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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

President Obama interrupted the last 10 minutes of Celebrity Apprentice Sunday night to announce that U.S. special forces had killed Osama bin Laden. Much has been made of the dogged determination of intel operatives tracking couriers, and of the speed, skill, and precision of Seal Team 6. As of this writing, there have been no retaliatory attacks from Al Qaeda, but there has been a popular uprising from the insurgents– over on the right wing. Here’s a Hate Sampler: “I’ll bet even Michelle Obama is proud of her country right now,” Tweeted Jason Mattera, editor of Human Events. Laura Ingraham also used the Twit-O-Sphere to say: “BHO turning this into a campaign speech. He should have thanked GWB, not reminded us OBL escaped.” Thanks to GWB are in order. After all it GWB who said “I repeat what I said, I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden].” And Right Wing Watch reported that Tea Party Nation head Judson Phillips attacked Obama for not smearing bin Laden’s body with pig fat. So, with the Birthers and a few dead-enders hanging onto their fantastical Age of Unreason, let’s see if Obama can pivot, and start doing the things he was elected to do, like supporting collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin, and getting America off its war-for-oil based economy.

Meanwhile, a new Gallup Poll shows that overall support for the Tea Party is waning. Since January of this year, the Tea Party’s Unfavorable rating has shot up to 47% while the Favorable number has dipped to 33%. And 20% of Americans have no opinion on the matter, or have never heard of the Tea Party. While we may or may not be “draining the swamp” of ignorance, there will remain the hardened few to cause trouble. As tempting as it is to write-off the Tea Party, its host, the Republican Party, and its spiritual leader Rush Limbaugh, there is still plenty of fight left in the “Don’t Tread On Me & Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare” crowd.

Here’s Exhibit A: The Republicans are trying to redefine “rape” such that victims of incest, or statutory rape cannot receive abortions funded by Medicaid. By narrowing the definition of rape, Republicans want to ensure that only victims of “forcible” rape are eligible to receive federally funded abortions. Last February, Republicans were forced to withdraw this narrower definition of rape from HR 3. But Nick Baumann of Mother Jones reports that Republicans have a stealth plan to redefine rape. Sure, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) has amended the legislation which goes to the house floor for a vote today [Wednesday]. But we have to read the fine print– or the committee report notes. The committee report is the outline of what legislators intend for a piece of legislation to do. In the event of a court battle, a judge often looks at the committee reports to glean what the intent of a bill is. In the case of an abortion bill, a court fight is all but guaranteed. So, Republicans cut the controversial language from the bill, and pasted it right into the committee report. The committee report for HR 3 states the bill “will not allow the Federal Government to subsidize abortions in cases of statutory rape.” Then, all the Republican need is a friendly judge to review the committee report and determine that even though HR 3 makes no mention of narrowing the definition of rape, it really says it– right here in the report. It’s like a legislative IED. Clearly, this insurgency is not over.

The Right Hook– Reality Based News and Views.