I’m fed up to the proverbial HERE with extremists. Steve Rose, longtime Johnson County columnist wrote this in the Kansas City Star. Hats off to those who still think, who still see reality. We need all the adults we can get to overcome the idiots in Brownbackistan!
——–
Sign me up as another Republican for Democrat Paul Davis for Kansas governor. That makes me a RINO, a Republican In Name Only, in the eyes of conservatives. Never mind my earlier endorsement for Pat Roberts, as well as my admonition for a Republican U.S. Senate, plus a strong endorsement for Republican Kevin Yoder for the U.S. Congress. (Although Yoder is a bona fide conservative, he is no radical extremist.)
To some conservative Republicans, any deviation from the party line is treason. That makes it a cult, not a political party. Only cults demand blind loyalty to its leaders, no matter what.
To get a sense of how much many conservatives hate whom they call RINOs, get a load of this:
At a June, 2012 tent revival for conservatives held in Gardner, a small town near Olathe, they had, as part of the event, a game for kids.
For amusement — sick humor, if you ask me — they propped up a large poster titled in large print: “Eliminate the RINOS!”
Underneath that headline, centered on the poster, was a drawing of a large rhinoceros. On the rhino was a round target, inside of which was a big red heart. If you hit the heart inside the round target, the rhino would definitely be killed.
Below the rhino, it said, “Vote Conservative Republican.”
A souvenir photo of that poster, with kids awaiting their turn to throw darts at the “RINO,” was emailed to a large swath of conservative Republicans by State Rep. Bill Sutton, a conservative Republican from Gardner, who helped put together the event.
He wrote this tagline under the photo: “Train them young! Kids are lining up to kill RINOS!”
What a great lesson to teach kids. Eliminate those who disagree with orthodoxy. Those who share many, if not most, ideas with you are the greatest threats. Yes, mein Führer.
This revival tent event was truly symbolic of a “small test” philosophy. Conservatives have dismissed with disdain all those who do not toe the line all the time.
It is we moderate Republicans who demonstrate the most loyalty, but in our case, the loyalty rests with the state of Kansas, not always the party, come hell or high water.
How can any Republican who cares about Kansas rally around a governor who is bankrupting the state? Even though Sam Brownback has an “R” beside his name, his agenda is killing Kansas.
Virtually all moderate Republicans — or RINOS — share one priority. It is education — K-12 public education and higher education.
Brownback’s tax-slashing policies will inevitably lead to great harm to both, because there simply will not be sufficient funds to support them.
Many conservatives do not seem to care if there are cuts, or they don’t believe they will happen.
Based on their public statements, we know they generally hold public education in low regard (wasteful and liberal). And universities? They’re also liberal and for the “elite,” who don’t need state help.
And what does Sam Brownback believe in?
He claims to support education, yet he signs every bill the conservative legislature sends him. And unless a court orders otherwise, what the legislature sends to the governor are inadequate funds for public schools and cuts to the state’s universities. And this is happening before the real budget crunch hits home.
The fact is, the end result of Brownback’s tax-slashing “experiment,” will be cut, cut, cut. And schools just will not be immune to those cuts.
So, if opposing Brownback’s disastrous agenda — and therefore opposing Brownback’s re-election — makes me a RINO, then hide the darts.
I have been called a RINO so many times it does not even faze me. I generally come back with “Well I am not a Nazi, like the Neo-Cons that are taking over the party!”.
I haven’t paid close attention to Jeb Bush even tho he has always been ‘in the news.’ I do find it difficult to believe anyone, including his brother, could be another Dubya. Add to that my strong belief that Dubya had much help in his journey of destroying America from some really unsavory characters!
What I think might deal a blow they don’t recover from to the Republican Party is winning the Senate next month thus putting them in the majority in both houses of Congress and proving they don’t have any ideas for improving the lot of our country or her citizens and just plain don’t know how to govern! It means we’ll all be hurt, but it looks like a possibility. I have no doubts if they’re given the opportunity to ‘be in charge’ they’ll screw it up.
I have no doubts the Republicans will have majority in Senate and House come the midterm election.
I also have no doubts that we will not hear one word of how there is no money to increase the military spending and start a few more senseless and endless wars.
And THAT will be their downfall – IMHO.
Too many Americans are happy to vote for the guy with the biggest mouth in the room – but when it comes to actually paying for those wars with their tax dollars and their loved ones’ lives….that is a different story.
PLUS – I am counting on the women in America to at some point get their fill of all these male-generated pissing contests…..and finally rise up and do what Nancy Reagan encouraged to do to drugs – JUST SAY NO….
6176 – I know you believe that women voters will not show up and determine the future of our country….
BUT when their kids are being sent into yet more useless and endless wars – the women that I know will rise up and will start to roar like never before….
It will be interesting to see how many women are elected to the Senate and House come November midterm election.
That – IMHO – will be a big factor in 2016.
Personally – I believe our country cannot stand too much more of this partisan political nonsense.
And I KNOW people are tired of these Bible Thumpers thinking that buying an overpriced deep-fried chicken sandwich is the way to prove how much you love Jesus…..
Women are an entirely different breed of voters – women are generally the caregivers and nurturers in their families. The only thing worse than a Mother Bear’s rage when their young is being threatened is the Grandmother Bear’s rage to see their kids and their grandkids threatened.
indy, it’s not that I think women won’t show up to vote, it’s that I think there will not be the unanimity presumed by many among the women on a political position. This is, I freely admit, based upon historical patterns. Should these patterns change, I’ll reconsider.
A change might be a supermajority of women voting for the Republicans, their attitudes towards womens issues notwithstanding. Do I think this unlikely? Yes. So improbable that it might not happen? No.
For better or worse, show me empirical, verified data. If there is none, I will likely disregard the argument of any proponent not so supported. Stated differently, don’t argue that a certain group will vote in a certain way based upon a candidate’s position that seems antithetical to the interests of such group unless you can show me voting data that supports the argument. Otherwise, it’s mere speculation.
It isn’t at all speculation that women made up about 54 percent of the electorate in 2012 or that in total the gender gap added up to 18 percent in votes cast in the presidential election — a significantly wider margin than the 12-point gender gap in the 2008 election. It is also not speculation that women vote overwhelmingly for candidates running on the Democratic ticket.
fnord, I’m aware of those statistics. They relate to a Presidential election, not a mid-term. Thus, my comment about speculation, i.e., trying to apply a set of data to two unlike events.
Thus, in the last two elections (2008, 2002), what has been the actual number of women voting, what percentage of the womens vote has gone to the Democratic candidate and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in each state which has an election for Senate in 2014? That’s not worded well, for which I apologize.
I don’t know any of those figures and I’m not interested enough to search for them. I absolutely understand your point about comparing apples to apples. Still, a bit of wishful thinking or hoping never hurt a soul. We will have the reality soon enough. 🙂 I do agree with Indy about the women’s vote being affected by different issues than men’s votes even tho all women definitely don’t agree or think alike.
As long as we all understand it is wishful thinking and hoping. Unfortunately, it can hurt when that fact is not understood.
I want to say one more thing. As important as the election for the Presidency is, it is second to the election for the Senate in importance, because that’s where the real power lies. Were that not true, the Kochs, et al, would not expend so much effort and money on the same. Those of us who are a bit more progressive need to figure this out as well.
That’s why I harp on the states, individually, rather than national numbers when looking at elections.
This short piece is full of ways to increase our understanding on our road to becoming better people. I wish each person who has ever thought they’re superior to another person would read and try really hard to understand what this piece says. We really could put a dent in homophobia, misogyny, bigots of all colors and stripes with greater perspective .
Martin Sheen urges senior citizens to vote for Democrats to save the programs from destruction by the GOP.
Prior to these two landmark programs, senior citizens were not protected against economic downturns, becoming destitute and homeless while going hungry and getting sick without proper care. Because of Social Security and Medicare, senior citizens in America enjoy the guarantee of a retirement paycheck every month no matter what the state of the economy looks like. Through bad times and good times, older Americans do not have to worry about not receiving their retirement benefits and healthcare. The only threat to not receiving a check in the mail from the government is if the Republicans shut it down like they did last autumn and have threatened to do again repeatedly ever since.
The pundits try very hard to convince you not to bother with this thing called VOTING since it’s all over anyway, winners have been selected and … it’s just a formality. Don’t play into their hands! VOTE!
So would that link make it fair to say, “The more we learn the less we know”? Guess we’ll need to wait until election day for most races, and for the December runoff in Louisiana to know the results. And, perhaps, as is always the case, TURN OUT will be the decider.
No problem that is the reason I have so many on Facebook. I refuse to pay the extra for the super duper net from Cox. So it takes longer and things do not show up for sometime.
I don’t normally vote in the “retain (or not) judges” because I don’t interact with judges and have few reliable ways of being informed about them. This year I will vote to retain them all. In addition to Brownback trying to change the way judges in Kansas are selected there is some right-wing witch hunting going on. So, I will vote to retain in hopes there are NO vacancies for the right-wing to mess with!
I will vote to retain the judges BECAUSE I know these right-winger nutjobs want to cherry-pick their own judges.
Oh Hell NO…..
This is the way I feel about Bible Thumpers trying to witness to me and ‘save my soul from Hell’.
I always ask the thumper if they are going to be in Heaven. When they reply ‘yes’ – that is when I say, No Thanks, I don’t want to be around you for an eternity. That would not be Heaven, in my opinion.
When Republicans take over the Senate and House – let’s all push them to reinstitute the draft. Hell – I’ll be the first one in line to start a lobbying group to pester these CONS into putting in a draft.
I wonder how many of these CONS will be signing up their kids for front-line combat duty?
BTW – yesterday at my part time job, I had a conversation with a retired white Male Republican Obama Hater.
This guy told me he was a combat pilot in Vietnam. When I told him that I lost loved ones in that war.
This old dude told me – with a straight face – the Vietnam War was not as bad as they are trying to make it out to be…
WTF…
I replied to this man with one sentence – my loved ones that died in that war would probably disagree with you…
It took all the inner strength in me to not punch that old fart right in the nose!!!!!
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
But….But… John Fuglesang – you don’t understand. George W. Bush was doing God’s work when he invaded Iraq. That makes it okay.
Heavy sarcasm – and I just about puked on the keyboard as I was typing.
I’m fed up to the proverbial HERE with extremists. Steve Rose, longtime Johnson County columnist wrote this in the Kansas City Star. Hats off to those who still think, who still see reality. We need all the adults we can get to overcome the idiots in Brownbackistan!
——–
Sign me up as another Republican for Democrat Paul Davis for Kansas governor. That makes me a RINO, a Republican In Name Only, in the eyes of conservatives. Never mind my earlier endorsement for Pat Roberts, as well as my admonition for a Republican U.S. Senate, plus a strong endorsement for Republican Kevin Yoder for the U.S. Congress. (Although Yoder is a bona fide conservative, he is no radical extremist.)
To some conservative Republicans, any deviation from the party line is treason. That makes it a cult, not a political party. Only cults demand blind loyalty to its leaders, no matter what.
To get a sense of how much many conservatives hate whom they call RINOs, get a load of this:
At a June, 2012 tent revival for conservatives held in Gardner, a small town near Olathe, they had, as part of the event, a game for kids.
For amusement — sick humor, if you ask me — they propped up a large poster titled in large print: “Eliminate the RINOS!”
Underneath that headline, centered on the poster, was a drawing of a large rhinoceros. On the rhino was a round target, inside of which was a big red heart. If you hit the heart inside the round target, the rhino would definitely be killed.
Below the rhino, it said, “Vote Conservative Republican.”
A souvenir photo of that poster, with kids awaiting their turn to throw darts at the “RINO,” was emailed to a large swath of conservative Republicans by State Rep. Bill Sutton, a conservative Republican from Gardner, who helped put together the event.
He wrote this tagline under the photo: “Train them young! Kids are lining up to kill RINOS!”
What a great lesson to teach kids. Eliminate those who disagree with orthodoxy. Those who share many, if not most, ideas with you are the greatest threats. Yes, mein Führer.
This revival tent event was truly symbolic of a “small test” philosophy. Conservatives have dismissed with disdain all those who do not toe the line all the time.
It is we moderate Republicans who demonstrate the most loyalty, but in our case, the loyalty rests with the state of Kansas, not always the party, come hell or high water.
How can any Republican who cares about Kansas rally around a governor who is bankrupting the state? Even though Sam Brownback has an “R” beside his name, his agenda is killing Kansas.
Virtually all moderate Republicans — or RINOS — share one priority. It is education — K-12 public education and higher education.
Brownback’s tax-slashing policies will inevitably lead to great harm to both, because there simply will not be sufficient funds to support them.
Many conservatives do not seem to care if there are cuts, or they don’t believe they will happen.
Based on their public statements, we know they generally hold public education in low regard (wasteful and liberal). And universities? They’re also liberal and for the “elite,” who don’t need state help.
And what does Sam Brownback believe in?
He claims to support education, yet he signs every bill the conservative legislature sends him. And unless a court orders otherwise, what the legislature sends to the governor are inadequate funds for public schools and cuts to the state’s universities. And this is happening before the real budget crunch hits home.
The fact is, the end result of Brownback’s tax-slashing “experiment,” will be cut, cut, cut. And schools just will not be immune to those cuts.
So, if opposing Brownback’s disastrous agenda — and therefore opposing Brownback’s re-election — makes me a RINO, then hide the darts.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/steve-rose/article3356435.html#storylink=cpy
I have been called a RINO so many times it does not even faze me. I generally come back with “Well I am not a Nazi, like the Neo-Cons that are taking over the party!”.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-bushes-led-by-w-rally-to-make-jeb-%e2%80%9845%e2%80%99/ar-BBbowhD?ocid=DELLDHP
——-
If a third Bush gets in as president – will this be the final straw that breaks America’s back?
Just imagine – if Jeb Bush wins, how long will it take before we are heavy into World War III?
I haven’t paid close attention to Jeb Bush even tho he has always been ‘in the news.’ I do find it difficult to believe anyone, including his brother, could be another Dubya. Add to that my strong belief that Dubya had much help in his journey of destroying America from some really unsavory characters!
What I think might deal a blow they don’t recover from to the Republican Party is winning the Senate next month thus putting them in the majority in both houses of Congress and proving they don’t have any ideas for improving the lot of our country or her citizens and just plain don’t know how to govern! It means we’ll all be hurt, but it looks like a possibility. I have no doubts if they’re given the opportunity to ‘be in charge’ they’ll screw it up.
I have no doubts the Republicans will have majority in Senate and House come the midterm election.
I also have no doubts that we will not hear one word of how there is no money to increase the military spending and start a few more senseless and endless wars.
And THAT will be their downfall – IMHO.
Too many Americans are happy to vote for the guy with the biggest mouth in the room – but when it comes to actually paying for those wars with their tax dollars and their loved ones’ lives….that is a different story.
PLUS – I am counting on the women in America to at some point get their fill of all these male-generated pissing contests…..and finally rise up and do what Nancy Reagan encouraged to do to drugs – JUST SAY NO….
Only this time – Oh HELL NO…….
Indy, I know we BOTH agree with these words!
Should this come to pass, the Republicans will have a campaign issue for 2016, namely Democratic obstruction in the White House.
6176 – I know you believe that women voters will not show up and determine the future of our country….
BUT when their kids are being sent into yet more useless and endless wars – the women that I know will rise up and will start to roar like never before….
It will be interesting to see how many women are elected to the Senate and House come November midterm election.
That – IMHO – will be a big factor in 2016.
Personally – I believe our country cannot stand too much more of this partisan political nonsense.
And I KNOW people are tired of these Bible Thumpers thinking that buying an overpriced deep-fried chicken sandwich is the way to prove how much you love Jesus…..
Women are an entirely different breed of voters – women are generally the caregivers and nurturers in their families. The only thing worse than a Mother Bear’s rage when their young is being threatened is the Grandmother Bear’s rage to see their kids and their grandkids threatened.
fnord – Jimmy Carter was the most honest president we have ever had – IMHO.
Jimmy Carter told us back in the late 1970’s to get off the dependence on oil. Did we listen to him?
Oh HELL NO…… we went with St. Ronnie Raygun and this is the guy that sold weapons to our sworn enemy – Iran.
Then we wonder why the country is heading spiraling towards our downfall??
There are folks who are stupid.
Then there are folks who are Proud to be Stupid
Reagan worshippers are in the second category – IMHO
indy, it’s not that I think women won’t show up to vote, it’s that I think there will not be the unanimity presumed by many among the women on a political position. This is, I freely admit, based upon historical patterns. Should these patterns change, I’ll reconsider.
A change might be a supermajority of women voting for the Republicans, their attitudes towards womens issues notwithstanding. Do I think this unlikely? Yes. So improbable that it might not happen? No.
For better or worse, show me empirical, verified data. If there is none, I will likely disregard the argument of any proponent not so supported. Stated differently, don’t argue that a certain group will vote in a certain way based upon a candidate’s position that seems antithetical to the interests of such group unless you can show me voting data that supports the argument. Otherwise, it’s mere speculation.
It isn’t at all speculation that women made up about 54 percent of the electorate in 2012 or that in total the gender gap added up to 18 percent in votes cast in the presidential election — a significantly wider margin than the 12-point gender gap in the 2008 election. It is also not speculation that women vote overwhelmingly for candidates running on the Democratic ticket.
fnord, I’m aware of those statistics. They relate to a Presidential election, not a mid-term. Thus, my comment about speculation, i.e., trying to apply a set of data to two unlike events.
Thus, in the last two elections (2008, 2002), what has been the actual number of women voting, what percentage of the womens vote has gone to the Democratic candidate and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in each state which has an election for Senate in 2014? That’s not worded well, for which I apologize.
I don’t know any of those figures and I’m not interested enough to search for them. I absolutely understand your point about comparing apples to apples. Still, a bit of wishful thinking or hoping never hurt a soul. We will have the reality soon enough. 🙂 I do agree with Indy about the women’s vote being affected by different issues than men’s votes even tho all women definitely don’t agree or think alike.
As long as we all understand it is wishful thinking and hoping. Unfortunately, it can hurt when that fact is not understood.
I want to say one more thing. As important as the election for the Presidency is, it is second to the election for the Senate in importance, because that’s where the real power lies. Were that not true, the Kochs, et al, would not expend so much effort and money on the same. Those of us who are a bit more progressive need to figure this out as well.
That’s why I harp on the states, individually, rather than national numbers when looking at elections.
This short piece is full of ways to increase our understanding on our road to becoming better people. I wish each person who has ever thought they’re superior to another person would read and try really hard to understand what this piece says. We really could put a dent in homophobia, misogyny, bigots of all colors and stripes with greater perspective .
EXPLAINING WHITE PRIVILEGE TO A BROKE WHITE PERSON…
http://occupywallstreet.net/story/explaining-white-privilege-broke-white-person
Martin Sheen urges senior citizens to vote for Democrats to save the programs from destruction by the GOP.
Prior to these two landmark programs, senior citizens were not protected against economic downturns, becoming destitute and homeless while going hungry and getting sick without proper care. Because of Social Security and Medicare, senior citizens in America enjoy the guarantee of a retirement paycheck every month no matter what the state of the economy looks like. Through bad times and good times, older Americans do not have to worry about not receiving their retirement benefits and healthcare. The only threat to not receiving a check in the mail from the government is if the Republicans shut it down like they did last autumn and have threatened to do again repeatedly ever since.
Published November 8, 1988
The pundits try very hard to convince you not to bother with this thing called VOTING since it’s all over anyway, winners have been selected and … it’s just a formality. Don’t play into their hands! VOTE!
Thought that some more analysis is needed this Monday.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/senate-update-the-republican-advantage-is-consistent-but-not-decisive/
So would that link make it fair to say, “The more we learn the less we know”? Guess we’ll need to wait until election day for most races, and for the December runoff in Louisiana to know the results. And, perhaps, as is always the case, TURN OUT will be the decider.
Yep.
Lots of information, complete with charts, and you could spend some time taking it all in.
What’s the matter with [fill in the name of your state here]?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/26/1337163/-What-s-the-matter-with-fill-in-the-name-of-your-state-here#
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mutualfunds/the-5-worst-states-for-women/ss-BBa3QH3#image=1
—–
Is anyone surprised which states made this list?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mutualfunds/the-5-worst-states-for-women/ss-BBa3QH3#image=1
——
Is anyone surprised at which states are on this list?
Sorry for duplicate posting – I thought it did not take the first time.
No problem that is the reason I have so many on Facebook. I refuse to pay the extra for the super duper net from Cox. So it takes longer and things do not show up for sometime.
I don’t normally vote in the “retain (or not) judges” because I don’t interact with judges and have few reliable ways of being informed about them. This year I will vote to retain them all. In addition to Brownback trying to change the way judges in Kansas are selected there is some right-wing witch hunting going on. So, I will vote to retain in hopes there are NO vacancies for the right-wing to mess with!
I will vote to retain the judges BECAUSE I know these right-winger nutjobs want to cherry-pick their own judges.
Oh Hell NO…..
This is the way I feel about Bible Thumpers trying to witness to me and ‘save my soul from Hell’.
I always ask the thumper if they are going to be in Heaven. When they reply ‘yes’ – that is when I say, No Thanks, I don’t want to be around you for an eternity. That would not be Heaven, in my opinion.
I am getting very mean in my old age…
When Republicans take over the Senate and House – let’s all push them to reinstitute the draft. Hell – I’ll be the first one in line to start a lobbying group to pester these CONS into putting in a draft.
I wonder how many of these CONS will be signing up their kids for front-line combat duty?
BTW – yesterday at my part time job, I had a conversation with a retired white Male Republican Obama Hater.
This guy told me he was a combat pilot in Vietnam. When I told him that I lost loved ones in that war.
This old dude told me – with a straight face – the Vietnam War was not as bad as they are trying to make it out to be…
WTF…
I replied to this man with one sentence – my loved ones that died in that war would probably disagree with you…
It took all the inner strength in me to not punch that old fart right in the nose!!!!!