Alabama GOP tries to force out College Republican chairwoman for being pro-gay

• XKCD

  7 hours ago, TPM reported they won’t kick her out. One of the quotes was:

  “Bonnie Sachs, an executive committee member who proposed the rule change, told the AP that steering committee members need to serve “in such a way that we don’t go to the media with an agenda that we may have.””

  Methinks they may have seen this article or others like it.

• ArthurH

  Perhaps the Tea-Baggers might profit from a story arch from the “Pogo” comic strip in the early 1970s. It featured a hyena drawn to resemble Spiro Agnew in one of the comic opera uniforms the real Spiro supported for the White House guards. The hyena kept expelling people who disagreed with any of his opinions until he was all alone. The Saturday strip had the hyena striking several poses of boredom before saying in the final panel, “I’m lonely!” The way the Tea Party ideologues are going, they too will be in that position, with the Big Tent replaced by a handkerchief.

• VAharleywitch

  Indeed. I keep joking that at the rate Virginia keeps dragging its feet, and acting like it’s 2-states (progressive-moderate Northern vs the Bible thumping conservative Rest of the state), I’ll be moving to Maryland right after my son graduates from school.

• Bud

  Strom Thurmond and most of his Dixiecrat segregationists ilk abandoned the Democratic party in droves after Democratic Pres. Lyndon Johnson pushed for and then signed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the mid-sixties. It is supremely ironic that they joined the “carpet-baggers” (the Southern Republican Party — the party of Abe Lincoln which kicked their asses in the Civil War) a political party, which before that time, couldn’t get elected dog-catcher in most Southern states. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” was just what the waning Northeastern-based old-money (mostly moderate) GOP needed in order to revive their shrinking numbers in the US. So, like disease carrying flies looking for a fresh pile of manure in which to lay their new generation of eggs, they tapped into the conservatism, intolerance, stupidity, and the racism of the Old South.

  …The rest is history.

• LosGatosCA

  Not this GOP – today’s GOP are the direct lineal descendants of Jeff Davis and Bob Lee.

• timhulsey

  Actually … the GOP won the Civil War …

• http://poodyheads.wordpress.com/ zorbear

  Even a broken knife can kill twice a day…
  :-

• FLL

  I think the map is of the Southern states (in red), which are usually defined as the larger number of former slave states (as opposed to the smaller number of states that actually left the union.) John’s post, I think, was about Republican-minded voters in the South, and my comment, to some extent, also was.

• ArthurH

  Log Cabin Republicans are protesting but the Tea Party wing is doing its best to keep those opposing opinions from being heard. A friend of mine who was a Log Cabin Republican near Tucson told me a few months ago he got so frustrated he reregistered as a Democrat. So maybe we should encourage other Log Cabin Republicans to jump the party too and at least declare themselves to be independents.

• Rebecca Conroy

  You are so right. I’m an old white lady here in Alabama & back in the sixties we would say that George Wallace was the civil rights best friend. . Keep getting the message out there loud & clear. It’s the
  only way to change things – pissed off people lead movements. Life is tough on progressives in the deep south but we persevere. We are called “Bright Blue Dots In A Really Red State” – buttons available.

• silas1898

  And no Sales Tax.

• emjayay

  Yeah, I meant the flat rectangular thing up there showing a representation of a large part of the continent in the western hemisphere of the earth with with lines indicating the borders of the countries and the US states and two different colors filling in the states and blue around each side and in some places inside the continent indicating water.

• UncleBucky

  OK.

  Many people are making very optimistic prognostications about the GOP et al. in the next year or two.

  What truly substantiates that they are in a nose dive without hope of pulling out? Do the angry old white men, the angry young white men, the angry as spit white women and the angry as Palin young conservatives all over the place really not have a leg to stand on? Are they truly fµ¢ked?

  Or are we simply blowing smoke up our collective giggies?

• UncleBucky

  And at what teat are the Log Cabbiners suckling so that they can’t open their mouths and protest?

• ericxdc

  That map graphic should be revised: Delaware, Maryland and (Northern) Virginia have mentally, economically, politically and socially seceded from “the South” a while back.

• Gary Harmer

  Why is it that most hate, bigotry, ignorance, etc., reside in the bible belt states? Could it possibly be because of the quality of “higher education” exist there? Don’t think so…anyone with a brain knows that all of those things are taught and that you are not born with them. I don’t see much hope for those people…they are too damn stupid to realize their own stupidity.

• FLL

  Uncle Zeke and Aunt Hattie are fictitious distant relatives, but throwing themselves off the Tallahatchie Bridge was a reference to the Bobbie Gentry song, “Ode to Billy Joe.”

• MyrddinWilt

  Nope, the only thing that they are allowed to argue about in the Republican party is messaging. You can argue that the party did not get its message across as effectively as it should or you can argue that some perceived deviation from orthodoxy resulted in voters not going to the polls. But argue that any part of the GOP platform is wrong and you end up like Frum, kicked out of the party.

  They don’t have anything apart from abortion, bigotry and tax cuts for billionaires. Unless you count tax increases for the rest and cuts in services for the poor as separate policies since the reptiles would like to do them regardless of ‘necessity’.

  The GOP base is aging. The people they pander to are over 60, retired and really desperate to make sure that the government does not spend any money on scroungers who might threaten its ability to pay their social security checks in future. Which is of course why granny needs to be told every day that if the Republicans are allowed to cut Social Security for the under 50s then it is a matter of when not if their checks get cut as well. Because its the contributions from the under 50s that pay for the benefits they are receiving, in most cases far more than they ever paid in. But they think that its all the rest of the people who are ‘scroungers’.

• http://buddybest.tripod.com/index.html BuddyNovinski

  Will they stand in the schoolhouse door like George Corley Wallace?

• KingCranky

  There IS a bright, self-inflicted side to this……

  “a proposed amendment to the state party’s bylaws that would remove anyone publicly supporting a position contrary to the national GOP platform from its steering committee”.

  Now which groups regularly aggravate Republican leaders, which groups are most likely to contradict the national GOP platforms?

  Yes, “tea parties” is the correct answer for both questions.

  Once that reality sinks in, there probably won’t be too many similar proposals across the country.

• sJames6621

  Dont clal for their suicide – just put them in a zoo cage naked. separate the males and females.

  Wait until they kill each other as they probably will

  Sometimes I think the repubs woship the westboro baptist church Phelps gang

• sJames6621

  while they claim to be for freedom Goebbels would be proud of the repubs who believe that if you tell lies often and outrageous enough, they will be scene as the truth.

• sJames6621

  Cheers for DE, not only marriage but protections for trans people.

• sJames6621

  yes, we have marriag eno for our gay friends. As for VA the north is quite progressive, the south still worhips Richmond VA, the captial of the confederacy.

• sJames6621

  REpublicans = sold out to the bible belt south who justified slavery as per the bible – southern b aptist / some evangelicals.

  The disgrace of america. this is another (virtual) exampe of how some animals eat their young.

• http://www.rebeccamorn.com/mind BeccaM

  Trouble is, it’s not just Alabama Republicans, but their entire party.

  They no longer tolerate dissent from dogma. On many topics, they’re still arguing as to what the official dogma is, but on others — abortion, LGBT rights, taxes, the environment — they’re all pretty much in lockstep.

  Saying it’s okay to be gay and maybe gay folks should have some civil rights is an absolute violation of their dogma, and it really doesn’t matter if we’re talking Alabama or New Jersey. In states that are clearly in favor of gay rights, like Massachusetts, their solution is simply never to talk about it.

  Absolute intolerance of dissent is like tempering a steel blade — yes, it does make it brittle and prone and shattering under extreme stress, but the upside is it makes it much stronger and powerful. Today’s GOP doesn’t acquiesce, doesn’t compromise, doesn’t cooperate. This attitude has made them brittle, but they’re still dangerous, and we should never forget it.

• http://www.rebeccamorn.com/mind BeccaM

  And Delaware.

• cole3244

  hate is the cons fav word, of course they are limited since their supporters can’t comprehend anything longer than a four letter word.

• FLL

  Yes, I think he’s looking at a keyboard map, which can be confusing. If you’re using a PC keyboard, I think it’s just easier to use the “alt” key and type the number of the character you want from the list.

• Moderator3

  Do you think he may be referring to the graphic?

• Reasor

  Agreed. They depend on hate. The GOP is a coalition of corporatists who want no government intrusion on business, defense contractors who depend on big government spending for their business, theocrats who want maximum government intrusion in private life, and Tea Partiers who want no functioning government at all (because they think the roads pay themselves). This bunch is a pressure cooker of mutually antagonistic goals, and bigotry is the only lid they can find to put on it. Without that, they’d explode into a cluster of tiny parties too small to get their people elected dog catcher.

• FLL

  I’m not sure what you mean by “the map.” Is that a PC keyboard thing?

• Moderator3

  FLL is correct, but if you are a visual learner, just google HTML code.

• FLL

  For boldface, place this html code before the words in question:
  (1) the left angle quote character, which is this:

  Place this html code after the words in question:
  (1) the left angle quote character, which is this:

  You would use the same system for italics and strike through. Just substitute “i” or “strike” for “b”. Please note that I’m using a Macintosh keyboard. I’m not sure how to access the angle quote character on the PC keyboard.

  Now on to your first question. What was this about? Are you kidding me? You haven’t been aware of the back-and-forth comments between me and Bill Perdue? Are you f*cking kidding? No, really. Are you f*cking kidding me?

• LosGatosCA

  Without the hate they have nothing. They can’t function without their cruel spite, even if it backfires. They lost the Civil War, they lost the culture war, and now they are committing political suicide. Couldn’t happen to nastier group of hateful bigots.

• emjayay

  Could someone please explain to me what that was about?

  Also, how do you do bold face and italics in the comments anyway?

  And while I’m being the dumb guy, I might as well admit I don’t get the map either. It doesn’t seem be labeled or anything.

• Thom Allen

  How stupid of the republicons. They’ll force her out. She’ll be bitter. She and some of her friends will leave the republicons. But some will stay, future members of the GOProud group, extreme evangelicals, etc. However what the repubs should do is simply reeducate her. Her first take at getting communist doctrine

  uh I mean republicon policies straight, failed. That’s not too surprising as most of them defy logic, don’t appeal to common sense, make use of feelings, half-truths, white sheets, bible thumping and the trickle down learnings from the senior republicons, rather than indisputable facts. Hard for anyone to swallow, let alone remember. Because of the RNC acts, thry could lose this misguided woman.

  BEtter, they should send her to a republicon reeducation camp. These were extremely popular dozens of years ago. She could be given a chance to repent. Have that vision of Darwinism exorcised and rhn let the holy spirit flood her. After the flooding, the repubs will teach her to ask for federal aid. They’ll show her how to blame the flooding on the Democrats – if they hadn’t insisted on evolution and your biology professor had not been allowed to teach it, you’d never have needed flooding.

  She’ll be taught that her body is a temple for Republiconism. They can use it to teach her to denty rape, after they’ve practiced on her. Tell her she can’t have an abortion, that the baby is a gift from god. And, should she even consider abortion – well there’s that long, thick, cold vaginal probe to face.

  She’ll be taught all of the illegal immigrant watch words: greaser, wetback, n*gger, as she learns that they’re all unwelcome and should just self-deport. She’ll be reeducated about weapons, not guns. From pistols to AK-47s, to Glocks, concealed carry, “Firearm Safety” + keep the safety off when you’re walking in black or latino neighborhoods and keep it off when you’re in white neighborhoods when stalking black and latinos passing through there. Then the anti-gay feelings need to be instilled -it will be difficult in this one, since she actually seems to LIKE LGBTQs. She’ll get the “ewww gays are icky, dirty, unclean, diseased, perverts, pedophiles, criminals, sex maniacn, will destroy Western civilization, break up heterosexual marriages. AND BABIES,,OMG,they want to adopt and rear babies, it just makes you want to puke. They’ll indoctrinate the babies into their weird abnormal culture of sex and drugs. A baby needs mom + pop not Adam and Steve.

  Their core beliefs must be drilled into her; Screw jobs and screw the muslin Kenyan moran president
  Favoritism to big banks ans merchants – Favor them, don’t tax them.Let them take risks and grow outrageously wealth as they trample the middle class while working the lower classes to death. Teach her to detest unions and their members: police, firefighters, teachers, emergency care workers.

  Science: CO2 is good for you. HPV causes retardation. Evolution is a THEORY. Science is only important when it is beneficial for the military when it wants billion dollar jets.

  Make sure that she learns republicon doublespeak “I was misquoted. THAT WAS TAKEN COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTEXT! If you 23,000,000 pepole who signed the petition against what I said are upset, I didn’t mean to upset you (but I still believe what I said. I just won’t takl about it as much anympre.

  She’ll get a crash course in republinomics: FREE MARKET!!! REaganomics. Trickle down. What’s good for banks and lother large businesses is good for the people. Social security is dragging us down. Vouchers for everyone.

  Education in schools is bad. They either teach too much science and math and confuse the republichildren. Then they get taught about sex, babies, abortions, ewwwwww Gay sex, sexual diseases. Teach you kids at home. Give them proper republicon values.

  It’s a huge agenda – rescrambling this one’s brain. But there are great minds there to help her. Rick Perry for her OOOOPS! lessons. Bacnmaniac will teach how CO2 is our friend and that HPV causes mental retardation. “Mr.” Bachmainiac will do her hair and nails and pray and therapize her demons away. Palin will teach geography (Russian and Alaskan with some Arizona thrown in), history (Revere warning the British) and civics (vice president runs the senate). Santorum will be there to do his lecture on gay man with beast and tell us how his marriage is disintegrating since gays started to marry.

  Lest you think that this is all work there IS some fun. Palin will take her out clothes shopping and spend a mil or two given to her from the RNC. Reince will be there. SHe’ll be allowed to watch him play golf. He plays golf 10-12 hours per day on business days. He won’t condescend to actually play a round with a woman, but she can watch his form. But it can’t all be fun. Women in the republicon party need to work. So, in addition to her studies, she’ll be expected to clean, change the sheets several times a day (THOSE REPUBS ARE PRETTY RANDY), help cook meals with the latino staff. Then she’ll need to exercise to keep her in perfect shape for campaigning.

  If this works, she’ll be a happy republicon, her friends will be loyal and not leave the party and it will be smooth sailing back there in Alabama.

  Healthcare: Obabacare is bad, Death panels. Abortions. It’s all socialism and medicine combined.

  Have her learn to worship at the assholes of Reagan and the Bushes.

• Mike_in_the_Tundra

  Interesting graphic, but I think the citizens of Maryland may complain.

• Guest

  Of course they did, because the anti-American Reichpublican party does not believe in or support freedom.

• bkmn

  It is 2013.

  The problem is that most repubs have issues with numbers greater than 2. If it was still 2 A.D. they would be fine.

• FLL

  My my, where do I begin? I’m just an average American guy who grew up in Chicago and lives in Fort Lauderdale… but… but… my maternal grandmother is from a small town in the Deep South. So who knows, I may very well have distant relatives (Uncle Zeke and Aunt Hattie) in a fictitious place that we will call Two Rivers, Mississippi, which we will say is located in Leflore County in the Mississippi Delta (just for fun).

  Certain Americablog commenters (no names, of course) may believe that they can inflict harm on their fellow Americans (particularly their LGBT fellow Americans) by forging an alliance between folks such as Uncle Zeke/Aunt Hattie and Mormons in the western portion of the United States. This would be the “second best option.” The preferred option is for freedom of speech in the U.S. to end entirely under a Marxist-Leninist state. This was exemplified in Russia in 1917 by the “Cheka,” created by Lenin, which were the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations under which many thousands of dissidents, deserters, or other people were arrested, tortured or executed by various Cheka groups. But, of course, this scenario is extremely unlikely in the U.S., given our 237-year-old tradition of electoral democracy. Hence, the “second best option.”

  The “second best option” is a pipe dream, doomed to failure. Uncle Zeke and Aunt Hattie are Southern Baptists and believe that Mormons are heretics who are going to hell. Think it through again.

• Hue-Man

  “I would never join a club that would have me as a member.”
  Groucho Marx

• iamlegion

  So, if anyone ever wants to propose a change to the platform, they are immediately thrown out of the party – brilliant!

  Seriously – how stupid do you have to be to not see the parallels between the modern GOP and the coldest of cold-war Soviet Communists? Alabama stupid, apparently.

• Scott J. Klafke

  I live in Louisiana, I hope they keep saying more and more that alienate them from the rest of the country. I can’t wait for this state to change…

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