The Joni Ernst Watch 8/3/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Steve King went all…well, Steve King and suggested that the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage opened the door on other, shall we say, alternative unions:

I had a strong, Christian lawyer tell me yesterday that, under this decision that he has read, what it brings about is: It only requires one human being in this relationship — that you could marry your lawnmower with this decision. I think he’s right.

I would love to meet the lawyer who gave Iowa’s favorite member of Congress this stout legal opinion.

This site does not usually post a lot of stuff about the Governor For Life Terry Branstad, but his recent comments about agricultural pollution in Des Moines’ drinking water are most interesting:

The Des Moines Water Works ought to just tone it down and start cooperating and working with others, like Cedar Rapids is doing, and other communities in the state of Iowa

This is an attack on Branstad’s big ag buddies who dump shit into the water of the state of Iowa.  He does not care because their money is green.

Who is ready for the Republican debate this week? I am. Ten of the “top” candidates will get to debate in prime time on Fox News while the other seven candidates will get relegated to the kids table. You have to love a world where Donald Trump is invited to be an adult. The ultimate man child is getting some respect from the establishment. This will end well.

Mike Huckabee cannot stop with comparisons between the recently negotiated nuclear deal with Iran and Nazi Germany.

One, it’s as if reactionaries trying to gain traction in the Republican race to be the nominee are grasping at the most facile of imagery in hopes of moving up the polls. For example, see Donald Trump’s recent rise in standing. Say something inflammatory and get some bump in your numbers.

Second, there is a trend of comparing anything this president does to Nazi Germany. Don’t believe me? Take a moment to look at some of these classic Tea Party signs:

DEB NICKLAY/The Globe Gazette
A billboard on South Federal Avenue in Mason City seemingly compares President Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler (left) and Vladimir Lenin.

Forget for a moment that the National Socialism was really fascism, which was opposed ideologically to the type of socialism we normally associated with the Soviet Union, China, or Cuba. Semantics, I know.

What is up with these whack-a-doos?

Coming up we might have our first casualty of the 2016 primary season. Rand Paul, hoping to grab some of his dad’s libertarian grassroots magic, Rand 2016 is on the ropes

Given that his stump speeches sound like something written by a junior in high school running to be senior class president you have to wonder how he got this far:

I’ve told people if I am elected president — or I guess, better yet, when I am elected president — I will do something extraordinary, I won’t try to grab up more power, I will try to give power back to the people and to the states, respectively.

That is some real barn burning rhetoric Rand. Thanks for playing.

The Joni Ernst Watch 7/27/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal Joni” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

When you are a conservative in the United States you need to remember one thing: it’s always about you. Even when it is obviously not about you, it’s about you. Take Joni Ernst, for example, Joni Ernst: Obama insulted slain service members to distract from Iran nukes deal

I do think that there are so many things going on right now that he doesn’t want us talking about, whether it is the fact that terrorism remains, whether it is the agreement with Iran. I think there are so many things that he would just rather he don’t discuss and focus on something else.

Sure, if by talking you mean bloviating on Fox News.

With so many white dudes and some other candidates who fill certain diversity quotas it is hard to keep the Republican candidates straight. How to Tell the Difference Between All the Dudes Running for President

The other way to look at the candidates is to The Most (And Least) Extreme Republican Presidential Candidates On Climate Change Just remember that being the least extreme Republican is sort of like being the nicest executioner. You’re still a giant douche.

No one can win biggest clown of the week award when Rick Santorum goes on the Rachel Maddow Show. Getting into a discussion on the finer points of civics with someone who is an admitted wonk is not a good idea under normal circumstances. “You’re fundamentally wrong on civics”: Rachel Maddow schools Rick Santorum on the Constitution

At least he is not Chris Christie.Christie courts Iowa voters

The Joni Ernst Watch 7/20/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Steve King apparently thinks that ethnicity is a state of mind like Rachel Dolezal. Breaking: GOP Rep. Steve ‘cantaloupe calves’ King comes out as Latino!

What does Julian Castro know? Does he know that I’m as Hispanic and Latino as he?

‘Nuff said.

The Donald Trump circus continued as he self-immolated when discussing John McCain’s record of service in the U.S. military. Listen, I disagree with John McCain on a lot of issues but his service to the U.S. while in uniform is above reproach. It was nice knowing you Donald Trump, former contender for the Republican nomination to be President of the United States.

Iowa’s largest Christian evangelical organization The Family Leader, run by notorious bigot and homophobe Bob Vander Plaats, held a “cattle call” for ten of the Republican candidates. The so-called Family Leader Summit was held on the campus of Iowa State University this past weekend.  Interestingly, of the 3000 people who registered only 2500 attended.  Good ol’ Bob Vander Plaats probably has an excuse, but I am going to chalk it up to the limited power his organization wield.  It included such tidbits as the following from the candidates.

Like Bobby Jindal, who is apparently taking his run seriously:

We’ve got to move away from a culture of dependence where we celebrate dependence instead of celebrating people getting good-paying, private sector jobs

It’s pretty much table stakes at this point to attack the poor for being poor. Or Lindsey Graham, delusional about his actual chances of success:

I can’t wait to be commander-in-chief. I can’t wait to be the leader of the free world. I’m tired of leading from behind.

And then there is Marco Rubio, who somehow thinks that his short time in the Senate makes him the elder policy wonk of the clown car:

The bad news is America is not fulfilling its potential as a country. No one running has more experience on the issues we face right now, today … (rather than) the issues we faced 18 years ago.

Oh wait, he is saying that being a neophyte is a good thing because he has experience with today’s problems that did not exist twenty years ago. I love these guys.

Barring a resurgence in sanity from Donald Trump, the likely leader in the Republican race is Scott Walker. Now we can focus on his actual record of running the state of Wisconsin.  The moral of the story is that he ran the state like the crony capitalist that he is and as president it would be more of the same writ large.

Leading the pack in being an out-of-touch stooge, oh wait that is the Donald so Rick Santorum only gets to be number two on our list of out-of-touch stooges. He is apparently hitching his wagon to a team of fire and brimstone when Santorum promises partial birth abortion-style attack on gay marriage

When did it become the law of the land that the Supreme Court has the final say on anything? They do not have the final say on anything! The American people have the final say on everything!

I almost wish that there was a machine that you could flip the switch on certain keystone events and see how things played out. What would Rick “Holier than you” Santorum have said about the Supreme Court had they invalidated the premise of same sex marriage? I doubt he would have been so strident in his criticism.

The Joni Ernst Watch 7/13/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal Joni” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Steve King cannot let marriage equality alone. Knowing that his side has lost the war on the issue since same sex marriage is now the law of the land, Rep. Steve King Wants Congress to Denounce Supreme Court’s Marriage Equality Ruling There is absolutely nothing more productive than fighting symbolic rear guard actions in defense of hatred.

Rep. Steve King defends Trump’s comments on immigrant rape

I asked them the question — how many of these girls that go into a transfer home, how many of these girls are raped along the way?

And I asked at place after place, the most consistent answer I got was 75 percent, and I heard Donald Trump say in Winterset, Iowa, a week ago Saturday night, that 80 percent are raped. That’s consistent with what I learned.

So yes, they’re being raped, they’re being murdered, they’re being brutalized, and when I know I’ve been challenged on that, ‘well you can’t conclude that (it’s) Mexicans or Central Americans that are doing the raping,’ well, can you conclude anything else? They are being raped, they are victims of rape, and the price for the transit sometimes is, often is and predominantly is their body.

I give you Steve King defender virtue and Donald Trump.

Scott Walker is officially in today, although he kind of sort of announced his run via Twitter which seems really Presidential and all. Nothing says leader of the free world quite like 140 characters or less. Iowa Republican Presidential Caucus

You have to take these polls with a grain of salt because there are fourteen candidates who appear on the list and for a time Donald Trump was the number two guy in the state. Granted, Donald Trump takes the lead in North Carolina poll

Speaking of the Donald or rather what the Donald is speaking about he has inserted his big fat foot into his belligerent blow hole again. Donald Trump: ‘Infectious disease is pouring across the border’

 The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border.

Stay classy.

Ted Cruz, who looks like he has just smelled fart every time he gets up to speak in front of an audience, Ted Cruz’s favorite talking point: money Why? Because his campaign does not have much else going for it besides some filibuster showboating with children’s books. And a coloring book. I always forget about the coloring book.

Lindsey Graham, who has to be considered a fringe candidate at best, looks like he is going to stake his claim to the Republican nomination on his willingness to get into more wars. One Presidential Candidate Just Promised To Wage War In 4 Different Countries

The Joni Ernst Watch 7/6/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Steve King, Iowa’s blowhard extraordinaire, Rep. Steve King: Trump Telling the Truth About Mexicans

I have been down to the border and the number I come back with is 75 percent are sexually abused on the way to the United States. I say in Donald Trump’s defense, somebody is doing that to the kids being raped and abused. It’s reasonable to conclude they are Mexicans.

It is hard to find adjectives that accurately describe the insanity and stupidity of one Steve King.

Now that the Republican clown car is officially up to fourteen declared candidates with two more expected to announce any day now polls are starting to come out of Iowa. C’mon Governor Walker, jump into the water! Iowa poll: Walker losing steam, Trump vying for second place.  Granted, it’s early and no one expects any support for Donald Trump to last past the state fair.

Speaking of Donald Trump, A Comprehensive List of Everyone Trying to Sever Ties With Donald Trump

While Donald Trump is getting all the headlines for being a bigot, Jeb Bush has made some news himself for being a massive hypocrite. Jeb! trashes Obamacare in public, but privately made a cool half million off it

The more I learn about Ted Cruz the more I discover that The message of Ted Cruz’s book: Everyone hates Ted Cruz, and the feeling is mutual

The Joni Ernst Watch 6/29/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal Joni!” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Republicans are apoplectic this week after being dealt a series of legal defeats at the hands of the Supreme Court. First, a key component of modern civil rights legislation relating to fair housing and housing discrimination based on protected classes was upheld. Second, the Affordable Care Act survived another spurious legal threat with a somewhat stunning 6-3 decision—where most court watchers thought would break along the normal 5-4 lines—that upheld the ability of the federal government to offer subsidies to low income seekers of health insurance. Finally, marriage discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation is dead in the eyes of the Supreme Court. Think about that for a moment…

Steve King cannot shut up for one minute. After the horrific shooting in Charleston, South Carolina Rep. Steve King: Unrestricted access to guns is a ‘higher calling’ than stopping ‘one event of violence’:

And even if some of this violence could be stopped by confiscating all the guns, we have a charge, our charge is to defend freedom and liberty. We are the bastion of western civilization, and that requires us to be able to defend ourselves against tyranny.

That’s the charge that our founding fathers gave us, that’s in our culture, we know that, we’ve had to do that worldwide. So, it’s a much higher calling than believing that somehow we end one event of violence.

Wow, that is some real Constitutional verbal vomit coming from the absolute master of the dark arts.

Naturally, King got waded into the shallow waters of Rep. Steve King Comments On Friday’s Ruling

Here we are destroying the last real structure of our society. The building blocks of our society, the core of our families are marriage between a man and a woman. Something we’ve had in our country and civilization itself for thousands of years just wiped out by five of nine members of the Supreme Court.

At what point do these people realize they sound like the people defending slavery in the mid-1800s or the people arguing that the world was really flat?

But, King: Let’s Abolish Civil Marriage Altogether:

I’m calling upon the states, just abolish civil marriage, let’s go back to holy matrimony the way it began. Do that alone. And by the way, I want to send a message to the Supreme Court — a good strong message — and in the next days and weeks I will be introducing legislation to do just that.

These people are like small children crying and throwing a fit. If someone gets something they do not have then no one should get anything. My four year old son has a better sense of the world than these clowns.

Well, the Republican circus has added or will add some new passengers in the coming days. Bobby Jindal is in and he wants you to judge him on his record as governor. Louisiana Has A Lot Of Problems. This Is How Bobby Jindal Made Them Worse.

Chris Christie apparently thinks he can bully the nation and is going to announce he is running for president on Tuesday. Oh, the humanity and delicious sound bites that are sure to follow once the press starts following him around.

John Kasich, the somewhat dry white toast governor of Ohio, thinks that his relative anonymity in a field of divas is a selling point is also running for President. That puts the count at thirteen declared candidates and three suspected candidates. Wow.

The most off his rocker Republican of the week award goes to Ken Buck of Colorado. Ken Buck offers worst arguments yet against TPP

Obama could use his overreaching trade authority to advance: A radical climate change agenda; Amnesty for illegal aliens; Unpopular gun control laws; Payoffs for big labor.

Yep, a trade deal is now a Trojan horse for a whole host of right wing conspiracy theories. Get this guy a tin foil hat.

The lunatic of the week has to be Ann Coulter. You remember her, right? Coulter thinks loser Confederate army was greatest in history

The Confederate flag we’re talking about never flew over an official Confederate building. It was a battle flag. It is to honor Robert E. Lee. And anyone who knows the first thing about military history, knows that there is no greater army that ever took the field than the Confederate Army.

Really? Did she forget to see the scoreboard when she was working on this reactionary dreck. The south lost the Civil War and it’s army was defeated on the battlefield. Any attempt to create a narrative where the defeat was not total is revisionist history at its worst. However, we are talking about Ann Coulter who stopped being relevant for anyone but the lunatic fringe before the end of the George W. Bush administration.

The Joni Ernst Watch 6/22/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal Joni” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

It was too good to last and now the junior senator from Iowa is reverting to old school Joni. Loony Alert: Joni Ernst Wants Troops Back In Iraq

I am not ready to put ground troops in, but I think we are coming to a juncture where we will have to make that hard decision

Huh? At what point do we cut bait…oh right, there is a lot of oil in the region. My bad. Ernst Votes Against Torture Ban

The president has the authority to decide if those techniques would be used or not. Only in rare circumstances should they be used.

Torture is not okay. Ever. End of story. Finally, it looks like she is bowing to pressure from inside her own caucus becauseErnst votes against changes in handling military sex assault. Clown shoes.

Steve King is never one to outdone when it comes to crazy. Rep. King: Same-Sex Marriage OK Could Split Nation:

Well, that turned into a civil war – 600,000 people killed to put an end to slavery ­– to sort that mess out.

Is he not from Iowa? In this state gay marriage is legal and it has not split us asunder in a civil war.

Sweet baby Jesus!   My prayers have been answered and material will just write itself for the next several months. Why? Donald Trump is officially a candidate for president of the United States. That’s right. The former reality television star, mediocre property developer, failed casino operator, and huckster is further padding his enormous ego by kind of, sort of running for president.

It Snowed Once And Other Things Donald Trump Thinks Prove Global Warming Is A Hoax:

• The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
• Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee – I’m in Los Angeles and it’s freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!

Donald Trump Is Running For President. Here Are 11 Animals Who Share His Hair

Now that ol’ Jeb is officially running here are some of the things we should know about the Bush son that everyone thought would be president. You remember the other guy right?

Jeb Bush Is Officially Running for President. Here’s What You Need to Know About Him.

Remember, Jeb Bush: A Climate Denier By Any Other Name Is Still a Climate Denier.  He’s also a hypocrite when it comes to the climate.  Jeb Bush Thinks His Faith Shouldn’t Inform His Position On Climate Change. Except When He Does.

I will be very curious to see how he handles the fact that his spiritual leader, the awesome Pope Francis, has said emphatically that climate change is serious threat. Then again, he is a hypocrite of the highest order. Jeb Bush Slams Washington’s Pampered Elites…But Enlists Them for His Campaign

Finally, let’s not forget Michele Bachmann. Michele Bachmann is still in a race – for money Usually we call this kind of behavior fraud but when it comes from a modern day Republican it is called par for the course. Keep it classy Michele.

 

The Joni Ernst Watch 6/15/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal Joni” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Democrats working to field 2016 candidates to run against Steve King My guess is that this conservative northwest and north central Iowa district will elect him in a cake walk over whoever runs because people in that part of the state seem receptive to King’s particular brand of abrasive asshole.

Can Mike Huckabee just quit now. First, it was his association with the Duggars and their inexcusable defense of their sexually abusive son. Now, Mike Huckabee Now Has Ties To Another Accused Child Molester

What is it with these social conservatives?

By the way,Jeb Bush poised to launch 2016 bid.  Now that he has raised more money than Croesus, Super PAC backing Jeb Bush unlikely to hit $100 million by end of June there is nothing holding him back from becoming an official candidate. It’s time to milk all the free publicity that the 24/7 media cycle will just hand over to someone.

The Joni Ernst Watch 6/8/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal Joni” Ernst or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

The clown car was in town as Joni Ernst hosted her first “Roast and Ride” where a who’s who of the GOP attended for the right to spend some quality time with the new power player in the U.S. Senate. She may not see herself as a gatekeeper to the Republican nomination, but come caucus time every GOP candidate will be looking to have her on stage.

The real question confronting the GOP right now is what horse to back in this race. Why are there so many obviously lost causes gumming up the works? It’s great for someone watching from the sidelines, but it makes no sense as a strategy to run a party.

The megadonors, however, are lining up behind their candidates of choice.   I would not be surprised if the list of candidates still in the race come the Iowa caucuses looks a lot like the list of candidates being backed by big money donors.

For the moment the plethora of candidates has led to a lot of great sound bites. Great for me, maybe not so great for them.

Rand Paul thinks he is a treehugger.

Rick Perry, with smart guy glasses on, says he would approve Keystone XL pipeline on day one of a, shudder, Perry presidential administration.

Rick Santorum wants the Pope to stop talking about climate change. He said that “The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think that we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists and focusing on what we’re really good at, which is theology and morality.” I will leave the morality issue on the table and focus on leaving science to the scientists. Okay, Pope Francis is the one who holds a post-secondary degree in chemistry.

And then there is Mike Huckabee. Forever trying to stay relevant in a world that has discovered the Duggars are sick as fuck he doubled down on his dated views by saying:

 

Now I wish that someone told me that when I was in high school that I could have felt like a woman when it came time to take showers in PE. I’m pretty sure that I would have found my feminine side and said, “Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today.” You’re laughing because it sounds so ridiculous doesn’t it?

I do not think that is the thought process, but I will let Huckabee just stew on that comment for a while.

In the wake of the scandal engulfing Dennis Hastert it is useful to remember the people who led the charge for the impeachment of Bill Clinton. First, Newt Gingrich who’s personal failings are well known and would like to focus on how he knew what was right as opposed to acting in accordance with those beliefs. Second, Bob Livingston stepped into the breach and was himself laid low by allegations of extramarital relations with at least four women. Last, Dennis Hastert saw things through to the end and is now known as someone who preyed on young boys with whom he enjoyed a position of power as a teacher and coach. Scumbags.

 

Remember conservative hero Cliven Bundy? He is back in the news and he is still offering his wisdom on poverty and race.

The Joni Ernst Watch 6/1/2015

When it comes to Joni “Make ‘em squeal” Ernst  or Steve King it’s clown shoes all day, every day. Recently, the conversation in Iowa has turned away from our homegrown whack-a-doos and focused on the nutcase circus that will be the Republican caucus.

Joni Ernst is keeping herself above the Republican presidential fray by refusing to endorse a candidate.  This is actually smart politics given the fluid nature of the race and wanting to be on the good side of whoever comes out on top. A lot of people in Iowa had egg on their faces after supporting Newt Gingrich’s candidacy. Does anyone remember when that was still a thing?

And, in another rare sign of good politics, Bob Vander Plaats—he of hard right views on everything from gay marriage to well, gay marriage—is not going to compel people to sign his “marriage vow” in order to get the support of his tens of followers.

The Republican clown car is getting more packed by the day. Rick Santorum is in, which will provide fodder for the grist mill of political commentary as he tries to court as many hard right religious zealots as possible. Lindsey Graham is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination this morning. Rick Perry is threatening to bring his own brand of stale Texas leadership to the race. Donald Trump is lurking around the edges, threatening to run, in a last ditch effort to convince the world of his relevance.

Perhaps the biggest name not declared, in an official capacity due to campaign finance laws, is Jeb Bush. The former Florida governor, brother of the awful W, and presumptive next in line of the Bush political dynasty is expected to announce when the dark money coffers are full and the lunacy of these early announcements is done. He is wasting no time sticking his foot in his mouth.

Like most mainstream Republicans, ol’ Jeb does not believe in the science behind climate change because of Jesus or something similar in terms of logical reasoning. He recently said, regarding the near unanimity of scientific consensus, that “For the people to say the science is decided on this is really arrogant, to be honest with you. It’s this intellectual arrogance that now you can’t have a conversation about it, even.” Okay, let’s have a conversation. You get three minutes of talking time for every 97 minutes that I get to reflect the proportional nature of the consensus.

But, Jeb saved the best for his comments on ISIS. He said, “ISIS didn’t exist when my brother was president. Al Qaeda in Iraq was wiped out when my brother was President.”

Yep, he actually believed this picture:

The reason ISIS exists is because W’s failed war in Iraq destabilized the entire region. It’s the single legacy of his presidency.