'We Will Never Have the Smart People on Our Side'

Watch Rick (Frothy Mix) Santorum call his supporters a bunch of dummies at the Values Voter Summit.




Proudly ignorant. It's an epidemic.


h/t Joe. My. God.

Of ignorance and truthiness ...

First, those darn funny Republicans.

Exhibit 1: Barbara Bush claims that fetus-in-a-jar that George W remembers was not hers. It was the housekeeper's.

George W. Bush had written in Decision Points that his mother had showed him the dead fetus of a potential brother or sister when he was a teenager, and that the incident had helped implant in his mind the belief that abortion was fundamentally wrong.

So if that was a "potential brother or sister" of Dubya, who's his real mother? (We know who's his daddy - the ressemblance is frightening.)

Exhibit 2: Palin accuses the media of picking on her - again.

[...] Sarah Palin found time to lash out at her political foes - in this case the media for blowing out of proportion her gaffe on the Korean crisis. [...]

Of the media reports that followed her little mix-up, she said, "Obviously, I would have been even more impressed if the media showed some consistency on this issue. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn't resist the temptation to turn a simple one word slip-of-the-tongue of mine into a major political headline." And for her part, Palin couldn't resist firing back.

As this political observer notes out, the specific gaffe is not the point, it's Palin's proud, happy-as-a-pig-in-shit ignorance that's the problem.

Oh. And also. Too.

Exhibit 3: Pope Maledict and the Vatican Taliban now claim condom use by men during "not-normal sex" to prevent HIV transmission is OK.

Renowned moral theologian Janet Smith makes an analogy in her essay on the current controversy. “If someone was going to rob a bank and was determined to use a gun, it would better for that person to use a gun that had no bullets in it. It would reduce the likelihood of fatal injuries.”

Once more, the twisty logic demonstrates that catholic dogma and ideology is all about controlling female sexual and reproductive power. Condom use by women to prevent pregnancy and protect themselves from disease is still a CAPITAL sin.

In the US, Tea Party Hatriots are setting the tone - and more.

Things are not looking very good south of the border. DJ! first reported on the Harris poll earlier this week. Now, a second survey published in Forbes confirms the first results - that the majority of Tea Party Hatriots, aka Teabaggers are willfully ignorant.

Tea Partyers also seem to have a very distorted view of the direction of federal taxes. They were asked whether they are higher, lower or the same as when Barack Obama was inaugurated last year. More than two-thirds thought that taxes are higher today, and only 4% thought they were lower; the rest said they are the same. As noted earlier, federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. [...]

In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800. According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. [...]

No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies.

Clearly, politicians such as Michele Bachman are either lying to their Tea Party followers or choosing to ignore the facts.

Also, from here:

These polls show more than a basic lack of understanding about the facts on the ground, the irrationality of the respondents leads one to get an overwhelming sense of foreboding—all I have to say is that if someone gets hurt the blame will rest squarely with the Republican Party members who have cheered on these opinions and the conservative media outlets that have provided the platform for vitriolic speech to thrive. I would never tell them what they can and cannot say, freedom of speech is a fundamental right that I cherish, but the responsibility for harm done in support of their rhetoric is undeniable.

While Republican officials, such as House Minority Leader John Boehner, have finally come out against the actual violence if not the rhetoric, it may prove a little too late. Especially since just last week he insinuated that Representative Driehuas "may be a dead man" if he voted for health care reform. Granted it could be argued that he was speaking metaphorically but considering the inability of the current conservative base to understand any type of nuance I am inclined to believe they would miss that it was a metaphor. But the truth is, once you’ve told your fans or constituents that Obamacare will bankrupt the nation and bring about the end of democracy, capitalism, liberty and grandma how else do you think they will react?

With foaming-at-the-mouth hate for anything or anyone that challenges their beliefs.

This will probably escalate. The Repulsicans provoking these hatriots may soon have blood on their hands. But you can expect they won't take responsibility for the violence they've been encouraging through their words and graphics, such as the crosshair targets that appeared on Sarah Palin's website and her urging that it's time to "re-load".

Linky goodness: As posted at CC, Dr Dawg and JJ, this open letter to conservatives covers it all, regarding the rapid, furious descent of rightwing zealots in the US.