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According to Politico:
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Tuesday night knocked Sen. Marco Rubio’s GOP response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union as “primitive.”
“I thought it was Tinkertoys,” Matthews said after Rubio delivered his address. “I thought it was primitive, something you would hear on a high school debating team.”…
“First of all, he went after government as some kind evil, then he admitted he had gone to school on student loans,” Matthews said. “Well, […] I mean, I’m very pro-government. And he admit he was, too. He said, I love Medicare because of how it takes care of my mother, how it took care of my father with dignity. He said, I went the student loan route, I got my education.”…
“It was almost like a YAF-er convention speech, Young Americans for Freedom speech, from the 1950s,” Matthews said. “There was no originality to it. It was basic. Again, it was Tinkertoys. It was a kid’s presentation of a philosophy reduced to maybe the 9th grade level. I’m sorry, that’s what it was.”
Politico also has video & a transcript of Rand Paul’s Tea Party rebuttal-to-the-rebuttal. It runs across four pages. Here are the first three paragraphs:
I speak to you tonight from Washington, D.C. The state of our economy is tenuous but our people remain the greatest example of freedom and prosperity the world has ever known.
People say America is exceptional. I agree, but it’s not the complexion of our skin or the twists in our DNA that make us unique. America is exceptional because we were founded upon the notion that everyone should be free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
For the first time in history, men and women were guaranteed a chance to succeed based NOT on who your parents were but on your own initiative and desire to work….
Says the man who owes his entire career to his old man. It doesn’t get any better; don’t bother clicking over unless you need a checklist of every “bipartisan” cliche that ever brought Dancin’ Dave Gregory to estactic release. “America has much greatness left in her,” and if only enough voters were dumb enough to believe him, Rand Paul believes he could yet steal it all.
Perhaps the Republicans would have been better off to stick with the simplicity of Erick Erickson’s post-speech tweet, as relayed by Slate:
OK people, Mardi Gras is over! Stop sinning!
opie_jeanne
I got a glimpse of Gregory tonight and I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him, which is ok since my blood pressure needs to remain within certain boundaries and watching him and the rest of them would not help.
The prophet Nostradumbass
Tweety also referred to Barbara Lee as “Congressman Lee”.
opie_jeanne
Off topic, but the shootout in Big Bear Ca has captivated us. I found this lovely entry after a friend sent me a map to show me what they were talking about. ( He isn’t one of the reviewers).
https://plus.google.com/112586014146029303181/about?gl=us&hl=en
Alison
It really is going to be…interesting to see what group of yutzes the GOP ends up running through the 2016 primary gauntlet.
In other news, and in news of far more impressive Hispanic citizens, I’m reading Justice Sotomayor’s memoir and it’s really great. She’s a very good writer, and it’s also fun to see some things that my mom told me about her own childhood, specifically going to the chicken market. A Puerto Rican from the Bronx and a Jew from Brooklyn/Queens, with a shared bond of chicken feathers stuck to their shoes :)
pseudonymous in nc
Randy Pandy is a self-certified historian as well as a self-certified opthalmologist.
liberal
No, America is exceptional because unlike many if not all countries in the developed Western world, we haven’t gone for full-blown economy-killing austerity.
Frankensteinbeck
This is crucial to the philosophy of the Republican 1%ers, which is all of them in power and the vast majority of national media ‘journalists’. Romney is a beautiful example. He actually believes he was born with no advantages and got fantastically rich through hard work. This is a huge ego rush to them, and their primary interest is in stroking it. Almost none of them benefit financially from gutting the safety net, or they benefit in invisibly small ways. What they get out of this is more ego stroking. They get to think ‘I deserve everything, you deserve nothing.’ That is exactly how they talk about taxes and the safety net.
This ties into the common GOP voter’s desires in peculiar ways. Most obvious to me is that that kind of thinking by rich people is blatant assholery, and emotionally it’s satisfying to other assholes to perpetuate it – even if they’re poor. Not all benefit is material.
Arclite
Every time I see Gabby Giffords speak, it brings me to tears. What a waste gun violence is.
David Koch
Rubio looked like a deer caught in the headlights. So much so that Ted Nugent almost shot him with his bow and arrow.
Debbie(aussie)
@liberal:
We didn’t either, but we aren’t all that exceptional ;)
Patricia Kayden
@David Koch: Ha!
Didn’t watch the SOTU (watched Syfy’s Face Off instead). Did the cameras pan to Nugent during the speech? Was he smirking the whole time? I can’t imagine why he wanted to listen to the Kenyan Socialist Communist Muslim’s speech anyways.
David Koch
Obama Akbar!
The One talking shop with the ladies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/02/13/National-Politics/Images/_MAM24291360721774.JPG
raven
Joe doesn’t think the president has done a good job.
raven
Joe thinks showing waterbottlegate iz a cheap shot!
1badbaba3
@David Koch: C’mon now, Terrible Turd Nugget knows not to shoot the ones wearing the white hoods and robes. And you don’t have to worry about the ones that can shoot back. They are protected by a barrier of feces that emanates from Turd’s – well, you get the picture.
Actually, my apologies for that imagery. It’s even grossing me out. Although, Ted’s Turds has a nice ring to it for a radio show segment. “Tune in to hear the words that are comin’ outta his mouth; It’s time for Ted’s Turds!”
Baud
@raven:
Excellent. That means the President did a fabulous job.
raven
@Baud: And, finally, the scold doesn’t like his sweater.
chopper
wait, what? his second sentence clearly refers to the first. no, marco, when america was founded, men and women were not guaranteed a chance to succeed regardless of who your parents were. if your parents were black, you were boned. if you were hard working as hell and you were a woman, you were boned. if you were a woman and your parents were black, god help you.
Schlemizel
To answer MSNBCs question up there I’d like to relate a story of my youth (no onion in my belt)
One terrible insult when I was a kid. “I shaved my ass & walked backwards, everyone thought it was you.”
That is the face of the GOP
MikeJ
Didja catch Erikson’s other tweet:
TriassicSands
Rubio v Paul?
I thought Paul was much, much worse than Rubio. Paul’s speech was exactly the kind of vapid nonsense one would expect of a TeaBagger — Government is BBBaaaadddd. Government is the problem. Government is horrible. It was so tedious and monotonous that I could barely stay awake. When he said “For the first time in history…” I nearly choked. It has become accepted in LeftyLand that TeaBaggers haven’t a clue when it comes to the document they worship — the Constitution. But no one with an IQ above 80 could possibly look at the Framers and the original Constitution and think for even a nanosecond that what they meant to create and what they did create was some kind of egalitarian utopia with equal opportunity for all. I mean, there was that little problem of 3/5 of a person among other things. And why bother to mention the plight of women in the late 18th century — I mean Paul probably doesn’t consider them people, so they can’t alter the truth content of his statement.
Rubio was more engaging (Paul always sounds whiny to me — he has a very unpleasant voice — scratchy) and the awkward move for the drink of water didn’t bother me at all, although he could have managed it with considerably more finesse. But the content of his speech was just more GOP boilerplate with lots of distortion and not even a nod to reality. For a guy who (with his parents) seems to have milked the government gravy train for all he could, Rubio seems mighty relaxed about gutting the programs he and his parents have relied on. Verdict — better looking than Mitch McConnell or John McCain, but the content is the same tired, failed BS that won’t die.
Helen Bedd
Hmmmm……however, after 30 years of trickle down we find ourselves in a country where the number one predictor of future success is the income/education level of the parents someone is born to…
Plus U.S. upward mobility is currently among the lowest of major industrialized economies.
http://www.epi.org/publication/usa-lags-peer-countries-mobility/
Punchy
No new Nooge news? Jail or death yet?
1badbaba3
@raven: Why doesn’t Joe invite the President on for a good talkin’ to? I’m sure Obama will be so intimidated by Joe’s commanding prescence, and impressed by his fealty to the GOP’s wildly successful policies, that he’ll go Republican before the interview is over. That’s how fucking awesome is Our Joe.
Also too, MIKAAAAAAAA!
arguingwithsignposts
Good to see Erick son of erick keeping up the trenchant social commentary we’ve come to expect from him.
Brad
I didn’t watch any of the festivities last night but, speaking of Rand Paul…
A forum I post at has quite a number of libertarian types. One of them posted this picture of a direct mailer straight from Paul’s office. The internets could probably have some fun using the “any statement is true if you put it in brackets” technique.
http://i.imgur.com/Z3QOAqW.png
MomSense
@David Koch:
Great photo! I think he will enjoy being a Supreme Court Justice in 2017.
Todd
Get morality back into the papacy. Sil Berlusconi for Pope!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/pope-benedict-resignation-first-appearance_n_2675752.html
Jerry Sandusky is rested and ready as well…
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
Waitaminute. I thought we had the right to life and liberty, period. And that we could pursue happiness. But only because Jefferson balked at putting in the right to property, which was in the original by Hobbes or Locke or one of those guys.
JPL
Did SiubhanDuinne post an update last night?
1badbaba3
@MikeJ: Aw, he’s just throwing his Pope Hat into the ring. “Hi, I’m Son of Eric and I’m holier than fuck, bitchez”
Face
I was stunned to see The Face of The Republican Party is at least 50% ears. Good lord, Dumbo may file a trademark infringment suit against him.
RSA
I should hope not. Wouldn’t their own parents make more of a difference?
But I’m also thinking about this guarantee, even though it didn’t really apply to women or people of color. “No more monarchy!” That’s like the guarantee lotteries give you that someone will win. Very weak.
Paul in KY
@Frankensteinbeck: They would get an advantage by gutting the safety net: More & cheaper servants.
Don’t ever think they don’t want more & cheaper servants.
MikeJ
Just checked freeperland to see their reaction to Rubio. These are from various people there:
Keep in mind for your trolling runs: GOPe (Republican establishment) are the Judean People’s Front.
J.D. Rhoades
Did they even let Nugent in? I never saw him.
amk
@J.D. Rhoades: They stuck that punk in the lastest possible row, up against the wall.
mikefromArlington
SNL writers: “Did you see anything in the SOTU or the response to make something out of?”
Cassidy
That shit was amteur hour last night.
In unrelated news, The movement in the US to keep wrestling in the Olympics is annoying. Good people with good intent, but, Jeebus, they spam like crazy.
Schlemizel
@Punchy:
Here is the countdown timer on Ted:
http://countingdownto.com/countdown/176293
danielx
@J.D. Rhoades:
They did indeed let him in as a guest of Rep. Steve Stockman (R-insane), who is considered flaky even by Texas standards. The question that comes to my mind is when did Ted Nugent’s opinion on anything except perhaps how to tune a guitar become newsworthy? I suppose he’s got more talent (at least musically) than El Rushbo, whose opinions are supposedly the Republican gold standard but whose only real talent appears to be a genius for self promotion.
Re Texas: What is it in the water down there, anyway? I’ve read a shit ton of stuff by Texas writers (god rest Molly Ivins), but the only real explanations I’ve seen are that loopy right wing billionaires swing a disproportionate amount of weight and that there are too damn many Baptists*. Other states, southern states in particular, have more than their fair share of teh crazy, but any state that can produce Louie Gohmert and Steve Stockman as elected representatives stands in a class by itself.
*”The trouble with our Texas Baptists is that we do not hold them under water long enough.”
– William Brann 1855-1898
kay
@Arclite:
Her husband is interesting, as an advocate. He takes a different approach. It’s unsentimental and brutally honest. He just recounts the event; the chaos, the shock, etc.
I think it’s persuasive, partly because one of the things gun manufacturers have succeeded in doing is portraying the victims (or gun control advocates generally) as silly sentimentalists who either don’t know “the real world” or are using their victim status to manipulate. That marginalizes the victims. It’s a pat on the head. It’s patronizing. The general idea behind it is victims and gun control advocates are just too, too emotional to be taken seriously. It works, too.
Kelley cuts through that dynamic they’ve set up, because he isn’t sad. He’s angry. I mean, he’s a very controlled person, so he’s not ranting, but it’s more effective low key. He’s there to tell people what it’s really like. A lot of blood and gore and confusion and shock in a strip mall. Blunt.
Applejinx
Rubio looked frightened, more frightened than Bobby Jindal.
raven
@kay: One would expect no less from someone of his background:
SiubhanDuinne
@Brad: Why does a Senator from Kentucky have a Fredericksburg, Virginia return mail address?
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL: Oh hai :-)
Thanks for asking, JPL. I was released from hospital yesterday afternoon and was told to rest quietly for a few days. They ruled out a lot of stuff, including heart, liver, g.b., etc. but didn’t suggest what might have brought on the attack Monday. But given my history, I am very relieved to know that my heart is sound and the 12-year-old quad bypass continues to do its job. Right now I feel tired but comfortable. And will monitor more closely with my doctor.
As for the foot, xrays showed nothing broken or sprained. They wrapped it up in an Ace bandage and told me to keep it elevated and iced. It still hurts but at least I can put weight on it now which I couldn’t do 36 hours ago! And although I haven’t seen any financial paperwork yet, everyone involved from the hospital was taking a “this is our responsibility” stance.
All in all, could have been much worse. I am a lucky woman. Thanks again to everyone for your good thoughts and comments and suggestions.
The Golux
The Republicans would have to skip at least one grade to make it to 9th.
Bulworth
There needed to be extra separate rebuttals on behalf of Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots and the People’s Front of Tea Party. Anything less is yet another example of librul media biaz.
Bulworth
When did this exceptional exceptionalism start? Surely not until some time after 1865. And probably not until way after that.
E.
“The complexion of our skin.” Whaaa??? Whose skin?
I think Paul is trying to say that race doesn’t matter but is only managing to reveal his belief that the only Americans who matter are the white ones. “It’s not because Americans are white that they are great, they are great for lots and lots of other reasons.”
Patricia Kayden
@MikeJ: “Rubio is been speaking plenty in the past several weeks and I have not been impressed.”
Okay. That made me laugh!
JustRuss
@E.: Yeah, I’m flabbergasted that national politician is talking about “the complexion of our skin”. On the teevee–well, intertubes–no less. I guess he means the complexion of Real Americans’ (TM) skin. Which is NOT what makes us great, so of course that’s why he feels the need to mention it. Aaack.
And as for this comment
So tell us, Senator Paul, how do you feel about the estate tax? And how awesome was it to serve in Congress along with your father?