A few years ago, during the 2008 election campaign, I had an encounter with what until today I considered the Neanderthal wing of the Republican Party. On my way home from an early morning run, I came upon an elderly man in the act of stealing the Obama-Biden sign in my front yard. I called to him to stop, whereupon he tucked the plastic sign in his orange hoodie and took off running. I followed him to his home a couple of blocks from my house. He was standing in the yard by the time I got there, no sign in evidence. He heartily denied taking anything; he was, he informed me, a veteran who would never think of violating anyone’s free speech rights by stealing a sign.

Although I’d seen him take the sign with my own two eyes, I decided not to pursue the issue further since the old guy struck me as a bit pathetic. However, when I appeared to accept his story,  he immediately offered to show me evidence that I shouldn’t support Obama – he had incontrovertible emails, he said, proving that Obama was a secret Muslim whose candidacy was part of a dangerous conspiracy. My negative response elicited the statement that I was probably nothing more than a welfare recipient with my hand out. Lazy moochers with their hands out were the only types of people, he confidently asserted, who supported Obama.

Let me say here, I’m a middle-aged white woman. I’m not wealthy, but my home is comparable with those in my middle-class West St. Louis County neighborhood, including that of the man accusing me of living off his tax dollars. The thief was retired, as am I, but where I am waiting to collect Social Security until after my husband retires (a husband, by the way, who leaves for work every day), he assured me he was getting every cent he was entitled to. And yes, I (we, actually) pay taxes.

At the time I just laughed and lumped this bit of right-wing bigotry together with other  prejudices common among many Americans, prejudices that allow, for example, my elderly Mother-in law to claim that a family she knows who receive various types of assistance are welfare cheats because they have a television set and the teen-age son has a cell phone. One shrugs and accepts the fact that some folks prefer not to think when they’ve got a simple script they can use to interpret reality – no matter how reality itself may contradict their stereotypes.

Or at least that was my belief until yesterday when the well-educated, sophisticated, and wealthy Republican candidate for President, Mitt Romney, made basically the same claim as my pathetically ignorant and presumptuous neighbor. Numerous commentators have already exposed the sloppiness inherent in Romney’s claim as well as its essential falsity. Others have pointed out that the “moochers” are more likely to support Romney than Obama. Not only are a third of the 47% Romney disavows those elderly folks, a significant number of whom are scared silly, or at least mightily offended, by the black man in the White House, but government assistance programs demonstrably benefit red states far more than blue. By Wonkblog‘s Dylan Matthews’ count, Romney will probably get 95 electoral votes from “moocher” states, while Obama will get only 5. And of course, there’s the ca. 7000 millionaires who pay no taxes. They may be “dependent” on tax subsidies, etc. but do you really think they mostlly vote for Obama?

What’s really appalling, though, about Romney’s nasty pandering is what it says about today’s Republican Party. The Romney campaign has already explicitly confirmed our suspicions that GOPland is a fact free zone, most famously when a staffer declared that factcheckers weren’t running the campaign. Even more glaring than this arrogance is the blinding stupidity behind this latest Romney foot-in-mouther.

We actually have as a candidate for President of the United States a man who can’t be bothered to get his facts straight and who feels comfortable playing upon ignorant prejudices while dismissing half the citizens of the country he aspires to lead. What Romney’s latest gaffe, if that isn’t too weak a word,  demonstrates is simply that there is no Neanderthal wing of the Republican party. There’s just the Neanderthals.

Attorney General Chris Koster’s (D) campaign has released his first ad:

Attorney General Chris Koster (D): Being a prosecutor is about conviction. The ones you get and the one you live by. If you live in the State of Missouri this office will protect you. And if you hurt the people of Missouri this office will prosecute you.

I’ve prosecuted over a hundred murder cases and won thousands of convictions. My opponent has never even had a jury trial or put even one criminal behind bars.

And Missouri’s top law enforcement job isn’t where beginners go to learn.

Announcer: Attorney General Chris Koster, all prosecutor, no politics.

Ooh, that left a mark, Ed.

Friends, that is one damn fine political ad, no matter what your view of the candidate.

Previously:

Harkin Steak Fry 2012 – photos (September 16, 2012)

Harkin Steak Fry 2012 – Road Trip (September 16, 2012)

The 35th Annual Harkin Steak Fry: Getting a Jump on 2016 (September 17, 2012)

After we checked in at the media table at the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday we had a few hours to eat, walk the Warren County Fairgrounds site, visit with people, and take a few photographs before the press availability with the host, Senator Tom Harkin (D), and his guest, the featured speaker, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

We gathered with the rest of the media at the appointed hour and were ushered to an area next to one of the outdoor grills.

Senator Tom Harkin (D) at the press availability at the 35th Annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 16, 2012.

The transcript:

Senator Tom Harkin (D): …So, welcome again to the thirty-fifth Harkin Steak Fry.  Uh, we’ve had a lot of great speakers in the, in the past and we have another great speaker today, a good friend, uh, the Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley who has just done great things in his state. I’m kind of jealous, really, quite frankly. Uh, I chair the Education Committee in the Senate and, uh, you know, we look at all the different states and what’s happening. And it was brought to my attention that Maryland now, uh, exceeds all states in the number of kids who pass through advanced placement tests. To me that says something about Governor O’Malley’s devotion to education in his state. He’s kept tuition down in his state. Uh, and so, the way I see it, he’s put money in to, in to schools, rebuilding schools, school construction, renovation, so, uh, my way of thinking, he’s a, he’s my education governor and has done a lot of great things for education. Since we take pride in our education in Iowa I wanted to have him come out and meet Iowans and, and, uh, talk to our steak fry. So, nice to have Martin O’Malley here from Maryland.

Governor Martin O’Malley (D): Senator, thank you. I’m a huge fan of your senator. Senator Harkin, more than any other senator, I think, in the U.S. Senate has accomplished things that reach all across our country. I mean, I don’t know another senator that’s, uh, touched as many lives in as many real ways as he has with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Uh, every family, every community, we were talking on the way up here, how gratifying it must be to run in to people from towns and places you’d never ever been who thank you for what you’ve done for their family members and, and for themselves. So, uh, look, I’m, I’m honored to be here. Uh, we, uh, I’m also the chair of the Democratic Governors Association and, uh, this is state that we intend to win in two thousand and fourteen. Democratic governors are all about doing the things that work in order to improve, uh, education, improve public safety, create jobs and expand opportunity. We’re not ideologues. We believe that you bring people together to do the things that work. And that’s the sort of leadership that Senator Harkin brought to the U.S. Senate. And, uh, so, uh, I’m, I’m very, very honored to be here. Thank you for the nice things you’ve said about what the people of my state have accomplished. In the toughest of times our state’s been able to move forward, improving education, improving public safety, and, and really giving our kids a better shot at being winners in this new economy. So, I’m honored to be here and it’s been great to meet all your friends and look forward, uh, to working with you to, uh, help the people of Iowa elect a new democratic governor in two thousand fourteen…

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley at the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, September 16, 2012.

…Senator Harkin:  And carry it for Barrack Obama this year, too. We’re gonna, we’re, we’re gonna work hard to carry, uh, Iowa for Iowa. He carried it last time. It’s a close race in Iowa. Uh, I, I, rode out on the plane with him a couple of weeks ago and as you know he’s taken a bus tour across Iowa, he’s been to, here a couple three times, he was here with, uh, Joe Biden and Jill, and his wife just a couple weeks ago, well, just the day after the, after the convention. And he’ll be here a lot of times, uh, uh, Vice President Biden’s gonna be here the next couple of days here in Iowa. So I can tell yah, uh, President Obama told me personally that they are investing a lot in this state and they intend to win Iowa. And we intend to carry it for him.

Question: Governor O’Malley, how difficult is it to begin this process of testing the waters in Iowa before the two thousand twelve election has actually even been held?

Governor O’Malley:  Oh, I don’t know, that’s not what I’m doing. I’m here for, uh, I’m here because my friend Senator Harkin asked me come. And Iowa’s a very important state to President Obama and to the reelection of the President which is very important to the people of my state. I mean, in Maryland the things we’ve been able to do, Race to the Top, improving education, improving public safety, those things wouldn’t have been possible without President Obama help, without the help of, and the courageous votes of people like Senator Harkin. And, um, Democratic governors, uh, need our President to be reelected so we can continue to make progress for our people. It’s, it’s a great honor to be invited here and, um, I’m, I’m looking forward to, uh, meeting the senator’s friends, and, most importantly, I’m looking forward to helping the people of Iowa, uh, as we move forward and, and elect more Democratic governors across our country in the years ahead.

Question: Governor, since you’ve brought up twenty-fourteen, uh, in your roll with the Governors Association, are you actively scouting Democratic candidates for governor here? And have you had any conversations specifically with former Governor Culver.

Governor O’Malley: Well. I know Senator, I mean, I know Governor Culver. In fact, Governor Culver and I both traveled to Iraq together. And, uh, you know, he, uh, his soldiers, his men and women in uniform were serving there with men and women from Maryland and we’d swap flags and cell phone cameras whenever we came across  groups of our, our people. So, I like, uh, I like Governor Culver and his wife, Mary. They’re good friends of mine. I mean, ultimately, in every primary the Democratic Governors, kinda, the DGA takes a step back and people in every state have to figure out their own, uh, politics in their primary. And, uh, it’s, having spent some time in Iowa I believe that the people of Iowa, when we give them a choice of moving forward or falling back, always choose to move forward. That’s in your DNA. And I think that’s what you’re going to do again when the opportunity, uh, of the governor’s race  comes up.

Question: Senator Harkin, what’s the number one message you hope to communicate during today’s program?

Senator Harkin:  Well, I think that the number one message is sort of what, uh, Governor O’Malley said. Uh, progress. We gotta keep moving forward. We can’t go back. And if you listen to the Republican party’s platform, read it, and listen to what they’re saying, as I will say today, they want to take us back before Roosevelt. Not Franklin Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt. Uh, I mean, undo all of the, kind of the, the social contract that we have built up in America since the nineteen, early nineteen hundreds. Uh, the social contract dealing with education, with health care, with the environment, uh, jobs, retraining. We’ve built a wonderful social contract in this country. And, and don’t take my word for it, but, Bruce Bartlett who was President Reagan’s economic advisor said that this Ryan budget is a monstrosity. A monstrosity in terms of shredding the social contract. And, to me, that’s what’s at stake in this election. And that’s the message I want to get across, that, that, uh, we’ve gotta redouble our efforts and work hard. We’re not gonna have as much money. I saw a figure the other day, I, I can’t vouch for it, but in the super PACs and all these ads you’re seeing that you don’t know where a lot of the money’s coming from, that we’re being outspent over ten to one. So, it’s gonna take, uh, boots on the ground, people working hard to get our vote out.

[….]

Question:  Is this, I mean, everybody says this is gonna be decided on the economy. How much is foreign policy starting to become a key issue in this race?

Senator Harkin:  I, I think what, what Governor Romney did this week in stepping into this fray in Libya, terrible thing that happened to our ambassador and other Americans, I, I think, you know, when it comes to foreign policy you just can’t shoot from the hip. And I think it indicates to me, and this is my own view, Rod, I’m just saying this, that it seemed to me that Romney was more intent on scoring some kind of political points then he was in buttressing America’s foreign policy. And I think that’s why you saw so many Republicans running away from him on it. [….]

Governor O’Malley:  I, I think, uh, I think you’re exactly right. The, it’s, it’s complicated, it’s a complicated world that we live in, but I think that when you look at, uh, when you compare our president, his stature, the, uh, the manner in which he carries himself in the international arena and the, and guides our country, and moves it forward and contrast that with former Governor Romney, who has a difficult time even being a good guest at another nation’s Olympics, I think there’s really no, no contest there. I mean, uh, President Obama is our commander in chief, and, uh, in a complicated time, uh, he’s moving our country forward, leading us forward, and I think that that’s, uh, pretty clear, uh, as people, uh, make their decisions about this race. I mean, there is no progress without jobs. But at the same time, one of the jobs of our commander in chief is to represent us in an increasingly complicated international world.

Question: Governor, you’ve mentioned that you’ve been to Iraq. Are there other ways that you have, uh, moved to inform yourself about foreign policy, um, as a governor?

Governor O’Malley:  Oh, I don’t know, as Democratic Governors we focus on jobs and opportunity and bringing people together to make the tough decisions now. Uh, and, and that’s what we do. Uh, and at the same time we also know that the more we can open up markets around the world to the services and the goods that are produced in our states, whether it’s Maryland or Iowa, but that creates jobs here at home. And, uh, I think the people of Iowa and the people of Maryland actually share a, a pretty, uh, uh, a pretty inspiring opportunity right now, to figure out new ways to feed, fuel and heal this world of ours. And you see innovations happening in our state and, and here in your state, uh, that allow us to do that, from biofuels to wind energy to, uh, the cures that allow us to be a healing force in the world. I, I think it’s an exciting time, uh, to, for us as, uh, to be American.

[….]

Seems like Todd Akin isn’t the only member of his family who has problems understanding simple linguistic concepts. Just consider the following statement from Todd Akin’s wife (National Journal via Talking Points Memo):

Lulli Akin said that efforts to push her husband out of the race threaten to replace elections “by the people and for the people” with “tyranny, a top-down approach.” She added, “Party bosses dictating who is allowed to advance through the party and make all the decisions-it’s just like 1776 in that way.”

She cited colonists who “rose up and said, ‘Not in my home, you don’t come and rape my daughters and my … wife. But that is where we are again. There has been a freedom of elections, not tyranny of selections since way back. Why are we going to roll over and let them steamroll us, be it Democrats or Republicans or whomever?”

Perhaps, given that all actions, incuding Todd Akin’s, have consequences, his treatment by members of his party could be viewed as “legitimate” rape? I can see where the RNC might be inclined to say he was asking for it.

Tasteless jokes aside, though, it seems to me that what has happened is that the national party asked Akin to consider the good of his faction, he declined and they washed their hands of him. Actually, I’m sympathetic to the claim that that Akin is the legitimate candidate, but it doesn’t seem to me that anyone is contesting that fact. However, it also seems to me that withdrawing support for a damaged candidate is the prerogative of a national political organization that has to spend its dollars wisely. And now Akin’s wife is comparing the action to rape? She thinks that the GOP doesn’t have a right to be concerned about losing what is for them a crucial Senate seat?

Aside from the sheer joy of playing victim in such a grandiose way – even Brother Todd noted that comparisons to 1776 might be a little over the top – lots of this rhetoric seems to stem from nothing more than basic confusion about the actual meaning of words. Of course, this linguistic confusion may be the best thing that Akin has going for him since lots of Missourians seem to be equally unclear on many of the same concepts that cause Akin difficulty. It’s not just rape, but the way that Akin and his supporters use words like religion, socialism and freedom that reflect today’s strangely twisted right-wing logic. Do you think the explanation for the right-wing effort to revisit and reinterpret history, science and even language itself might be as simple as the exhausted and worn-out nature of conservative ideology itself?  

Previously: Campaign Finance: Oh, really? (September 14, 2012)

Mongol General: ….Conan! What is best in life?

Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women….

Yesterday, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C031159 09/16/2012 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Dowd Bennett LLP 7733 Forsyth Boulevard Clayton MO 63105 9/14/2012 $10,000.00

C031159 09/16/2012 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Ameren Missouri PAC P.O. Box 780 Jefferson City MO 65102 9/14/2012 $15,000.00

C031159 09/16/2012 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER James Emison 109 Autumn Drive Higginsville MO 64037 Langdon & Emison Attorney 9/14/2012 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

It appears as if it’s Ed Martin (r) against the (mostly) sane world.

The 35th annual Harkin Steak Fry was held at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Indianola, Iowa this afternoon. When there’s a contested Democratic Party presidential primary race in the year before the quadrennial presidential election this event is the place to be for candidates and political activists and followers in Iowa. In other years there are always prominent national Democratic Party speakers, Iowa candidates and office holders, and maybe a future presidential candidate or two testing the Iowa waters.

There’s food with plenty of speeches after the food. The outdoor venue includes a seating area for the speeches along with tents and long tables for dining (and watching the goings on). No, they do not actually fry the steaks, they’re grilled. Today there were approximately one thousand people in attendance at the event.

The weather was comfortably warm with partly cloudy skies. In past years we’ve slogged through the rain and mud or had gloriously beautiful weather. Either way, it’s all a fun part of the event.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) (far right) and Senator Tom Harkin (D) (right) at the press availability

at the 35th Annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 16, 2012.

Christie Vilsack (D), former Iowa First Lady and candidate for Congress in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

The Harkin Steak Fry is also an opportunity for Iowa Democratic Party activists and supporters to get together and share their politics.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D), the featured speaker at the 2012 Harkin Steak Fry.

A number of Iowa Democratic party candidates and organizations had information tables with campaign and issue swag.

Congressman Bruce Braley (D).

Congressman Dave Loebsack (D).

Congressman Leonard Boswell (D).

Christie Vilsack (D).

Current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (D).

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) greets the crowd on the way to the stage.

Senator Tom Harkin (D).

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D).

Yeah, we’re at it again. It’s time for the annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa. We piled into the car early this morning for the road trip

Fog, you say.

Fog of another sort.

United States Constitution

Article VI

…but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Rick Santorum (r) at the Values Voters Summit today:

Rick Santorum (r): ….We will never have the media on our side ever in this country. We will never have the elite, smart people on our side. Because they believe they should have the power to tell you what to do. So, our colleges and universities, they’re not gonna be on our side. The conservative movement will always be, and that’s why we founded patriot voices, the basic premise of America and American values will always be sustained through two institutions, the church and the family. [applause] And so, and so economic conservatives and libertarian types can say, oh, well, we don’t, we don’t want to talk about the social issues. Without the church and the family there is no conservative movement, there is no basic values in America [applause] in force, and there is no future for our country….        

And to think, I voted for him in the Missouri republican Presidential Preference Primary. Heh. Because we all should have stoopid people telling us what to do.

Evidently, critical thinking isn’t an aspirational goal for Rick Santorum (r).