March To The Sea

Think Progress:  Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) offered a curious analogy this weekend, comparing the impending default to the American Revolution. 

Actually, it's more like the civil war.  And once again his side is trying to destroy the United States.  

Southern conservatives already betrayed the country once.  The confederacy lost.  Trying to re-fight that war by shutting down the government and destroying the full faith and credit of the United States is simply not acceptable.

There's never a General Sherman around when you need one. 

Traitors

Raw Story:  Tahoma High School in Maple Valley, WA suspended two 16-year-old boys for wearing Confederate flags to school. According to Seattle’s KIRO Channel 7, school officials said the boys were wearing the secessionist flags in protest of a classmate’s choice to wear a rainbow flag in celebration of LGBT Pride month.

One of the two students — known only a “Grady” — told KOMO that he was just wearing the rebel flag to honor his southern heritage.

Which is of course mostly.. slavery.

Today however conservatives fly the confederate flag to symbolize their opposition pretty much all the American ideals, equality, multiculturalism, tolerance, upward mobility due process, devotion to the constitution, and democracy.  They're hostile to all of it.

So we're actually grateful when they chose to wear the symbol of their betrayals, the celebration of their treason, their hatred of the United States on their sleeve (or chest).  That way we can know who they are. 

Deport The Republicans

Politico: A reality is beginning to dawn on — and eat away at — many House Republicans: They aren’t at all sure of their party's strategy to re-open government and lift the debt ceiling.

After forcing leadership to pick a fight it didn’t want to pick, sitting through hours of meetings with lots of internal hand-wringing and failing to force Democrats to negotiate, the path to avoid a prolonged government shutdown and the first debt default in American history is completely uncertain.

Attention Republicans:  Rather than burning down the country, why don't you do us all a favor and leave.  Just get the hell out.  Move to Somalia.  You'll love it.  No government, lots of guns, no regulation, no taxes. 

Of course they don't have any sewage treatment either, so go there and wallow is shit for a while.  Let's see what that does for your worldview. Hey, send a postcard when you get there (actually sorry, you won't be able to do that.  They don't have a postal service).

Destruction

WASHINGTON -- With the government shutdown in its fifth day, many Republicans have conceded the fight is no longer about Obamacare. Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) added his name to the list on Saturday, saying the matter now boils down to "pride."

Proverbs 16:18: Pride goeth before destruction.

And destruction is where we're heading with the GOP shutting down the government and causing us to default on our debt.  Look, we can't have people in our government who will threaten our future, our standard of living, our families - over pride, or holding out for billionaire "healthcare" executives or whatever.  We just can't have it.  These people have to got to respect the electoral process and work within our democratic system to change policy by majority rule.  Anything else is just political terrorism.

Honestly, what's going on here as much as anything else, is the Republicans are seeing things getting better and they don't like it.  Once again Democratic public policy is improving things.  The economy is improving, the housing market is improving, the job market is improving, and Obamacare is about to start working. And politically speaking, that's very bad for them.  So rather than allow things to continue on as they are they figure they don't have much to lose by burning it all down.

Boehner Threatens To Shoot The Hostage

TPM: Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) insisted Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he won't bring up a "clean" debt limit increase under any circumstances, warning that the U.S. will default on its debt unless President Barack Obama agrees to make policy concessions.

(credit to Huffingtonpost for that title)  Attention America, you're the hostage.  Your 401k is the hostage.  Your ability to borrow money for a car, or a house, or a business is the hostage.  The value of your dollars is the hostage. Your standard of living is the hostage.  Your future is the hostage.  And the Republicans have just threatened all of it.  Whatever you do America, whatever ends up happening, don't ever forget this.  

Shooters

Daily Kos:  Is there some damn law that says congressional Republicans have to be assholes? Is "not being a gigantic prick to anyone you meet" one of the now-countless things that will get you kicked out of the party? Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX, because of course he is), come on down. Show the little people how being a grandstanding self-important ass is done.

In an astounding confrontation that took place yesterday at the World War II Memorial in DC, a Tea Party congressman from Texas appeared to blame the Park Service for denying veterans access to the facility — and then made a Park Ranger apologize for the shutdown. "How do you look at them and ... deny them access?" Rep. Randy Neugebauer asked the unidentified Ranger in an incredible exchange that was caught on camera by NBC Washington.

So they shut down the government, then run down to yell at the park ranger because the government is shut down.  We suppose that's rather like shooting somebody in the back and then berating them for bleeding on the carpet. 

Immigration

Raw Story: Although they’re unlikely to win the legislative fight to kill the Affordable Care Act, Republicans have already succeeded in keeping millions of Americans from getting health insurance.

A New York Times analysis of census data found that two-thirds of the poor black people and single mothers and more than half the low-wage workers who don’t have insurance coverage have been left out of the vast expansion of Medicaid because they live in states controlled by Republicans.

So we would definitely recommend that if you're looking for affordable heath care you leave these states that are controlled by Republicans.

It's already the case that the states that are controlled by Republicans are the welfare states.  That is to say that due to inferior economic activity and a general lack of competitiveness they take more from the federal coffers than they contribute.  A steady flow of workers and families out of these states will no doubt exacerbate that situation.  But it can't be helped.