This week it was hard to watch the Tea Party “debate” (and when did the Tea Party get on a par with the Republican and Democratic parties anyway?) and not experience amusement and dismay – cheers for executions and the death of the uninsured, a debate on HPV immunizations that morphed into a discussion of Rodeo Rick Perry’s price tag. What a show! Speaking of HPV immunizations, it seemed that Michele Bachmann decided to add medical opinions to her bizarre repertoire and then she remembered —that’s right, she’ not a doctor! And then James Carville channeled his inner Prince and encouraged the Obama Administration to dance to “Let’s Get Crazy”.

The Tea Party Asylum

In watching the nationally televised Tea Party “debate” it was hard to decide the worst of many evils. In a craven quest for ratings, CNN decided to broadcast a Tea Party “debate”, automatically putting it on a par with the Republican and Democratic parties. This, despite the fact that the so-called Tea Party caucus in Congress numbers less than thirty – and all of them were elected on the Republican Party ticket!

CNN decided to reward the loony, gun-toting, racist-sign carrying, myth-mongering right wing of the right wing with its very own national television show. And that is how fanatics get empowered and gain an impossibly bloated image of themselves.
And what about the “debate” itself? It was hard not to be appalled by Rodeo Rick Perry bragging that 234 human beings had been executed in the state of Texas while he has served as governor. Doing the math, that comes to government-sponsored killing of a human being every other week. And the crowd cheered.

Ridiculous Ron Paul was asked what role government should have if an uninsured person was seriously injured. This elected official of the federal government blithely stated that freedom entailed risk. When asked if the government should let this hypothetical person die, members of the crowd brayed “Yeah” – Congressman Paul didn’t distance himself from that remark.

And who can forget that Madcap Michele Bachmann implying that Rodeo Rick Perry ordered mandatory HPV immunizations in exchange for a $5000 campaign contribution from a pharmaceutical company. Proclaiming his commitment to the sanctity of life (strange words from a man who boasts of executing hundreds of human beings), Governor Perry pronounced himself “offended” that Congresswoman Bachmann would think that he could be influenced by $5000. Presumably he was “offended” by the low price.

Paging Dr. Bachmann?

Not content with slamming Rick Perry for trying to protect young girls from cervical cancer, after the Tea Party “debate” Michelle Bachmann announced that the HPV immunizations posed serious “side effects”, quoting a miscellaneous and anonymous “mother” who told her that her daughter suffered from “mental retardation” after receiving an HPV vaccination.

When faced with a firestorm of outrage from the scientific community for promoting an absolute fallacy (there is absolutely no record of any incidents of mental retardation – or anything similar – as a result of HPV vaccinations), Madcap Michelle retreated just a teeny tiny bit by stating “I’m not a doctor”.
Clearly she isn’t a doctor. Just as clearly she has only a distant relationship with the truth and an even more tenuous connection with reality.

Fire, Indict and Fight!

This week, that Ragin’ Cajun James Carville published some advice for President Obama that can be summarized as “Fire, Indict and Fight” – http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/14/opinion/carville-white-house-advice/ – he basically thinks that the President should fire his economic staff, direct Attorney General Holder to start indicting the Wall Street satraps who have direct responsibility for the financial meltdown that precipitated the current economic crisis.

And finally, he urges President Obama to take on the right wing of the right wing and the G.O.Tea Party and fight.

As Prince has said, “……….let’s get crazy, let’s get nuts.” Given President Obama’s plummeting poll numbers and the fact that 2012 is right around the corner, perhaps he should listen to Mr. Carville.

Have a great weekend!