Primarily Terrible

Here's the latest from Bad Max 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold, aka the Republican Primary...

Frontrunner (whuzzat?!) Newt Gingrich was preempted by chanting Occupy Wall Street protesters at a campaign event at the University of Iowa. Smooth as always, and definitely showing his firm grip on the pulse of the nation, Gingrich shouted over them: "I appreciate the 95% of you, maybe even the 99% of you, who will actually have an intelligent discussion and are not going to be drowned out by the 1% who try to impose their will by making noise." LOL! GOOD ONE!

Former frontfunner (sad trombone) Mitt Romney, last seen attacking Gingrich on the basis of his "zaniness," has stepped up his scathing attack strategy by pointing out that Gingrich is "a wealthy man, a very wealthy man." Ooh BURN! It's true what they say: No one can identify a wealthy man, a very wealthy man, like a trust-fund kid who grew up to make millions running a private equity investment firm. You've got him on the ropes now, Moneybags!

Rick Perry is still definitely in the race! He has not dropped out yet.

Ron Paul has gotten the coveted Andrew Sullivan endorsement. It's no Gary Busey, but it's pretty good. It must have been hard for a guy who loves racism and sexism SO MUCH to limit himself to one candidate in the GOP field, so it's really a strong message to racists and sexists that Sully went with Ron Paul. Take heed, bigots!

Michele Bachmann is accusing Newt Gingrich of buying Tea Party support: She's "been hearing this all across the country, that money is changing hands. And that's not how I do business. In fact, I've told people, I've told evangelicals, I've told Tea Partiers—I don't pay people to come out and be my supporters, that's not what I do. When we have tea party groups and all of the rest, I don't do that because I'm just a real person." Oh, Newt Gingrich is a real person, too. A VERY RICH person! Who can buy Tea Party Support! Just ask Mitt Romney.

Jon Huntsman is gaining momentum in New Hampshire. Not a lot—just enough to beat Ron Paul. But enough to sustain an egomaniac's belief that he can definitely for sure totally win this thing!

Rick Santorum said something stupid and homophobic. In other news, today is Thursday.

Bonus Fun! Dynamic television personality and former GOP primary failosaur Mike Huckabee hosted an anti-abortion forum in Iowa for the candidates who bothered to show up (Gingrich, Bachmann, Santorum, and Perry, who is still definitely in the race). Each of the candidates had the opportunity to deliver "seven-minute speeches on their anti-abortion agendas" before the premiere of Huckabee's new anti-abortion documentary, The Gift of Life. That sounds like a GREAT event! SO FUN. Good job on being awesome, Republicans!

Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.

Primarily Awful

Here's the latest from the BAD MAX: BEYOND BLUNDERDOME! aka the Republican Primary...

Frontrunner (gag reflex) Newt Gingrich has shit-canned his brand new Iowa political director after dude made disparaging remarks about Mormonism being a cult. Gingrich's Iowa game does not have the moves like Jagger, so this is yet another setback in a key primary state. Whooooooooooops!

Erstwhile frontrunner (sad clown) Mitt Romney meanwhile put on his Rootin'-Tootin' Fisticuffing Britches and called Gingrich an "extremely unreliable leader in the conservative world." Oh HELL no! You kiss your mother with that mouth, Willard?! Ha ha just kidding. That is a very weak criticism. In fact, I'm pretty sure at least 72% of conservatives consider "extremely unreliable" a desirable attribute in a president. See: 2000-2008.

In other Romney-related news, focus groups keep finding that evangelicals don't like Romney (which is definitely not because he's Mormon, ha ha, no way!), but he just won the coveted Christine O'Donnell endorsement, and she's like Queen Evangelica of the Christlands, so EVERYTHING IS SO CONFUSING! Aren't "the evangelicals" a monolithic hivemind like the media keeps telling me?! Next thing you know, women will start voting for different candidates.

In New Hampshire, Ron Paul makes a strong argument for bootstraps: "If we didn't have bailouts, dependency on government, welfare for the rich, food stamps for the poor [people would live within their means]." Fun Fact: Within some circles, Ron Paul is known as "Mr. Cool Logic."

Michele Bachmann calls her opponents "milquetoast" candidates: "I must raise every available dollar between now and January 3rd to ensure our hard-charging constitutional conservative campaign—not some milquetoast opponents like Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich—wins over these undecided Iowa voters." I guess everything looks like milquetoast when you're a rightwing extremist.

In case you weren't aware, Rick Santorum is very religious. His "presidential ambition is rooted in his faith," and his faith is, in fact, "the key ingredient that also powers Santorum's long-shot drive for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination." That is a very nice way of saying it would take a miracle for Santorum to become the GOP nominee. Poor Rick Santorum. It's gotta hurt to be such a resoundingly terrible candidate that, even in a campaign in which every dingaling who throws hir hat in the general vicinity of the ring becomes Conservatives' New Favorite Person of the Day, even the most desperate primary electorate since the last election (McCain-Palin 4ever!) diligently endeavors to pretend you don't exist in the futile hope you will just quietly go away. Aww.

Jon Huntsman predicts he'll "catch on after silly season," because he's a serious candidate. "I don't sign those silly pledges. I don't pander. I don't light my hair on fire. There's just some things I won't do." Like, for example, be invited to the next debate, because his poll numbers are in the toilet. The toilet at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. (Great joke!)

Rick Perry is still definitely in the race! He has not dropped out yet.

Discuss.

Michele Bachmann Is Definitely a Presidential Candidate

[Trigger warning for misogyny and gender essentialism.]

That is, she dresses like a professional, and she has an unyielding commitment to a rigid ideology. But, because Bachmann is a woman, and women are delicate flowers with a singular capacity for decorating the world by being pretty and subservient, this means she is "something of a contradiction" according to a piece in the WaPo headlined: "Michele Bachmann's ladylike toughness." Yiiiiiiiiiikes. It gets worse in the subhead: "Michele Bachmann is something of a contradiction. She dresses in ladylike suits and pearls, but as The Washington Post's Sarah Kaufman describes, she delivers her tough views with no hesitation."

You'd think a paper as robust as the Washington Post would have heard the breaking news by now that women are human beings and the year is 2011.

Text Onscreen: Washington Post.

Sarah Kaufman in voiceover, over drawing of Rep. Michele Bachmann: Don't let the delicate appearance fool you—there is nothing weak about Michele Bachmann.

Video of Bachmann during debate: —I will go over to the Department of Education, and I'd turn out the lights, I'd lock the door—

Kaufman, onscreen: In fact, what strikes me most about the Minnesota Congresswoman is how tightly wound she is. [over video and stills of Bachmann] She's something of a contradiction: The way she dresses in ladylike suits and pearls emphasizes her femininity and her small stature, and yet her outlook is super macho. She has tougher views than almost any of the men on the debate stage. She delivers them with no hesitation.

Video of Bachmann during debate: If I were president, I would be willing to use waterboarding.

Kaufman, over video of Bachmann: Her stage presence is all about steeliness, resolve, and absolute certainty. The downside is: Will she listen to any views other than her own? Can she empathize? She may look like one of the ladies who lunch, but the impression she gives is that, inside, she's solid, hard, and unbending.

Grim stuff.

Anyone who finds it "striking" that a conservative woman—or any woman seeking national election—feels obliged to out-macho the men, in a nation where funding war is prioritized over funding healthcare and women comprise only 16% of the Congress, has no business covering politics.

Nor does anyone who pretends to find it striking, in order to levy a misogynist attack rife with dog whistles against a female candidate.

Contact the Washington Post ombudsman here.

Primarily Gross

Here's the latest from the epic parade of failosaurs competing to be THE BIGGEST DIRTBAG OF THEM ALL! aka the Republican Primary...

Frontrunner (barrrrrrrf) Newt Gingrich has been offered a million dollars by odious conservative radio host Michael Savage to drop out of the race. Ha ha Michael Savage you are being an even bigger fuckbrain than usual! Newt Gingrich farts in the general direction of your million dollars. That will barely even cover his tab at Tiffany's!

Former frontrunner (whoooooooops!) Mitt Romney wants to "turn around America and keep America American with the principals [sic] that made us the greatest nation on Earth." It's hard to believe he's not running away with this race with stirring, well-crafted, and totes not at all embarrassingly juvenile rhetoric like that!

Rick Santorum is counting on Iowa. Did you hear that, Iowa? Rick Santorum is counting on you to turn him from a national joke into a national candidate. TALL ORDERS! I hope you are up to the task.

Jon Huntsman is not running as an independent! "I'm not running as an independent. I'm not running as an independent. I don't know how many times I have to say that." A million! By the way, you're definitely not running as the Republican nominee, either.

Rick Perry is still definitely in the race! He has not dropped out yet.

Are you interested in meeting the man behind Ron Paul's awesome campaign ads from 1989? Sure you are! Who wouldn't be? No one, that's who! So thank goodness that the Washington Post has profiled this very interesting gentleman! "I wouldn’t consider myself a member of his army." "I don't get into campaign strategy." Ha ha GREAT STUFF. A real dynamo, this guy.

Michele Bachmann has strengths and weaknesses, and in the Venn diagram of those two things, "her certainty" lies in the intersection. So says the WaPo. Is it evident that I have lost all interest in Michele Bachmann? I have lost all interest in Michele Bachmann. And this primary.

Wake me when the Republicans have nominated one of these garbage nightmares, so I can repeat ad infinitum that whoever it is should never be president.

Quote of the Day

"I don't think people like children being injected into controversies that are far beyond their understanding. ... An eight-year-old doesn't know what homosexuality is, nor should he or she!"—Bloviating fartsack Bill O'Reilly, scolding the mother of an 8-year-old boy who, earlier this week, told Rep. Michele Bachmann at a campaign appearance that his mother is a lesbian and doesn't need to be fixed.

O'Reilly is obviously a stupendous child psychologist and childhood development expert, absolute tops in his field, he probably has at least three different degrees from Smart Guy University, which is so exclusive you couldn't get in so don't even try, and I'm just some random knucklehead who happened to grow up with gay friends and friends with gay parents, but it seems to me that actually a lot of 8-year-olds do know what homosexuality is, and they find it to be orders of magnitude less controversial than 62-year-old straight men who make a fine living pretending to care about the well-being of children whose families he marginalizes at every opportunity to bring spiteful joy to the bitter homobigots he calls fans who are desperately concerned about their super-special relationships losing the shimmering, golden glow that only denying equality to same-sex couples conveys upon their gloriously gilded unions.

But, hey, I'm no expert.

Primarily Stupid

A look at what's going on with those rascally Republican rapscallions this morning...

In feminist news (lulz), Rep. Michele Bachmann has received the endorsement of arch conservative Phyllis Schlafly. How fun! An anti-feminist lady endorsing an anti-feminist lady—and womanhood, nor the particular attributes that being a strong woman in a misogynist culture both demands and reinforces, definitely has nothing to do with it FOR SURE, because that would be feminism, which is obviously garbage.

Speaking of strong ladies, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi knows Newt: "One of these days we'll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich. I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff." I believe the technical term for that is "oppo-research-a-go-go."

Obviously, conservatives don't give a fuck if Newt Gingrich snorted payola off an organic goat's tenderloin, but GOP elites have to be nervous about whether independent voters will be so sanguine about Candidate Gingrich's unsavory past. And present. And certain future.

On that "we'll take Newt, whatever" note, as Gingrich emerges as the clear frontrunner in Iowa, Gallup finds that "Republicans See Gingrich, Romney as 'Acceptable' Nominees." And they are the only two candidates deemed acceptable by more than 50% of respondents. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Curb the enthusiasm there, Republicans!

Speaking of Mitt Romney: Did you know he's a flip-flopper? It's true! I know, I was shocked. And not only does he lack integrity, it turns out he's shady and dishonest, not to mention unethical, as well. What an absolute surprise! I had no idea. Ha ha just kidding. I had ALL the ideas.

The leftovers: Gingrich asks Trump to create 'apprentice' program for poor schoolchildren. Of course he does. And Paul Krugman on the current state of American politics.