Over Time with Bill Maher, August 5, 2016

Bill and his in-studio guests – Rob Reiner, Rick Santorum, Tara Setmayer and Jeff Ross – answer viewer questions after the show.

GOP Clown Car Gets Less Crowded (Dem Side Down to Two)

It was bound to happen. It's still too full. But the 2016 GOP Presidential Clown Car is finally shaking loose some of its more useless passengers. It's difficult to tell if the crazy level has dropped on average. I mean, Rand Paul is out of there, but he's always been half reasonable/half cuckoo. Mike Huckabee somehow got his fat behind out of that little trunk, but he wasn't ever so much crazy as oily and evil.  Rick Santorum was a frothy mix of very sincere (but awful) religious principles, and desperation. . .with maybe a little crazy in with the lube and unfortunate fecal matter.

But they're leaving behind the primary drivers, Donald J. Trump and Rafael "Ted" Cruz, who between them encompass at least a dozen overlapping negative qualities to different degrees, including batshit crazy. It's a VENN diagram I don't even want to contemplate. Still stuffed in the back seat are Ben "Dr. Stabby" Carson, Jim "Who?" Gilmore, Carly "Bring me those puppies!" Fiorina, (poor, sad) Jeb! Bush and John "Dishwater" Kasich. Marco Rubio is climbing furiously over the center console to try to get a front seat, and I'm guessing Chris Christie is on the roof rack, or tied to the fender or something. But it has to be a little more comfortable with three losers dumped out at the curb.

Likewise, the much smaller batch of Democrats can now focus a little better, being pared down to two after the departure of the dull but dreamy Martin O'Malley. Thursday night's debate, co-moderated by Rachel Maddow, will be the first one-on-one debate of the whole dang 2016 season. No kid's table, no extraneous candidates.

Buckle up kids, we're finally getting the whole thing in actual gear after sputtering around for over a year!

Rachel Maddow Interviews Rick Santorum

Obviously, within the context of a couple of segments of her nightly show, Rachel Maddow was unable to get to every point we'd like her to ask Rick (don't Google me) Santorum. But this segment did a couple of newsworthy things: it undoubtedly gave Santorum a little bit of buzz, evidenced by the fact that the story is currently trending on Twitter. Secondly, Santorum fans might just discover that Maddow is a different breed of cable pundit. I can't imagine a similar interview of a Democratic candidate on Hannity, for example.

 

GOP 2016 Clown Car Update: Santorum Surges Into the Race!

Rick (don't Google me) Santorum has apparently lubed up, and squeezed into the already crowded GOP 2016 Clown Car. And given that he surged from the rear last time to overtake (briefly) his rivals for the top spot, enough to look viable for a while, who can blame him? Also, there are now enough Santorum stories to dilute the dingy brown internet reputation of the word "Santorum" back to something more explainably whitish. I guess. But it's still Santorum. And he's not fooling us with which word he picked to be short for "Richard," either. He still looks like a dick to me.

Meanwhile, the rest of the field is playing some level of coy. Other than Mitt Romney, who let us know early that "this is hard," and he wasn't running, the rest of the folks in this collage are still officially undeclared, though all are expected to probably "get in the ring." My thoughts are, The Donald and Christie are the most likely to opt not to, and Lindsey Graham may retire to his fainting couch before he gets to the starting line. But those are just my gut feelings.

[Excerpt]  

Rick Santorum to join crowded Republican presidential field.  

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will announce later Wednesday he will join the race for president. He will make the seventh Republican seeking the party's nomination.  

Read more at: WALB

And in honor of Santorum's slide into whatever orifice he used to get in, here's a nice selection from Olivia Newton-John.
 

Right Wing World Duggared: A Picture Speaks a Thousand (Yucky) Words

Something tells me there are a whole lot of conservatives purging their various social media, blog and website archives for anything  to do with a Duggar. But the internet is forever, and these photos will always exist.
 

 

And yes, I'm doing my part to make "Duggared" a verb. A really awful verb.

The Gay Thing: Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz Get "Would You Go to a Gay Wedding" Question

Human irritant (and redundantly named) Hugh Hewitt asked two of the many human irritants running for the GOP presidential nomination, about whether or not they'd attend a gay wedding. Predictably, they give pander-to-the-base answers, but at least Rick (don't Google me) Santorum comes right out and says it: NO. His logic is a mess, but at least he gets right to the point, even if he tries to make his reasoning less douchey than it actually is. Ted Cruz just goes full politi-speak douche.

 

Rick Santorum Gets Tea Bagged

For decades, conservatives pandered to the kooks and the crazies on their far right, throwing them red meat, and wooing their vote. When the Tea Party was born (immediately after the election of a black president, don't tell me it's a coincidence), suddenly, the nutbar fringe went front-and-center. The establishment tried to co-opt the brand, and sometimes has managed to weave them in while staying in control. But the rabble really weren't supposed to ever get actual power, ever have much of a say.

I don't know the right analogy, whether it's Frankenstein's monster, or more akin to a cancer or a zombie virus. But these batshit crazy people are getting more common, and closer than ever to the levers of power.

Listen to this tea bagger's insane rant, and watch how likely (repeat) presidential candidate Rick (don't Google me) Santorum dares not shut her down for fear of alienating a voting bloc.

[Excerpt]

Frothy Mix Gets Teabagged



Probable GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum appeared this past weekend at the South Carolina National Security Action Summit, an annual event held by Frank Gaffney and the Center for Security Policy. . .

Read more at: Joe.My.God.

Rick Santorum and NOM Under Ethics Investigation

Image from source.

If I were going to dream up some people to be investigated for wrongdoing, I could hardly do better than Rick (don't Google me) Santorum and the National Organization for Marriage. Throwing in the unshakably creepy Bob Vander Plaats is just icing on the cake Go git 'em Fred!

[Excerpt]

Rick Santorum And NOM Subjects Of New Federal Ethics Complaints Filings

Rick Santorum, the National Organization For Marriage (NOM) and Iowa anti-gay activist Bob Vander Plaats are reportedly about to become the subjects of ethics and election violations complaints which will be filed by Republican Fred Karger. Karger is charging NOM has been “money laundering” in Iowa elections and engaged in a “pay to play” scandal. . .

Read more at: The New Civil Rights Movement

Republican War on Sex!

Rick Santorum, Patron Saint of
un-fun sex and/or no sex.

In the last couple of weeks, I've reacted to some news reports with utter disbelief. When you hear that an aspiring candidate for Governor of Virginia wants to resurrect a sodomy (meaning only missionary position straight sex) law, and another one in Montana, and several other squabbles having to to with sex and sexuality, you're like. . .what year is this?

I'm really thinking this is the last gasp, the final spasm of the religious prudes of America. Unfortunately, it's a very large body doing the gasping and twitching, so the disturbing spectacle may take a while to play out. But think about this. Regardless of a particular politician's personal parochial peccadilloes (how's that for alliteration?), what constituency are you playing to, when you're aiming for the "missionary, post-marital sex, ONLY" crowd? What is that, like a half dozen people?

[Excerpt]

11 Actions That Prove Republicans Are Intent On Making 2013 A Terrible Year For Sex 

Move over "war on women," the GOP's "war on sex" is here to invade your bedroom and reproductive system. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Rick Santorum Thinks Gay Marriage Rights the Fault of Will & Grace

Rick (don't Google me) Santorum is an idiot. To be specific, he's a gay-obsessed, probably deeply sexually repressed, homophobic idiot. Not realizing that there is a symbiosis between pop culture and actual culture, Santorum believes that a comedy show about gay people is responsible for the gay rights movement. Santorum must not realize that there have been other developments in both pop and actual culture since (and concurrent with) "Just Jack!" A short list would include Queer as Folk, The "L" Word, The New Normal, Happy Endings, Rachel Maddow, Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper. Plus, you have to throw in the fact that everybody and his brother is now comfortable enough to be out of the closet, and no longer hiding. So, you know, friends and family noticed, and had a V-8 moment, and kind of came around. Not so tough, Ricky.

CPAC? More Like L-PAC (The "L" is for Loser!)

This is just some of them. Laugh or cry?

They say it only happens once per year. But it seems more often, doesn't it?


The stars of the annual CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) shindig are always an eye-roller for most liberals, and this year is no exception. Except that one of the previous speakers--Ann Coulter--predicted the doom of the Republican ticket if Mitt Romney was selected, and she was right. And the keynote is going to be given by said Romney. Throw in Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan and Sarah Palin, and you've got Loser-PAC. And that's not even mentioning the State of the Union also-rans Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Stir in a little infighting this year, and it should all be quite entertaining.

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GOP = Grifting Our People

This is a really great clip from The Rachel Maddow Show from Monday night. In it, Rachel shines a light on several of the major players in Republican politics, particularly those involved in the 2012 election, and the various think tanks, conservative media outlets and other scam-riddled organizations. I mean, when the runner-up on the GOP side, Rick Santorum, is working for scam site World Nut Net Daily. And he's far from the only shill. Newt Gingrich has run several scams, and has run for president since then! Oy. . .

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Our Long National Nightmare is Over

Click to embiggen.

For at least the past year, and actually for the better part of the last two, we've had campaigns up and running for a Presidential election looming on the horizon. For most of that time, the election felt distant, and the early squabbles of the GOP primary fight felt way too early. Think back to those days: Donald Trump pretending he was going to run. Sarah Palin teasing her easily teased fans (for big bucks, it would seem). There was a whole clown car's worth of both declared and potential candidates. Early on, I started a graphic that added candidates as they either declared, or whose profiles rose to the point of serious discussion. I put a green check mark on those who officially threw their hats into the ring, and then a red X as they either dropped out, declined to run, or were defeated in the primary.

So, I decided to update my photo chart, with the entirely checked off list. Happily, there are no green check marks left to be found. Some of these people are so obscure, even I forget who they are!

And for the first time in a long time, we have a Monday without this looming event on our horizon. We have at least two years before we much have to think about 2016, except in the broad abstract. 2014 will come much sooner than that. But for now, our long national nightmare is over!

"Completely Wrong" Yields Romney Photos in Google Searches

Ha! It looks like the former Senator Rick Santorum isn't the only guy with a Google problem!




[Excerpt]

Google search for 'completely wrong' yields page of Romney photos

To the amusement of Mitt Romney's critics, a Google Image search for the phrase "completely wrong" on Wednesday returned a page nearly full of images of the Republican presidential candidate. . .

Read more at: CNN

Rick Santorum Says Smart People Won't Vote Republican

Image from Plunderbund

I can't tell you how many things I find wrong with the "Values Voters Summit," because there are too many to list. So, I'll just start with the awkwardness of the double plural in the title that seems to want an apostrophe somewhere. And finish by saying that in 1992 when Pat Buchanan and Pat Robertson were very prominent, and moralizing without being denounced by George H. W. Bush, I went from a Republican to a Democrat, and voted for Bill Clinton. I can't be the only one swayed by over-the-top religiosity and prudishness.

Rick (don't Google me) Santorum then, is obviously not my kind of candidate. He constantly works himself into a frothy mixture over gay sex (which he equates to "man-on-dog sex"), or abortion or something, but usually goes so far that he alienates more people than he attracts. Occasionally though, Ricky makes news. And he's never been more honest than he was at the badly named summit.

[Excerpt]

Rick Santorum: 'Smart People' Will Never Be On Our Side

Rick Santorum, the former presidential candidate, had a message for attendees of the Values Voter Summit on Saturday. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Republican National Convention, Day 1 (ish)

I got a late start to blogging, due to the attention I was paying to MSNBC's Republican National Convention coverage, and to my 600+ Twitter feed. Word of advice if you're nursing a four-day-old sinus headache: doing this sort of activity is inadvisable. Ouch. . .

So, here is my take on the first full day of the RNC (the original day 1 having been postponed due to Hurricane Isaac). I caught Rick Santorum, who gives a great speech, even if I disagree with 100% of its content. He managed to kick the gays, but in an awkward comment. Somehow, straight people aren't getting married because of gay marriage? Or something. Anyway, Rick's speech was scarcely different from ones he gave during his campaign, with a pasted-on "vote for Mitt" in a few places.

Scott Walker, who is a rock star in the GOP these days (and don't get me started on vexing GOP heroes like Sarah Palin and "Joe the Plumber," or we'll be here all night), but his speech was meh. A bit droney, nothing too surprising. I didn't get to see a couple of other speakers, because the MSNBC team was talking, but I really don't think I missed much, based on my Twitter feed's reactions.
[Story continues below]

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And then came Ann. During her speech, I found her awkward, if endearingly so. I think her attempts to humanize Willard alternatively fell flat, or just came across as woefully unconvincing. I didn't buy her hard-scrabble story of their basement apartment, or that either of them is--particularly--just like us. Anyone (and hopefully everyone) feels for Mrs. Romney, and her health struggles. I'm sure it was even hard on Mitt (assuming that at least in private, he has ordinary human emotions). But I find it impossible to forget that the Romneys never had to worry about their finances during their difficult time. A significant portion of any health emergency is the financial element, and the Romneys were lucky enough to be spared the stress that comes with that. "Obamacare" may not be perfect, but it's a first good step to ensure that we regular people have some of that fear alleviated.

Despite my being underwhelmed (as was most of my Twitter feed), the media has quickly seized upon Ann as the star of the night. I'll let her have that, she was okay. Though I take issue with her comment that she and Mitt have a "real marriage." As opposed to? And then Willard was practically wheeled out, surprising no one, and looking more wooden than usual.

The over-arching theme of Mrs. Romney's speech was "love," and when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lumbered out, he quickly stomped on that, declaring it was not love but respect that was called for. Now, let me say straight up that I don't "get" Christie. I'm concerned when I see him that he's going to have a heart attack as I watch. I'm not beyond a fat joke but that's not an attempt to be funny, he looks startlingly unhealthy. And when he gets wound up, it just doesn't look safe to me. [Story continues below]

You can include Christie in the right-wing hero camp with those I mentioned above. He's abrasive, rude, arrogant and just basically dick-ish. His speech--like some of the others--seemed to be removed from the Mitt Romney campaign, with a Mitt endorsement lazily grafted on. Christie's speech came off like a 2016 audition, with no particular enthusiasm for the party's actual candidate.

All-in-all, even with my headache, it wasn't as painful as it could have been. Yes, most of the speakers used talking points based on falsehoods (welfare, "you didn't build that"), but an average day of FOX "News" contains more Obama-bashing, and a sense of coordinated partisanship than this night of television did. It certainly wasn't a pep rally atmosphere, like Obama's 2008 convention. . .or even McCain's.

[Excerpt]

Ann Romney Speech At 2012 Republican Convention: Mitt 'Is The Man America Needs'

Ann Romney, 63, was making her national debut at the Republican National Convention late Tuesday in a speech designed to introduce the country to the man she knows better than anyone. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post 

Funny or Die: Rick Santorum Aborts Presidential Campaign

Rarely does comedy work quite as perfectly as this bit does. It's very nearly perfect, amusing and stars several very familiar faces. Faces like Ashley Judd, Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy), Katy Mixon (Mike & Molly), and Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings). Enjoy.

Rick Santorum Aborts Presidential Campaign from Ashley Judd

Ron Paul Actually Won Iowa?

I guess this is a lesson: you can play by the rules as they are understood, or you can play by the rules as they are written. Something tells me that Mitt Romney's team is working overtime to sew up any straggling delegates.

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We Won't Have Rick Santorum to Kick Around Anymore!

Hasn't that little girl grown up yet?

That frothy mix was hard to get rid of. It seemed no matter how many times Mitt Romney scraped his shoe, Rick (don't Google me) Santorum just wouldn't stop clinging to him. But alas, Rick has quit, finally. He was entertaining, thought the brief period where it looked like he could actually win the GOP primary was terrifying. I mean, I was confident that President could mop that frothy mix right up, but the prospect of a loon like Santorum getting that close was almost too much to take.

And now, it is up to the Romneybot 2.0.

[Excerpt]


Rick Santorum lasted longer in the GOP race than anyone predicted

Rick Santorum ended his campaign at least three months later than any pundit could have predicted at any point last year. He also ended it with having accomplished more than anyone would have imagined and he did so at a time putting family first. In other words, Rick Santorum went out on top. . .

Read more at: CBS News

Mike in Raleigh: Rick Santorum's Frothy Swan Song!

Thanks to Mike in Raleigh (of The Stephanie Miller Show) for this beautiful remembrance of Rick (don't Google me) Santorum. Thanks for the frothy memories!