REPUBLICANS HAVE RESORTED TO THE "BR´ER RABBIT" SYNDROME

The GOP really knows how to treat their wealthy friends.

...Michele "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" Bachmann

It is really getting desperate over at the Republican National Committee (RNC) and with various out-spoken Republican politicians.

First, on the Larry King Live show this week on CNN, Republican House Member Michele Bachmann, as usual, was spreading her untruths that were immediately caught and responded to on the show by Florida Democratic Representative Alan Grayson. The conversation went like this:

Bachmann: "An up or down vote is a good thing, Larry. It's just how many votes will it take. Will it take 50 votes or will it take 60 votes..."

King: "Well what's wrong with majority rules?"

Bachmann: "Well because that's not how the Senate works. The Senate works with 60 votes, and now what the president is promoting is a nuclear option which is 50 votes."

King: "But it used the majority rules on the Bush tax cuts."

Bachmann: "Well, the House uses straight majority rules, the Senate doesn't. So what this means is that the Senate has to break their own rules in order to pass the bill."

Fortunately, Representative Grayson was there and being cool as usual, responded with:

Grayson: "My esteemed colleague from Minnesota is entirely wrong. There's nothing in the Senate rules that prevents Reconciliation. It's been used 22 times overall and 14 times by Republicans. If it's good enough to provide tax cuts for the rich -- twice under Bush -- it's good enough to provide health care for all Americans."

Unfortunately, Mr. Grayson did not correct Ms. Bachmann´s additional misinformation as Reconciliation is not the so called "Nuclear Option".

Either Ms. Bachmann is totally ignorant of how the Senate works or she is a bald-faced liar. (I am personally voting on the 2nd choice.)

I have been following Ms. Bachmann off and on for the last two years and I am now having some serious doubts about the Minnesota citizens in her district that keep sending a pathological liar back to the US House of Representatives.

Anyone can Google Ms. Bachmann for at least the last three years and they will find how she has boldly lied on camera from Chris Matthews´s Hardball program to her many visits on the FOX Cable Network. She has absolutely no respect for the truth, for her constituents or for the American public in general. If all women had testicles, she would have some really big ones.

And as it is becoming more clear that there will probably be the passing of some kind of health care reform bill, the Republicans are also becoming more and more desperate, just as they have been very careless with their internal strategic marketing plans for their party.

THE RNC's BIG "BOO-BOO":

A 72-page PowerPoint RNC document was recently provided to POLITICO by an unnamed individual who said he had found a hard copy that had been left in a luxury hotel lobby in Florida. This was where the RNC had hosted a $2,500-a-head retreat at the Gasparilla Inn & Club. Sources from the event said the presentation was delivered at the retreat by the RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart and by the RNC Finance Chairman, Peter Terpeluk, a former ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush.

This latest GOP strategy document was detailed in what was supposed to be a confidential party fundraising presentation which outlines how "ego-driven" wealthy donors can be tapped for large donations." The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on "wholesale fear" of the Democrats and President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism."

In its neat PowerPoint pages, the presentation lifts the curtain on the often-cynical terms of political marketing and fund raising, displaying an air of total disdain for their own party´s major donors. This ugly attitude toward the RNC´s wealthy donors is usually confined to drunken barroom conversations, not outwardly displayed like it was in this official RNC presentation.

But, as we have been aware for years, the manipulating of the donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique for Republicans or for the RNC.

One of the most egregious presentation pages was titled "The Evil Empire". It had the pictures we had seen of President Obama at the Tea Parties as the white-faced "Joker" from Batman and of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid depicted as Disney´s Cruella DeVille and the cartoon dog "Scooby Doo", respectively.

The large document, which two Republican sources said was prepared by the party´s finance staff, comes as RNC Chairman Michael Steele struggles to retain the trust and allegiance of the GOP´s major donors, who can give as much as $30,400 a year to the party.

Under Steele, the RNC has recently shifted toward a reliance on small donors, but the document reveals extensive, confidential details of the strategy for luring wealthy check-writers with gift offers that ranged from luxury retreats in the California Wine Country to tickets to a professional prize fight in Las Vegas.

One would think that someone´s head at the RNC will probably roll for this royal screw-up.

BUT MAYBE THE BR´ER RABBIT TRICK WILL ALSO WORK….?

As the health care reform bill gets closer to a possible "up & down vote", the Senate and House Republicans are starting to show just how desperate they are at trying to stop the bill. It is appearing that they are now taking the "reverse psychology" approach. The Republican leaders in both the Senate and the House are now daring the Democrats to use the dreaded "Reconciliation", that would only require 51 Senate votes for passing the health care reform bill. This week the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Democrats to pass health care reform that way "at your own peril".

John Boehner, the House Minority Leader also pretended to help Democrats to not lose seats in Congress later this year by warning them not to pass health care legislation. The reality is that the Republican leaders in both houses are now trying desperately to play the old Br´er Rabbit card.

Br´er Rabbit, you´ll recall from the children´s story was in a tight spot after being captured by Br´er Fox. The Democrats, er I mean Br´er Rabbit was about to be done in by his worst enemy, Br´er Fox. Br´er Rabbit then asked that his one final request be honored. He told Br´er Fox how afraid of the briar patch he was and he begged Br´er Fox to not throw him into the horrible briar patch. Being a vindictive-minded enemy, Br´er Fox, just to spite Br´er Rabbit, immediately tossed him into the briar patch. At that point, the cunning rabbit immediately started laughing because he had been born and raised in that briar patch and getting thrown in there was like going home.

This of course, is what McConnell, Boehner and Boehner´s sidekick in the House, Eric Cantor, have been trying to do by warning that by using "Reconciliation" for passing health care will cost the Democrats dearly in the upcoming November election. But the Democrats know that´s all just a "bunch of bull".

In fact, if the bill doesn´t pass, the voters will more likely vote against the Democrats because they will decide that the Democrats cannot govern or get any of the people´s business done. (Just ignore that it´s the Republicans that are holding up the whole congress today from getting things done.) The Republicans will now try anything that might stop the Democrats and get back the GOP´s position of power.

So yes, the Republicans are taking their last desperate chance at trying to "Bully" the Democrats into believing that passing health care reform will be their "Waterloo" as was predicted by the Republican Senator, Jim DeMint.

Go ahead Democrats, "I double-dare you to throw that bill into the Reconciliation Briar Patch".

Copyright G.Ater 2010

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