Bob Inglis has seen the light.

[pscot]

This is a telling interview with a Republican congressman who's been involuntarily retired by the Teabaggers; first rate journalism by David Corn.

I refused to use the word (socialist) because I have this view that the Ninth Commandment must mean something. I remember one year Bill Clinton—the guy I was out to get —at the National Prayer Breakfast said something that was one of the most profound things I've ever heard from anybody at a gathering like that. He said, "The most violated commandment in Washington, DC"—everybody leaned in; do tell, Mr. President—"is, 'Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.'" I thought, "He's right. That is the most violated commandment in Washington." For me to go around saying that Barack Obama is a socialist is a violation of the Ninth Commandment. He is a liberal fellow. I'm conservative. We disagree...But I don't need to call him a socialist, and I hurt the country by doing so. The country has to come together to find a solution to these challenges or else we go over the cliff....

"It's a dangerous strategy," he contends, "to build conservatism on information and policies that are not credible..."

After winning six congressional elections since 1992, Inglis is now a politician without a party, a policy maven without a movement. And in a few months, he will be without his present job...

Inglis is a casualty of the tea party-ization of the Republican Party. Given the decisive vote against him in June, it's clear he was wiped out by a political wave that he could do little to thwart. "Emotionally, I should be all right with this," he says. And when he thinks about what lies ahead for his party and GOP House leaders, he can't help but chuckle. With Boehner and others chasing after the tea party, he says, "that's going to be the dog that catches the car."

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/08/bob-inglis-tea-party-casualty

[zipplewrath]

1. Only dimly

If he thinks a while about the fact that his political philosophy is rooted in some of the same basic concepts that these people start from, he may begin to question his whole career.

[pscot]

2. Any glimmer of sanity from the crazy party

is cause for modest celebration.

[zipplewrath]

4. I'll give ya that

At least there may be some people left with critical thinking skills when the party completely collapses.

[pretzel4gore]

3. privilege of the few

go before the needs of the many- in your rightwing world. Luxury trumps necessity. The US destroys the USSR. It's all very simple (though $trillions of dollars and tens/millions lives spent confounding the issue). HITLER WON THE SECOND WORLD WAR! Tell your friends that. It's a fact

[yurbud]

7. I think I know what you mean, but could you explain the part about WWII in a bit more detail?

[yurbud]

5. I wish I had read this in time to rec it.

[yurbud]

6. I like his idea on carbon taxes better than cap & trade:

the only part I disagree with is making it tax neutral on business. But instead of having a rube goldberg carbon credit trading market, we should have a straight forward carbon tax and make some of the ''externalities'' internal to businesses that do the damage:

Inglis voted against the cap-and-trade climate legislation, believing it would create a new tax, lead to a "hopelessly complicated" trading scheme for carbon, and harm American manufacturing by handing China and India a competitive edge on energy costs. Instead, he proposed a revenue-neutral tax swap: Payroll taxes would be reduced, and the amount of that reduction would be applied as a tax on carbon dioxide emissions -- mainly hitting coal plants and natural gas facilities. (This tax would be removed from exported goods and imposed on imported products -- thus neutralizing any competitive advantage for China, India, and other manufacturing nations.)

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/147732/gop_politician_confirms_what_was_long_suspected%3A_republicans_intentionally_feed_the_racism%2C_anger%2C_and_paranoia_of_the_far_right/?page=entire">Full text