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Inhofe Attacks Obama's "Un-American" Speech -- "I Just Don't Know Whose Side He's On"

Mark down Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) as one of the more outspoken critics of President Obama's speech yesterday in Egypt -- in fact, he told The Oklahoman the speech was "un-American" for calling the Iraq conflict a "war of choice."

Inhofe also blasted Obama for implying that torture had taken place at Guantanamo Bay: "There has never been a documented case of torture at Guantanamo."

"I just don't know whose side he's on," Inhofe added.

(Via Think Progress)


103 Comments

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The Red Cross has documented cases of torture at Gitmo.

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The side that kicked your pasty a$$ last Fall.

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SECOND!

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f yeah. Thirded.

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By "side" he misspoke. What he meant was Un-GOP.

Inhofe has now gone on the record as a Bush-legacy moron.

Obama will need to continue to apologize to the world for idiots like this and promise to improve education at home to quell the surge of ignorance.

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Yes so true. And obviously my party seems to be unable to get that message clearly. That explains the big drain on membership and we continue to leave the party in droves. Many more years out of power no doubt also. Obviously, this guy is a racist, silly person who is unable to think clearly. I know it is tough on Republicans to come to grips that our new President is bright, articulate and honest. Those of us who were old fashioned small government Republicans just opted out of the party with this racist swill they are pushing now. Sad to see.

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Actually it seems Republicans are all playing dumb. They act as if they cannot understand people's aversion to their stupid rhetoric. Moderate Republicans like me are leaving the party in droves. First we had to put up with 8 years of Bush no matter how reckless his administration got, and whether we voted for him or not. Now the Party is bound and determined to blast away at Obama. But they will lose more and more of us if they continue this stupidity.

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What Inhofe doesn't know would fill several volumes.

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You give the man too much credit. What Sen. Inhofe doesn't know would fill several libraries.

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which, if thrown at him, would probably hurt.

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Provided they didn't hit him in his head. That's solid concrete, and impermeable.

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point taken.

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Ballistic-grade concrete, of course. The kind used in building supermax prisons and nucular bomb shelters.

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Can you imagine the MSM's reaction if a Democratic senator had said exactly that about Bush, particularly, while he was still overseas?Let's see how ignored this becomes.

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I know I'm relatively Pseudonymous commenter on an internet blog, but Inhofe along with a lot of GOP representatives seem believe being such while spouting their personal quibbels to news reporters.

I really don't think there is much difference between Inhofe and your standard Freeper.

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"Freeper"?

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Freeper == contributor to Free Republic.

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Thanks, and I'm appreciating that avatar! Imhofe is then a Freeper, yeah.

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"MSM's reaction if a Democratic senator had said exactly that about Bush, particularly, while he was still overseas?"

Good comment!

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You give the Bushies too much credit for an intelligent response but your point is understood. Inhofe's comments are irrational and exude the arrogance typical of the @$$holes from tha last 8 years.

As such, he is worthy of unremitting ridicule. The GOP would do well to start this themselves.

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Here's what I don't get. For most of the last eight years, Bush was the best recruiter al Qaeda could ever have hoped for. The invasion of Iraq, and torture at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib did more to create new terrorists than anything bin Laden himself could have done. Yet was there a single Democratic senator who stood up and said this? I certainly don't recall it. And if they had, can you imagine the instant expressions of outrage and condemnation from all quarters of the political and media elite?

Yet morons like Inhofe and his ilk blabber on with the most repugnant, ignorant bullshit imaginable with zero negative consequences as far as I can tell. Why?

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I don't get it either. It's not about backbone; it's about stupid belligerence in Inhofe's case. Of course in this case he comes off as a complete fool.

Still, you're right. Where's our loudmouth telling it as they see it?

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As Jed Lewison at Daily Kos said yesterday about Sean Hannity, Sen. Inhofe "once again proves that he's the guy who put the 'a' in moron".

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"Yet morons like Inhofe and his ilk blabber on with the most repugnant, ignorant bullshit imaginable with zero negative consequences as far as I can tell. Why?"

You ever been to Oklahoma? The pig ignorant, dentally challenged rednecks that make up that state's voting population probably criticize Inhofe for being a moderate for not shooting Obama on sight.

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screw you and your generalizations

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I agree to a point, but, face it--SOMEBODY elected this clown.

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Murtha on NPR interview, June 17, 2006
http://newsbusters.org/node/5943


And I'm convinced that until we redeploy we're going to be the enemy, and we're the occupiers. And we're actually recruiting terrorists into Iraq. The only people that want us in Iraq is al-Qaeda and North Korea, Iran, Russia and China, because we're depleting our financial resources and our human resources.

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I think him and his ilk being vocal on the difference between himself and Obama may be the best thing we got going. Whenever the republicans challenge Obama it tells the world "US, now under New Management".

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I have a good feeling what side Inhofe is on. Traitorous prick.

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There used to be a lunatic fringe of the Republican party. They now appear to have taken over the party and the rest have either left or are so demoralized they have nothing to say.


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I agree but, y'know, if they're so demoralized they should either stand up and fight for their party or leave it altogether.

I have no sympathy for Lugar-Collins-Snowe et al who sit quietly in their little Republican offices, fretting behind the scenes. They're the ones who should be standing up publicly and telling the Inhofes and Gingriches and Limbaughs to shut the fuck up. Unless they do they'll never have my respect again.


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And if Lugar, Snowe, Collins, etc. tell the right-wingers to shut up, they can forget about getting good committee assignments that would allow them to accomplish things for their constituents. So they're kind of damned if they do and damned if they don't.


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I think you are right. How much can they stand for? Inhofe also doesn't believe there are any climate change problems either. He's obviously one of the many Republicans who believe that facts simply get in the way of opinions, and all issues are a matter of opinion, so why bother with them.

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James Inhofe, still insane.

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And yet Okies keep sending him back to Washington. Is there something in the water down there?

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Senator Insane Jackoff.

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Yes a war of choice based on lies you little bitch. We all know what side Sen. Inhofe is on. We should all be scared as hell that this dick bag is in a position of power

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How about the side of humanity?

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As opposed to depravity.

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or moronosity?

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That's exactly what I was going to say. Obama's speech was about rejecting the whole notion that one must take sides. In these conflicts in the Middle East, to take a side is to condemn the other side and commit yourself to even more violence. Obama's whole point is that it's time to stop taking sides and start talking about how to stand down.

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I also thought it was about listening. So often, the polarized sides don't listen, don't acknowledge the other's position, don't try and see the whole picture. One of the first steps to coming to a solution that benefits everyone is to know what the problems actually are. America, like Israel, and most of the Muslim players, have been locked into a clanging gong mode. Nice to see a change.

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There's something I don't get about this imbecile. He already lives in a fantasy universe where anything he wants to be true is true just because it wants it to be true. There was no torture at Gitmo, we had no choice but to invade Iraq because of their massive WMD stockpile and close collaboration with Al Qaeda, carbon dioxide is as tranparent to infrared radiation as oxygen and nitrogen, and the world is flat and the sun, moon, stars and planets revolve around it.

So, as long as he's already committed to living in a fantasy world, why does he live in one full of things that make him angry and upset? If I chose to live in a fantasy universe, I'd live in a world of peace and plenty and ecological balance and no cable news shows where I owned a huge house on a beach in Hawaii that I shared with an entire NFL cheerleading squad.

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Hah! I always wonder the same thing when I'm on the bus or subway stuck next to the yelling crazy guy: Why are there no crazy guys who are crazy nice, who think everyone's their friend and the road is lined with lollipops? Instead it's always paranoia and shouting.

I guess the real answer is that Inhofe's fantasyland comes with a pretty big slice of repressed truth; he's always on the defensive.

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So, sort of like Richard Simmons?

Come to think of it...hmmm....

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Don't forget about unlimited free beer.

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I was actually thinking free mai tais and rum punches, but, yeah, the occaisional free brewski would be good for a change.

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And make it maybe Red Tail Ale or Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest while you're at it.

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Or maybe Bass Ale, and Poulaner Octoberfest.

But certainly also a few fine single malt scotch whiskies...

-- ARG

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Beer? With all of those cheerleaders, who needs beer?

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Everybody needs beer.

Oh, and make mine a Spaten. I have memories of 1984, when I went to the actual Munich Oktoberfest and drank a gallon of the stuff. Good times.

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Beer? With all of those cheerleaders, who needs beer?

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you forgot to mention people and dinosaurs were on the earth at the same time and mingled casually when time permitted from their busy schedules.

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I'm sure Sen. Inhofe can describe the captivating call of the Snorkasaurus.

/snork.

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He is on the side of peace, not constant war, the side of hope not fear, the side of the people and their needs not big business and its greed. He is for bringing people together, not finding wedges to drive them apart. Most important he is on the side of the majority of the American people not the side of a few grouchy ignorant old white guys.


Bluepapa,

"old white guy" who is glad he doesn't live in Oklahoma

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Mulwray's dead, ya dumb Okie.

(Jake Gittes)

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At some point or another, Jack Nicholson has probably said everything that needs to be said.

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I nominate "You can't handle the truth", pulled out of context from the rest of his Cheneyesque rant in "A Few Good Men".

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Inhofe told The Oklahoman that Obama "didn't criticize Iran for developing a nuclear program."

That's not true. One of Obama's main points was that nuclear proliferation was a threat to all nations. Just because he didn't namecheck Iran doesn't change the fact that every single person in Cairo and the Middle East knew exactly which nation he was referring to.

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Ah, but you see, that would require having the ability to understand nuance. I haven't seen much of that in the Republican party of late, have you?

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Big difference when you speak to a group of educated people versus bunch of country hicks still on the hay wagon.

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Stupid is as stupid does.

What having this jerk as an elected representative of Oklahoma says about the people of that state is tragic.

Who wants to take a bet that he gets re-elected?

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And you can't fix stupid. Unfortunately.

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Just like un-American John Adams and George Washington.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/obamas-ecumenism-and-the-founders.html

"A really helpful post from Jon Rowe about how Obama is not the first American president to show respect for the core tenets of Islam, and to regard it as a valid path to God. John Adams:
“It has pleased the Providence of the first Cause, the Universal Cause, that Abraham should give religion not only to Hebrews but to Christians and Mahomitans, the greatest part of the modern civilized world.”

Jon goes on:

In discussing the controversy over funding the Christian religion in the state of Virginia, George Washington put Muslims in the same box as the Jews when he noted he had no problem with with government funding of the Christian religion, provided Jews and Muslims, or other non-Christians were exempted or accomodated from having their tax dollars support a religion in which they did not believe:"

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NIce examples of our country's fore fathers' interpretation of natural law. Something Obama also exemplifies.

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Inhofe needs to be told President Obama is on the side that he and the rest of the repuglicans have been trying to kill off and discard as political roadkill for the last 8 years.

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Ain't that truth!

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Should it escape anyone's notice that the oil state of Oklahoma represents itself through a man who is so blinded by oil interests that it has made him unable to understand a perfectly clear speech? Who is this "side" Inhofe (who, consistent with his oil point of view, attacks climate change as phony) is talking about? The US populace that would like to live in peace, or the trouble-generating oil interests?

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"I just don't know whose side he's on,"

Obama is on the side of common sense you twat.

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Oklahoma used to be a conservative Democratic state. It still has a Democratic governor who will not run again because of term limits and one Democratic congressman. It even used to elect liberals such as Fred Harris. The state now is very conservative and was the only one in the country in which every county voted for Republican. By way of comparison, in the six New England states, which used to be one of the most Republican parts of the U.S., only one county (in Maine) voted for the GOP.Imhofe is probably reflective of his state's present politic leanings.

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"I just don't know whose side he's on," Inhofe added.

We are still at war. Per the rules that the right-wingnuts put into place under Bush, this constitutes treason.

Sen. Inhofe, why do you hate America?

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Cosign.

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If one showed this guy actual thumbscrews, he'd say there is no good evidence that they were used, it's a classified matter anyway, that he refuses to believe that USA would torture anyone, and you're a traitor for bringing it up.

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This is the guy who doesn't believe in evolution. I guess in his case it's true, because his brain never caught up to everyone else's.

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I'm writing my local paper and the NYT, demanding that they NOT let this outrageous comment slip into obscurity. What new10 posted above deserves repeating: "Can you imagine the MSM's reaction if a Democratic senator had said exactly that about Bush, particularly, while he was still overseas?"

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Yep, exactly. It really is, saying this in a serene way and a calm tone, disgraceful.

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Who cares what Oklahoma's representative says to a local newspaper? Oklahoma went for McCain 75-25 which is why Inholfe is free to spout this type of garbage. He's irrelevant, and so is his state.

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I respectfully disagree. He still makes up that small percentage of Americans who can place an anonymous hold on any piece of legislation moving through the upper house of our Congress for any reason--without us ever knowing who did it or why. And that affects every single person in the country, whether we find out about it or not.

He is still invited to spout absolute anti-fact on several widely-watched "news" programs on a regular basis. This second point is most troubling because Repugnicants are currently invited onto network and cable "bobblehead" shows at a rate of something like 3-to-1, as opposed to Democrats (I believe the source for that is HuffPo).

Left unchallenged, his position could easily be seen as the "majority opinion" in 'Murkah, Repugnicants representing the majority of elected officials interviewed on teevee.

No, he's relevant. And his lies need to be contradicted by fact.

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But the MSM and Fox catapult it to more than one Senator expressing an opinion.

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It is no wonder I can't stand Republicans...ignorant, lying pieces of shit.

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Sen. Jerkhofe,
Torture is un-American. Defending and trying to hide evidence of torture is un-American. Throwing away habeas corpus is un-American. Lying to the American people and the rest of the world to win support for an unwarranted invasion of a sovereign nation? That's un-American.

You right-wingers like to call people un-American. In the words of Inigo Montoya, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means, what you think it means."

This 'ideal' America you right-wing clowns keep yearning for bears no resemblance to the vision our nation's founders had. But, it does look an awful lot like Stalinist Russia.

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Imhofe's traiterous remarks would spark a cry for impeachment if only the people who elected him were not as stupid as he is. My apologies to any Oklahomans who actually think,

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I do not place blame on ANY political leader who spouts off this nonsense. Why....

1. It lets everyone know just how moronic they are...

2. They are some of the few politicians who actually tell it like they see it

3. One they begin spouting off insane concepts at the same pitch and volume as everything else, it lets me know not to EVER pay attention to them

It does, however send chills down my spine to realized there are so many other insane folks out there who actually vote these clowns into these important positions...

BTW: I wonder if Inhofe guzzles as much booze as his idol, Joseph McCarthy... or does he actually believe this spiel WITHOUT all the alcohol damaged brain cells?

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Jimmy-boy....which side is the President on?

Our side---the side of the American People. NOT your side.

Last time I checked, the President was not a RepubliKKKan. He's actually serious about defending the Constitution of the United States, and works at it daily...as opposed to the recent RepubliKKKan president, who appeared to be unable to *spell* 'Constitution'...

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That just shows an incredible lack of respect for other religions and cultures. It also shows that southern states in the U.S. will elect absolute ANY moron so long as they wrap themselves up in the American flag, deny global warming and vow to shoot gays and abortion doctors. That's all it takes.

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I don't know what we would do without these nuts.

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The winning side, jagoff.

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Well, at least he's not criticizing an American President when the President is overseas, because that would just be un-....oh, wait.

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LMAO

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And I dont know what planet he has been living on the last 8 years!

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I am truly amazed that he thinks his opinion matters. The only people taking this seriously are Fox News terrorists aka show hosts. The only people watching are hateful, bitter, selfish older white people, who for the most part have had a wonderful life themselves.

On a side note, my mother flipped out about the stimulus package, horrible President Obama, but I spent Tuesday tracking down her one time $200 from this very same package. The entitlement she feels is typical of the very people listening to Inhofe.

Here is the best song about GW et al. Warning: Explicit wording. However, made me smile.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITZBBV8Syg

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REPUBLICANS ARE AMERICA'S ENEMY WITHIN

Republicans ARE practicing seditious DEMAGOGUERY and insurrectionary OBSTRUCTIONISM intended to destabilize our economy for purposes of political exploitation.

Republicans AREN'T making a sincere effort to STOP the bleeding THEIR incompetent leadership and failed policies created. Instead, they're using conflicting economic theories as a smokescreen to conceal their subversive agenda, which is to cause President Obama and America to fail so they can blame Democrats for the consequences of THEIR calamitous mismanagement.

Republicans ARE preposterously professing that THEIR disgraceful political WHORING had nothing to do with the banking, real estate, stock market and employment catastrophes that resulted.

Republicans ARE trying to hamstring Democrats to prevent them from exposing the damage caused during a Republican presidency.

Republicans ARE offering controversial arguments they know no one can agree on to disrupt and prevent progressive change. They'd rather divide America and create political gridlock than endure the political consequences of effective Democratic governance. That's how they gained power and that's how they're trying to retain it.

Republicans AREN'T the LOYAL OPPOSITION; they ARE the ENEMY WITHIN whose personal priorities have eroded their moral and ethical standards to the point that duplicity and betrayal are their preferred modus operandi.

It's one thing to advocate their conservative beliefs; it's another thing entirely to willfully sabotage America's government because a successful Democratic presidency would not be vulnerable to the greed, fears and hatreds that have produced and sustained the radical Republican corporatism and extremism that have poisoned and crippled America.

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It was just a few weeks ago that the RNC was debating whether to start calling the Democratic Party the "Democrat Socialist Party."

So, with Sen. Imhofe's (and many other Repub comments since Jan 20th) comments, when is the DNC going to introduce a motion to start calling these kooks the "Republican Lunatic Party?"

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Remember, this piece of detritus was elected by the voters of Oklahoma. So the blame lies directly with the sub-standard products of intelligent design who live there.

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Just called his office and said that he should resign for making such stupid remarks. That got a chortle out of the intern on the other end. Should have followed it up with questioning his sanity for saying that there have been no documented cases of torture at Gitmo.

Please call the Congressional switchboard, at 202-224-3121.

The GOP today is run by a bunch of children!!

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Done. I don't think they liked my call, I said it was extremely rude to make these remarks, and especially when our President is overseas. I also said he is an idiot, thank you!

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He's only for Bush because he is another of the radical so-called re-born Christains that only repeats what the church dictates and does not have the intelligence to do his own research to seek the truth. Many, many out there just like him . . . scary!

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I just don't know how anyone could get his head that far up his ass.

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The difference between republicans and democrats is that if a democrat said something like this then the republicans would talk about it incessantly as a sign that Democrats in general hate America.

Democrats are not going to make this into a campaign. They just drop it.

Having said that, Obama seems to be rather brilliant at making everyone else lose their cool trying to run him down.

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What does he mean their is no documentation that we tortured? Hasn't Cheney even stated he approved of torture? Does the Red Cross and the CIA not back up that torture occurred?


I canot believe people voted for these idiots!

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"I just don't know whose side he's on," Inhofe added.

The same can be said of you, jackass!

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Keep Guantanamo open. Senator Inhofe needs a place to live.

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This guy is an embarrassment to humanity - he is anti-everything(even as a republican) - How can the people of Oklahoma have this guy speaking for anyone with a brain. This guy is the leading anti-science stooge for big gas and oil. His performance is unintelligent fear mongering and this is just another example why the republican are where they are - outside the Constitutional principles of justice, How dare he question the President's patriotism. This fool should be removed from Congress by a state recall process.

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