Political Theatre category archive

Returned to the cavern under the mountain.

Via Atrios.

Jimmy Kimmel pwns Mitt the Flip.

Via ABL.

Helen Philpot autopsies the debate.

If lying whenever your mouth moves is what they mean by style points then, yes, I would definitely have to say that Romney won the debate. He had to temporarily become a Democrat to do it, but yes he won. And it was clear that even the President didn’t see that one coming.

Follow the link for the complete post; it’s a gem.

Colbert skewers George Will’s farcical attempt to claim that “white guilt” accounts for President Obama’s standing in the polls.

Via Raw Story.

From the website:

In August, retired US Marine Brandon Raub was arrested for controversial posts he made on his Facebook page. Raub was arrested by the FBI and was placed in a psychiatric ward against his will, but was later released and wasn’t charged of a crime. A new Army document shows that social media use is considered an warning indicator for radical extremism by the US military. John Whitehead, a constitutional attorney joins us with his take on what situations like these could mean for the rest of Americans.

I have no idea what he posted and I don’t care. But I remember that a favorite tactic of Stalin was to confine his enemies to “mental hospitals.”

Good debate prep, full of zingers.

Via Delaware Liberal.

You could argue that we have a Presidential election that pits the forces of evil against the forces of it-could-be-worse.

That’s no reason to bail. As Kevin Drum puts it:

That said, if you’re an actual lefty agonizing over whether you can possibly support the lesser of two evils this year, I have nine words for you: How did that work out for you in 2000?

Voting is not a right. It is a duty.

Throwing away your vote shirks your duty.

Kevin Drum via Bob Cesca.

And Contradict Me has a yacht load of them.

Right wingers are fond of claiming that poor folks living on unemployment start to feel entitled to a life of ramen noodles and turkey dogs.

Reg Henry, at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, points out that moral lapses do not respect wealth; he suggests that rich folks just as easily can feel entitled to a life of idleness playing golf and yachting to the Caymans to visit their money.

But, he says, there are exceptions:

For example, I know of a fellow who, despite winning the birth lottery, had the gumption and smarts to create a highly successful business. After a period of becoming wealthy in his own right, he then decided to rest on his bounteous laurels and run for president.

Trouble is, he can’t relate to anyone now. He is so desperate to be liked by ordinary people that he will say any old conservative thing just to show he is one of the boys.

It is a sad spectacle because it’s such a waste of obvious talent. Instead of investing money in a Swiss bank or the Cayman Islands, he could start another business right here in America, maybe producing special harnesses that could keep dogs safe on the roof of the family car.

The Commander Guy theorizes why Mitt the Flip’s campaign may have Pekoed and his support seems to be Lapsang, leaving his campaign teetering on the Lipton of failure and him with that sinking Darjeeling.

Read more »

There’s no there there.

Via TPM.

Via Bartcop.

Thom Hartmann explains:

Via C&L.

Over at Unqualified Offerings, Jim Henley reveals the formula that right wingnut Dean Chambers uses to make sure that poll results just look right to him.

Here’s three pieces of the algorithm. Follow the link for the rest.

1. Does a poll show an Obama lead outside the so-called margin of error? The poll is skewed.
2. Does a poll show an Obama lead inside the MOE? That’s a “statistical tie.”
3. Does the poll show a Romney lead inside the MOE? Don’t call this a “statistical tie.” Call it a Romney lead*.

Dick Polman describes how, now that the deadline for withdrawing from the race has passed, GOP bigwigs are once again supporting Todd “Legitimate Rapes Don’t Make Babies” Akin.

In my local rag, editorial writer Darryl Lease fingers the missing element–something missing since at least the Nixon era:

Maybe he (Akin–ed.) will win. But, sooner or later, the Republican Party will need some help rediscovering what it’s lost here – its conscience.

Most of us can find ours in a mirror. Some GOP officials, it appears, will need special technology.

The Commander Guy:

Over 20 Conservative Leaders including Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Tony Perkins and some other(s) . . . say yes and call on Public to Tune out the Liberal Media! Who needs it when you have the wingnut-O-sphere!

Meanwhile, Bob Cesca worries that the wingnut fuss over the polls is groundwork for gutting out the vote.

Colbert points the way to sanity–like bad DJs, the pollsters are over-sampling:

Jay Bookman reveals his formula for predicting the Presidential election.

I cannot do justice to it with a summary or excerpt. Just read it.

Warning: Mild Language.

Via Delaware Liberal.