Print PDF

Hurricane Isaac is on course to strike Florida and the Gulf Coast Monday and Tuesday — forcing the GOP to cancel day one of their four-day hate fest. A revised schedule is due some time today. Romney folks believe that the convention will be a chance to “reinvent” etch-a-sketch Romney and we are certainly in for some interesting theater:

Just be sure to burn some sage and do a chakra cleansing after tuning into to this hate fest and celebration of greed.

Even while Jeb Bush urges GOP to do a better job of reaching out to groups beyond the hate-filled base, he insists that the GOP’s insularity won’t impact the election.

Notwithstanding the GOP’s antagonism towards women, people of color, LGBTQ folk, poor people, and all sentient beings with critical thinking skills, the GOP is slated to officially proclaim the most conservative GOP platform in modern American history:

NO ABORTION IN CASES OF RAPE OR INCEST. The proposal for a “human life amendment” passed without a hitch — and without any exceptions for rape or incest. The committee didn’t stop there; they also adopted language that would ban drugs that end pregnancy after conception, which could potentially include Plan B, the “morning after pill.”

SALUTE TO MANDATORY ULTRASOUNDS. The GOP officially praises states’ “informed consent” laws that force women to undergo unnecessary procedures, require waiting periods and endure other measures meant to discourage them from getting an abortion. One such law receiving a “salute” was crafted by committee head McDonnell, who passed a notorious mandatory ultrasound requirement after he signed an unsuccessful bill to require an even more invasive transvaginal probe ultrasound during an abortion consultation.

NO LEGAL RECOGNITION OF SAME-SEX COUPLES. The committee embraced extreme anti-gay language, even rejecting a proposal to endorse civil unions for gay couples after vehement objections from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Romney adviser Jim Bopp, who called it a “counterfeit marriage.” The rejection of civil unions, along with the refusal to include a line affirming the legal equality of same-sex couples prompted the organization GOProud to declare, “Those who have engaged in this public platform fight have provided distraction from important issues and damaged Mitt Romney’s campaign.”

REPLICATE ARIZONA-STYLE IMMIGRATION LAWS. Kris Kobach, who wrote the now mostly invalidated immigration laws in Arizona and Alabama, pushed for language calling for a border fence, a national E-Verify system to make it harder for undocumented workers to find employment, the end of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and an end to sanctuary cities. The committee overwhelmingly approved the proposals, as well as a line chastising the Department of Justice to halt the lawsuits against draconian immigration laws in Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina and Utah: “State efforts to reduce illegal immigration must be encouraged, not attacked.”

AUDIT THE FED. The pet project of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) to audit the Federal Reserve has now been embraced as an official Republican goal. For the first time, the platform calls for an annual audit of the Federal Reserve.

NO WOMEN IN COMBAT. The platform condemns “social experimentation” in the military, which covers everything from the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to allowing officers to wear their uniforms in gay pride events to letting women serve on the front lines.

NO STATEHOOD, MORE GUNS FOR WASHINGTON DC. FRC’s Perkins, who recently blamed President Obama and the Southern Poverty Law Center for the shooting at FRC’s Washington headquarters, requested and received a section specifically urging the DC Council to expand gun rights. The same section also opposes DC statehood, which would allow the District to govern itself and put an end to Congressional attempts to impose abortion bans on DC.

NO NEW TAXES, EXCEPT FOR WAR. The platform calls for a Constitutional amendment requiring a super-majority to approve any tax increase, “with exceptions for only war and national emergencies.” It would also deliberately hobble future Congresses through a cap limiting all government spending to historical average percentage of GDP — “so that future Congresses cannot balance the budget by raising taxes.” [ThinkProgress]

(We’ll focus on the Democratic Party Platform next week during the DNC Convention.)

“Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” Romney went full birther on Friday. He insists it was a “joke,” this from a man who never goes off script. And that he would even think such a remark would be funny wreaks of privilege and lack of empathy. Romney had an opportunity not to say anything at all — or, he had a unique opportunity to say that demands for a sitting President’s birth certificate is unequivocally wrong and xenophobic. He did neither. Not surprising, given his grandstanding and self-aggrandizement in his alleged home state of Michigan where he wanted Detroit’s auto industry to go bankrupt. It was President Obama who revitalized the American auto industry — what can be more American than supporting American businesses to produce quality cars Made in America? Of course, that is a concept lost on outsourcer-in-chief Bain capitalist Romney.

At any rate, we know R-money’s birther remarks were intentional and meant to incite the pitchfork racist crowd, like his trashy haggard [alleged] alcoholic friend Jan Brewer. We are used to the GOP’s and Romney’s coded language of privilege.

This is what the GOP party is all about: the expert use of demagoguery as a means to shrink government for the benefit of the ridiculously wealthy — nothing more, nothing less. The GOP party wants power and money for the sake of power and greed. Despite their well-scripted rhetoric and machinery, Republican administrations do not create more jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Democratic administrations create more jobs at more than twice the rate of that of GOP presidents. They want power and dominance over all marginalized groups. If only the 90 million Americans who don’t plan to vote this year will see that the GOP Party has become the American Taliban. Letting them steal the election (remember Bush v. Gore) will lead to even darker days than when Bush Jr. was President:

Only four years after Democrats seemed on the verge of historic policy gains, Republicans could reverse many of those gains and then some. They could cut the top tax rate to its lowest level in 80 years (as Mr. Romney proposes) and make major changes to federal programs.

Above all, a sweep of Washington could make possible the sort of change Republicans have been talking about for three decades without having yet done: a significant shrinking of government. Ronald Reagan cut domestic programs somewhat but expanded the military, while George W. Bush talked about small government but actually made it bigger. Next year, though, really could be different.[NYT]

Yesterday, a great American and global hero passed away. He was the first human to walk on the moon. But he didn’t get there on his own. Neil Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind is the best example of what’s possible when we all come together for the greater good. It’s the perfect example of what government can do. And it’s the perfect example of what America is possible of doing again if we invest in our collective dream, hopes, and future for the betterment of one people, one nation.

(10)