Crass and deplorable ~ ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original ~ Sooz

Republican Convention Features Sexist Anti-Hillary Buttons: ’2 Fat Thighs, 2 Small Breasts’
By Ian Millhiser on October 6, 2013 at 10:36 am

Last March, after an election cycle that featured one Republican candidate opining on “legitimate rape,” another candidate labeling pregnancies resulting from rape a “gift from God,” and a vice presidential candidate that wanted to treat terminating that pregnancy as a homicide crime, the Republican National Committee urged the GOP to back away from offensive rhetoric towards women. Republican candidates, the RNC urged, “need to use language that addresses concerns that are on women’s minds in order to let them know we are fighting for them.“

Here’s how Republicans were fighting for women during the California Republican Party convention on Saturday:


That’s a button that, according to San Francisco Chronicle writer Carla Marinucci, was “popular” at the California Republican Party convention this weekend.

It should be noted that, shortly after Marinucci first reported on the buttons, she followed up with a Tweet indicating that the buttons were removed from the convention, so it appears that someone in the California GOP did take steps to prevent these sexist buttons from being displayed — after a reporter embarrassed them by revealing the buttons’ existence to the rest of the world.

Whatever steps the Republican Party is taking to remove offensive buttons after they are discovered by journalists or to otherwise convey that Republicans are “fighting” for women, actual women don’t seem to be buying it. A recent National Journal poll found that 33 percent of women believe the GOP has drifted further away from them, while only 14 percent believe that the Republican Party is closer to them in viewpoint since losing the 2012 presidential election. A plurality believes that there has been no change since the co-sponsor of a so-called “forcible rape” bill was defeated in his bid for the vice presidency.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/10/06/2738641/republican-convention-features-sexist-anti-hillary-buttons-2-fat-thighs-2-small-breasts/

it wasn't commies that changed their names to liberals, it was people like the Tea Partiers- right wing Cold Warriors like the John Birch society that can't distinguish between the victims of totalizing systems like communism and those that commission them.

Today's truism: "... right now, the 'stupid party' label appears to be sticking" ~ ~ emphasis/bolding below is mine ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original ~ Sooz

Embracing the 'stupid party' label
By Steve Benen - Wed Oct 2, 2013 11:06 AM EDT

In the immediate aftermath of the 2012 elections, there were a fair number of Republican leaders who recognized that their party had been soundly defeated, and were entirely sincere about getting the GOP back on track.

We heard talk about getting Republicans to "stop being the stupid party." We heard about breaks from "dumbed-down conservatism." We heard about a massive "rebranding" initiative that would broaden Republicans' appeal and position the GOP has a serious party. It was, we were assured, going to be awesome.

How'd that work out?

Sure, it was easy to be skeptical about the rebranding effort when it began in earnest seven months ago, but I find it hard to believe even the fiercest critics of Republicans could have predicted how badly the initiative could have gone. The party was in poor shape in the aftermath of its 2012 failures -- failures, by the way, the party didn't see coming -- but it's in far worse shape now.

Indeed, I'm trying hard to imagine what the party will tell voters over the next year, in advance of the 2014 midterms. Republicans have shut down the government; they're prepared to cause another debt-ceiling crisis and crash the economy on purpose unless a laundry list of ridiculous demands are met; they've probably killed immigration reform; they refuse to even consider a jobs bill; they've probably killed efforts to reduce gun violence; they're desperately trying to take food away from poor families; and they're on a mindless crusade to take away Americans' health care benefits.

What, exactly, might their 2014 pitch look like?

I've heard some talk in conservative media that Republicans will probably be fine, thanks in large part to gerrymandered districts that insulate the party from the will of the American electorate. Besides, they say, Gingrich and Dole shut down the government in 1995 and 1996, but kept their House and Senate majorities intact by the time Election Day rolled around.

But note what Karen Tumulty told Rachel last night: Republicans were so worried about losing Congress in 1996 that they started governing and making deals with the Clinton White House so they'd have some accomplishments to run on before voters went to the polls.

I suppose it's still possible that Republicans will end their shutdown and start taking governing seriously over the next 13 months, but right now, the "stupid party" label appears to be sticking.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/02/20787018-embracing-the-stupid-party-label