Does Anyone Really Believe Reince Priebus Is In Control Of The Clown Car

Does Anyone Really Believe Reince Priebus Is In Control Of The Clown Car

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No way. No how. Via TPM:
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Monday morning said that the committee still has control over the Republican presidential debate process despite reports that the Republican campaigns want to reduce the RNC's role.[...] Stephanopoulos asked if the RNC expects candidates to propose changes other than demands for opening and closing statements, equal number of questions for candidates, and approval of graphics. In response, Priebus said that the RNC won't make changes to the debate contracts or schedules going forward. "The ability to sanction or de-sanction a debate is with the RNC. And the candidates want that to be with the RNC because we’ve got the leverage to make that happen," he said. He said that he will communicate with the campaigns and "fight for what the candidates want" when they reach a consensus. "When we started this process, we only wanted to do a few things: One, we wanted to set a reasonable calendar. We didn’t want 23 debates," Priebus added. "We wanted some say over who the moderators were. And we did all that."
Which is it? The RNC won't make changes to the debate contracts or schedules, or the RNC will "fight for what the candidates want" for the debates? Or is he saying that the RNC won't make any more changes once these yet unknown candidate conditions are implemented? Good luck with that. This appears to be the shiny new thing in GOPland. Contest everything and whine about how everything is a plot to make you look bad. Remember the skewed polls. This is the skewed debates.
The Benghazi Hearing Scorecard: Republicans – 0, Hillary – Gazillion

The Benghazi Hearing Scorecard: Republicans – 0, Hillary – Gazillion

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11 hours. That's how long the Republicans took to question Hillary Clinton on Benghazi. And what did they walk away with? Let's let Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the chair of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, tell us:
"I think some of Jimmy Jordan's questioning -- well, when you say new today, we knew some of that already. We knew about the emails," Gowdy said in response. "In terms of her testimony? I don't know that she testified that much differently today than she has the previous time she testified."
Shorter answer: They got nothing. But Hillary Clinton got something. In fact, she got a lot. I watched the last three hours of the hearings last night. Talk about keeping your cool and looking Presidential. In the end, Republicans basically gave Hillary 11 hours of free press. Their hope was to bring her down, instead they strengthened her.
This Week In Republican Outreach And Re-Branding

This Week In Republican Outreach And Re-Branding

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Let's see how things are going with the Republican wooing of gays, minorities and women. First up, the LGTB Republican love letter - that the Arizona legislature has passed (and sealed with a kiss) and the only thing that may stop Jan Brewer from signing it into law is the threat of losing the super bowl.  Priorities, people.  Anderson Cooper delivered the ultimate smack-down to Arizona state Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Al Melvin.  Seriously, watch the video.  Melvin isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but it seems Arizona is full of tools.
In Case You Were Wondering If Republicans Got Their Act Together And United…

In Case You Were Wondering If Republicans Got Their Act Together And United…

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They haven't. Here's who the GOP has responding to the President's State Of The Union address: 1. The official GOP response is to be delivered immediately after the SOTU by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) 2. Americans will also get a rebuttal from Tea Party Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) 3. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will give a pre-recorded address (because he's psychic?) 4. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) announced Monday she will deliver her own State of the Union response in Spanish That's four - count 'em, FOUR! - different Republican responses.
Republicans Become Dumber – Is That Possible?

Republicans Become Dumber – Is That Possible?

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Yep, it's possible.
Belief in evolution among Republicans has dropped more than 10 percentage points since 2009, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. Pew found that 43 percent of Republicans said they believed humans and other living beings had evolved over time, down from 54 percent in 2009. More (48 percent) said they believed all living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.
Oh my, that's embarrassing.  Guess all this talk of the importance of STEM classes doesn't resonate with the GOP.  Science, technology, engineering and math are obviously not Jesus approved.  Good luck with that.

Welcome to the GOP Government Shutdown

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As of today, the great government of the United States is shut down, but guess what? You can buy health insurance on the exchanges today, because it is the law today. This bit of stupidity is courtesy of the teajhadis in the House. The NYDN gives this just the right cover today: