Sep 29 2010
The Right Hook – 09/29/10
The Right Hook, a weekly segment which covers the machinations of the right wing, from the Republican Party to the Tea Party Patriots, and beyond. By Chris Bennett
Tea Partiers and Republicans usually say they want the federal government so weak that they can drown it in a bathtub. For every rule there’s an exception. Utah’s Tea Party Senate candidate Mike Lee demonstrates that American Exceptionalism is alive and well. In 2007, Lee began his stint at international law firm Howrey LLP, and worked on behalf of EnergySolutions, a nuclear waste management company. EnergySolutions wanted to import 1,600 tons of Italian nuclear waste and dump it in Utah. When Utah officials and 76% of residents opposed the idea, Mike Lee and EnergySolutions sued. According to Lee, it was only the federal government which could decide whether nuclear material could be imported, not the state government. When asked during a radio interview if his litigation forced Utah to accept the nuclear waste, Lee replied “Correct.” EnergySolutions eventually lost the suit, but Mike Lee tipped his hand to voters. When it’s a case of getting caught between the principal of “states’ rights” versus siding with the feds in order to make a quick buck, Tea Partiers clearly support a strong central government.
New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, looked ahead to his time in office this week and said: “It’s not going to be pretty. It’s going to be very confrontational.” The millionaire Buffalo developer, who gained notoriety by his authoring and forwarding racist emails, still has to beat Andrew Cuomo in the election. But, Paladino gave a clue as to what his administration might look like. He favors cutting Medicaid in order to stem the flow of “immigrants and other people” who come to live in New York. Paladino claims the state’s overly generous policies “are inviting every Tom, Dick, and Harry poor and disenfranchised person to come to New York state. We don’t want them, they’re the responsibility of the federal government or the place they came from.” Paladino also said that campaigning for governor was the most disgusting thing he’d ever been involved with. But, he’s willing to put up with it in order to do the “real job” being governor. Polls show Andrew Cuomo ahead of Paladino, but the margins vary wildly– from 6 points to 19 points to 33 points according to the Quinnipiac University, Marist, and Sienna polls.
After the NAACP officially recognized the Tea Party as a racist organization, leaders of the right wing AstroTurf group vowed to show the world that it was not so. Now, a new tracking poll from the online right-wing Pajama TV shows that a third of African Americans strongly support the Tea Party. Author and political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson dismisses the poll as pure propaganda. There were only 543 likely voters who were African Americans, and PJTV has not disclosed its methodology or what questions the poll included. The poll has already been posted by FOX Nation, the conservative website hosted by the Fox News Channel.
Last night was the first debate between Attorney General Jerry Brown and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. The Christian Science Monitor boiled it down to whether political novice Whitman could do more than simply attack Jerry Brown, and if Brown could avoid losing his temper with Whitman. Both candidates went into the debate looking to avoid making viral, YouTube worthy gaffes. Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican Carly Fiorina will face off this afternoon at 1 p.m. on NPR-affiliate KPCC.
The Right Hook– Reality Based News and Views.
2 Responses to “The Right Hook – 09/29/10”
You fail to understand one simple concept in this. It was NOT that Mike Lee said only the federal government could decide about nuclear waste.
The State of Utah licensed that facility decades ago, and gave them permission to dispose of the material there, which has happened for over 20 years. The dispute arose when Utah said they could take material from “point A” but not from “point B”.
This is where Mike Lee got involved. The lawsuit was ONLY about trade jurisdiction, and whether the State or Federal government would regulate International trade. The court agreed that the constitution is clear that international trade is the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Utah could have shut the facility down any time they wanted, but they could not tell the company they could accept material from one location, but not another. That falls into federal jurisdiction.
This is one of the most simple, and yet most mis-understood cases.
How dare they call Carl crazy or dangerous after Spitzer and Paterson! Stick a plunger up Cuomolectual Cox Yucker Bloombugger’s nose to relieve his congestion pricing and his metric system. Spray DDT to kill the bedbugs and roaches that infest Manhattan minds. When we were allowed to smoke, TB and bedbugs got fumigated. Parasite Manhattan residents, like Washington DC and exconvicts should not be allowed to vote, unless they want to vote in Europe. Move all the parasite universities to Manhattan and tax all college degrees and net present value of rent control to reduce our property taxes. Require a valid driver license for any employment. Double tax any parasite not working for profit. Build and join rail hubs at Woodside and West Farms to bypass Manhattan. Liberate Long Island City and Brooklyn from over a century of 1898 Tamanend oppression. Move UN, missions, residences to Governor’s Island surrounded by gators. Anyone who shops at Whole Foods must consume at least one of their own organs weekly. Apartment dwellers must consume any vermin found on their premises. Turn Central Park into a smelly green waste processing facility. Firebrand the forehead of anyone having an abortion. Access in and out of subway stations should only be by firepole. David Broder in the Washington Post of July 25, 1984, called Mario Cuomo “one of the most artful manipulators since Machiavelli”. In the May 15, 1984 New York Times B1 Mario Cuomo called civil defense planning (such as might have prevented 9/11) futile “Cuomo said that prayer was the best preparation for a nuclear attack. He also urged everyone to read ‘The Butter Battle Book’ by Dr. Seuss for a clearer understanding of the issues.” Your islamosympathic gutterswabbing clothing and pierced privates spread disease. If you weren’t such baby killing, vermin snuggling perverts you wouldn’t be driving up our health costs, then collecting disability for your commie nutty organizing dementia. Your passive aggressive labor unions grab our guns, cars (congestion pricing), balls (SONDA), wallets, and homes but we will grab your throats and dang you from trailer bone tolls. Second Amendment is the ONLY Homeland Security. Wait until we waste all your stumbent subprimes, so you need to sell your affectation glutton art and work instead of diverting tuition and Y2K scams to soviet freezeniks! Deport immigrants who return to their home country more than once every five years. Lynch soviet wealth fund abetting aghadhimmic peakies when oil plummets! Parasites complain about salaries but pig out on benefits. Aqua volte! This land wasn’t built by bully craps.