Stuff to Read/Updates

Yesterday the Republican politician connected to possibly the most racist campaign ad of all time, Craig Huey, was defeated by Democrat Janice Hanh in a special election for the U.S. House from California’s 36th Congressional District. I understand this is in the vicinity of Los Angeles.

Ever classy, the National Republican Congressional Committee sent out this press release after the race was called:

Washington — National Republican Congressional Committee Communications Director Paul Lindsay today made the following statement in response to the special election results in California’s 36th Congressional District:

“Janice Hahn is now Nancy Pelosi’s problem. Between her pattern of unethical behavior and close ties to LA’s most dangerous gang members, Hahn is adding to the pollution in the swamp of Washington corruption built by Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats.”

Sorta makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, huh?

Unofficial returns show Hahn won 54.6% to 45.4%. Considering there are 18 percent more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district, this actually was a better-than-expected result for Craig Huey. Some rightie bloggers are spinning the result into a symbolic win for Republicans and a harbinger of a turn to the Right next year. However, turnout was low — 23 percent — which means polling results are not necessarily a representative sampling of the district.

Now, on to a serious issue — Minnesota is running out of beer. This is an unintended consequence of the ongoing government shutdown in the lutefisk state. Cigarette shortages are anticipated.

I don’t believe there are any new developments in the debt ceiling standoff. Steve Benen writes that Wall Street and Main Street business leaders, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are virtually screaming at the Republicans to quit screwing around and raise the ceiling already. I guess we’re about to find out if the Republican Party feels it owes greater loyalty to business or to teabaggers.

Elsewhere — a series of explosions have killed 13 people in Mumbai, India; and Murcoch gives up on BSkyB.

10 thoughts on “Stuff to Read/Updates

  1. “I guess we’re about to find out if the Republican Party feels it owes greater loyalty to business or to teabaggers”

    Excellent observation! My guess is they will go with business. The repugs like many in the Democratic party tend to take their respective base for granted, I mean who are the teabaggers gonna vote for; liberals?

  2. Nice!
    “Janice Hahn is now Nancy Pelosi’s problem. Between her pattern of unethical behavior and close ties to LA’s most dangerous gang members, Hahn is adding to the pollution in the swamp of Washington corruption built by Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats.”

    They forgot to add:
    ‘And now she and Nancy can work together to create the ‘Bloods/Crips/Black Panther Fund’ so these ‘boyz in da hood’ can get money from America’s hard-working taxpayers for free sneakers, bling, T-bones, malt liquor, and females pale at their local strip clubs.’
    ___________________________________________________

    MN:
    What, no beer? No cigarettes?
    If there’s no Cable TV, expect riots!
    What else is there left for the permanently unemployed to do then, but march!

    How ironic would it be if the Coors family, Big Tobacco, and FOX News had to create an astro-turf movement for that?
    If I had a bus full of kegs and I could smoke, I might actually be able to tolerate some FOX News personlities.
    Nah!
    That would take some massive amounts of liquor, wacky weed and acid.

  3. Off topic and overshadowed – There was a primary runoff yesterday in WI. All six democrats defeated the republicans running as democrats. Because Wisconsin has open primaries, republicans could vote in the democratic runoff. The theft did not work. Real runoff in 30. days.

  4. Way off topic… If Pawlenty got the nomination and selected Bachmann as his BP, how long would it take the Secret Service to come up with the code names ‘timmy’ and ‘lassie’?

  5. Here’s a little enjoyable something.

    http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/hannity/2011/07/13/gingrichs-advice-house-republicans-call-obamas-debt-ceiling-bluff

    I say enjoyable because maybe some of you, like myself, might enjoy watching Sean Hannity perfecting his craft as a professional butt nuzzler. Although it has to be said that Hannity wouldn’t do such as superb as he does if Newt wasn’t the intended recipient. Newt brings out the best in a sycophant.

    Unfortunately, the unenjoyable aspect of the video is watching Newt. Specifically watching his eagerness in playing games in attempting to use the possibility of a default as something to hang around Obama’s neck. It’s sickening to watch how he prides himself in his cleverness, but shows no real concern for our nation and the millions of people who could be devastated if his devious little schemes should go awry. Like erinyes says..It’s all fun till somebody loses an eye… It’s that concept coupled with Newt’s delighting in his evil that disturbs me..This is the caliber of people who are supposed to lead our nation?…It’s just sad.

  6. They’re running out of beer?? So now they’ve turned the clock back to Prohibition, and in the words of archy,

    Prohibition makes you want to cry in your beer and denies you the beer to cry into.

  7. It’s really sad to watch our country slide into oblivion. It is also very sad to feel this helpless in preventing this destruction.

  8. I recommend everyone call their Republicans representatives today with a “Debt Threat.”

    My two Senators are Dem’s, but my new Congresswoman, who ran as a Teabag Lite candidate and is a former Opthmalogist, is a Republicans – and wazzup wid the spec Doc’s in politics? And you know, neither she nor Rand have any vision for the future!

    Just be careful how you pronounce “Debt Threat!”
    If you don’t hear from me for 10-20 years, you’ll know why.

  9. There was a great HUZZAH! here (Manhattan Beach) when Harman, a Democrat in name only, announced her retirement – eventually followed by a who-the-hell-is-Craig Huey. (Hopefully, Hahn won’t be another Harman.)

  10. I live in Hahn’s district and voted for CA Secretary of State Debra Bown in the primary. Bowen led the fight against bug ridden, exploitable electronic voting machines and is beyond reproach ethically. Hahn labeled Bowen as “corporate lawyer. even heaping prainse on 2-time Harman challenger and primary candidate Marcy Winograd, also a teacher. So it was those poor teachers against the corporate attorney.

    Hahn is generally well thought of here. Using reformed gang members in anti-gang programs has had tremendous success so the GOP talking points are sheer lunacy. It should be no surprise that a former gang member who saw that gangs are no kind of reasonable likfe will have more credibility than some white guy. Maybe Craig Huey should give them a talking to.

    The local community newspaper here is the beach cities was peppered with letters almost daily with titles such as “taxes cost jobs”, quoting Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations…all faux erudite hogwash. It did not seem like opposing viewpoints were given equal exposure. Those letters were carefully crafted and always within 1-2 words of the 250 word limit.

    Hueys past statements placed him in the right-most quadrant of the tea party but his letter writing campaigns attempted to distance him from the association.

    Huey would have been a disaster so many are relived.

    In this district the 10% margin was a little worrisome but this might have been because it was a special election.

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