Happy Hour Discurso

Today's opining on the public discourse.

For once, we're beginning the evening with a whiff of sanity:

But today, [LA. Rep Anh "Joseph"] Cao said that he will defy his GOP colleagues, who unanimously opposed the House recovery package, and will support the final stimulus bill:

“Even though it is going to be a humongous bill, even though we will be in debt for years, I believe that more likely than not, I will vote for it because the 2nd Congressional District needs a stimulus package.” … “A lot of the provisions in the bill will be good for the district, because we need almost everything,” he said. “You name it, we need it.”

Cao added: “I’m voting along what my conscience dictates and the needs of the 2nd Congressional District dictate, even if I were to be the only member of the GOP to vote for the stimulus package.”

More like this, please. Especially since we have an over-abundance of this:

As ThinkProgress has noted, many intransigent right-wing conservatives are now placing blame at President Obama’s feet for not having acted in a bipartisan manner. For example, here’s what a spokesman for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) — who just yesterday was taking pot shots at the labor union AFSCME — told Roll Call:

“Though the administration’s marketing of its bipartisan hard work has been outstanding, the actual work has been almost nonexistent,” said Brad Dayspring, spokesman for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

That’s an odd comment coming from Cantor’s office, considering he was one of the many congressmen who lauded Obama’s bipartisanship just weeks ago:

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House Minority Whip, has met with Obama and is in frequent contact with Rahm Emanuel, the House member turned presidential chief of staff, via cell phone and BlackBerry.

“I have met with Rahm and spoken with him several times and he said, ‘Look, you need to understand — working in a bipartisan manner is something the president-elect takes seriously,’” Cantor noted. “It has thus far been a very efficient process.”

So much for that "non-existent" bipartisanship, eh? Cantor's just whining because he thinks "bipartisanship" means "do what the Cons want."

And apparently what the Cons want is Joe the Plumber as the brains of their operation:

I guess those clowns at Pajamas Media are gluttons for ridicule (beginning of video here).

After it's over, you must watch Joe's "investigation" of the stimulus bill, in which he shares priceless insights such as,

The money that they’re talking about spending is just absolutely incredible. You can’t get your mind around it. We used to think a million dollars was just the most incredible thing. Then it went to billions and now we’re talking trillions. And trillions is such a large number we just can’t wrap our mind around it, at least I can’t.

When Joe tells me he can't wrap his mind around something, I believe him.

So do I. His inablility to think falls right in line with the inability of the majority of Cons to think. Party of ideas, my arse.

And if you thought that with Rove out of power the lies would eventually subside to a dull roar, I'm afraid you're out of luck. He's still running his yap, and he's still lying:

The good news is, Karl Rove no longer works in the White House, so his capacity to do real damage to the country has been vastly reduced. The bad news is, Rove remains a major media figure, including writing columns for the Wall Street Journal, where he continues to annoy.

Take today's latest gem, for example.

[S]upport for the stimulus bill is falling. CBS News polling reveals a 12-point drop in support of the bill over the past month. Pew Research and Rasmussen have turned in similar numbers. The more Americans learn about the bill, the less they like it.

While it's true that misleading Republican attacks had an effect on public opinion, Rove cites Rasmussen, which actually shows support for the plan going up seven points over the last week, with supporters now outnumbering opponents. I guess that means, by Rove's logic, the more Americans hear the president's defense of the legislation, the more they like it.

What a fuckwit. But then, he never was one to shy away from telling it like he wants it to be rather than like it is.

And it's not just Rove. You knew Faux News would be all over that talking point like flies on shit, didn't you?

On Fox News this afternoon, Deputy Managing Editor Bill Sammon pushed the same message, saying that “public support has gradually declined as more and more details of this stimulus bill have come to light.” Later, during an interview with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Fox’s Trace Gallagher said the American people “support what the president is doing,” but “they don’t support this plan.”

[snip]

Though pollsters found “a modest decline” in support last week, the popularity of a recovery package has risen this week.

For instance, a Gallup poll released Monday found that 67 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s push for an economic recovery package. Another Gallup poll out today finds that support for an $800 billion recovery plan has increased from 52 percent to 59 percent...

Well. Looks like Rove and his friends at Faux have not only been pwnd by Rasmussen but Gallup. But this doesn't fit their reality, and is therefore ignored.

Apparently this inability to understand reality infests the entire Con party, because Judd Gregg seems to have smelled it only as he was joining a Democratic administration:

I'm a little surprised that Judd Gregg is withdrawing, but not at all disappointed.

New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg has withdrawn his name from consideration as President Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary, a major blow to an Administration seeking to put a series of Cabinet problems behind it.

"It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the census there are irresolvable conflicts for me," Gregg said in a statement to be released by his office. "Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns."

In his full statement, Gregg added that the president "requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives." Well, yes, I suppose that's true.

[snip]

Gregg's announcement is a little peculiar, at least to the extent that he's withdrawing over "potential differences" on issues that had been raised "prior to" his accepting the position. In context, Gregg seems to be saying he no longer wants to serve in Obama's cabinet because he opposes the stimulus bill and expected to oversee the 2010 census. But aren't these the kind of issues Gregg would have wanted to resolve before accepting the nomination? If the areas of "irresolvable conflicts" came up in discussions before the invitation was extended, and Gregg got an unsatisfactory response, why offer to serve?

It seems rather odd.

To sane people, yes. To the Con party, well - they're so busy creating a fantasy world they sometimes have a little trouble adjusting when reality strikes them across the face.

Silly people, aren't they?