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Tuesday, March 09, 2010
"The Sow Is Mine"
National Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele was in Greensboro yesterday and announced that North Carolina will be his come fall -- "Mine, MINE, I tell you!" -- and forever after. Apparently, come November 3, we North Carolinians will awake from our frightful nightmare to find ourselves wrapped in the sweet embrace of reactionary right-wingism, breathing in the miasma of obstructionism that has so far served the working class so well in this state and elsewhere.Oh, goody.
Labels: Michael Steele, Republican "brand"
Sunday, March 07, 2010
And the Acting Award Goes to...
...Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, who for years has made "choking up" in public a regular feature of her political persona.Another bravura performance on Saturday at the Watauga County Republican Convention. You'll have to read all the way to the end to get it.
Labels: Virginia Foxx
"She's a Professional Politician"
Keith Gardner, the hapless Republican primary challenger to Virginia Foxx, is a walking example of cognitive dissonance. He said on GoBlueRidge about Foxx, "She's well known, she's well liked in most of the district. In fact, I like her. However, she's a professional politician. I do not like the idea of a professional politician."I like her, but I do not like what she is.
Well, it's a start.
Labels: Keith Gardner, Virginia Foxx
Friday, March 05, 2010
Let Them Eat Chalk!
Mr. Bumble's philosophy in "Oliver Twist" is to keep the boys and girls in the workhouse hungry. He thinks they work more efficiently on empty stomachs.Congresswoman Virginia Foxx's philosophy is that the School Lunch Program is a shocking expenditure and has no place in America. Yesterday Foxx was one of only 13 Republican members of the U.S. Congress to vote against H Res 362. Foxx was alone even among the North Carolina Republican delegation. Patrick McHenry voted for the resolution. Sue Myrick voted for the resolution. Every Republican voted for it except Foxx and her dozen fellow Mr. Bumbles.
Foxx's ideology has no heart, just as corporations have no birth certificate.
Labels: Virginia Foxx
Thursday, March 04, 2010
McHenry's McGuffin
We got an e-mailed press release last night from one of Congressman Patrick McHenry's three primary challengers that apparently agreed with our characterization of the congressman's tone-deafness for introducing a bill to put Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill. Here 'tis in its entirety:
Other than the I-worship-the-false-god-Reagan meme, this could have been written by the Democratic candidate in the NC-10 ... the emphasis on working-class struggles, education, and "affordable health care," none of which Ronald Reagan would ever have moved as policy. (Incidentally, medical science has proven there is no antidote to doting on Reagan in his dotage. Massive injections of fish oil won't do it. Hot Coke enemas have proven ineffective too. Once visited by the Reagan incubus, the victim is rendered incapable of critical thinking.)
We also note in Mr. Patterson's attack on McHenry the use (twice) of the term "professional politicians." Anti-incumbent fever, anyone?
How many years has Virginia Foxx been in elected office? (Answer: 27)
Morganton, NC -- Vance Patterson, 10th District Republican candidate for Congress, says incumbent Patrick McHenry is up to the old tricks "professional politicians" play in election years. McHenry has recently proposed legislation to put Ronald Reagan's picture on the $50 bill.
"To use a great American like Ronald Reagan to get votes in an economically devastated district is nothing short of shameful," Patterson said. "13.6% of our neighbors don't have a $50 bill to look at because they are unemployed."
Patterson prides himself for running a grassroots campaign focused on jobs and term limits. "This proves my point about professional politicians and imposing term limits," Patterson said. "At election time, they suddenly descend on the voters with emotional appeals and irrational actions. Well, 10th district voters know when a politician is grandstanding rather than leading to improve the district and the country."
A successful businessman, Patterson insists that he is running on a platform of "Real World Leadership" and can make a difference.
"It's time to restore core principles to America, and our district voters know that," he said. "I've been busy meeting fellow citizens and they are ready for real leadership in developing a better economy, outstanding education, and affordable health care."
Other than the I-worship-the-false-god-Reagan meme, this could have been written by the Democratic candidate in the NC-10 ... the emphasis on working-class struggles, education, and "affordable health care," none of which Ronald Reagan would ever have moved as policy. (Incidentally, medical science has proven there is no antidote to doting on Reagan in his dotage. Massive injections of fish oil won't do it. Hot Coke enemas have proven ineffective too. Once visited by the Reagan incubus, the victim is rendered incapable of critical thinking.)
We also note in Mr. Patterson's attack on McHenry the use (twice) of the term "professional politicians." Anti-incumbent fever, anyone?
How many years has Virginia Foxx been in elected office? (Answer: 27)
Labels: Patrick McHenry, Vance Patterson, Virginia Foxx
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Babe in the Woods
Congressman Heath Shuler's Democratic primary opponent, Aixa Woods, is hobbled by more than a first name nobody wants to take a stab at pronouncing out loud and in public: he's a total political neophyte who confesses, "I don't know much about the Democratic Party. I'm sure I will find out. I don't know what resistance I will get from the powers that be."
Allow me to enlighten you: Familiar with the term "nuclear winter"?
Perhaps it's a good thing that Aixa "does not plan to raise any money," yet "he expects to win the race and believes his message will resonate with Western North Carolina voters."
There was a time -- say, 1802 -- when such charming American innocence might have swayed your average voter. But I'm afraid it ain't 1802 any longer. Or even 1952.
Sigh.
Allow me to enlighten you: Familiar with the term "nuclear winter"?
Perhaps it's a good thing that Aixa "does not plan to raise any money," yet "he expects to win the race and believes his message will resonate with Western North Carolina voters."
There was a time -- say, 1802 -- when such charming American innocence might have swayed your average voter. But I'm afraid it ain't 1802 any longer. Or even 1952.
Sigh.
Labels: Aixa Wilson, Heath Shuler
In These Economic Times, What a Helpful Suggestion!
Congressman Patty McHenry (R), from nearby Tiny Town, has finally noticed the economic collapse happening all around him -- actually, the economic collapse has been happening in his Congressional district for several years now -- and has found the magic bullet: put Ronald Reagan's mug on the $50 bill.That will involve, of course, booting Ulysses S. Grant off the $50 bill, but we're down with that. Grant was a ruthless and successful military general, an accomplished autobiographer, and a wholly incompetent president.
In other words, an even trade. McHenry wants the Father of Banking Deregulation on the $50, the Father of Trickle-Down, the Dim Tool of the Kleptocrats.
Git 'er done, so Little Patty will have something to brag about to the home folks, especially those who worship at the altar of St. Ronny without wondering why their economic prospects have so contracted since 1981 and why Wall Street is running everything.
Labels: corporate power, Patrick McHenry
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
The Democratic Candidates in the NC-10
We've had some coverage here (a tad) about Congressman Patty McHenry in the NC-10 and about his two (D'OH! now three) primary challengers, but perhaps we should do a little catching up with the two Democrats in the May 4 primary, vying to take on McHenry come November.
One is Anne N. Fischer of Morganton. She has an active website up and running, is described as a social worker and community activist, and actually ran against McHenry in 2004 in his first campaign.
Her primary opponent is Jeff Gregory, a former Shelby postmaster, who does not yet appear to have a website. But he's speaking out in this a.m.'s Hickory Daily Record about how the 10th Congressional District has suffered under McHenry, who doesn't believe in government and who therefore gets nothing much for his district. "It's time for the people of the 10th District to be heard and seriously represented," he said. "I think that we need to take a 'Big Dog' approach for our district. I'm not afraid of getting on the front porch of Congress and barking loud for our people."
The Patty McHenry/Virginia Foxx philosophy of "service" = "We don't get anything for anybody because of our ideology," and perhaps these hard economic times might actually begin to spotlight the hard, dried fruits of such a philosophy. Having been laughed at over the Sparta Teapot Museum, Foxx has now retreated into a do-nothing crouch and actually brags on her Twitter account about her constipated economic policy: "NO RELIEF for my district, NO NEVER!"
Kentucky Sen. Bunning is also helping at this moment to throw The Wages of Obstructionism into some stark human context.
One is Anne N. Fischer of Morganton. She has an active website up and running, is described as a social worker and community activist, and actually ran against McHenry in 2004 in his first campaign.
Her primary opponent is Jeff Gregory, a former Shelby postmaster, who does not yet appear to have a website. But he's speaking out in this a.m.'s Hickory Daily Record about how the 10th Congressional District has suffered under McHenry, who doesn't believe in government and who therefore gets nothing much for his district. "It's time for the people of the 10th District to be heard and seriously represented," he said. "I think that we need to take a 'Big Dog' approach for our district. I'm not afraid of getting on the front porch of Congress and barking loud for our people."
The Patty McHenry/Virginia Foxx philosophy of "service" = "We don't get anything for anybody because of our ideology," and perhaps these hard economic times might actually begin to spotlight the hard, dried fruits of such a philosophy. Having been laughed at over the Sparta Teapot Museum, Foxx has now retreated into a do-nothing crouch and actually brags on her Twitter account about her constipated economic policy: "NO RELIEF for my district, NO NEVER!"
Kentucky Sen. Bunning is also helping at this moment to throw The Wages of Obstructionism into some stark human context.
Labels: Anne N. Fischer, Jeff Gregory, Jim Bunning, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx
Monday, March 01, 2010
South Dakota Legislature, Go to the Corner and Stay There!
The South Dakota legislature, dominated by a lot of elected people with an "R" after their names, want to stick a finger in science's eye, so they pass a joint resolution calling for "balanced teaching of global warming," which in their particular language includes a warning that "the significance and interrelativity" of "astrological" (and other) data can be interpreted in a number of ways. We are NOT making this up. (Hat tip: the ineffable Ed Cone)Lord knows, I had my doubts about my horoscope for today: "You don't have to worry about getting every little fact right today -- but your competition does! That gives you a serious advantage, as long as you are willing to move forward quickly into the darkness."
The South Dakota legislature has actually given me hope that they are the "darkness" I'm supposed to move forward quickly into.
Labels: global climate change, Republican "brand"
