Wisconsin Scott Walker is running scared from the Blue Wave.

Courtesy of CNN: 

On Tuesday night, it happened again. 

Democrat Patty Schachtner beat Republican Adam Jarchow for a western Wisconsin state Senate seat that had been held by a Republican since 2000 and in a district that President Donald Trump won handily in 2016. 

Schachtner's win marked the first Republican-to-Democrat switch at the state legislative level of 2018 but it is the 34th state legislative seat pickup for Democrats since the start of 2017. That trend is beginning to rightly alarm smart Republicans.

I don't know if you could actually put Scott Walker in the smart category, but he is certainly deep into the alarmed category.

Tonight’s results show we are at risk of a #BlueWave in WI. The Far Left is driven by anger & hatred -- we must counter it with optimism & organization. Let’s share our positive story with voters & win in November.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018

Big government special interests flooded Wisconsin with distorted facts & misinformation. Next, they'll target me and work to undo our bold reforms. We need to keep moving #WIForward & make sure a #BlueWave of outside special interest money doesn’t take us backward.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018

Damn! You can almost smell the panic.

Walker's policy decisions have been devastating for the people of Wisconsin, and he was so afraid of this voters that he tried to change the law to get out of holding two special elections.

So yes, he has every reason to fear the Blue Wave.

Hey, maybe he IS in the smart category.

Wisconsin Federal judge tells Governor Walker that she doesn't care if his party is going to lose, he still has to hold special elections.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

A judge ruled Thursday that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) must “promptly” hold special elections for two vacant seats in the state legislature — elections that he refused to call because he was afraid his party would lose. 

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds ruled that state law requires Walker, a two-term governor and former presidential candidate, to hold the elections in order to give residents of the two districts representation in the state legislature. The seats have been vacant since December, when Walker appointed the two representatives to serve in his administration. 

“To state the obvious, if the plaintiffs have a right to vote for their representatives, they must have an election to do so,” said Reynolds, who Walker appointed to the court in 2014. 

Walker claimed he didn’t need to fill the seats because the legislative session will be ending soon, and planned to keep the seats open for more than a year. Wisconsin voters named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit called that decision unlawful. 

“We have nobody representing the interests of our Senate district right now and that upsets me,” Jennifer Meyer, one of the named plaintiffs, testified in court. “We’re entitled to representation.”

Damn! I have seen some desperate Republicans lately but absolutely refusing to hold elections because your party will be defeated is pretty fucked up.

Scott Walker reminds me of the kid that suddenly "accidentally" upends the Monopoly board when he realizes he is about to lose.

And really all he has done here is to ensure an insane Democratic turnout and definite defeat for the GOP candidates.

Doesn't anybody in this party understand the concept of "fair play" anymore?

The New York Times gets their hands on the speaker list for the GOP convention. Guess whose name is not on it. Update!

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

The roster of speakers obtained by The Times, and confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of the convention planning, reveals a lineup lacking many of the party’s rising stars. Instead, it features some of Mr. Trump’s eclectic collection of friends, celebrities and relatives, from his Slovenian supermodel wife to professional golfer Natalie Gulbis. 

The parade of people seems to have been selected to broaden Mr. Trump’s demographic reach. 

There are several notable women speaking. They include Pam Bondi, the Florida attorney general, who tangled on television with the CNN anchor Anderson Cooper after the Orlando, Fla., nightclub massacre; Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a space shuttle mission; Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma; Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania. 

There are a few African-Americans, like Jamiel Shaw Sr., who became an outspoken advocate for tougher immigration laws after his son was killed in 2008 by an undocumented immigrant; and Darryl Glenn, who is running for Senate in Colorado. 

From sports there is Mr. Tebow, the former quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner who is known for his conservative views; Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts organization; and Ms. Gulbis.

Though Rudy Giuliani, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Joni Ernts, Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, Scott Walker, and Mitch McConnell are on the list the bigger more recognizable political names are all missing.

Instead Trump has filled out the roster with members of his own family who each have a prominent speaking slot on each of the four nights.

So you would think that Trump would be scraping the bottom of the barrel to flesh it out a little.

Well apparently there is a bottom that he is unwilling to scrape:

But what is striking, as much as who is on the list, is who is not. Several figures Mr. Trump had said he would invite to speak, like the boxing promoter Don King and Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, were not included.

(Just take a moment to mull over how delicious it is that Sarah Palin is mentioned in the same paragraph as boxing pimp and known murderer Don King.)

So Sarah Palin did NOT get a ticket to the big show?

Damn I am very surprised to hear that.

I was convinced that not only was she going to be there but that she would have Dakota Meyer on her arm when she arrived.

So what do we think?

Is Sarah being dissed by Trump, is this New York Times list incomplete, or is Palin simply too afraid to show up knowing that the protesters outside will be carrying guns?

Update: Well according to multiple sources it appears that Mike Pence has won the honor of standing side by side with Donald Trump as he loses this election.

Courtesy of Roll Call:

Donald Trump is planning to announce that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is his choice for his vice presidential running mate, according to a Republican with direct knowledge of the decision.

Well arguably Pence is the best choice among the group of losers that Trump had to choose from, but he brings significant baggage with him, and in the end he will provide virtually no benefit whatsoever.

Wisconsin Republican lawmakers were "giddy" at prospect of suppressing the Democratic vote.

Courtesy of The Nation:  

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s Republican legislative allies were “giddy” at the prospect that a radical rewrite of voting laws would benefit their political prospects. 

So said a former Republican legislative aide who was in the room in 2011, when Republican members of the Wisconsin state Senate were scheming to enact one of the most rigid voter-identification laws in the nation. Recalling that top legislators talked openly about how the new law would impact prospective voters in the heavily Democratic city of Milwaukee, and on college campuses that have leaned Democratic in recent years—and that one legislator told his colleagues: “What I’m concerned about here is winning, and that’s what really matters here.… We better get this done quickly while we have the opportunity”—Todd Allbaugh told a hushed federal courtroom that the Republican legislators were visibly excited about what the voter-ID law could mean for them politically. 

“I’ve characterized it as giddy and that’s part of what bothered me so much,” Allbaugh said Monday, in testimony on the opening day of a trial before US District Judge James Peterson.

The trial is examining issues raised in a lawsuit brought by 10 Wisconsin voters and a pair of activist groups—the One Wisconsin Institute and the Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund—charging that Republican legislators (most of whom were closely allied with Walker) enacted a number of laws that were designed to disenfranchise minorities, students, and other groups of prospective voters that often back Democrats. 

It's so nice when people enjoy their work, don't you think?

And nothing seems to please the Republicans more than taking away the rights of their fellow citizens, whether it be the right to choose, the right to free speech, or the right to vote.

This, this is why we need to turn out in large numbers, much like we did in 2008 and 2012, to vote in this next election.

Because while Democrats argue and fight like little children, the Republicans are throwing up roadblocks to make it ever harder for us to exercise our rights as citizens. 

Wisconsin Governor, and former presidential candidate, Scott Walker floats the idea that a brokered Republican convention may decide on none of the above.

Courtesy of Madison.com: 

If the Republican Party finds itself with an open convention in July, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker believes the nominee may not be Donald Trump, Ted Cruz or John Kasich. 


"I think if it’s an open convention, it’s very likely it would be someone who’s not currently running," Walker told reporters Thursday. "I mean, who knows. The one thing I qualify — it’s like the qualifications you see on those ads you see for car dealerships. I think any of us who comment on this election have to qualify that almost every prediction’s been off, so it’s hard to predict anything."

You know I would typically think that a brokered convention that did not choose any of the candidates who had won delegates would be a long shot to say the least.

But after watching Ted Cruz and Donald Trump going at it tooth and nail this week, I am not discounting anything any more.

Though I also cannot imagine what kind of masochist would want to get the nomination in this way, and then get tossed into a cage match with the incredibly prepared Hillary Clinton.

According to Rafael Cruz God chose his son Ted to be President of the United States. WTF God?

Courtesy of Mother Jones:  

Here's the story, according to Rafael Cruz: My son Ted and his family spent six months in prayer seeking God's will for this decision. But the day the final green light came on, the whole family was together. It was a Sunday. 

We were all at his church, First Baptist Church in Houston, including his senior staff. After the church service, we all gathered at the pastor's office. We were on our knees for two hours seeking God's will. At the end of that time, a word came through his wife, Heidi. And the word came, just saying, "Seek God's face, not God's hand." And I'll tell you, it was as if there was a cloud of the holy spirit filling that place. Some of us were weeping, and Ted just looked up and said, "Lord, here am I, use me. I surrender to you, whatever you want." And he felt that was a green light to move forward. 

That Rafael Cruz should cast his son's presidential campaign as a divinely inspired endeavor is not surprising. For years, he has been a freelancing evangelical who has promoted an extremely fundamentalist version of Christianity and decried those, including other Christians, who do not share his religious views. He has called for fundamentalist Christians to gain control of most aspects of American society, and he has issued a series of controversial statements blasting President Barack Obama, gay rights activists, and other spiritual enemies. As Mother Jones first reported, he called Obama an "outright Marxist" who "seeks to destroy all concept of God" and urged Americans to send him "back to Kenya." He said it was "appalling" to have a gay mayor in Houston and asserted that Satan was behind the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

O-k-e-y d-o-k-e-y then. 

As you all well know I don't exactly believe in God. But if I did and I thought that he chose fucking Ted Cruz to be the Commander-in-Chief, I 'm pretty sure that would destroy my faith right there.

By the apparently God also chose these folks to run for President as well:

Scott Walker

John Kasich

Ben Carson

Rick Perry

Rick Santorum

and Mike Huckabee.

Let's also not forget that according to Sarah Palin he chose her to run for the VP spot as well.

Well it looks to me as if either all of these people have several screws loose, or God just likes fucking with people.

Scott Walker is dropping out. Update!

Well shit.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is set to drop out of the presidential race Monday night, a source close to the campaign confirms to NBC News. 

He is scheduled to hold a press conference in Madison, Wisconsin, at 6pm ET to announce his exit from the race. 

The Republican was once considered a frontrunner for the GOP nomination, topping polls in Iowa and winning accolades from conservatives for his fights against labor unions during his tenure as governor of the state.

Somewhere the Koch brothers are standing in the rain with their faces lifted to the sky yelling "TRUUUUMP!!!!"

But come on the guy was NEVER going to get the nomination.

Besides after you poll at 0% why stay in the race?

Update: Here is Walker quitting and bitching about the Donald.
So to sum up God told him to drop out for the good of the party.

Can't argue with that. 

Koch brother favorite Scott Walker now polling at 0 percent.

Courtesy of WKOW:

A new national poll shows Governor Scott Walker polling at 0 percent in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. 

The CNN/ORC poll released Sunday shows there were five candidates who received less than one percent of support from likely Republican voters. Walker was among them, joined by former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and former New York Governor George Pataki. Less than one percent equates to zero percent, statistically. 

Some pundits are saying Walker won't even be in the race by the next Republican debate on October 28th. Marquette Law School poll director Charles Franklin doesn't think things are that bleak, but he says few candidates have been able to rally after such a fall.

Wow! Does anybody remember back when Scott Walker was the great white conservative hope?

Yeah I really can't remember that anymore either.

Also according to the poll Carly Fiorina has jumped to second place ahead of Ben Carson whose recent comments about Muslims have some calling for him to drop out of the race.

But there sits Donald Trump at 24 percent.

Still at the top of the heap despite his own multiple gaffes.

The Republican party really is self destructing, isn't it?

Republican Debate Open Thread.

Courtesy of CNN:  

Donald Trump will play the lead role in the second Republican presidential debate tonight -- but his rivals are jockeying to steal his spotlight. 

As the GOP's frontrunner, Trump will once again take center stage at CNN's debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. With Reagan's Air Force One as the backdrop, Trump will be flanked by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been increasingly eager to take on the combative businessman. 

Meanwhile, one newcomer to the prime-time debate -- Carly Fiorina -- seems poised and ready to take on Trump directly. 

With the Iowa caucuses less than five months away and pressure mounting for the middle-tier candidates, the CNN debate offers an opening for candidates to deliver a presidential performance -- and avoid getting lost in the Donald Trump show. But a misstep could damage their presidential prospects.

At this point as much as I wish I could avoid seeing this, there is really no way to tear your eyes away.

It is like a car crash on a busy highway. Only it never ends and in every car is somebody that you really would not mind seeing horribly disfigured.

Was that a terrible thing to say? It was wasn't it?

Boy Trump's Twitter finger is going to be aflying tonight! #GOPDebate

— Gryphen 2009 (@Gryphen2009) September 17, 2015

Everything is all about Trump. He is like a virus that has infected the GOP body, and all it can do is focus on fighting the spread of the disease.

Carly Fiorina's drop the mic moment. 

Fiorina: I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said http://t.co/n4zNt2afFe #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/NPBsOESYgc

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) September 17, 2015

I still don't like her though.

Fox announces the lineup for Thursday night's debate.

Courtesy of CNN

Courtesy of Fox News:

Fox News has announced the line-up for the prime-time Republican presidential debate this Thursday, and here's who qualified: 

Real estate magnate Donald Trump; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. 

 The roster of 10 candidates was determined based on an average of the five most recent national polls. Trump as expected made the cut, securing the top slot. Right behind him were Bush and Walker, who each have posted strong numbers in recent surveys. 

Those not included in this first debate, and who will show up for a "kid's table" debate that will come later.

Among those are former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Rick Santorum,  Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; former HP head Carly Fiorina; South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham; former New York Gov. George Pataki; and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

So to be clear they left out of the first debate the runner up from last year and the only woman in the race. Well so much for political credibility and gender diversity folks.

Remember that in the book "The Loudest Voice in the Room" the author quoted Roger Ailes as saying that he wanted to pick the next President.

Now that may have been back in 2012, and we all know how that went, but this time he could finally get his way.

IF the Democrats do not come out in force to vote that is.

Personally I think that we will, especially after we spend the next year and half watching this clown car drunkenly careen from debate to debate leaving seltzer bottles, over sized shoes, and a path of destruction in their wake.

Veterans named as supporters of Donald Trump say they "Don't know anything about it."

"Supporters, just names I found on a list somewhere, what's the difference?"

Courtesy of the Guardian:  

Several people listed as part of the “Veterans for Trump coalition” formed by Donald Trump following his incendiary comments about John McCain’s war record have denied they are part of the group, the Guardian has learned. 

Trump’s campaign announced the formation of the New Hampshire-based group in response to criticism of the business mogul’s labelling of McCain, who spent five and a half years in a North Vietnamese jail, where he was tortured, as “not a war hero”. 

A number of people were named as members of “Veterans for Trump” on Trump’s election website. “These veterans have pledged their support to Mr Trump in the primary, and they will be advocating for him,” a press release said. 

But when the Guardian contacted several claimed Veterans for Trump members on Friday, three said they had never heard of the organisation and had not signed up as members. 

“I don’t know anything about it,” said Ernie Fusi, an 88-year-old second world war veteran from Atkinson, New Hampshire. His name was among 51 “Veterans for Trump” whose details were sent out to the media and listed on Trump’s website. 

“I haven’t told anyone I want to get in on that,” Fusi said. “I’m not going to do any campaigning.”

There are two others quoted in the article as well. The Trump campaign's response to hearing this news was to say these men were liars and to claim they are "extremely proud of their support."

So to be clear the Trump campaign is saying the word of these men is not to be trusted, and yet they are bragging about having their support. Does anybody else find that a little psychotic?

By the way guess who is thrilled that he can now go after Scott Walker? 

Trump's antics have more than one journalist suggesting that he might be a fascist.

Yeah, I buy that.

Scott Walker is ready to declare war on Iran on day one of his presidency. Well he seems nice.

I'm looking at you Iran.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said over the weekend that the next president of the United States needed to be prepared to take aggressive military action on their very first day in office, including against Iran. 

The presidential contender, who had promised to "terminate" the nuclear agreement with Iran upon his inauguration, made the remark while speaking with reporters at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. 

"I believe that a president shouldn't wait to act until they put a cabinet together or an extended period of time, I believe they should be prepared to act on the very first day they take office," he said. "It's very possible, God forbid that this would happen, but very possible, that the next president could be called to take aggressive actions, including military actions, on their very first day in office."

Okay can we all agree that no matter what we NEVER let this mofo near the White House? 

Because I mean, holy shit!

In the least surprising turn of events ever conservative presidential candidates jump on news of the heavily edited video about selling fetal body parts to attack Planned Parenthood.

Courtesy of Politico: 

Ted Cruz released a statement calling the video “sickening” and urged Congress to begin an investigation into the Center for Medical Progress’ allegations. 

“There is no place for taxpayer funding of organizations that profit from taking away innocent life, much less profiting off the bodies of the lives they have stolen,” Cruz said. “It should renew efforts to fully defund Planned Parenthood to ensure that its morally bankrupt business receives not one penny of taxpayer money.” 

“The video showing a Planned Parenthood employee selling the body parts of aborted children is a disturbing reminder of the organization’s penchant for profiting off the tragedy of a destroyed human life. It is because of stories like this that I signed legislation defunding Planned Parenthood in the state of Texas — to protect human life and the health and safety of Texans,” former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement on his website. 

“The callous disrespect for human life revealed today sickens me,” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tweeted. “It’s time for pro-lifers to take a stand. It’s time to defund Planned Parenthood.” 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called the video “absolutely horrifying and disgusting” and said that “Planned Parenthood and the Democrats who vote to fund this organization owe the American people an explanation for these heinous, and possibly illegal, actions.” 

Carly Fiorina, currently the only woman running on the GOP side, wrote a statement on her Facebook page. “This latest news is tragic and outrageous. This isn’t about ‘choice.’ It’s about profiting on the death of the unborn while telling women it’s about empowerment,” the post says.

Bobby Jindal went even further: 

Jindal issued a statement earlier Tuesday calling for a Department investigation into Planned Parenthood, saying the video appears to show the discussion of a "systematic harvesting and trafficking of human body parts." 

Jindal's statement indicates he believes Planned Parenthood may be breaking federal laws -- he called for the FBI to intervene -- that bar anyone from selling body parts taken during abortions. The Planned Parenthood statement denies that's the case. 

Jindal has said DHH can't issue licenses until the investigation is complete. That order could affect a Planned Parenthood facility in New Orleans.

Jesus these people are predictable.

In the meantime Media Matters has determined there are three very deceptive edits in the video that deserve attention.

Okay you know this just might animate the conservative base for a little while, but I seriously doubt this is going to help any of these GOP candidates improve their poll numbers.

However, sadly, it really could do serious harm to Planned Parenthood, and that would be a very real tragedy.

Sarah Palin's crusty granny panties are so in a twist over this video that she cannot understand why God is not smiting the crap out of us right this minute:  

Ask yourself, how is it that our Creator stays His hand when these atrocities happen right under His children's noses? How is our God so merciful that He seems to grant us unmerited chances time and time again to get it right, whilst this hell on earth continues. In fact, it's becoming more accepted and celebrated by voters choosing to elect our nation's "leaders" who would condone, uplift, and revel in the destruction of all He's so gloriously blessed us with? How much longer? His mercy is inexplicable. How much longer?

Damn, it looks like somebody is really, really losing it these days.

Update: And then things got even stranger.

Courtesy of Palin's Facebook page:

What If They Were Dead Puppy Parts Instead of Dead Baby Parts? 

I'm confused, are we talking about unborn puppy parts? And would they be used to help cure diseases?

Scott Walker just officially jumped into the race for the White House.

I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them. - SW http://t.co/DZG253QjfP #Walker16

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) July 13, 2015

Courtesy of NPR: 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — best known for his high-profile fight with his state's unions and for surviving a 2012 recall vote — steps into a competition for the GOP presidential nomination so crowded with contenders that he will be forced to fight for attention just to get his message out. 

"I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them," Walker tweeted Monday morning. He is expected to make a formal announcement later in Wisconsin.

So this is the guy that many of the  establishment Republicans have been drooling over. The guy that is going to bring a message that will unify the party behind him, and move him to the front of the pack past favored front runner Jeb Bush, and crazed attention seeker Donald Trump.

Here is a little of that message now.

Uh, is anybody else as underwhelmed as I am?

To sum up, he likes to fight, he likes to win, and he likes to brag about things that are patently untrue. (Such as improving education and creating jobs.)

So THIS is the great Koch hope for 2016?

You know this is happening behind the scenes.

Yep, today is the day that Scott Walker is expected to officially announce that he too would like to climb into the GOP clown car.

Of course it will be a little anti-climatic since somebody accidentally tweeted that he was running on Friday.

It really makes no difference who jumps into the race these days. Essentially it has now become just a mob of climate denying, Koch sucking, gaffe riddled morons.

Sarah Palin thinks that the police can raid your home and frighten your children just because you're a conservative.

Click the toothless grannie to play video.

Wonkette has another Fartknocker Report, which might in fact might be their last one before TAPP pulls the plug and Palin has to record her lunacy on an I-Phone and post it on Facebook like your Aunt Bertha who is terribly disappointed that your gay but wants you to know she still loves you even though you're going to burn in hell for all eternity.

In this edition Palin seems to have convinced herself that the recent John Doe investigations launched in Wisconsin are targeting folks simply for being conservatives, not because you know, they might have broken the law.

Courtesy of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:  

Already, the probe has led to multiple felony charges against Walker's onetime deputy chief of staff, Tim Russell, and former county veterans official Kevin Kavanaugh. They are accused of taking more than $60,000 in donations intended for Operation Freedom, an annual event at the county zoo for veterans and their families.

However in Palin's imagination these people did nothing wrong except embrace conservative politics:

Can armed police storm your house and take away your laptop and walk into your bathroom while your kids are in the shower and go into your kids’ rooms (Why is it always focused on kids without clothes on or sleeping in their beds with her?) while you wake your kids and try to tell ’em, uh, just be calm and, uh, these guys, though, telling them don’t breathe a word about any of this to your neighbors who wonder why your house is surrounded by cops, I know, that sounds surreal, sounds impossible.

Well, they can do that for no other reason than the fact that you’re a conservative, or a libertarian, or perhaps for whatever reason they come up with, it seems. (Wait, what?)

In the state of Wisconsin, the answer to the question “Can they do that?” it’s a resounding yes, and they’d rather that we all stop talking about that. (Well good then stop talking.)

These so-called "John Doe" investigations were a police witch hunt for people who violated campaign finance laws. 

But here's the thing, they hadn't violated any laws. Some of the victims of this political targeting reported that their lives have really just been turned upside down. It's been devastating for these families. The trauma,  followed by the legal mandate not to talk about this with anyone about it, strain their marriages, strain their finances, strain their families...and remember the government did this only because these people exercised their first amendment rights. Somebody in government didn't like it. 

Rarely do you see a situation that is so rife with lunacy, and unfairness, and malice. These cases, combined with the IRS political targeting scandal, makes you realize that for some government officials, some bureaucrats, it's open season on anyone that they disagree with politically. Namely conservatives. We can't stop talking about it until it stops. 

Actually the initial investigation was requested by Scott Walker himself. The "John Doe" probes were launched when other irregularities were found and Walker stopped cooperating.

The John Doe investigations are unique to Wisconsin, so there is no danger of them being used to "target conservatives" in other states. And this one is not targeting conservatives either, it is focused on ferreting our corruption and illegal activity among Walker's county staff.

The trigger for this video is most likely an extremely slanted piece written by Nancy French's husband, which makes the case (Like a lot of other conservative outlets.) that this is all a witch hunt driven by politics.

I would assume that reading it brought back memories to Palin of her own ethics charges which she claims drove her out of office back in 2009, and of course she felt she needed to respond.

However the allegation that police are raiding the homes of conservatives based on purely ideological reasons is almost too absurd even for her.

Retired former Republican Senator Tom Coburn is quite unimpressed with most of the current occupants in the GOP presidential clown car. Update!

"Scares me to death."

Courtesy of Think Progress: 

In an interview with conservative commentator Andrew Wilkow last week, Coburn trashed nearly every GOPer running for president, calling them “not ready for primetime,” lacking “integrity,” not “capable,” and saying he wouldn’t support one of them even if he won the nomination. Wilkow acknowledged the impact of Coburn’s words, noting that “once you retire, you can speak your mind in a way that might be different than if you were still sitting in the Senate.”

Here's the rundown:

Rand Paul: “Scares me to death on international foreign policy. Know him well, very smart. Think he was totally wrong on NSA. Didn’t speak truthfully about what was actually the facts. Would not vote for him for president.” 

Marco Rubio: “Of all that are out there right now, probably my favorite.” 

Scott Walker: “Not ready for primetime, in my opinion. You look at what happened in Wisconsin in terms of him beating the recall and everything else, he didn’t do that. The Republicans around the country did it for him. They pulled him out of the fire. I just don’t think he’s quite ready for primetime, in my opinion.” 

Ben Carson: “I have a personal bone to pick with him on integrity that I witnessed. He made a commitment at the Prayer Breakfast not to attack the president. The speech was nothing but an attack on the president. The people who organized the Prayer Breakfast asked him not to do that. He said he would not, and then he went out and did it.” 

George Pataki: “Probably smart enough, but would never encounter the votes. Nor does he have the conservative fiscal credentials or other credentials he would need to have a coalition behind him, in my opinion.” 

Rick Perry: “Good guy. I don’t think he’s capable at that level.” 

Lindsey Graham: “Love him, but he’s right in the middle, so I don’t see how he builds a coalition. I think his effort is try to talk about foreign policy and that’s what he ought to stick to.” 

Carly Fiorina: “Smart lady. I helped her in her Senate campaign of which she was ultimately unsuccessful, but it’s because she could never get into good debates. Smart, savvy, experienced. Knows the issues that I’ve been talking about. Presents well. Doesn’t have a voting record. They’ll trash her bigtime because of her Hewlett-Packard experience.” 

Ted Cruz: “Not ready for primetime.” 

Mike Huckabee: “Possibility. Good guy, well-rounded. Could fit in the middle and could attract votes from both sides.” 

Rick Santorum: “Love him as a man. I think he feels called to try to do this. I don’t think it’s within his reach.” 

Chris Christie: “Don’t know. I haven’t followed him well. I saw his tollgate problems. I like the fact that he answers questions correctly, which very few candidates do. I like the fact that he’ll take a risk and give you an answer that’s not politically popular.” 

Jeb Bush: “I don’t think America will elect another Bush president. I talk to a lot of liberals all the time. They still loathe George Bush. And so you shut out 47 percent of the electorate with that nomination. So you only get to lose three or four percent. I just don’t think it’s a possibility.”

While I agree with many of Colburn's observations, the fact that the two he separates from the bunch as being potentially viable are Huckabee and Rubio, makes me wonder just how honest he is being with himself, and with the interviewer.  

The idea that Mike Huckabee could "fit in the middle" is laugh out loud funny, as he is one of the most extreme examples of a religious right candidate.

Still it is always nice to see the conservatives eating their own.

Update: Well it looks like Coburn was no fan of Fox News either: 

“There are certain shows on Fox I can’t watch,” Coburn told audience members at Tulsa Community College in Oklahoma. “Because they’re totally not fair and totally not balanced. What I want is, I want all the information in which I can make the best decision.”

Kind of starting to like this guy. 

Hillary Clinton stands up for voter rights, calls out GOP rivals for fear mongering.

Courtesy of CNN:  

Hillary Clinton accused four potential GOP presidential rivals by name of being "scared of letting citizens have their say" as she called Thursday for every American to automatically be registered to vote. 

Clinton told an audience at the historically black Texas Southern University that she supports the concept of signing every American up to vote as soon as they're eligible at age 18, unless they specifically opt out. She called for expanded access to polling places, keeping them open for at least 20 days and offering voting hours on evenings and weekends. 

For the first time in her campaign, she attacked her likely opponents by name as she laid into four GOP governors -- Texas's Rick Perry, Wisconsin's Scott Walker, Florida's Jeb Bush and New Jersey's Chris Christie -- telling them to "stop fear-mongering about a phantom epidemic of voter fraud." 

"All of these problems voting just didn't happen by accident," she said. "And it is just wrong -- it's wrong -- to try to prevent, undermine and inhibit Americans' right to vote."

Good for Hillary!

You know all of these voter restriction laws were put in place specifically to beat Barack Obama, and the news ones, that will be used for the first time in 2016, were put in place to specifically defeat her.

Fucking pansy ass Republicans know that can't win in a fair fight, so all they have are tricks and cowardly personal attacks.

Now that Jeb Bush has tripped over himself and fallen face first in a candidate shredding machine just who do the Republicans have up next to lose to Hillary in the primary?

Let's take a moment to step over Jebbie's still smoldering corpse and take a peek inside that GOP clown car to see which sacrificial lamb has the best chance of making it to the top of that political altar, shall we?

According to the newest PPP Poll (Wait is that too many P's? I always use too many P's.) it looks like the Republican with the best chance might be Wisconsin's Scott Walker. (And by "best chance" I mean really no chance at all.)

Here is more courtesy of PPP: 

Walker's at 18% to 13% for Marco Rubio, 12% each for Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee, 11% for Jeb Bush, 10% for Ted Cruz, 9% for Rand Paul, 5% for Chris Christie, and 2% for Rick Perry. This is the third national poll in a row where we've found Walker ahead but he was at 25% in late February and declined to 20% and now 18% on the two subsequent surveys.

So Walker leads the pack (Just barely.) but has been steadily losing steam for the last several polls.

Not an encouraging sign.

Apparently the two that have shown some improvement are Mike Huckabee with a 6% increase and Marco Rubio with a 7% increase.(However does anybody really think that the Huckster and Mr. Thirsty really have a shot here?)

And the two that are taking it in the shorts are Jeb Bush (And this was before this most recent Iraq War gaffe.) and Ted Cruz, who both dropped 6%.

I want to say that this all looks pretty pathetic but I hate to associate that poor word with these idiots.

Let's take a look at the Democratic side of the aisle shall we? 

On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton leads with 63% to 13% for Bernie Sanders, 6% for Jim Webb, 5% for Lincoln Chafee, and 2% for Martin O'Malley. Clinton's over 60% with liberals, moderates, women, whites, African Americans, and seniors and is at least over 50% with men, Hispanics, and young voters.

To sum up, the highest polling numbers for a candidate on the GOP side is 18%, and that's dropping like a rock, and Hillary's numbers are still over 60% with virtually every demographic except white men (Though she's still hanging tough at 50%.), and that's AFTER the so-called e-mail scandal and the first anti-Clinton book has made the rounds.

Yeah I think my advice to Republican voters this time around is to drink heavily.

Today is the Faith and Freedom Summit in Iowa. Where conservative presidential candidates gather to give a reach around to Jesus.

Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:  

For Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum – who won Iowa’s last two caucuses on the strength of evangelical voters – doing well at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition’s gathering this weekend is a must. 

“Santorum and Huckabee are the two who really have the most at stake,” said Sam Clovis, a Sioux City social conservative who placed second to Joni Ernst in Iowa’s 2014 GOP Senate primary. “Between Huckabee and Santorum, they need to come back and recapture some of that magic they had in ’12 and ’08.” 

Altogether, nine Republicans likely to make 2016 presidential bids are scheduled to speak at Saturday’s Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off . The subtext for the event won’t be subtle: It is taking place at the evangelical Point of Grace megachurch in Waukee, a Des Moines suburb, and will attract the leading activists from Iowa’s social conservative community.

Well this is the can't miss event of the year for those Republican candidates who want to lock down that holier than thou vote. 

But wait, something seems amiss.

According to that announcement up above, Cruz, Fiorina, Jindal, Santorum and Walker are all definitely coming. While Bush, Carson, Christie, Graham, Huckabee, Paul, Pence, Perry, Rubio, and Trump have all been invited to show up.

But somebody's missing.

Oh that's right.

But wait, even if she is NOT running why would she skip this event?

After all it has her favorite things. Faith, freedom, free publicity, and yet she is not only not a confirmed speaker, but it appears that she was not even invited.

Could it have anything to do with the fact that the last time she showed up in Iowa, this last January for the Freedom Summit (Just freedom, no faith.), that she made such an incredibly incoherent speech that she actually received thanks from the Democrats?

Is it possible that she has finally made herself such a laughingstock that even the Iowa freedom loving faithful cannot stomach her act anymore? And is that also why she bailed out of her NRA appearance in Nashville?

Could this actually be the end?