The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Republican Party seems as divided, angry as ever

BOSTON (AP) — The Republican Party seems as divided and angry as ever.
 
Infighting has penetrated the highest levels of the House GOP leadership. Long-standing geographic tensions have increased, pitting endangered Northeastern Republicans against their colleagues from other parts of the country. Enraged tea party leaders are threatening to knock off dozens of Republicans who supported a measure that raised taxes on the nation's highest earners. "People are mad as hell. I'm right there with them," Amy Kremer, chairman of the Tea Party Express, said late last week, declaring that she has "no confidence" in the party her members typically support. Her remarks came after GOP lawmakers agreed to higher taxes but no broad spending cuts as part of a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff."
 
"Anybody that voted 'yes' in the House should be concerned" about primary challenges in 2014, she said.
 
At the same time, one of the GOP's most popular voices, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, blasted his party's "toxic internal politics" after House Republicans initially declined to approve disaster relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy. He said it was "disgusting to watch" their actions and he faulted the GOP's most powerful elected official, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The GOP's internal struggles to figure out what it wants to be were painfully exposed after Mitt Romney's loss to President Barack Obama on Nov. 6, but they have exploded in recent days. The fallout could extend well beyond the party's ability to win policy battles on Capitol Hill. It could hamper Republicans as they examine how to regroup and attract new voters after a disheartening election season.
 
To a greater degree than the Democrats, the Republican Party has struggled with internal divisions for the past few years. But these latest clashes have seemed especially public and vicious. "It's disappointing to see infighting in the party," said Ryan Williams, a Republican operative and former Romney aide. "It doesn't make us look like we're in a position to challenge the president and hold him accountable to the promises he made." What's largely causing the dissension? A lack of a clear GOP leader with a single vision for the party.
 
Republicans haven't had a consistent standard-bearer since President George W. Bush left office in 2008 with the nation on the edge of a financial collapse. His departure, along with widespread economic concerns, gave rise to a tea party movement that infused the GOP's conservative base with energy. The tea party is credited with broad Republican gains in the 2010 congressional elections, but it's also blamed for the rising tension between the pragmatic and ideological wings of the party — discord that festers still. It was much the same for Democrats in the late 1980s before Bill Clinton emerged to win the White House and shift his party to the political center.
 
2012 presidential nominee Romney never fully captured the hearts of his party's most passionate voters. But his tenure atop the party was short-lived; since Election Day, he's disappeared from the political world. Those Republican leaders who remain engaged — Christie, Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus — are showing little sign of coming together. Those on the GOP's deep bench of potential 2016 presidential contenders, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, have begun staking out their own, sometimes conflicting ideas for the party.
 
Over the short term at least, the party's divisions probably will continue to be exposed. Obama has outlined a second-term agenda focused on immigration and gun control; those are issues that would test Republican solidarity even in good times. Deep splits already exist between Republican pragmatists and the conservative base, who oppose any restrictions on guns or allowances for illegal immigrants. It's unclear whether Obama can exploit the GOP fissures or whether the Republican dysfunction will hamper him. With Boehner unable to control his fractured caucus, the White House is left wondering how to deal with the House on any divisive issue.
 
Fiscal issues aren't going away, with lawmakers were agree on a broad deficit-reduction package. The federal government reached its borrowing limit last week, so Congress has about two months or three months to raise the debt ceiling or risk a default on federal debt. Massive defense and domestic spending cuts are set to take effect in late February. By late March, the current spending plan will end, raising the possibility of a government shutdown.
 
Frustrated conservative activists and GOP insiders hope that the continued focus on fiscal matters will help unite the factions as the party pushes for deep spending cuts. That fight also may highlight Democratic divisions because the party's liberal wing vehemently opposes any changes to Social Security or Medicare. "Whenever you lose the White House, the party's going to have ups and downs," said Republican strategist Ron Kaufman. "My guess is when the spending issues come up again, the Democrats' warts will start to show as well."
 
The GOP's fissures go beyond positions on issues. They also are geographical. Once a strong voice in the party, moderate Republicans across the Northeast are nearly extinct. Many of those who remain were frustrated in recent days when Boehner temporarily blocked a vote on a disaster relief bill. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said campaign donors in the Northeast who give the GOP after the slight "should have their head examined."
 
Boehner, who just won a second term as speaker, quickly scheduled a vote on a narrower measure for Friday after the new Congress convened, and it rushed out a $9.7 billion measure to help pay flood insurance claims. Weary Republican strategists are trying to be hopeful about the GOP's path ahead, and liken the current situation to party's struggles after Obama's 2008 election. At the time, some pundits questioned the viability of the Republican Party. But it came roaring back two years later, thanks largely to the tea party.
 
"If we have learned anything from the fiscal cliff fiasco, conservatives discovered we need to stand firm, and stand together, on our principles from beginning to end," said Republican strategist Alice Stewart. "It's frustrating to see the GOP drop the ball and turn a position of true compromise into total surrender. The Democrats succeeded in their strategy of divide and conquer."

http://news.yahoo.com/republican-party-seems-divided-angry-ever-140632093--election.html

  This is going to be interesting.  I think the majority of people were supportive of Obama and his stance of "shared sacrifice" and both sides having to give up something.  The president "got his" with this last round, but here pretty quick he and the Dems are going to have to do their part of the sacrifice equation.  

The president is talking about not cutting things (and perhaps even upping spending) that will help grow the economy like education and infrastructure, fine.  Also, he wants to cut more tax loopholes to raise revenue, fine.    but...

Even with those things, there aren't enough loopholes to cut and I read an article recently showing that even with the best reasonable growth amounts we could possibly hope for,,, BOTH of those together are still not enough to get us out of the whole we are in.   Used to be you could indeed grow your way out of things.  But not anymore, the problem (debt and deficits) has become so large that there will also HAVE to be cuts in government spending. And we all know danged well that those cuts and reforms are going to have to come from the big social programs that the liberal faction of the Democratic party say they won't touch. There is not enough left in the other programs, including the military, even if you cut them all to zero, to get us out of the hole.

All the growth in the world (so to speak), plus all the investment in the world, plus cutting all the rest of the government (military, education, etc) to zero, would still not be enough.  Couple terms ago you could have done it.  But not now. The government will have to both cut spending and entitlements.

Been on the presidents side, but only because he has been championing fair and balanced, that each side is going to have to sacrifice.  Sooner or later the people are going to be like "Ok mr President and Democrats, you got your revenue... where are the cuts?"  And it has to be enough cuts to make a difference.

We have a two party election system same as those countries in the Mid-East where the people are screaming and firing guns in the streets.  It is liken Athens when under the attack of the military of Rome.  We have depleted our treasury and turn our once robust economy into a debtor prison where there is no escape. We have allowed the exporting of our technology increasing foreign jobs.  We are buying their products and cannot or will not pay for the imbalance of trade.  But there is good news as we are going to increase our debt ceiling causing more inflation. 

But there is more good news as with the unemployment and inflation increasing that will build a new set of RR tracks through the front door of the white house for another third term president.           

Just a quick question here about deficits, debt, etc. - as relate to the association the Republicontins try so hard to make between Social Security and all this messy debt stuff.

You do realize that Social Security is NOT the problem?  It does NOT add to the deficit OR the debt.  It in fact, has a $3 trillion dollar or so surplus right now that is keeping the whole thing afloat - "invested" in treasuries.  It is paid for - at a surplus for 25 + years until middle of last year - by FICA taxes. 

And the whole idea that it is "bankrupt" could be completely eliminated by slightly raising the upper income limit where those taxes are withheld.  Back at their last "fix", that number was lower than today's level.  Today, I hear numbers in the $150 to 200k range.  Which, yes, would mean that once again, people getting the biggest breaks would lose some of that break.

Or we could all just start dying a little bit quicker.... Soylent Green!  Or maybe "Logan's Run"....that might be the quickest way to fix the problem, actually.

Thus far there have been over $1.5 trillion in spending cuts with less than $600 billion in new revenue. Interest savings take the total deficit reduction to something around $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years. I'd say the President is holding up his end of the bargain plus some.

Washington is noted for calling a decrease in an increase a cut.  We are still spending way too much money.  What to cut is the problem.  I'm glad I have no kids to pass this mess to.  I also hope you and your kids can afford to support me in my old age.  ;D

It was reported that that we bought some 46 billion dollars in merchandise from foreign countries with unsecured credit two months back.  This is presumed to be from corporate America that is producing the articles we purchased with cheap labor in plants that the corporations own.  There are no taxes collected on these transactions except normal sales taxes.  We struggle it off as “necessary balance of payments“.  The payment of 2.5 trillion dollars on our borrowed debt each decade would require over sixty five years to pay off if no money was spent to operate government.   

If one divides some 400 million population into the 46 billion dollars BAP by 400 millions,  there is no way to avoid going over the cliff as the 15.6 trillion dollar increases at each sunset and 100% taxation will not cover our liabilities.  Wake up USA you have had your beer bust now address your head ache. 
   

Colin Powell blasts GOP's intolerance

http://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2013/01/14/colin-powell-republican-party-criticism-intolerance/1832833/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2013/01/14/colin-powell-republican-party-criticism-intolerance/1832833/)

Townsend,
Did you get a job with the DNC?

I've tired of the direction the GOP has taken.

Too much time is being spent on things I think should be put to bed while things I care about are being ignored.

Don't get me wrong, I blame the DNC as well but the GOP is leading the race.

Colin Powell Slams ‘Idiot Presentations’ by Some Republicans, Urges GOP Leaders to ‘Speak Out’

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/colin-powell-slams-idiot-presentations-by-some-republicans-urges-gop-leaders-to-speak-out-2/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/colin-powell-slams-idiot-presentations-by-some-republicans-urges-gop-leaders-to-speak-out-2/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)

This man I would vote for President.  If he'd have run in 2000 like he was rumored to, I would have voted for him.

He was also very good on MSNBC, Cup of Joe this morning. I doubt many diehard Okies are paying much attention other than to express extreme cognitive dissonance. He expects the attacks on him personally which he says is really the problem with the party. Anyone who strays from the base dogma is simply unenlightened.

No.  He has escaped the miasma of Republicontin fumes that have been so pervasive since the hijacking of the party over 20 years ago.

The GOP is a mess. I seriously don't think they'll ever win another Presidential election.

That was the common belief when McGovern failed in 1972. And again when Reagan won the second time. Truth is the reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated. The party is simply evolving slower than the demographics of the nation. If ever there is an opportunity for a third party, it is when these synchronization errors occur. That might kill the party.

The name will always exist.  GOP, Republican isn't going away.  The party needs to be updated, rebooted and cleared of all viruses and worms.

The GOP's biggest problem seems to lie in being stodgy on social issues.  When approval of gay marriage has gone from (ripping stats from an article sourced on another post by Townsend) 40% to 53% in a matter of eight years, yet there are far right Republicans still favoring DOMA, it's pretty telling that the GOP isn't following a rapidly evolving change in philosophy.  I know quite a few Christians who have less of a problem with gay marriage when they consider the whole Christian principle of tolerance and it not being their place to stand in judgement.

I personally don't care for abortion, and I find using it as a form of birth control incredibly repugnant. But the GOP can't seem to quit qualifying candidates based on abortion.  If I were at the top of the ticket, I'd simply say, "It's not right for me, but I'm not falling into this decades-old trap on the abortion issue.  It was decided by the courts, and it's remained law for 40 years without being overturned. I'm not a single-issue candidate and I'm not going to be defined by a single issue."

The GOP has only made piecemeal efforts at reaching out to the minority communities and they've also not done a good job of refuting all the "War on (insert group here)" meme.

The numbers prove they are losing supporters like myself whose social views have evolved and softened over the years.

They're not gaining with the younger folks either.

I've always had a difficult time understanding why most Republicans think that being fiscally conservative also means you MUST be socially conservative.  I'm more of a fiscal conservative, but have ALWAYS leaned left on social issues.

Likewise with Democrats; if I'm socially liberal, why must I always be for the government spending out the wazoo all the time?

There are some of us who align ourselves more and more like this.

Watch out.  That sounds oddly Libertarian. 

Watch out.  You might say something cringe-worthy.

No.  Not at all.  Read some more about libertarian...

http://www.lp.org/

Difference is: we don't pledge allegiance to Grover Norquist (i.e., excluding revenue increases as a viable method of reducing debt and deficit).

Actually, though you are very socially liberal, your claim of being fiscally conservative is skeenchy at best. Growth and expansion of government requires capital, and government spending is never static, it is always expansive. The only source of capital is through slavery.

Most of your posts reflect a worshipful stance towards existing and proposed social program growth, and ridicule towards those who point out such growth as dangerous.  It would seem that you are both socially and fiscally liberal. 

Perhaps there is some room for you to evolve though.  I think we could possibly find common ground when it comes to scaling back defense spending.  That seems to be the one common ground between libertarians and liberals and offers a foothold for liberal contemplation of libertarian concepts.

I think the most confusing thing about libertarianism is that it is an individual philosophy based on simple principals.  This gives libertarians the ability to be very different in how they define "their" political philosophy.  In fact there is an old libertarian saying "There may be two libertarians in the world that agree, but I'm not one of them."  The idea is that the party has no power to dictate principal, or talking points, or twist reality to fit process and program.  Libertarians are simply what is considered "classic liberals" long before the progressive and socialist movement found a home under the hood of the liberal machine, classic liberals were exactly what we today call libertarians. 

You could be libertarian, however it would require you to give up some things.  First, you would need to divorce yourself from envy of others.  You would also need to recognize your individuality, as well as that of others, without classifying people into groups to define them.  And, finally, you would need to realize that intensions are not results.  Do those things and it will be very hard for you to worship the actions of government.

I would consider Conan a libertarian, but I am positive we disagree on many things, but the principals of individual freedom are the heart of our similarities and basis for our political philosophy.  No politician, liberal or conservative, offers a basis for the worshipful devotion you see from republicans and democrats when considering their candidates and elected.  Sure, it's entertaining but so very dangerous.

The legacy of Democrats and Republicans approaches: Libertarianism by bankruptcy. – Nick Nuessle

Libertarians believe the answer to America's political problems is the same commitment to freedom that earned America its greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom that marks this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America's founders. – The Libertarian Party

A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim. – L Neil Smith

Republicans don't want anyone having more fun than they do, and the Democrats don't want anyone making more money than they do. Libertarians want you to make money and have fun. – Andre Marrou

Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day. But a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly proves a deliberate systematic plan of reducing us to slavery. – Thomas Jefferson

Americans are so enamoured of equality they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom. – Alexis de Tocqueville

Popular suffrage is in itself no guarantee of freedom. People can vote themselves into slavery. – Frank Chodorov

To shackle future generations, with such monstrous debt and liabilities, is tantamount to selling them into tax slavery. – Eric Englund

Told ya.

I would be interested in how you score.
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz

I know we've been through this drill before, but it's alway a good exercise.

Generally I bought them a drink or two and then charmed them.

Out of the market now though.

What is the cause of the debt?  As the economy expands and contracts, shouldn't government do the same?  Why must government continue to grow when its engine, the private sector, is contracting or stalled?  

My family has a budget.  It changes depending on income, investment and debt.  With the latter being the most important.  The lower the debt the more stable the economy.  It's not a question of macro vs micro.  Debt has the same derivative result.  Grover, as intolerable as I find him, is focused on a singular factor, no matter how much you tax the wealthy, you cannot keep up with the rate of government expansion.  Not even slightly.  The liberal push towards milking the wealthy is based solely on emotion with no consideration for logic or accounting.  

Successful people are easy to hate, because they have more stuff.  Unfortunately, taking all their stuff is not enough to keep up with the expansion of government spending, and will never deliver opportunity to others.  Sorry, but that's probably just going to have to be a hard lesson at this point.

You crack me up every day!
The king of one liner posters. 

(http://duplexchick.com/files/2009/02/drum-roll.jpg)

I score upper left.

No man clatter:

Liberals=progressives
Conservatives=libertarians

It's the new labeling marketing!

Upper left libertarian myself.  I think there is some need for government organized welfare programs, but just the minimum. We must take care of the weakest among us, without promoting weakness as a lifestyle.

Conservatives are far from libertarian.  The need for conservatives to control lifestyle is abhorrent to libertarianism, as is the need for liberals to limit freedom & prosperity.

A fairly simplistic questionnaire but I didn't land in libertarian.

i am a progressive. I don't need to have data figure me out. ;)

Yes.  We all know what that means.

No need to explain.

Interesting, because I understand the math behind that survey.  The primary item that would put you there is your stance on the draft.  Do you really believe that the government should have the right to force people into servitude in defense of their country or should love and devotion to country attract them into service? 

Re-read that and think about how that makes you sound.  It affects how you're perceived.



I don't agree with a draft.

I must be mistaken then.  How do you score top liberal??

It's not my test.  Give them a call.

Never mind.  I figured it out.

Then I'm happy and sad for you.

Good one

I got caught in a draft once.  July '72.

More shenanigans. This time, their proposal is knowingly unconstitutional. What a bunch of goof offs. Lazy is their bad example. Failure their fate. If George Bush wasn't bad enough leadership, now the country is saddled with these careless politicians. The GOP/Teapotty is making a mockery of the constitution.

http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-pressures-senate-pass-budget-pay-withheld-012551916--abc-news-politics.html

Meanwhile, they can't seem to figure out how to raise $600,000 billion and cut $600,000 billion simultaneously in a calendar year. Shameful.

And will they stop with holding bills hostage using the debt ceiling?

Ouch RA. You had to have had a low low number. :(

38

What proposal are you talking about that is unconstitutional in the link you provided?

I think it's a great idea to withhold pay from members of Congress who are not doing the job appointed to them. 

Some of these guys keep helping their opponents.

Transvaginal Ultrasound Bill Is Back

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/02/07/transvaginal-ultrasound-bill-is-back.html (http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/02/07/transvaginal-ultrasound-bill-is-back.html)

A hand up rather than a hand out.

Has been my favorite saying since Hubert Humphrey said it.  Can't believe you two have moved in with me!

Rubio and Paul will be responding seperately tonight for the GOP.

Which one will be the one taken more seriously?

None of the above.

In case Karl Rove no longer lights your fire:

http://notkarlsparty.com/ (http://notkarlsparty.com/)

The site asks readers to fill in their information and email address to "Make Your Voice Heard." Signing the petition sends the user to a FreedomWorks donation page, which states: "We can't let the establishment silence Grassroots Conservatives across the country.   Your generous gift will ensure that your voice and millions of others are heard! The old way doesn't work. Let's send Karl Rove a message: We WON'T be silenced!"


(http://mediamatters.org/static/images/item/20130308-rovepost.jpg)

This is correct. It is no longer turd blossom's potty. NOW, it's the party of the Patriot Movement.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/03/05/1675441/splc-patriot-groups-all-time-high/

Mean people suck. Hater's ruin it for the rest of us.

That's right.  Morris Dees sucks.  Are you sending your regular tithe to the SPLC?

Looks like Bridenstein and MarkWayne come down for the count as representatives of the Patriot Party wing of the GOP.

Top Republicans Demand Obama Provide Coverage To People With Pre-Existing Conditions
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/08/1690341/top-republicans-demand-that-obama-provide-coverage-to-people-with-pre-existing-conditions/
Republicans demand Obama expand Obamacare....

I think Obama put something in their food the other night at The Roosevelt. Sorry, after 13 episodes of House Of Cards I question everything.

Oklahoma is not divided....the teaheads have a headlock on our State and things will not change for decades. That's right. We are stuck with Bridenstiein and Mullin and Fallin etc. I started packing my bags. 5 years, and you won't have TTC to kick around anymore.

(http://assets.amuniversal.com/db8d1880577601301625001dd8b71c47)

Don't let the toll gate hit your rear bumper.

Where would a clown go?  Baltimore?  San Fran?  Canada?
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QK6dUYxwKUc/TjB8wKgZoZI/AAAAAAAAAKk/LxE4AlA9oJ4/s1600/sad-clown.jpg)

http://clowntown.co.uk/

Meanwhile, some influential Republicans are insisting that they lost the last two presidential elections because their candidates weren't true conservatives.  (Please, please, please, stick with that idea for the next 20 years or so!)

Rubio says that Republicans don't need any new ideas (though they're apparently incapable of generating any, for that matter) and Rand Paul was certainly direct:

“The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered,” Paul said. “I don’t think we need to name any names here, do we?”

Although Paul didn’t mention McCain by name, the reference was clear after McCain last week labeled Paul and other members of the new generation of conservative Republicans “wacko birds.”


http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-cpac-rand-paul-marco-rubio-take-shots-at-mitt-romney-john-mccain/2013/03/14/21bd389c-8cf9-11e2-9838-d62f083ba93f_story.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-cpac-rand-paul-marco-rubio-take-shots-at-mitt-romney-john-mccain/2013/03/14/21bd389c-8cf9-11e2-9838-d62f083ba93f_story.html)

Some social conservatives threaten to abondon the GOP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/11/some-social-conservatives-threaten-to-abandon-gop/

Can't say I didn't see this coming.  The wheels are starting to loosen....

Thrilled to death that Bush is comfortable with what he did during his Presidency.  Killing over 4,000 of our kids for no good reason.  Spending trillions off-budget so he could hide the true cost to the economy.  I am happy for him that he feels comfortable with that....that he feels Iraq was the 'right thing' to do...or at least the Right Wing Extremist thing to do!

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/library-opens-bush-hopes-reassessment-legacy-111102605--politics.html

Not even Faux News is standing behind this one:

The head of the Republican Party threatened Monday to cut out CNN and NBC from the GOP presidential primary debates if the networks do not shelve their plans to air lengthy features on Hillary Clinton -- who is widely expected to be a Democratic candidate ...

How many federal laws did that just break?

He'll be disappeared when she wins in '16.

She is a shoe-in, and better than anything the Republican party currently has to offer.

She is also, like her husband, deeply concerned about her legacy, instead of just ideology. 

Hopefully that means she is willing to reverse the policies of failure.

Not sure she can do anything about the actions of this House and the Tea Party line.

I hate to say this, but I think the closest thing to getting a mainstream Republican candidate for the next Presidential cycle might be Chris Christie.  He's not afraid (well, for the most part) of telling his party to go to hell when it needs it.  It's needed it now since about the last week of Jan, 2011.  Perhaps a little earlier.

Pretty sad when Ronald Reagan would likely be vilified as a socialist liberal with the current strain of Republicans in Washington.

I don't think Christie has a chance at the nomination.  I think the GOP will move even further to the right, and pick one of the young conservative voices.  I think it will be a disaster, because forces from a growing Libertarian movement, along with a very successful Tea Party establishment will just further divide the vote.

The more important question is what happens to congress?  I think we will get some vision of this in the next midterm. 

One more step in the direction the House has traveled and there will soon be feces thrown.

You would think that their realization and subsequent ignorance of needing to reach out to minority voters and younger women will hurt them.  They have almost a bullet-proof majority in the house.  I say almost because there is still over a year left until mid-terms.  We've seen how the Republicans can screw up a sure thing lately.

Their majority in the house was not of their own doing.  It was the result of public backlash from Obamacare, and a very successful Tea Party movement pushing establishment republicans out of office. Few of the challengers from the Democrat side were willing to acknowledge any support for Obamacare, and those who did could neither explain or defend it. It became an easy campaign target.

In the upcoming election, the subject of Obamacare will continue to be a handicap due to the fact that only 35% of Americans support it.  I expect that Hillary will fully embrace this opportunity to present her own health plan, or revised Obamacare plan, to remove that stigma from her party.  Both parties should welcome this as an opportunity.

As a rule, the Clintons have always been very pro-small business, so I suspect that whatever alterations become part of her platform, they will likely erase the burdens placed on the small business world as a result of Obamacare.

We shall see. There is a long time until the election, and plenty of opportunity for some scandal to limit her viability. Who knows, our special little guy could become president.

(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVbWZuyTvWUJkXKK_dzk6LiHxWMWN4cNcGIz6ZFKWjPsOYajee)

I just doubt we will see a Republican president for a while, and if we continue to grow government dependency, perhaps never.

Maybe you could have a lower level national championship. Division II.

I figured that was what happened last time.

It was like a gaggle of Paul Tay's ran for president on the GOP ticket.

Now that’s not fair to Tay. His IQ is probably higher than the sum of the IQs of the entire Republican field of candidates if you don’t count the two Mormons. He just doesn't always take his meds.

Yeah, I retract.

And House Repugs have mistaken a "push-back" as a "mandate"

It was too of their own doing. Gerrymandering is what made the difference. Republican House candidates got fewer votes than Democrats and still got 34 more seats.

The mandate in the House for Republicans is from Republican primary voters, period. This is a real problem because something more than half of Republican voters are certifiably nuts with little care for facts.

Our current President of the United States of America is proof that

No, I think Swake has it right:

http://crazyartideas.com/40-most-ridiculous-tea-party-protest-signs-ever/

Keep government out of Medicaid.

Priceless.

Sorry I don't have the heart to click the link...tell me you are kidding

Actually, not just one, but two different signs said that.

(http://crazyartideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/dont-steal-medicare.jpg)

(http://crazyartideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/keep-government-out-medicare.jpg)

you can't tell me you haven't seen some of those before.

I wonder why some in this movement lament people of intelligence.  Is there something wrong, for them, with people of intelligence?  I'm not talking smarmy intelligence, just people who are simply well-read and do research on things before spouting off like they are Mensas.  I know many conservatives (those on this forum for the most part are) that don't act this way.  I'm not saying there aren't liberals that are like this, it just seems that this particular branch of the Republican party screams this kind of nonsense louder than others.

I think for all of us that our own political views make the "other side" craziness seem louder than those on "our side".

That's because mainly in this case, it is.

The problem with Republicans right now is that the crazy's are in charge. No offense to you, I don't think you are insane, but a current majority of the right IS FRACKING NUTS. If you need proof, review Jim Brindenstein's statements. Yes, our own congressman.

I guess Weiner, Spitzer, and Filner are not part of the crazies out there.  And people are talking about politicians and IQ without recalling this?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j0FS0Z6ho[/youtube]

There's a critical difference, Guido, because those you're citing have problems in a personal way. Their problems are not ours, yet the more rabid right wing ideas could have national impact. Equating the two is misguided.

I won't rehash the idea that the far right extremists do a disservice both to the Republican party and the country as a whole. That's been well covered. Instead, I offer a bit of irony from Gilberton, Pennsylvania, whose police chief performed two profanity laced YouTube videos highlighting his profound hatred of liberals, punctuated with automatic weapons firing at a picture of Nancy Pelosi. Sure, I fully support his right to free speech. He has the right to make an azz of himself as do we all. But the irony comes from his supporters, the Constitutional Rights Militia - or some such nonsense - who arrived at a town meeting with weapons in hand to prevent other citizens from entering. The meeting was called to discuss suspending the police chief and despite the armed attemt at intimidation, he was suspended for 30 days. The so-called constitutional defenders are OK with free speech provided it's theirs alone.

Should we regard this as merely another isolated incident? We've seen a rising level of violent rhetoric from the far right fringe along with what are portrayed as isolated acts of violence, yet no one wants to use the correct term - domestic terrorism. The is no similar violent rhetoric or action coming from the left.

Both parties are the problem.  They have become nothing more than a Red Team v.s. Blue Team sporting event.  C-Span is the ESPN, and each party has its media cheerleaders.

Politicians have become willing to make policy based on what will hurt the other team most on the field of play, instead of what is good for the country.  Our freedoms, our economic future, and the sustainability of our republic is suffering.

For government, our leaders should all share a singular goal, the prosperity and wellbeing of the people, and be able to offer differing ideas on how to accomplish it. Instead, we have a government willing to make policy against the will of the people, take both foreign and domestic action against the laws set forth in the constitution, sacrifice economic growth for government control, and attempt to use the media to alter the narrative.

The sad part is that there are actually groups of Americans on both sides of stadium willing to cheer on every move their team makes without questioning wether or not they are right.  More and more people are willing to accept the group mentality because it is devoid of the burdens of individual thought and responsibility, and it falsely promises a security it can never deliver, because to preserve centralized power it is necessary to keep the populous alarmed (and insecure).



At the heart of western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man … is the touchstone of value, and all society, groups, the state, exist for his benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and abiding practice of any western society. – Robert F. Kennedy

In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule. – Friedrich Nietzsche

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed – and hence clamorous to be led to safety – by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. – H.L. Mencken

Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Wherever politics intrudes upon economic life, political success is readily attained by saying what people like to hear rather than what is demonstrably true. Instead of safeguarding truth and honesty, the state then tends to become a major source of insincerity and mendacity. – Hans F. Sennholz

In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all – security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again. – Edward Gibbon

I am sure that is what you believe.

I do not believe the majority of the right is FRACKING NUTS any more than I believe the majority of the left is FRACKING NUTS.  There are significant quantities of vocal examples on both sides depending on your individual bias as I noted earlier.

And lest we forget...more than half the Supreme Court was bought and paid for to set aside votes to manipulate the electoral vote during the 2000 election when over half a million more voted for Gore... 

You owe it to yourself to go visit that place...even though it is a very dark place for the RWRE - YOU are recovering!!  Live long and prosper!

Oklahoma has a singular opportunity coming up very soon to show exactly where we as a state stand on those noble ideals.  Jim Inhofe is spooling up his campaign now.

The result of that election will show exactly what Oklahoma believes - the ideals enumerated with that note - or the opposite.

The members of the majority party in the House would beg to differ.

I never could stand Inhofe and his pandering grandstanding.  But he is a statesman compared to who is being elected now.

I hope Inhofe has a primary opponent, but I don't think that's going to happen.

If we restrict the population sample to members of the (US) House, I would agree that most of the left is FN.  When applied to the general populace of the USA, it shifts to a significant minority of the left being FN.

Mullen, come on down!

I would bet good money that any primary opponent would be WORSE than Inhofe these days.

Really? Is it the right or the left that has rejected science on a scale not seen since the 15th century Roman church?

Assuredly there are nut jobs on the left, even elected ones. But they aren't running the show. The Tea Party is now in charge of the Republican Party.

You're absolutely correct about the wild eyed nutjobs as minorities within their respective parties, but those are the folks who can be counted upon to vote in the primaries. It gives them influence far greater than their numbers. Romney was a near perfect example of that influence. I don't think anyone believed he was ever a far right conservative, but to win primaries he had to be portrayed as one. When he tried to pivot toward the center, his earlier stance dragged him down like an anchor.

Maybe we need to bring back those smoke filled caucuses to find better candidates. It's merely a thought, and I'm certainly open to better ideas.

I'm guessing nothing will change soon but eventually things will even out and reason (as close as we can come) will pop up again for a time.

McCarthyism was around and then it ended.  The same will be said of the Teaparty.   Both inflicted long term damage.

My gosh, are you freakin kidding me? Filner is the mayor of San Diego, Weiner wants to be mayor of the largest city in this country. These guys are out there wanting leadership positions while being incapable of controlling themselves IN THE PUBLIC. As for rabid right winger stuff, how about reframing Bridenstine and everyone else you find objectionable as opposing rabid left wing policies such as Obamacare and perhaps Gosnell-based abortion policy. Crap, we have left wingers like Hank Johnson thinking Guam will tip over because of too many people, or Cynthia McKinney, or Jim Moran, Alan Grayson, and on and on and on... Red Arrow is right about this, and I would add that this thread is more about your sour grapes and feeling helpless because you live in a red state.

As for anti-science argument, who in the hell made you people the authority on what amounts to science. You come off as dooshbaggy elitists, most without the education to even come close to being able to judge others.

You shouldn't call people that. You should apologize.

And secondly, just because you spent more years in college, you think that only you can judge others?

If you won't apologize, then read the first line again while looking in the mirror.

Don't take this as an attack but do you know why sentences like that scare reasonable people?

Gosh, Guido, I thought you had better reading skills. You're equating politicians who have - let's be kind - an obsession with their zippers and whatnots with some right wing nuts who are obsessed with guns. Now I'll grant you that in a Freudian sense, they're merely different in scale, but here in the real world, they're different in kind.

A guy who's sex obsessed may be perfectly capable of performing his job, yet a gun-toting local police chief with an obvious hatred of "libtards" shouldn't be anywhere near a powerful position. One is sex. The other is violence. Do you see it now?

As for 'feeling helpless in a red state' you couldn't be more wrong. My mission is to show the benighted the error of their ways and I revel in the knowledge that they'll recognize both my personal and intellectual superiority, eventually worshiping my god-like awesomeness.

Or maybe not.

(http://winace.courageunfettered.com/pics/high_horse.jpg)

Apologize for what? Swake comes right out and equates those that do not share his notions of science as living in the damned 1500s, with a "reasonable" (for Townsend's benefit) Catholic bash thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the collective IQ of the republic field and a guy Tay, nah, that's not apology worthy. Townsend attempts to tie McCarthyism to the tea party. That neither.

The whiny left in this forum simply cannot deal with the reality that Oklahoma is a red state, and has, gulp, elected conservatives to office. Want an illustration? Think about all the tired comments that the right is filled with flat earthed mouth breathers. I am not, my better half (who is far more educated and science-focused than me) is not, and I dare say the hundreds that I sit with at Mass are not as thought of by some in here.  

As for judging others? You bet I will when those that I support are run down in here. If Swake and others are going to tee off, expect a response. That means put up your bona fides if they are going to rip on people's "500 years behind" views on science. BTW, where is your demand for an apology from him? Meh.

Even the Clenis is running from Weiner. Doesn't that tell you something? Anyways, I guess I am old school and that character and having moral authority to lead counts a little. I guess Weiner, Filner, and Spitzer could easily decide to fire an employee or public official that flashes their genitals in public or sexually gropes a co-worker/subordinate. I guess these people once in office couldn't easily be subjected to extortion from another victim about to go public. Now, I know the right has their bozos as well, and some stick around when they shouldn't.

Don't buck the pattern. 

There is a formula for successful liberal politicians.  The men must be viscerally guided by ego, and the women must be victims.
Hillary would have just been another first lady with a failed "first lady agenda" (Hillarycare), if Bill hadn't endowed her with the liberal gift of victimhood.
Weiner has given his wife Huma a pedigree now.  You can expect great things from her in the future. 

Liberals must be able to capitalize on the grievance industry in some way, so that you can "espouse" and connect from a less challengeable position.

"I feel your pain". . .Move on.

I think there are some people in here in need of a binky.

That's not true.

I was attempting to provide another example of a group of people falling for someone's grand idea and lemminging along with over-zealous leadership.

There was no tie.  I didn't show that they are fighting an imaginary communist takeover of our society.

Both have done damage.  Neither helped.

Guid, the only reason you are so upset is because it is so true. If there is one thing that unites elected Republicans today it's a shared rejection of facts and science. From masturbating fetuses to women don't get pregnant from "real" rape the Republican party is a complete clown show when it comes to science. Let's do a short list.

Todd Akin's offensive talk about the science of "real" rape was only made worse by the fact that he was a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee! But he's far from the only complete idiot on that committee.

Representative Paul Broun, who also is on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee had this to say about the age of the Earth

Dana Rohrbacher, another Republican is ALSO on the science committee and is on the subcommittee on the environment and he  said THIS:

There's lots more. How about Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell saying this?
She thankfully lost but wasn't she a Guid favorite?

Our won Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortley proposed a bill  prohibiting companies in Oklahoma from using aborted fetuses to make food because he read on the Internet that stem cells were being used in the production of artificial sweeteners. Don't you feel safer now?

Bills in state legislatures in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, Montana and here in Oklahoma all are attempting to put Creationism into schools along side the real science of evolution. If Darwin were alive they would probably be attempting to jail him just like Galileo was jailed.

Climate change is another fun topic. Texas Rep. Joe Barton doesn't believe in climate change, because God is behind climate change in the Bible, he said:

In fact nearly all scientists that deal with climate believe that we are changing the climate through hydrocarbons. Don't take my word for it. Ask NASA:
http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus

You know who disagrees with the scientists?
Every single Republican in the House
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/149585-house-gop-rejects-amendment-that-says-climate-change-is-occurring#ixzz2WcQlKzN0

I can go on, this is a easy list to build, from Tom Coburn working to defund the NSF to Jim Inhofe's being the (well funded) pocket of large oil companies, but you get the medieval point.

His is the patron saint of those being elected now.  Their mentor, teacher and cult leader.

Andrew Rice.   Yeah, he lost last time, but I think he should run again.  The only problem is that I don't think the people of Oklahoma are in general, smart enough to understand just how all pervasive are the lies that Inhofe spews...about Rice, other previous opponents, any generic topic he talks about.... (sadly, they keep proving me right at every one of his elections.)

My gosh, are you freakin kidding me?  Mary Failin' is governor of Oklahoma!  Jim Inhofe is Senator!  Sally Kern is STILL being elected.  Dick Cheney is still reaping untold millions from no bid contracts to Halliburton to the tune of $90 billion or so.  Saxby Chambliss is still Senator of Georgia, thanks to Karl Rove, the Vile.  And you are worked up over an exhibitionist fool who won't get elected anyway?

Bush bought his way to office once, got elected the next time.  Can't keep from pawing the German Chancellor in public.   "Swift Boaters" institutionalizing the "Big Lie" about someone NONE of them had ever served with, or even met, either during the time or after...but well qualified to spew commentary on validity of Kerry's purple heart - NOT!!  How about the psycho-hose beasts who lied us into Iraq.  For NO valid reason other than paybacks for Daddy's embarrassment.

Again, one of those "perspective" events...the RWRE vilifying misdemeanors, stupidity, and petty theft, while celebrating, embracing and sanctifying high crimes that kill thousands and cost trillions for no good reason.  But as good ole fash-un 'Mericans...we loves our torture - gives us a sense of righteousness!!

(Anti-science is exactly what Bush brought to the table.  But I guess you missed that part of it from all the sparkles dazzling your eyes.)

Ok, then.... you agree with my previous post!  Good for you!  We are making progress!!

I can always use one...never was properly weaned!! 

Which one?  This:


PHOENIX -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has announced that he’s requiring all of his deputies to carry AR-15 assault rifles 24 hours per day.

or this one:

NSFW
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QQW0RswpQ4[/youtube]
NSFW

That was a joke video right? lol   

Nope.  Pretty sad.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57595378-71/police-chief-defends-posting-anti-government-youtube-videos/

The UN treaty that Kessler is ranting about is intended to block the illegal international trade in small arms. In typically dyslexic gun nut fashion, he assumes it has something to do with curbing his right to keep and bear his weiner assault rifle.

Despite the fact that this guy could be the mayor of Dicktown, he has the same constitutional rights as the rest of us. In his case, he's using that right to make an axx of himself. The city council cannot fire him for his political views. That would bring an immediate lawsuit. But they suspended him without pay for 30 days, saying he'd used city property without permission. It's a weak argument.

His militia buddies are a problem too, and there have been calls for the Commonwealth to turn out the National Guard to keep the peace. Kessler's buddies are protecting the town hall against...presumably those wild eyed (and unarmed) liberals with their crazy ideas about free speech and the rule of law. The militia is the town's only defense against the UN, black helicopters, and roving packs of zombies. Here's a photo from a local paper, presumably one of those militia types. He probably forgot to bring his aluminum foil hat.

(http://www.opposingviews.com/sites/opposingviews.com/files/imagecache/300x250/featured_image/Militia.png)

(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m551/keepemhonest2/kesslerbobreynolds_zpsecd47609.jpg)

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3iT1ii1NFM&feature=youtu.be

Wow, that was painful to read.  I have inanimate objects in my home that might spell better than he does.

No matter how much bad there is in the world, how much bickering and pettiness....there IS hope for the world!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DIGfO2Dgc9Y


I mean.... Wow!!

Now that rocked.  ;D Wow indeed.

Talent: I have none.

Tea party ready for fight with GOP establishment


WASHINGTON — Tea partyers insist they’re not to blame for Republican election losses in congressional and presidential elections, faulting the GOP establishment for showing little fight. This election year, the establishment is fighting — against the tea party insurgents challenging incumbents who the Republican Party is convinced stand a far better chance in November.

The internal GOP showdown will be decided in primaries starting Tuesday in Texas and stretching through the year in Kentucky, Mississippi, Kansas, Michigan and elsewhere. Burned by losses in winnable Senate races in 2010 and 2012, establishment Republicans are aggressively challenging this year’s class of tea party-backed candidates.

Tea partyers, dismissing reports of their demise, say they’re ready to use their unbending political force against both President Barack Obama and the Republican establishment. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a superstar to the movement and a potential 2016 presidential candidate, says he’s hopeful and optimistic that “we’re going to turn this country around.”

Hundreds gathered Thursday as the Tea Party Patriots, one of the major grassroots groups, marked the movement’s fifth anniversary at a Washington celebration that toasted everything anti-Washington. They stood and applauded wildly for Cruz, who precipitated the 16-day partial government shutdown last fall with his opposition to Obama’s health care law, and warmly received two other tea party senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.

Tea partyers, who helped Republicans capture control of the House in 2010, made clear they don’t like what the GOP establishment has done to their conservative agenda of limited government, free-market policies and what they consider fidelity to the Constitution. They signaled they will work hard to elect their uncompromising candidates no matter what the establishment does. In Kansas, the Tea Party Express endorsed Milton Wolf, who is opposing three-term Sen. Pat Roberts in the Republican primary.

Cruz, who has helped raise money for groups targeting incumbent Republicans, has refused to endorse his state’s senior senator, John Cornyn, the Senate’s second-ranking Republican, in Tuesday’s primary. Cornyn faces Rep. Steve Stockman. “Liberals fight every step,” said Steve Gibson of Columbus, Ohio. Establishment Republicans, he said, say, “we can’t win, we might as well not fight.” Gibson said he had offered to help Matt Bevin, the Republican businessman challenging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell, according to Gibson, is conservative 70 percent of the time, but then “throwing in the towel every time.”

Gibson was particularly upset with McConnell’s recent votes on allowing the nation to borrow more money. Keli Carender, national grassroots coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, said the strength of the group was reflected in the $1.2 million and counting that it raised in 10 days.
To the “establishment and permanent political class,” Carender said, “we don’t need their millions; we’ve got our own.” Republicans blame the tea party for losses in winnable races in 2010 and 2012 in Colorado, Nevada, Delaware and Indiana that many believe cost the GOP a Senate majority.

As evidence of the party’s tough tactics, a political deal was engineered in Colorado. Tea party-affiliated Ken Buck, who lost a close Senate race in 2010, stepped aside to run for the House while more mainstream Rep. Cory Gardner launched a Senate bid. As Rob Collins, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said this week: “We’re not anti-conservative. We’re just anti-people-who-can’t-win.”

Tea partyers point to mainstream Republicans who lost Senate seats in Wisconsin, Virginia, North Dakota and Montana in 2012, as well as to two defeated presidential candidates — John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. Addressing the tea party event, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., was interrupted by the crowd, which stood and cheered when he said, “It’s high time we retire (House Speaker) John Boehner.” When the applause died down, Huelskamp completed his sentence that it was “high time to retire John Boehner’s biggest excuse that we only control one-third of the government.”

Viveca Stoneberry of Spotsylvania, Va., said she was disillusioned with the Republican leadership because Boehner and others “pretend to be on the side of conservatives.” Irene Conklin of Gainesville, Va., said Boehner needs to “take a solid stand.” Boehner said Thursday that he has “great respect for the tea party and the energy they brought to the electoral process. My gripe is with some Washington organizations who feel like they’ve got to go raise money by beating on me and others.”

If Boehner and McConnell were drawing the movement’s ire, Sen. Ted Cruz was collecting praise. He drew a rousing response when he told the crowd he was “absolutely convinced we are going to repeal every single word” of the health care law. Support for the tea party has declined slightly since 2010, when members rallied around opposition to the health care law.

Just ahead of the 2010 elections, an Associated Press-GfK poll found that 30 percent of adults considered themselves supporters of the tea party movement. By October 2013, that figure had dipped to 17 percent, then rebounded to 27 percent last month. Separately, a CBS News-New York Times poll this week found that 50 percent of Republicans who say they back the tea party complain that the party’s candidates are not conservative enough, while just 19 percent of non-tea party Republicans said the same.

While tea partyers expressed frustration with the GOP, they were fierce in their opposition to Obama. Speakers described the president as an emperor, radical and socialist whose administration has abused its power. They railed against the Internal Revenue Service’s audits that they argue target conservatives and other political groups on the right as well as the NSA surveillance as an intrusion on Americans’ privacy.

Members of the Tea Party Patriots pressed for broader congressional investigations of the IRS and the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. They argue the administration is involved in a cover-up and greater oversight is necessary.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/tea-party-ready-for-fight-with-gop-establishment/article_681a36e0-a0ea-11e3-aa24-0017a43b2370.html

This fight has been brewing (sorry, couldn't resist) for a long time. On the Tea Party's Bizarro world, the Republicans lost the last 2 presidential elections because their candidates weren't true conservatives, never mind that there are no more votes to be had out there on the extreme right fringe. Reality doesn't enter into it, just as here on the forum some look around at Oklahoma and think it's representative of the United States as a whole.

You know it's going to be fun when Republicans start calling each other liberals. I'll make the popcorn.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/02/1252488/-Another-Republican-Switches-To-The-Democratic-Party#

"Rational Republican beliefs have given way to ideological character assassination. Pragmatism and principle have been overtaken by pettiness and bigotry. Make no mistake; I have not left the Republican Party. It left me. I cannot tolerate a Republican Party that demeans Texans based on their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, or their economic status. I will not be a member of a party in which hate speech elevates candidates for higher office rather than disqualifying them. I cannot place my name on the ballot for a political party that is proud to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers over the vain attempt to repeal a law that would provide healthcare to millions of people throughout our country. .. I would hope that more people of principle will follow me."

The only problem with that is now, the concentration is even more radical, since they lost a voice of potential reason.  Leading to an ever more radical hijacked Republican party.

We need a Rational Party.  And sadly, no, it isn't Democrat or Libertarian now, either.  They are too often compromised by radical extremists.  (Anyone think it's ironic that it is I making that statement?  I would describe myself as extreme moderate....)

Somewhere rational people can go and be represented....

“If the St. Louis Tea Party coalition and the A.C.L.U. are on the same page on something, we must be going down the right path”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/us/law-enforcement-issues-in-missouri-and-other-states-spur-unlikely-alliances.html

Rep. Peter King: ‘This madness has to end soon’
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., explains why he’s “had it with this self-righteous, delusional wing” of his party and why he’s strongly pushing his party to pass a clean DHS funding bill

http://on.msnbc.com/1Gzb23j

I am Nostradamus.

Three and a half years ago I predicted this.

All hail RecycleMichael

Yeah well two hours later Shadows wrote:

I like that 3 years later Shadows is still wrong... still no inflation.

I don't think he's with us anymore...his profile says he hasn't been online since 2013 and he had his age at 95.  I kinda miss him.  He was the crazy old uncle.

I can do that job. Just give me a few years.

Geez...if that is what you like, I could go there...!  And way before Aquaman....

WASHINGTON — A newly elected Republican member of the House known for conspiratorial social media posts spread a false theory that PG&E started the devastating Camp Fire in 2018 with space lasers in a clean-energy experiment gone awry, according to a new report.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has since deleted the Facebook post in which she made the suggestion, according to Media Matters for America, a left-leaning research outlet. But the group released a screen grab of the November 2018 post in which Greene detailed a long, meandering conspiracy theory involving Pacific Gas and Electric Co., former Gov. Jerry Brown, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband, space-based solar generators and unnamed people who claimed to have seen “what looked like lasers or blue beams of light causing the fires.”

“The idea is clean energy to replace coal and oil,” Greene wrote. “If they are beaming the suns energy back to Earth, I’m sure they wouldn’t ever miss a transmitter receiving station right??!!”

The post includes references to the Rothschild Inc. investment firm, a frequent subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that are monitored by the Anti-Defamation League. It also falsely alleges the fire that ripped through Butte County was along the path of the state’s planned high-speed rail line, which in reality is hundreds of miles to the south.

    In another recently discovered FB post, Marjorie Taylor Greene penned a conspiracy theory claiming that a space laser started the deadly 2018 Camp Fire in California. https://t.co/erp7UhN1AL pic.twitter.com/3TEFcSyVZb
    — Eric Hananoki (@ehananoki) January 28, 2021

Greene’s post came as the Camp Fire was in the process of being contained but had already ravaged the town of Paradise and nearby communities. The blaze was the deadliest in the state’s history, killing 85 people and destroying nearly 20,000 structures.

The fire was actually sparked by PG&E electrical equipment, and the company later pleaded guilty to 85 felony charges, including 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter. PG&E, which filed for bankruptcy protection a few months after the blaze, agreed to a $13.5 billion settlement with victims of the fire.

Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Neither did Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County), whose district includes the areas devastated by the Camp Fire, nor House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, who worked to keep disaster relief for California from being cut off by former President Donald Trump and who has faced questions about Greene’s place in the House.

Greene has been under scrutiny over her social media presence, including posts trafficking in conspiracy theories related to QAnon and questioning school shootings. In recent days, social media sleuths have uncovered a video of her harassing a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, and CNN reported she had indicated support for executing Democratic members of Congress.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Conspiracy-friendly-GOP-lawmaker-falsely-15906172.php

(https://rokzfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Rep-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-Wears-Censored-Mask-to-Speak-From-210x150.jpg)

Former Republican officials in talks to form center-right anti-Trump party
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/538362-former-republicans-in-talks-to-form-center-right-anti-trump-party


A group of more than 100 former Republican officials have discussed the possibility of forming a conservative party due to their unhappiness with the direction of the GOP under former President Donald Trump and the likelihood he'll be acquitted at the end of his second impeachment trial, according to Republicans who participated in the conversation.
Former Republican House Rep. Charlie Dent confirmed to CNN that he and about 120 Republicans held a conversation last Friday about whether to form a new party or a new faction within the Republican Party that would operate independently from the GOP.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/politics/republican-officials-discuss-forming-party/index.html


Tulsa's Republican Party Chairman Bob Jack has no place in the Tulsa city government.
From leading a Stop the Steal rally at LaFortune Park to being the leader of pressure to remove of the Black Lives Matter street mural in the Greenwood District, he shows how dangerous it would be if he were placed on a city commission.
It is a sickness in our society to continue believing the presidential election was stolen and that people of color, a growing majority, are taking away rights.
Jack needs to move on and remove himself as a contender for the Infrastructure Development Advisory Board.
Better yet, resign as chairman of the Tulsa Republican Party.
https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/letters/letter-tulsa-gop-leader-needs-to-step-down/article_ba44c62c-6a57-11eb-97c3-67c3b3cfeea2.html

.
That is the essential effort of the day, isn't it?   Jamie Raskin has done an exceptional, Quixotic job of trying to turn cowards - Trump sychophants - into at least minimally decent, honorable human beings for at least once in their lives.   

I have no hope that it will happen, especially with the examples already shown by the entire Oklahoma House delegation, plus the previous records of Inhofe and Lankford.

.
No honor.  No decency.  No ethics.  No morals.

The Party of Trump. The Party of Lincoln is dead.

Kissing the ring: Inside the GOP courtship of Trump's endorsement

    Even members seen as facing largely safe reelections are asking for Trump's early endorsement to ward off serious primary challengers — call it the Thom Tillis path.
    Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) reached out to Trump recently to ask for his backing. Their requests remain "under consideration," says a source familiar with the situation.

https://www.axios.com/trump-endorsement-republican-primaries-d85930b1-bd61-4d9e-9d0c-81602dc9df39.html

Apparently the conspiracy theorist that wants to take his place has Lankford worried, and maybe we should be, too.

Just when you think it can't get any worse than the pathetic excuses we elect every time, it goes ahead and does just that...!

I actually never think it can't get worse - this is Oklahoma and we are still driving as hard and fast as possible to the bottom of all things good that a state can and should do.  In spite of all my efforts to turn the tide, breeding idiots is just too much inertia to overcome.

Donald Trump Jr has begun selling merchandise that mocks Alec Baldwin, who fatally shot a cinematographer during an on-set incident last week.

Mr Trump has been sharing several Instagram photos and stories since Thursday’s tragic film set incident in New Mexico, where Mr Baldwin was filming Rust outside Santa Fe.

One of the latest stories showed a T-shirt with the words: “Guns don’t kill people, Alec Baldwin kills people”. The Instagram story had a link to Mr Trump’s online website, where the T-shirt is being sold for $27.99.

In another Instagram story, he shared a photoshopped image of Mr Baldwin wearing the same T-shirt.
Former President Trump and Mr Baldwin have had a long-running feud, with the actor portraying the bombastic politician on Saturday Night Live leading up to the 2016 election and beyond. The performances apparently so irked Mr Trump that he took to Twitter calling for an investigation into TV networks that criticise Republicans.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-jr-alec-baldwin-shooting-b1944549.html

Jr is a sick person.

Came by it "honestly" - genes don't lie!   Much of the time....

Almost a third of Republicans believe violence may be necessary to “save” the US, according to a new poll.

Researchers at the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, found that 30% of Republicans agreed with the statement “Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country”.

Among Americans who believe the 2020 election was “stolen” from Donald Trump, which it was not, 39% believe violence may be required.

The troubling statistics show the post-election rancour that led to the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January is still very much in place.

Republicans are most likely to believe “true American patriots may have to resort to violence”, PRRI found, with just 11% of Democrats and 17% of Independents agreeing with the statement. Among all Americans, 18% agreed.
PRRI said 2,508 adults, living in all 50 states, were interviewed for the survey between 16 and 29 September.

“It is an alarming finding,” Robert Jones, chief executive and founder of PRRI, told Yahoo News. “I’ve been doing this a while, for decades, and it’s not the kind of finding that as a sociologist, a public opinion pollster, that you’re used to seeing.”

Jones said the responses illustrate the “significant and rapidly increasing polarisation in the United States”.

“As we’ve gotten some distance [from the 6 January], one might hope cooler heads would prevail, but we really haven’t seen that,” Jones said. “If anything, it looks like people are doubling down and views are getting kind of locked in.”

The PRRI poll is not the first to discover an apparent readiness for violence among Republican voters.
In February a survey by the American Enterprise Institute found that 39% of Republicans thought that “if elected leaders will not protect America, the people must do it themselves, even if it requires violent actions”.

Among all Americans, 29% agreed with that statement. Some 31% of independent voters and 17% of Democrats thought violent action might be required.

More than 650 people have been criminally charged for their role in the Capitol attack, in which five people died.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/01/republicans-violence-save-us-poll

I imagine a fair amount of lifelong republicans would like to have their party back again.

(https://www.tiktok.com/api/img/?itemId=6919967764862012678&location=0&aid=1988)

Just not enough to actually DO something about it....!

Two Oklahoma congressmen supported Arizona Republican Paul Gosar, who was censured by the U.S. House of representatives on a mostly party-line vote over an animated video that depicted him killing New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword and then attacking President Joe Biden with it.

First District Congressman Kevin Hern and Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole defended Gosar, although not necessarily the animation, saying his actions were on par with the statements of some Democrats who have not been censured.

Hern claimed Democrats "have made threats, incited violence against political enemies, and minimized actual violence from their political allies."

Republicans in recent years have tried to censure Democrats Maxine Waters and Ilhan Omar, among others, for provocative statements. None has explicitly called for violence, however.
https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/d-c-digest-hern-cole-defend-gosar-after-house-censure-over-violent-video/article_7ce320dc-4957-11ec-9553-9b7ed2d5a80c.html



This is who our Oklahoma delegation is supporting:

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) appears to be relishing the backlash over his decision to share a violent murder fantasy on Twitter even after the move got him formally censured by the House.

Just hours after he was stripped of all committee assignments on Wednesday, the Arizona Republican took to Gettr to share a meme boasting that he’d gained some kind of “thug life” cred. The “Gosar Life” meme featured a photo of the lawmaker with dark sunglasses and an oversize gold chain superimposed over him—along with a supposed joint sticking out of his mouth.

He captioned the meme “can’t keep me down” and in an accompanying video accused Democrats of attempting to “take away my America First agenda.” It was not immediately clear what the “America First agenda” had to do with the anime video he shared that depicted him murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

He has refused to apologize for sharing the video and blamed his own staff for posting the violent clip, which he claimed was an innocent depiction of a “policy battle.”

He then retweeted the video late Wednesday, even as his own family condemned him for it—with his brother calling for his expulsion and even suggesting criminal charges.

“I believe he’s dangerous, unhinged, and is reckless,” Tim Gosar told MSNBC in the wake of the House censure. “And is somebody that, as I’ve said before, needs to not only be censured but he needs to be expelled.”

He said criminal charges should be brought if authorities deem them to be warranted.

“To be honest with you, it is about time,” Jennifer Gosar told MSNBC, calling the anime video shared by her brother “sinister” and “bone-chilling.”

She said the video marked an “escalation” in the lawmaker’s incendiary antics, noting that “this is not the first time my brother has threatened the life of representatives.”

Several of Paul Gosar’s siblings have spoken out against him in recent years as he has gone further and further off the rails. Just a month after inciting Trump supporters ahead of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot and reportedly offering a “blanket pardon” to Stop the Steal organizers, Gosar spoke at a far-right, white-nationalist convention.

He was accused directly of orchestrating the attempted Capitol insurrection by three of his siblings, including Jennifer and Tim Gosar, in a video aired on Fox News this year that called for “criminal consequences.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/paul-gosar-boasts-of-his-thug-life-cred-as-his-own-family-demands-his-ouster-over-violent-murder-video

Inhofe to resign

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/us/politics/jim-inhofe-senate-retirement.html

Wow

I've heard that he's been having some medical issues as of late, but why would he wait this long to do it officially if that were the case?

Because he's a stubborn arsehole.

I second what tulsabug said - he is an a$$hole.

That's ok, Okies will have Langford to take up the slack.

Also on the list of replacements...

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe officially announced his retirement at a press conference on Friday and endorsed his former chief of staff Luke Holland in the race for his open seat.
Holland did not refer to President Joe Biden as “president” while announcing his candidacy. When asked by The Frontier if he believes Biden to be the duly elected president, Holland did not answer the question and started talking about election integrity.
https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/contenders-for-oklahomas-open-senate-seat-face-a-crowded-race/

And then this guy...

(https://i.imgflip.com/4tbxd3.jpg)

Inhofe did not attend a press event about his announcement in Oklahoma City on Friday because he had “a mild case of COVID,” Holland said on his boss' behalf.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/oklahomas-inhofe-confirms-resigning-us-senate-seat-83108694

Inhofe has done some good things for aviators.  He also adds some balance to people like Pelosi (yes, I know she is in the House and Inhofe is a Senator).

I'm not fond of Langford but I cannot change the Republican party by deserting it.  One vote at a time....  If I don't like the candidate in the general election, I can vote Democratic.  :-(

I have a friend who's an air traffic controller who said the Tulsa airports have a internal folder on all the air violations Inhofe has done (these are not the ones you've actually heard about like landing on the wrong runway and such). Inhofe used his power to make sure he never got any punishment from the FAA for these infractions for which anyone else would have lost their license. He's as self-serving and corrupt as they come. Unfortunately it sounds like every Republican vying to replace him is just as bad if not worse. There is no changing the Republican party at this point - they're gone. When fricking Liz Cheney isn't crazy conservative enough for them then where are they exactly? It's the Klan in 3-pc suits now - nothing else.

It would be interesting to see that folder.  Do they have internal folders on all the local pilots?  I'm sure that Inhofe is not on the FAA's favorite pilot list.  Have you ever had a police/trooper car follow you until you make a mistake?


I'm sure those characteristics are abundant in Congress and that they cross party lines.

No - only Inhofe as he made sure the incidents didn't get to the FAA so the airport kept their own records. No one else had that power. This wasn't the FAA having a hard-on for Inhofe - this was Inhofe being above the rules. No one tells little Jimmy what to do.

Got it.  Local vigilante group that hates Inhofe makes list of every possible oops.  I would really need to see the list and how Inhofe used methods not available to other pilots to avoid actions by the FAA before condemning Inhofe for his flying.

So air traffic controllers and airport managers at multiple airports are a "local vigilante group"? I guess you're on board with Jan 6th being "legitimate political discourse" too?  ::)

In one incident in 2010 Inhofe landed his plane on a closed runway with construction workers on it. He used his power as a Senator to tell FAA it wasn't his fault and the FAA was actually at fault for trying to enforce basic pilot safety rules. He then wrote several "Pilots Bill of Rights" - which were branded the "Inhofe Revenge Bills" - which basically limit the FAA's ability to censure pilots.

From the 2010 incident (which wasn't his only one) - 'The Smoking Gun has the recordings of the construction workers and airport managers calling the FAA after Inhofe nearly killed them. For example: In a recorded conversation with Lee Williams, an FAA quality assurance specialist, airport manager Marshall Reece tore into Inhofe’s piloting. “I’ve got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam,” Reece said, “and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life.” He then added, “Something needs to be done. This guy is famous for these violations.”
Another recording captured a transmission from an air traffic controller who offered a concise account of Inhofe’s antics flying his 1978 Cessna (tail number N115EA): “N115 Echo Alpha landed right in the middle of them doing their work on runway 1331 and damn near killed somebody out there.”'

Here's the article - http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/inhofe-scared-crap-out-airport-workers-192645

The thing is - his crappy piloting and abuse of professional power to avoid the consequences of his actions is minor compared to everything else he's done - climate-change denier, Covid-denier (funny since he now has Covid), pro-discrimination towards gays and any religion that isn't Christian, using taxpayer money to take missionary trips to Africa, insider trading, throwing military contracts towards former aids who are now lobbyists, voting to end special funding for minority and women-owned businesses, voted to repeal the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, voted to loosed restrictions on cell phone wiretapping, voted against relief for Hurricane Sandy, tried to bring back earmarks to the Senate, voted to convict and remove Clinton but not Trump, pro-fracking, and on and on and on.

But whatever - defend Senator Snowball all you want.

I get it, you hate Inhofe.  You like the idea of Secret Police.

Yep, the runway incident was his bad.

Don't assume anything on the 6 Jan incident.  I am NOT a Trumpster.

The Pilot's Bill of Rights had bipartisan support.  The only 3 letter agency that strikes fear into American citizens more than the FAA is the IRS.  The FAA needed to be reigned in. The Pilot's Bill of Rights is NOT a get out of jail free card.  Read it.

The rest of your complaints are political and have nothing to do with his flying.  I agree with some and not with others. You and I will probably never agree on anything though.

Edit:  I had the same opinion of Jim Jones and Mike Synar that you do about Inhofe

Edit 2:  Gerrymandering SE Tulsa and north Bixby to Synar's district was an example of the Democratic Party at its (not) finest.

You do know that the corruption in Oklahoma is almost as old as the state and it reaches across both sides of the aisle. Oklahoma holds the record for the most county commissioners indicted by the FBI in the history of the US.

https://www.oklahoman.com/article/2056279/toll-230-as-book-closes-on-county-commissioner-scandal (https://www.oklahoman.com/article/2056279/toll-230-as-book-closes-on-county-commissioner-scandal)

https://www.normantranscript.com/opinion/column-county-commissioner-scandal-touched-60-of-77-counties/article_4375fd6a-f178-11eb-8d09-e33473a2c773.html (https://www.normantranscript.com/opinion/column-county-commissioner-scandal-touched-60-of-77-counties/article_4375fd6a-f178-11eb-8d09-e33473a2c773.html)

And your beloved Democratic party had one of the most corrupt Governors in Oklahoma history in David Hall who was indicted and convicted of extorsion, bribery and racketeering and served time in a federal facility alongside Nixon's buddy John Ehrlichman.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hall_(Oklahoma_governor) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hall_(Oklahoma_governor))

https://www.kgou.org/oklahoma-news/2016-05-06/former-oklahoma-gov-david-hall-convicted-of-bribery-and-extortion-dies-at-85 (https://www.kgou.org/oklahoma-news/2016-05-06/former-oklahoma-gov-david-hall-convicted-of-bribery-and-extortion-dies-at-85)

I never voted for Inhofe in my life as a Republican in Oklahoma from the time I registered in 1981 until I moved to Arizona in 1998. (born in Tulsa in 1963) In the late 80's I had a bumper sticker on my car that said "When All Else Fails, Sue Your Brother, Glassco For Senate" because I figured all the money I had been paying him to handle my divorce and child custody should go to a worthy opponent.

Actually I'm sure we agree on lots of things. I threw the Trumper thing out there just to see where you'd draw the line. Personally if Dems had done what Repubs did on Jan 6th I would leave the party but to each his own. You can't unscramble that egg but have fun if you think you can by sticking with them.

Look - I don't hate the guy. I really don't tend to hate people in general. My wife's grandmother now did hate Inhofe however she went to school with him - she said he was the biggest a$$hole which is funny to hear from a grandmother. Inhofe is just a poor representative of the state of Oklahoma and it's people and he always has been. I haven't got a clue why anyone would vote for him but I'm guessing religion plays a large part of it - probably the same reason someone like Ted Cruz can get elected. Even Inhofe's hand-picked replacement states he has the exact same values as Inhofe and said "As your next senator, I will continue the Inhofe legacy of defending our Christian values..." so I guess all other religions and anyone who is not religious will have no representation - same as with Inhofe. I'm not going to debate Inhofe further - it really doesn't matter at this point - he's leaving so neither of us can vote or not vote for him again.

Well - in Oklahoma's defense - we all started as criminals didn't we? ;D

The bar is set pretty low right now anyway.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders in Congress are torn over what to do with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after the congresswoman spoke at a weekend event organized by a white nationalist who marveled over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the crowd erupted in chants of “Putin!”

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called the congresswoman’s speech on the same stage “unacceptable.” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said “there’s no place in the Republican Party for white supremacists.”

Yet it’s unclear whether Greene will face any further reprimand or rebuke for what is now an ongoing pattern of startling behavior. McCarthy had previously suggested the Georgia congresswoman, who is now barred by Democrats from committees, would enjoy a promotion i f Republicans take control of the House.

Not all of us started as criminals.  My ancestors had some nice property in Georgia before they were forced to relocate to Indian Territory/Oklahoma.

Just curious, do you know which part of Georgia?

No. My paternal and maternal grandparents immigrated from Europe to the US from Northern Europe(mom) and Great Britain(dad) in the early 1920's, and no one in the family resided in Oklahoma until 1955.

My family came here in the 1920's as well. My wife's family was on that all expense paid luxury vacation from Georgia in the 1820s.

Great Britain on mom's side, middle European on dad's side.  No one in the families lived in Oklahoma until dad accepted a transfer here in 1971 from near Phila, PA.

My grandfather was from Saskatoon, he was signed by the Tulsa Oilers to play hockey in 1929. Very English/Scottish. Tanning is not an option for me.  I look translucent next to my native wife and kids.

I had to use lots of suntan lotion when younger.  Now I just use SPF 50.

  Forsyth County in North Central Georgia.

Pictures of the countryside on Google Maps are nice.

Actually no Sooners here either - my lineage on my father's side of the family showed up here in Oklahoma from Missouri in a covered wagon in the 1880s or 1890s and they then trace back to coming over from England in the late 1600s or early 1700s iirc. My mom's side is German and has never lived  in the US.

There was an influx of Sunoco people about that time.  Part of that?


Great granparents on one side got a farm near Stillwater - taking it from some great grandparents on the other side...!

Yep.  Had to run Texaco in my car though.  DX premium just didn't cut it.


So you are half criminal and half victim.  ;D

I bet my Dad worked with yours somewhere along the line.  Downtown?

Absolutely half & half!   "Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic....and so am I !!"

Texaco??   Huh...you do know the Texaco was coming out of that same DX refinery over on the west side during that time?  With same additives.  Grandfather worked there selling to stations and jobbers.  Oil, gas, lubes, all the same with some having different dyes added.

And what were you driving that couldn't handle premium from anyone?  That was 96 - 97 back then.  Occasionally find 101 in a couple local small stations.   And why didn't you just back off the advance a little bit to avoid the knock and dieseling...  Could not have been getting that much extra 'performance' out of any of the cars of the day....

I knew some cops here when they had those Easter egg colored Dodge cars.  Ran like dogs - would race a couple of them from time to time and they just couldn't get out of their own way.  They had 440's in them but the city mechanics just couldn't get anything out of them!  Offered to help them some, but they were kinda scared that the mechs would get mad for doing that.  Oh, well...they coulda caught more bad guys!

Had a friend with a Chrysler Newport with the 440 in it.  I 'mildly' tuned it up for him and he was thrilled!  He was an old guy at the time, but after that he didn't have to go get a Corvette!

The Texaco refinery didn't shut down until 1982.  I don't know if the Texaco refinery was still making car gas until then or not.
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1982/08/08/texaco-refinery-shutdown-ends-chapter-of-tulsa-history/62876391007/

I am talking about the period between 1971 and about 1981.  Dad told me the base stock for Texaco was different than the DX.  I have no proof now one way or the other.


'66 Buick Skylark GS with the 400/401 Nailhead and a '69 Buick Skylark GS 350.  Octane rating wasn't the problem.  DX consistently gave about 10 mpg around town and Texaco consistently gave about 12 mpg.  The real kicker was that DX seemed to gum up the carburetors while Texaco did not. When I went back east (Navy) I used Sunoco 240, same as I did before we moved to OK.  Didn't need 260.  Shop manual for the '66 says Octane Requirements were 90 Motor, 99 Research so (R+M)/2 = 94.5

I can't remember for sure, but seems like they stopped pump gas before that - I will ask around and see if any of the old ones left remember better than I do.  

Nailhead was decent motor and was all Buick, but that Buick 350 was pretty much the same as Old's and Pontiac.  BOP.  My 65 Wildcat had the 425 (Nailhead) in it and even with all that weight, it would go scat pretty good with just a few minor tweaks.  I used Premium in it, since it was so cheap at the time - and I didn't really understand that premium just meant more contaminants to retard combustion.  And make oil get dirty faster.  And gum up carburetor, foul the plugs, and put carbon all over inside the engine.  Ran fine on regular, too, though.  It was always 10 mpg car, even on the highway (mostly 85-95 mph, so there was that...)    Tommy Ivo and "Showboat" is what inspired me to be a Buick fan.  Still looking for a good 65-70 Electra Deuce and a quarter for daily driver!   But I would settle for a 53 Skylark...

My Cutlass 350 used anything and did just fine.  Always 12-13mpg, but when I didn't go fast on highway, much better!  I took a couple of 'test trips' to Dallas where I kept it under 70, and got 22 mpg!  That was amazing!

Had a 61 and 66 Pontiacs with 389.  They both like premium a lot!   And a lot of it!   Early one had the Slim Jim tranny and the later was TH400, IIRC.


Okay....now how can I tie this to the Republicans seeming divided...well, I guess I can't right now.  Let me think about it and will get back with y'all.

You'll think of something.  I'm stumped.

One of Oklahoma’s best-known attorneys is asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to halt the planned special election to replace U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Stephen Jones of Enid filed a petition Monday in which he says the special election would violate the U.S. Constitution’s 17th Amendment, which provides for the popular election of U.S. senators and established precedent regarding special elections.

In short, Jones argues that a vacancy can’t be filled until it actually occurs, and Inhofe doesn’t plan to leave office until Jan. 3.


https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/attorney-asks-oklahoma-supreme-court-to-halt-special-election-to-replace-inhofe/article_fef7da04-9f24-11ec-9987-3f98882788f6.html

That's hilarious!   Wouldn't that be something if Oklahoma actually had to adhere to the US Constitution!!??

Im hoping that Republican voters rejection of Stitts appointee may signal an end to Stitt cronyism.

“I was running against the governor and his appointee,” Drummond said from his watch party in Tulsa. “I think what tonight’s vote illustrates is that a majority of people want transparency and accountability.
O’Connor campaigned on pushing back against the policies of President Joe Biden and on ending abortion. Former President Donald Trump had nominated O’Connor for the federal bench, a post he did not get after the American Bar Association said he was not qualified.
Drummond campaigned on being independent of Stitt and improving the state’s relationship with tribes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision.
Drummond accused O’Connor of taking a backseat to several scandals in the state, refusing to get involved.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/gentner-drummond-defeats-john-oconnor-in-gop-attorney-generals-race/article_7446419a-f6fc-11ec-aae6-3b5fb0b26baf.html

So is Drummond just the lesser evil or would he actually serve all the voters?

The answer to that is in the R or D next to his name at this point.   Take a wild guess!

Speaking of Langford....again.

This dipstick is flaunting his hypocrisy, deceitfulness, and the evil that is in his heart.  Again.

He SAYS...   "My passion for religious liberty really draws from my personal faith, that I have the ability to be able to live my faith, practice my faith and speak about my faith."

And;
"Faith is not the freedom of worship. You have the freedom to be able to worship as you choose," said Lankford. "It's the freedom of religion. It's the freedom to have a faith and live that faith. And so that that's been dear to me."

And most disgusting of all, given the context of how much effort he has spent working to eliminate freedom of religion from any group that isn't "Christian",
"They literally just trampled on her conscience rights," Lankford told the Daily Mail.


You mean like the not-at-all-supreme court trampled on not just the religious rights of several other major world religions, but declared it the business of the government to interject itself into a woman's relationship with her Doctor... in one of the most heinous trampling of rights in decades in this country!  The fascists attacking personal and religious freedoms across the board in the US are much more than a basket of deplorables!


https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-lankford-claims-biden-admin-not-going-protect-religious-liberty-citizens

.

Just before elevating her status in the MAGAsphere by treating Congress to dick pics, Marjorie Taylor Greene gave the world this gem:

"Joe Biden had the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on, and Joe Biden is attempting to complete," Greene said. "Programs to address education, medical care, urban problems, world poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, and labor unions - and he still is working on it."

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1681424737384435713?s=20
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/19/biden-tweet-marjorie-taylor-greene-fdr-lbj/70429797007/

She just accidentally made the best case possible for Joe!

And the Biden campaign made use of it.

https://youtube.com/shorts/y1Rwwb6Qaas?feature=share

On Tuesday, Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected Issue 1, a ballot measure designed to take power away from voters. It’s just the latest in a series of examples of how the Republican Party’s hostility toward abortion rights may be unwittingly motivating even moderate and center-right voters to support abortion access.
Issue 1 would have raised the threshold of victory for public referendums in the Buckeye State from 50 percent plus one vote to 60 percent, and make it more difficult for citizens to get a referendum on the ballot in the first place.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ohios-failed-ballot-measure-shows-gop-is-going-streisand-effect-on-abortion-access

Why does this sound familiar?

https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/how-oklahoma-is-making-it-harder-for-citizen-led-measures-to-get-on-the-ballot/

Well I did nazi that coming.

During an election night news conference, Republican Senate President Matt Huffman vowed to use the powers of his legislative supermajority to bring the issue back soon, variously blaming out-of-state dark money, unsupportive fellow Republicans, a lack of time and the issue's complexity for its failure.

He never mentioned respecting the will of the 57% of Ohio voters across both Democratic and Republican counties who voted “no" on the Republican proposal.

The striking contrast illustrates an increasing antagonism among elected Republicans across the country toward the nation’s purest form of direct democracy — the citizen-initiated ballot measure — as it threatens their lock on power in states where they control the legislature.

Historically, attempts to undercut the citizen ballot initiative process have come from both parties, said Daniel A. Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida.
“It has to do with which party is in monopolistic control of state legislatures and the governorship,” he said. “When you have that monopoly of power, you want to restrict the voice of a statewide electorate that might go against your efforts to control the process.”

According to a recent report by the nonpartisan Fairness Project, Ohio and five other states where Republicans control the legislature — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and North Dakota — have either passed, attempted to pass or are currently working to pass expanded supermajority requirements for voters to approve statewide ballot measures.

At least six states, including Ohio, have sought to increase the number of counties where signatures must be gathered.
The group found that at least six of the 24 states that allow ballot initiatives have prohibited out-of-state petition circulators and nine have prohibited paid circulators altogether, the group reports.
Eighteen states have required circulators to swear oaths that they've seen every signature put to paper. Arkansas has imposed background checks on circulators. South Dakota has dictated such a large font size on petitions that it makes circulating them cumbersome.

Sarah Walker, policy and legal advocacy director for the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, said Republicans in Ohio and elsewhere are restricting the ballot initiative process in an era of renewed populism that’s not going their way. She said conservatives had no interest in amending the ballot initiative process when they were winning campaigns in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“Since then, you’ve seen left-leaning organizations really developing their organizational skills and starting to win,” she said. “The reason given for restricting the ballot initiative is often to insulate the state from outside special interests. But if lawmakers are interested in limiting that, there are things they can do legislatively to restrict those groups, and I don’t see them having any interest in doing that.”

Aggressive stances by Republican supermajorities at the Ohio Statehouse — including supporting one of the nation's most stringent abortion bans, refusing to pass many of a GOP governor's proposed gun control measures in the face of a deadly mass shooting, and repeatedly producing unconstitutional political maps — have motivated would-be reformers.

That prompted an influential mix of Republican politicians, anti-abortion and gun rights organizations and business interests in the state to push forward with Tuesday's failed amendment, which would have raised the threshold for passing future constitutional changes from a simple majority to a 60% supermajority.

Another example is Missouri, where Republicans plan to try again to raise the threshold to amend that state’s constitution during the legislative session that begins in 2024 — after earlier efforts have failed.

Those plans come in a state where state lawmakers refused to fund a Medicaid expansion approved by voters until forced to by a court order, and where voters enshrined marijuana in the constitution last fall after lawmakers failed to.
More:  https://tulsaworld.com/ap/national/the-failed-ohio-amendment-reflects-republican-efforts-nationally-to-restrict-direct-democracy/article_61fd5653-0c7e-5e89-a5b2-84e66ba93ea8.html

GOP rejected motion to go down list of candidates and keep voting until they find someone who can get 217 votes

After Rep. Tom Emmer dropped out of the speaker’s race, someone made a motion to just start going down the list of candidates who came in behind Emmer — starting with Rep. Mike Johnson — and voting on whether they should be speaker until they find someone who can get 217, sources tell CNN.

But the motion was rejected, sources said.