Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Exposes More GOP Hypocrisy

President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize has brought the GOP to a boiling point. They've masqueraded their brand as patriotic, wrapping themselves in American flags and holding tea party rallies, but what we see today is more of the real GOP - the party that cheered when the US lost the Olympics and same party who's seething with hate at this very moment because our president was acknowledged for promoting peace and not war.

Today, we can add to the long list of Republican hypocrisies. Besides their claim to having a monopoly on family values - and besides their claim to being fiscally responsible - or besides their claim to keeping the country safe (9/11 occurred on W’s watch and he launched two full-scale wars) - and besides claiming to be the party of "small government" (this coming from the same guys who brought us warrantless wiretapping) -- NOW we can safely say they are not as patriotic as they claim to be. The results speak for themselves.”

2005 Flashback: Glen Beck Hates 9/11 Victims

Before tomorrow's BIG party for the certifiably insane, we must remind everyone of one attendee and his comments about 9/11 victims back in 2005. He doesn't hate all of them, just 10 of them.

"You know, it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims’ families. It took me about a year. Um, and I had such compassion for them and I really, you know, I wanted to help them, and I was behind — let’s give them money, let’s get them started, and all of this stuff. And I really didn’t — all the 3,000 victims’ families, I don’t hate all of them, I hate about, probably about ten of them. But when I see 9/11 victim family, you know, on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh, shut up.’ I’m so sick of them. Because they’re always complaining. And we did our best for them. And again, it’s only about ten." -- Glen Beck, September 9, 2005

And they say liberals sound angry.

h/t: Bob Cesca

Liberals Were Right

Bob Cesca makes the case.

The left was never this crazy during the Bush years. And, in fact, we were amost always right.

1) Liberals were right about Bush being incompetent.
2) Liberals were right about WMD.
3) Liberals were right about torture authorizations.
4) Liberals were right about Dick Cheney's executive power grab.
5) Liberals were right about the economy.
And on and on...

The wingnuts are claiming that President Obama was born in Kenya, they're claiming that his presidency is a communist plot, they're claiming that he wants to kill old and disabled people including Downs babies, and they're claiming that a 30 percent increase in the Dow means there's an "Obama Depression." None of this is right, nor will it ever be.

'Brakes Of Civil Discourse Are Not Working'

These words from Joe Klein yesterday stopped me in my tracks.

"Could I just say that the intensity of this is getting pretty scary...and dangerous? We are heading toward a cliff and the usual brakes of civil discourse are not working. Indeed, the Republicans have the pedal to the metal... I'm usually not one to panic or be overly worried about the state of our country -- even when we do awful things like invade Iraq and torture people, we usually right our course before long -- but I have a sinking feeling about where we're headed now."

God help us.

Right-Wing Rabies Spreading

If you think these protesters are screaming at the top of their lungs because they oppose Obama's healthcare plan, you're wrong. They're screaming because they hate Barack Obama and because they lost.

R. Neal over at Knox Views builds a pretty strong case that right-wing rabies is spreading. Besides the fact that the Secret Service investigates on average 30 death threats on President Obama every day, we have governors joking around about shooting Obama and other idiots holding signs at rallies that say, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids." One pastor in Arizona even prays for the death of Obama and his family.

So much for Christ-like...

Here's more from R. Neal.

It's almost not fair to lay this at the doorstep of the Republican Party. Most of these idiots are libertarians, or apolitical from being too stupid and uninformed to form a cognitive thought on politics or policy (Republican candidates for governor of Idaho notwithstanding). But the Republican Party has tapped this boiling-over hatred to fuel resentment and distrust of anything resembling progressive reforms. They are spreading lies and misinformation like a virus, infecting a large swath of America with a bad case of right-wing foaming at the mouth rabies.

And there's a racial element. The operator of a popular white supremacist website said that 2000 new members joined the day after the election and that an overwhelming increase in activity crashed the site. Otherwise "normal" people are showing up at public protests with their hatred on full display.

Anti-Healthcare Protesters Video

There's been a lot of right-wing-nuttery video circulating the internet lately, but this one takes the gold medal. Didn't we see these same nuts doing the same thing exactly one year ago?

I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt.

Dobson Has A New Office In DC

Focus On The Family is opening an office in Washington for the first time ever according to Washington Whispers. 

Advancing a right-wing social agenda from Colorado Springs is one thing.  Launching similar campaigns from within the beltway is another.  Liberals will tear these guys apart -- we hope. 

Electoral Update - GOP End Times

There are worse scenarios for Republicans than just losing the 2008 presidential election, even if it's a big loss costing them more seats in Congress. There are mid-terms two years from now and another general in 2012. Bush's damage to the GOP brand will pale in comparison if John McCain's campaign becomes the party's Grim Reaper devastating its electoral prospects for years to come. 

Are we witnessing the end times for the GOP?

For the first time, many Americans are noticing the clear indications of racism (video) and seething hatred (more video) at Republican rallies. If we could look through the portals of time, we might see the mainstream media years from now giving credit to the many bloggers who took their video cameras to McCain/Palin rallies (more video). If only Lou Dobbs had done the same in 2000 and 2004. But who are we kiddin'?

As a result of McCain and Palin far too often tolerating dangerous cheers (more video) from within their own party, the further the Republican party distances itself  from the mainstream. The longer they refuse to disavow the extremists in their own ranks (or at least legitimately acknowledge the problem), the longer it will take for mainstream Republicans to reclaim their rightful seat at the table of American politics.

Each of the major parties has it's share of nuts to bear (more video). Let's just say it. Republicans all too often have allowed their wackos to guide, manage and control party politics. Wingnuts in the Republican party, represented by the likes of Neil Boortz, who blamed the Virginia Tech victims for their own deaths (audio) and other Fox News nuts (more video), have been feeding the caged beast for years. Now, the beast has broken free and is running amok at Republican rallies. Thanks to Youtube, we can all watch without fear of getting hurt.

Republicans need change they can believe in too. They won't find it anytime soon with leaders like John McCain and George Bush who have made a smoldering ruin of the Grand Old Party. Until new leadership emerges and rejects the lunatics who can be heard every day on the radio and television, they will continue to marginalize themselves out of major party politics.

Onto our projection...

Nobody is listening to John McCain. Not anymore. 

What little message he may have is falling upon deaf ears. The billowing cloud of dust you're seeing is the slow-motion implosion of McCain's campaign and the entire GOP along with it. His electoral numbers can hardly get worse while members of his own party daily acknowledge Republican doom. All the while, nobody is paying attention to John McCain.

McCain's campaign is in the basement and national numbers are still falling. In our 13th week, he is losing every battleground including eight states that George Bush won in 2000 or 2004 (NV, NM, CO, IA, OH, FL, VA, NH). The tight race in North Carolina (15) causes us to shift it into the tossup column beside Missouri (11),which is on the verge of turning blue for Obama. Aside from 26 tossups, Barack Obama currently leads John McCain 338-174.

All in all, 116 electoral votes have vanished from Republican presidential map in the last eight years/eight weeks. Even more dire for McCain is that things could get worse. Indiana, West Virginia, Montana, Georgia, North Dakota and Mississippi could also fall by the way side if McCain's free-fall continues. 

McCain's double-digit leads in several traditional Republican strongholds have fallen to single digits while Obama has just enough time to catch up.  Already this week, one poll from North Dakota shows Obama leading while Montana, West Virginia and Georgia aren't far behind. Indiana has remained close all year. 

It's difficult to determine any trends in these third tier states because they have been surveyed so infrequently. Pollsters who assumed John McCain might win these states by large margins may want to reconsider where they make their next phone calls.

Bill Clinton won 376 electoral votes in 1996 (+8.5% popular vote margin). Obama's electoral strength is reaching heights close to those numbers.  Real Clear Politics' national average gives Obama a 7.4% advantage today,  nearly equal to our latest electoral college projection.