Sponsor uniforms for Congresscritters

once again, i bow to yves smith, naked capitalism and, in this particular case, the wisdom of reprinting an incredibly astute post from gaius publius, reviewing gary hart's The Republic of Conscience, which contains this thoroughly delightful suggestion...

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John Boehner asks for responses to a survey that's already filled out

i'm on the newsmax email list... i find it interesting to see what conservative wingnuts are up to... this morning, i received this...

Dear Fellow Conservative,

The latest unemployment figures are out – and while any job creation is welcome news, too many Americans are still looking for work.

It’s been more than two-and-a-half years since President Obama forced his massive “stimulus” into law with a promise that it would keep unemployment below eight percent. Sadly, that promise remains unfulfilled.

To bring about true economic recovery, I need your help to build support for common-sense solutions to help create jobs. Here’s what you can do today:

>> Take my survey on jobs and the economy. Which part of the GOP’s Plan for America’s Job Creators do you most want enacted today? Should President Obama reverse his decision to delay the Keystone Pipeline project and sacrifice more than 20,000 American jobs? These are just a few of the questions I have for you.

>> Make an immediate contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more to assist me in the fight to help create new jobs by preventing tax hikes, eliminating excessive government red tape, tapping into America’s vast energy resources, repealing ObamaCare, and more.

Your participation in this important survey – and your immediate contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more – is critical to my efforts to advance the GOP’s jobs agenda of lower taxes, less spending and greater freedom in Democrat-controlled Washington.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we can help small businesses create jobs and restore the American dream for future generations.

Sincerely,

John Boehner
Speaker

P.S. I can’t overstate how important it is that I have your input. Please fill out my survey on jobs and the economy and follow-up with an immediate online contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to help me continue to lead the fight to cut government spending and remove barriers to private-sector job creation in America. Thanks again!

Paid for by TFP-FOJB Committee, a joint fundraising committee authorized by and composed of Friends of John Boehner and The Freedom Project. 320 First Street SE, Washington, DC 20003

i thought, what the heck, let's see what the survey is all about... maybe i'd even respond... here's what opened up when i clicked the link... (since i had to reduce it to fit the blog format, for easier reading, you can click here for a larger version...)



now, i don't know about you, but i have serious doubts about the professionalism of any survey that comes already filled in... not only that, but virtually all choices for all questions with the exception of the last four offer no option but to regurgitate republican talking points... i know democrats are no saints in the spin, slant and bullshit department and i'm sure if i went looking, i could find similar examples for them but, really folks, the "team boehner" survey isn't a survey... at best it's a pep rally and at worst it's an outright insult to anyone with two brain cells to rub together...

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake]

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Viguerie: "The party leadership should resign immediately"

for some reason, newsmax emails began landing in my spam folder a couple of months ago... since i always check my spam folder for things that may have fallen in there by mistake, i always read - and usually chuckle - at the subject headers of the newsmax emails before deleting them... a surprising number push "miracle medical remedies" and get-rich-quick schemes, but there are also the usual run of headlines such as "Hillary's Antics Could Still Save the GOP" and "Bennett, Lieberman Applaud Hillary’s New Voice"... this one from richard viguerie, however, got me curious enough to open it...

Viguerie: Republican Leaders Must Resign

The Republican Party must replace its leadership or conservatives will continue to withhold support and the GOP will face “disaster” in November, leading conservative activist Richard A. Viguerie declared.

“Republican Party leaders must resign,” said Viguerie, publisher of ConservativeHQ.com and the pioneer of political direct mail.

[...]

He named a number of prominent Republicans, including President Bush, Karl Rove, party chairman Mike Duncan, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt.

[...]

“For things to change, for conservatives to be justified in once again giving our contributions, our volunteer efforts, our energy, and votes to the GOP, the party must clean house. The party leadership should resign immediately.

[...]

Viguerie has this message for the current GOP leadership: “For the future of the Republican Party, for America, and the cause of freedom: Go!”

well, i've been calling for mass resignations since the officially-sponsored ethnic cleansing of new orleans following hurricane katrina, not to save the republican party, to be sure, but to save my country, but, hey... i'll take it any way i can get it...

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Fred Kagan and the neocons never have a "Plan B." Oops, enter John Boehner and "Plan B."

these guys just never give up, do they...? not only don't they ever give up, it seems that, no matter how terribly wrong they are or discredited they become, there's always a newspaper willing to give them space to air their delusions...

Plan B? Let’s Give Plan A Some Time First

By FREDERICK W. KAGAN

One of the most common criticisms of the current “surge” in Iraq is that its proponents have not developed a Plan B in case it fails. The skeptics liken this lack of a backup strategy to the Bush administration’s failure to plan for various contingencies after the initial invasion in 2003; they see a continuity of errors between previous strategies in Iraq and the new one.

In fact, the debate shows only how little the critics of the war understand about military operations. As one of the initial proponents of the surge, I argue that there is no Plan B because there cannot be one. The idea that there can be a single alternative strategy, developed now, just at the beginning of the surge, is antithetical to the dynamic nature of war. At this early stage, there are only possible general responses to various contingencies, which will become more focused as operations move forward.

The strategy now under way in Iraq — we are providing an increased number of American forces, working closely with Iraqi troops, to establish and maintain security in Baghdad as a precondition for political, economic and social progress — will change the situation in Iraq significantly, whether or not it succeeds in its aims.

and since when, i'd like to know, does a (former) professor of military history with a focus in eastern europe and the former soviet union get to claim expertise in insurgencies and civil wars in the middle east...? it's kind of like a long-haul, 18-wheeler driver, thinking he can move over to motorcycle racing... (ok, i confess... the dvd that was playing in the van on this afternoon's outing with the grandsons was "cars...")

Frederick W. Kagan is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and a former professor of military history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He earned a B.A. in Soviet and East European studies and a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet military history, both from Yale University. He worked as an Assistant professor of military history at West Point from 1995-2001 and as an Associate professor of military history from 2001-2005. The courses he taught at West Point included the history of military art, grand strategy, revolutionary warfare and diplomatic history. He is brother to foreign policy analyst Robert Kagan.

Frederick Kagan and his father Donald Kagan, who is a professor at Yale and a fellow at the Hudson Institute, together authored While America Sleeps: Self-Delusion, Military Weakness, and the Threat to Peace Today (2000). The book argued in favor of massive military spending and warned of future threats, including from a potential revival of Iraq's WMD program. Frederick along with his brother Robert Kagan, who is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, and their father Donald are all signatories to the neoconservative Project for the New American Century manifesto titled Rebuilding America's Defenses (2000).

Kagan authored the so-called "real Iraq Study Group" report as the AEI's "hawkish" rival to the ISG report of James Baker and Lee H. Hamilton in December 2006. The AEI report, titled Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq, was released on January 5, 2007, and Kagan was said to have won-over the ear of President George W. Bush, strongly influencing his subsequent "surge" plan for changing the course of the Iraq War. Along with retired Gen. Jack Keane, Kagan is credited as one of the "intellectual architects" of the surge plan.

and, oh, btw, fred, you might want to give a glance at today's wapo... it seems that you have a convincing job ahead of you on the repub side (at least with john boehner)...

"By the time we get to September or October, members are going to want to know how well this is working, and if it isn't, what's Plan B?"

give us all a break, fred, and go back to being a prof... it's obviously your better shot...

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Here's some civility for you, Joe... Eat shit and die...

[In] a panel discussion sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute ... Lieberman appeared alongside House Minority Leader John Boehner, [and] stressed the importance of civility in what is becoming an increasing hostile partisan environment within the Capitol.

you want civility, joe...? you want CIVILITY...? i'll give you CIVILITY...!

Political division during wartime weakens US interests, Lieberman said, and the four-term senator implied some politicians were cynically exploiting the war to score partisan points.

"Now, look, there are people on both sides who have very sincere opinions for or against the war," he said. "There are other people -- I say this respectfully; it hurts me to say it -- who are doing it because they're following the party."

how DARE you demean those opposed to the war by accusing them of blindly following their political party... HOW DARE YOU...! you are one craven son of a bitch, joseph i. lieberman...

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