Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Here are some ideas and positions that the T-GOP candidates have campaigned on.


UPDATE:

I fell for a FAKE news report on Marco Rubio. The story reported below IS NOT TRUE. I should have known that something as outrageous as this couldn't be true, but because of how the T-GOPers view rape victims who become pregnant, (some of their candidates believe rape victims who are impregnated should carry their pregnancies to term -- no abortion for any woman under any condition), it seemed plausible for someone like Rubio to make such an outrageous suggestion. I normally check out these things before posting, but I didn't do my job this time.  Sorry. I will do better in the future.

I still stand by my claim that most of the candidates running for the T-GOP nomination are radical and their ideas are kooky.




Mind you, this is the party of Freedom! And keeping the gummint out of our lives:



Marco Rubio:

NOT TRUE!  THIS WAS A HOAX REPORT ON A NEWS SATIRE SITE.  SORRY.

“Rape Victims Should Be In Custody If There Is Suspicion That They’re Planning Abortion”



These reports, however, ARE TRUE:


Marco Rubio:



Points On Marco Rubio's Troubled Financial History


"Ask Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and he himself will say it: he's not part of the 1 percent. And a Tuesday report in The New York Times goes into detail about the 2016 candidate's fraught financial history, which includes using the Florida Republican party's credit card for personal purchases, buying multiple houses, and appointing unqualified family members to serve in political positions with fiscal responsibility. 

 The piece notes that Rubio, like many Americans, carries credit card debt, and has had to grapple with mortgages and paying off student loans. What sets Rubio's financial troubles apart from those of many Americans, however, is that Rubio's had the long-time financial support of billionaire Norman Braman, a major campaign donor who helped fund Rubio's job as a college instructor, hired Rubio as a lawyer, and continues to employ his wife."



Dr. Ben Carson:

Ben Carson: Dept. of Education Should Police ‘Extreme’ Political Bias in Colleges


"The self-described “politically incorrect” GOP candidate wants to enforce his own political correctness on campuses. Unlike many of his conservative colleagues, Ben Carson would not eliminate the Department of Education if he were president. Instead, he would use the federal agency to police “extreme political bias” on college campuses. Appearing...on Glenn Beck’s radio show, Carson was asked whether he would dismantle the department as part of his education policy. “I actually have something I would use the Department of Education to do,” the doctor smirked in response to the question."

[skip]

“It would be to monitor our institutions of higher education for extreme political bias and deny funding if it exists.” So, in effect, “politically incorrect” Ben Carson would like a government agency to be arbiter of what is or is not politically “extreme” speech on campuses."


Ted Cruz:


Ted Cruz:  IMPLIES THAT An Atheist 'Isn't Fit To Be' President. Not only that, but a president should begin every day with prayer.


"Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Friday that he believes anyone who wants to be president must fear God and pray daily. 

 Speaking at the National Religious Liberties Conference in Iowa, Cruz joined other GOP presidential candidates for a discussion about the persecution of Christians in the U.S. and around the world. 

After some very extreme, very weird comments about homosexuality, right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson introduced Cruz to the stage to ask him how important it was for candidates to submit to Jesus Christ as "the king of the President of the United States." "Any president who doesn't begin every day on his knees isn't fit to be commander-in-chief of this country," responded Cruz."



Donald Trump:


Trump: Deport 11 million, then let good people back in

"In one of his first forays into policy as a presidential candidate, Republican Donald Trump calls for the deportation of all 11 million people estimated to be living in the country illegally while allowing the "really good people" to return. 

 It's a plan Trump offers with few specifics — and one complicated by the messy realities of the nation's immigration system. Such an effort may be more difficult than Trump realizes because deporting so many people means finding them first. The government does not know the identities of many of the millions of people who have come into the country illegally or remained after their legally issued visas expired. Locating immigrants who don't have a legal immigration status has stymied officials for decades."


John Ellis Bush!


Jeb Bush sees Apple Watch as part of anti-Obamacare plan

"In Tempe, the Republican presidential hopeful told an audience that he wants to “repeal Obamacare” and replace it with some kind of “consumer-driven” system – a popular phrase among GOP politicians, which no doubt polled well in focus groups. Bush then explained his vision for his new Apple Watch fits into his health care vision: 

“On this device in five years will be applications that will allow me to manage my health care in ways that five years ago were not even possible. I’ll have the ability, someone will, you know, because of my blood sugar, there’ll be a wireless, there’ll be, someone will send me a signal. It’ll come here, I’ll get a double beep saying, ‘You just ate a butterscotch sundae’ or something like that. ‘You went way over the top. You’re a diabetic, you can’t do that,’ whatever. 

 “We’ll be able to guide our own healthcare decisions in a way that will make us healthy. And ultimately, we have to get to a health system, away from a disease system.”



How the rest of the world sees the America and the T-GOP:

"An opinion piece in a New Zealand newspaper a few months ago gave particular attention to the extremism being displayed by the GOP presidential candidates and actually cited the support they have from voters. The authors wrote that Republicans “are now essentially a party of religious fundamentalism” in citing Ted Cruz’s typically Republican mindset that America’s darkest day was not 9/11, Pearl Harbor, presidential assassinations, or the Civil War. No, according to Cruz and no small number of Republican voters “America’s darkest day was when the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.”



And this:

"A resident of an EU nation remarked that, “I am completely flabbergasted by what has become of America. In the Republican Party stupidity is admired and encouraged, intelligence and education are viewed as ‘elitist’, money is their God and fear is their motivator. 

If more people outside the US continue to speak very loudly about this situation, it might help them turn things around. The hate and fear that Fox (NOT news) promotes helped the Republican Party create and fuel the atmosphere threatening America. 
 

“The takeover of American conservatism by evangelical Christians, Fox News and a handful of shady billionaires transformed Republicans into the party of willful ignorance where doctrinal purity is more valued than intelligence, tolerance has been supplanted by persecutory moralizing, and paranoia has replaced realism.”

18 comments:

Ahab said...

What a political circus!

Shaw Kenawe said...

And keep in mind, Ahab, that these candidates are supposedly the crème de la crème of the T-GOP, the people who crank about the government invading our lives, and yet they turn a blind eye to their candidates when they propose the most invasive government snooping.

Can anyone imagine a more hare-brained idea than tracking down women who were victims of rape to make sure they don't abort the state-forced pregnancy? Or sending government agents to college campuses to report on who's engaging in politically biased speech?

For the T-GOP, 1984 is always in fashion, and the T-GOP wants you to know they love it.


Infidel753 said...

Rubio also took the opportunity to discuss rape victims by revealing he would "put rape victims into custody and under strict supervision if it is determined that they are planning to have an abortion."

How is it possible that a monster capable of saying such a thing is a serious contender for any position other than Misogynist of the Year? If Rubio gets the nomination, this statement alone should be enough to sink him.

Shaw Kenawe said...

"How is it possible that a monster capable of saying such a thing is a serious contender for any position other than Misogynist of the Year? If Rubio gets the nomination, this statement alone should be enough to sink him."

Absolutely. It is a monstrous idea from a hare-brained neophyte who can't manage his own finances but would institute a sort of Pregnancy SS to track down victims of rape.

If someone had told me even 4 years ago that a serious GOP contender for the presidency proposed such a totalitarian scheme, I would suggest deep psychological therapy. And yet Rubio has no problem suggesting something a rogue police state would institute. Rubio is obviously as mad (as in mentally challenged) as Carson. The both of them have done something I never thought could be done: They make Trump look reasonable.

Ronnie's Ray Gun said...

Rubio is clearly nuts.

“Rape Victims Should Be In Custody If There Is Suspicion That They’re Planning Abortion”

Who determines if there is a "suspicion?" This is more evidence that the Republican Party is the party of insane ideas and candidates for the presidency.

Ducky's here said...

Unfortunately it looks as if the little trog is being smeared

Not that I'd put it past him.

Les Carpenter said...

Looking forward to tonight's GOP debate.

Lots of popcorn and craft brews on hand for the event.

Dave Miller said...

Shaw... you really should consider the rest of the conference where Cruz made his remarks. You know, the one where death was seen as a reasonable "solution" to people being gay. This Pastor Swann gives the rest of us a bad name, and there were Huckabee and Jindal, also on stage not having any problem with those views.

Let's recap this...

Trump... Mexicans are rapists
Jindal... okay with killing gays
Huckabee... okay with killing gays
Cruz... okay with killing gays
Carson... Joseph built the pyramids for grain
Rubio... Imprison women seeking abortions after they've been raped
Bush... I'm gonna start cursing now to show how real I am
Christie... bridgegate

Seriously, I think Kasich is just trying to outlast the craziness so he can get the nomination.

Dave Miller said...

Ducky... let me amend my comments then, at least as they relate to Rubio. Or maybe I can take a stance like some conservative blogs and claim the following... I don't care if it is accurate, true or not regarding what he said... it still is a logical conclusion to a view that criminalizes abortion.

If abortion is illegal, won't anyone who participates be a criminal? If a woman has an abortion, or under conservative thinking, murders an unborn child, can someone explain to me why she should not be subject to capital punishment? And her doctor?

Shaw Kenawe said...

Dave, see my correction on the first piece I posted on Rubio. It was from a fake news site. My bad. Unlike some far right blogs, I have no trouble admitting what I posted was in error. One of those blogs, according to an email I received, put up a poster about Hillary Clinton stealing from the White House when she and President Clinton left. That's been debunked and proved to be nothing more than rightwing hysterics, playing off of Clinton hatred. But, even when told it was not true, it remains. They have no shame and evidently believe in promoting falsehoods. And then they piously post Bible versus on Sundays.


Dave, that "pastor" is not a Christian. He's a disgrace and so are the T-GOP candidates who haven't the courage to say so, but are happy to pander to his hateful followers. They're disgusting. He's called for the death of gays, and the creeps in the T-GOP see nothing wrong with that? But they love Jesus?

I goofed up in publishing the Marco Rubio satire piece, but there's enough insanity in the current T-GOP to have made it sound plausible.

Jerry Critter said...

Compare these things with crazy things Democrats want:

Universal healthcare
Gun control
Low cost education
Election finance reform
Infrastructure repair/rebuild
Renewable energy programs

What sound like a more rational governing party?

Ducky's here said...

Yes, I accept that, Dave. The body of statements and the history of this field will stand on its own.

It's at the point where there isn't really much that progressives can do.
The riders in the clown car are intent on tearing up each other and probably alienating moderates in the process.

Best bet is just to stay on message and project sane policies.
I have faith that the majority of American voters will see the difference.

Shaw Kenawe said...

PS. Thanks for the heads-up, Ducky.

Infidel753 said...

Well, I'm glad to hear Rubio didn't actually say that, but he definitely has said that he opposes rape or health exceptions for the abortion ban he favors. The fact that he hasn't actually proposed locking women up to enforce this is something of a nuance (and how would he enforce such an inhuman law? maybe a question that should be posed in a real debate, if the Republicans ever have one). The fact remains that these people are totalitarians, every bit as much as the Chinese regime that forced abortions on women who didn't want them. For all their invoking of the word "freedom", they're its deadly enemies.

Dave Miller said...

How about Trump support for Ike's deportation plan that was known as Operation Wetback... Next maybe there will be Operation Wop, Chink, Gook, etc...

How can a party expect to be taken seriously and have a guy like this leading the pack?

Shaw Kenawe said...

Infidel753, Dave brought up a point -- if the TGOP candidates believe abortion is murder, then they'll have to arrest and put on trial any woman who has one -- and that would include the person performing the procedure.

As for believing the hoax story about Rubio keeping raped women under watch so that they don't sneak off and abort their fetuses, did that sound any less crazy than an actual REAL statement by a fundamentalist pastor who said he'd cover himself in cow manure if he discovered that his sons were gay? TGOP candidates appeared in an interview with Kevin Swanson, the nut who said that, and Jindal and Huckabee never blinked an eye. Swanson is a gay-hating wacko.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Dave, Trump, as usual, showed his tone-deaf, moronic self when he suggested we institute another "Operation Wetback:"

"The Eisenhower program Trump was referring to, if not by name, was called "Operation Wetback." Implemented by President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, the program was frighteningly simple: round up undocumented immigrants and drop them off in Mexico by the busload. The more obscure the location, the better. Dozens of the operation's deportees died. The program was initiated by then-Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., who ordered his officers to shoot "wetbacks" trying to enter America. Ultimately, it wasn't even as successful as Trump claims: Some researchers consider the 1.5 million-deported figure to be highly exaggerated.

White supremacists picked up on Trump's reference immediately:

The Eisenhower program Trump was referring to, if not by name, was called "Operation Wetback." Implemented by President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, the program was frighteningly simple: round up undocumented immigrants and drop them off in Mexico by the busload. The more obscure the location, the better. Dozens of the operation's deportees died. The program was initiated by then-Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., who ordered his officers to shoot "wetbacks" trying to enter America. Ultimately, it wasn't even as successful as Trump claims: Some researchers consider the 1.5 million-deported figure to be highly exaggerated."


Way to go Donnie. Implement a program that would shoot "wetbacks" trying to re-enter America?

Trump's solution? Deport 11 million human beings. If they come back? Kill 'em!

Totalitarianism at its best!

Les Carpenter said...

Trump is consistent that's for sure.

I wasn't expecting much and the candidates did not disappoint. Truly a lightwight field.