GOP Failure Watch Part III

While we're on the topic -

How do you think this lie got spread, my friend? The Wall Street Journal Op-Ed pages.

The Journal is a critical link in the misinforming of America. The process is -

1) The Republican Party has an agenda
2) A friendly think tank invents "research" that supports the agenda
3) The Journal legitimizes the "research" and creates talking points
4) The talk-show hosts, Fox, and Internet bloggers disseminate the Journal's talking points to the general public
6) The public now largely believes that the housing crisis was Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's fault

Oh, and this process is easier than ever because the mainstream Internet sites do almost no real journalism, fact checking or quality assurance, and will print pretty much anything that they can swipe from traditional sources like the Journal.

I just was on Yahoo!, its headline called football coach Jon Gruden "John Gruden." If the site can't get a name on a headline right, it's certainly not going to suss out bogus arguments. The Journal and (indirectly) Koch Brothers can plant articles all day and all night in shoddy sites like Yahoo!

Have you explained it to Obama?

But it isn't actually a cliff you know; you drive over a cliff and gravity takes over. No way to fix it.

We go past the day the hikes and cuts kick in and it turns out to be too scary, why Congress can fix it. All it will take is for the Republicans in the House to get worried enough to actually want to participate in governing instead of opposing governing.

He is part of the party that actually won the election, so he's been told where the electorate stands. With votes. Some call this a mandate. The people want entitlements unchanged and taxes to go up on the wealthy. All the polling supports this and is ratified by election results. Why do republicans insist on ignoring the American people?

It was fine when Reagan and Bush enacted their programs, but if Obama tries to do so he's crass.

Because the American people don't bankroll their campaigns and lucrative "think tank" post-election-loss white collar welfare positions.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/americas-50-worst-state-legislatures

That's a list of the stupidest, looniest state legislatures, but not the most harmful. Otherwise Illinois would be atop the list. The Illinois legislature has set the all-time record for kicking the can down the road. You know how the right is always going on about fiscally irresponsible Democrats? Well in Illinois's case they are correct. Our Dems make W look fiscally prudent.

This is a fun piece about a major GOP Fail.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/opinion/collins-santorum-strikes-again.html?hp&_r=0

David Brooks stepped on his tongue salivating about how Rick Santorum is what Republicans could be. Yeah sure David, if you want fruitbat crazies who think that the Russkies are poisoning our fluoridated water.

Trying to extract logic out of Rick Santorum is like explaining plot holes on 24.

Penn State frat brother, I suppose that does say it all.

2A) Republican Party and affiliated corporate interests hire PR firms to figure out best ways to package and distribute the "research" from friendly think tanks.

If they come to a deal on Jan. 8 instead of Dec. 30, it's not a big deal. If they make a deal on June 16 instead of Dec. 30, it's a big deal.

Not necessarily even then depending on the deal...

Each side will dance anD posture until they decide they are either winning or losing this fight. At which point they will come out with some sort of self-serving language that makes it look like they are capitulating to be patriots, etc. and then there will be a deal.

I wouldn't pay attention to anything either side says until the week after Christmas.

I just assumed that the rest of it was as lazy and ignorant as the quoted bit. On the off chance that I might be surprised, I delved in. I needn't have bothered. I did come back with this bit of hilarity, though:

"In Rules for Radicals, the Alinsky rulebook and Obama playbook...”

Still, it wasn't worth the three minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Actually, only the dimmer Reep spear carriers and some of the loonier teabaggers might take it seriously. Intelligent Reeps and all Reeps who actually work in the financial sector recognize it for the propaganda tool for the masses it is even though most of them are embarrassed by it to differing degrees.

And CNBC. And Bloomberg. And the rest of the corporate-owned MSM. This was all over the airwaves and newsprint for a while. The WSJ Op Ed page was just one more parrot in the jungle.

I've watched this twice and I can't figure out if it is the Onion. It certainly seems real.

I was just about to post that one myself. It's all over the place. Amazing fail.