Hispanic Panic & Conservative Extinction

How little do they know they're screwing themselves. Ah... the joy of hater irony.

Says First Read:

Good news/bad news for GOP in NBC/MSNBC/Telemundo poll on immigration… The poll shows that Latino voters are swinging widely for the Democrats, while their support for the GOP is dropping like a rock.

Then sayeth F(oxymoron) News with partial accuracy:

Lawmakers and politicians in Texas, Rhode Island, Utah and Georgia are among those who, in the month since Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the [SB 1070] law, have announced plans to introduce similar legislation.

Wow. All those red staters lining up to go Stasi on brown folks too?

Here in solidly red Texas 'Papers Please' would be a shoo-in. And with luck, they'll do it. Yeh really. Just bear with me while I explain...

It's easy to assume Texas is a solidly and boringly red state. Hell, you could match FDR in a race with a chimp in a bowtie and still have him lose here as long as the chimp had an 'R' suffix. It's one of the most frustrating things about living here: how the brain-dead voter doesn't mind the GOP screwing them over and over again, or how pathetically ill-equipped their electeds are (John Cornyn? Really???), as long as they're not Democrats.

But is the lone star state really the lone party state it seems? Or could liberals one day get a Birkenstock in the door thanks to Republicans going spastic on immigration in a 36% Hispanic state? Hmm... here's a cautionary tale for Texas Reps:

Back in the early 90s, California wasn't so safely Democrat as it is today. Once majestic herds of paleo-conservatives still roamed its plains and governor Pete Wilson sat in Sacramento with a big majority and an 'R' after his name. But, like mammals superseding dinosaurs, the Dems eventually won California for keeps just by sitting tight and watching Republicans make themselves extinct.

Just like Republicans are doing today, 90s California Reps thought it would be smart to ramp up the anti-immigrant rhetoric in a bid to mobilize their base of large-breasted, angry white men. So they went ahead demonizing 'illegals' and promising to slam shut the border. But far from winning votes, this xenophobic tomfoolery turned off so many conservative Hispanics and moderates that the GOP lost massively in 1994. And California stayed blue ever since. The end.

So the best strategy for the Democrats to take Texas would be simply to do nothing and let the Republicans sh*t on their own voters. An ideal plan as it doesn't even depend on Dems having to do anything and thus screw up.

My message to Rick Perry and Texas Reps would be: Have at it. Get "tough" on the illegals... get "tough" bullying those on the lowest rung of society's ladder. As a liberal I can't think of anything more likely to turn even Texas blue. ¡Excelente!

God Help Us

The Washington Post says the Dems are setting themselves up for defeat by pushing ahead with healthcare reform:

"Their blind persistence in the face of reality threatens to turn this political march of folly into an electoral rout in November."

WTF can you do? The voters of this country are obviously deeply, deeply f*cked up. The Dems are set to lose for pushing a bill, however flawed, that would at least help people. But who's set to win? None other than the party running on the following miserable platform:

• To dismantle Medicare
• To hit 90% of Americans with "substantial tax increases"
• To provide "massive tax cuts" for the wealthy
• To "balloon" the deficit

'We the people' are determined to vote against our own interests. So much so that we'll take down any governing party suicidal enough to try and help us. (Related: Selling a Lemon: Welcome to The Next Republican Majority)

Kennedy Kills Healthcare Bill From Beyond Grave. Maybe.

Democrat Martha Coakley's effort to succeed Ted Kennedy has gone from shoo-in to nail-biter. Is the Dem majority dead? Is the healthcare bill dead-er?

The media is getting off presenting the Massachusetts senatorial race as a 'make or break' test of the shiftless Democratic party and the Obama administration. Maybe they're right.

If the Republicans win, the Democrats' filibuster-proof majority will go bye-bye. But what the hell have these losers done with it anyway? Maybe this is a prime example of the "use it or lose it" principle in effect.

Scott Brown, the oh-so-convincing populist in a pick-up/Republican millionaire attorney, looks like he's winning in Massachusetts. So away goes the majority and away goes 'Obamacare'. But at this point, who could mourn it? The bill is bullsh*t. All it does is add a bullet point to the presidential resume without doing dick for the uninsured.

Maybe it's poetic justice that Ted Kennedy's death should be the ultimate cause for 'Obamacare' failing. Kennedy expended so much of his passion fighting for a fair healthcare system and seeking to moderate America's massive tolerance for corporate predation. And whatever Harry Reid and Obama might say, this bill doesn't even pretend to do anything like that.

Naked Republicans

I made a site called Naked Republicans a few years ago in the vague hope someone would like to buy the domain (Michael Steele..?). Tom Delay being in the news again is a good excuse to sicken you with my scurrilous Photoshoppery. Enjoy. Or not.