I can't decide if this reminds me more of a floundering whale or a Keystone Kops routine ~ ~ Sooz

House GOP has a game-plan for August
By Steve Benen - Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:49 AM EDT

About seven months into the new Congress, House Republicans don't have much to show for 2013, at least not yet. They've passed no major bills; they're on track to be the least productive since historians started keeping track; and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he wants to be judged by how many laws he repeals -- a figure that currently totals zero.

Given this, it stands to reason that House GOP members will be a little concerned about a cool reception when they return to their home districts during the four-week August recess. After all, Congress hasn't been this chronically unpopular since the dawn of modern polling, and lawmakers probably shouldn't expect a hero's welcome.

But the House Republican Conference intends to help with an "exceptionally detailed" guide for its members on how best to survive the rest of the summer. It's a doozy.


To that end, the "planning kit" focuses on, among other things, a "fierce hatred of all things Washington."

I'm no political strategist, but wouldn't this be a more effective tactic if, say, Republicans weren't the majority party in the House of Representatives? When GOP officials whine incessantly about those bums on Capitol Hill, do they realize that John Boehner is the Speaker and Eric Cantor is the Majority Leader? If they spend four weeks in August condemning the powers that be inside the Beltway, has it occurred to them they're the ones with power?

A similar point came up a couple of weeks ago, when Boehner insisted Americans "don't trust a Democratic-controlled Washington." This would arguably be a less foolish talking point if Boehner, still holding the Speaker's gavel, wasn't one of the most powerful people in Washington.

But wait, the "planning kit" gets even funnier.

Among the other tidbits:

* The House Republican Conference is apparently preoccupied with Vine, a social-media tool that allows users to create and easily share six-second videos. Good luck, House GOP, on solving your problems six seconds at a time.

* Members are being encouraged to publish op-eds in local media on the IRS "scandal." That there is no IRS "scandal," and all of the allegations Republicans raised have been discredited, has apparently been deemed irrelevant.

* According to the Roll Call piece, the Conference "suggests planting questions" at local events "to get the conversation rolling in the right direction."

* And House Republicans are encouraged to go on an "Energy Production Facility Tour" during the recess. Members, of course, have been told to "wear a hard hat" and -- you guessed it -- put this and other events on Vine.

What could possibly go wrong?

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/23/19637489-house-gop-has-a-game-plan-for-august?lite

The GOP worked specifically, intentionally, and tirelessly to create this mess ~ it's impossible for me to generate any sympathy or compassion ~ ~ Sooz

Hiding from town-hall hollering
By Steve Benen - Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:34 AM EDT

About a month ago, the House Republican Conference produced "exceptionally detailed" guides for their members on how best to survive the lengthy August recess. Party officials offered some rather remarkable advice in the "planning kit," including "planting questions" so local events remain on message.

Of course, that assumes lawmakers will actually host local events in the first place. The New York Times reports today that this summer, many members of Congress have suddenly lost their interest in town-hall forums.


An unnamed Senate Republican aide told the NYT, "Ninety percent of the audience there will be interested in what you have to say. It's the other 5 or 10 percent who aren't. They're there to make a point and, frankly, to hijack the meeting."

I don't want to sound unsympathetic. I've never worked for a member of Congress, but I imagine it's quite frustrating when you go to the trouble of organizing an event and "planting questions," only to see some local troublemakers derail your plans.

Of course, I'd remind these lawmakers that democracy can be messy, and that hiding from constituents doesn't seem especially healthy.

The Times piece doesn't quantify the observation, so it's hard to say with confidence whether there's been a significant drop in the number of town-hall discussions or if this is just something "people from both parties say they are noticing." Once the recess ends, it'd be interesting to see an official tally to bolster the point -- counting up all of the meetings held by all of the members, and comparing the totals to previous years.

But if the argument is based on a real trend, it's worth considering in detail why, exactly, members who used to love town-hall meetings suddenly changed their mind.

It's easy to blame annoying loudmouths who show up and cause trouble, but I find it hard to believe this is a new phenomenon.

Rather, I think there are two other angles to this. The first is that the Republican Party base is starting to push for things Republican Party lawmakers don't want to deliver -- a government shutdown, national default, impeachment, hearings into the president's birth certificate, a special committee to investigate Benghazi conspiracy theories -- and town-hall forums put GOP officials in an awkward position of disappointing the far-right activists the party has worked so hard to rile up.

The second is the flip-side: the Republican Party base is pushing for extremism, many Republican officials are going along, and invariably someone catches this on video.

Note, for example, that three GOP members of Congress have embraced the birther conspiracy theory in the last two weeks -- and in each instance, they were speaking at a town-hall forum, being egged on by birther constituents.

In other words, we're looking at a dynamic in which Republicans (a) will be pressed to say something stupid; or (b) will go ahead and say something stupid.

Is it any wonder so many members are hiding?

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/13/20006257-hiding-from-town-hall-hollering

This is the inevitable consequence of having a propaganda industry successfully selling conspiracy theories, ideological absolutism and contempt for compromise.

I am just sick of Republicans... all of them. Can't wait till the elections and hopefully many of them will be gone. Of course I know there are many Republicans who would still vote for the Republican Party even if it was filled completely with people like Charles Manson.