This Promises To Be Hugely Entertaining

[downbeatplumb]

That this woman is even a serious contender is worrying

[DeistPaladin]

That this woman is even a serious contender is worrying

As FaithNoMore has said, there are a worrying ton of stupid voters in this country. Grumpy McCain and Bimbo Palin ran a comically inept campaign and still got 46% of the vote in 2008.

[Minimalist]

Borowitz.


http://www.borowitzreport.com/

“Michele Bachmann is a staunch believer in the theory of Intelligent Design,” he said. “However, Intelligent Design cannot explain Michele Bachmann.”

But Dr. Logsdon added that Rep. Bachmann remains an attractive candidate, especially for those Republican voters who find former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin “too cerebral.”

[downbeatplumb]

Sarah Palin 'too cerebral'

Really.

[DeistPaladin]

Sarah Palin 'too cerebral'

Really.

Yes.

Michelle Bachmann makes Sarah Palin look emotionally well grounded and intellectually brilliant.

Recently, a 3rd grader challenged Michelle Bachmann to a civics debate. Bachmann has yet to accept.

---

I also note that as the Republicans run further to the right wing, they become increasingly anti-intellectual. Look at the trend:

Ronald Reagan
Dan Quayle (Bush Sr.'s VP)
W Bush
Sarah Palin
Michelle Bachmann

It's like they keep trying to top their current level of stupid. Just when you think their candidates can't get any dumber, they top themselves again.

[bozo]

From a Brit perspective, how come you get so many poor candidates for the highest office in your country?
We get " career politicians " this side of the pond, you just seem to get rather stupid ( and dangerous ) people with millions of dollars to burn.

[Anymouse]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/2011062...J2RG0.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michele Bachmann's claim that she has "never gotten a penny" from a family farm that's been subsidized by the government is at odds with her financial disclosure statements. They show tens of thousands in personal income from the operation.

And, on a less-substantive note, she flubbed her hometown history when declaring "John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa," and "that's the kind of spirit that I have, too," in running for president.

The actor was born nearly 150 miles away. It was the serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr. who lived, for a time, in Waterloo.

As long as the dumb cunt doesn't get elected, that is.

She is not even employing revisionist history like Sarah Palin, she is revising names of infamous people. Next it will be George Washington that invented peanut butter.

And it seems in this loony election process, the dumbest get the most (positive) attention. (Shudder)

[DeistPaladin]

From a Brit perspective, how come you get so many poor candidates for the highest office in your country?
We get " career politicians " this side of the pond, you just seem to get rather stupid ( and dangerous ) people with millions of dollars to burn.

Our system has become incredibly corrupt by European standards. Because running a campaign is expensive, a politician needs to either sell his soul to some corporate interest, gaining campaign contributions in exchange for representing their interests, or else they need to be so wealthy they can underwrite their own campaign. Corruption is so ingrained into our democracy, or what's left of it, that it's not even hidden any longer. It's all done right before our eyes. Every voter knows, "this is the oil industry candidate, this is the union candidate, etc." We even have ethical standards that regulate how to take bribes (campaign contributions) and how your vote can be bought and sold.

This is why the "union busting" efforts in some states is so pivotal. I don't know if you've seen any news on that in your country but one of the big political issues here is conservative governors who are trying to break public unions. This is essentially the corporation's endgame strategy. Since money is so important to our system, the unions are the only major contributor to the left wing. Destroy them and the right wing totally owns our elections, lock, stock and barrel.

My solution would be to ban all political advertisement and thereby remove the money from the democratic process. Fat chance that would ever happen anytime soon.

If all this weren't bad enough, Fox Noise is a propaganda machine that has effectively brainwashed and dumbed-down a huge swath of our electorate. It's essentially the Pravda of the right wing. We Americans, much as we pride ourselves in our culture of individualism and free expression, are just as prone to propaganda as any other people in the world.

We haven't arrived at fascism yet but we've gotten close enough that the road signs indicating which exit to use are viable.

[Minimalist]

We're pretty much there, D-P.

http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

The ones we haven't fully attained are prime targets for republicolibertarianazi candidates....but even the dems do little to move away from where we are headed.

[DeistPaladin]

We're pretty much there, D-P.

I'm trying to be optimistic that my country isn't lost yet.

Going down the list:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

In some corners of America, check.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Regrettably, check.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

...or gays, Muslims, etc...

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Check.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

More or less. Abortion is under heavy fire in America, as are woman's health institutions in general, but the government features many female fascists who are willing to sell out other members of their gender.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

No question. "Liberal media" my ass.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Not as much as under the Bush administration but still there.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

Yes, much to the anger of many atheists in America.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

We've been there for a while now.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

They're working on that now.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

Check.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Not quite but the "patriot act" and other measures pave the way.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

"Heckofa job, Brownie"

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Diebold has paved the way on that one. 2000 saw the courts stop the recount and appoint W Bush. Smear campaigns were perfected under Rove.