Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks

Can Republicans Once Again Hide Their Bigotry Enough to Get Elected?

Which should be the real title of this piece: 

But competitive districts — where moderates tend to thrive — are becoming a thing of the past thanks in large part to redistricting. And that means an uphill battle of a primary for any moderate candidate who tries to challenge a conservative member.

Asked whether a moderate Republican movement could really materialize, former Rep. Steve LaTourette, who now is the president of the Main Street Partnership, was cautiously optimistic.

“It’s possible; it’s going to be difficult and it’s not going to happen overnight. There is an appetite for it but it remains to be seen if we can get to there from here,” said LaTourette. “Some of the well heeled donors and the money people in the Republican Party are rethinking about directing that money to people who can actually govern. We’re getting a lot of calls and interest at Main Street, we have a big meeting up on Wall Street in November. So we will see, we are up against some well entrenched organizations.”

Ah yes. Steve LaTourette, a model of moderate Republicanism: 

  • Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
  • Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)
  • Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
  • Voted YES on banning federal health coverage that includes abortion. (May 2011)
  • Voted YES on terminating the Home Affordable mortgage Program. (Mar 2011)
  • Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Nov 2007)
  • Voted YES on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)
  • Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
  • Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
  • Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
  • Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
  • Voted NO on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes. (Apr 2009)
  • Declare English as the official language of the US. (Feb 2007)
  • Declared English the official language of the US. (Jan 1999)

I like the idea that there are these imaginary Republicans out there who are so, so different from the Tea Party. In tactics, perhaps, but in doctrine these people believe the same things. They vote for the same things. They think the same things. There are no moderate Republicans on the issues. There are just moderate Republicans in rhetoric. 

The wish for acceptable, moderate Republicans who don’t scare away the business guys is just a wish for bigots who keep their mouths shut in polite company, and then go back to work and vote with the loudmouths anyway.

A.

6 thoughts on “Can Republicans Once Again Hide Their Bigotry Enough to Get Elected?”

  1. Steve LaTourette went into standup?! He’s got a great line here: “Some of the well heeled donors and the money people in the Republican Party are rethinking about directing that money to people who can actually govern.” Comedy gold, baby! A Republican interested in actually governing was last seen in the 1980s, or about the time Jesus was riding on dinosaurs in Republican memory.
    Oh wait; my mistake. LaTourette is just another lobbyist, looking to scam some of that sweet, sweet unregulated into his own pocket while bad-mouthing the system he used to participate in so enthusiastically. But now he’s all interested in actually governing and stuff, so, you know, maybe someone should plunk down six figures into his Main Street Partnership?

  3. Thanks for the link. Gives a lot more details.
    But I missed the vote you listed for pretecting the Pledge of Allegience. How does one threaten the pledge?
    And on the link I saw that he was strongly in favor of teacher led prayers in school. Along your line about hiding bigotry, what happisens if the teacher is an Atheist, Muslim, etc.? Do we want a non-Christian leading our children in prayer? Looks like La Tourette is a front person for the Muslimification of America!!! – Or, alternately, would it mean that all teachers have to be fundamentalist Christians as a condition of employment.
    In all seriousness, I remember some specific past teachers I had who were as nice as they could be, church-going Christians, but had some really poorly formed ideas including some ideas on religion that were outlandish.

  4. I wonder about people such as La Tourette drivingaway business people. These days, exactly the opposite is happening–the Kochs are bankrolling some genuine certifiables, along with Art Pope in NC, James Leininger, the late Bob Perry and Harold Simmons in Texas, not to mention Foster Friess dumping money by the ton into Santorum’s campaigns.
    Now, as so often in the past, the businessmen are even loonier than the politicians.

  5. As a good example from the past, it would be hard to beat that had the Fords and similar businessmen been in charge in the 1930s, the Nazis would have had America’s full support. The bankers (such as Prescott Bush who continued to identify himself as a Nazi after WW II) defied bans on sending money to Germany and laundered their money for them (and questionably were part of a plot to assassinate the President).

  6. After the Congress passed BIGert-WATERS last year, they pretty much sunk all the home owners. Thanks D’s. But at least you are now ‘fighting’ the raises in flood insurance you passed. Got another foot you want to shoot off?

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