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[KingK]

Yeah, it is kinda hard not to go for the "a Jew in Hitler's army" analogy. What is it that keeps them in GOP? Huge greed for tax cuts? Self-loathing? Religion?

Well, it's not like gay people are lynched by mobs or stoned to death in America or anything. If you're a wealthy gay person who doesn't really care about getting married anytime soon and hates taxes then I could see it.

 

[Retro]

Well, it's not like gay people are lynched by mobs or stoned to death in America or anything.

They're not? (Can't tell if you were being sarcastic or not)

 

[PhoenixDark]

I don't understand Log Cabin Republicans at all. I mean sure, cue that scene from The Newsroom where Santorum's gay black policy advisor goes off on Jeff Daniels about how he is not defined by his race or sexuality, but I just can't put my mind in the headspace where I would value all other aspects of the Republican platform over the fact that if they had their way they would criminalize my existence.

They're more than their sexuality. A gay person who is a fiscal conservative or believes government should be limited might vote for republicans to advance those goals. There are plenty of black people who don't support abortion or gay marriage yet continue to vote democrat for economic reasons. I wouldn't knock a gay person for making a similar hedge on the republican party...unless he was a full blown shill trying to argue republicans are the ones who are making progress on gay rights (which some Log Cabin republicans actually say with a straight face).

 

[Mike M]

They're more than their sexuality. A gay person who is a fiscal conservative or believes government should be limited might vote for republicans to advance those goals. There are plenty of black people who don't support abortion or gay marriage yet continue to vote democrat for economic reasons. I wouldn't knock a gay person for making a similar hedge on the republican party...unless he was a full blown shill trying to argue republicans are the ones who are making progress on gay rights (which some Log Cabin republicans actually say with a straight face).

I don't think that's quite an analogous example since denying rights to black people is not a plank of the Democratic platform.

 

[RustyNails]

They're not? (Can't tell if you were being sarcastic or not)

You must be new to poligaf. Half the stuff here is sarcasm.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I don't think that's quite an analogous example since denying rights to black people is not a plank of the Democratic platform.

The point is about deeply held personal or moral views. A gay people would likely view gay marriage equality as an issue of paramount personal and moral importance, a Christian might view abortion similarly. Yet both could instead vote for their economic interests,

 

[Retro]

You must be new to poligaf. Half the stuff here is sarcasm.

I kind of knew it was sarcasm, deep down, but I just couldn't stop myself on the off-chance that it wasn't.

 

[Gotchaye]

Yeah, it is kinda hard not to go for the "a Jew in Hitler's army" analogy. What is it that keeps them in GOP? Huge greed for tax cuts? Self-loathing? Religion?

It's just not very hard to imagine a gay person caring about a bunch of other things more than he or she cares about the practical differences between Democrats and Republicans on gay rights. Gay Republicans are a little surprising just because it's not terribly clear what the rational appeal of the Republican platform is, if you're not rich, and gay people are going to be much less sympathetic to the party's cultural appeals (but they're not immune - someone could think the party unfortunately misguided in its attitudes towards gay people but right on with respect to poor people or immigrants or black people or women, or could be a gun nut).

The main obstacle is not a practical one, surely. The major gay rights battle we're having now - marriage - is largely about a symbol. I don't mean to ignore the practical advantages that married couples get, but mostly people (on both sides) care about this because it's about the state saying or not saying that some kinds of relationships are better than others. Many gay people are also not going to be in situations where they need to be worried much about being fired for being gay. So maybe lots of gay Republicans just don't care much about what are to many of them just symbolic issues. The worst you can say about them is that they should be expected to have more sympathy for other gay people for whom these issues are of more practical importance, but we're getting awfully close to calling them Uncle Toms at that point.

 

[speculawyer]

They're more than their sexuality. A gay person who is a fiscal conservative or believes government should be limited might vote for republicans to advance those goals. There are plenty of black people who don't support abortion or gay marriage yet continue to vote democrat for economic reasons. I wouldn't knock a gay person for making a similar hedge on the republican party...unless he was a full blown shill trying to argue republicans are the ones who are making progress on gay rights (which some Log Cabin republicans actually say with a straight face).

Well I do. They are placing their personal liberty & self-respect below selfish economic interests. I can understand it but I do not respect it.

 

[benjipwns]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/when-...s-treason.-now-its-a-mistake./article/2549026

Many observers seem satisfied with the White House's explanation that the incident was just a regrettable error. And that is indeed what it appears to be. But such assessments represent a remarkable change in tone from the discussion several years ago, when the George W. Bush administration leaked Valerie Plame's identity as part of a bitter fight over the origin and direction of the Iraq war. Back then, it was quite common to hear the words "traitor" and "treason" used to describe top Bush officials involved in the controversy.

There's no doubt the Bush officials deliberately revealed Plame's CIA connection, if not her name, to the press. But the Plame leak could be characterized as inadvertent in one sense: the leakers, both in the State Department and the White House, did not know that Plame's status at the CIA was classified when they mentioned her to reporters. That is why no one was ever charged with leaking her identity; they did not knowingly and deliberately reveal classified information. So in that sense it was all a mistake. Yes, it was inadvertent, colossally stupid, an embarrassment -- but it was a mistake.

No matter. Pushed relentlessly by Democrats, the White House agreed to the appointment of a special prosecutor in the CIA leak case, which led to years of investigation -- top Bush aide Karl Rove was called before a grand jury five times -- and the conviction of former top Dick Cheney aide Scooter Libby on charges of perjury.

Now that a high-profile inadvertent leak is in the news again, perhaps it would be a good thing, just for memory's sake, to go through some of the things that were said during the Plame affair.

...

Fast-forward a few years, and there has now been another leak of a CIA employee's classified status. The circumstances are entirely different from the Plame case. But they are similar in the sense that the person doing the leaking, then and now, most likely did not know that he or she was revealing classified information. Was one an act treason and the other an embarrassing mistake?

That's what Plame suggests. The new leak, she explained at The Atlantic gathering, "is not analogous, I would argue, to what happened to me because the crucial distinction being intent, right? My view of it is that there was retaliation for my husband, Joe Wilson, who was a fierce critic, I think it's fair to say, of the Iraq war, the Bush administration. It was a warning shot —versus this, which was just foolish."

There's been no reaction, at least not yet, from the now-former chief of station in Afghanistan.

 

[rocketknight]

http://www.real-time-with-bill-mahe...s-fair-and-balanced-desire-unabridged-edition

It was Rachel Winterhaven’s first day at Metro General For-Profit Hospital. She was a home-schooled virgin brain nurse, but under her icy exterior, there was a passion that burned like an under-protected Libyan embassy.

“Dammit,” said Dr. Dax Ransom, tearing off his surgical mask. “That’s the third one I’ve lost today! Damn you knockout game! Damn you to hell!”

Dr. Dax Ransom was the CEO of surgery at Metro General. Haughty. Distant. A widower, his wife had died in the War on Christmas. He swore he’d never love again, until he saw Rachel, and his manhood strained at the thin fabric of his khakis, growing ever and ever larger, like the deficit under Obama.

A single bead of sweat lingered in the warm valley between Rachel’s breasts. But just due to normal, hot weather – not significant climate disruption caused by carbon emissions.

 

[PhoenixDark]

GOP Michigan Guv Backs LGBT Workplace Protections

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Thursday urged the legislature to amend state civil rights law to include protections for gays and lesbians, according to Detroit News.

State law prohibits discrimination based on "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status or marital status," but not sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the Huffington Post.

"I don’t believe in discrimination," Snyder told Crain's Detroit Business. "I hope that’s something the Legislature will take up sometime this year."

He did not say whether he would sign a bill if it passed in the legislature, according to Crain's.

While Snyder signaled his support for gay rights, he has not taken a stance on same-sex marriage. When a federal court struck down the state's ban on gay marriage, Snyder said he would follow court orders but declined to state his personal view.

“If a federal judge changes the law…then I’m going to follow what’s been redefined as the law,” he said in March. “So I am not spending time [on] the issue itself."

In February however, Snyder's office asked a judge to uphold Michigan's ban on providing benefits to same-sex couples, arguing that it saved the state money.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/snyder-backs-lgbt-protections

redeeming my vote, one decision at a time

 

[benjipwns]

He and Peters seem to be moving into a strong position poll wise.

 

[WayneMorse]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2..._bad_candidates_it_s_the_democrats_fault.html

Looks like Gary Peters lucked out, Terri Lynn Land seems to be quite the atrocious campaigner.

She didn’t want to do the traditional media scrum, a normal fixture for politicians where reporters gather round in tight quarters and throw questions at the candidate. She preferred one-on-one interviews with reporters, but eventually agreed to the scrum. And the microphones, cameras and cell phone recorders emerged in her face.

At one point, looking slightly panicked and clearly uncomfortable, she pushed microphones away and said: “I can’t do this. I talk with my hands.”

And when confronted with several questions, regarding whether she would have voted for the federal bailout for General Motors and Chrysler (she has said she didn’t support the bailout), she repeated a rote answer: “I support the autoworkers. I’m glad the autos are doing well.”

After 2½ minutes, her spokeswoman uttered the words reporters hate — “Last question” — and quickly whisked her away.

 

[Chichikov]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/when-...s-treason.-now-its-a-mistake./article/2549026

Holy false equivalence batman!
The Bush administration ousted Plame for pure political reasons, specifically, trying to discredit someone who challenged the idea the Saddam has WMDs

What political reasons do Obama has for this fuckup?

Also, LO fucking L as trying to paint the Libby indictment as a political witch hunt, the CIA asked for it, the DOJ prosecuted it.
The only political thing about that trial was the pardon GWB granted him.

 

[benjipwns]

Bush only commuted his sentence, something Cheney is still salty about to this day. It apparently ended whatever was left of their friendship. (And helped nail in that final wedge between the old Ford-Bush hands and the new blood like Rice.)

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Does anybody really take Ben Carson seriously?

 

[Avon Barksdale]

What happened to all of the whats-the-matter-with-kansas posts chiding people for "not voting based on their economic self-interest"?

When you vote Republican, you're mostly voting against your own self-interest.

 

[B-Dubs]

Does anybody really take Ben Carson seriously?

I just wish he never got into politics. I remember reading his book and seeing the movie and coming away impressed. It's just a damn shame.

 

[Armoured Priest]

I just wish he never got into politics. I remember reading his book and seeing the movie and coming away impressed. It's just a damn shame.

Agreed. It's a prime example of why (IMO) schools should spend some time teaching Logic. You usually get a little bit of Formal Logic in math classes (at least at "reasonably funded" schools). Going over Informal Logic would be helpful. The whole Ben Carson thing just reminds me how often I see the "Appeal to Authority" fallacy these days.

smh

 

[PhoenixDark]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2..._bad_candidates_it_s_the_democrats_fault.html

Looks like Gary Peters lucked out, Terri Lynn Land seems to be quite the atrocious campaigner.

Peters was going to win regardless, Michigan is fools gold for republicans. In 2012 republicans were claiming Stabenow was in trouble due to close 3-5 point leads, and on election night she won by double digits. It's like Pennsylvania, specifically Philly: voters are bussed to polls with machine like precision in Detroit.

But yes, Land is a horrible candidate and trying to hide her beliefs . Here's what I don't understand : the vast majority of people in Michigan supported the bailout, what is the harm in just saying you would have voted for it, even if you're lying? She already has the GOP nomination, and there are more independent votes to chase than tea party ones. Why not just run a Trojan horse campaign. She's already claiming to support the Medicaid expansion while calling for ACA repeal, after all.

 

[Wilsongt]

Samuel Wurzelbacher -- better known as Joe the Plumber -- likes guns. And he wants everyone to know why.

"Guns are mostly for hunting down politicians who would actively seek to take your freedoms and liberty away from you," Wurzelbacher wrote on Thursday in a blog post on his website. "Google 'Hitler, Mao, Kim Jung Il, Castro, Stalin' just for starters."

Insert obligatory "Obummer" for teatards.

-Whistles don’t protect women from rape – a Glock does!

-When armed men come into your house to steal, a baseball bat doesn’t cut it. Unless you have an automatic-baseball bat. I want one of those – email me.

-When a nut-job decides to go on a killing spree and the cops are 5 to 15 minutes away, you are screwed unless you are carrying a Colt.

-And – this is the most important one:

Guns are mostly for hunting down politicians who would actively seek to take your freedoms and liberty away from you. Google “Hitler, Mao, Kim Jung Il, Castro, Stalin” just for starters.

As far as me being nice, cordial, respectful – don’t hurt people’s feelings… bla bla? We tried that and look where it got us?

This guy...

Spoiler

TPM sensation

 

[Cloudy]

Can't believe the gutless Democrats forced Shinseki to resign

 

[speculawyer]

What happened to all of the whats-the-matter-with-kansas posts chiding people for "not voting based on their economic self-interest"?

Well yeah . . . that is a good criticism of that attitude. Because many of those voters are voting against their own economic self-interest based on other principles. I just don't think they are good principles. They are mainly gays, guns, and abortion.

The gays one still exists but is going away. And it now hurts them more than helps them.

The guns one is a sad fetish that much on the right has taken a loopy absolutist stand on. I think this one will eventually fall but it is going to take thousands of more dead children. The Dems are not trying to ban guns, just close the gunshow loophole, background checks on ALL sales, etc.

But abortion is the most difficult one. I think that if abortion were to magically disappear as an issue, the GOP would immediately implode. But it is not going away. I disagree with the right on this one but I can understand how many religious people take a strong stance on this. (I just think it is an impractical & superstition-based stance.)

 

[Armoured Priest]

Well yeah . . . that is a good criticism of that attitude. Because many of those voters are voting against their own economic self-interest based on other principles. I just don't think they are good principles. They are mainly gays, guns, and abortion.

The gays one still exists but is going away. And it now hurts them more than helps them.

The guns one is a sad fetish that much on the right has taken a loopy absolutist stand on. I think this one will eventually fall but it is going to take thousands of more dead children. The Dems are not trying to ban guns, just close the gunshow loophole, background checks on ALL sales, etc.

But abortion is the most difficult one. I think that if abortion were to magically disappear as an issue, the GOP would immediately implode. But it is not going away. I disagree with the right on this one but I can understand how many religious people take a strong stance on this. (I just think it is an impractical & superstition-based stance.)

i think the Abortion issue would become less of one if:
1. When a complication arises with the pregnancy that threatens the mother's life, you deal with it in a rational way
2. If the adoption system in the US weren't broken all to hell.
3. If the foster care system in the US weren't broken all to hell.
4. If contraception aid wasn't also fought against tooth and nail.

...that, unfortunately, is a lot of "Ifs" and even then there would still be some with an axe to grind (and this is ignoring the whole wrong minded "power over women" issue).

So, yeah, its not going away any time soon.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

Does anybody really take Ben Carson seriously?

He's taken seriously be conservatives.
Academia (or as conservatives call it, elitism) is notoriously liberal. So few in academia at least actively identify with the Republican party.

Having a black member of academia rant against Obama only validates their arguments.
Because the libruls can't turn around and say their arguments are racist when a black guy is saying it.

But we do need to remind ourselves this guy doesn't believe in evolution and is a creationist.
His area of expertise is highly specialized and seems to be limited to that. He does not seem to be an expert of health care policy and administration, biology, and other politics.

 

[metalslimer]

I don't think it's really fair to wonder why gay people could vote republican for what they believe just because you think the rest of the republican platform is foolish.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Now this is hilarious

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/05/guess-the-median-age-of-megyn-kellys-audience.html

And it turns out Kelly is bringing down the age of her audience — all the way down to a sprightly median age of 71.7 years old. Her audience agrees with her that Jesus was white because they knew him when he was still alive.

 

[speculawyer]

I don't think it's really fair to wonder why gay people could vote republican for what they believe just because you think the rest of the republican platform is foolish.

It's not fair to wonder?

Thoughtcrime!

 

[speculawyer]

"Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson preached to the Republican Leadership Conference on Thursday, telling the GOP to "get godly" and referring to statements from the White House as "evil."

"You can't be right for America if you're wrong with God," Robertson said, according to The Times-Picayune. And, if "you want to turn the Republican party around, get godly," he told the crowd.

Robertson, a late addition to the conference schedule, "spoke in a somewhat meandering fashion for about half an hour," The Washington Post reported. He said he was surprised to be asked to speak, but he rallied Republicans as he touched on guns and his opposition to the separation of church and state.

In regard to President Barack Obama, he said: “We’re up against evil like I’ve never seen in my life. I’m sitting there and I’m thinking, ‘What’s coming out of the White House?' The only thing I can tell you folks is it’s just downright embarrassing.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/duck-dynasty-gop_n_5417388.html

The thing that cracks me up is he looks like a ranting Mullah in that picture.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

He's taken seriously be conservatives.
Academia (or as conservatives call it, elitism) is notoriously liberal. So few in academia at least actively identify with the Republican party.

Having a black member of academia rant against Obama only validates their arguments.
Because the libruls can't turn around and say their arguments are racist when a black guy is saying it.

But we do need to remind ourselves this guy doesn't believe in evolution and is a creationist.
His area of expertise is highly specialized and seems to be limited to that. He does not seem to be an expert of health care policy and administration, biology, and other politics.

I posted that cause I was flipping around and saw him on the 700 club (I was really bored). He was just spewing nonsense. I can tell hes a really smart guy but I can't square it with the stupidity I always here coming from his mouth.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Now this is hilarious

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/05/guess-the-median-age-of-megyn-kellys-audience.html

They want the country the Founding Fathers gave them because they were around when the Founding Fathers gave it to them.

 

[Wilsongt]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/duck-dynasty-gop_n_5417388.html

The thing that cracks me up is he looks like a ranting Mullah in that picture.

Great. Giving a reality star a platform to talk about real hard-hitting issues.

This is the modern day GOP, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Seems like Carney got sick of all the lies and coverups in the #MostCorruptAdministrationEver

 

[GaimeGuy]

Great. Giving a reality star a platform to talk about real hard-hitting issues.

This is the modern day GOP, ladies and gentlemen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_actor-politicians#USA


It's funny how Republicans tried to paint obama as a celebrity while being the party of Ronald Reagan and flirting with changes to election law for a Schwarzenegger presidential run.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Can't believe the gutless Democrats forced Shinseki to resign

Meh. There was no way he was going to survive that report, even if a lot of it isn't his fault. But the fact remains the VA is poorly run, and whether you like it or not the guy at the top is always going to fall when the shit hits the fan.

November is going to be ugly.

 

[thepotatoman]

Meh. There was no way he was going to survive that report, even if a lot of it isn't his fault. But the fact remains the VA is poorly run, and whether you like it or not the guy at the top is always going to fall when the shit hits the fan.

November is going to be ugly.

I think he could have a chance to survive it if he came off as someone you could be confident in fixing it, but handling the media clearly isn't a strong point of his. Besides, I know if I were in his position I would not want to be given a second chance knowing that I'm going to blow the second chance no matter what, because you can't really do anything to fix it without congress giving you money.

Edit: Unless we're in October, things like this don't mean crap for november. We're still like 15 news cycles away from election day. I sometimes worry about effects that events like Ukraine have because it's possible that October is the month that Russia goes all in, but I'm not sure how the VA story will remain interesting enough for people to still care 5 months from now.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Great. Giving a reality star a platform to talk about real hard-hitting issues.

This is the modern day GOP, ladies and gentlemen.

Well, too be fair... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_aiken#Politics

 

[Avon Barksdale]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2..._bad_candidates_it_s_the_democrats_fault.html

Looks like Gary Peters lucked out, Terri Lynn Land seems to be quite the atrocious campaigner.

Paper candidate.

 

[thepotatoman]

Well, too be fair... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_aiken#Politics

There's a difference between a celebrity deciding to run for office, and giving a celebrity a platform.

Even then I'm not too upset if they decide to give someone like that a microphone to speak into, as long as they took responsibility for giving that guy a platform after he ends up saying completely offensive things.

It's starting to feel like they're purposefully trying to build some sort of scheme where they keep enabling people outside of politics to go around saying the stupid crap they can't say as politicians.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Why would Carney resign today, it makes things look worse. Makes me wonder whether the Shinseki thing was last minute, and today was supposed to just be Carney resigning.

 

[AndyD]

Why would Carney resign today, it makes things look worse. Makes me wonder whether the Shinseki thing was last minute, and today was supposed to just be Carney resigning.

Well Shinseki was likely precipitated by the report a few days ago. Whereas Carney's is a two weeks announcement as he likely has something else lined up and has known for a while.

 

[Aaron Strife]

November is going to be ugly.

You're so fucking delusional

 

[Incognito]

Damm, just saw the news of not one, but two resignations today. Is this the new saturday night massacre?

 

[Shosai]

Why would Carney resign today, it makes things look worse. Makes me wonder whether the Shinseki thing was last minute, and today was supposed to just be Carney resigning.

Or maybe they prefer the stories to overlap each other over a weekend instead of creating two separate news cycles

 

[Avon Barksdale]

Why would Carney resign today, it makes things look worse. Makes me wonder whether the Shinseki thing was last minute, and today was supposed to just be Carney resigning.

Obviously, one resignation is supposed to be a distraction for the other resignation.

 

[B-Dubs]

Obviously, one resignation is supposed to be a distraction for the other resignation.

But which one is which?

 

[Wilsongt]

But which one is which?

The resignations were to distract from the single most important issue in congress right now: #benghazi

 

[Joe Molotov]

But which one is which?

Darrel Issa will get to the bottom of that.

 

[speculawyer]

Well, too be fair... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_aiken#Politics

To be unfair, I'm guessing that most Democrats look at Clay Aiken as a joke.