Nevada Controller Candidate Apparently Also Running For Worst Person In The World

I read the following press release from the Nevada Democratic Party,

Las Vegas, NV – Ah, Nevada Republicans. You never cease to amaze us in your ability to “out-stupid” each other. Last week, in an op-ed in the Elko-Daily Free Press, Republican nominee for Nevada Controller, Ron Knecht, blamed programs to help sexual assault victims for the rise in the cost of college tuition. No, we’re not making this up – he actually said that.

To be clear: this was not a gaffe or simply a case of misspeaking. The Republican nominee for State Controller proactively wrote an op-ed in a newspaper criticizing programs that help rape victims. He even said colleges should fight new federal guidelines to help victims of sexual assault. (Seriously, who says this?)

“Another week, another outrageous and flat-out boneheaded comment by a Nevada Republican” said Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Zach Hudson. “Ron Knecht’s comments highlight how completely clueless Republicans are when it comes to women’s health. Helping victims of sexual assault isn’t ‘federal overreach,’ and it certainly isn’t to blame for an increase in college tuition -- it's the right thing to do. Knecht needs to come out of the stone age and apologize to Nevada women for this ignorant, irresponsible, and out-of-touch op-ed."

I thought, "No...there has to be more to this story. That's too politically stupid and ridiculous." It turns out there's less. Can there be less to a story like that? I'm not sure I'm making sense because I am actually in shock after reading Ron Knecht's Op-Ed. Don't be deceived Knecht doesn't just mention sexual assault prevention as one campus program that could be cut to save money. His entire crux is "cut sexual assault prevention!" He repeatedly refers to new Department of Education mandates to reduce campus assualt as "nonsense" and complains that attempts to hold campus rapists accountable are an

"expensive, cumbersome, confusing and time-consuming process, and would give plaintiffs and defendants the right to bring in their own outside advisers, including lawyers. But campuses would be under time pressure to speed the proceedings along and make them transparent, even as the new regulations make achieving those goals difficult or impossible."

He is equally disdainful of assault prevention programs lamenting that,

"colleges will become nannies to their students and employees, being required to train them on preventing sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. Further, they will have to compile and publish statistics on all such incidents, while also assuring greater confidentiality protections for plaintiffs."

How do people this misguided even get through life let alone run for higher office? Don't the empathy police come and grab them and make them listen to a recording of their own stupid until they become self-aware? I have read a lot of articles about morally bankrupt politicians saying outrageous things about rape, but I am actually stunned by how tone deaf this is. How is this not already all over the Internet?

I'm going to take a shower and curl up in the fetal position.

Free Advice for Potential Candidates: Don't Be A Gross Weirdo

I offer you guys a lot of free campaign advice, but here's one I never thought I'd have to share: When running for office don't pick your eye boogers and eat them on camera.

"What a strange thing to mention, Nancy" you might say. I bring it up because that's exactly what Oklahoma State Rep, marriage bigot, and Congressional hopeful Mike Turner did earlier this year. Or at least I assume so. I can't actually watch the video because the idea of watching someone eat their own eye crust makes feel the way Mike Turner feels about consensual, loving same-sex relationships. I did however listen to it and I can't help but wonder if the speaker thinks the word "mandate" means being forced to go on a date with a man. So to recap: Gay people getting married soooo disgusting that we should legally abolish all marriage. Treating your body like a booger buffet, totally legit.

Stay Classy, Oklahoma Republicans.

When You Support CampaignSick, It's Actually Going To Fox News

Okay so that would be CRAZY and is absolutely totally not the case, but if the National Republican Congressional Committee has anything to say about it, it's not that far-fetched. The fundraising scheme (and scheme it is) is summed up nicely by Jay Bookman at the Atlantic Journal Constitution.

Kyrsten Sinema is a Democratic congresswoman running for re-election in Arizona. So if you wanted to make a donation to Sinema, you might Google her campaign and find yourself directed to the website http://contribute.sinemaforcongress.com/ .

At the "contribute.sinemaforcongress.com" site, you'd find a large, attractive picture of Sinema, with a large banner reading "Krysten Sinema for Congress" in the same color scheme as her campaign signs, along with a checklist of possible donation amounts.

Except the site is a Republican fundraising site, with contributions going to defeat Sinema. It does say that, in smaller type below the banner: "Make a Contribution Today to Help Defeat Kyrsten Sinema and candidates like her". But by design that single word "defeat" is easy to read past or overlook, and is the only real clue of what's going on. From the URL to the banner headline to the candidate's picture to the candidate's colors, the overwhelming intent of the site is to defraud.

This is pretty freaking gross, you guys and it demonstrates once again both that Republicans don't think their candidates can win on their own merit and that rather than resort to things like more sensible platforms and more likeable candidates, they are all too happy to cheat.

By the way if you still want to support CampaignSick, I promise it will not go to other blogs.

Oh and If You Only VOMIT at One Political Ad...

Hat tip to Buzzfeed for sharing this angry-making, disgusting, fear-mongering piece of political nausea. The irony? Last time I checked it was the Republicans trying to get all up in my lady bits telling me what I can and can't do with my body. Well, a little truth never stopped the people trying to deprive us of healthcare before. Gross.

Truth Is Stranger (Danger) Than Fiction

In case you haven't heard by now, disgraced Congressman and Mayoral candidate. Anthony Weiner confirmed yesterday that he participated more salacious sexting this time under the name of Carlos Danger. Really, the only surprising part here is "Carlos Danger" prompting me to ask the following questions.


1) Is it possible than Anthony Weiner is in fact just a really old looking 15 year old boy?
2) Carlos? He could so not pass for Latino.
3) What were his other options for pseudonyms?
4) At what point do you think he was like "okay, okay, okay I have a foolproof plan not to get caught and it is...?"
5) Do you think he is just being bought off by the stand up comedy lobby?
6) Why is anyone surprised that he's not dropping out? Once you have hubris to run after tweeting your lower case weiner, you pretty much just have the audacity to let it ride.
7) Can you imagine Huma Abadeen's face when he told her this? "Honey, remember that little scandal I got you embroiled in? Well there's just one more thing..."
8) How fast do you think somebody snatched up the Twitter name @carlosdanger?
9) How come all the articles keep calling the messages "sexually tinged"? Is that like a thing people say that I am unaware of?
10) WHO IS VOTING FOR THIS PERSON?

Weiner Danger!

And for your enjoyment, the Carlos Danger name generator.

Infographics to Motivate II: Jobs and Vaginas

A friend (an undecided absentee swing voter in Ohio friend, go get 'em guys) posted a question on his facebook wall about the Democratic plan for job growth and I just happened to have the above info graphic from Center for American Progress handy. Pretty impressive and a pretty stark contrast, no?

The New York Times offers a really awesome interactive tool analyzing which words were used at the conventions and how many times by each party. Important words that were used more by Democrats? "Jobs," "Economy" and most dramatically, "Women." Neither convention made use of the word "Doody." You're welcome, I checked. You can access the tool by clicking here.

From the nerve.com an "if you don't laugh you'll cry" diagram of a woman's body based on right-wing Republican rhetoric. If that's not enough to get you motivated, check out this quiz from Planned Parenthood Action Fund. I'm sure they've reached their fundraising goal by now but it's a good wake up call for anyone who is not yet livid over the Republican War on Women. Talk about, if you're not outraged you're not paying attention.

Today In Voter Suppression

ACLU sues Florida to stop voter purge.

Florida is really messed up guys.

Too Legit To Mitt

Remember when I blogged about my deep and abiding hatred for Urban Outfitters? (If not, here it is.) Jezebel has the scoop on Urban's "ironic" Mitt Romney t-shirts. Spoiler alert, they're not ironic.

Stay Classy, West Virginia

West Virginia, you are not doing yourself any favors in the national imagination. Unless you were afraid that many people had forgotten you were a state, in which case, way to slightly register on the Google Alert election radar. Associated Press:

Just how unpopular is President Barack Obama in some parts of the country? Enough that a man in prison in Texas got 4 out of 10 votes in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary.

The inmate, Keith Judd, is serving time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas, for making threats at the University of New Mexico in 1999. Obama received 59 percent of the vote to Judd's 41 percent.

Wild? Okay. Wonderful might be a stretch.

Some of the reasons were...Appalachian? What's a word for "racist, homophobic or deeply confused as you would expect while recognizing that this does not encompass all residents of West Virginia?" That word. Some reasons were more palatable.

Obama's energy policies and the Environmental Protection Agency's handling of mining-related permits have incurred the wrath of West Virginia's coal industry. With the state the nation's second-biggest producer of this fossil fuel, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Sen. Joe Manchin —both Democrats have championed the industry — have declined to say whether they will support Obama in November. Each overcame low-profile opponents in Tuesday's primary. Manchin refused afterward to say whether he voted for Obama.

Look, even though I don't agree with you, you have the right to vote against the President. But THAT GUY? Said one voter,

"I'm not voting for somebody who's in prison...I just want to vote against Barack Obama."

And she is the reasonable one in this story.

The Best Description of John Edwards I Have Seen In Print

That's a picture of me and one of my coworkers wearing a chicken suit back in 2007, because I was tired of putting the same picture of John Edwards' stupid face up on the internet.

I know I always say this is the last time I am going to give this story credence and nothing remarkable has even happened here, but leave it to Jezebel to say it in exactly the words I would choose. When people ask me about having worked on that campaign (perhaps in an attempt to throw me a bone, no pun intended), they point out that where a guy sticks it has no bearing on his ability to lead our country. We're looking at you FDR and JFK. But here's the thing; granted, we are a hypocritical, puritanical, sex-obsessed society and we would probably be better served leaving politicians' personal lives as just that but John Edwards knew that when he made the decision to run again and he knew that politicians who cheat always get caught and he did it anyway. He put the Democratic nomination in peril, arguably set back the liberal causes for which he stood and what's worse he wasted my bloody time.

So here, without further ado, is my favorite description of why John Edwards is an unmitigated slimeball not written by me:

"A lying, philandering scumbag [who] is the sort of selfish narcissist who endangered the Presidential election for his party in the name of his reputation and his penis."

Also he tricked me.

Onward, Upwards, Edwards,
Nancy

Campaign Manager's Pet Killed

Wow. No sooner do I begin blogging about the destructive forces of violence and irrationality in our political system than a friend sends me this press release:

RUSSELLVILLE—On the heels of a weekend of positive news coverage for the campaign of Democratic Congressional candidate Ken Aden, Aden’s campaign manager returned home to find his family pet slaughtered, with the word “liberal” painted on the animal’s corpse.

The Russellville Police Department is investigating, and a report will be made to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Monday morning.

Jacob Burris, who has served as Aden’s campaign manager since late October, arrived home with his family Sunday evening, and his four children discovered the gruesome scene as they exited the family vehicle to enter their home.

The family pet, an adult, mixed-breed Siamese cat, had one side of its head bashed in to the point the cat’s eyeball was barely hanging from its socket. The perpetrators scrawled “liberal” across the cat’s body and left it on the doorstep of Burris’ house.

“To kill a child’s pet is just unconscionable,” Aden said Monday morning. “As a former combat soldier, I’ve seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. Whoever did this is definitely part of the worst of humanity,” he said.

“It is one thing to engage in civil political discourse, and for Republicans and Democrats to disagree with each other, which is an expected part of the political process. Taking it to this level is beyond unacceptable,” Aden said.

While the campaign between Aden and incumbent Congressman Steve Womack has heated up in recent months, Aden said they did not believe the Womack campaign to be responsible. “Although we have certainly disagreed and engaged in a great deal of civil discourse, I do not believe in any way that Congressman Womack or his campaign had anything to do with this incident,” Aden said.

He noted that, before Christmas, KRUM Radio, a station owned by Womack’s father, actually promoted a toy drive held by Aden’s campaign for children in the Third District. “We suspect this is the action of a rogue individual or group of individuals who are the type of folks that stoop to the lowest common denominator instead of engaging in civil political discourse,” Aden said. “It is unfortunate this has occurred, and we will await the results of the police and federal investigations,” Aden said.

I couldn't even come up with an appropriate graphic for this post. It does remind me of this West Wing clip, which has embedding disabled. This stuff is not about taxes and immigration. It is about bad people filled with hate. It happens on both sides...but I'm inclined to say that the people who protest abortion clinics screaming at terrified teenagers with pictures of bloody fetuses are more likely to pull this kind of thing.

I just...wow.

Taking Back Religion: Weak

There's already a lot being said about this ad all over the internet, so I will let your own conclusions about what my thoughts might be. It is so offensive, such a parody of itself, that I would totally buy it as Jason Sudeikis in a wig.

My only explanation is that Rick Perry is throwing a Hail Mary, or as we liberals call it, a Homosexual Gaga.

"All Faggots Must Die"

I try not to get too much into the political/legislative side of stuff on here, but this just made my stomach turn.

The above quote was posted from an IP address in Saxby Chambliss' US SENATE OFFICE in Georgia as comment on a blog about the DADT Cloture Vote (Don't even get me started on that one.)

Gross.

Just in case you needed a reason to go to work tomorrow.