Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

What Do These Things Have In Common?

Say it now and say it loud, I'm white as mayonnaise and I'm proud.

Here's a take on the current continued control of the GOP by the Tea Party.

On efforts supported constituencies that Republican operatives say the party must perform better with, conservatives not only block them, they sometimes dismiss the very notion that they're necessary. Bills like the Paycheck Fairness Act, which beefs up legal protections for women who face pay discrimination in the workplace, are stymied by Republican opposition. A Fox News host argued that many women who were paid less than men earned "exactly what they're worth." GOP leaders have also refused to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which appeals to supporters of gay rights, a burgeoning constituency across the country. ENDA passed the Senate recently and Boehner wasted no time before signaling that it was deadin the House.

Even initiatives that have enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support in the past, like the Voting Rights Act, are now toxic on the right. Conservatives oppose fixing the part of the historic law that was struck down by the Supreme Court, designed to preemptively snuff out voter discrimination in the state and local governments where it's likeliest to occur. Lawmakers recently introduced bipartisan legislation to rewrite and reform that provision, but Republican leaders have refused to sign on, amid opposition from conservatives who say the idea violates states rights and should be left alone.

Hmm, women...Hispanics...blacks...

But the important thing is not to call the Tea Party racists because white people are the real victims of racism, like that nice George Zimmerman.  And the real people suffering persecution are those poor billionaires suffering from the modern day krystalnacht or having to support other people's distressed babies.

And what's incredibly depressing is that they are likely to pick up seats in Senate and maybe even the House next November, despite being the retrograde face of America's long history of bigotry.


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