Trump's Texas: Where the Republican Party Will Soon Become an Elephant Graveyard

by Nomad

Texas has always been good for a few eye-rolls and bitter laughs when it comes to politics. In the last few years, the barrel's bottom went bottomless.
Yet, we may soon find that Texas holds all the cards when it comes to the results of the next election. And, that's really bad news for Republicans.

It must have been a daunting task for ProgressTexas to narrow the list of worst Texans down to only ten. Texas takes a lot of bad press for the Far Right politicians it has produced. Some of them have been extraordinarily embarrassing.

The list includes such people as Cecil Bell, Jr.- named by Texas Monthly as one of 2015’s worst legislators.
Bell became famous mainly for two things, wearing a cowboy hat and filing bills to prevent gay marriage in Texas. Of the 20 anti-LGBTQ bills Bell and other Texas Republicans introduced in the legislature, all of them failed to pass.
Not only a complete waste of time but a neglect of other more important responsibilities that did not entail depriving anybody of any rights.

There's Will Hurd from Texas' 23rd congressional district. He earned his place on the 2015 list for having "voted to cut education, health care, veteran benefits and, most recently, to let terror list suspects buy guns."

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick qualifies too.

The moment he took over the Texas Senate, he changed a decades-long rule to give himself and his Tea Party buddies more power to pass his horrendous priority legislation. You can thank Patrick for open carry and campus carry. He further abused his power to wade in on repealing equal rights in Houston — so much for local control — and he’s got big plans to cut health care for the most needy Texans and to legislate discrimination under the false banner of “religious liberty.”

As I said, ten is far too small a number to capture the full scope of the political recklessness found in Austin but it's a good start. Wait til you see who ranks top on the list.

Irrespective of Circumstances: Pro-Life Rubio Thinks Abortion Shouldn't be an Option for Rape Victims

by Nomad

GOP establishment might be banking on Marco Rubio but his total-restriction views on abortions actually represent a mere 19% of the American people.  

No Exceptions Marco

Last year a Gallup poll suggested that a narrow majority of Americans (51%) felt that abortion should remain legal under certain circumstances. Twenty-nine percent, however, said that abortion should be legal under all circumstances. 

The lowest percentage of the respondents (19%) said that abortion should be illegal under any and all circumstance. Ordinarily, this absolute limit refers to conditions where the mother's life is in danger or pregnancy following a rape or incest. 

That absolutist restrictive poition has always been the extremes of the pro-life movement. In fact, the SCOTUS' Roe vs. Wade decision originated from a rape case. (The ruling, however, did not revolve around that particular circumstance.)

On Sunday, the GOP establishment's latest hope, Marco Rubio revealed that, if elected- he would only very reluctantly sign a anti-abortion bill that provided an exception for rape and incest cases. 

His position pits the candidate against a full 81% of the American electorate.

A Question of Qualifications: A Closer Look at Carly Fiorina

by Nomad

When it comes to GOP candidates, like Donald Trump and Ben Carson, isn't it fair to ask: what kind of minimum qualifications necessary to be the Republican nominee in 2016? 

In the case of Carly Fiorina, her only qualification is her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. That's actually a liability.

When Carly Fiorina announced her decision to be a Republican candidate for 2016, many insiders questioned her thin qualifications to become president of the United States. 

For the better-informed voter or former HP employees, it was perhaps startling to hear point to her corporate business history as evidence.

Why?

It was exactly that subject - her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005 that her Democratic opponent, Barbara Boxer, used against her in the 2010 California Senate race. It proved to be more than enough to make voters think twice about Fiorina.

Putting aside the particular details of the Fiorina business history, we need to be asking: 

Is running a corporation really the same as being president?     

Certainly any successful venture is something a candidate could legitimately point out. Indeed, management skills required overlap to some degree. 

However,  there are some crucial differences too. 

Here's Why Scott Walker's Lack of a College Degree Really is a Big Deal

by Nomad

Ever since Wisconsin governor Scott Walker hinted that he might be interested in running for president in 2016, his critics have questioned his qualifications.
One point that keeps coming up is Scott's lack of a college degree. Is this such a big deal? You can decide.

Walker Running

Back in January, Walker made it clear that he was interested in running for president.

“We need someone who hopefully has the backing and the track record of success, of showing that common sense conservative reforms can work not just in Wisconsin, but they can work all across America.”

His critics at a local level point out however,

The results have been lackluster at best. Wisconsin job growth has ranked at or near the bottom of the Midwest, personal income growth has been last in the Midwest and 44th nationally, and the budget is in shambles.

A measure of Walker's failure becomes apparent when one compare Wisconsin to its neighbor, Minnesota. That state did not install those common sense reforms that Walker mentioned and what was the result? 

Disaster? 

Well, only if you listen to conservatives. 

The truth is that by raising taxes on the wealthy, increasing spending, boosting the minimum wage, and implementing Obamacare, Minnesota has, as one writer puts it, "blown Wisconsin out of the water" when it comes to job growth and budget balancing. In fact, the law of Land of 10,000 Lakes ended up with a $1.2 billion surplus.

Walker's reforms have left his own state with a budget deficit in the billions. Today Wisconsin reportedly trails behind Minnesota in job growth, unemployment, and wages. Not very impressive.

Presidential Con Game: Will Sarah Palin Try to Hoodwink her Supporters Again in 2016?

by Nomad

Is it really possible that, after the last bogus One Nation bus tour in 2012, that Sarah Palin is considering a presidential run? Don't bet it on.

Yesterday Huffington Post reported that Sarah Palin may not be yet finished with American politics. 

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, says she hopes to run for office again and is urging GOP leaders to have "more guts" as they pursue their agenda.

Hard to believe that the GOP leaders can be spurred to act any more outrageously. They seem to be doing fine without any taunting from Wasilla. 

She told the Fox News interviewer:

"The more they're pouring on the more I'm going to bug the crap out of them by being out there with a voice."

That could of course apply to either party. For some time, she has become as  a liability to the Republicans as a threat to the Democrats. (For the independents, she is just a very bad joke with an endless punchline.)

You might ask yourself whether this time she is serious about jumping into politics again, Is it possible? 

To that, we only need to use the magical powers of the Internet to look back to the last presidential race. 

Birtherism Reborn: Candidate Ted Cruz and the Wrath of Karma

by Nomad

Republicans have once again incurred the wrath of the Karma goddess. After years of ranting suspicions about Obama's eligibility to be president, the Republicans could be in a pickle in 2016.
Karma has now focused her attention on GOP/Tea Party darling, Ted Cruz.

For most of President Obama's first term in office, the subject of his birth and eligibility for office were constantly being bandied about by ultra-conservatives. The "Birther" bunch was lead primarily led by one Orly Taitz- a colorful character to say the least. No amount of proof seemed to satisfy her and her scouts. Something, they said, was just not right (white?) about Obama. 

Eventually even the most die-hard conservative lost interest. To the so-called right wing-nuts, the question was enough to bring up any attack against the president. Truth did not need to prevail, the innuendo was sufficient. 

Now the subject of citizenship seems poised to re-appear, but this time it will become the bane- (so to speak) of Republicans.

The Importance of Being American

Last week, Texas Senator Ted Cruz formally renounced his Canadian citizenship which he had maintained throughout his life. As of May 14, Cruz was no longer a Canadian citizen. 

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada  on December 22, 1970, Cruz had kept his dual citizenship until its existence was revealed by the Dallas Morning News.

This move and the revelation that necessitated it was an important step in the career of Ted Cruz.

Why?

A recent survey by Public Policy Polling (PPP) found that Ted Cruz was a Republican front-runner for the 2016 election, beating out Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and even Jeb Bush. 

Hard to believe, I know. 

The poll also found that Cruz is considered the de facto leader of his party, with a large majority of respondents saying they trust him more than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House John Boehner.

With Eric Cantor expectedly tossed out on his tunkus, who knows who is next to receive the bum's rush out of the doors of Congress.

Therefore the question of Cruz's eligibility to run for president suddenly becomes essential.