What could you do with $676?

I don’t know about you, but $676 is a big deal to me. It’s a huge chunk of change. It’ll feed me for a month and a half. It’ll gas up my tank for six months. It’s five days in Florida this summer.

It’s real money that would make a big difference to most Americans.

But to the TNGOP, it’s chump change. It’s meaningless. They think “most Americans” don’t need it or want it or couldn’t do anything with it.

Here’s the deal – According the TNGOP itself, the “Obama tax credit” is worth $676 “to most Americans, this year.”

Of course they try to hide that fact with a little math. They take that $676 and break it down to “$13 per week,” which they scoff at and ridicule.

Well, sorry, I’m not an idiot. I can handle a little multiplication. $13 x 52 weeks. That’s $676 this year, and that’s not meaningless to most Americans.

And if you don’t get that, no wonder the Republican Party keeps losing elections.

But hey, thanks for pointing out that Obama just cut taxes for most Americans. Please keep pointing that out.

That's Backwards, Morons!

Like so much else in life, the TNGOP has it backwards. Check out their whiny, lame, black-and-white bumper sticker:



That's the TNGOP version. Apparently they expect a lot of local Republicans are getting free mortgages from the government and want to brag about it.

The real version of the bumper sticker looks like this:

See the difference?

Almost Worth the Money

Are you a card-carrying member of the Tennessee Republican Party? Well then you’re not a real Republican, dammit! Real Republicans who love America give $25 to the state party in exchange for one of these nifty cards you can keep in your wallet:


Membership cards. Just another way the TNGOP creeps out moderates.

27 Days Too Many

The Tennessee Republican Party held the majority of both houses of the state legislature for 27 days until they voluntarily abandoned their one-seat majority and their claim on the Speaker's chair this morning.

Some would argue that the Speaker, one Rep. Kent Williams (I-Carter County), actually abandoned the party first in everything but name only. Well, okay, kind of.

Either way, it's nice to see 49-49-1 rather than 50-49.

There's a lesson to be learned here, and the TNGOP won't, which is why I don't mind spelling it out to them. If the moderates don't feel comfortable in your party, your days in power are numbered. (I never would have guessed that number was 27, but so much the better.) Driving out Williams for his impurity is more symbolic than the TNGOP will ever realize.

Good thing for the Democrats that Republicans think it's a moral failing to honestly wonder, "How did it come to this?"

Remembering Martin Luther King

The Tennessee __________ Party salutes and praises the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Can you fill in the blank and guess which party bothered to put that message up on their Web site today? (Hint: We’re now at 75 days without a press release, Web update, or blog entry from the Tennessee Democratic Party, other than a happy holidays message.)

So True

According to the TNGOP: “Rep. Williams belongs to the party of liars, deceivers, and traitors.”

Yes, but you guys are about to kick him out.

New TNGOP Rule: Republicans Politicians Only Represent Republican Voters

There’s a great American tradition that no matter which ticket you run on, once you’re elected, you represent everyone in your state and your district.

The TNGOP is giving up any pretense of that noble tradition. They won’t even pay it lip service.

Instead, TNGOP mouthpiece Bill Hobbs claims that Speaker Kent Williams (R-For Now) was “elected by Republican voters in the historic 2008 elections” and that he “chose to betray” them.

Gosh, I thought he was elected by Tennessee voters, and that’s where his loyalties belong. Too bad the TNGOP doesn’t see it that way. In fact, TNGOP chair Robin Smith makes it plain that her party represents only its own supporters and self-interest:

“This challenge [to Williams’s membership in the TNGOP] will move swiftly to honor the character and integrity of the 49 members of the Republican House Caucus who stand committed to the Republican principles and the voters who support them.”

(Emphasis mine, of course.)

One more thing: apparently Smith still hasn’t figured out just who the heck Williams voted for yesterday. (Hint: himself.)

“He cast his vote for a Pro-Tax, Pro-Gay, Pro-Abortion, Anti-Gun Liberal Democrat to preside in leadership against all 49 of his Republican colleagues,” says Smith.

Um, wrong. Sometimes it’s hard to take them seriously. Or at least these stupid Hobbs press releases.

Christmas is Over

The TNGOP never once wished me a happy holidays or merry Christmas on its website. I’m not sure why they hate religion so much, but if they were good little Republicans, they’d be showing off their Christianity prominently - if not belligerently.

How’s that for a weak, throwaway attack on the other side? Blah. Oh well, it’s all I got because the TN Democratic Party website has steadfastly refused to say anything other than happy holidays for over two months. The party blog is likewise silent.

(Here’s a hint, guys: it’s no longer the “season of giving” and McCain’s already lost the election, so why don’t you go ahead and push that junk off your homepage?)

If the TN Democratic were paying attention or showing any signs of life, maybe they’d say something about that nice Tennessee fellow who thinks racist songs are funny, just so long as Rush Limbaugh says so?

Or how about that little oopsy-daisy near Knoxville that’s poisoning all the water? No comment on that? Don’t see any opportunity to push the importance of environment responsibility or alternative energy? Or maybe you think the people of Tennessee are already so far to the Left they don’t need to hear it?

Hey, why don’t you praise Gov. Bredesen for that $80 million the State is getting from the Department of Health and Human Services for a low-income home energy assistance program. I’m pretty sure he’s a Democrat.

Or you could praise Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) for that $1.65 million loan and a $400,000 grant from the USDA to construct new water distribution lines and replace leaking water lines in Putnam County.

There is a crap-load of stuff going on out there, you lazy schmucks!!!

Say something!!!

Silence Isn't Golden

The TNGOP has some nice things to say about the state’s Democratic Party in today’s press release:

The new Republican majority in the state legislature will most certainly be challenged in 2010 by a well-funded, aggressive effort by the Tennessee Democrat Party - indeed, they are already regrouping for that purpose.

I hope they’re right, but so far the evidence is lacking. We’re at 42 days without a press release, and only one blog entry since the election – which was more than a month ago.

Nothing going on in the world you guys want to talk about? Nothing at all?

GoldnI Is Just a Mouthpiece for the TNGOP

The Golden One translates for TNGOP Chair Robin Smith. And she's dead-on right.

PS: Good info + Funny picture = Blog post worth reading.