Maine Representative Lawrence Lockman is Sorry He's Such a Dick

Via Raw Story

This wingnut's been talking for years. Now he says he's sorry. Sure thing, Bobble Head.

Lockman falsely suggested HIV and AIDS could be spread by bed sheets and mosquitos, and he also said the progressive movement helped spread the virus by claiming “the practice of sodomy is a legitimate alternative lifestyle, rather than a perverted and depraved crime against humanity.”

That's just what he does to warm up. "Blame the Liberals" is Wingnutville's Central Park. This guy was a bit more creative than most of the craizified factor.

“If a woman has (the right to an abortion), why shouldn't a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman?” Lockman said. “At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t (in most cases) result in anyone’s death.”

Keep talking!

In the past few months, Republicans have called Wendy Davis, a Democratic candidate for Texas governor, “Abortion Barbie,” likened Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Senate candidate from Kentucky, to an “empty dress,” criticized Hillary Rodham Clinton’s thighs, and referred to a pregnant woman as a “host.” 

Democrats do not just get mad when they hear those words. They cash in.

The best part is, they don't need anyone to remind them to open their mouths. They can't even shut up when their best political minds tell them to.

I doubt we've heard the last of Lawrence Lockman...

It's Not Just the Wingnut Politicians Who Should Keep Talking

A recent Pew Research poll spells out what we all know about wingnuts. And as you all know, I love it when they say, out loud, exactly what they believe. In fact, if I were a rich man, I'd pay Louis Gohmert, Steve Stockman, Michelle Bachman, and even some more "mainstream" Republicans to take a swing state soapbox talking tour.

But those are just politicians. Surely, they don't speak for most Republicans. Our Republican neighbors and family members couldn't possibly be the same cruel assholes as those people.

Yeah. They wish.




Shorter Republican voters: Screw the poor and immigrants. Let poison and global warming run free through the environment. Let our infrastructure crumble. What energy problem, we've got fracking! Spend more on the Pentagon.

The poll shows even more problems for the GOP.




The poll also shows us the conclusions people have drawn after listening to the soon-to-be-rump party's spokespeople. The GOP won't compromise, isn't concerned with my needs, is more extreme, is more influenced by lobbyists, is less honest and ethical in governing.

The bit of cognitive dissonance on the last question is precious.

Please, keep talking, wingnuts. We're listening.

Why It's Getting Easier For Democrats to Retake the House

You lose a whole lot of voters when you move that far right.

Nate Cohn makes me wish we had a new Intrade; prediction markets are a great way to help people get a handle on who's bullshitting and who's not. Not that I think Nate's bullshitting. He makes very good points, and he cares about the facts. He makes such a good argument, in fact, that if we had a prediction market with real money, he'd be convincing enough to the "smart" money to keep the prices down on shares of Democrats to win control of the US House in 2014.

If there’s anything I could get people to understand about the next election, it’s this: Even a 2006 or 2010-esque tsunami might not give Democrats control of the House.

Democrats don't need a tsunami to take control of the US House.

When the Great Gerrymander of 2010 gave the GOP a wave of US House districts that John Boehner surfed into the speakers office, they had a lot of help beyond simple Gerrymandering. The natural tendency of midterms to go against the President's party, a lot of anger whipped up by the Tea Party, and a whole lot of money.

But Gerrymandering has hidden costs.

Sam Wang's analysis of recent PPP polls.

It is a common fallacy to believe that seats gained by partisan gerrymandering are safe seats. In fact, the converse is the case. Gerrymandering achieves a net gain of seats by packing the opposition party into as few districts as possible. 

[...]

Representatives who benefited from the great partisan gerrymander of 2010 were given enough of an advantage to get into office narrowly. In a district designed to give Republicans a narrow advantage, Republican loyalists are likely to be spread thinly, with the balance of the needed votes being drawn from independents. Some of these independents might be more prone to anger about the current situation. These polls suggest that Republicans in those states might be particularly ripe targets for pressure.

Apparently Cohn has complained about the accuracy of PPP generic Dem polls (which Sam Wang is using in his latest calculations) vs the eventual reality. I haven't seen those numbers, and would gladly take a look. But there are enough things happening right now to make me a buyer for Dems to win the House at about $2.00/share (meaning I'd win $8 on the bet).

• Gerrymandering's hidden weakness of needing independents to elect Republicans in narrowly won districts.
• Angry independents. Do I even have to find the polls on that? You know how to find them, it's not pretty.
• Thanks at least in part to the Great Gerrymandering, the GOP has moved way to the right.
• The tendency of these far right wingnuts to keep talking (which proves that John Roger's crazification factor is one of the greatest jokes of all time) will mean even more angry independents.
• The worse the GOP looks in the polls, the better candidates Democrats will recruit.
• The worse the GOP looks in the polls, the better Democrats do at fundraising.

For those of you who aren't following the links, this is from the last one:

Not only have the Democratic campaign committees that back House and Senate candidates outraised their GOP counterparts, but unrestricted super PACs that support Democrats have pulled in close to three times what GOP super PACs have so far.

Three times as much as the GOP in super PAC money? Maybe I'd be a buyer up to $2.50 a share, even higher if the wingnuts keep talking.