Here in Iowa, Michele Bachmann is waylaying K-Mart shoppers and with wild-eyes and smeared lipstick, screeching in desperation: THE IS THE TEAPARTY’s LAST CHANCE!
Of course she means, she is their last chance, and if she doesn’t win the Iowa caucuses, her campaign (which has been dead for months) will be declared so, and buried.
But actually, she speaks the truth in some sense (now Politifact don’t keel over!)
Back in Washington, the usual dunderheaded nonsense is playing out. I refer to the payroll tax bill. While talking points abound on the GOP side, the truth is pretty evident. Boehner stepped in his own poo again.
The Senate, which almost never agrees on anything, including the time of day, actually passed the bill, albeit for only two months and with a proviso that Obama must ignore environmental concerns and decide on the Keystone Pipeline within 60 days.
Since, I believe that Boehner and McConnell have phone service, we know they chatted about the Senate version, and Boehner signed off. Otherwise McConnell looks a fool, (well he does that anyway, so more so). So when Boehner tries to line up his sniveling brats to vote, they fall en mass on the floor and start screaming: NO!
Now, of course the spin is that the House GOP, is so concerned for the little folks that they want to extend the payroll tax cut for a year. And of course, they gleefully want to race to “conference” to “hash out the differences”. Where of course, it will die, and they can blame Democrats for that and who’s the wiser, since conference meetings are not public meetings. This is simply about the TeaNutz® wanting to deny Obama a “win.” And they are ready to sell the average Joe down the river to do it.
And of course, they are dead wrong on how this will be perceived.
Remember rule #1: Most people pay almost no attention to politics. They only catch a drive-by snippet of talking points as they go about their daily routine.
So what does the average unknowledgeable know?
- Congress as a whole sucks, and most of the jerks are on the take and don’t care about me.
- The House is controlled by the GOP and the Senate by the Democrats.
- The House passes all kinds of stuff, that never passes in the Senate.
- Almost nothing passes in the Senate.
- The payroll tax cut passed the Senate.
- The House voted it down.
- The House is controlled by the GOP.
- The GOP is at fault.
Boehner was unable to get his TeaNutz® to go along as he promised they would. Boehner cannot control these idiots. They actually called themselves “principled Scots” just like Braveheart. So they think it wise to compare themselves to Mel Gibson, Mr. Bigot.
And no they are not going to vote “down” the payroll tax cut. They are going to vote “for” it to go to Conference. They think they are so slick. Word is they are then going to high tail it out of town and leave the mess for the Senate.
The fat lady is about to take the stage. The TeaNutz® should spend some time looking around the Capital. They will be packing up their belongings next Christmas and returning to the obscurity of their rabbit holes in their respective states.
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So far, Newt’s handlers have convinced him to play nice with those who attack him. Just smile and stay on message. Since Newt is starting to sink, wanna bet he tells his handlers to go suck an egg, and erupts like Vesuvius? Truth is Newty has little money, and he has few options against the negative ad campaign against him. So look for him to grab any microphone in sight and start spewing.
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How’s weather you way? We have had a few days of below 32°, but darn few that stayed there all day. We had some snow one day in mid-November, but it warmed up and melted within a couple of hours. It’s been my kind of winter so far. We’re expecting some rain today, and so we have postponed our last shopping before Christmas trip to buy the ham until tomorrow or Thursday.
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I know I shouldn’t, but I feel a tinge of sadness for Ricky P. I mean the guy looks for all the world like a lost puppy. The guys who pull his chain assured him this would be a good old Texas barbecue, and it’s become a New England Clam bake. If you watch him at the debates, every time he answers a question, he looks around expectantly to his fellow debaters for some sign that he got it right. And now he’s marrying himself to Jebus as a prophet to spread the word of Christianity. I mean it is totally sad doncha think?
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Tomorrow, let us talk about what government is. Or more particularly what we want it to be. See ya.
Related articles
- Showdown: House GOP set to defeat Senate payroll-tax bill after Reid says he won’t negotiate further; Update: Boehner cancels House vote (hotair.com)
- Payroll Tax Cut Bill: House To Wait Until Tuesday To Vote On Measure (huffingtonpost.com)
- House GOP delays vote on Senate two-month payroll tax extension (thehill.com)
- Boehner tries to derail bipartisan payroll tax holiday extension when far right flips out (americablog.com)
Existential Ennui 