GOP Fringe At The Tipping Point?

Has the tipping point been reached in this country? Has one of our major political parties crossed the line into a bizarre realm where the fringe elements have become mainstream? Is it possible that otherwise intelligent, moderate voices within the GOP lack the courage or good sense to distance themselves from the fringe which is now completely unchecked and out-of-control? Unfortunately, the answer to all of these questions appears to be YES!

Birthers. Deathers. Those who feel comfortable comparing President Obama to Hitler, Nazis, socialists, and Marxists now seem to be in control of the Republican party. People who speak about "death panels" and a "government takeover" of healthcare have free reign within the new GOP. Those Republicans who do nothing to criticize or distance themselves from these fact-free zealots are just as guilty as the zealots themselves.

The warning signs were there months ago when powerful politicians cowered at the feet of Rush Limbaugh rather than face his wrath. Then the tea parties provided a forum for those who could not accept Barack Obama as our President to pop the cork on a big old bottle of "crazy" combined with an large helping of "hate speech." It culminated more recently with Glenn Beck branding President Obama a racist, Joe Wilson calling the President of the United States a 'Liar" on the floor of the House of Representatives, and people carrying signs with the classy slogan "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy." Is there no limit to what is now acceptable behavior within the Republican party? How is this going to end? Will it end? Or will the leaders within the GOP continue to lend support with their deafening silence to the growing fringe who now feel empowered to spew their misinformation, hate, disrespect without being challenged.

Frank Rich Nails It Again - A Must Read About Conservatives Stoking The Fires of Irrational Hate

I have been very clear about my opinion of the Bill O'Reillys, Rush Limbaughs, and Glenn Becks of the world in terms of their irresponsible use of inflammatory language as they carelessly fan the flames of hatred in this country. What makes it all the more despicable is that they try to stoke the fire over the most preposterous, false "issues" (Obama is a socialist-Nazi-terrorist, wants to take your guns away, is not a U.S. citizen, etc., etc.).

I include Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney in this group. Dick Cheney says that Obama is making the U.S. less safe, but is unable to provide any evidence to support this careless charge. His daughter Liz Cheney implies that Obama is un-American because he does not cite "American exceptionalism" during his overseas trips, even though there is videotape of President Obama using those exact words! New York Times columnist Frank Rich sums it all up very eloquently in this must-read editorial. Here is one excerpt:

What is this fury about? In his scant 145 days in office, the new president has not remotely matched the Bush record in deficit creation. Nor has he repealed the right to bear arms or exacerbated the wars he inherited. He has tried more than his predecessor ever did to reach across the aisle. But none of that seems to matter. A sizable minority of Americans is irrationally fearful of the fast-moving generational, cultural and racial turnover Obama embodies — indeed, of the 21st century itself. That minority is now getting angrier in inverse relationship to his popularity with the vast majority of the country.

The "Obama Recession" Per Hannity and Limbaugh

If I didn't see it for myself I wouldn't believe it. The right-wing talk show blowhards Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are actually trying to sell the argument that the current tailspin in the stock market is due to the fact that Barack Obama won the election. Sorry, but I'm not buying your idiotic nonsense. I'm sure that won't stop their loyal base of listeners from buying this load of crap. There doesn't seem to be much a firewall between their listeners' brains and the insane crap that comes out of Hannity and Limbaugh's mouths on a daily basis. I'm not even going to go to the trouble of rebutting this ridiculous argument so as not to insult your intelligence. I'm assuming that anyone with a half a brain can figure out how stupid this argument is on its face. I'm just amazed that people with as little intelligence and credibility as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are admired by so many. LINK

McCain Campaign Worker Fakes Mutiliation!

I'm kind of thinking that the police were pretty suspicious of Ashley Todd's assault story when they saw that the letter "B" on her face was backwards! I guess she forgot about the whole mirror thing and that although it looked correct in the mirror it would look backwards on her friggin face. Matt Drudge was pushing this story hard. I'm not sure who wins the biggest idiot award in the last 24 hours - Matt Drudge or Rush Limbaugh? Hell with it; they can share the award. Credibility and accuracy have always been a low priority on right-wing radio shows and websites. LINK

Rush Limbaugh Is An Idiot

Limbaugh is now convinced, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that Barack Obama's birth certificate is illegitimate. It doesn't take much to convince this moron. He just needs to hear it and then he happily picks up the ball and runs with it.

"When you first announced this, you're gonna rush, you're gonna hurry, you're gonna make tracks, you're gonna get over there because you don't want your grandmother to die before you got there like your mother did, but somehow you keep campaigning, you take three days to get over there, if he's left yet. And this birth certificate business -- I'm just wondering if something's up. I have no clue, and I -- folks, I'm telling you, this has not reached the threshold until now, and it's now popping up all over the place."

This reminds me when Limbaugh showed no class or brains by spreading the misinformation about the Vince Foster suicide case when Clinton was in office. Foster's family was suffering enough trying to recover from that devastating tragedy and then Limbaugh has to put them through hell by going on a one-man campaign trying to sell the argument that Vince Foster was murdered. He was obsessed with this case and felt no need to restrain his opinion despite the fact that all evidence pointed to a suicide. As far as I know he never apologized for his reckless behavior pertaining to this case. I am amazed that people still listen to this guy. LINK