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Allen West And Jane Hamsher, Angry Birds Of A Feather?

You know what they say about Republicans in Florida these days:

Republicans. Can't live with 'em. Can't live....with 'em.

Well take heart Florida, this week The Nation's online edition feels your pain. They've noticed that Florida has its share of off the rails Tea Party Republicans, and they've honored them in a slideshow feature entitled "13 Republicans Too Radical For Their Constituents." Yes, I say them, because of those 13 Tea-nuts, three, count them, three are from Florida:

Rick Scott, of course because he's the worst and least popular Governor in America after only six months in office, among other things on a long list.

Then there's David Rivera who managed to get elected in the midst of his ethics scandals. In spite of welcoming him to Washington with a "what could go wrong?" attitude, the Republican Party is now rethinking that move and he has become such a ball and chain that they won't let him play in any reindeer games be inviting him to a big upcoming fundraiser back home.

Then finally there's the crown jewel of crazy town, Allen West. Where to begin.....

Well, Allen West seems determined to hang on to that reputation right up until he loses his reelection, and this week he's doubled down.

First, in a post on a website called Red County, he wrote of the farce he and his colleagues are conducting over the debt ceiling fight against the President, Democrats in Congress and against the American people. He had choice words in particular for those who support President Obama during his rant of party line misinformation:

I must confess, when I see anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool.

Wow. So apparently he sees anyone with a grasp of, oh I don't know, facts, as an obvious threat to the "Mensa" gene pool he came from. Lucky for him, when he loses his reelection and finds himself out of a job, I suppose he could always keep writing blog posts like that one for Jane Hamsher who shares his feelings towards anyone who supports President Obama. I won't repeat her "colorful" little outburst of ugly bile here, but you can use your imagination or click on the link above and read it for yourself.

West continued his foul rants today when he lashed out at  fellow U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz for calling him out on what his and the Republican's "Cut, Cap, and Balance" legislation to raise the debt ceiling would actually mean for his constituents:

"The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida," Wasserman Schultz said, saying the legislation "slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas."

In response West wrote this email to Wasserman Shultz along with members of the House Republican and Democratic leadership and his chief-of-staff:

Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz 

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)

Yes, how dare she let actual facts get in the way of his Tea Party snow job! Republicans get pretty testy these days when you point them out:

Facts. Pesky little things. 

(As I was writing this post, Jane Hamsher actually appeared on The Ed Show on MSNBC to comment on West's tirade. After acting as if she were above this kind of thing, she then proceeded to push her own twist of the Obama debt ceiling particulars, minus the four letter words. Angry birds of a feather.)

Wasserman Shultz responded:

I don't think that Congressman West is upset at the Congresswoman, but rather with the fact that she highlighted that he and other Republicans are once again trying to balance the budget on the backs of seniors, children and the middle class.

As someone who lives in Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz's Congressional district, Congressman West knows that we have hundreds of thousands of seniors in South Florida who have paid into Medicare throughout their lives and now rely on this program to keep them healthy and active.

The truth hurts.

Yes, the truth certainly does hurt. It also gets in the way of a good narrative, whether you're a greedy Republican desperate to stay in power or an angry blogger with an "agenda" who lashes out at anyone who disagrees with her.

Ka-ching!

Who Does Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Represent, Exactly?

Whose Interests Is Pam Bondi Looking Out For?

Who does Pam Bondi represent? It's supposed to be the people of Florida, but they haven't noticed much evidence of that on two very important issues, and they're starting to ask that question.

Her pet project since she was elected has been to make sure Floridians are "protected" from good, affordable health care, or the evil "ObamaCare" as she, Rick Scott and all the other Tea Party folks like to refer to it. She has continued the crusade begun by former Attorney General Bill McCollum, at our expense no less.

When she ran for office, we were in the midst of the disaster from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. At the time Bondi talked tough about the spill claiming she would even consider criminal charges if necessary. Now?

"Oil spill? What oil spill?"

A year after BP capped the oil gusher in the Gulf, crude oil and tar balls still wash ashore from the spill that covered 491 miles of coastline from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Oil mats remain down below that some fear pose more danger if removed rather than left where they are. Despite the appearance of claims BP and Rick Scott seem to push:  "Hey, it's all good!" Well, it's not all good.

So where is Pam Bondi in all this? Good question. Last week Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a lawsuit against the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and its director, Ken Feinberg, seeking documents that would make certain the BP oil spill claims process has been fair. That state had subpoenaed Feinberg in February and Hood was not satisfied with the response, so the state of Mississippi sued.

The Pensacola News Journal puts it this way:

We have just two questions regarding a lawsuit filed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, a lawsuit to get documents regarding BP oil claims:

Where is Florida?

Where is Pam Bondi, our attorney general?

We realize, and we applaud, that both Bondi and Gov. Rick Scott have asked for much of the same documentation. But it should be noted that such a request has been so effective that Mississippi is now filing a lawsuit.

We have long felt that the claims process has been cloaked in secrecy and that the public should be given a full account of how much, and to what groups, BP money has been dispensed. There remain, even a year after the oil disaster hit our beaches, far too many questions about the fairness of the process.

Frankly, we had hoped that Bondi would have taken the lawsuit lead on this, and not someone from Mississippi.

Florida's attorney general's office has been hot to join other states in lawsuits, such as the lawsuit against the so-called "Obamacare'' plan. But when it comes down to fighting for Floridians who lived with oil last year, Florida's new AG has stepped back to let Mississippi take the lead.

So, we have one more question:

Why?

Why indeed.

You could also ask the same on the foreclosure crisis in Florida. Who does Pam Bondi represent, and what is she doing about that? Last May, two investigators working on behalf of the Attorney General's office who had been conducting an investigation for two years on fraudulent foreclosure practices in Florida were abruptly forced to resign. Why? Well, those investigators would like to know the answer to that question too.

“It just came out of nowhere,” said [Theresa] Edwards, who had worked in the attorney general’s economic crimes section for more than three years. “We were completely stunned.”

Less than a month before they were forced out, a supervisor cited their work as “instrumental in triggering a nationwide review of such practices.” Now, Edwards is convinced their sudden dismissals will have “a chilling effect” on those probes into the shoddy foreclosure practices that caused national outrage when they made headlines last fall.

Although similar abuses have occurred throughout the country, they have been particularly rampant in Florida, which was ground zero for the housing bust and is home to a collection of large law firms that were hired by the financial industry to relentlessly churn out foreclosures in recent years. That made the investigations headed by Edwards and Clarkson among the earliest and most closely watched by officials across the country.

A spokeswoman for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to comment on what she cited as internal personnel matters but said in an e-mail that the foreclosure investigations remain a top priority.

“We were farther along in our investigation because we had dug a little deeper than anybody else,” Edwards said. “We kept opening up more and more investigations, more and more cases.”

Their work won them accolades. In the evaluation provided by Edwards, a supervisor wrote that the pair had “achieved what is believed to be the first settlement in the United States relating to law firm foreclosure mills” — a multimillion-dollar settlement a month earlier with a Fort Lauderdale firm.

Despite that praise, Edwards and Clarkson said in separate interviews that they sensed a change when Bondi took office in January. Almost immediately, they said, supervisors began to question their findings and demand details about how they were gathering information.

Then at a meeting in May the two were suddenly told they could either resign or be fired. No explanation, no severance pay or two weeks notice, and they were locked out without any chance to brief others on the cases.

Bondi isn't commenting, beyond this:

A spokeswoman for Bondi, Jennifer Krell Davis, said the economic crimes division “continues to actively pursue the investigations into foreclosure law firms.” She said the division’s director, Richard Lawson, is leading the inquiry into one of the state’s largest foreclosure firms and is supervising other cases.

“The division has made these investigations a top priority and will continue to actively pursue all of our investigations into foreclosure law firms,” Davis said in an e-mail, adding that Lawson had assigned 14 attorneys and investigators to work on the cases that belonged to Edwards and Clarkson.

If it's a "top priority" it would stand to reason that investigators who know the cases inside and out would be a might big asset. Again, lots of questions, few answers.

If only Pam Bondi would "actively pursue" the investigations into oil spill claims and shady foreclosures on Floridians behalf as aggressively as she has tried to take away their health care.

Florida can't afford it, but we're paying the price in more ways than one.