Un-American Bullshit | Frist and the Nut-Jobs Who Give Christians a Bad Name

One of the greatest lines from any Woody Allen movie is delivered by Max von Sydow in Hannah and Her Sisters when the great Nordic thespian grumbles, “if Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up.”

That line comes to mind every day when I read the news it seems.

There is not much I can add to the Frist angle: The Times and Post each have their expected take on Justice Sunday (Nuremberg Rally). And of course, blogland is awash in fantastic analysis; Josh Marshall and the good people at Kos have excellent insight (hell, just go down my blogroll for everything you want to know).

I just want to highlight two aspects of the kind of bullshit the GOP and Christian Fringe are arming themselves with.

Charles W. Fucking Colson says that Democrats and the Judiciary "are destroying the balance of power, which was a vital Christian contribution to the founding of our nation."

Say what? He’s saying that the balance of power was a Christian initiated concept?… Do I even have to write it? Bull-Fucking-Shit!

First of all, Colson is using the tried-and-true GOP trick of accusing the opposition of the very criminal rampage they themselves wield with guiltless abandon.

But what’s all this bullshit about “Christian contribution to the founding of our nation"? Fuck you, Chuck! There is no escaping the fact that the founders consulted their (Christian) faith at the genesis of our nationhood: it’s on our money, in our courts (swearing on the bible) and in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution… but even assuming that this is true (which it is not) the beauty of our country (theoretically) is that we make secular laws that span faith and socio/political philosophies… that’s the ideal, anyway… what we’ve supposedly been fighting for, dieing for, and evolving towards for more than 200 years (not there yet, but up until December 2000 that’s where we were headed). It is unambiguously clear that these soulless fiends (Cheney, Bush, Frist, DeLay, etc.) think otherwise and will stop at nothing… NOTHING!… to make their twisted schemes reality.

In addition, interspersed with all the un-American bullshit shoveled out in Louisville last night viewers were repeatedly encouraged to contact their congressional representatives, some of whom James “Savage Ogre” Dobson referred to as "six or eight very squishy Republicans"… I say everyone should contact their Senators and Congresspeople and urge them NOT to allow Frist and his pious phonies hijack the nation.

No Bullshit | Friday Cat Blogging

The Lush Life

Insane Bullshit | David Brooks Strikes Again

It's confirmed. All evidence unmistakably indicates that David Brooks is, at once, both completely crazy and a total fucking duchebag.

Case in point: Today's befalling harangue against, ostensibly, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun and the Roe v Wade decision... the reality, however, is that Brooks has larger nuts to crack... unfortunately, he never focuses the nut cracking in on himself; the inner psychic gobbledygook that fuels this thing, David Brooks, would be a much more interesting story to tell.

What we get, instead, is this kind of loopy bullshit:

Religious conservatives became alienated from their own government, feeling that their democratic rights had been usurped by robed elitists. Liberals lost touch with working-class Americans because they never had to have a conversation about values with those voters; they could just rely on the courts to impose their views. The parties polarized as they each became dominated by absolutist activists.

[emphasis mine]

There are several cockamamie assertions and false assumptions at work in just this small portion of his column today.

First, Brooks asserts that somehow, by acknowledging that more than half of all American citizens (namely, women) have a right to do what they feel is best for their own health without the government having a say in matters... that by having to actually make that legal (how could it be otherwise in a "free" society?) the Supreme Court ("robe elitists"), Blackmun in particular, had somehow stripped the Constitutional rights from another large segment of Americans: Religious Conservatives. You've got to be shitting me! Where in the Constitution is it written that religious fuck-wads have the right to impose their crackpot views on other citizens? Brooks' statement is a little like saying that the Emancipation Proclamation is unconstitutional because it stripped white southern males of their Constitutional right to own human beings. What the fuck?

Secondly, Brooks writes that "Liberals" (look out! it's the liberals again!) lost touch with the values of "working-class" Americans over this issue because the Liberals were too stubborn to listen to other people's views. Many things wrong here, but the big one is that Brooks assumes that this ill-defined segment he calls working-class all believe that abortion should be outlawed. I mean... come on Dave... let's get serious. But the last bit is worse: He blatantly asserts that Liberals rely on the courts to "impose their views". So, what's DeLay up to as we speak? He's set out on an aggressive campaign to force the judiciary to fall in line with his hard-right views!

Maybe Liberals do "rely" on the courts to impose their lefty views... I think not... but today's GOP are attempting to impose their views on the courts! and that my friends is a breach of power. It is also un-Constitutional.

Holy Moses! You should read the whole ragged argument for yourself. It's pretty nauseating, but with the right amount of booze it might also be good for a few laughs.

The Bullshit's Back

After a short hiatus, Bullshit Express is back and angrier than ever.

In the past week the U.S. Political machine has not changed much, but the GOP continues to confound and irritate us... and all signs show an ominous power battle in the Congress is inevitable; Republicans are digging their heels in as their internal polls show the public doesn't much like the way they are re-crafting the Constitution in an arrogant attempt to create a permanent GOP majority.

Times are getting darker by the day and there is much to cover. Check back here frequently as the Express gets back on track with all the mind boggling bullshit.

In the mean time, here is a small sampling of bullshit to keep an eye on:

Bolton Bullshit:
Yes... even after a week we are still knee-deep in Bolton. This story has had several twists and cliffhangers, and now we wait to see how many more skeletons will be leaping out of his closet. Despite the welcome, though unexpected, support from Voinovich on Tuesday - and the suggestion that Hagel now has questions about the great mustachioed one's past - all eyes are back on Chafee. When all this started, Chafee was the focal point for the minority... the guy everyone thought was a lock against Bush's embattled nominee. But then Chafee caved to the GOP leadership, signaling that he was ready to vote in favor... and then Voinovich saved the day, stealing Linc's "moderate Republican" thunder. Now Chafee is singing another tune, saying he is NOT inclined to vote in favor after all... Make up you mind Senator! The Post has all the basic info.

Santorum's nuclear jitters:
Will Frist, pushed hard by characters like Rick Santorum, destroy the judicial filibuster or not?... the jury is still out, but now it seems Rick may be having second thoughts... not because he has seen the light, but because he is now facing stiff opposition to his re-election next year and needs to soften his image by moving towards the center (attempting to mimic the motions and sounds of a higher primate). Alexander Bolton's got the goods in this Hill piece.

Speaking of Frist:
With the Whit House on his mind, Senator Frist is gearing up for battle over judicial nominees... but the real story is his cheerleading and insistence on fanning the flames of the building culture war during a scheduled appearance this Sunday at a telecast hosted by ultra-conservative (lunatic fringe) Family Research Council. This will be the opening shot before he attempts to dismantle the filibuster next week... right before breaking for Congressional recess... shrewd move Bill... but we'll be watching and listening!

Energy Crisis:
Not quite yet, but pump prices are rising and the President has no real plans to alleviate the crunch. The Guardian has some unsettling things to report... This one could get ugly.

Lastly, what would Thursdays be without David Brooks?

It's good to be back in the saddle. Stay tuned for more bullshit.

If it Smells Like Bullshit...| Bush on Iraq

In a typically jingoistic speech to U.S. troops at Fort Hood this past Wednesday, President Bush said, "as the Iraq democracy succeeds, that success is sending a message from Beirut to Tehran that freedom can be the future of every nation."*

Hmmm... depends on what you mean by success I guess. Take a look at the latest Iraqi dispatches and judge for yourself:

U.S. and Iraqi troops raided a town on Saturday to rescue 150 Shi'ite hostages whom Sunni rebels have threatened to kill in a standoff that raised fears sectarian violence in Iraq could spiral out of control. [emphasis mine]

I sure as shit hope what's happening in Iraq today does not spread to Beirut and Tehran.

A suicide bomber entered a restaurant in Baquba, northeast of the Iraqi capital, and killed at least nine people, including six policemen, on Saturday...

In Haditha, some 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Baghdad, gunmen killed police chief Hussein al-Jughaifee, his son, nephew and cousin, and then blew up his house...

A U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb that targeted an armored column near Taji, a town just north of Baghdad...

I suddenly feel less inclined to be snarky since the beginning of this post.

*"as the Iraq democracy"... christ! Our president is such a massive embarrassment.

Bullshit Watch | Help Keep Pat Roberts Honest

Sen. Pat Roberts seems determined to save Bush some embarrassment on how the president's subordinates crafted their bullshit case for war with Iraq out of intelligence that was either wrong or didn't exist... in other words he's helping the Bush team kill a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigation that could show that the administration and Defense policy makers LIED!

The Editors of the New Republic have this to say:

the question of how the Bush administration used the intelligence it had available was beyond the commission's narrow mandate... Only an official investigation can settle why this happened. Which is exactly what Roberts is refusing to conduct, despite promising, when the Senate report was released last July, that "I have told everybody on the other side of the aisle, everybody on our side of the aisle, 'We'll proceed with phase two. It is a priority.' I made my commitment, and it will be done." Over the last month, Roberts has displayed irritation when asked when he will keep his promise, contending that another investigation wouldn't "achieve any possible progress." Of course, if Roberts is tired of being dogged by suggestions that he's enabling a whitewash, he knows exactly how to dispel them.

No shit.

I say we help Pat with the honesty thing. Send the Senator an email urging him to do the honorable thing: 1 - Keep his promise to the American people and his own colleagues; 2 - don't let the administration continue to play us for the suckers they take us for.

Also, send Pat's co-chair, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, an email encouraging him to keep the pressure up... don't wimp out on us Rocky!

Addendum:
The following is the email I just sent to Senator Roberts:

Dear Senator Roberts,

My father taught me that a man is only as good as his word... That a man can't be trusted if he makes promises that he doesn't intend to keep.

Well, sir, you have promised the American people, as well as your co-chair on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - Senator Jay Rockefeller, to delve into the mystery of how the Bush administration managed to take embarrassingly poor intelligence and craft it into a case for war. Blaming the CIA just doesn't cut it.

Please keep your word, senator. Do the right thing and move on to Phase 2.

Regards

The Week in Bullshit | The Contenders

Who's going to take the prize this week?

• Frist


• DeLay


• Name any Republican

The anticipation mounts! The competition fierce!

Stay tuned

To see which way we're leaning read this. The key lines are the first two:

Right-wing Christian groups and the Republican politicians they bankroll have done much since the last election to impose their particular religious views on all Americans. But nothing comes close to the shameful declaration of religious war by Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, over the selection of judges for federal courts.

Correct.

Repeat after me: Armageddon!

Frightened yet?

Bullshit After Dark | What Terrorists?

This is truly stunning.

The State Department decided to stop publishing an annual report on international terrorism after the government's top terrorism center concluded that there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985, the first year the publication covered... current and former officials charged that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's office ordered [the report] eliminated several weeks ago because the 2004 statistics raised disturbing questions about the Bush's administration's frequent claims of progress in the war against terrorism.

Didn't someone tell us (over and over and over again right before last November) that Bush and his steroid-dripping mid-east policies were winning the "war on terror"?

This seems to be how things work: If Bush's "vision" gets bad press (or no press at all) he will buy journalists to compose fictional "news" pieces... If a State Department report indicates that he is not doing his job in the one area that got him re-elected (the one area that mystifyingly keeps his job approval numbers above 30%)... well, then kill the report.

Our president and his dopy band of sycophants are so full of shit I'm sometimes not sure how to comment. They stupefy me.

I know this question is beating a dead horse... but how did this nimrod get re-elected?

No Bullshit | Cat Blogging

Professor von Fur & Pig

Bullshit After Dark | Frist is Outa Control!

It's a Frist Doubleheader on Friday... Both the NY Times & WaPo are running frontpage stories focusing on Frist's plan to take over the world... uh, I mean the Senate, or, uh, the presidency... (which is it again?)

From the Times:

As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.

Break out the popcorn and whiskey! It's gonna be better than the Superbowl (of course, not much could be worse... right?).

And the Post has it's own spin on Fristian bullshit:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is all but certain to press for a rule change that would ban filibusters of judicial nominations in the next few weeks, despite misgivings by some of his fellow Republicans and a possible Democratic backlash that could paralyze the chamber, close associates said yesterday.... Frist says he is basing his decision on constitutional principles, not politics

Let's read that again:"Frist says he is basing his decision on constitutional principles, not politics"!

Holy Christ! That one is just staggering...

Bullshit! Bullshit! BULLSHIT!

Tomorrow should be a great day in blogland... get pleanty of sleep... rest those eyes and mouse-hands... massage that clicking finger

Bullshit Takes a Holiday | 36 Hours of Peace

My sister is in town for her 50th birthday... so no bullshitting for the next day or so (with the exception BS Express' inaugural Friday cat blog).

Check back over the weekend... (if you're really, really... terribly desperate for something to do)

This weekend we will launch 3 new weekly features:

The Week in Bullshit - So many contenders, too little patience to parse it all

Give My Regards to Bullshit - Weekend entertainment round-up

Sunday Night Bullshit - Anticipating the god-awful week to come

An so much more.

Come on back, now.... ya hear?

Too Early for this Bullshit | Hey Look, It's David Brooks Thursday!

You ever get the feeling that David Brooks isn't really cut out to be a columnist? I always get the sense that he never knows what to write about; he just starts writing and eventually there are enough words on the paper to meet his contractual obligations.

Don't get me wrong, he's a talented writer, pretty good at allusions to points he may or may not believe in (you can never really be sure with that guy) and always manages to give his pieces the illusion of structure. But can anybody tell me what the point of any column is?

I'm not going to deconstruct it here, but take this mornings little masterpiece. He bookends his screed with a very Brooksian staple: Playing both sides of the fence, however supporting one side over the other while he heaps subtle sarcasm and false praise on the other. Today he begins and ends saying that he doesn't really like Bolton's style or foreign policy views, but it's those things he doesn't like that make Bolton a good pick for the UN.

What?

For the rest of the column Boy David proceeds to explain to us why the UN will never be what he implies it and it's Lefty supporters want it to be: World Government (Yikes! Run for the hills!)... He's also good enough to help us understand why such notions are pure fantasy... Huh? When was the last time any serious American politician championed the cause of setting up a World State... I think that might have been Lex Luthar from Superman VII who suggested that. I mean really, is this even an issue?

Brooks very helpfully lists numerically all the reasons World Government won't work. Second on his list is this idiotic statement:

we will never accept global governance because it inevitably devolves into corruption. The panoply of U.N. scandals flows from a single source: the lack of democratic accountability. These supranational organizations exist in their own insular, self-indulgent aerie.

Come again? Ever hear the name Tom DeLay?

Jesus! What is he talking about? This isn't limited to international organizations alone, Dave; corruption and existing in one's own "insular, self-indulgent aerie" seem to be the core modus operandi for Bush and the GOP establishment.

Read the whole mystifying thing for yourself.

Bullshit After Dark | Is This Guy Joking, or What?

Does anyone give out awards for Stupidest Mind-Boggling Shithead? Check this out:

Joe Cari, who served as national finance director of the Democratic National Committee in 2000, said “general-election electability will be a driving factor” in 2008.

I mean... am I reading that right? Are these the people we have working for us? Great analysis... you could get the same advice for nothing in a fortune cookie. general-election electability will be a driving factor in the next election??? Why not try this one on for size: unmitigated sleaze is a driving force in becoming a member of the GOP leadership

This insane piece of stupefying gibberish comes from a piece in today's issue of The Hill. Alexander Bolton makes some interesting points about the 2008 presidential election.

I must admit... even though I salivate like Pavlov's wolfhound every time I read even the most far-out speculation about the next presidential contest, I sort of feel like discussing the whole thing now is a little like talking about dinner just after you've eaten a really rancid lunch.

Even so, one can expect such wonkish navel-gazing to show up here sometime in the future.

Never-ending Bullshit | DeLay Update

DeLay is full of shit.

But so is anyone who buy's his second-hand bullshit.

This Just In from the AP

U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who denounced judges involved in the court battle over Terri Schiavo, said on Wednesday he has requested a congressional review of the brain-damaged woman's "right-to-die" case.

You've got to be shitting me!. This punk has absolutely no shame!

Also check out this little nugget:

Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, head of the House Republican campaign committee, scoffed at efforts to oust DeLay, saying, "Nothing gives Tom DeLay more strength than a situation where Democrats are foaming at the mouth to defeat him."

More bullshit of this ilk to come, no doubt!

Stay tuned!

The Day in Bullshit | DeLay Plays the Blame Game

You've gotta love Tom "Total Fucking Scumbag" DeLay. Even when you hate him more than death, taxes, or Bush... you gotta love him.

The utter gall is staggering... the diabolical shiftiness sinister... the hair... laughable... we digress.

Tom DeLay redefines the term Hubris. He not only redefines it, he obliterates it; re-builds it, and makes it even more rank and offensive.

During a "regularly scheduled weekly lunch" (yeah, right) DeLay urged his GOP brethren to keep the faith... win one for the gipper... and ya know what? The hat-in-hand seems to have had it's intended effect. After the lunch Sen. Trent Lott was quoted as saying, "I hope he survives, and I hope he will stay in there and do his job... That's the problem, you know, Republicans eat their own. ... Democrats stand by their own until hell freezes over" [I'm not sure I get that last part].

This AP article rounds up the game rules according to Tom. Choice bit:

Officials said DeLay recommended that senators respond to questions by saying Democrats have no agenda other than partisanship, and are attacking him to prevent Republicans from accomplishing their legislative program. One Republican said the Texan referred to a "mammoth operation" funded by Democratic supporters and designed to destroy him as a symbol of the Republican majority.

DeLay is holding on to power like a rabid rottweiler sinking it's fangs into sleeping bunny... but I do detect the odor of fear.

Tom even went so far as to thank Rick "Bleeding Sea-Hag" Santorum:

DeLay also thanked Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., for his recent comments and said the news media had twisted them to make them sound critical, the officials added, all speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ahhhh, the evil "news media"...

Haven't we seen this bullshit before? It's the same old crap... it's the media, the crafty leftist conspiracy... please.

The American people don't seem willing to accept the blame game this time, Tom.

Any way you cut it, this is the line of pure, un-cut bullshit the GOP intends to dish-out in the months to come. Let's get used to it and use it wisely against them. As of this writing the Democrats have a small push of momentum behind them in this long struggle to come... let's not loose it.

Take a moment to send Tom DeLay and email to let him know he's full of shit and his days are numbered.

And while you're at it, send a note of support to the Democratic leadership and let them know you back the resistance!

Other Juicy DeLay background (via Kos)

Bullshit Alert | Chafee Syndrome Infecting Centrist Democrats

No one said the coming battle would be easy.

We've noted here on this blog the difficulties RI Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee faces in his attempt to give his constituents what they want (RI is solidly Democratic) while simultaneously playing water boy to Frist and the rest of the GOP money machine and their radical right agenda. Santorum and Shays are also feeling the heat.

But pragmatic (if not ethically responsible) Republicans who see the realities of staying centrist going into 2006 are not the only ones beginning to freak out over the consequences of the impending Congressional power/culture war the Republican nut-jobs are so determined to force down our throats [the filibuster, attacks on the judiciary, radical legislation, etc].

This article from The Hill sheds light on the precipice on which Harry Reid teeters.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is trying to "compromise" with Evil Overlord Frist... offering him a deal that has the unmistakable scent of BULSHIT:

Nelson has suggested to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and his own party’s leadership a proposal that would automatically discharge judicial nominees from the Judiciary Committee after a certain amount of time if the panel failed to vote on them. Under Nelson’s proposal, after another set period any senator could then call nominees discharged from committee to the floor for a confirmation vote. The proposal would be implemented as a permanent change to Senate rules.

What kind of deal is this?!?! It still castrates the Democratic minority.

Nelson and other Democrats in his position have legitimate concerns, but they should take those concerns to Reid and other Dem leaders instead of negotiating with the minions of Hell.

Bullshit After Dark | Kurtz Does a Drudge

I'm not sure I want to devote a whole, albeit small, post to Howard (douchebag) Kurtz... but his run-down of topical news today ended with the famous Post media expert throwing a bone to Drudge:

Obviously Drudge is very good at touting forthcoming books and articles, so he gives a good ride to "The Truth About Hillary" by former NYT Magazine and Vanity Fair contributor Edward Klein. But without the specifics, how fair is the following blind quote?

"'The revelations in it should sink her candidacy,' a source close to Klein warns the DRUDGE REPORT."

Howie is pretty slick, no? It's typical flim-flam with faux-journalistic flash... First he chides the Bard of Tabloid Bullshit for printing an inflammatory blind quote, only to follow-up in the next sentence with the very same quote! Christ, you can almost hear Kurtz drooling with impish glee as he tapped that one out.

Or is he just trying to be cute (an attempt at post-modern irony)?

It may seem clearer after another cup of sake.

Bottom line: Who gives a crap?

The Day in Bullshit | National Review Editors Guzzle the Koolaid

In the words of our infamous POTUS: Bring it On!

Today's Day in Bullshit spotlight shines on the Editors of the National Review.

The National Review Editorial page never stops sucker-punching me with vulgar displays of stupidity, arrogance, and bigotry. Check out today's little gem!

Boy... after the endless cascade of negative press, the Republican Leadership sure seems hell-bent on saving Tom DeLay's slimy skin. Hook Line and Sinker... I say, go for it!

Has anyone ever heard of a little term like Wedge?

As deadbeats the likes of Santorum, Chafee and Shays (all serving at the good graces of Democratic states) slip the doomed SS Hammer (throw in that true disappointment, John McCain) we still don't have any DeLay comments from the actual Leadership (Hastert and Frist - both Grade A scumbags). And what does Bush think?... good luck getting a straight answer out of that skunk.

The more the GOP core wraps a phalanx around DeLay, the easier it will be to replace some of them with Democrats in 2006.

Sink or swim, it's win/win for Democrats (as long as they keep their freaking mouths shut! Play it close and low-key)

Update - 10:58 p.m.
The AP is reporting tonight (via WoPo) that the "White House [is] Supportive of Embattled DeLay"...

In his typically gutless manner, Bush had his ventriloquist dummy, Scott McClellan, issue this piece of formless nonsense:

"Majority Leader DeLay is someone the president considers a friend. And he is someone he has worked closely with to get things done in Washington... The president looks forward to continuing to work closely with the majority leader to get things done on behalf of the American people..."

Talk about not saying shit about shit!

I wonder if DeLay finds any comfort at all in that useless vox diarrhea?

Grandmaster of Bullshit | Is Bush a Total Dick, or What?

This is too good! (via Wonkette):

Priceless! (best part of the video on the left comes towards the end when Georgie takes the Lord's Name in vain followed by a very snarky, very tellingly Bushian "God Bless you all" - notice that famous shit-eatin' grin... man the guy is such a creep!).

Bush exclaiming "Jesus!" like that really highlights the suggestion that he may currently be the greatest Grandmaster of Bullshit with all his self-righteous Born Again crap... what a dick!

The Same Old Bullshit | What's Chafee Up To?

We will be watching this today (via Raw Story):

A second Senate Republican facing a difficult election next year suggested Monday that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay needs to do more to address ethics accusations leveled against him recently.

“We’ve got to uphold the highest standards of legality and ethics,'’ Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., said Monday. “You can’t have your leader under a cloud. It makes it difficult to run.”

Read the whole thing.

Also checkout how Santorum is beginning to move center... though I'm not sure moving from Bible-Thumping-Pollyanna to Fire-Breathing-Hell-Spawn can be considered a move towards center... Josh Marshall has this to say about where all roads may be headed.

Regardless, Chafee is on thin ice in Rhode Island. There are two strong Democrats breathing down his neck leading into 2006. Chafee may give his party leaders Bolton and his constituents back home a stand against DeLay. Either way, Chafee is now showing himself to be the sniveling rodent he is. RI Dems take note!

Updated - 3:56 p.m.
The Hill has the low down on the painful fix Chafee is in. This bit, in my mind, points to the heart of matters:

This weekend, just a few days after he will vote on the controversial nomination of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) will fly to Nashville, where he will attend a fundraiser with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

The timing of the two events is coincidental, but it points to the difficult political terrain that Chafee must negotiate this year. Despite his reputation as the Republican most likely to cross party lines and issue blunt statements critical of the Bush administration, Chafee is relying on solid Republican leadership support in what is shaping up to be a tough reelection campaign....

[on the Bolton vote] Chafee’s press secretary, Stephen Hourahan, said yesterday that Chafee “is waiting to make up his mind.”

Don't keep us waiting long Linc!

However, the AP is just now reporting that Chafee is leaning toward giving Bush his golden Bolton

the pivotal Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, said he was "still inclined" to vote to confirm Bolton, who is now undersecretary of state for arms control.

I'm still hoping Chafee makes me out to be a dumb-ass for bad-mouthing him. I say we keep the pressure high. Send Chafee an email urging him to stop being a GOP stooge! The money may dry up, but Rhode Islanders may also rally around a candidate who stands up for their wishes over those of the Republican oligarchy.

The Day in Bullshit | Shays v Rohrabacher/GOP

On a day that saw it's fair share of bullshit (Bolton, to name but one example) I would like to focus in on this enchanting piece of crap...

Connecticut Republican Rep. Chris Shays' comments over the weekend, distancing himself from House Majority Leader (scumbag) Tom DeLay (Shays said, among other things, "He [DeLay] knows that . . . if he ever runs for speaker, I get to vote on the House floor, and my 'No' vote combined with the Democrats means he will never be speaker... one of the things I want to say here is that Tom DeLay will never be speaker in Congress.") were both responsible and comical. Given that he backed the recent passage of a House rule that rigged the Ethics Committee to shield DeLay from earlier scandal, Shays is ripe for the Bullshit of the Day award. But it gets better.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA responded by saying, "I think that Chris Shays again has demonstrated he's totally out of touch with what the mainstream of the Republican members of Congress are feeling and that he is disloyal to the party and to people as individuals... you've got jerks like Chris Shays who get notoriety by being disloyal to their fellow Republicans."

Disloyal to Republicans? Out of touch with the mainstream of REPUBLICANS? What about his constituents? Is Shays representing the people of his state or the Party? As a congressman from a "liberal" state he sure as shit better track against DeLay (weasel). [Lincoln Chafee should take note with regards to his Bolton vote: Will Chafee A). Vote against, as the majority of his constituents probably want; B). Vote the Party line (or else); C). melt into a blob of jelly during tomorrow's questioning... I'm leaning towards C]...

It's a tough choice, but I'd have to call the Day in Bullshit in favor of Rohrabacher... If I gave out awards for Two-Faced Fuck of the Day it would go to Shays... make everyone happy...

Feel free to contact Rep Rohrabacher to tell him he's full of shit: dana@mail.house.gov.