But can Scott Walker see Russia from his house?

By Richard Barry

Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said he would make his intentions known in June about a presidential run. 

Walker said he believes, if he were to run, he’d have strong foreign policy experience, given his work on trade issues in his state, as well as his travel to China, Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Great Britain.

On defense issues, Walker said, his leadership experience would be a strong asset.

 [. . .]

“I gotta tell you, one of the areas people talk to me the most about is the safety and security of this country,” he said. “If I choose to get into this race, I’m going to lay out a very clear plan.”

I recognize that Scott Walker wouldn't be the first presidential contender without much real foreign policy experience. I also realize that a candidate has got to make the best of what they have to offer. But no, dealing with a few trade issues in Wisconsin, some trips abroad, and "leadership experience" focused on staring down public sector unions doesn't cut it. 

It's particularly pathetic considering he would likely be running against a well-respected former Secretary of State (and he can say Benghazi all he wants). 

If Republicans do intend to make 2016 a foreign policy election by arguing that Clinton's tenure at State was problematic, they might want to offer up a candidate who is actually in position to say something intelligent about foreign affairs.

Sarah Palin - still delusional after all these years

By Richard K. Barry

The Hollywood Reporter ran an excerpt recently from a new book about Saturday Night Live. It's actually an update of an old book. Live From New York is by James Andrew Miller and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post television critic Tom Shales (due out in September). It adds a couple hundred pages of original material to an earlier history of the show, which came out in 2002, in order to bring things more or less up to date.

If you like this kind of stuff, enjoy. Entertainment industry navel-gazing doesn't really do it for me.

I did find a couple of comments by that half-term mayor somewhat amusing.

These were attributed to Sarah Palin: 

I think SNL is egotistical if they believe that it was truly an effect on maybe the public debate about who should lead the country in the next four years.

And:

I know that they portrayed me as an idiot, and I hated that, and I wanted to come on the show and counter some of that.

Well, who can say if a very popular nationally broadcast program that constantly pokes fun at the intellectual capacity of a given politician really has an impact. I've got to think it's probably not helpful to said politician.

As for the second comment, I didn't think she did all that badly on the show. Dumb as she obviously is, I gave her points for her appearance. I am, however, pretty sure she didn't counter anything.

All of which is really just an excuse to post a collection of Tina Fey's best Palin bits. Outstanding.

Vimeo of the Day: "Technicolour Alaska"

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Here's a gorgeous timelapse video by Alexis Coram:

I headed to Alaska in February with the hope of catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights... That glimpse turned into an extravaganza... a party in the sky, and I was an onlooker, a face in the crowd... awestruck, mesmerized, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. Night after night I was captivated by bright and colorful lights dancing wistfully above me; a graceful representation of the light in my soul.

I was going to make a joke about how if you looked very carefully you might be able to catch a glimpse of Sarah Palin, just as she could see Russia and that was her foreign policy experience, or something like that, but the ugliness of her soul is pretty much the exact opposite of the beauty of nature captured here. No need to tarnish it. Enjoy!

Technicolour Alaska from Alexis Coram on Vimeo.

Even some conservatives think Sarah Palin is an extraordinary idiot (not least for her gleeful torture enthusiasm)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

So, yes, Sarah Palin, clamoring for attention, said that -- if I may paraphrase -- she's a gleeful torture enthusiast. And, yes, her gleeful torture enthusiasm went over really well with the retrograde morons who attended the NRA gunfest in Indianapolis. And, also, gleeful torture enthusiasm is alive and well on the right, and throughout the Republican Party, where human degradation thrives at its core and in its policies.

But there are exceptions.

Yes, some conservatives don't much care for Palin (actually, quite a few of them), and some even had the nerve to come out ferociously against her gleeful torture enthusiasm. For example:

Rod Dreher, The American Conservative:

Man, the 12 minute speech Sarah Palin gave to the NRA convention is awful. It's just witless, red-meat blathering, delivered in that nasal whine of hers that makes it sound like she's chewing wads of tinfoil. For people who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like.

Palin and all those who cheered her sacrilegious jibe ought to be ashamed of themselves. For us Christians, baptism is the entry into new life. Palin invoked it to celebrate torture. Even if you don't believe that waterboarding is torture, surely you agree that it should not be compared to baptism, and that such a comparison should be laughed at. What does it say about the character of a person that they could make that joking comparison, and that so many people would cheer for it. Nothing good — and nothing that does honor to the cause of Jesus Christ.

Well, that's an overly religious view of the matter -- torture is torture regardless of what Christianity has to say about it (and the long history of brutality in the name Christianity means it has next to no credibility). So how about this:

Patrick Brennan, National Review:

Torture — waterboarding being something reasonable people may consider to constitute it — is and should be a question of grave moral consequence for Christians, and is for any Catholic familiar with the Catechism. Palin wasn’t even just jokingly comparing a serious violation of human dignity into one of the most important transcendental recognitions of it – she was mounting an expansive defense of something near torture, on the grounds that our prisoners ”would obviously have information on plots,” and therefore ought to, apparently, be subjected to a horrible practice not as a morally necessary last resort but a habit of quotidian intimidation. There’s a word for that kind of practice: barbaric. The Greeks used to use it to describe the other guys.

Well, okay, that's a Christian response as well, but, better. Yes, here's a conservative calling torture "a serious violation of human dignity" and Palin a barbarian. And that's awfully refreshing.

Sure, this is just a small minority view on the right. Generally, Republicans fall all over themselves espousing their pro-torture bona fides, pandering to the baser of the base instincts of the party base but also presenting such brutality as good in and of itself. But at least there's a bit of debate among conservatives over torture and at least some conservatives express something other than the violent bloodlust that coursed its way through Palin and her audience.

No one likes John McCain anymore

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Remember when John McCain was a popular maverick (however faux), a celebrated independent (even if always a loyal Republican and for the most part hardcore conservative), a straight-talking renegade admired across the spectrum?

He was truly something back then, back in his pre-Palin glory days. He was a frequent guest on The Daily Show, where Jon doted on him with respect and admiration for apparently not being an insane Republican, and the Sunday-morning talk shows treated him like the voice of reason and wisdom on every issue under the sun.

Oh, but there was the seething anger then as well, the bad temper, the frequent forays into dangerous irrationality, the reckless knee-jerking that guided his views on foreign and military policy, much of it kept hidden behind his carefully manicured image, his skillfully manufactured brand. But it was all a facade, or most of it anyway, and eventually it was bound to crack. The Palin pick in '08 was the first sign many people paid attention to, though you could have seen it coming, and since then he's been a rapidly deteriorating madman who no longer gets any love from Mr. Stewart.

And while he still gets the "independent wise man" treatment from the Beltway media machine, his popularity beyond the friendly confines of Meet the Press has collapsed, including in his home state:

PPP's newest Arizona poll finds that John McCain is unpopular with Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike and has now become the least popular Senator in the country. Only 30% of Arizonans approve of the job McCain is doing to 54% who disapprove. There isn't much variability in his numbers by party -- he's at 35/55 with Republicans, 29/53 with Democrats, and 25/55 with independents, suggesting he could be vulnerable to challenges in both the primary and general elections the next time he's up.

Maybe none of this really matters. He's still enough of an institution to be able to stand firm against most challengers, and in any event it's not like anyone in Congress is all that popular at the moment. But it's interesting that the public perception of McCain is very different than the mainstream news media perception of him.

I'm not saying that one's status as a serious person with serious views ought to be determined by one's popularity with a fickle and generally ignorant public, but it does make you wonder why he continues to be held in such high esteem by the myopic morons who aim to shape public opinion from their David Broder-authorized position of privilege somewhere beyond the fray.

Quote of the Day: Palin celebrates racial equality

By Mustang Bobby

Yes, please Mr. President, stop being black.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

The Duck Dynasty bigots and the conservatives who love them

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Bible-thumping bigot.

Hey, here's a thought, A&E, if you don't want to be associated with bigotry, stop giving reality shows to, you know, fucking redneck bigots like the Duck Dynasty clan. I mean, what the fuck did you think was going to happen?

And, really, all these bigots are doing is doubling down on their bigotry:

The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E's decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil's unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." Phil would never incite or encourage hate.We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right.

It is, yes, but it's not a constitutional right to have a TV show, and A&E is under no constitutional obligation to keep these bigots on the air.

And if Phil Robertson was just "expressing his faith," then his faith teaches bigotry, which apparently his version of fundamentalist Christianity does. And if really loves his neighbor as himself, why would he then compare homosexuality to bestiality and say that gays and others who supposedly sin "won't inherit the Kingdom of God." It seems Phil likes the hateful parts of the Bible, of which there are many, not to mention of his "faith" generally, and filters the rest of it through an ideology of bigotry and hate. His family can spin it however it wants, but that spin is bullshit.

Read more »

Jefferson, Christmas, and Sarah Palin's faux America; or, further evidence that Sarah Palin is a complete moron

By Michael J.W. Stickings

The Raw Story:

If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, Sarah Palin said, he would probably go on Fox News to complain about the war on Christmas.

The former half-term governor of Alaska and failed vice presidential candidate appeared Thursday at Liberty University to promote her new book Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas.

She told the audience of students that the U.S. Constitution was written by and for moral and religious people, and that nonreligious people probably were incapable of appreciating its principles.

*****

Palin said Jefferson would likely agree that secularists had set their sights on destroying the religious themes in Christmas celebrations.

"He would recognize those who would want to try to ignore that Jesus is the reason for the season, those who would want to try to abort Christ from Christmas," she said. "He would recognize that, for the most part, these are angry atheists armed with an attorney. They are not the majority of Americans."

Palin said there was a double standard that protected atheists at the expense of the religious.

I was going to go through her incorrect statements one by one, but, really, everything she said is wrong. The woman has zero understanding of America, its Founders, and its Constitution, and it's simply ludicrous that she opens her mouth to suggest otherwise.

[Keep reading to see how Woody Allen fits into all this.]
 
Read more »

Today in non-sequiturs

By Mustang Bobby

Sarah Palin responds to Martin Bashir resigning from MSNBC:

…I just hope that unprovoked attacks like that don’t result in people being hesitant to jump in the arena anyway, to get out there and serve the public or start a business or really commit themselves to changing within their family, their community, their world, doing whatever that they can, despite the fact that in this world, you are gonna be hurt and attacks will come your way. I just hope an attack like that doesn’t make people hesitate.

In other words, a snake is like a bicycle because a vest has no sleeves.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

Annals of asshattery

By Mustang Bobby

I try to avoid Sarah Palin and her dullardry, but every now and then I come across something that invites comment the same way a dog turd in the middle of the living room carpet does.

When she’s not launching a pre-emptive attack in the War on Christmas by exploiting it for her own gain, she’s telling the vacant jars on Today about the evils of Obamacare.

The plan is to allow those things that had been proposed over many years to reform a health-care system in America that certainly does need more help so that there’s more competition, there’s less tort reform threat, there’s less, um, trajectory of the cost increases, and those plans have been proposed over and over again. And what thwarts those plans, it’s the far left, it’s President Obama and his supporters who will not allow the Republicans to usher in free market, patient-centered, doctor patient relationship links to reform health care.

Okay, um, what?

Bonus Track: She also thinks the pope has been pallin’ around with liberals.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

Sarah Palin still terrifies me

By Frank Moraes 

As The Des Moines Register reported the other day, "Palin Compares Federal Debt to Slavery at Iowa Dinner." And you may well ask why I care. After all, Sarah Palin is always saying something stupid and she is always somewhere. This weekend, it was Iowa.

But I think it is important. I don't care about the slavery bit and all her racist talk. What does bother me is this, "Our free stuff today is being paid for by taking money from our children and borrowing from China." There are two things wrong with this sentence. First: China. It's been a while since I've talked about this, so I think it is worth bringing up again. As I discussed in China Owns America! In Republican Ads, only 32% of our debt is owed to anyone outside the country; only 8% is owed to China. The vast majority of American debt is owed to ourselves.

I see this kind of fear that we are going to bury ourselves in debt -- especially from conservatives. But it is based on an extremely poor understand of finance. Consider this example. When I was five years old, my parents bought a house for $17,000. It is now 44 years later. Imagine that they had kept that house all this time and had only paid the interest on it. Let's also assume that their mortgage rate was 8%, which is actually kind of high. That would mean that today, they would be paying $113 per month in interest. Clearly, they would be better off having paid off the principle -- $113 per month better off. But it's not the case that they would be buried in principle. What's more, they would now have a house that is worth about a quarter million dollars.

That brings us to the second problem with Palin's sentence. We aren't taking money away from our children by borrowing money today. That is especially true if we are using the money we borrow to invest in infrastructure, health, and education. College graduates are having a hard time finding jobs right now. And that will hurt them into the future. Having a low paying job or no job at all will be a big problem compared to that modest $113 mortgage we are supposedly saving our kids from.

Read more »

Sarah Palin drowns in her own verbal diarrhea

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In case you missed it, Sarah Palin was in fine form on Fox News on Thursday, amazing host Megyn Kelly with the enormity of her inanity:

Fucking idiots converge on Washington to protest government shutdown

By Michael J.W. Stickings

A group of mostly Tea Party protesters waving the Confederate flag, saying stupid bigoted things, and otherwise pushing their extremist right-wing agenda were in the nation's capital today, forcing open the World War II memorial and taking their loud-mouthed ignorance to the White House to blame President Obama, who also happens to be a black man, for the government shutdown, as if they have any fucking clue what's really going on.

Don't get me wrong, not everyone involved in this "Million Vet March" is a right-wing wacko. It's just that the whole thing was grossly misguided and then taken over by the same old Republican interests that so often hide behind patriotism and use veterans and active-duty personnel alike as pawns in their political game:

Members of the Million Vet March planned on gathering at the World War II Memorial on Sunday despite the memorial being closed due to the government shutdown.

According to a statement on the group's website, they feel military personnel and veterans are "being used a political pawns in the ongoing government shutdown and budget crisis." Organizers say they are not a political leaning group, but call the shutting down of memorials "a despicable act of cowardice."

However, conservative political commentator Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) arrived and spoke to the people gathered at the memorial.

"This is the people's memorial," Palin said. "Our veterans should be above politics."

Yeah, sure. When Palin and Cruz emerge as the leading voices of your protest, you know you're way out of touch with the rest of America and that you're no longer non-partisan. And if veterans should really be above politics, then Palin, one of the most shameless partisan self-promoters around, should just get the fuck out of the way.

Oh, and if these people are serious about protesting the shutdown, they should have taken their march over to Capitol Hill, where Tea Party-dominated Republicans who have taken the country hostage are the ones responsible for the whole damn mess.

Base camp

By Mustang Bobby

For all the crap that the Very Serious People and mainstream Republicans are dumping on Ted Cruz, it’s not like it’s going to have any impact on the people he’s trying to reach: the hard-core wingnuts that comprise the GOP base who vote in primaries and who think that pissing off people like Karl Rove and the Sunday soldiers like Ross Douthat and David Brooks is a badge of honor.

And as long as Sarah Palin is on his side, they’ll never waver. It’s always 2008 as they head into 2016.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

Even Krazier Bill Kristol says Palin can "resurrect herself" with Senate run

By Michael J.W. Stickings

You have to wonder.

Krazy Bill Kristol has a long history of the Krazy. And it's not just partisan Republican or ideological neocon. Sometimes it's just batshit insanity, "analysis" that is so Krazy it makes you wonder if he's serious in his Kraziness or just throwing around bullshit to see what sticks. I used to think he was a fairly bright fellow, if terribly misguided, and so my sense used to suggest the latter. But now I'm not so sure.

To wit:

The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol was one of Sarah Palin’s earliest supporters to be picked as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, and now he says she can “resurrect herself” by running to be a senator from Alaska.

In an interview on Sunday, ABC's Benjamin Bell asked Kristol if Palin had disappointed him after he pushed so hard for her to be on the 2008 ticket.

"I was for taking the gamble of putting her on the ticket, I don't think it hurt the ticket in 2008," Kristol explained. "I think her stepping down as governor of Alaska was a big problem. People don't like to see a candidate, a governor, an executive — absent some medical reason or whatever — just leave office early. And she had been a good governor — incidentally — of Alaska until then. So, I think that is something, I think, she has to recover from in terms of being a serious leader in the party. Still has a lot of loyalty, still can shape the debate, she still has a great political touch."

"I think the way Palin would possibly resurrect herself — if that's the right word or rehabilitate herself, I think is a better way of putting it — run for Senate in Alaska in 2014," he continued. "I'm not urging that. I'm just saying, if I were her adviser, I would say, 'Take on the incumbent, you have to win a primary, then you have to beat an incumbent Democrat, it's not easy.'" 

Yeah, except that she embarrassed herself in ridiculous fashion during the '08 campaign and certainly did hurt McCain. And that she did step down as governor because she didn't give a shit or something, or because she wanted to pursue fame, fortune, and glory on the right-wing national media stage and, you know, by being a reality TV celebrity. And that she'll never be considered a serious leader of her party except by those on the moron fringe who hang on her every gargle of nonsense. And that many Republicans, including in the leadership ranks, see her as a massive liability. And that there's no way she can shape the debate given her lack of policy ability, not to mention rationality. And that she's shown zero interest in actually being a serious political actor. And that her "political touch," such as it is, is limited to Facebook and Fox News assaults on anyone and everyone she doesn't like, anyone and everyone who doesn't share her wacko right-wing views. And that... well, and that she's Sarah Palin, a huge national joke.

No, Krazy Kristol isn't advising her, isn't urging her, but he sort of is, isn't he? He was her champion well before most anyone had ever heard of her, and it was he and his neocon rabble who got her onto McCain's ticket. He was wrong then, as he is generally, and he's wrong now, the Krazy even Krazier than usual.

Sarah Palin is not running for Senate. Full stop.

By Michael J.W. Stickings

As she told Hannity yesterday:

I've considered it because people have requested me considering it. But I’m still waiting to see what the lineup will be and hoping that... there will be some new blood, new energy, not just kind of picking from the same old politicians in the state.

Sounds familiar? She spewed the same bullshit in in the lead-up to last year's presidential election, tantalizing her moronic followers, and raking in the dough, with the prospect of a run that was just around the corner.

And it's always the same: "Who, moi? Well, you know, sooooo many people want me to run, and I sooooo believe in serving the people, but I want to wait and see what's going on, and maybe there will be some brilliant candidate we can all get behind, someone just like me, but not me, you know, but yeah, totally, I'm interested, and maybe I'll do it, because I'm sooooo serious about it, if people want me to... so... yeah. America!"

I'll predict now when I predicted then: not gonna happen. Because, you know, running for office -- and then staying in office -- would actually require some hard work, and commitment, and she'd much rather just keep raking in the dough by keeping her moronic followers on the edge of their seats, showing up on Fox to spew her bullshit, and otherwise trying to keep her star shining out on the crazy fringe of the Republican Party.

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich (D) is more than a little vulnerable

By Richard K. Barry

We will be hearing a lot about how Republicans have a very good shot at taking back the Senate in 2014. One of the many reasons is Sen. Mark Begich in Alaska. You may know that Alaska is a very red state. It is a state in which President Obama managed only 43 percent of the vote last year.

In 2008, when Begich won the seat, he did it by a mere 47.8 to 46.5 percent margin. And his opponent was the profoundly ethically challenged Ted Stevens who, if reelected, would have been "the first convicted felon elected to the U.S. Senate." (Funny, I would have thought there were others.)

The issue for Begich in 2014 is the competition. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell is likely going to run for the Republicans as is Joe Miller. You will recall that Miller, with the backing of Sarah Palin, won the GOP Senate nomination in 2010 only to lose in the general election to incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) who famously won as a write-in candidate.

Facing Miller again, who is likely to be as crazy in 2014 as he was in 2010, would be a good thing for Begich. Running against Treadwell would be a problem.

A hint of how tough it will be for Begich can be found on his website, which flashes the slogan:
"As Independent as Alaska."

And then there is the possibility that Palin could run, which I would doubt. You've got to love Sen. Murkowski's comments about that possibility:

I think there are a lot of outside interests that would like to see Sarah Palin in some form of elected office. Most in Alaska recognize our former governor is really not involved in or engaged in the state anymore, that she’s moved to other interests. In order for you to represent the state of Alaska, you’ve got to be in the state.

Brrrrrr. Is it cold in here?

(Cross-posted at Phantom Public.)

Sarah Palin: still an idiot

By Richard K. Barry

So, Sarah Palin decided to blast Washington insiders for having a night of fun at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

This was her Facebook post:

Yuk it up media and pols. While America is buried in taxes and a fight for our rights, the permanent political class in DC dresses up and has a prom to make fun of themselves. No need for that, we get the real joke.

And below is Sarah Palin appearing on Saturday Night Live before the 2008 election, yukking it up and making fun of herself. We too get the real joke, Sarah.

(You have to plow through a bit of Fox commentary to get to it, but it's there.)

Behind the Ad: Sarah Palin isn't going away, and that's a good thing

By Richard K. Barry

(Another installment in our extensive "Behind the Ad" series.)

Who: Sarah Palin.

Where: Sarah PAC website.

What's going on: In an ad called "Loaded for Bear," Palin makes it clear that she expects to play a role in the 2014 election. It's a slick piece, splicing together all sorts of comments to give the impression that Palin is still a massive force in American politics.

My sense is that it's over for the former Gov. of Alaska. Even Fox News gave her the heave-ho, reasoning that her 15 minutes were up.

The truth is that party nominations are frequently won by energizing smaller numbers of the party faithful. Palin is good at that. Her fans will certainly point to her early support for Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, both of whom won their Senate races.

My guess is that her efforts will help to blow up the Republican party real good, like it needs the help (with apologies to the spirit of John Candy and Joe Flaherty).

Keep them laughing, Sarah - all the way to another round of losses

By Richard K. Barry

I will admit that once upon a time I was foolish enough to take Sarah Palin's comments seriously. I shouldn't have. No one should have. But there she was getting all this press coverage and many of us were paying attention. 

We figured it out. We stopped caring. But it is somewhat embarrassing to admit to how may keystrokes were devoted to this little Alaskan twit. 

Now I just find her funny, in an extremely pathetic, headshaking kind of way. For example, in her CPAC address last week she said this:

More background checks? Dandy idea, Mr. President. Should've started with yours.

Very clever. 

She's obviously talking about President Obama's gun control proposal, which calls for background checks for gun purchasers. She might want to note that a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Feb. 27 to March 4 found that 88 percent of respondents, including 83 percent of Republicans, favor background checks for all gun buyers. But that would require living in the world of facts, a place she has never even visited. 

Her short snarky comment was no doubt what she would have considered a two-fer. Not only is it an idiotic criticism of a view held by the vast majority of Americans, but it is a continuation of the Breitbartian meme that President Obama has still not been properly vetted. Two elections latter and these fools continue on with the same nonsense.

The only thing that makes Sarah Palin interesting is the extent to which a subset of the Republican Party takes her seriously, and the extent to which this very poorly informed, breathtakingly irrational, but impassioned, subset can influence primaries and therefore candidate choice. 

It's a numbers game that the GOP insists on losing.