If you listen to both Democrats and Republicans, America is no longer around. It is a lost country and each political party is doing all it can to get our poor little country back.

Republicans firmly believe our great country has been hijacked by “the liberal agenda.” You know, gay rights, universal healthcare, belief in science, a fair justice system, a woman’s right to choose, clean air and water, energy independence, an equitable tax system, separation of church and state, combating climate change, sensible gun regulation … just to name a few of the evil things Democrats stand for.

Democrats on the other hand believe “conservative orthodoxy” is the reason our country has gone missing. The America they came to know and love has been taken over by a new American aristocracy, the military-industrial complex, a radical Supreme Court, the NRA, religious zealots, the blissfully ignorant, racists, misogynists, trickle down (voodoo) economics, defunders of public education, creationists, and Neanderthals.

You might say that the way I’ve described conservative and progressive values is unfairly slanted towards the Democrat viewpoint.

If you are Republican/conservative/right wing/red-neck/traditional/a stuffed shirt/a fossil … you would be right!

Politics has always been a tug of war between change and stasis, progress and regression, advance and retreat, expansion and stagnation.

For those who still care about the subject, history has shown that the arc of the universe firmly points towards the light, not the abyss; that the march of progress never ends.

When scholars study our society many years from now, they will rightfully wonder how any woman, middle-class American, non-millionaire or person over the age of 50 could have voted Republican in 2016 … the year that saw the death of the Grand Old Party of Lincoln.

Moronmajority.com occasionally receives emails from readers. Below is an email received from Aaron Freiser, a loyal follower of this blog. I’ve decided to reprint it in toto.

The moron majority’s worst nightmare. A gay man getting married, stomping on the confederate flag while avoiding housing discrimination in Texas and getting his marital blood test covered by Obamacare. Holy moly, all the states that seceded way back then are forced to allow all these black men and women, who so desire, to take out same sex marriage licenses.

Just think what is going on in the strategic planning centers of right wing groups. What to do!!!

How do they keep fighting the SCOTUS decision without looking like the reactionary jerks that they are?

Huckabee is on the cusp of calling for armed insurrection in the name of God and don’t forget that, as the hurricane season approaches, she (God) will take out her wrath on the USA.

An abortion is refused to a ten-year-old rape victim and Huckabee says “praise the lord” and “two wrongs do not make a right.”

Carson is screaming about abortion after doing research on fetal tissue and comparing Obamacare to Nazism.

Walker says “rescind the 14^th amendment, cut funding to higher education, and of course, build a new NBA arena using public funds.

Bush blames Obama and Clinton for the rise of ISIS when the current chaos in the area is, in reality, a Bush family production. People actually buy this junk? The idea that Bush uses the same brains that W did explains it all and here we go again.  Let’s plan for a Xmas 2016 invasion and make Netanyahu happy,

I get the impression that Paul just wants to get high and would rather be the Guru than the President.

I get the feeling that Cruz would rather be on Saturday Night Live and is always performing.

The Donald needs a volume to himself although, at times, he is the most logical of them all. He would support the Iran deal although he would go back to the table and renegotiate, eliminate unlimited contributions in politics and would increase money for Women’s health care (except Meghan Kelly).

It is amazing that he can insult everyone, spout platitudes about himself, make everything into a real estate deal and the world into a reality show. He has tapped into the anti- Obama anger although his views on immigration will have a negative impact on the overall voting population.

Now to the Iran deal;   “all these schmucks that think that we can walk away and influence something better … how did you get elected in the first place”? In that regard Donald is correct?

All the rest of the GOP candidates are boring and will not be around very long, including Carly, who would probably lay off all federal workers, (remember HP)

Why is it that a religion that leans so heavily on love and acceptance can be hijacked by buffoon like characters whom all happen to be in leadership positions. In fact, some are current or former state governors who are running for president. This does not say much for the people who voted for them or who allow them their positions.

As an aside, I have begun to think that all these red states that have been hit the hardest by recent destructive storms better rethink there current politics. As my hero, Pat Robertson said, 9/11 and Katrina was caused by gay tolerance. It appears the Great Spirit has changed her mind and is indicating her desire for tolerance.

While I applaud the SCOTUS decisions, it is so easy to criticize the individual justices, “ Roberts uses logic to support Obamacare but is illogical when denouncing the same sex marriage decision”. Mummified justice Thomas states that slavery,   in itself, does not diminish your dignity and Scalia compares the decision to a Nazi takeover (putsch). Sometimes you have to wonder if these should be lifetime positions.

In summary, if Washington doesn’t work with Obama, imagine what it would be like with Donald, Bush, Carson, Cruz, etc. I miss Bachman!! Let’s not forget; there is something strange in the air and we could see some surprises. Hmmmmmm! President Dole, Biden?

I cannot wait for Halloween!!

If you have anything you’d like to share (rant, diatribe, etc.), by all means, do so! Of course all submissions are subject to our strict editorial standards, in other words … none!

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In a way, you have to feel sorry for the Republican Party these days. The party of wedge issues is, well, running out of wedges (see “Are Republican ‘Wedge Issues’ Being Whittled Down?) With gay rights no longer being one of their top two hot button issues this election cycle (thanks to the Supremes) what’s left is the tried and true abortion wedge.

The GOP’s current love affair with defunding Planned Parenthood is just a cynical way to put the abortion wedge front and center. In a TV ad running this week in Iowa, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz not only promises to defund Planned Parenthood, but to also prosecute the health care provider!

Now, it is likely you have heard there exists a law banning the use of federal money for abortions. What you might not know is that federal dollars are not used to pay for abortions at Planned Parenthood! Instead, the organization uses money from other sources — private donors, foundations and fees — to fund its abortion services.

You might also be interested in knowing abortions represent only 3% of the total services provided by Planned Parenthood. That is a fact.  But in today’s crazy conservative world, facts don’t matter (see “What Happened To The Belief In Facts?)

Sadly, the truth will not stop right-wing media from promoting the myth that federal money is being used for abortions at Planned Parenthood. They will trumpet this lie in order to prop up Republicans’ attempt to defund the women’s health organization, despite the fact that it’s been unlawful for federal money to pay for abortions for nearly 40 years.

The only Republican presidential candidate to talk about all the other valuable services Planned Parenthood provides women is Donald Trump. Judging from the way nothing he says or does seems to adversely affect his poll numbers, it is actually a smart strategy on Trump’s part to separate himself from all the other defund wacko birds (thanks Sen. McCain.)

The attempt to make the defunding of Planned Parenthood a wedge issue shows the desperation of the GOP. Just like the conservatives were on the wrong side of the gay marriage issue, they are on the wrong side of this fake “defunding of abortion” controversy.

Over fifty percent of voters are women. Many get “non-abortion” services through Planned Parenthood (cancer screenings, contraceptives, HIV testing, etc.). A good number of those women are swing voters. Except for an ever-shrinking Evangelical, conservative base, many (both men and women) will see this stunt for want it is and rightfully abandon this sinking ship that is today’s GOP (unless the “sane” Trump becomes the Republican nominee!)

In a July 29 Washington Post op-ed, Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, noted that “one in five women has relied on Planned Parenthood for health care in her lifetime.”

Republicans just aren’t that good at numbers.

Update (August, 19, 2015) Republicans may need to give some serious thought to making the defunding of Planned Parenthood a 2016 wedge issue. Most Americans support federal funding for the women’s healthcare provider. Click here.

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I have lived long enough to remember when we, as a country, believed in facts. Things were either provably true or false. A determination was made and we moved on. A fact was synonymous with reality; with truth. But for a large segment of Americans these days, belief in facts is viewed in the same light as collision coverage on an auto policy … optional.

The late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously observed, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” Boy, what would he think of the sorry state of affairs these days!

With the proliferation of social media, anyone can be a journalist, an expert, or a news source. But who is doing the fact checking? Where is the editorial oversight? It is just too easy to spread falsehoods or spin conspiracy theories these days. Some have even claimed there is an entire cable news network dedicated to the propagation of disinformation and misinformation.

The “fact” is that we each have our own worldview and we tend to gravitate towards those news outlets that conform with, and confirm, our predilections and biases.

The “truth” is that facts do not change the minds of those whose minds are made up.

Take the example of “birtherism.” A large segment of conservatives questioned whether Barak Obama was born an American. The conspiracy theorists had our president being born in Kenyan. They demanded to see his birth certificate, and not just any proof of birth, but his long form birth certificate. The president at first resisted, calling the request silly.

When the growing controversy over our president’s birthplace was fanned by none other than Donald Trump, with a big assist from Fox News, President Obama relented and produced the requested certificate that showed, proved, verified, documented, and validated his birth in Hawaii.

Did production of the proof “birthers” demanded change anyone’s mind? No, not really. In a recent FDU poll, nearly one in five Americans do not believe our President is a citizen. As for Republican respondents, the number who do not think Obama was born in Hawaii is a whooping 34%!

That a major news channel, Fox News, spent so much time on the “birther story,” even though not endorsing the nonsense, legitimized the issue to their viewers. “Helen, they wouldn’t be spending so much time covering this stuff if there wasn’t anything to it!”

A word of advice,. You can never win an argument with someone who does not believe in the existence, or primacy, of facts.

The “fact” is that many low information Americans have come to believe facts, logic and science are just part of a big liberal conspiracy. Heaven help us!

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