Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Bachmann's Leaving, But Republi-CON Paranoia and Resentment Live On

UPDATE IV:  "Jindal has gone from diagnosing what’s wrong with the Republican Party to personifying it. The GOP’s problem isn’t that it insults the intelligence of the voters. It’s that it insults its own intelligence. It’s come up with a theory of liberal governance that has obviated the need for a theory of conservative governance. . .

Jindal’s come up with a ridiculous caricature of liberalism and is assuming its failures will win the country back for conservatism. . .

The upside of this theory is that it frees Jindal and the rest of the Republican Party from having to do the hard work of rethinking and renewing its own governing agenda. The downside of this theory is that it’s utter nonsense. And the most damaging part of this theory is that it’s utter nonsense aimed at Jindal’s own base. Jindal isn’t talking to independents or Democrats in this op-ed. This is solely about telling Republicans what they want to hear.

That’s how the GOP becomes the stupid party: Republican Party elites like Jindal convince Republican Party activists of things that aren’t true. And that’s how the GOP becomes the losing party: The activists push the Republican Party to choose candidate decisions and campaign strategies based on those untruths, and they collapse in the light of day. "

Read the Washington Post, Bobby Jindal is the Republican Party’s problem.

UPDATE III:  "Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have just released a full transcript of testimony from a key witness in the investigation of IRS targeting of conservatives — and it appears to confirm that the initial targeting did originate with a low-level employee in the Cincinnati office.

It also shows a key witness and IRS screening manager – a self described conservative Republican — denying any communication with the White House or senior IRS officials about the targeting. . .

In the testimony, the screening manager also flatly stated he had no reason to believe there was White House involvement."

Read the Washington Post, Full House committee transcripts shed new light on genesis of IRS targeting.

UPDATE II:  Republi-cons are "driving around in circles on an ideological cul-de-sac."

Read the Washington Post, Cracking up over the GOP.  

UPDATE:  Bachmann "perfected a tactic well-suited to the current media environment: continually toss out outlandish, baseless charges, and, eventually, some of them will enter the mainstream media — if, at first, only in the form of “coverage” of what conservative radio shows, Web sites or Fox News are talking about. . .

Bachmann’s method is now common currency. And here’s the beautiful thing: Even as the regular media does some of your work for you, you lambaste the very same media. This only creates more pressure on them to cover you."

Read the Washington Post, GOP needs more Doles and fewer Bachmanns

Bachmann may be leaving Congress, "but her style of politics — steeped in paranoia and resentment — has become the norm for the Republican Party. Prominent figures in the party — ranging from McConnell to Ted Cruz and Rand Paul — are happy to stoke conspiracies if it means gaining a political advantage over Obama and the Democratic Party."

Read the Washington Post, Michele Bachmann is gone, but her paranoid politics has become the norm for GOP.