Bad Santa

Romney surrogate Rudy Giuliani – looking like an angry bald Santa in his oversized red Romney sweatshirt – called (well, yelled) on President Obama to resign yesterday over his handling of the economy, or Benghazi, or 9/11 or something.

(Though Rudy isn’t entirely wrong. It’s increasingly looking like the only way Mitt Romney is going to win this election is if he gets the President to resign).

It’s been eleven years since Giuliani was the hero of September 11, and he’s showing his age (and rage).

This time it’s the economy, the other night it was Benghazi – which was the Romney campaign talking point of the week. Team Romney’s themes change so often. You can just see someone on that campaign waking up every morning and telling the boss “today, I finally found ‘the’ issue to rally the troops.” But inevitably, Charlie Bromney misses the football and everyone goes back to the drawing board until someone else comes up with the next big thing that’s going to save Mitt Romney from impending doom.

A lecture on Judeo-Christian Values from a Guy Whose Mentor Tried to Kill God

Our other modern-day Sarah Bernhardt is none other than that boy-wonder of the fabulously gelled hair, Paul “I did not wash those dishes” Ryan. Ryan is on a tear about how re-electing President Obama would lead to the end of Judeo-Christian values as we know them! (That’s Ryan’s way of implying that Obama’s a Muslim – get it?)

Of course, it’s funny to hear about Judeo-Christian values from a guy who says he went into politics because of Ayn Rand.

From JS Online:

“The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand,” Ryan said at a D.C. gathering four years ago honoring the author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.”

Ayn Rand was a renowned atheist. Hating the entire notion of God and religion. It wouldn’t be an understatement to suggest that Ayn Rand lived to kill God. So Paul Ryan, a devotee of Ayn Rand saying that he cares about religion is a lot like, well, Ayn Rand saying she cares about religion.

And I quote Paul Ryan’s political mentor, at length:

And now, Ayn Rand on God:

Playboy: Has no religion, in your estimation, ever offered anything of constructive value to human life?



Ayn Rand: Qua religion, no – in the sense of blind belief, belief unsupported by, or contrary to, the facts of reality and the conclusions of reason. Faith, as such, is extremely detrimental to human life: it is the negation of reason. But you must remember that religion is an early form of philosophy, that the first attempts to explain the universe, to give a coherent frame of reference to man’s life and a code of moral values, were made by religion, before men graduated or developed enough to have philosophy. And, as philosophies, some religions have very valuable moral points. They may have a good influence or proper principles to inculcate, but in a very contradictory context and, on a very – how should I say it? – dangerous or malevolent base: on the ground of faith. [Playboy interview with Ayn Rand]

Faith is the worst curse of mankind, as the exact antithesis and enemy of thought.

“…if devotion to truth is the hallmark of morality, then there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking….the alleged short-cut to knowledge, which is faith, is only a short-circuit destroying the mind. [Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged]“

Yeah, not exactly very Judeo-Christian, that lady.

But don’t let that stop Paul Ryan from suddenly becoming Jesus’ littlest elf:

Criticizing Obama over his health care bill’s coverage mandate for birth control, the Roman-Catholic Ryan noted that “my church is suing the federal government.”

Well, your church is also covering up decades of child rape. So, if we’re keeping score here…

Ryan continued:

“We should not have to sue the federal government to keep our constitutional freedoms,” said.

How cute of a Republican to suddenly find something in the Constitution that he likes, besides the 2nd Amendment.

“Imagine what he would do if he actually got reelected. It just puts a chill down my spine.”

Maybe Rudy can lend you his Santa sweater.

It’s Not Nate’s Fault

The histrionics are the latest sign of abject panic in Romney-land. Which is understandable when the smartest number-crunch in the land only gives you a 14.5% chance of winning on Tuesday.

Sadly, for Team Romney, the news pretty much heads south from there. It hasn’t been a terribly good 48 hours for Team Romney. It started off with Paul Ryan’s peeps leaking his post-election plans that did not involve living in the Vice President’s mansion.

Then Mitt Romney offended the entire nation of Italy.

Then Newt Gingrich sent an email to his list saying Obama’s going to win.

Then a Romney surrogate thought it was already time for Hurricane Sandy jokes.

Then the Red Cross, finally fed up with Romney’s incessant attempts to use their disaster relief as an opportunity to boost his election chances, issued an annoyed statement telling the good governor to stop giving them donations that impede their work.

Then a reliably conservative pundit went on CNN this morning and reaffirmed that Mitt Romney does want to close down FEMA, that a lot of people don’t agree with him, and then, for added fun, she called him “Etch-a-Sketch Romney.” While another GOP pundit went on CNN later and refused to say “Romney!” when asked for a one-word answer to the question “who’s going to win on Tuesday?” And these are his friends.

In the meantime, Republicans are putting out all sorts of spin about “why Romney lost” before he’s even lost.

Taking Children Hostage Certainly Counts as “Real Change”

And the culmination of the 48 hours of hell for Mitt Romney’s presidential aspirations was the news last night that a bunch of half-frozen children were callously forbidden to leave an open-door Romney rally in freezing Pennsylvania, while Romney’s staff mocked the kids and their parents to the media, who then dutifully tweeted about it, live, with photos.

Can’t you just feel those Judeo-Christian values? Probably about as well as those kids are feeling their fingers and toes.