Hillary Clinton says Something Obvious about Iraq. Teapublicans lack the Courage to do Likewise.

Hillary Clinton has finally come out and said something completely obvious and true: she said that her vote to give Gee Dubya authority to invade Iraq was a mistake. And that the Iraq war itself was a mistake. Good on her for stepping up when all of the “Republican” Presidential candidates lacked the intestinal fortitude to acknowledge the facts.

Given that each and every reason for Operation Iraqi Liberation (or OIL, for short) turned out be incorrect at best or a farrago of lies at worst, most people on planet Earth already knew that OIL was a huge f***-up, caused by a motley assortment of deluded fools, greedy crooks, and sociopaths (some of them, like Dickless Cheney, were all of the above). And that the lot of them were “led” by a cowardly, coke-headed, draft-dodging, illegitimate occupant of the White House who was driven primarily by his daddy issues. So it’s not surprising that Ms. Clinton is aware of these facts.

What IS surpising is that her statement is, well, surprising. It is notable. It is seen as a brave, bold move. And that, Gentle Reader, is a very sad thing indeed. A politician stating something obvious, fact-based, and backed by all the available evidence? This has become an unusual event.

Meanwhile, the Teapubbies are unwilling, unable, or just too s***-scared to do likewise. They can’t, or they won’t, tell the truth. It took Jebbie Bush a week to kinda-sorta-maybe-mostly admit that his Eedjit-In-Chief brother f***ed up, ferchrissakes. That got a little press, but not much, because it is what we’ve become used to these days. Cowardly politicos, unwilling to fess up to even the most basic facts for fear of losing votes. Normal American politics.

This is how far America’s “leaders’ have fallen – stating the obvious is too risky for them. Kudos to Hillary Clinton for being an exception to the rule. Maybe she’s not as gutsy as often as, say, Bernie Sanders, but it’s a step in the right direction. And it’s another indicator of which party sucks worse, and which party needs flung out of power on its elephantine ear.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Here is why Obama “can’t work with Congress”:

Check out this official statement from John Boehner’s office, in response to Obama’s upcoming executive actions on immigration reform. Tell me if they sound like somebody you’d like to work with:

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said in a statement: “If ‘Emperor Obama’ ignores the American people and announces an amnesty plan that he himself has said over and over again exceeds his constitutional authority, he will cement his legacy of lawlessness and ruin the chances for congressional action on this issue and many others.”

And it’s not unique. In fact, it’s pretty typical. That is how “Republicans” talk about (and to) the President, on a regular basis. And frankly, this writer wouldn’t wouldn’t feel all warm and fuzzy about working with anyone who talked that way about him.

Insults? Check.
Lies? Check.
Professional decorum? Nowhere to be found.

If the Teapubbies really want to know why they have such an awful relationship with the Prexy, they should try this little experiment: go into a low-class dive bar (the Speaker will be quite comfortable there), find a patron, and start talking this kinda s*** to them. They could say things like “you lie!”, or “Godless Communist Kenyan illegal immigrant!”, or any number of the slurs they have hurled at Obama over the past 6+ years.

Any bets on the sorts of “relationships” the GOPee will establish? Not many productive working arrangements, no. Far more likely that fists will “meet up” with faces.

Hey, Johnnie-me-lad: try using some manners for a change.
Because, dude, you are making a deliberately obnoxious blogger cringe. That says nothing good about your individual and collective social “skills”.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

The Ultimate Lesson of Election 2014: “Nothing’s Free”.

Stripped down to its barest bones, that’s the takeaway. The “Republicans” won because they invested in things that could help them win, and the Dems lost because they didn’t invest thus. Not saying it’s fair, not saying it’s right, just saying that smart investing pays dividends, and un-smart investing loses shirts.

And what was the GOPee investment? Why, ’twas in propaganda media. 24/7, all across the TeeVee, radio, Internets, billboards, you name it, the Elephants paid millions upon millions to hammer their message home. And even though the bulk of said message was a pack of lies, the repetition of it over a period of years proved effective – lots of gullible nitwits believed it. The ‘Phants bought the media and used it to brainwash the masses. That was a huge investment, and it resulted in an enormous return.

In contrast, the Democrats invested in smart public policies (like the ACA), and then tried to pretend they hadn’t. They invested in the election of a truly historic President, and then tried to pretend he wasn’t there. Dems invested a lot in holding back the most cray of the Repubs’ cray-cray ideas, and then pretended they hadn’t done that either. Many Dems actually did a very good job in office, but got scared of seeming too, well, non-Republican. They invested and then tried to un-invest. Small wonder they got bupkis for a return, innit?

You can’t get ANYTHING for free. Even the air we breathe and water we drink requires investment to keep it clean enough to use. Hell, even love requires an emotional investment, does it not? Gravity isn’t free, for that matter – ask any physicist. NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING. Ya gotta do something, pay something, sweat, speak, take some kind of action, if you want to get something in return.

The Democrats, Greens, and the Left in general need to treat this as a lesson in reality. If they want power, they won’t get it by being virtuous; by being right; by having a “D” by their name; kicking and braying; or any of the other stupid, lazy, disorganized, inconsistent methods they employed in 2014. And they can look to their own ranks for proof. Minnesota Dems invested in candidates, media, turnout, message, and did much better than the party as whole. They invested wisely and profited thereby. Something the rest of American Democrats did not do.

One phrase common during this writer’s youth was “the marketplace of ideas”: the notion that quality ideas would, like quality goods and services, rise to the top via free and vigorous debate. The willingness to invest time and effort in the debate was part of how well an idea succeeded in the “market”. The Repubs invested in control of the debate instead of quality policies, but have succeeded because, 9 times out of 10, the public hears only GOP talking points. Sadly, because of this unscrupulous (but competently executed) strategy, the GOP is winning the battle of ideas, at least when it comes to how it shakes out at the ballot box.

Non-Repubs needn’t opt for the criminal methods employed by the GOPee; but they DO have to invest in good ideas and policies, courage, consistency, and learn to aggressively promote themselves and their “products” if they are going to succeed. Based on this year’s election cycle, Democrats have a f*** of a lot of work to do.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

The Only Questions that Matter Today: Could You Vote, and Did You Vote?

Everything else is a bunch of irrelevant details, or an excuse. If you could have voted and did not, then you suck at being a citizen.

If you are voting or have voted, thank you! Feel free to ignore the rest of this post.

If you couldn’t vote, you should find out why, and then work to clear any roadblocks so you can vote in the future. Perhaps you’re too young, not a citizen, or prevented by other legal reasons; nobody can get on your case for that. Or perhaps you couldn’t vote because of GOPee criminal actions that disenfranchised you: you’re pretty much blameless there. too. Maybe you’re sick, or out of the country, or had some other obstacle in your path. Understandable.

But if you COULD have voted today, and CHOSE not to do so, f*** you. F*** you for being lazy, being cynical, being stupid, or being oh-so-superior. The only way we can win a f***ing election is if we turn out. And when people don’t turn out, we get whatever a**holes the 1% wish to cram down our throats. By not voting, you bear partial responsiblity for the Teapublican Takeover of our nation. F*** you for that, you stupid, f***ing f***.

Turnout is the ONLY tool left in our kit, the ONLY weapon in our arsenal. Turnout, and ONLY turnout can defeat voting machine hacks, disenfranchisement schemes, poll-rigging, disinformation and propaganda. Every other means of ensuring our representation is already gone, stolen by the corrupt motherf***ers who have hijacked our nation. THE ONLY WAY TO DEFEAT THE “REPUBLICANS” IS FOR EVERYONE ELSE TO VOTE AGAINST THEIR CORRUPT A**ES.

A few other factual points:
Number A: the two parties are NOT THE F***ING SAME. Stop with that f***ing lying bull-f***ing-s***.
Letter 2: Dem voters outnumber Repub voters overall. If Dem voters vote Dem, we win. If Dem voters don’t vote Dem, we lose.
Thirdly: If you aren’t voting, you aren’t using your Constitutional rights.
Fact the Fourth: You can vote Dem, or Repub, or for some idiot third-party yahoo who is there to help Repubs steal Dem votes. Only by casting votes for Democrats do we beat “Republicans”.

It’s math, period. Pound all the other hifalutin philosophical bilge right up your own a** along with a heaping helping of sand. More votes win. Fewer votes lose. Math.

Ohio flipped from Purple to Red because of fewer votes that can be counted with your shirt, pants and socks on. Less than ten votes in one district did the trick. So don’t tell this writer that your vote is of no consequence: women, children, and every taxpayer in the state are suffering because a few f***ing Dem voters did not vote for a single Ohio Democratic candidate in 2012.

Once again: If you can vote, PLEASE do so. If you choose not to and you could have, f*** you and the high f***ing horse you f***ing rode the f*** in on.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

“Republicans” Can Only Win with Democrats’ Help.

According to a recent poll, Ohio’s GOPee Guv John Kasich has a large number of Democrats voting for him. The percentage of such idiot voters is sufficient to provide a comfortable margin of victory. Thousands of Dems have said that they will vote for a thieving, lying, union-busting, woman-hating Wall Street motherf***ing “Republican”.

By so doing, those Dems will enable thievery, lying, starvation, forced births, pollution, contract violations, voter suppression, and income inequality to not only continue, but become even more prevalent. Think about that for a second, Gentle Reader. These are Teapublican values and policies, being supported by alleged Dem Voters.

This is the story of the 2014 midterms, friends: in spite of every evil deed, every crime against humanity, GOP candidates are projected to win. Why? Because a s***load of voters who should know better will make some truly stupid choices.

Stupid choices like voting for Teapubbies, casting protest votes in close races, or just not voting at all. That is how “Republicans” win. It ain’t just vote-rigging, corruption and bribery that enables the Repub Reign of Error: some Democrats are partially culpable.

Please do your part: vote smart. If enough people do so, we can pull off an upset. Smart rarely triumphs over stupid, but it can happen, if enough smart people take the time to vote smart.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Uh, You DO Know that Obama’s Not on the Ballot, Right?

Just checking, because lots and LOTS of people are yammering on about him during this year’s campaign. Which is pretty f***ing stupid, because OBAMA CAN’T BE F***ING RE-ELECTED. The pundits and “news” types are all ratchet-jawing about the man, but in truth he matters not one bit for next Tuesday’s contests.

The Senatorial candidates matter. The Gubernatorial candidates matter. The House candidates matter. So too do the other state and local ballot options. They matter, and they matter a LOT. (For example, McConnell, Boehner, and a host of other politicos are up for re-election or de-election.)

By your actions you can help turn this country into a Red Hell or a Purple Patchwork (It’ll take a Helluva lot more than one election to turn America Blue). You can take away our rights, or give them back to us. You can enable us to: feed the kids or starve them; fight or cower; fix or ignore; pay or go broke; function or fall apart; all of these vitally important matters are in the hands of voters on November 4th, 2014.

But Obama is NOT on the ballot. We kinda need to ignore him when we hit the voting booth, because the people for whom we DO cast ballots can actually make our lives better or worse.At the very least, we need to focus on the people and issues that are on the table this coming Tuesday.

The media moguls and bribe artists would love nothing better than to have us focus on a lame-duck President: that enables them to play their sleazy shell games via distraction and misdirection, f***ing us over royally in the process. We The People need to see past the sleight of hand and focus on the task at hand.

Like Obama or loathe him, as you choose: but you can’t vote for him this year. Concentrate on the people you CAN vote for instead.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

THIS is how Dems can Win. Easily.

Everybody assumes that Dem turnout will suck out loud this election. And it looks like that could well be true. If so, Democrats have no one but themselves to blame for the succeeeding years of Teapublican rape, pillage and plunder.

But there IS a way for Dems to win. An easy way. A way that can work, and requires less than half an hour’s time from each Dem voter. Here it is:

VOTE. That’s it. If Dems vote in numbers that exceed the current dismal expectations, they will win races. Lots of races.

This is because Repubs are assuming Dems WON’T vote. So their plans are based on crap Dem turnout. Increasing our turnout messes up their plans.

Plus, voting machine hacks are programmed in advance, and are based on projected turnout. If Dems exceed turnout, the hacks fail and Dems can win.

The biggest problem in making this happen? Disengaged, apathetic Dem voters. For example: Ohioans as a rule pretty f***ing pathetic when it comes to doing anything other than bitching and moaning about our government. So Repubs are projected to keep 100% of power in the state for another four years.

Now, ask yourself, “what would happen if just a few thousand extra Dem votes were cast in the Buckeye State?”. Answer: Some of those motherf***ing Repubs would be cast out of office, replaced by Democrats. That, Gentle Reader, would be a very good thing indeed. In Ohio, and across the nation. Add more votes, win more victories.

Come on, let’s give the bastards one in the eye. Let’s confound the pundits and give the Elephants an atomic wedgie. Let’s all vote. The occupants of the House O’ Cranky mailed in our ballots today. Who’s next?

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

“Republicans” are VERY Different from Democrats, Day Two: Repubs Support Terrorists. Dems Do Not.

Another example of why the “no difference between the parties” line is a bunch of bulls***. Dems fight against Terrorists in word and deed, while Teapubbies talk a big game when it comes to law and order: but the Repub walk doesn’t match the talk.

Example Number A, take Cliven Bundy and his Moocher Militia, who violated even more laws than Bin Laden, but still got support from the GOP. In fact, not only do Repubs support Bundy’s sedition, they were lining up to get their pictures taken with him. And after members of the Bundy Bunch murdered some cops, “Republicans” said and did little or nothing  – except, of course, continued support.

Example Letter 2:  we see that Repubs love the Sovereign Citizen terrorists. The Justice Department calls these mutts the most dangerous security threat to our nation, but that doesn’t stop GOP politicos like LePage from including them in their inner circles, or granting them rights to carry weapons that scare the sh** out of law-abiding Americans. Hell, even when they commit terrorist crimes the Repubs don’t do much of anything about it.

Example the Third: always remember, Gentle Reader, Bush and his fellow Repubs allowed Bin Laden to get away with murder – the worst foreign terrorist attack on our soil, thousands dead, and the Tevangelicals said “meh”. They used hs face to whip up the population in a manner that even Goebbels would have envied. But while abusing his face, Repubs kissed his a**. Then, of course, they bitched about Obama, who brought Bin Laden to justice.

There we have it,  another example of the enormous differences between the two political parties.

Remember this when a Raging Righty or Loony Leftie tries to tell you that there is “little or no dfference”: that is a big, fat lie.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

“Republicans” are VERY different from Democrats, Day One: Repubs Hate Women. Dems Do Not.

Wingnuts are in high gear of late, proclaiming their usual canard about there “being little or no difference between the parties”. Bull-f***ing-s***. Today’s debunking: women’s rights.

Huge differences abound: look at the current Teapubbie and Democratic platforms:

Number A: Repubs think women should allowed to die rather than allow them to have a life-saving abortion. Dems do NOT believe this.

Letter 2: Repubs think women should not be allowed to use birth control, or at least be deprived of insurance coverage if they need it. Oh, and that applies even if the pills are being used for other medical reasons than birth control. Dems do NOT believe this, either.

Thirdly: Repubs believe women should be made to work harder and be paid less. Once again: Democrats do NOT share this belief.

Ignore the lunatics of the fringe: the parties are VERY different. A vote for a Dem IS a vote against Repubs. Get on out and vote Dem.

Unless, of course, you hates you some women. If so, sit out the election or vote Republican. If not, get out and vote AGAINST the party that hates your mothers, sisters, and every woman on Earth. Any electoral action  OTHER  than a vote for a Dem is an attack on women. Period.

“No difference”, my Cranky A**. Tomorrow: Repubs’ love affair with terrorists.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

In your anger at the party, don’t forget the real victims. (Please vote.)

This post has a very narrow audience: those who say they will not vote unless the candidates are sufficiently in line with their personal beliefs, and think that by withholding their vote they will somehow “teach the party a lesson”. It is not targeted at any other people or groups. S’alright? S’alright.

Many of the party apparatchiks, leaders and candidates (for example, Hillary Clinton) are millionaires, and will not be hurt by your lack of participation in a hypothetical future contest. They should pay a price, but they will not. They might write books, consult, bloviate, become the ambassador to Lower Maylohda, or join the punditocracy: but one thing that they will not do is suffer. Not one wee bit.

No, the people who will be hurt by the lack of participation in a given race will be the poor. The children. The elderly. The minorities. The women. THEY will pay the price for your bitterness, defeatism and despair. You might not pay a price, the candidates might not pay…but nothing is free in this world. Somebody always pays.

In the last election, in one Ohio state congressional district, a (literal) handful of voters failed to vote for the Democrat in the race, and the Teapublican won. That state is now 100% Red. Dems have NO POWER OVER STATE GOVERNMENT.

Voting rights are being taken away. Women’s rights are being obliterated. Children are starving and dying. Millionaires are profiting and the rest of us are struggling. Because a very few voters made the choice you propose to make.

Think a bit before you decide to be dogmatic. Think of those four voters who did what you say you will do. Every vote counts. And every vote has a consequence.

Perhaps God should have mercy on those who abandon their fellow Americans to poverty, privation, and death; but the rest of us shouldn’t.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky