It Takes A Wingnut Potemkin Village

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Hot off the blogs this week: Republicans are afraid of being humiliated by their wingnut base's YouTube debate questions; Mitt Romney loves Hezbollah; Michael Savage claims Dems can make people have seizures; and FOX can't find a single Republican to defend Alberto Gonzales. All this plus more "Moran" photos and much, much more. Enjoy!

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide...

Unless you don't want the "Darksided!" screamers in your base to ask questions during your GOP YouTube debate. TRex at Firedoglake has zeroed in on the real reason behind the GOP's attempt to skip their upcoming YouTube debate.

Let's get something straight here. The reason the Republicans are running from a YouTube debate has nothing to do with embarrassing themselves and everything to do with the horror that is the Republican base (see video above). Imagine a whole two hour debate composed entirely of questions from men lovingly cradling their assault rifles, matronly polyester-swathed frumps of much avoirdupois braying and squawking about abstinence-only education and the danger of Harry Potter in our schools, angry old men taking a break from standing on their porches shouting, "Get the hell out of my yard!" to stare Mike Gravel-like into the camera and demand to know what the candidates plan to do about "th' dayumn Mexicans".

It would be a bloodbath. The Republican base is assuredly Not Ready for Prime Time, and the candidates know it, which is why their "scheduling conflicts" keep floating around to match every date that CNN helpfully supplies them in the network's efforts to keep the dream of a Republican YouTube Debate alive.

Come on Republicans. How are you going to stand up to Al Qaeda when you can't even stand up to a brace of questions from your own constituents?

Cowards. All of them. Hey, if Republicans can't protect us from al Qaeda? They can't even protect each other from... the Democrats' uncanny ability to cause Republicans to have seizures while on vacation. Think I'm kidding?

Put Down The Kool-Aid And Back Away, Savage Weiner!

Speaking of not ready for prime time, Michel Savage (nee Weiner) claims that Democrats caused Chief Justice John Roberts' seizure. Media Matters has the details:

Savage: "You're telling me there's no possibility of a conspiracy by the Democrats" to cause Roberts' seizure?

On the July 30 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage reacted to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20039923/" title="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20039923/">news that Chief Justice John Roberts had suffered a seizure that day by raising the possibility that "his health was in some way tampered with by the Democrats."

(snip)

Savage asked, "Am I to believe there's no connection between Charles Schumer on Friday saying he would never appoint, or never, excuse me, approve another Bush appointment to the court, to any court? And then the chief justice suffers a so-called seizure two days later? You're telling me there's no possibility of a conspiracy by the Democrats to have caused this seizure in some manner?" He added: "Tell me it's not possible, and I'll tell you you're a liar."

Hmm. Now that we know that there's no cause for alarm when someone foams at the mouth (as noted on my blog, Delilah Boyd), Savage Weiner must think the Great Dem Seizure Plot/Attack... must've failed. Savage's sources haven't figured out how Dems caused that first seizure back in '93, though. But wait. Dems can't even hold a candle to one Republican prez candidate's plan for winning the hearts and minds in the Middle East...

Mitt Romney's Terrible Horrible Really Bad Analogy Day

The first of many to come? More than likely. From Crooks and Liars:

Mitt Romney Sez Hezbollah Style Diplomacy Would Be Good For America

By: Logan Murphy

No, really…he did. Last weekend Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a town hall meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa. One of the members of the audience asked him if he would commit the money necessary to continue President Bush's AIDS program in Africa as a way to restore good will toward America. His answer, while not picked up on by the members of the audience, absolutely floored me. He started out by agreeing with the premise of the question, touting America's health care system - then he dropped this little nugget:

Romney: ... "Did you notice in Lebanon, what Hezbollah did? Lebanon became a democracy some time ago and while their government was getting underway, Hezbollah went into southern Lebanon and provided health clinics to some of the people there, and schools. And they built their support there by having done so. That kind of diplomacy is something that would help America become stronger around the world and help people understand that our interest is an interest towards modernity and goodness and freedom for all people in the world. And so, I want to see America carry out that kind of health diplomacy..."

Somebody needs to get his talking points in order before they let him speak in public. What Hezbollah did was essentially provide UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE for the people of southern Lebanon, something Romney has vigorously opposed for you and I here in America. I hate to tell you this Mitt, but I don't think the rest of your party agrees with your glowing review of Hezbollah.

Did you watch the video (at the link)? Mitt succeeded in alienating so many potential wingnut supporters on so many levels: the American insurance industry; universal healthcare haters; the "bomb them back to Babylon" voting block; and the "Don't help Hezbollah because we need the Jews for the 'Left Behind' scenario to work" believers. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot the wingnuts who haven't figured out yet that The Book Of Mormon is not the Bible. Keep it up, Mitt. Way to call attention to Michael Moore's "Sicko" description of American healthcare. Subtle, for sure. Unintentional? You bet.

In Other (Cough) Healthcare News...

Thanks to Media Matters (via Daily Kos) again, we now know that three "medical" journalists are represented by the America's Health Insurance Plans speaker's network. Yeah, yeah... like it's no shocker that Aquafina is tap water, no one is surprised to learn this, but it's still strange to see it in print, isn't it? Thanks, Media Matters, and thanks be to Kos.

Have you visited Larisa Alexandrovna's blog, at-Largley, yet? This week, Larisa took on conservative blogs the way News Hounds takes on the FOX Opinion Channel and exposes their bullheaded focus on a single topic (the New Republic's soldier-blogger) and... well, that's all. Larisa notes:

This selective outrage and pretense of conscience is sick and Malkin is the master of the disease.

But is there really no one (and I may have missed it, so I apologize in advance to those who did cover the actual news) who happens to be an American of a "conservative" persuasion who happens to care that our AG has committed perjury? You know... the AG we all share of the DOJ we all share?

Translation: are all wingnuts as mean and nasty as Michele Malkin? They're trying to be, Larisa.

While you're cruising Daily Kos this week, be sure to check out mike Stark's diary post, "I just returned from Falafel Bill's house." Mike took a page from O'Reilly's own playbook (which Billo stole from Michael Moore) and confronted Falafel Boy in his own driveway.

After O'Reilly provided an "accountability moment" to the JetBlue CEO at his home, I decided to provide O'Reilly with his own accountability moment at his home.
I've just returned to home base.

I've got video of O'Reilly in his sleepwear (red shorts and a white t-shirt). I delivered the Andrea Mackris Court filings to all of his neighbors - every home in his development got a copy. And I put a bunch of signs up along his street - "Bill O'Reilly: Andrea Mackris has your cash" directly across from his house; "Bill O'Reilly: PERVERT" in front of his home; "Bill O'Reilly: CHEATER" on the road he must take to exit his development and "Bill O'Reilly: Can't be trusted with your daughters" at the landmark boulder marking the entrance to his development.

We had an interesting conversation - not too explosive, but I think a lot of people will be entertained.

Of course, there's art...





Meanwhile, Behind The Potemkin Village "News" Facade...

Steve Benen at Talking Points Memo describes FOX Snoozer Mike Wallace's "We can't find anyone to defend Alberto Gonzales" moment as "Ouch."

Later in the show, host Chris Wallace revealed that no conservative would willingly defend Gonzales on Fox. "By the way, we invited White House officials and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend Attorney General Gonzales," said Wallace. "We had no takers."

Ouch? That's an astounding admission by the Potemkin Burgermeister. In other FOX Opinion Channel news, News Hounds caught Shepard Smith and Friends explaining that transporting US Supreme Court Justice John Roberts to the hospital after his fall was the right thing to do because of Roberts' "political position."

Today on Studio B with Shepard Smith they had several breaking news alerts about Chief Justice John Roberts having fallen at his summer home in Massachusetts. Several people on the broadcast said that you don't want to take any chances when it's the Chief Justice they're dealing with.

3 different people commented on this: Chief Washington Coorespondant, Jim Angle said that 'with him being the Cheif Justice, you don't take any chances.' This was followed up later on in the broadcast by a Doctor Jennifer Ashton who said that this was a precaution, 'something appropriate for someone in his political position.' Then Shepard Smith said they took him to the hospital probably because of who he is.

Comment: My question is -- why is one person's life more important than someone else's? If anyone else falls at their home, shouldn't they, too, be taken to the hospital as a precaution? Fox tried to make it like because of the position he held John Roberts life was more important.

Of course, this was before the local Maine newspaper reported the foaming at the mouth detail.

Saying "This Is CNN" means Never Having To Say You're Sorry


Remember that woman who was detained by TSA goons and interrogated for hours because her ice packs were leaking? You know, the one who prompted CNN to go into major George W. Bush Terra! Terra! Terra! mode? Attywood has the whole leaking lie fest, along with CNN's half-assed "Oops, our bad. Don't be afraid any more" comment. Oh, yeah. Don't forget to view the video (at the link).

In much sadder news, CNN and the rest of our corporate-owned media should be as vigilant as bloggers, especially when it comes to investigating suspicious wartime deaths. Case in point: Wonkette's summary of the facts now known about Pat Tillman's death. Here's a snippet...

He was shot three times in the forehead at close range with an American M-16.
This was after he was shot in the chest, legs and hand.
And this was after he screamed to the "friendlies" that he was Pat Tillman and please stop shooting him.
But they didn't; they executed him.
They were Americans.
There wasn't even an "enemy" around; not only was nobody shot by "enemy fire," no equipment was shot by "enemy fire."
"Members of Tillman's unit burned his body armor and uniform in an apparent attempt to hide the fact that he was killed by friendly fire."
Army medical examiners tried to get a criminal investigation opened, but they were shut down.

There's a lot more at the link. Truly sad. And former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's testimony this week was full of "unknown knowns" crap again. Still.

Thank A DUer!

Many thanks to SoCalDem for adding these photos to the "Moran" family album:

Found!.. Grandma Moran


and Cousin LindaBelle


and her son JimmyJohn


and his little brother JoeBob

Kudos to Sapphocrat for posting this fab video.

The Sorry Bunch, indeed!

What a week! Wingnut heads must be exploding, BushCo keeps digging the world's biggest political hole; Hezbollah leaders are surely basking in unexpected Romney affirmation bliss, and Karl Rove is a predictable "executive privilege" no-show at the latest Senate hearing on the fired U.S. attorneys. So, what's a Dem to do? Easy. Keep shining the light on those tightie whitie BushCo criminals. Read a blog or two, share your blog links, and do something to make more wingnut heads explode: start blogging!

-- Delilah Boyd

[Old and In the Way]

1. Good stuff....love your recaps.

Sort of a Newsy DUzzy!

[Egnever]

2. Thanks!

Good stuff I needed some laughs!

[displacedtexan]

5. I'm here every Friday (on the DU homepage).

Glad you liked it.

Send me your blog links!

Delilah

[tom_paine]

3. K & R

[comtec]

4. Worst person in the world #2

KO had a comment on the guy who harassed billO. I have to agree with KO on this, it's not right. It's not right to bother these people at home, because it could set a precedent where KO is harassed by crazy Reich winger nutters, and they tend to be FAR MORE VIOLENT than liberal harassers. Mind you he went on for about a minute insulting Bill O but ultimately said this isn't right. Leave their private lives alone, but public......... I love how he let that just hang there.


KO's right, we can't set precedents that RW whack jobs will follow. We need to leave some things taboo.... but oh god is bill O such a fucking asshole, it makes you want to reconsider for a moment.... but yeah, KO's right.

Now harassing him on his way to the fixed noise station HQ.... :)