Jesus Hussein Christ, I agree with John Cornyn

"I think it's terrible... This is not the kind of tone any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent."

Cornyn dismissed Limbaugh and Gingrich, adding: "Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials. I just don't think it's appropriate. I certainly don't endorse it. I think it's wrong."

Corndog, whose charge this cycle includes getting more Republicans elected to the Senate, is awake and smelling the coffee. The RNC (Rush, Newt, Cheney) is demonstrating high douchebaggery with every broadcast utterance for the past week, but it's all for naught and Cornyn knows it. The Grand Obsolete Party cannot so much as muster a filibuster in the Senate, nor can they allow Sotomayor to sail to confirmation without looking flaccid. So they are boxed in with their base, struggling to placate the radicals who are shrinking the party.

The squeals of "racist" drive more independents and swing voters away in droves. The lesser insults are doing the same thing. The most hilarious assertion flung from the herd of Irrelephants came from former Bush brain Karl Rove, who knows people who went to Yale and Harvard who weren't all that smart, nyuck nyuck. Rove and Limbaugh -- neither of whom could complete a baccalaureate program at second-rate colleges -- calling a Harvard Phi Beta Kappa unintelligent has to be as high as hypocrisy can stretch.

But I bet they can beat that next week.

Anyway, kudos to Cornyn for speaking out against the unelected leadership of his party and calling for civility in the consideration of Judge Sotomayor's appointment to the SCOTUS. And let's see If Limbaugh bashes him on the radio on Monday.

Sunday Funnies

John Culberson's bid for the "Douchebag"

It's going to take a super-human effort for anyone to top him this week. Let's go to the videotape -- and keep an eye on his gestures:



Update: Susan's Big Blue Butt piles on.

Chubbed to death

Good news: Voter ID died quietly last night. Bad news: So did unemployment insurance funds of $555 million in federal stimulus dollars to be extended to the 200,000 Texans who are unemployed.

Republicans paid a little back for being bamboozled on the single greatest issue facing Texans today by talking the UEI extension to death last night:

Expanded jobless benefits for laid-off Texans, more health insurance for thousands of low-income children and reform of windstorm insurance rates for coastal residents all were in peril of dying Tuesday because of the lingering House battle over voter identification legislation.

A final clash at midnight killed both the voter identification measure as well as the unemployment benefits expansion. The legislation to help average Texans through children’s health and windstorm insurance also appeared to be dead, but those issues have a better chance at resurrection before the session ends June 1. ...

Democrats dropped their delay tactics shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday as Speaker Pro Tempore Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, announced: “We’re going to rock and roll for awhile.” The Democrats brought up the unemployment benefits bill at about 11:35 p.m., but Republicans kept the debate going until they could kill it on the midnight deadline.

Dead legislation: a bill to legalize concealed handguns on college campuses.

Presumed dead: a requirement that women sign a waiver to decline a sonogram before having an abortion.

Critically ill: an expansion of the state’s unemployment insurance system to obtain $555 million in federal stimulus funds. The legislation was set to be next on the House agenda if the extended debate on the non-controversial bills ever ended.

Most of these deaths were a relief. The exception, obviously, was what had Friendswood Republican Larry Taylor grinning from ear to ear very early this morning:

Well, if Rick Perry, Joe Straus, David Dewhurst and their GOP conspirators couldn't successfully deny the vote to hundreds of thousands of Texans, they succeeded in denying them unemployment benefits.

I've seen a lot of black-hearted things in the Capitol, but I've never been as disgusted as I was when I saw GOP House Caucus Chair Larry Taylor grinning like the Cheshire Cat as Straus and his henchmen used the very device they'd been whining about -- slow talking -- to kill the unemployment insurance bill.

They were grinning like cats, but they were behaving like wee, witless errand-folk for Perry. Perry opposed the UI bill because he had to object to something in the federal stimulus package. Refusing a few hundred million from Barack Obama seemed just the ticket to raise his creep-cred with the far right. Even if it raised taxes on businesses about $700 million. Even if it increased the suffering of 200,000 Texans who've lost their jobs because G.W. Bush and Perry almost destroyed the economy.

Joe Straus has spent the entire legislative session in an undisclosed location, abdicating the Speaker's dais to the pro-tem, Galveston Democrat Craig Eiland. With the voter ID bill scheduled first on the legislative calendar last week, the GOP refused compromises from Democrats to consider other bills ahead of it, and that's when the filibuster began. Taylor again with the script straight from Limbaugh:

At one point, Taylor, the Republican leader, said compromising with the Democrats would be like negotiating with "kidnappers or terrorists." He hastened to add that he wasn't likening Democrats to criminals but compared them to "whiny kids throwing a fit on the floor."

Ah, the art of diplomacy. Taylor just never learned how to color within the lines.

Can you spell "special session"? I knew you could.

Update: Grits for Breakfast has more, specifically on the criminal justice legislation which passed gently into that good night.

Post-Memorial Day Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance weekly blog roundup comes a day later than usual due to some excessive celebrating. Here are the highlights:

WhosPlayin only had Random Thoughts this week, but guest blogger Calvin Tillman -- mayor of Dish, TX -- weighed in with his thoughts on the Stacked Deck being dealt by the Texas Railroad Commission and their bias towards the interests of the oil and gas companies.

At Left of College Station, Teddy reports on the recent increase in violence, the withdrawal of troops, and the possibility of what could happen in the war that has vanished from public debate: the fading war in Iraq.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme says the Voter ID debacle demonstrates the differences between Republicans and Democrats.

Off the Kuff takes a look at a battle between cities and some legislators over red light cameras.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the great job his Democratic state representative in HD-52 is doing this session in Diana Maldonado's Legislation.

TXsharon asked you to help Close the Halliburton Loophole and it looks like it's working, but don't let up on the pressure yet. From Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS

New TPA member blog Castle Hills Democrats ran a satire piece by the blogger's good friend Melinda, poking fun at those who say they're Tired of Big Government.

Neil at Texas Liberal has been accepted as a member of the Academy of Political Science. Also, Neil finds that Houston's District H Council special election makes him ill.

This week, the Republican's sent out an email asking people to fight... for toll roads. McBlogger, predictably, thought their arguments were pretty weak.

Rick Carney, Gov. Suckseed's political consultant, likened efforts to broaden the appeal of the Texas Republican Party "becoming a whorehouse", and for some reason several of Kay Bailey's female supporters took offense. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs pops the corn and documents the atrocity.

Over at TexasKaos, TxSharon begs Congress to Close the Halliburton Loophole. She explains that the drilling industry is the only industry allowed to pump toxics into our water sources without special permission.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is totally pissed off that Republicans continue to take paranoid revenge on Democracy when it comes to serious legislation. They play dirty and spiteful games to get their pet projects injected into serious bills to help battered American retirees: Retiring Early In Self Defense Could Be A Mistake.

Leo Berman for Governor (LMAO)

Bad news for Rick Perry:

With plans to join the GOP primary with Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said today he wil announce as a candidate for governor the week of July 4.

"I want to run for governor because there's one major problem in this state that no one seems to be addressing, and in of fact they are completely avoiding it, and that was quite evident in this legislative session as well, and that's the question of illegal aliens in Texas."

Go see the video from RG Ratcliffe at the Chron here.

Leo Berman is a big favorite of ours here in the Texas progressive blogosphere. This is the kind of excitement I was hoping for just last week.

I think Leo is probably good for about 15-20% of the primary vote, all of it coming out of Governor Suckseed's hide. Which makes Kay Bailey a prohibitive favorite, though it would still be fascinating to see a run-off between her and either one of Perry and Berman.

I better order another tractor trailer load of Orville Redenbacher right away.