Who’s ‘MediScared’ Now, Asswipes?

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

House Republican freshmen admit that their so-called “MediScare” attacks on Democrats helped them win a big majority in 2010. Democrats had voted for the health care law, which included $500 billion in “cuts” to Medicare — primarily slashing overpayments to private insurers — and Republican challengers never let them forget it.

Now, they say, it’s time to let bygones be bygones.

Nearly a dozen House Republican freshmen held a press conference outside the Capitol Tuesday morning to “wipe the slate clean,” and “hit the reset button.”

“Yeah, I mean there’s been — again, this is a both-sides issue,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) when asked if GOP candidates and the NRCC had engaged in ‘MediScare’ tactics last year. “To say that one side is blameless in trying to use issues to win votes is just dishonest.”

Original DVD cover

The Wild, Wild West

From THINK PROGRESS:

Republican Allen West was just elected to the House of Representatives in Florida’s 22nd district, defeating two-term Democratic Rep. Ron Klein. His first move since being elected is rather strange: he has hired a conservative talk radio host, Joyce Kaufman, to be his congressional chief of staff.

Original movie poster

Heil-arious

From JOSHUA GREEN at the Atlantic:

An election year already notable for its menagerie of extreme and unusual candidates can add another one: Rich Iott, the Republican nominee for Congress from Ohio’s 9th District, and a Tea Party favorite, who for years donned a German Waffen SS uniform and participated in Nazi re-enactments.

Iott, whose district lies in Northwest Ohio, was involved with a group that calls itself Wiking, whose members are devoted to re-enacting the exploits of an actual Nazi division, the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, which fought mainly on the Eastern Front during World War II.

Now, now, kids, let’s not get all bent out of shape. Rich Iott is just a family guy with Republican family values. I’ve found some pictures that will show you what a nice guy ol’ Rich really is. In fact, he’s just like us (well, those of us who are not Christine O’Donnell, who is “you” (if you are not a witch). Before he grabs a shave, Rich takes a nice long bath and enjoys his morning tea while his cat, Rudolf Hiss, looks on.

Original image

Look how proud he is of that Susan B. Anthony List endorsement!

Diversity is Fine, Just Not Diversity of Thought

From THINK PROGRESS:

In 2008, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) became the only Asian-American in the Republican caucus. The GOP leadership quickly embraced him, with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) penning a memo titled, “The Future is Cao.” In May, another Asian-American, Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI) joined Cao, winning a special election in a heavily Democratic district. Now in the GOP caucus, in addition to Cao and Djou, there is “first-generation Filipino” Steve Austria, three Cuban-American members (Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen), and one Native American (Tom Cole). Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele has also said one of his major objectives is to increase diversity in the GOP. Today, however, Politico reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) 2010 blueprint for winning back Congress leave Cao and Djou out in the cold.

Original DVD cover

Not-So-Super Tuesday for Some People

From THE HILL:

It was a bittersweet night for Democrats as they won a House special election but saw one senator fall and another incumbent go to a runoff.

Meanwhile Republicans saw their favored Senate candidate lose in Kentucky to a darling of the Tea Party movement.

Most of all, Tuesday’s primaries were another sign of the anti-incumbent mood that has swept the nation and has lawmakers worried about their futures.

Bittersweet? Seriously?

Original DVD cover

The GOP Choice: Parker Griffith, Mo or Les

From The Huntsville Times:

Perhaps Congressman Parker Griffith should run ads in Washington to remind his new party which side he’s on.

A letter sent this month by an attack arm of the Republican members of Congress seeks money to defeat Griffith and other “vulnerable out-of-touch Democrats.”

“We’ve been up on the air all over Alabama’s 5th Congressional District so that voters there know your Democrat in Congress has been falling in line with Nancy Pelosi’s destructive liberal agenda,” reads the solicitation.

Original DVD cover

(Top:  Parker Sparky Griffith  Bottom:  Les Not-Mo Phillip, Mo Not-Les Brooks, Pete Blimpy Sessions)

For the Love of Pete

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

Intrigue. Deceit. And forbidden love on a sun-kissed tropical island — with billions of dollars on the line.

No, this isn’t a Danielle Steel bodice-ripper. Or Mark Sanford’s latest confession about crossing “the ultimate line”. Instead, it’s the story of the tangled, high-stakes relationship between Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and accused Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford.

Original movie poster

All Politics is Local?

Oh, kids, there’s a fight abrewin’ in the Rethuglican tent! From Bill Pascoe (ex-press secretary at the RNC) at CQ Politics:

These days, whether you’re a conservative activist, or a Republican Party official, saying “New York 23” out loud leads to a shortening of breath, a quickening of the pulse, and a tightening of the muscles. Heads whip around to see who said it, and in what context — friend, or foe?

…snip…

The official GOP nominee — Dede Scozzafava, a very liberal New York Assemblywoman — now trails her Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, and the Conservative Party nominee, Doug Hoffman, according to a survey released Monday by the Club for Growth.

Original movie poster