"Barbara O’Brien’s wide-ranging account of Zen history is conveyed with a master storyteller’s ability to keep the forest from getting lost in a myriad of trees. Wearing her scholarship lightly, she blends just the right amount of skepticism about her hagiographic sources with a deep appreciation for the Dharma." — Barry Magid, author of
Nothing Is Hidden and
Ending the Pursuit of Happiness Order here!
Oy!
Now slut-slamming is more acceptable to them, than racism, xenophobia, and homophobia.
Great work on reaching out to women, GOP.
‘Please proceed, GOP. Please proceed…”
One reason why women need birth control is that they cannot control _men’s_ libidos.
No surprise, The GOP base is a bunch of Misogynistic racists. I have been spending some quality time over at the blaze (got me a new troll account!!!) the mentality over there is as extreme as it could be. If Huckabuck came out for extermination of all minorities and gays he would certainly be given God status!!!! Since these miscreants are allowed to vote our congress is slowly becoming just as extreme, I tend to think that we may be reaching the tipping point when the extremism backfires, maybe not we’ll see!
Perfect choice.
From Gallup, this month – “PRINCETON, NJ — Forty-two percent of Americans, on average, identified as political independents in 2013, the highest Gallup has measured since it began conducting interviews by telephone 25 years ago. Meanwhile, Republican identification fell to 25%, the lowest over that time span. At 31%, Democratic identification is unchanged from the last four years but down from 36% in 2008.”
What’s that got to do with Huck leading the GOP hopefuls? When they poll the pack of dogs who are still republicans, they are measuring a group that’s almost 25% smaller than a decade ago and much more radical. Voters who identify as conservative but aren’t rabid have fled to the ranks of independent voters.
I think this election cycle 2014 and then in 2016, we are going to see an interesting dynamic play out. The GOP candidates are going to play to an ever shrinking but more intense base. The more inflammatory the rhetoric is, the better it will play with registered republicans in the polls. That just happened with Huckabee. The valuable measure will be how the rhetoric plays with the largest group – independent voters.
The SOTU was (IMO) intended to push some hot buttons by raising issues what they will react to. Immigration reform, Early childhood education, restoring unemployment, income inequality, women’s income lagging men. All these poll popular – Obama was never skating on thin ice. The predictable result of the cumulative digs is overreaction. Over the top rhetoric. Visible evidence of congresscritters with psychiatric problems.
Uncledad went this direction with his last comment. He’s right. This dynamic of escalating radicalism should play out to an even MORE radical bunch from red states winning primaries. But a high, high percentage of voters is ‘independent leans conservative’. If (that’s a big word) if the GOP candidates can be goaded into public deranged displays of incoherence, there may be enough backlash from independents who will hold their nose and vote for the democrat.
That’s exactly the reaction I expected from the nutbaggers after the Huckster tossed them a treat. Now they are all frenzied with desire to punish all you wanton women for your unnatural lusts. Huckabee is a opportunistic and misogynistic slob who will never develop past those two defining characteristics. And he’ll never see the inside of the White House without a visitors badge clipped to his lapel.
Don’t “misunderestimate” Huckabee, he has been described as meatloaf and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. That would make him very appealing to the low information voters who would view him as kind and thoughtful, but still fit into the tea party faction’s slot. Huckabee fills that empty void of Mayberry nostalgia the tea party harbors.
You know that question, “Ginger or Mary Anne” ? Replace it with “Andy or Barney”. Very interesting.
Doug, I think a lot of people identify themselves as ” independent” rather than democrat or republican because they don’t want to be labeled. I like to be thought of as independent, but I still identify more with the left ( left these days is right of Nixon on many issues).
I’ll take Mary Ann and Barney!
But not together, if you know what I mean. 😉
Barney’s for some laughs after I shoot MY pistol off! 🙂
Ok, enough filth for the morning.
The GOP base indeed.