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God I love Frank Reynolds. Though they should have used the clip from the Christmas special where he buys Dennis and Dee's most desired gifts for himself.

If he doesn't want me looking at his awesome abs, he shouldn't show them to me so often. They are awesome, though.

Did Archie Bunker say "groinacologist"? Because that may become my new favorite word.

Also, Michael Landon had fantastic hair.

I haven't seen this mentioned here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43398315/ns/us_news-giving/

I'm sure everyone loves those adorable ginger twins from the Harry Potter movies, right? Enjoy.

I didn't just post a bad bee pun. You are welcome.

LOBSTERS!
BEES!
I'm enthusiastic but lazy.

Also, yay Phelps twins! Thanks snapnhiss.

So, Lindsey, what part of the Republican platform exactly do these friends of yours agree with, and thus consider themselves Republican? I'm really trying not to be an asshole because I love you, but I am genuinely curious.

And please don't say "They just don't think the government should spend so much," because if they're really pro-choice, then they should be for funding Planned Parenthood to the excessively tiny degree it gets funded, since PP really mainly promotes birth control, which actually cuts down on the number of a) people who receive welfare for all their various chirr'uns and b) the need for funding schools. And if they're really rabidly pro-environment, then they should agree that the only way that we're going to move towards sounder environmental policies is if the big bad government puts money into renewable energy resource infrastructure, the same way the government has spent billions and billions of dollars building endless highways and propping up the oil industry for the last 70 or something years. If they really are NOT pro-religious, then how can they justify the government funneling our tax money into FAITH-based initiatives and charities without reservation, while withholding funding from any organization that doesn't adhere to the strict moral code of the fundies?

Just sayin'.

So, paraphrasing: "You can't say you're a Republican without agreeing with a bunch of things I think 'Republican' means, without myself being one."

Hold still folks, while I paint you with a disagreeable brush, then complain about the colors you wear. This isn't even good blood sport. Y'all can please do better because this is boring.

Fact is, with one government and two parties if you want to play you're in league with a lot of unsavory folks. Along with agreeing with this position or that, one might in fact disagree with the other guys even more. You pick a party as the lesser of two evils, and join a party to get a seat at the table at all.

I am, however, a fan of babies' blood and kitten-fur lined suits. Also of dining on endangered species roasted over bristlecone pine and sauced with the sweat of small children.

I don't think this is a partisan issue.

I know you are not an asshole MM. The only reason I even chime in is because I get so sick of the hateful rhetoric that comes from BOTH sides. Just because someone finds themselves on the conservative OR liberal side of the fence, does not mean they drink the kool-aid. The demonization of an entire political party isn't productive. The sneering accusations against 'Tax and spend liberals' are no more tasteful than the eyerolling contempt directed at anyone who dares identify as a conservative.
One example I can cite is a very long time friend of mine who is a successful blogger, and author. He has embedded as a freelance with the Marines in Iraq many times, and has earned the respect of those he writes about. He is an award winning blogger (beating out the likes of Juan Cole easily and without vitriol), gets invited to address US gov organizations , like the CIA, and runs around the world with the likes of Christopher Hitchens. He is a Republican partially because of the Left's frighteningly naive positions on foreign policy that he actually KNOWS something about, far more than the asinine talking heads in the media. He also is personally opposed to abortion, but does not want to live in a society where it is illegal, which is pretty much exactly Al Gore's position of "Safe, legal, and rare". He is in no way religious, and has seen first hand boots-on-the-ground the effects of Ethnic cleansing and religious war both in the Balkans and the Middle East. I also know for a fact that he would have voted for Hilary Clinton in a hot minute if she had made it on the ticket. His POV is informed, rational, and worthy of respect.

Example 2, my father. A buisness owner, he is a fiscal conservative, and has long identified with the traditional smaller gov model of the Republican party. He is also a MILITANT environmentalist and spends the bulk of his retirement volunteering for the National Parks service. He has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars being donated to The Sierra Club, and other organizations. He believes in strict gun control and is flat out scornful of religion. He is a very scientific minded person, and so irritated by "Intelligent Design" he can hardly cope with it. He would never treat anyone poorly because of their sexual orientation, but his position on gay marriage is undergoing some evolution. If one of his children or now grandchildren turned out to be gay, I have no doubt he would be completely supportive. He can be an asshole, but it isn't because he is a Republican. He is an incredibly smart person, and HIS POV deserves respect.

Example 3: A close friend of mine in his early 30's. Multiple college degrees, world traveler, loving caring and kind. He is active in the local Republican party and identifies as a conservative. He informs me that NONE of the other members of the University Republicans club that he is involved with (getting another Bachelors in Engineering ) are at all interested in what they call "Social Issues". He has gay friends, has no time for all the nonsense about religious claptrap, and is pro-choice. He is also pro-public transportation, and has a dog in the fight as his job deals with building things like bridges, freeways, light rail, etc... Aside from a bad talk-radio habit which occasionally causes him to participate in some thinking errors (which I call him out on REAL DAMN QUICK), his POV is worthy of respect.

All Three think the Tea Party is completely ridiculous. NONE of them are "1 topic voters." You absolutely CAN be a member of a political party and disagree with SOME or even ALL of the major talking points/issues that get whipped up into supercells of nonsense by a few loudmouths on TV. Just as you can be a member of a party and be unimpressed with the candidates offered on your ticket.

I prefer people not make uninformed generalized assumptions about what MY opinions and positions on various topics are, so I try to return the favor. It is a shame that the frothing at the mouth media industry in this country has polarized politics into such an "Us and THEM" battle that people are almost always on the defensive. It is also a shame that whipping up anger and hatred against "the other guy" is the go to move of politics.
As usual, "In politics, the party in power becomes intolerable and the party out of power becomes insane." (I cannot for the life of me remember whom I am para-quoting there)

Lindsey with an 'e', I keep trying to pen a brief defense of Sullivan, but I can’t frame it succinctly and my writing’s deteriorating as I get tired, so this’ll be...the best I can do. (Other Dish readers, please jump in too, yea or nay.)

When Sullivan refers to “the GOP” and “Republicans” in this and many other posts where he rails against the use of the word ‘conservative’ to describe current GOP talking points, he’s talking about the elites, the party spokesmen, official and un---the people who publicly claim to define and defend conservatism as an ideology while putting it into legislative practice. They say they’re the experts on what it means to be a conservative while proposing incredibly non-conservative fiscal (and social) ideas. He’s riled up about Pawlenty’s tax plan, Ryan’s healthcare, Norquist’s ban on revenue increases. In other posts, he takes on Limbaugh, Beck, Gingrich, Romney, occasionally Hannity, & of course he’s got a real hate on for Pain.

Is it only because he’s an academic/elitist himself that he’s not including Republican voters when he objects to the party line? or is that a tacit acknowledgment that the leadership is disconnected from conservatism as practiced on the ground by individuals? Answer might not be noble, but as far as the definition of conservatism goes, the groundlings just don’t matter to him: whether it’s because he doesn’t stoop low enough to look at them, or that they’re not making as much noise as the VIPs are, or that they’re not rising up against those VIPs en masse in condemnation and rejecting their crazy, voting them out in swathes and canceling their shows.

Sullivan actively looks & cheers for GOP conservatives who fit his definition: Mitch Daniels, Jon Huntsman, Tom Coburn, & Roy J. McDonald have all been lauded.

Guy’s a gay married Catholic who loathes Pope Benedict and is incensed by the beatification of JP2; I promise he understands this kind of cognitive dissonance. He’s got plenty of faults, but his brush isn’t as broad as it may look here, and I can only recommend you go read some Dish: see if you find something that grabs you on his roundup page:

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/week24/index.html

Fortunately, commenting like an asshole (and yes, I'm including me) on the Internet has, thus far, killed fewer people than driving like an asshole.

I definitely agree that there is an endless cycle of hate that it is in a very, very narrow group of people's interests to keep rolling, and it benefits no one.

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