These Guys Just Can't Do Anything Right

[Lord Jim]

Well I guess that means Tom Price was involved. If I were a member of that group, I would be calling for him to step down.

I also belive Barton should give up his position as ranking mameber of the Energy Committee, or at least announce that should the GOP take over the House, he will not become Chairman. I believe that if he did this, it would pretty much eliminate the value of this as a campaign issue. (Though no doubt the Democrats will still try to use it. As I noted before, they're desperate. The latest polls show a 15% gap between the parties on the question of feeling "strongly motivated" to vote. A gap like that spells disaster. If they don't do something to close it, they're going to be facing losses of historic proportions in November.)

[Sue U]

You can look at this either of (or both?) two ways:

1) In order to gin up "the base," the douchebag wing of the Republican party is so hell-bent on opposing ANYTHING Obama does that they're willing to say the STUPIDEST things imaginable solely to be seen as "standing up to" the Administration.

2) The GOP has its nose so far up the ass of the oil industry that its knee-jerk reaction is to see a VOLUNTARY good-faith guarantee of funds as some kind of threat.

Neither makes the party look very appealing.

Of course, there's also the purely cynical approach that anything the Administration might accomplish to actually benefit people might cause those people to vote for Democrats, so the GOP has to make sure nothing beneficial ever happens.

[Sue U]

Well I guess that means Tom Price was involved. If I were a member of that group, I would be calling for him to step down.

But you're not, and as far as I can tell, no one is calling for his resignation, and the RSC isn't even embarrassed enough to pull the press release from its website.

Reload, and aim for the other foot now!

But hell, if the GOP can't be embarassed by Palin, Bachman, the Teabaggers, Michael Steele, Rush Limbaugh, or the entire state of South Carolina, why should we expect any chagrin over this?

I say: Keep shootin'!

[Lord Jim]

I think it's probably a variation of explanation one.

There are unquestionably people within the Republican party who simply reflexively oppose every position Obama takes. I don't think this is good politics. (I sometime get the feeling that that if Obama issued a statement praising Christmas, there are some in my party who would immediately issue a statement condemning Christmas)

But of course, there were many in the Democratic party who acted the same way towards George W. Bush. (If he walked on water, they'd have said it just proves he can't swim)

Lord knows there is enough to criticize about the decisions this Administration has made, without mindlessly just saying "black" every time he says "white". When you do that, you can wind up looking foolish, like some have in this case.

[Rick]

I thought Rush had ODed...

[Crackpot]

It just goes to show that the people making the policy decisions aren't thinking any more. It looks like Barbour got caught following a position he assumed was well thought out and had to do some hasty backpedaling. (he looked more misinformed than blatantly stupid which is more than I can say for others)

That being said calling the daily show a shill for the DNC is a little disengenuous

[Lord Jim]

That being said calling the daily show a shill for the DNC is a little disengenuous

Depends on the issue CP...

It clearly is in this case...

In other situations, Stewart's position is frequently to the left of the DNC, and the Obama Administration.

[Sue U]

The GOP has been effectively taken over by the brainless mouth-frothing wingnut brigade whose sole purpose is to express fury over the fact that Democrats were actually elected to office with genuine majorities and might even attempt to implement some small fraction of a public policy agenda, to the extent they possibly even have one. This cannot stand! The Muslim Kenyan French Socialist Fascist Communist usurper dictator fraud Nobama cannot be allowed to destroy Real America (TM) with his Constitution-shreddin' spill claims fund, his troop-hatin' healthcare and his terrorist-lovin' energy bill, so WE MUST TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!!11!11!!!1!, or whatever.

There's not enough eye-rolling icons on the Interwebz for me.

[Lord Jim]

The GOP has been effectively taken over by the brainless mouth-frothing wingnut brigade

Nice talking point, Sue...

[Sue U]

Nice talking point, Sue...

Hey, I'm just cribbing from you, re Dems.

[Crackpot]

That being said calling the daily show a shill for the DNC is a little disengenuous

Depends on the issue CP...

It clearly is in this case...

SO when they say things against the GOP they're operating for the DNC? But they're not all the times they're speaking out against the DNC? That makes so much sense it almost makes steve[/] sense!

[Lord Jim]

speaking out against the DNC? That makes so much sense it almost makes steve[/] sense!

Okay CP, thems fightin' words.....

I suppose it's just the sheerest coincidence that Stewart's position mirrors precisely the position taken by the DNC...

I am of course, not suggesting collusion...collusion is not required...

The fact of the matter is Stewart is a Liberal Democrat, (that is not exactly a secret) who will use his show in any way he can to help elect Democrats and defeat Republicans in the coming midterm elections. (Just like the DNC) just because he happens to be more liberal than they are on some issues doesn't change this fact.


And like the DNC, he's sees this as a good issue to push in order to achieve the objective of trying to help the Democrats keep control of the Congress. And he knows that in order to make this work (again like the DNC) he needs to expand the issue in voters minds beyond Barton, to the entire Republican Party.

The idea that the Republican Party has been "taken over" by it's crazies, (and both parties have crazies, btw) is just plain silly. The kooks always get media attention out of proportion to their numbers and importance. (This is doubly true for the party out of power, who doesn't have a President to set the overall tone, and suck up a large share of the media oxygen.)

There are several reasons for this. First, the kooks tend to be noisier, and therefore more attention getting. Second, they are more "colorful" and make entertaining copy and visuals. And third, when the Republicans are the out party, there is a large element of the Liberal Mainstream media that goes out of it's way to highlight the kooks, to serve their ideology.

Basically what's going on here, is that the Democrats do not have a persuasive argument to present the voters as to why they should be allowed to retain control of Congress. (And their problem is compounded by the fact that if they tried to tout some "achievement"...like the health care bill, for example...it would wind up being a negative for many of their members )

So what they're left with for a rallying cry is, "Well okay, we may not have done a great job, but you can't vote for the Republicans...they're nuts!"

This isn't of course, the first time they've tried to pull this, but historically it hasn't been a great winner for them. It's pretty much the argument Jimmy Carter tried to get re-elected on, and he lost in a landslide. It doesn't tend to be a great motivator to get your voters to turn out.

[Big RR]

The fact of the matter is Stewart is a Liberal Democrat

that may well be true, but the DNC, while it is Democratic, is hardly liberal. Unless you define liberal using a pretty broad brush.

This isn't of course. the first time they've tried to pull this, but historically it hasn't been a great winner for them. It's pretty much the argument Jimmy Carter tried to get re-elected on, and he lost in a landslide.

Of course, the republicans had someone to run against him; not someone I particularly liked, but someone who had a borad appeal across the party. I don't think there are many Reagans waiting to run against Obama, but there are plenty of Palins and Palin wannabes.

[Lord Jim]

I don't think there are many Reagans waiting to run against Obama

Man, you're right about that Big RR....

[Big RR]

LOL

[kristina]

Here's a hankie for you, LJ...



I hate to see a grown man cry...

[Sue U]

The idea that the Republican Party has been "taken over" by it's crazies, (and both parties have crazies, btw) is just plain silly. The kooks always get media attention out of proportion to their numbers and importance. (This is doubly true for the party out of power, who doesn't have a President to set the overall tone, and suck up a large share of the media oxygen.)

There are several reasons for this. First, the kooks tend to be noisier, and therefore more attention getting. Second, they are more "colorful" and make entertaining copy and visuals. And third, when the Republicans are the out party, there is a large element of the Liberal Mainstream media that goes out of it's way to highlight the kooks, to serve their ideology.

You'd have a more substantial claim here if the kooks and crazies weren't actually WINNING Republican primaries and ousting the "traditional" party candidates: see e.g. Marco Rubio in FL, Rand Paul in KY, Sharron Angle in NV, and whichever extremist is going to replace Bob Bennett in UT.

No, the crazies have in fact hijacked the GOP bus, and they're determined to run it right into a bridge abutment.

[Lord Jim]

Back to Tony Hayward....

I'm sure most folks have seen this story by now:

Gulf Oil Spill: Tony Hayward Attends Glitzy Yacht Race As Oil Spews Into Gulf

LONDON — In what one environmentalist described as "yet another public relations disaster" for embattled energy giant BP, CEO Tony Hayward took time off Saturday to attend a glitzy yacht race around England's Isle of Wight.

As social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook lit up with outrage, BP spokespeople rushed to defend Hayward, who has drawn withering criticism as the public face of BP's halting efforts to stop the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Spokeswoman Sheila Williams said Hayward took a break from overseeing BP efforts to stem the undersea gusher in Gulf of Mexico so he could watch his boat "Bob" participate in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. The 52-foot yacht is made by the Annapolis, Maryland-based boatbuilder Farr Yacht Design.

The annual one-day race is one of the world's largest, attracting more than 1,700 boats and 16,000 sailors as world-renown yachtsmen compete with wealthy amateurs in the 50-nautical mile course around the island.

Robert Wine, a BP spokesman at the company's Houston headquarters, said it was the first break that Hayward has had since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and setting off the undersea oil gusher.

"He's spending a few hours with his family at a weekend. I'm sure that everyone would understand that," Wine said Saturday. "He will be back to deal with the response. It doesn't detract from that at all."

Wine described the race as "one of the biggest sailing events in the world and he's well known to have a keen interest in it."

He said Hayward will be returning to the United States, though it's unclear when.

Still, hobnobbing with millionaires and their yachts is likely to be a hard sell in the Gulf, which is struggling to deal with up to 120 million gallons of oil that have escaped from the blown-out well. Oil has been washing up along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida, killing birds and fish, coating delicate marshes and wetlands and covering pristine beaches with tar balls.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/1 ... 18332.html

Now, I certainly would not begrudge the man the right to spend some time with his family....

But by picking this particular activity, he managed to ring two really negative PR bells simultaneously....

1.The "Look at me, I'm a rich guy" bell...Always a crowd pleaser.....

2. By choosing to go boating, of all things, he invited obvious contrasts between him tooling around on bright blue waters is his 55 foot pleasure boat, while meanwhile, others were cleaning tar balls off beaches that were being polluted largely because of his incompetence....

He should have gone to the circus....

In a way the ham handed PR tin ear that Hayward has exhibited really isn't his fault. High level corporate guys aren't used to this kind of treatment. Unlike high ranking elected officials, they're not used to having to answer hostile questions or to having their every action scrutinized and criticized. They toil away making their fortunes in relative anonymity, surrounded by "yes men", having their orders carried out without question. So when they get into this kind of situation, they're really completely unprepared for it. They just go on behaving the way they normally behave, which to the average person is pretty unappealing. (Remember the Big 3 automaker honcho's flying to the Congressional hearings on individual private jets while they were pleading for a tax payer bailout?)

On the other hand, they run companies that have HUGE multi-million dollar PR operations, (BP has one of the largest...there's probably no oil company that has tried to build a positive public image through its advertising more aggressively than they have) so they have this resource to draw on, and they ought to be able to get up to speed pretty quickly.

Mr. Hayward appears to be a particularly slow study. (BTW, he is still directly in charge of overseeing BP's operations in the Gulf...the reports that said he was being replaced were apparently a misinterpretation of what Chairman Small People said...another guy who can't seem to get it right....)

[Gob]

This guy is still available Jim..

[Lord Jim]

You'd have a more substantial claim here if the kooks and crazies weren't actually WINNING Republican primaries and ousting the "traditional" party candidates: see e.g. Marco Rubio in FL, Rand Paul in KY, Sharron Angle in NV, and whichever extremist is going to replace Bob Bennett in UT.

Well, first of all on Rubio, he may be a Conservative, but I disagree with you that he is a "kook"....

In Sharon Angle's case, she didn't win a majority of the primary vote, but unfortunately Nevada has no provision for a primary runoff....

I think what happened to Bob Bennet was absolutely disgraceful, but here again, it didn't take a large number of people to pull this off. Utah has a quirky process where you have to be one of the two top vote getters at a party convention (whose delegates are chosen by a a very small number of people) in order to even get on the primary ballot. (Had he been able to get on that ballot the polls indicated he would probably have won a statewide GOP vote.)

But I'll give you Rand Paul. (Though his opponent behaved in a very over confident way and ran a very poor campaign, which certainly contributed to his loss)