Politics Plus

Here is the seventh article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is Texas State Representative Jodie Laubenberg, for telling such a fantastic lie in the Republican war on women that it may stun you.

While you slept last night, the Texas House of Representatives had an epic battle over draconian anti-abortion legislation being advanced during a special session called by Governor Rick Perry. The bill has been introduced by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, the official Texas ALEC Chair.

The only weapon Democrats have to fight this incredibly invasive legislation is time. They’ve mounted a filibuster of sorts (which is still going on in real time as I write) by offering over 20 amendments to the original bill. Republicans have responded for the most part by simply refusing to debate and tabling each amendment.

However, early in the amendment process, Rep. Laubenberg was debating the bill, and part of her argument concerned other, more indirect ways to get abortions. Specifically, Rep. Laubenberg claimed that "in the emergency room, they have what’s called rape kits, where a woman can get cleaned out."

Please pick your jaw off the floor. I heard that in real time on the live feed and couldn’t believe my ears. This woman actually believes that rape kits are some kind of unofficial Plan B? Clearly that abstinence-only sex education program in Texas didn’t cover rape, incest, or legislative idiocy… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

I have other proof that Laubenberg is a Republican.  She has missed 85% of quorum calls and 60% of meetings of her House Public Health Committee.  She is clearly aligning herself with the work ethic of US House Republicans, to prepare herself for a career there. But her extreme misogyny proves her party even without that. She is so Republican, in fact, that she MUST be helped to experience unemployment.

Sadly, the measures passed.

I have often said that winning back the House of Representatives in 2014 is very unlikely, and as much as I hope we do, hope alone makes it less likely that we will win it back in future years.  So let’s start by seeing how Republicans are holding onto it.  It began as a classic bait and switch operation.  Republicans took advantage of American voters’ absurd belief that the damage to the economy by the Bush Regime could be undone overnight.  Heavily financed by the Koch Brothers, the Chamber of Congress, and other 1% vulture capitalists Republicans campaigned on jobs, promising to bring the economy around.  They captured so many state houses and state legislatures that they dominated the redistricting that occurs every ten years.  Then they brought out Project Red Map, software developed for the party by vulture capitalists, that can redraw boundaries to virtually guarantee more seats for Republicans in the US House.  It was so effective that, in 2012, although 1.4 million more Americans voted for Democratic House candidates, Republicans maintained control by a 234 to 201 margin.  Republicans gained control of the House at the state level, and I say again, that’s where we must go to get it back.  The Republican bait and switch tactic won’t work anymore, as people under Republican tyranny are developing buyers remorse., and we have an excellent opportunity to take state houses back in 2014.

On our final polls for this election cycle we also looked ahead to the 2014 race for Governor in every state that has one, testing the sitting incumbent against a generic opponent of the opposite party. Here’s what we found, grouped into three different categories:

Folks in a whole lot of trouble:

Many of the Republicans who were swept into office by the wave election of 2010 may have a hard time winning a second term if 2014 doesn’t prove to be another huge year for their party.

In Pennsylvania Tom Corbett trails a generic Democrat 47/37. In Maine Paul LePage trails a hypothetical opponent from the opposite party 49/41. Both of them became unpopular pretty early in their terms and have stayed that way.

Other Republicans who look highly vulnerable next time around are Florida’s Rick Scott who trails a generic Democrats 48/44, and Ohio’s John Kasich who leads a potential foe only 44/43. The good news for these folks at least is that their numbers have been on an upward trajectory during their second year in office- they both trailed by much wider margins at this time a year ago… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <PPP>

Photo credit: electoralvote.com

This polling data is over six months old, and public disaffection for Republicans is growing.

I chose today to write this article, because Ed Schultz just made the same point I have been making all along.

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Democratic Governors is most of the states they snookered in 2010 will go a long way to block Republican class warfare now and stop their plans do deny their right to vote to many Americans in 2016.  The battle will be hard, because it will be our voices against an elephant butt-load of money!

The ongoing war on women keeps bringing us surprise after surprise, and this week has been no exception, in addition to new tyrannical laws in other states, Texas Republicans, after promising that their war on women was over, have attacked afresh, using stealth.  This is crazy!

After a raucous night, the House State Affairs Committee met in a small room and approved without discussion three contentious abortion bills.

The House will meet at 2 pm Sunday to debate the bills that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, increase standards for abortion clinics, make doctors who perform abortions gain admitting privileges at an area hospital and mandate protocols — opposed by the American College of OB/GYNs –for pills used to induce abortions.

The three bills were passed along partisan lines.

More than 700 signed up to testify on the three bills and pushed the committee to continue meeting until 3:40 a.m. with hundreds of women and a few men still waiting to testify… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Dallas Morning News>

Rachel Maddow reported on even more TEAbuggery against women and the rest of this story with Texas State Representative Jessica Farrar.

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Now, what we’re seeing in Texas is Stealth War on Women. Even so, Republicans had to commit a crime to pass it out of committee. Kudos to all who protested, provided food, and did everything else to fight this Republican tyranny. Kudos to all who will protest on Sunday.  May there be thousands!

Here is what really happened.  The House passed a Farm Bill out of committee.  It was too Draconian, but it would have has enough support from Democrats that it would have passed.  However, 62 Republicans proposed an amendment to cut SNAP (food stamps) by even more, $20 billion.  Afraid of opposing InsaniTEA, the rest of the Republicans goose-stepped, and the amendment became part of the bill.  That was a poison pill for Democrats, and most of those who had supported it withdrew their support.  However, Boehner brought the bill to the floor, because with enough Republicans he needs no support from Democrats.  The reason that the bill did not pass is that same Republicans, who proposed the amendment slashing food stamps, stabbed Boehner in the back, by voting against the bill anyway, because they want to steal even more food from the mouths of hungry children.  Now Republican leaders claim it was Democrats, who betrayed Boehner, and that is a lie.  Boehner is a victim of TEAbuggery!  Even the NY Times got this all wrong.

The surprise defeat of the farm bill in the House on Thursday underscored the ideological divide between the more conservative, antispending Republican lawmakers and their leadership, who failed to garner sufficient votes from their caucus as well as from Democrats.

The vote against the bill, 234 to 195, comes a year after House leaders pulled the measure off the calendar because conservative lawmakers demanded deeper cuts in the food stamp program and Democrats objected. This year’s measure called for more significant cuts than the Senate bill, but it still did not go far enough to get a majority in the House to support an overhaul of the nation’s food and farm programs. Sixty-two Republicans, or more than a quarter of the caucus, voted with Democrats to defeat the bill.

The failure was a stinging defeat for Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, who continues to have trouble marshaling the Republican support he needs to pass major legislation. Without the solid backing of his party, Mr. Boehner has to rely on some Democratic support, which deserted him Thursday…

Inserted from <NY Times>

Chris Hayes covered this during All In and later joined Alex Witt on The Last Word.

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Note that Republicans did not join Democrats to help defeat the bill. They wanted to take even more food from the mouths of hungry children. The Democrats voted NO because they don't want to take food from children to provide welfare for pseudo-Christian millionaires like Steve Fincher (R-TN). Chris is right. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

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I am not a big Steny Hoyer fan, but I loved the way he chopped Steve Cantor down to size, explaining how Republicans sabotaged their own bill.  The Republican Party could not survive with a base of billionaires, so they sowed the wind and courted Birchers, the Klan, The extremist-militias, religious extremists, and hatemongers of every kind to swell their base. Now they are inheriting the whirlwind. But the extremists should beware, as should we all, because this has happened before. Consider the Night of the Long Knives.