Category Archives: politics

Wake Up Call- Or Not?

by D Gregory Smith

Depends on who you ask.

Moody’s Investor’s Service issued a warning that The U.S. credit rating could be in jeopardy if the debt ceiling is not raised, according to the NYT. And still, Republicans and Democrats can’t seem to reach a deal. Excerpt:

The treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, met on Capitol Hill with House freshmen, including Republicans who have suggested that they see little or no risk in a showdown over the debt limit. Citing the Moody’s statement, Mr. Geithner urged them to support raising it or risk an economic crisis.

“We didn’t create this mess,” one Republican told Mr. Geithner, according to a person in the room.

Independent analyses have shown that more than half of the $14.3 trillion debt is from policies enacted during the past decade when Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress, and much of the rest from lost revenues and stimulus spending and tax cuts since Mr. Obama took office at the height of the financial crisis and recession. (empases mine)

So… they did create this mess. And they have refused to learn the lesson, just keep digging in the same deep hole. Another Republican out-of-touch story.

Read the full article here.

Disturbed? Run For Office!

by D Gregory Smith

A friend recently drew my attention to some of the similarities between the recently announced KKK GOP Congressional candidate in Montana and some of the extremist members of the Republican Party in the Montana Legislature. I thought I’d share a few with you. So, just to catch you up:

John Abarr, a former organizer for the KKK, filed to run in the Republican primary for Montana’s congressional seat on May 25, 2011. (More info here: http://helenair.com/news/article_613dd194-8cdc-11e0-9dfc-001cc4c002e0.html)

Abarr’s ties to the KKK have been well documented. Of his affiliation with the Klan, he has said:

“It’s not any different than the NAACP,” he says. “The Klan is basically a civil rights organization that stands up for the rights of white people. The Montana Human Rights Network likes to blow everything out of proportion.”

Gotta love the logic. Republicans, such as gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill have tried to distance themselves from this guy.  However, after this legislative session in Montana, it’s hard to deny the fact that he is well within the extremist wing of the Republican party.

LGBT Issues

Abarr has also called for the deportation of gays, lesbians and Jewish people: http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/etc/Content?oid=1133942 And, as I’ve reported numerous times, the Montana Republican Party Platform calls for the re-criminalization of gay people in the state:

“We support the clear will of the people of Montana expressed by legislation to keep homosexual acts illegal.”

During the Legislative session, Republicans refused to remove language that had been ruled unconstitutional by both the state and federal supreme courts calling for the criminalization of gays and lesbians from Montana law. And they made  disgusting comments on the bill :

 Some Republicans even denied that the courts had struck down the statute. 

HIV/AIDS

According to the Human Rights Network, Abarr sent a flier to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in 2007, urging Bozeman residents to stay inside to avoid contracting HIV during the Montana Pride Celebration. He claimed that HIV could be transmitted by air. 

During the most recent legislative session, Republican House Speaker Pro Tempe, Rep. Janna Taylor claimed people in prison were spreading HIV by blowdarts: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=igYKflAdzjo&feature=channel_video_title

Racial Minorities

Abarr said of his choice to move to Montana:

“I’ve pretty much decided since I spent some time in California that it (a pure white Christian nation) is just not gonna be. I mean there’s so many of them (racial minorities),” Abarr says, adding that in Montana it’s easier to achieve an all-white society.”

Republican Rep. James Knox introduced a bill that would redefine what a citizen of Montana is and essentially ignore the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. This bill would have likely removed citizenship from Native Americans and the children of immigrants in the state.

Convinced? I’ll bet there’s more if you look.

The key to redefining politics in this state is to redefine politicians. We effectively tied the hands of the most effective tool (building relationships) by enacting term limits. There is no longer any reason for any of our state legislators to cultivate relationships for the good of the people of the State of Montana- instead, people are just interested in ramming their own crazy-ass agendas through the legislative process.

Reason will only prevail when we elect reasonable people- people who are interested in communicating, are not threatened by differences and will work to guarantee a future in this state for all its people- not just a few…

More Heat For Rehberg?

by D Gregory Smith

Nah, that would mean investigative journalism from the local mainstream media.
Pogie:

You certainly have to love the Montana media and Montana’s Congressman. The former never felt it necessary to cover the national news that Rehberg called Pell Grants welfare but decided he should get an op-ed in every newspaper defending his position, while the latter is pretending to be reforming Pell Grants when all he is doing is working to cut them, increasing college costs for students and families.

Read it and weep. Or, better idea- start a Montana newspaper and get a multimillionaire to fund your investigative journalism team….

The Joke (on us) Has (at least for now) Ended.

by D Gregory Smith

Yes, folks, the circus that was the 62nd Legislature of the State of Montana has been officially closed.

It was one of the most contentious sessions in memory- and one of the most publicized. Sadly, for Republicans, it was mostly at their expense. Republican lawmakers introduced the most ridiculed and bigoted legislation in Montana history- giving the state its fair share of national media attention. Only some of it good.

Mostly it was about third-rate candidates such as Billy Bob Wagner, who introduced legislation to reinstate the gold standard, and was laughed at nationally on Anderson Cooper 360 for his ridiculous “birther” bill (but mostly for his stupidity). Then there was Kris Hansen, a “secret lesbian” who introduced one of the most pro-discrimination legislative actions to ever hit the aisles of the Capitol. Mary Cheney, anyone? And the Montana GOP, for no good reason other than to perpetuate hate and shame, voted to keep The Gays illegal- and we heard some of the most disgusting testimony to ever foul a Capitol microphone.

And don’t forget (as if I could) Janna Taylor’s ridiculous, ignorant and dangerous comments about HIV in the Montana prison system. In my opinion, the defining moment of the session. And that is a short list of all the craziness perpetuated at the time and expense of the people of Montana-a better list is here.

But I want to take a minute to thank the legislators who spent a great deal of their time and energy standing up for the rights of Montanans. Diane Sands, Carol Williams, Christine Kaufmann and Bryce Bennett all spent a lot of time defending equality and testifying against discrimination, bigotry and homophobia in this session. If you see any of them, thank them. Buy them a drink.

Hell, give them a kidney if they need one.

It is folks such as these- and all who testified, protested, blogged and wrote letters-, who keep our freedoms alive- and who stand in the face of political bigotry and chicanery.  And let’s not forget Jamee Greer, Mike Wessler, Niki Zupanic and all the representatives of groups who lobbied for human equality- they get all the abuse, ridicule and sleepless nights, but not enough recognition. Drinks and kidneys for them, too.

Let’s give Carol Williams the last word (for now):

“I’m proud of our work.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I will wish you luck in the next session probably trying to fix a lot of the things we broke this time.”

Denny Rehberg’s Pal Michele Bachmann-Pwned!

by D Gregory Smith

From Towleroad:

Cenk Uygur takes on Michele Bachmann’s extreme positions on social issues like gays and abortion during her recent trip to Iowa, and going way back during her first days as a Minnesota lawmaker.

Incidentally, Cenk refers to a moment when Bachmann hid in the bushes during a gay rights rally in Minnesota. I went back and dug through my archives to find the post I wrote about it back in April 2005. That was like anti-gay gay boot camp for what she’s doing now.

Crazy Quilt

She was invited by Rehberg to the Montana Republicans Lincoln/Reagan Dinner (named after non-Montanans- guess they couldn’t find any notables like Mansfield/Metcalfe). And the Republican higher-ups simply GUSHED:

“Congresswoman Bachmann is a leading voice for conservative Republicans.  She is in great demand for speaking engagements throughout the country.  We are very fortunate Michele Bachmann will be our guest in Montana’s capital city and are grateful for Congressman Rehberg’s assistance in making this possible,” said Lewis and Clark County Republican Central Committee chairman Bridget Holland.

Rehberg’s casual, snide flinging of the word “Obamacare” is obviously modeled on his crazy-eyed pal- who uses it at least once every time she’s interviewed. She’s so obviously entrenched in Crazyland- and completely unencumbered by the facts/truth. But watch for yourself. And remember: this is who Denny Rehberg aspires to be….

Schweitzer Rope-A-Dope

by D Gregory Smith

Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Montana’s Governor is a shrewd player.

Brian Schweitzer’s letter to Attorney General Steve Bullock asking for preparation for a state government shutdown is pure poetry- if you like the “twistin’ in the wind” metaphor….

Republican lawmakers have spent the session wasting time (and our money) on ridiculous issues instead of intelligently addressing budget issues (not non-existent “crises”).

Will the people of Montana see through the shenanigans? Will the budget surplus be maintained? Will Schweitzer come out (again) smelling like a (freshly veto-branded) rose?

Read the letter here.

Legislative Asshattery

by D Gregory Smith

The crazy just keeps coming- and yes, that is a clinical opinion.

crazy

At Intelligent Discontent, Pogie reports on Ken Peterson and James Knox, two Montana Republican Legislators who seem to have some difficulty reining in their obsessions with sex. Peterson wants to keep The Gay illegal:

“Homosexuals can’t go out into the heterosexual community and try to recruit people, or try to enlist them in homosexual acts,” Peterson says. He provides an example: “’Here, young man, your hormones are raging. Let’s go in this bedroom, and we’ll engage in some homosexual acts. You’ll find you like it.’” Peterson hasn’t actually seen this happen, he says, because “I don’t associate with that group of people at all… I’ve associated with mainstream people all my life.”

Hmm. Sounds more like fascination than disgust…. And for the record, I’d like to come out in violent opposition against the term “homosexual acts”. It’s unenlightened, and ridiculous- implying an explicit absence of love, affection and tenderness.

Like I said, ridiculous.

And Knox? Well, we might know more soon:

I’m told that Knox chose not only to make a fool of himself at a legislative event last night (with pictures and video floating around the Internet), but his remarks about and behavior towards high school pages have been incredibly inappropriate. At least two reporters were looking into the story and interviewing today, and the Billings Gazette was fishing for more information…

Uh oh. “Inappropriate”, for those of you who are new to this, is code for “disturbing”.

Full story here.

The “Tax Cheat”

by D Gregory Smith

 

 

 

 

Excellent article from (a friend of) Matt Singer at Left In The West. Excerpt:

There is something fundamentally different about the way conservatives communicate. When they talk about a topic they not only speak of an event, but they seem to dwell on the people involved. Think of the ugly stereotypes we’ve become acquainted with over time. The “Welfare Queen”, “Border Runner”, and now “Anchor Baby” are all part of our political vernacular. Instantly a mental image springs forth to fill in the hazy gaps in our minds, because the Right has not only built the narrative, more importantly they’ve cast the characters.

…But of course there’s no reason why we can’t learn from our mistakes by copying their strategy. And to those ends I’d like to suggest that our new villain is the “Tax Cheat”. The name itself tells us a few things. We’re not going to say that he’s rich, we’ll let the voters fill that one in for themselves. Which is great because this lets us play the class card, without offending any of our wealthy allies and donors who happen to have a conscience. But more importantly it says he has tax liability or that he owes something to society. Few people actually enjoy paying their taxes (although most people like what our taxes afford us), but we pay them nonetheless out of obligation to each other and future generations. Most importantly regardless of what we pay, each of us thinks individually that we pay our “fair share.” But the Tax Cheat doesn’t. He doesn’t contribute a dime toward all the things that make our system work. He still uses the parks, schools, and bridges like everyone else, but we the “tax-payers” end up footing the bill.

And it’s the entitled rich who get to play this game. I wonder if there are any “Tax Cheats” out there pretending to serve the People Of Montana while fleecing them? Does suing the taxpayers count?

Full story here.

“It’s Easy To Stand Up And Argue Without Facts”

by D Gregory Smith

nuts

…so said Billy Bob Wagner, “rising to address those who were attacking his gold-and-silver bill.”

I know!

And there’s more!
Read Ed Kemmick’s full article on the craziness of the MT Legislature here.

Same Sex Sunday 4/3/11

by D Gregory Smith


I interviewed Jim and Tammy Fay Bakker’s son, Jay Bakker about his new book Fall to Grace. Bakker discussed how growing up in the Bakker house helped him discover empathy for LGBT people later in life. It was a really good visit and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Then host Joe Mirabella and our round table discussed the need for more information about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities as outlined in a new study by the Institutes of Medicine. They discussed privacy concerns about reporting one’s sexual orientation or gender identity on medical records, a potential government mandate to include sexual orientation and gender identity in government funded research- and more.

Our panel also addressed concerns about last week’s introduction of ENDA and the roller coaster ride caused by the immigration back and forth for bi-national couples.

Finally, gay Republican candidate for president Fred Karger won the first straw poll in New Hampshire. What does this mean for the republican presidential campaign season? Will Karger fare better than some expected?

Our panel this weekend included:

Co-chair for Americans for Democratic Action’s LGBT task force, Jim Levin

Co-chair of the Fenway Institute, Judy Bradford

Spokesperson for the Log Cabin Republicans, Casey Pick

Managing Director of the Raw Story, Michael Rogers

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Listen to it here!