Meet the Republican who wants to take Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD8) seat [via the Washington Post]:
Murray Hill might be the perfect candidate for this political moment: young, bold, media-savvy, a Washington outsider eager to reshape the way things are done in the nation’s capital. And if these are cynical times, well, then, it’s safe to say Murray Hill is by far the most cynical.
Alaskan blog Palingates, which broke the story on March 3, additionally serves up some compelling speculation on the mystery of why Sarah Palin was standing in front of a snowmachine in her TV commercial spot promoting the Iditarod, which is rather famously a dog-sledding event. Opportunistic product placement or spontaneous scene propping? You decide.
Beyond that, the jokes write themselves: The CBS story notes that Citgo has been the target of repeated Wingnut boycott initiatives. Palingates includes a video from the 2008 Primary where Sarah admits to a Venezuelan interviewer that she believes Hugo Chavez is a dictator. Chavez responded at the time by calling Sarah a confused “Beauty Queen.” Elsewhere, Salon split the difference by dubbing Sarah the “Hugo Chavez of Alaska.”
Optically, this is a bad look for the Palins. But perhaps embracing foreign socialist Enemy-of-America sponsors and cashing paychecks from dictators is just a “common sense solution” for energy self-sufficiency she hasn’t shared with us yet.
Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO and leading contender in California’s GOP gubernatorial primary, has a history of ducking questions from the news media. But, yesterday, she elevated evasiveness to an art form when she invited Bay Area print and broadcast outlets to cover her photo-op tour of the Union Pacific Railway Yard in Oakland, then confined them to a “holding pen” while she strolled the facility with company officials, and subsequently had them ejected from a sit-down “press conference” after reciting a brief prepared statement praising UP’s hump-yard and the health of California’s heavy rolling freight infrastructure.
Later, Whitman contacted a number of reporters to apologize for her vast wealth, which has mistakenly led her to believe that anyone she doesn’t recognize is either the wedding photographer or a member of the catering staff.
The Washington Post has more detail and snarky press reactions here.
Rush Limbaugh sez he’s leavin’ the country if it happens. Listen for yourself. (via Think Progress.)
I guess all I have to say to that is: “ohpleeeezohpleeeezohpleeeeze!!!”
The real punchline is that he’s planning to move to Costa Rica - home of one of the best soshulized medicine health care systems in Latin America. Hey, they even provide coverage to non-citizens. Like, umm, Rush would be.
This is Harry. I run into Harry a couple of mornings every month when I’m buying smokes and Robitussin (for the smoker’s cough) and coffee (to counter the guaifenesin in the Robitussin). Harry’s a Mt. Washington “character”—to the extent that you can find anyone up here on the Overlook who is discernibly more nearly a living cartoon or an ambulatory performance art installation than everyone else. In a neighborhood where eccentricity is a competitive sport, there are no absolutes. Distinctions are rated in decimal scores and degrees-of-difficulty.
Usually, Harry’s at the coffee bar by the news-rack, scanning the political pages in what’s left of our local rags. Occasionally, he’ll wave an editorial cartoon at me and say something like “At least this dumbshit gets it.”
Harry likes to talk about politics, a subject on which he seems eminently sane, funny, informed and passionate. He’s also the first to admit that it’s all totally fucking absurd, and that sometimes absurdity is the only weapon that common folk can wield in the fight.
I knew from our conversations that Harry enjoys tweaking our local City Council on a regular basis. I knew that he is genuinely upset by what he sees as rich White politicians perennially gaming the local Black community, and Black civic leaders who seem, at times, only too eager to play along. But I didn’t know until yesterday that Harry’s on YouTube.
Whether it’s Truth or Static, I’m not sure, but Harry isn’t afraid to speak whatever it is to Power. More importantly, he has contributed a rallying cry that I hope will echo across the Intertoobz.
(PS: I’ve added one of the photos Harry’s holding below the fold. And yes, it’s the former president of our local PBS affiliate (WQED) dressed as Tinkerbell at an awards event with major GOP mover/shaker Elsie Hillman in the role of Peter Pan.)
Those of us following the antics of ex-half-governor (H/T Strange) Sharpie are trying not to enjoy the utterly predictable news that she and her entourage somehow sniffed out the Oscar swag suite, fell upon it, and cleaned it out, as one horrified vendor said, “like locusts.”
How this was arranged is baffling, but E! online reports that the pillaged goods were to be donated to charity, but as yet, no move has been made to transfer the wealth. How Palin’s daughter’s new designer haircut is going to be given will be a mystery up there with whatever happened to the crumpled designer schmattes lent to Palin by the RNC, which, as far as anybody knows, are still in the “belly of the plane.”
Gawd. “America’s Truth Detector” lives like my Aunt TilliePercy Dovetonsils.
Rush Limbaugh has placed his full-floor 5th Avenue penthouse on sale for $13.95 million. HuffPo has photos here.
Rush’s vast collection of Keane paintings, Capodimonte lamps and lace antimacassars to be sold separately on HSN.
UPDATE: Fellow ‘Roaster Betty Cracker does me ten better in the comments:
Say Don Ho and Liberace had a love child who ate a greasy meal at a cheap Midwestern fish house and chased it with innumerable Captain Morgan and Tab cocktails, then vomited beach kitsch and ornate accoutrements all over a Red Roof Inn bridal suite. The resulting mess might resemble this:
It’s Rush Limbaugh’s bedroom—a sight heretofore seen only by maids with hillbilly heroin connections, brainless, amoral gold-diggers and perhaps Caribbean sex tourist kidnap victims. And it can be yours for only $14M.
Betty says it all: “More proof that money can’t buy class.” Plus, you have to wonder how many of his truck-drivin’, coal-minin’, Good Ole Boy listeners he’s had up to the Parlor for Pousse Café and finger dainties.
Poliblogs have lately been breathless with speculation as to who or what are the “hidden” powers behind the Tea Party movement. But, as the new Web site iamtheteapartyleader.com reveals with stunning YouTubidity, they aren’t hidden at all. In fact, you’ve probably met the “leaders” already, because they are Everywhere, and Everyman.
Is someone close to you a Tea Party Leader in Liberal drag? Are you a closet Tea Party Leader when you black-out at parties? There are 305 clips posted as of today, so you’d better start looking now.
Appearing on the O’Reilly show, Frank Luntz was obviously convinced that his high-tech focus group review of the “Down Syndrome” episode of Family Guy offered proof-positive that Liberals are soulless destructobots. But what he actually demonstrated was that cartoon characters (and cartoon politicians) induce wild mood swings in Conservatives, while Liberals are kicked-back, in the zone and imperturbably hugging the centerline of Life’s Crazy Highway.
Watch the two response-tracks closely. The Red Line (Republicans) represents Jackie Gleason in The Honeymooners. The Green Line (Democrats) represents Tommy Chong in court for selling bongs on the Internet. See the difference?
[PS: It’s pretty apparent that focus group responses to the “former Governor of Alaska” gag don’t quite fit Luntz’ paradigm, or he wouldn’t have bailed out of the clip before the reactions registered onscreen. Naughty Ph.D.!]
Is Weigel right? Or will Hillary jam the throttle and go auguring into the conning tower of the USS Mulligan, in a last-ditch Hail-Mary run against Obama, Palin and/or an Insane Teabagger TBA? Inquiring minds are obviously bored to paste-eating distraction with C-SPAN and the Olympics.
