Son of Timatollah

Let's get real: There's no way the American people will return to power the candidates of the party that has screwed things up so badly over the last eight years. That would be "fool me three times" territory, and "fool me twice" has hurt too badly.

But you have to vote to make that so.

So if you haven't voted already, get out there and vote, and TURN THE RASCALS OUT! And of course vote NO on Amendment 2 (Florida), Proposition 8 (California), or Proposition 102 (Arizona). Just say no to hatefulness.

As for my GOP friends, just think of it as the tough love your party needs to get itself back in line with the nation.

You've let a cadre of extreme right-wing religious folk take over the party. But instead of trending back to the center, you're giving what might as well now be expressed as the Palin wing (previously the GWB wing) way too much credibility and power within your own ranks. Cede total control to them, and your next ass whooping will be far worse than what you're going to experience today, and today's going to be pretty bad for you.

Since the kind of self-righteousness displayed by Palin's and GWB's fans doesn't exactly lead to reflection and self-correction, I expect the GOP may be in for a generation or more of repeated ass whoopings and electoral disappointments, especially with the increased lack of clout for the rich folks resulting from world-wide financial and economic distress. Couldn't happen to a sweeter crowd (either the self-righteous religious or the rich folk who handed them the keys to power) or be better timed to ensure that the party that actually works for the broader swatch of people (that's the big-D Democratic Party, folks) gets a real chance to run things for long enough to make things happen.

Labels: 2008, democratic, election, no on 102, no on 2, no on 8, republican

I. The Republican core explained, here by James Carville and Stan Greenberg at Democracy Corp:

• While a sizeable majority of voters say Republicans have lost in 2006 and 2008 because they have been “too conservative,” a sizeable plurality of Republicans say, it is because they have “not been conservative enough.”
• Over three-quarters of Republicans say Palin was good choice, while a majority of the electorate says the opposite.
• Two-thirds of Republicans say McCain has not been aggressive enough, but a majority of voters think they have [sic] been too aggressive.
• Looking to the future, a large majority of Republicans say the party needs to “move more to the right and back to conservative principles,” while an even larger majority of all voters say, it should move to the “center to win over moderate and independent voters.”
• Finally, almost 60 percent of Republicans say “if Barack Obama is elected, he will lead the country down the wrong path and Republicans should oppose his plans,” while 70 percent of all voters say they “should give him the benefit of the doubt and help him achieve his plans.”

II. The Republican core, explained here by Michael Schaffer at The New Republic's The Plank:

When I was in fifth grade, there was this kid named Matt who was the Kid With the Temper. Three or four times a year, he'd spaz out to comic, theatrical effect--throwing things, kicking desks, roaming the hallways, and, once, locking himself in a closet and emerging with a black eye. With the sort of cruelty unique to 10-year-olds, classmates used to goad the poor kid when it looked like an outburst was near, circling around him in the knowledge that we'd soon glimpse what we all knew was inside. The scene described in Seyward's post from Columbus [here, TAW], and depicted on any number of YouTube clips, seems remarkably similar. Camera-equipped Obama supporters outside McCain and Palin rallies wave signs and ask questions in the certainty that their very presence will unleash the ugliness that appears to be inside all too many of the GOP faithful. Of course, Matt was a little kid in school and these folks are adults out in the world, so I'm not saying I feel any particular sympathy for those who just can't seem to keep themselves from shouting racial or ethnic epithets or just dumb-ass Cold War jingoistic nonsense, at their tormentors. But what amazes me is how little provocation it apparently is to reduce a lot of solid middle American Republicans to a bunch of hysterical fifth-grader [sic].

Labels: contemporary, core, republican

I got so caught up in the schadenfreude of a publicly homophobic Republican getting busted for cruising the restroom at a public park the other day, that one might interpret me as supporting police entrapment of gay men cruising public spaces.

Sorry. I'm not for entrapment or police clampdowns on what is pretty much harmless behavior, personally and socially. It's been going on for years, and society hasn't fallen into the pits, regardless of what some on the right would like us to believe. I'm sorrier that Representative what's-his-name (I've already forgotten, and I like the phrasing better, anyway) would publicly condemn gay people while likely being a closet case than I am that he—or George Michael for that matter—was cruising a park.

The police report doesn't exactly bolster my confidence in the process. It's full of nearly-certain BS, like that the cop went into the bathroom to adjust his police radio instead of to bait someone into following him; and that there weren't any paper towels at the main sink so he had to go into the handicap stall to dry his hands; and that the cops were there doing surveillance regarding a burglary instead of because the spot's known for cruising. When the arrest report is full of likely obfuscations, a stronger benefit of the doubt goes to the alleged perp than usual, even when his gay-rights record is as lousy as whozit's.

Labels: allen, case, closet, gay, gay rights, republican

Yet another male Republican creep who can't keep his pants on. Around undercover male police officers. Story here.

State Rep. Bob Allen was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a local park after offering to perform a sex act on an undercover officer in exchange for $20, police said.

Allen, R-Merritt Island, was booked into the Brevard County jail in Sharpes on a charge of solicitation to commit prostitution, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in the county jail and a $500 fine.

He was released a few hours later after posting $500 bail, according to a jail spokesman. The legislator, who was first elected in 2000, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Titusville police were at Veteran's Memorial Park on East Broad Street on a burglary detail when they noticed an unshaven man acting suspicious, going in and out of the restroom three times, said Lt. Todd Hutchinson.

An undercover officer decided to go into one of the bathroom stalls, Hutchinson said. Moments later, Allen knocked on the stall door and offered to perform oral sex on the officer for $20, according to the police spokesman.

The officer identified himself and took Allen into custody. Hutchinson said the officers had no idea the suspect was a state lawmaker.

"After he was arrested, he (Allen) mentioned he was a state legislator," he said.

Allen told a television reporter that what happened was a "misunderstanding." But Hutchinson said the representative did not dispute the undercover officer's version of what happened in the park.

Allen, 48, who chairs the House Committee on Energy, is married and has one child. He also is a former Little League volunteer and has donated time to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

Believe me, if this guy's a homo, I'm all for him. Well, except for the part where he votes or leads people to believe he's going to vote for measures that treat homos as second-class citizens.

Labels: allen, case, closet, gay, republican