You know, this isn't the first time Mitch McConnell warned us how awful he is. When he says shit like this, believe him.
[Excerpt
McConnell eyes more shutdowns following GOP gains It’s tempting to think the 2014 midterms may not matter much. Assuming Republicans keep their House majority, which seems very likely, the legislative process in 2015 and 2016 will probably look an awful lot like the legislative process since 2011 – congressional inaction. GOP lawmakers will continue to reject compromises and negotiations no matter who controls the upper chamber. . .
Posted for two reasons: a) to give credit to Harry Reid, who I often criticize for being to milquetoast, and b) so that I could make and post this graphic!
[Excerpt]
Harry Reid says Mitch McConnell ‘tried to make love to the tea party’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) vowed Monday that Democrats would hold onto their Senate majority and mocked Mitch McConnell for failing to placate restive tea party critics. . .
Two out of three look like cartoon characters. From Huffington Post.
I'd like to tell you that my reason for passing this story along is that I'm outraged that the Republicans in the Senate are misusing terminology, lying, and blocking the president's nominations all for political reasons, and showing a complete disregard for and lack of respect for the office of president.
And I am. But the real reason this inspired me was the hilariously turtle-like picture of Mitch McConnell. I mean, we've been calling him a turtle for years, but does that say it, or does that say it. Anyway, I know that's silly but there you go. It's no sillier than what the GOP is alleging here. [Excerpt] Republicans Charge Obama With Court-Packing For Trying To Fill Empty Seats
Republican senators are fuming about President Barack Obama's attempt to fill empty seats on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, charging him with "court-packing" and alleging that his push to confirm nominees is all politics. But not only is Obama not "court-packing" -- a term describing an attempt to add judges to a court with the goal of shifting the balance, not filling existing vacancies -- but Republicans' efforts to prevent Obama from appointing judges amount to their own attempt to tip the scales in their favor. . .
I know that the Democrats get teased for having notables like Nancy Pelosi (who I actually like), Howard Dean (like him too), but I often wonder how you can be a "proud conservative" when you look at the GOP roster. John Boner Boehner has his fake tan, weepy histrionics and seems permanently soused (hey, maybe he's orange from the bourbon!). Eric Cantor looks like he's trying to ignore the smell of a fart, and oh Mitch McConnell. Now, I hate to pick on his looks, but being looks-challenged myself I think I have room: he looks like a cartoon turtle. Worse than that, if you were going to come up with a cartoon voice for him, it would sound exactly like his real voice, seemingly produced without lips.
But beyond their looks and demeanor, these guys have shitty policies and juvenile and ridiculous behavior for men of their stature. McConnell rolls out his theatrical theater pieces, with a smirk and laughter in his eyes, all the while pretending he's deadly serious. Boehner is scarcely better, he just slurs when he says it all. But Boehner--though he's put his foot in it many times--has never had to walk back something so embarrassing to my knowledge. Of course there is no filibuster in the House of Representatives, or he probably would have had to do this by now. Yes, McConnell brought up a proposed bill, and then filibustered it! Because it wasn't serious in the first place, and his bluff was called. Too delicious.
Somebody give this guy a piece of lettuce, and maybe he'll go away. Image from Think Progress
Every time I see Sen. Mitch McConnell on the TV machine, I'm a contorted mess of reactions. First, I can't stop seeing the man as a turtle, and then I feel bad. But then I remember that I myself am not a particularly photogenic human, and therefore am sort of allowed to poke fun at the likewise challenged. Second, I get irritated because McConnell is the embodiment of a pandering, posturing, talking point machine who will say whatever is on this weeks list of Things That Republicans Are Saying This Week. Like whomever happens to be leading up the DNC or RNC, or whomever any given president trots out on the Sunday shows, McConnell is just reading from a script. He may have written part of it, but it's a script.
Not every person interviewed on Meet the Press or Face the Nation is a partisan parrot, but McConnell surely is. So the third thing that hits me is, "If I were a Republican, how would I react to this man?" And I simply can't imagine it. He has to be one of the least charismatic, least inspiring politicians in Washington, this side of Lindsay Graham. And he's still openly admitting that making Obama a one-term president is his A#1 priority, ahead of jobs, ahead of everything. And gee, how could you make that more likely? Crash the economy on purpose! Think he can do that, and escape notice?
[Excerpt]
In Midst Of Debt Ceiling Standoff, McConnell Reaffirms That Defeating Obama Is GOP’s ‘Single Most Important’ Goal
Last October, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confessed that his “single most important” objective was to make “President Obama to be a one-term president.” In an interview on Fox News Sunday this morning, host Bret Baier asked McConnell if his motivations in the midst of the debt ceiling negotiations are still to defeat Obama. McConnell reaffirmed that it is indeed his “single most important political goal” next year. . .
All right, Sen. Mitch McConnell, if the Senate isn't Saturday Night Live, what are you doing in that turtle getup? Oh, right. . . Listen, for as much guff as the right-wing has given Al Franken for having been a comedy writer and performer (deriding him as a "clown," alleging that a PhotoShopped picture of him in a diaper and bunny ears is real), they've forgotten two things. 1) Franken has talent. 2) Franken is smart. If the Senate were SNL, it would be an improvement. Right now, the cast of cartoon characters on the right side of the aisle ought to be knee-slappingly hilarious. Intentionally. Instead, we laugh at them to keep from crying.
[Excerpt]
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell To Sen. Al Franken: "This Isn’t SNL"
It seemed inevitable that someone would say this to Sen. Al Franken before his tenure in Congress was over. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, fed up with Franken’s alleged various funny faces and eye-rolling during his speaking time, went up to the senator after his allotted time and derisively reminded him that “this isn’t Saturday Night Live, Al. . .”
Here I sit, yet another Sunday, watching the political yak-fests. Why do I do it? I don't know. I got into the habit several years ago, and can't seem to shake it. Meet the Press with David Gregory is a dim shadow of the program the late Tim Russert hosted (and it wasn't terrific then). Gregory seems to be asking questions only to hopefully inject himself into the news cycle by asking (or being answered) with a zinger. His problem--and frankly the problem with the whole format on any channel--is the fact that uber-partisans are slated to be interviewed, and then spew talking points, regardless of the question. A follow-up from the host is rare, and even then an actual answer is rarer. It is most frustrating as a viewer. I suppose this is the reason for the "panel" segments featured on most shows, but the results can be much the same.
FOX "News" Sunday airs in Las Vegas at the same time as MTP, so I watch it on the DVR. It is the easiest show to zip through, with the most commercials. Today, the host is Brit Hume, who usually plays the part of lead conservative on their ludicrously named "Power Panel." F"N"S--like MTP--started with the political odd couple of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and their alliance for help in Haiti. This is the second go-around I've watched (and I assume they've done all of the programs this morning), and it produced little that was newsworthy besides the alliance itself. W managed to not embarrass himself unduly, but I still can barely tolerate the guy.
I haven't gotten to This Week or Face the Nation yet, and I may skip them. My big irritation came from FOX's interview of Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell. He looks like a constipated turtle, and his personality is no better. He pretends that Republicans are only looking out for the best interests of America, rather than merely voting "NO!" to absolutely everything proposed by Democrats. And, of course, he's a talking points machine, sure to work in whatever is on this weeks GOP handout. What was the big talking point this week? My guess is that Americans are supposedly saying (or as McConnell says, "literally screaming") "Please don't pass" health care reform. How do I know it's a talking point? Because he said it at least four times. Repetition may work, but it's annoying as hell.
And looky here. McConnell's misuse of "literally screaming" must be part of the talking point, because he also used it on CNN's State of the Union. . .in freakin' November!
Update: Upon further study, it appears this might be more a Mitch McConnell talking point than a GOP one, though it's difficult to be sure. If you Google "please don't pass" along with "health care" you'll find countless examples of its use. . .almost exclusively by McChinless himself. Which kind of proves my point about these guys on the politics shows: talking points and repetition. What is the point?
This morning I commented on (McCain lackey) Sen. Lindsey Graham's performance on Meet the Press. My comments were that he looked like a constipated turtle (a trait he shares with Sen. Mitch McConnell), and that disgust on his face looked supremely unattractive. Jason Linkins at Huffington Post has a ever-so-slightly more mature and professional take on the matter. . .
We took note of this on this morning's Sunday Morning liveblog, but Lindsey Graham's hilariously operatic, garment-rending performance on Meet The Press this morning deserves a special mention of its own. Pressed into duty to defame Obama for opting to continue his own fundraising process in lieu of the public financing he agreed to take way before he had any idea that his own superior method of public financing would prove itself to be far more effective, Graham came to show with a pocketful of woe and a story of Barack's broken promises. He quickly spun this into melodramatic gold, pretending to be stung and betrayed and emotionally out of tune over the matter. . .
