Motley Moose – Archive

Republicans have an uncanny knack for fostering and enabling one of the nastiest tendencies in all of human nature: Victim blaming. This they facilitate, while simultaneously denying all culpability for their own mistakes and transgressions. The level of hypocrisy they so frequently exhibit flies in the face of decency, and is on occasion nothing short of mind-boggling. Flagrant and galling though it may be, I sometimes wonder whether their outrageous displays of unctuousness are entirely conscious. It ofttimes seems that their misplaced holier-than-thou attitudes are born out of habit more than anything else. Perhaps if one goes so long believing in the absolute virtue of one’s actions, one eventually succumbs to near pathological delusions of infallibility. These sorts of egotism and egocentrism are indisputably hazardous, and they give rise to authoritative stances and ideologies that become unduly convinced of their own faultlessness.

It is in the GOP’s interests to eschew all guilt of misconduct, while also throwing blame onto every vulnerable target in sight. From blaming Katrina victims for their misfortune to lobbing accusations at the victims of predatory loans for the subprime mortage crisis to claiming that the Democratic leadership in Congress should take responsibility for the death threats hurled against them — and not to mention the numerous historical examples of Republican callousness and hypocrisy of which I am too young to have clear memories — the GOP has a lengthy pattern of placing the blame for tragic occurrences on those who have been wronged. Still, even my awareness of that convention does nothing to lessen my shock at some of their more appalling finger-pointing.

And this case is really beyond the pale.  

Today’s weather was bearable, for February in Michigan. The temperature was around 27°F and the air was calm when Al and I headed out for our walk. Our neighbor, Beau, who you met in an earlier diary, must have been craning his neck to see us as soon as possible. He practically sprinted out of his house before we even reached his driveway. Something was obviously up.

I’ve known Beau for a few months now, ever since he moved here from Mississippi. I know him well enough to recognize when he’s wearing a smug grin. It didn’t take long to find out what had put it there.

There’s a reason Jon Stewart is the most trusted name in news. It’s not just because he rips on Republicans on a regular basis; rather, it’s because he points out failings and inconsistencies in both parties and amongst people all along the political spectrum. While I was disappointed that he didn’t stick it properly to John Yoo a couple of nights ago, he has done some stellar interviews that should make any halfway objective pundit or broadcaster proud. But despite his willingness to take down hypocrites and liars in both parties, it does often seem that his scathing satire more frequently targets Republicans — but not without reason.

As surely as facts have a liberal bias, hypocrisy has a conservative one. Let me be clear: This is not to say that Democrats (and truly, politicians in general) cannot be hypocrites. But when it comes to flagrant, vile, in-your-face, hysterical, mind-boggling hypocrisy, the Grand Old Party takes the cake. You know, the kind of hypocrisy that makes your head ache and pound near to the point of imminent explosion and your blood pressure skyrocket so quickly you get dizzy spells that rival those brought on by a strong, expensive dose of…  

RNC Chairman Michael Steele must have a real way with words — he certainly knows how to charge for them, and he isn’t shy about it. Apparently he’s doing regular speaking gigs and charging up to $20,000 a pop. Wow! But we’ve always known Steele had a witty, “beyond cutting edge” style all his own, so it’s really no wonder that he would charge people to listen to his words of wisdom. I mean, when you’ve got the prescience and insight to call that ghetto Obama stimulus package “bling bling,” you really set a high bar for yourself. (Ain’t he hip-hop and fresh and straight dope, y’all? What a guy!)

To start with, let me be clear: The oppression and general subjugation of women is not an exclusively Republican issue. The Stupak-Pitts amendment, which is an attack on women’s reproductive rights and was drafted by a Democrat from Michigan, makes that clear. Nor is the oppression and subjugation of women even an exclusively male issue. I don’t want to get into an argument about the “blame the victim” mindset, but the fact is, a lot of women adhere and/or contribute to the doctrine of male domination. Now, is that because they have been indoctrinated to do so? Sure. However, the same can be said of sexist men. Despite all the calls for political correctness and the efforts of feminists throughout the country and the world, everyone who has grown up in the United States has been influenced, in one way or another, by the pervasive and prevailing mindset of masculine domination. Some of us are more resistant to indoctrination than others, but few, if any, are entirely immune. We are all subject to the influences of gender stereotyping, no matter how careful our parents may have been to prevent it. Every day, we are inundated with indoctrinating images and ideas, through television, literature, music, and innumerable other mediums. What is most important isn’t that we are completely free of assumptions about the opposite sex, or even our own, but that we strive to understand the causes and effects of sexism and rail against it when we perceive it.

Welcome all, to the first installment of Wingnut Watch. A diary series of as yet undetermined frequency, it will focus on exposing the day-to-day ravings of this great nation’s most prominent, frightening, entertaining, whackadoodle Rightwing crazies. Hat tip to John, who came up with the idea for the series.

Follow me, my Moosey friends…

We are not afraid. That’s the message residents of the small town of Standish, Michigan would like to send to Liz Cheney and the rest of the fraidy-cats on the Right according to a report on Greg Sargent’s blog.

The Plum Line report includes a five-minute mini-documentary commercial released by Cheney’s group, Keep America Safe, showing a few residents of Standish who oppose housing Gitmo prisoners in the local prison.

What the video doesn’t show you is the overwhelming majority of people in Standish who support the move. The video claims that the local politicians are acting against the wishes of the townspeople. A claim like that is ridiculous. If the opposition is as strong as opponents claim then any politician who acted against their wishes would be facing a recall.

The intrusion by outside groups and politicians is reminiscent of the recent NY 23 election fiasco. Cheney’s group isn’t the only outside fear monger. The town was “blessed” by the presence of one of Michigan’s leading GOP embarrassments in the person of Pete Hoekstra R-MI shortly after the first reports that the prison was under consideration. There were other outsiders and they all had a common theme – be afraid, be very afraid.

Apparently, these outsiders don’t know the people in this area any better than they knew the people of up-state NY when they ran Scozzafava out of the race.

Ahhhh, nothing says “respect for women” quite as loudly as a photo like this, huh?

Oh, that’s not really what this diary’s about, but it caught your attention, didn’t it?

Some of you may remember Republican Congressman Pete Sessions (TX-32), pictured above, from past controversies, like sorta-kinda-maybe suggesting that his own party should become like the Taliban, his ties to Jack Abramoff, and his undoubtedly deeply family-oriented decisions to hold multiple fundraisers at Las Vegas nightclubs. But now it seems he’s mouthed off in a way that is proving beneficial to his Democratic challenger in 2010 by letting slip — in language very easy to understand — what Democrats have long known, but which I truly think the GOP believes to be one of its best kept secrets.

Not much of a diary because I have to go get ready for class shortly, but I just couldn’t let this pass. Here we have Republican John Boehner speaking outside the US Capitol, asserting that “PelosiCare” represents the “greatest threat to freedom” he’s seen since joining Congress. There are a number of problems with this little rant, but the most embarrassing comes around the 2:30 mark.

Yeah. That would be our fucking House Minority Leader confusing the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. And Bachmann nodding and quoting along in the background.

Am I the only one who’s amused, embarrassed, and disgusted all at the same time?

I’m a coward.

I’m also a liar — but only due to my cowardice.

I am a bisexual deist liberal lying coward living in a smallish city in southern Alabama.

I always thought I was pretty brave, actually. I was born and raised in Alabama, though not in this particular city, so I am no stranger to conservatism. There’s not a single Democrat or Independent in my family (aside from myself), and I have a ton of Republican friends. I think I get along with conservatives pretty well, all things considered. I have a lot of practice. I talk politics with the ones (like my dad) who can stomach a bit of spirited debate and not walk away sore about it, and I gear conversations toward other topics around the ones who can’t (or simply won’t) handle it. But despite all my experience in expressing myself amongst conservatives, I now find myself consistently struggling to hide my true self from those surrounding me.