Let Them Eat Caca

From THE HILL:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing blowback from across the political spectrum after he suggested states should be able to declare bankruptcy as they face severe budget holes sparked by the coronavirus outbreak.

…snip…

But McConnell sparked his own political firestorm when, in response to a question from radio host Hugh Hewitt, he said he supported letting states declare bankruptcy and positioned Republicans as cautious of providing them with additional federal relief.

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The water is deep. The bullshit is deeper.

From THE TEXAS TRIBUNE:

Many New Yorkers and New Jerseyans serving in Congress have, for nearly five years now, kept a list of names handy to roll out at a moment’s notice. They call it “the Comeuppance Caucus.”

For some, the list is on a physical paper or bookmarked on a computer. For others, it’s merely tattooed into their brains. It consists of which colleagues voted against Hurricane Sandy funding back in 2013, and it’s chock full of Texas Republicans.

In fact, nearly every Texas Republican who was serving in Congress at the time voted against the $50.5 billion aid bill. And now their own constituents are facing the biggest natural disaster in state history.

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Next!

From abc NEWS:

A New York Daily News story published on Sunday set off a flurry of speculation about former New York Gov. George Pataki’s possible 2012 ambitions, and now there are reports from Iowa that Pataki may be poised to enter the race on Saturday.

Pataki has signed on to attend a Polk County Republican Party picnic in Des Moines on Saturday and Darrell Kearney, a spokesman for the county party told ABC News late Monday night that “based on conversations with Pataki staff there is a strong possibility Gov. Pataki will get in the race, and the announcement may come Saturday.”

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I’ll take ‘Rigging Elections’ for a few million, ALEC

From Sandra Khalifa at CAMPUS PROGRESS:

If there has been any doubt regarding the intent behind this year’s upsurge in voter ID legislation, Governor Scott Walker’s latest move leaves little room to question the conservative disenfranchisement agenda, at least in the state of Wisconsin. In what seems like a blatant attempt to lessen the accessibility of photo identification, Governor Walker’s administration has announced the closure of sixteen DMV centers throughout the state – for “economic” purposes.

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Conservative Christians Want Republicans to Stop Pampering David Vitter

From the Christian Post:

A conservative Christian group sent Louisiana Senator David Vitter, who in 2007 confessed to using the services of a high-profile prostitution ring, a letter Monday calling on him to follow former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner’s lead and resign.

…snip…

Several Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, had called for Weiner’s resignation.

Unlike Weiner, Vitter, who admitted to “serious sin” in 2007 after his number was disclosed by the alleged prostitution ring “D.C. Madam,” never faced the same pressure from fellow Republicans to resign following his scandal.

Weiner Roast

From WBEZ91.5:

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) may have brought the scandal over digital dalliances upon himself, but the media’s coverage of the story from the moments after he sent that errant tweet has been orchestrated almost entirely by one person: conservative blog entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart.

Breitbart, the other famous guy at the center of this scandal, has made the scandal a national fixation.

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The Right’s Guff

From John Avlon at THE DAILY BEAST:

The cycle of over-reach and backlash is in over-drive these days—with significant implications for the 2012 presidential election. In pivotal swing-states where voters narrowly elected Republican governors in 2010—like Florida and Ohio (with 47 electoral votes between them)—evidence of buyer’s remorse is piling up fast.

The latest sign: on Tuesday, Alvin Brown became the first Democrat elected mayor of Jacksonville—Florida’s largest city—in 20 years.

Just seven months ago, Republicans swept the Sunshine State with Tea Party-backed candidate Rick Scott winning the governor’s office with a 1.2 percent margin of victory.

But instead of consolidating support by reaching out and winning over the reasonable edge of the opposition, as popular past Republican governors like Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist have done, Scott continued with his campaign posture of refusing to talk to the press. He canceled a $2 billion federal high-speed rail project and is seeking to delay (and functionally deny) implementation of an anti-gerrymandering reform ballot referendum overwhelmingly passed in 2010.

Now Rick Scott finds himself the least popular newly elected governor in Florida history. It’s not just a matter of the honeymoon being over—this looks like a drunken Vegas marriage heading for a shotgun divorce.

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It’s enough to drive you crazy, if you let it!

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

The GOP continued its bloody walk into the Medicare buzzsaw Wednesday, when 40 out of 47 Senate Republicans voted in support of the House GOP budget, and its plan to phase out and privatize the popular entitlement program.

The test vote failed by a vote of 57-40. But the roll call illustrates that Medicare privatization — along with deep cuts to Medicaid and other social services — remains the consensus position of the GOP despite the growing political backlash against them.

Voting with all of the Democrats against debating the plan were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — both 2012 incumbents — along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against it because it wasn’t radical enough.

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