Taegan Goddard is right, that one of the key turning points in the healthcare reform bill was Joe Wilson’s outburst, showing the nation as it did the GOP as a party of rudeness and “Just Say No.” He may end up responsible for better healthcare for many Americans, though it is still up in the air how many red states, where they need the public option most desperately, actually avoid providing care for their citizens. Is it poetic justice that this healthcare reform bill is likely to serve blue states far more comprehensively than it will red states, with its “opt out” provision? I’d wager it is not all that likely that even red states will opt out en masse, and the prevailing wisdom, at least, shows that Nevada will not opt out. But that’s a minor debate. This is really about the GOP actions of rudeness and ignorance that made healthcare reform possible.

It’s more than just Joe Wilson, though his rudeness in response to Barack Obama’s speech may have coalesced the Democrats wrangling over healthcare reform. (Perhaps the biggest example of hypocrisy is Joe Wilson’s wife coming down with Swine Flu.) But while Joe Wilson may be the poster child for the healthcare reform debate, so much so that I would rename the bill the “Joe Wilson ‘You Lie’ Healthcare Reform Bill,” the GOP should be worried that boorishness and ignorance and even racism is coming to define the GOP brand. It is debatable, after all, whether it was stupidity or racism that led to the posting of racist pictures on the newly revamped GOP web site. Neither conclusion is good for the GOP brand, however.

Examples of teh GOP stupid abound, from Sarah Palin and “death panels” to Michelle Bachman ranting about reeducation camps. These particular instances of whackjobbery get bounced around among the right wing talking heads, but the majority of Americans understand it for what it is — there’s some major stupid going on at the GOP. We’ve got the RNC Chair, Michael Steele, trying to lure African American voters with fried chicken and potato salad, while the real leader of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh, gets punked. Joe Wilson isn’t anything more than a small piece in a trend of rudeness, ignorance and racism, and the GOP, for its own good, needs to recognize that.

I have faith that the GOP will not do that. I guarantee when I post a link to this story on my facebook account I will get a nonsequitor comment that says something like, “Oh yeah, but what about Nancy Pelosi,” a sign that surely there will not be much needed Republican reform anytime soon. That pleases me no end.

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Robert McDonnell is running for Governor of Virginia, and it is his opinion that people in Virginia who violate the Virginia “Crimes Against Nature” Law are not eligible to be Judge in the state. He stated that opinion several years ago in a hearing to block the reappointment of a judge suspected of being a lesbian. From the Washington Post:

He also became known for telling the Daily Press of Newport News that certain homosexual activities could disqualify a person from the bench. “It certainly raises some questions about the qualifications to serve as a judge,” he said.

“There is certain homosexual conduct that is in violation of the law,” McDonnell added. “I’m not telling you I would disqualify a judge per se if he said he was gay. I’m talking about their actions.”

Mr. McDonnell doesn’t have a farm, I suppose, so probably skirts the bestiality parts of the law, but he fails to point out that the acts he’s referring to are illegal in Virginia whether committed by a homosexual or heterosexual citizen. It appears that maybe Mr. McDonnell is guilty of those acts. At the very least, he will not deny guilt. Also from the Washington Post:

Scanlon, who now lives in Colorado and is no longer a reporter, also remembers asking McDonnell whether he had ever violated the crimes against nature statute himself — a fair question, he thought, because McDonnell had raised the legal point. The statute, among other things, prohibits oral or anal sexual contact, regardless of the sex of the participants. McDonnell’s response, Scanlon reported, was: “Not that I can recall.”

I must say there’s not a soul I’ve ever met who got a blow job and then claimed not to remember it. Perhaps it was a botched sex act, and he’s blocking it from his memory, or it was so good that he temorarily lost his mind? Let’s face it, one doesn’t simply fail to recall a blow job, whatever the definition of “is” is. It’s time to pin Bob McDonnell down on this most important of issues. Perhaps people can go to his rallies with signs that say “Got Oral?” or some such. Surely it is time for Mr. McDonnell to admit or deny on this issue he has felt so strongly about in the past that it caused him to lead a movement to oust a fellow office holder.

The South Carolina Republican Party elected a new Chair this weekend, and it’s a woman. Her name is Karen Floyd, and she’s playing the extremist line, as you can see here in The Post and Courier:

Floyd said it is not enough to talk about the sanctity of life, the party must protect life from conception to natural death. She said it is not enough to support the right to bear arms, the party must ensure that the public has the ability to purchase ammunition. Likewise, she said it takes actions to strengthen education through choices and improve the economy by overhauling the tax code.

‘I am asking you to join the activist army for the South Carolina Republican Party,’ Floyd said. ‘We are the party of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

What, she’s for entitlement programs to enable the purchase of ammunition? That’s even more extreme than normal for the Republicans. Hey, this is leading to happiness for Democrats if that’s what the Republicans want to do, but Karen Floyd is getting a little pushback, believe it or not, from Lindsey Graham, who more and more lately is trying to sound like a moderate. Heck, compared to his Republican comrades, Lindsey Graham IS moderate, and that’s awfully telling concerning the state of the GOP. Check out Graham’s words from the same South Carolina State Convention, from The State:

Graham told the crowd there was nothing wrong with any conservative, and he wanted to build an open party that could win in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, as well as South Carolina.

“You’re a hypocrite!” one man yelled.

“I’m a winner, pal,” Graham shot back. “Winning matters to me. If it doesn’t matter to you, there’s the exit sign.”

“Ron Paul is not the leader of this party,” Graham said, prompting a few jeers. Some people yelled, “Yes, he is!”

“I’m not going to give this party over to people who can’t win,” Graham finished, drawing most of the crowd to its feet.

So Lindsey Graham tries to build the GOP “big tent” in his home state and gets booed. The article goes on to note that Jim DeMint fed red meat to the crowd, pretty much frothing at the mouth to kick RINOs out of the GOP, adn they cheered.

But, but, did you see that bit about Ron Paul? There was an attempt by the Paulites to put forth some changes in the state platform, a sort of revolution, as it were, but it was put down swiftly. From the Palmetto Scoop:

And following the election of SCGOP officers, a small band of Ron Paul activists attempted to usurp parliamentary procedure to upset the adoption of the party resolutions and platform.

The group was hoping to strike a resolution commending Sen. Lindsey Graham’s service to the state. They also added a number of amendments to the platform hoping to strike traditional Republican language and replace

Convention President Bobby Harrell and SCGOP parliamentarian Todd Kincannon ensured that procedure was followed and granted all delegates the opportunity to proposes changes before the body in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

But the attempts were resoundingly defeated by the 700-plus SCGOP delegates and both the resolutions and platform were adopted as presented. And the planned coup angered many activists in attendance.

“If these people think they’re going to come in here and hijack this party, they’re wrong. Very wrong,” said one delegate. “This is the Republican Party not the Ron Paul Party.”

This is a stirring mix. Four parts extremist Republicans who advocate the government buying ammunition for gun owners, one part ambitious mainstream Repub (rumored gay) who is far more Washington than Columbia, and one part Paultards just causing trouble. That actually is a winning combination in South Carolina, but it sure bodes ill for Republicans nationwide.

I’m not sure how to explain this. A candidate in New Jersey, running in the Republican primary for Governor, has hired Sam Wurzelbacher to help him raise money. Steve Lonegan is the candidate, and he is the Mayor of a small town. He’s very conservative on fiscal issues, and on the pro-choice issue as well. (Gay marriage has become almost toxic in New Jersey for those who openly oppose it.) But Lonegan is surely playing to the whack job base with his hiring of Joe the Plumber to help him with fundraising. Here’s the brief story from WCBS:

Steve Lonegan’s campaign announced the man who became known in the 2008 presidential campaign will appear at a taxpayer rally in Clark on May 5.

. . .

Lonegan’s campaign is charging $1,000 for a private meeting with the one-time plumber and the candidate. General admission is $50.

OK, I can’t fathom why anyone would pay $50 to be int eh same room with Wurzelbacher. I SURELY can’t imagine why someone would pay $1,000 for a private meeting with Wurzelbacher. What’s he going to give, some more regurgitation, like when Wurzelbacher was teabagging with fellow Republicans last week? Or is there more Sam Wurzelbacher is offering at these expensive private meetings. I’m betting it is lap dances with Joe the Lap Dancer that Lonegan is peddling to raise election funds. Or, a bit more benign, maybe people get to rub Mr. Clean’s head. Still, something is very odd with anyone who wishes to pay $1,000 for the privelege of private time with Sam Wurzelbacher.