republican party

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a waiter. For seven years. Before PCs. Back in the age of LPs and carbon paper. I remember one customer who, after he'd signed his credit card receipt and I handed him his copy, asked me to give him the carbons (back then we used carbon paper).

I must have had a puzzled look on my face because he asked if I knew why he wanted them. I didn't. He explained that it was because criminals sometimes go dumpster diving for carbons to steal credit card numbers. Huh? It would never have occurred to me, I said. That's because you don't have a criminal mind, he replied. Maybe for the first time it dawned on me that it takes a certain bent of mind to turn one's creativity to criminal mischief.

All that is preface to Ari Berman's new Nation  essay, "How the GOP Is Resegregating the South." In their vanity, some liberals like to think of themselves as more intelligent and creative than their conservative counterparts, but Berman shows just how creatively Republicans of a certain bent have twisted the Voting Rights Act to renovate their Southern Strategy and dilute minority influence -- by packing as many minority voters into as few congressional districts as possible.

In virtually every state in the South, at the Congressional and state level, Republicans—to protect and expand their gains in 2010—have increased the number of minority voters in majority-minority districts represented overwhelmingly by black Democrats while diluting the minority vote in swing or crossover districts held by white Democrats.

Just because the media is tiptoeing around mentioning this doesn't mean I have to. From S&P's explanation of the U.S. debt downgrade:

Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

And this:

I am very troubled, even hurt, by what I see in America today. Intellectually I understand the falling and the raising of political fortunes as well as the gulf which separates so many Americans ideologically, socially, financially and politically. There are vast differences of opinion among us regarding how we can, or should go forward as a world power, a prosperous nation and a place where we can all be free to pursue happiness without unnecessary interference, or encumbrance by our government, or anyone else for that matter.

Our diverse views, each strongly held,have been with us ever since the founding of our nation and yet over the past ten years something has changed. The “We The People” part has changed. It has been weakened. Political forces, I believe, have finally succeeded in convincing much of America that, as a people, we exist in two separate and opposing camps which can never reconcile their differences. Something new has reached us ... something bad ... something not cognizant of how we became so great through the very diversity it opposes ... and it's tearing us apart.

Well, not yet anyway. But why not drop the pretense of redistricting and elections and just cut to the chase?

Yesterday in Raleigh, state Senate lawmakers advanced another bill aimed at making voting harder for North Carolinians who actually make it into the voting booth after clearing the other hurdles the GOP-led legislature has proposed. Reporter Laura Leslie put it succinctly [emphasis mine]:

An update to last week's post, "Everyone knows mass transit is key: CLT, Raleigh GOPers scramble to assure constituents."

The funding for light-rail projects in Charlotte is back -- at the request of Speaker Tillis. Why? Because everyone knows mass transit is key. You can tell by the way the GOPers scrambled to explain the potential cuts to their Charlotte and Raleigh metro constituents. Lordy be... there's a good feeling that comes 'round from being right.

More after the jump...

(Crossposted from Sex, Cash & Politics)

A new study from the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA) at the university’s School of Public Health provides as much reason as we’ve ever had before to support efforts to build public and mass transit systems.

Just as the North Carolina Senate unveils and debates their Charlotte-light-rail-stripping proposals — and as Charlotte and Raleigh GOP politicians scramble to assure their constituents that such projects are still viable — this new study shows a direct correlation between increased traffic congestion and public health costs stemming from premature deaths and other health risks resulting from air pollution caused by vehicle emissions, in particular fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx).

The new state legislative Republican majority is already moving on its effort to undermine health care reform. HB 2, their first bagful of sand in the gears of health care, is laughingly mis-named the “Protect Health Care Freedom” bill.

Protect health care freedom? HB 2 would be more accurately known as the “Protect Freedom from Affordable Health Care” or perhaps “Protect Freedom to Suffer from Lack of Health Care” bill.

Please join me in telling your legislative representatives, and the media, that this is unacceptable—and why. I’ve copied my message to my own legislators below. Please write your own. We cannot stay silent.

Renee Ellmers has pledged to oppose all earmarks.......but right after making that pledge she revealed that she didn't really know what an earmark was.

Renee Ellmers based her campaign on repealing health care reform.......but she says she will probably sign up for the federal health care plan that is offered to congressmen and women.

Renee Ellmers wants a smaller federal government.........but her district is home to Ft. Bragg and the local governments are being overwhelmed as a result of BRAC.

Cross-posted from an article by Chris Kromm at the Institute for Southern Studies.

Ask a casual political observer to name the nation's biggest Republican operatives, and a few would come readily to mind. Most could you tell you about Karl Rove -- the legendary Bush adviser and GOP strategist who this year aims to spend $52 million by November to help elect conservative candidates.

Some might even know Charles and David Koch, the Kansas-based oil billionaires who have poured over a hundred million dollars since 1980 into conservative causes and spent millions more on political candidates and lobbyists.

In case you missed it... although I beg to differ with the "half" part of Rove's description:

Karl Rove and other top Republican operatives have created a new network of political organizations in order to mimic pro-Democratic groups and move from what Rove calls “a half-assed rightwing conspiracy” to a unified force capable of regaining Republican control of Congress and the White House – with big money the glue holding it all together.

(from Democracy NC's Link of the Day)