Last week, I noted the most amazing thing about the Rush Limbaugh "slut" saga is that the GOP could barely manage a peep against him. Now TPM is advertising a "tipping point", as "GOPers Start To Turn On Rush Limbaugh." Forgive me, but I just don't see it.
The only two politicians they cite who really can be said to have "condemned" Limbaugh are Carly Fiorina (who I already mentioned) and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) (locked in a tight battle with Elizabeth Warren). Beyond that? It's basically nothing. John Boehner murmers that Limbaugh's comments were "inappropriate" -- roughly as offensive as a Democratic fundraising letter. Rick Santorum called the statement "absurd" but observed that "an entertainer can be absurd". Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) (who in a sense is responsible for this whole mess) barely managed to sneak in a word against Limbaugh as he tried desperately to play the victim. And Mitt Romney? "It's not the language I would have used." Feel the outrage!
No, there's no tipping going on amongst the GOP. They're still as much in thrall of Rush as ever.
Showing posts with label Darrell Issa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darrell Issa. Show all posts
Monday, March 05, 2012
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Silly Studies
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has a list of federal studies he wants to strip funding from. The Wall Street Journal labels the studies in question "silly-sounding research", and it's obvious that Issa -- who, though evil, is no idiot -- selected them as examples of ridiculous, wasteful government programs. Here's a taste:
Is it just me, or are all of these interesting studies? I think it's pretty relevant if video games improve mental health amongst old people. I think we probably want to know the effects of drug and alcohol use amongst our citizen. It's probably pretty valuable to know the rates and effectiveness of condom usage, insofar as we don't like the spread of STDs and unwanted pregnancies. If yoga helps reduce the negative impacts of hot flashes, or a soda tax would improve population health, that's valuable information!
Obviously, one can say simply that we need to cut back on scientific research during a budget crunch. I'm not sure I agree -- I think scientific research and study is the backbone of our economy, and essential to maintaining American dominance in the global marketplace. But as examples, not of discretionary programs we can cut if we have to, but of foolish bureaucrats wasting government resources on frivolity -- I'm unconvinced.
AMENDMENT NO. 417: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of integral yoga on hot flashes in menopausal women.
AMENDMENT NO. 418: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the National Institutes of Health to examine the potential impact of a soda tax on population health.
AMENDMENT NO. 419: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the National Institutes of Health to research the use of marijuana in conjunction with opioid medications, such as morphine.
AMENDMENT NO. 420: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Department of Health and Human Services to study condom use skills in adult males.
AMENDMENT NO. 421: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Department of Health and Human Services to study the concurrent and separate use of malt liquor and marijuana among young adults.
AMENDMENT NO. 422: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the National Science Foundation to study whether video games improve mental health for the elderly.
Is it just me, or are all of these interesting studies? I think it's pretty relevant if video games improve mental health amongst old people. I think we probably want to know the effects of drug and alcohol use amongst our citizen. It's probably pretty valuable to know the rates and effectiveness of condom usage, insofar as we don't like the spread of STDs and unwanted pregnancies. If yoga helps reduce the negative impacts of hot flashes, or a soda tax would improve population health, that's valuable information!
Obviously, one can say simply that we need to cut back on scientific research during a budget crunch. I'm not sure I agree -- I think scientific research and study is the backbone of our economy, and essential to maintaining American dominance in the global marketplace. But as examples, not of discretionary programs we can cut if we have to, but of foolish bureaucrats wasting government resources on frivolity -- I'm unconvinced.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Who Could It Be?
I saw the headline: "GOPer calls Obama administration 'corrupt'", and immediately guessed "Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)!"
And, no surprise, I was right!
Apparently, Issa realized he might of stepped too far when he said Obama himself was "corrupt", but still -- let the witch-hunts begin!
And, no surprise, I was right!
Apparently, Issa realized he might of stepped too far when he said Obama himself was "corrupt", but still -- let the witch-hunts begin!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
House Committee Chairs Released
Here's the list of who will be chairing the various House Committees.
Obviously, no Republican whose in a position to become a Committee chair is going to be someone who I'd truly like to see in the position. But there is some silver lining. John Kline on Education and Labor isn't bad -- I saw him at the first congressional hearing on employment discrimination against the transgendered, and he wasn't bad. Fred Upton on Energy and Commerce is notable because it means Rep. Joe "I'd like to apologize to BP" Barton (R-TX) isn't chairing it, which can only be a good thing.
On the other hand, there are, as expected, some catastrophes. All signs point to Darrell Issa leading a 1990s style witch-hunt against the Obama administration -- something all the more dangerous because Issa is a very smart, very effective, and very incisive Congressman. Putting Peter King -- the man who publicly wondered if Eric Holder is on the side of al-Qaeda (rich given that King is one of the few congressman who did, in fact, openly ally with actual terrorists) -- is a joke. In Lamar Smith, we have an extremist who once spoke at a conference where speakers advocating executing American judges who were insufficiently right-wing.
And then there's all the rest. Paul Ryan has a reputation for wonkishness, but it's not one that seems grounded in any actual mastery of economic facts, so much as it's grading on a massive, massive curve accounting for the anti-intellectual bent of the GOP mainstream. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will insure that our policy towards Cuba will stay on the same failed trajectory it's been on for the past 40 years (and if that means sabotaging Israel, so be it), but other than amount of rhetoric devoted to the issue it's probably no real change. Spencer Bachus at least had the balls to call out Sarah Palin for something.
Agriculture: Frank D. Lucas (Okla.)
Appropriations: Hal Rogers (Ky.)
Armed Services: Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (Calif.)
Budget: Paul Ryan (Wis.)
Education and Labor: John Kline (Minn.)
Energy and Commerce: Fred Upton Mich.)
Financial Services: Spencer Bachus (Ala.)
Foreign Affairs: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.)
Homeland Security: Peter T. King (N.Y.)
Judiciary: Lamar S. Smith (Texas)
Natural Resources: Doc Hastings (Wash.)
Oversight & Government Reform: Darrell Issa (Calif.)
Science & Technology: Ralph M. Hall (Texas)
Small Business: Sam Graves (Mo.)
Transportation & Infrastructure: John L. Mica (Fla.)
Veterans: Jeff Miller (Fla.)
Ways & Means: Dave Camp (Mich.)
Obviously, no Republican whose in a position to become a Committee chair is going to be someone who I'd truly like to see in the position. But there is some silver lining. John Kline on Education and Labor isn't bad -- I saw him at the first congressional hearing on employment discrimination against the transgendered, and he wasn't bad. Fred Upton on Energy and Commerce is notable because it means Rep. Joe "I'd like to apologize to BP" Barton (R-TX) isn't chairing it, which can only be a good thing.
On the other hand, there are, as expected, some catastrophes. All signs point to Darrell Issa leading a 1990s style witch-hunt against the Obama administration -- something all the more dangerous because Issa is a very smart, very effective, and very incisive Congressman. Putting Peter King -- the man who publicly wondered if Eric Holder is on the side of al-Qaeda (rich given that King is one of the few congressman who did, in fact, openly ally with actual terrorists) -- is a joke. In Lamar Smith, we have an extremist who once spoke at a conference where speakers advocating executing American judges who were insufficiently right-wing.
And then there's all the rest. Paul Ryan has a reputation for wonkishness, but it's not one that seems grounded in any actual mastery of economic facts, so much as it's grading on a massive, massive curve accounting for the anti-intellectual bent of the GOP mainstream. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will insure that our policy towards Cuba will stay on the same failed trajectory it's been on for the past 40 years (and if that means sabotaging Israel, so be it), but other than amount of rhetoric devoted to the issue it's probably no real change. Spencer Bachus at least had the balls to call out Sarah Palin for something.
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