Sunday Open Thread: Shameless Self-Promotion

Whether political parties are needed when (4.00 / 1)

we have an informed public and popular government is a good question.
I think the answer is yes, IF the parties are adep at vetting candidates for their qualifications, rather than their connections.

Congresswoman Shea-Porter, for example, is able to contribute expertise on social issues because of her experience as a social worker.  President Obama is capitalizing on his experience as a community organizer.  Paul Hodes brings expertise from the judicial arena, where the law hits the ground, so to speak.  Bankers, on the other hand, seem to bring little expertise in the area of money management.

Wonder if one of the Republican themes this time around will be that government ought to be run like a bank.  Or a health insurance business, for that matter.

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by: hannah @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 10:04:50 AM CST

Since this is an open thread, I want to admit an error. (0.00 / 0)

It was a mistake to conclude that conservatives are yearning for a nanny state.  What they are really still looking for is Papa, just like in the 1950s.

The tassel is a nice touch.

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by: hannah @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 10:08:39 AM CST

Mike Brunelle... (4.00 / 3)

Mike Brunelle was great on Close Up. I'm not sure why people think Johnny Stephen would win a primary with Kimball and Testerman. He isn't that well versed on the issues, lacks pep, and has an unfortunate tendency to say "at the end of the day" over and over. I think he used that phrase five times in a ten minute segment, but I never figured out what was happening at the end of the day - other than Brunelle making him look bad.  



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 14:00:43 PM CST

Monster. (4.00 / 1)

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."

-- South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer (R), quoted by the Greenville News, comparing poor people to stray animals.

How do you walk back a quote like that?

I don't think you can.  It's naked honesty, and it's monstrous.

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 17:55:49 PM CST

are we then to assume (0.00 / 0)

that the current South Carolina governor is "not a highly educated" man.  I mean, I guess he and his mistress didn't breed, per se, but their behavior was no different.  And he did it out of wedlock to boot.  It's not enough to call Republicans just "the party of no" (which they are).  We need to incorporate all their hypocrisy, too.

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by: Timmy J @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 20:57:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Um...Timmy... (0.00 / 0)

No fear of him "breeding" in the standard sense.

2012 starts today.

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by: Ray Buckley @ Mon Jan 25, 2010 at 10:10:55 AM CST

[ Parent ]

either way (0.00 / 0)

Those in charge of South Carolina are despicable people and deserve to be thrown out of office next election.  Let's see if the racists in that state will do it - I'm not holding my breath........

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by: Timmy J @ Mon Jan 25, 2010 at 11:33:32 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Country First. (0.00 / 0)

John McCain was asked about Ben Bernanke's renomination on today's Face the Nation.  Here's what you need to know:

1. McCain is worried about what might happen if the nomination is rejected.
2. McCain thinks Bernanke should not< withdraw his nomination.
3. McCain is leaning toward voting against confirming Bernanke.

Incoherent as that is, this guy was almost elected to be President right now.  And he's still making more sense than most of his party.

--
No tea; no decaf.

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 18:40:34 PM CST

Good Job on the Radio Today (0.00 / 0)

Dean, Ray, Mary Jane: Good job this morning on  The Exchange.

And isn't it nice when random GOP state reps call to make the party's case?

Speaking of rambling incoherence, why didn't the news room tip Laura off to this late breaking news from today's Borowitz Report?

One day after claiming responsibility for the Christmas Day underpants bomber, Osama bin Laden appeared in a new terror tape today in which he claimed responsibility for the Balloon Boy hoax that held the nation spellbound last year.

"The so-called Balloon Boy claimed that he 'did it for the show,'" a stern-faced bin Laden says on the tape, which surfaced Sunday morning.  "In point of fact, he did it for jihad!"

In the somewhat rambling tape, Mr. bin Laden spends 45 minutes claiming responsibility for other things, including the massive Tylenol recall, John Edwards' illegitimate baby, and the Detroit Lions' NFL season.

According to a CIA analyst familiar with the tape, a new characterization of Osama bin Laden may be beginning to emerge: "He's like a movie executive: no matter how little he was involved, he claims credit."

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by: Tim Ashwell @ Mon Jan 25, 2010 at 10:19:30 AM CST

A reflection on the Mass. Election (4.00 / 1)

Democrats will win if they stay local, stay individual, and don't look like just another pre-packaged big money bought and sold big namer. We need more Shea-porters and less John Kerrys (and yes, this means not picking stupid fights with any member of the boston redsox, past or present).

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by: Tgroh @ Mon Jan 25, 2010 at 12:59:55 PM CST