The Radicalized Right's Response to Gay Marriage

No, this is not from an Onion article (it's from Think Progress):

In response to a federal court ruling that Oklahoma’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional discrimination, a state lawmaker says he wants to skirt the equal protection argument by banning all marriages in the state.

“[My constituents are] willing to have that discussion about whether marriage needs to be regulated by the state at all,” Rep. Mike Turner (R) told News 9. He said the idea has the backing of other conservative lawmakers, and could be achieved through a shell bill he filed in the state legislature, intended to adapt to any court rulings on same-sex marriage.

The Think Progress article goes on to note that this tactic is similar to one used in the Jim Crow south to resist the U.S. Supreme Court’s order in Brown v. Board of Education that required states to desegregate schools:

As part of a "massive resistance" campaign urged by Virginia Sen. Harry F. Byrd, the Virginia legislature ordered the closure of schools subject to a desegregation order. When that tactic was invalidated by courts, one county went so far as to shut down its public school system entirely from 1959 until 1964.

After reading this article, the first thing I thought was how much it must suck to be a member of the Radicalized Right in America these days, what with legalized marijuana, legalized gay marriage, a Black Man elected president twice (both times in an Electoral College landslide), a health care reform law that actually requires coverage for birth control, etc.  I almost feel sorry for these folks.

I'm kidding, of course.  I don't feel the least bit sorry for these America-hating bastards.  In fact, it brings a smile to my face that members of the Radicalized Right are suffering over this stuff right now.  Hopefully some of them will do us all a favor and leave the country.

What Do I Like Most About Mike Huckabee?

That's easy -- he's not afraid to double down on his own bullshit.  Here is what he had to say the other day about women:

"If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government then so be it! Let us take that discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be."

When Richard Mourdock made his "God Likes Rape" remark, he later apologized. When Todd Akin made his now-legendary "legitimate rape" comment, he not only apologized, but he issued his apology on Huckabee's radio show.

Well, that had to have looked pretty weak to Mike Huckabee, a guy who clearly likes saying crazy shit and seems to enjoy digging a deeper hole for himself when he does.  Here's what the former Arkansas governor had to say yesterday about his comment that all women who use birth control are sluts:

“I'm always flattered when people on the far left manufacture a new version of being ‘offended.’ They can be quite creative in finding something that hurts their feelings.”

Huckabee/Cruz Rubio Christie McDonnell Palin 2016!!

Most Hilarious Poll Question Ever

Of course, it was brought to you by the "fair and balanced" folks at Fox News (h/t Steve Benen):

In the aftermath of the attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Libya, the Obama administration falsely claimed it was a spontaneous assault in response to an offensive online video, even though the administration had intelligence reports that the attacks were connected to terrorist groups tied to al Qaeda. Which of the following do you think best describes why Obama administration officials gave false information in their early public statements about the September attacks in Libya?

So much for the Fox News slogan "We Report -- You Decide." It should actually be: "We Decide to Report Complete Bullshit and You . . . . well, Fuck You!"

What, too many words for a slogan?

Another Sign of GOP End Times?

This Chris Christie debacle is fascinating:

Christie said he was "blindsided" by the release of the e-mails and text messages that bolstered claims by Democrats that the traffic jams between September 9-13 were meant to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who did not endorse Christie's reelection campaign.

Christie and his staff originally blamed the closures and the traffic delays on a mishandled traffic study, something he reiterated at his news conference.  He said he didn't know if it was "a traffic study that morphed into a political vendetta or a political vendetta that morphed into a traffic study."  The incident inconvenienced motorists, but also affected public safety, Fort Lee officials said.

I've long thought that, unless another strong "moderate" arises within the Republican ranks, Chris Christie represented the GOP's last hope to escape the grip of the party's radicalized elements. Christie's strength is that he won't take shit from anyone, and I had hoped that this strength would cause him to take the offensive against the radical right wing of his party that continues its process of purging "moderates" from the GOP ranks. I would love to see a fight like that.

[And the term "moderate" is, of course, relative -- Christie and a small number of others in the GOP with similar politics are only moderate because the rest of the party has gone so far to the right that even Ronald Reagan would look like a liberal these days].

But if this current scandal sinks Christie's presidential chances (and it just might), then who will replace him as the "sane" candidate from the GOP? There isn't anyone else out there with the guts to do it (at least no one who has emerged at this point), which means that the wackoes like Cruz and Rubio are going to be able to operate freely within the party without any aggressive pushback from the center right of the GOP.

Insofar as the Big Picture is concerned, that is good news for folks like me who believe that the GOP has caused enough damage and really needs to go away as a national party.  Part of me hates to see Christie go down like this, but there are definitely fun times ahead politically.

Benghazi!

[click to enlarge]