February 23, 2009

2/23: The GOP Gets Feisty

GOP senators took a lot of hits in the liberal blogosphere this weekend. First of all, lefty bloggers called Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) a "conspiracy theorist" and a "nasty, braindead piece of work" after he questioned Pres. Obama's citizenship during a meeting with constituents. Second, lefty bloggers blasted Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) for predicting that SCOTUS Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would probably be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months. Steve Benen writes: "It seems a little early in Obama's presidency to see Republicans become this deranged. I shudder to think how unhinged they'll be in, say, a year."

Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are praising GOP governors such as Haley Barbour (R-MS), Bobby Jindal (R-LA), and Mark Sanford (R-SC) for rejecting some of the federal aid allocated to their states in the stimulus bill. Righty bloggers are also buzzing about some of the recent organized protests against the Obama admin.'s economic measures. It's clear that conservative bloggers believe that GOPers must establish credibility on spending issues if they want to make a political comeback in 2010.

SHELBY: Wingnut Fever -- Catch It!

Liberal bloggers are criticizing Sen. Shelby for questioning Obama's U.S. citizenship during a meeting with some of his constituents:

"Another local resident asked Shelby if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama's U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.

'Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate,' Shelby said. 'You have to be born in America to be president.'"

• Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas: "Conspiracy theorist in the Senate."
• TPM's Eric Kleefeld: "Oh, brother. The conspiracy-mongering that Barack Obama is secretly a Kenyan citizen who has hidden his real birth certificate has now found its way into the utterances of a United States Senator: Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama."
• The Washington Monthly's Benen: "Shelby isn't just some random yahoo with a right-wing radio talk-show; he's a four-term United States senator. He's the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, for crying out loud. It's incumbent on him to be somewhat coherent and conduct himself with at least a little sanity. [...] It seems a little early in Obama's presidency to see Republicans become this deranged. I shudder to think how unhinged they'll be in, say, a year."
• digby: "Richard Shelby left the Democratic party in 1994 finally signaling the final success of the Southern Strategy and the long overdue gathering of all conservatives under the same banner. It was a good day for Democrats. We may be a lot of bad things, but at least we don't have to claim this nasty, braindead piece of work."
• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "Anybody else think Dick Shelby just had himself a Trent Lott moment? And interesting that both men are from the deep south."
• Firedoglake's Teddy Partridge: "Remember all that Bush-era haranguing from the reichwing about Democrats, MoveOn and progressive bloggers undermining the President in a time of war? Now that the Presidency is in Democratic hands, Senator Richard Shelby (D-now-R-Alabama) has decided it's fine to question the legitimacy of our President to serve -- during wartime! Senator Shelby, you give America's enemies comfort with statements like this."

BUNNING: Stay Classy, Senator

Liberal bloggers are also criticizing Sen. Bunning for predicting that Justice Ginsburg will probably die from pancreatic cancer within nine months:

• Daily Kos' Barbara Morrill: "What an insensitive clod. [...] Who would have thought that another Republican Senator could manage to eclipse the stupidity of Richard Shelby this quickly? And by the way, Bunning thinks that Ginsburg is going to be replaced by a conservative judge? Someone may want to clue him in on the most recent presidential election results."
• TAPPED's Adam Serwer: "Fortunately for Senator Bunning, diarrhea of the mouth is not fatal."
• MyDD's Transplanted Texan: "Revolting, no? But hardly surprising -- this is the guy who, in 2004, 'compared his dark-complexioned opponent to one of Saddam Hussein's sons.'"
• TPM's Josh Marshall: "[Bunning is] one class act."

STIMULUS: Bless Those Southern Governers

Conservative bloggers are praising conservative GOP governors like Barbour, Jindal, and Sanford for rejecting some of the federal aid allocated to their states in the stimulus bill:

• AmSpec Blog's Doug Bandow: "Congressional Republicans showed surprising fidelity to principle in opposing the Democrats' big spending pork-ridden 'stimulus' package. But the toughest battle now is occurring among the governors. Men of principle, like South Carolina's Mark Sanford, are opposed by proto-Democrats like California's Arnold Schwarzenegger. [...] This is a moment for the grassroots to speak up. The Republican Party has a chance to regain its voice in opposing wasteful spending. The rank and file need to make clear who speaks for them."
• Hot Air's Allahpundit: "Sweet: Jindal rejects $98 million in stimulus money for Louisiana. In one fell swoop, he's stolen Sanford's thunder as stimulus critic-in-chief. Risky, but I like it. [...] The left will naturally hammer him for hating the poor -- or, per [SC Rep.] Jim Clyburn, black people -- but by framing it as a savings to businesses he can sell it as something that'll produce more employment in the long run."

On the other hand, liberal bloggers are blasting these GOP governors for their actions:

• digby: "I guess Jindahl and Barbour figure they've got four years for the economy to improve enough that their voters won't remember that they put them out on the street during the recession."
• Obsidian Wings' publius: "It's hard to see the spectacle of cash-starved governors refusing money for their constituents as anything other than ideology gone mad."

ECONOMY: The Obama Recession?

Many conservative bloggers are blaming the stock markets' poor performance since Election Day on Obama's economic policies (liberal bloggers, unsurprisingly, dispute this thesis):

• NRO's Jim Geraghty: "On Election Day 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9,625. On Inauguration Day 2009, the DJIA closed at 7,949.09. Today the Dow is at 7,342, down 124 points on the day, and down 600 points in the month since Obama became president. [...] Many factors affect stock prices on any given day, but to the extent that the market has responded to Obama's election and taking office, it has been in one steady direction: down. Doesn't the message seem clear? With massive government borrowing, with higher taxes seen as inevitable, with the government taking from those who did pay their mortgages to bail out those who didn't, with details of much-touted financial rescues still sparse, with demonization of American businesses...who in their right mind would want to invest in a company right now? Why buy stock in companies that are going to be punished six ways to Sunday by an ever-growing government?"
• Commentary's Jennifer Rubin: "[T]he Obama administration, and specifically the boy genius Treasury Secretary, succeeded in wreaking havoc on the markets in a matter of weeks. It is rather remarkable that they thought they'd spur a recovery by talking down the economy, providing no clarity to investors and financial institutions in dire need of some, and coming up with pork-a-thon 'stimulus' bill. One wonders how much wealth has been incinerated (and how long the recession has been prolonged) by a government-induced panic."

Conservative bloggers are also buzzing about some of the recent organized protests against the Obama admin.'s economic measures. Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds are talking about creating a nationwide "Tea Party" movement, inspired by CNBC host Rick Santelli's call for a "Chicago Tea Party" to protest the Obama admin.'s mortgage plan.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Slumdog Backlash

Ezra Klein agrees with Dennis Lim's critique of the newly-crowned Best Picture winner:

"Slumdog Millionaire is really two movies: 'Slumdog' and 'Millionaire.' Slumdog is a grim depiction of acute poverty, ethnic violence, and the terrible havoc deprivation wreaks on men's souls. It is powerful, and some, if not all, of the characters are richly drawn. The relationship between the brothers is complex and compelling. The cinematography is breathtaking.

But Millionaire is much worse: An unconvincing and poorly drawn fantasy. The love story makes little sense, and mistakes a near-pathological fixation for romance. The game show vehicle is smart, but undeveloped: It's a self-conscious narrative gimmick, which is rather the worst kind.

That said, it has a purpose: Slumdog and Millionaire don't hang together, but Millionaire has allowed a fundamentally despairing tale to be sold as an uplifting fable. The theatres would not be nearly so full if the movie were sold as a relentless tale of third world despair. And it's either to the filmmaker's credit or shame that Millionaire ends up unable to detract from Slumdog: Walking out, you know full well that there are a lot of slumdogs, and very few millionaires."

LEST WE FORGET: Sounds Like Someone's Got A Case Of The Mondays

From FMyLife.com:

• Today, I called the campus police to give me a ride to the cafeteria since I am on crutches from knee surgery. I was only halfway into the car when the man started driving and ran over my foot. Now neither my right knee or my left foot work. FML.
• Today, my boyfriend of 2 years sent me a text message saying, "Don't worry I'm gonna break up with her soon. Love you." FML.
• Today, I received my passport in the mail. They got my birthdate wrong. Then I picked up my birth certificate that I had sent in with the application. Turns out my parents have been celebrating my birthday on the wrong day for 16 years. FML.
• Today, I looked at the Facebook of the girl I really liked, and I saw she wrote on her friend's wall "Last night was the biggest mistake of my life." We hooked up last night. FML.
• Today, on the crowded train, a cute guy called me over and told me to stand next to him because there were less people there. We started talking, but he left before I could get his number. Just when I was about to tell my friends about it, I find out that he stole my phone. FML.

Posted by Ian Faerstein at February 23, 2009 01:05 PM