Good morning, everyone - well, I was gonna pull a Tbogg and threaten to quit this popcorn stand (so Athenae could talk me down and stroke my ego a little), but Ms. A isn't answering her phone, and all my letters are coming back with "not at this address" stamped on them, except for the last one, which bore the legend "Who the fuck are you, anyway?".
Probably the commie Post Office workers preparing for their upcoming every-Saturday Baccanalia.
Anywhoo, since there's no one to tender my resignation to, I might as well go to work and pray someone's still paying the electric bill for the containment building,
The blogs have been all a-fire with snark about the GOP's effort to rebrand themselves, so let's look at Freeperville's attempt to get in on the remodeling craze, shall we?
First up - wrestling with their image!
The WWE's Tea Party Wrestler Is Making Conservatives Hit the Mat Atlantic ^Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:09:41 PM by Arthurio
CONNOR SIMPSON 5,918 ViewsF EB 20, 2013
The WWE's new bad guys in town are not-so-loosely inspired by the Tea Party, and that has conservative commentators not-so-quietly complaining that the company is bringing back a movement already under siege from Karl Rove — this time in one of the country's most curious of conservative spotlights, and as a couple of outwardly racist xenophobes who want to send Mexicans back across the border. Even if that was kind of the whole point.
On the February 11 episode of Monday Night Raw — frequently the highest rated cable show in the country — the fake-wrestling franchise re-introduced "Real American" Jack Swagger, after a few months off, with a new gimmick. He had longer, messier hair, a mean scowl, and a newfound hype man. Swagger's faux-manager, not so accidentally named Zebadiah Colter, sported a bushy hunter's beard and wore a beige vest as he yelled to the crowd: "What's wrong with America?" Colter then explained that he "doesn't recognize" today's America. He said he saw people with faces "not like mine" and heard people that "can't even talk to me," and he screamed out again to the Nashville audience and the Americans at home: "Where did all these people come from?" And then Colter, who's used other surnames to fit his gimmick in the past, threw out some catchphrases familiar to any Tea Party observer — "We, the people" was prominent — and made a point to stress, over and over, that he and Swagger were "real Americans." Oh, did the crowd ever boo. Swagger and Colter are supposed to be the WWE's big new bad guys, and they drew "heat" from the crowd, as wrestling people say. They hated him.
To: ArthurioKind of makes me glad I cancelled the cable.
2 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:14:33 PM by fkabuckeyesrule
To: ArthurioExcept he got busted for pot yesterday so he fits Occupy better.
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To: ArthurioJust another TV character being used to slime and insult conservatives. What is so new?
To: Arthurioand how many FReepers thought the McMahon family would not do something like this? lol
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To: ArthurioAnd he was arrested yesterday in Mississippi for weed possession..f’n idiot..the only reason why Vince McMahon is doing this is revenge for the Tea Party not supporting his RINO wife
13 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:40:06 PM by Sarah Barracuda
To: ArthurioI may be alone with this, but this angle doesn’t offend me in the least. Its just to put over Alberto Del Rio, who’s a top notch performer.
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To: ArthurioThey are taking a great American sport and using its genuine athletic competition and mocking the conservative movement.
To: Arthurio; a fool in paradise; Slings and ArrowsLucha Libre is an All-American sport! Like roller derby, cockfighting and ladies mud wrestling! MSM better stay away from them!
19 posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 12:00:36 AM by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
Rush Limbaugh: I'm Not Your Problem, GOP
The Excellence In Broadcasting Network ^ | February 21, 2013 | Rush Limbaugh
Posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 3:43:36 AM by 2ndDivisionVet
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: There's this ongoing battle about me being too conservative for the Republican Party and too powerful, and the Republican Party is scared of me, and nobody will stand up to me, and they're not gonna get anywhere until they have the guts to stand up to me because I'm too conservative and they need to be more moderate. They need to move to the center, but I won't let them. But really, how powerful am I? How good am I? And then people are out there saying, "Look at Limbaugh's track record in presidential races. He's 1-for-6."
In the first place I'm 3-for-6, but the whole premise is flawed because I don't pick a single candidate. I am not in charge of any candidate anywhere and his campaign. I don't choose the consultants. I don't choose the ad people. I've got nothing to do -- and never have had anything to do -- with one election in this country. Zilch, zero, nada. So this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. This is the kind of stuff that is just infantile, and it's insulting, and it's insulting to everybody's intelligence... --snip--
On the Republican side, it's not just truth. Sarah Palin wasn't wrong about anything. She didn't lie about anything. Sarah Palin embarrassed some people. So they had to get rid of her. The point is, the Republicans will not circle the wagons and defend very many. Conservatives will not circle the wagons and defend. Now, I defended Clarence Thomas not even knowing who he was 'cause I knew what happened. I knew the libs were lying about him because I know the libs.
There are some conservatives today, if Clarence Thomas was accused today about Anita Hill, would throw him overboard....***********************************************
Comments?1 posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 3:43:41 AM by 2ndDivisionVet
To: 2ndDivisionVetRush is right.
As always.
Don’t doubt me.
.
To: SatinDoll
>>We need more Republicans who won’t take crap from media people.
One of the reasons Newt Gingrich is popular among conservatives is that he hits back, he gives as well as he gets in debates and interviews.
Which is why Newt won the nomination in a landslide.
Wait, whut?
Spot on, and worth saying again.
In the 2012 primaries I was initially for Herman Cain, and then later Newt, for exactly this reason. It is why I am fast becoming a big fan of Senator Cruz.
This is what is called "Lowering your expectations".
We must have candidates who can take on the media. Dole and Romney show us why the alternative is a disaster.
6 posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 4:44:02 AM by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
To: 2ndDivisionVetWow I am so tired of hearing/reading Republicans and other conservatives arguing among themselves in the hearing of the Dems and the entire world.
I see that Correa won in Ecuador against SEVEN opponents. There were seven of them because they had no PLAN and couldn’t organize or agree among themselves about what the alternative should be.
Until we understand unity and omerta, can we please stop the endless soul-searching in public? I am SO sick of the endless analysis and op-eds and breast-beating while the Dems just keep playing their same old tune: Give the store away and eat up the profits and the seed corn too while you’re at it and get re-elected.
Please can we get a simple, coherent message together and shut up until we do?
To: 2ndDivisionVet
Rush obviously does a lot of good.
Which is why he's whining like a third-grader.
Heh.
But he goes astray IMO in two directions:
1) Backing and sucking up to GOPe players like the Bushes, right or wrong, and
2) With an offputtingly blind spot and style when deriding liberal women, such as calling Sandra Fluke a ‘slut’. He does needlessly alienate moderate women and give ammunition to the opposition with such antics.
So, yes, he would be more effective for the cause if he’d back more tea party, grassroots conservatives, but be less offensive to women while doing so.
12 posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 5:09:03 AM by 9YearLurker
To: 9YearLurker1. Yes you are correct on Rush and his supporting Bush I and II. The Bush’s are not conservative....and share most of the same Liberal Globalist ideas as Clinton and Obama. Gosh, the Bush Family should have ran the Borders bookstore chain.....because the Bush Family would never close a Border.
2. Rush was correct to go after Sandra Fluke. Fluke’s comments made it sound like every young woman was just a “U-Haul for sperm” and needed free birth control like a fat kid needed cake. The Liberal Media just wanted to go after Limbaugh for any reason. I doubt even most liberal women felt comfortable w Fluke’s comments. Rush even ended up with more support and higher show ratings after the Liberal Media attacked him.
19 posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 6:12:31 AM by SeminoleCounty (GOP = Greenlighting Obama's Programs)
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To: 9YearLurkerAgain, Rush was right. Sandra is/was a slut. Do the math! Any woman who needs to purchase that much birth control annually must be getting serviced by many men per week. That is the quintessential definition of the word.
To: abbI still say its the other way around. Democrats do what THE MEDIA tell them to do.Fair enough. I say you and I resolve this difference of opinion between us as follows:
Line up all the Democrats and Lamestream Media against the wall;
Mow 'em down.
Problem solved.
45 posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 12:32:51 PM by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
Tea Party Group Apologizes To Karl Rove
TPM ^ | 4:28 PM EST, Tuesday February 19, 2013 | Igor Bobic
Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:23:18 PM by ExxonPatrolUs
Tea Party Patriots said that a fundraising email sent out Tuesday showing a manipulated photo of GOP operative Karl Rove wearing an S.S. uniform was a mistake that the organization "did not know about or approve."
"We apologize to Mr. Rove. While we may have strong disagreements with Mr. Rove on the future of conservatism, we want to be clear this imagery is absolutely unacceptable and are working to ensure this type of mistake doesn’t happen again," read the statement.
Active Engagement, L.L.C., which sent the email, claimed responsibility for accidentally including the image. Read their explanation:
An email that was sent earlier today under the banner of Tea Party Patriots included an offensive image of Karl Rove. The image was obviously a photo shopped image of Mr. Rove, a well-known political figure. The image was selected in error from an extensive group of images available publicly online and was adjacent to the image that Tea Party Patriots approved for use. The email that included the image was not approved by Tea Party Patriots. Active Engagement, L.L.C. takes full responsibility for this error and is attempting to contact everyone who received the image to explain the error. More importantly, Active Engagement, L.L.C. apologizes to Mr. Rove for this mistake. Active Engagement, L.L.C. does not believe there is any place in political discourse for images such as these.
1 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:23:29 PM by ExxonPatrolUs
To: ExxonPatrolUsScrew Kapo Karl.
2 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:28:06 PM by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)..
To: ExxonPatrolUsI wouldn’t apologize to that filthy ba$tard until he apologizes to conservative voters everywhere. He’s dirt.
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To: ExxonPatrolUsJust stop it Tea Party. For crying out loud.
It is demeaning and wrong to apologize. Avoid getting into that situation, at all costs.
Period.
4 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:30:12 PM by Cringing Negativism Network..
To: laweeksSounds like I have a new photoshop project to work on in the morning.
5 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:31:39 PM by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: svcwThis is why I refuse to belong to any organized group of tea partiers.
No leaders to be pressured into acting stupidly.
10 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:41:07 PM by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
To: ExxonPatrolUsI am really sorry to say this, but the "tea party" is filled with a bunch of populists, without conservative leadership. The movement was great, but unfortunately ( maybe not so bad ) a learning experience to the ways of our enemies. "The TEA Party" is tainted, not by their actions, but their inactions against the media.Change the moniker, improve on messaging, increase the spirit,
11 posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:44:43 PM by ConservativeInPA (Molon Labe - Shall not be questioned)
To: AstronautYea Party is a multi headed ill defined group. This as a manufactured lie to pose as real conservatives. Karl Rove is finished with conservatives. He actually urged the invasion of Iraq based on “WMD” He is a liar and a one world LIBERAL!!
To: cripplecreekWell, cripple. I want to thank you.
I just could not bring myself to officially join a T-Party group, and I wasn’t quite sure why.
You hit the nail on the head..
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One of the first blog-based books, the anthology Special Plans examines Feith's role in misleading America into war. Buy from 
Ahh, rebranded Republicans. They'll run Rick Santorum or Ted Cruz or Sarah Palin or some random guy from the local cackle factory in the next election. "We don't hate everyone -- we just want everyone dead!"
Posted by: Scott S. | February 25, 2013 at 06:49
I have wonderful memories of branding when I lived in Wyoming. I always got the horse that wanted to go play in the creek bed instead of cut, but any day spent falling off a horse and flirting with closed head trauma is good day in my book! Great fun with lots of noise when the yearlings bellowed, the smell of burning hair, and we followed it up with a big Rocky Mountain Oyster feast.
What could possible go wrong with branding?
Just sayin'.
Don't you DARE shoot that duck.
Posted by: left rev., proud cheesehead | February 25, 2013 at 07:01
"Until we understand Unity and Omerta.." Yes, because making the Republican party more like the Mafia is the road to success. Sigh.
Posted by: Pope Impious XXIII | February 25, 2013 at 07:58
I love how the Iraq war is apparently now a thing liberals were roaming at the mouth for.
I feel like freeperville is filled with agent provocateurs. Or at the least really should be.
Posted by: Dbp | February 25, 2013 at 08:12
Who DOESN'T have an interociter?
I've been using mine to make hot chocolate!
Tommy, I'm glad you're still doing these posts. The Obsession is one of my first stops on Monday morning, and my week doesn't feel complete if the post isn't there.
Posted by: Razor Eddie | February 25, 2013 at 09:05
Fantastic spew this morning. My favorite is, "I doubt even most liberal women felt comfortable w Fluke’s comments." And how using that much birth control must, ipso facto, mean that she's "servicing" many men. Whoo boy.
TommyT, you're my hero for doing this distasteful but necessary job. Next time you feel like giving up, let us know and we'll chip in for some new hip-waders.
Posted by: merciless | February 25, 2013 at 10:37
It's staggering to think that the freeperati aren't just Stephen Colbert-style jokesters, that these knuckleheads really believe what they're posting. Most of them, at least. And the way they can pivot from "Karl Rove is our latter day prophet" to "Karl Rove is the anti-christ" (for example) is nothing short of amazing. The binary nature of their thinking makes Univac look dithering.
Posted by: gratuitous | February 25, 2013 at 11:55
Thanks Tommy. And please don't shoot the duck.
Posted by: Dee Loralei | February 25, 2013 at 14:11
_______________
Tommy--
Go ahead. Shoot the duck. I never liked him anyway. (See, that's how to deal with hostage takers.) But please, for the sake of the planet, nay the universe, don't hit the auto-destruct on the containment building.
--Kibitzer
Posted by: Kibitzer 2006 | February 26, 2013 at 00:22
The scariest thing about the Freepers is they vote.
Posted by: Jb | February 26, 2013 at 07:09
Schrodinger's duck is at the same time shot and non-shot.
That's just how I roll....
Tommy
Posted by: Tommy T | February 26, 2013 at 07:21
I definitely loved reading your post. You have a great deal of wisdom and really gave me something to think about with a couple points you touched on.
Posted by: black exhaust wrap | February 26, 2013 at 20:31