From "Rebranding"... To Retreading

Last week, the Republican Party ran into a major public relations fiasco. Already, its "rebranding campaign" was falling apart. And its "softer image" was quickly hardened by its undying devotion to its 21st Century Know Nothing base.

So it came as no surprise to us that "rebranding" would eventually blow up in G-O-TEA politicians' faces. What did come as a surprise, however, was the lengths some G-O-TEA politicians went in an attempt to distance themselves from both their Koch-ed up sugar daddies and their "holy roller" political base. When Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) vetoed SB 1062, it signaled a new tack her Republican Party may be taking on civil rights issues...

Or did it? Even as Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062, she attempted to validate the (unfounded) fears of the forces behind it with a bizarre attack on President Obama. Meanwhile closer to home, several high-profile Nevada Republicans, such as Adam Laxalt, Joe Heck, and Cresent Hardy, have revealed an embarrassing wedge between the bulk of the Nevada Republican Party and Governor Brian Sandoval (R) on LGBTQ civil rights. And on Capitol Hill, sitting Rep. & reigning "King of Crazy" Steve King (R-Iowa) unleashed an incredibly bizarre & nonsensical rant on "self-professed behavior".

Despite Republican "leaders" asserting the success of their "rebranding" campaign, the truth couldn't be any further from their assertion. Why? Behind their glossy rhetoric, G-O-TEA politicians continue to toe the "TEA Party Line". And if any one of them doesn't, even for so much as a single vote, they'll have hell to pay in the next G-O-TEA primary.

Never mind that what's hot in a G-O-TEA primary is decidedly not in a general election. Just this week, another new national poll showed strengthening public support for marriage equality. Even Arizona voters are growing more comfortable with marriage equality... And they may soon send another out LGBTQ Arizonan to Congress.

Think about this: How can we ever take "Republican rebranding" seriously if the party won't stop retreading the same old "Culture War" nonsense? Why should we ever believe the Republican Party has "evolved" on civil rights if the best it can offer is an occasional retreat from an exceptionally egregious display of bigotry? And how can that party ever adapt to the 21st century if it still hasn't made peace with the 20th?

Sore Losers

Like a thief in the night, it suddenly appeared... And shocked many. Nearly a year after SB 192 made its shocking debut in Carson City, SB 1062 rocked Phoenix. And all of a sudden, the nation endured a crash course lesson on the budding "License to Discriminate" movement and the shadowy forces behind it.

Yet even with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) vetoing SB 1062, the "License to Discriminate" movement marches on. But how so? Yet another homophobic bill has been introduced in the Arizona Legislature. Meanwhile, SB 192/SB 1062 like "License to Discriminate" bills are still alive & kicking in Mississippi and Missouri. And "License to Discriminate" proponents are now crying "persecution" because they can't discriminate against whomever they want whenever they want.

Oh, yes. That's right. They're going there.

But wait, there's more. G-O-TEA King of Crazy (and still sitting Rep.) Steve King (R-Iowa) had some "words of wisdom" (/snark) on "self-professed behavior".



Perhaps he and Cresent Hardy have been enjoying some heart-to-hearts on "segregation laws"?

This is why we find it ironic that certain "TEA" flavored media pundits are urging LGBTQ Americans not to be "sore winners". Sure, new polls show growing support for LGBTQ civil rights (and more distrust of the G-O-TEA). But even as equality is winning the court of public opinion, and even as equality is increasingly winning in courts of law, we've yet to see full legal equality in practice nationwide. That's why civil rights advocates are decrying the "License to Discriminate" bills. They serve as a reminder that the beautiful struggle for equality may be turning for the better, but it's still far from over.

And if anything, anti-equality G-O-TEA politicians & pundits are the ones behaving like sore losers. They're the ones whining over the expectation that businesses with licenses to serve the public have the right to refuse basic human decency. And they're the ones crying "persecution" because society no longer smiles on their desires to persecute those who they don't like.

Who Else Is Behind the "License to Discriminate" Bills?

What a month this has been for LGBTQ civil rights... And the Republican Party's tortured views on them. Earlier this month, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto (D) and Governor Brian Sandoval (R) decided to drop their legal fight against marriage equality. Yet even after Sandoval did this, his party didn't go along for the ride. Rather, Attorney General candidate Adam Laxalt (R) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-Henderson) twisted themselves into pretzels to try to spin away their opposition to civil marriage equality.

And then, outgoing Assembly Member and current NV-04 candidate Cresent Hardy (R) spoke of "segregation laws", and it all went downhill from there. Shortly after Hardy made those infamous comments, attention turned to Arizona's SB 1062, a "license to discriminate" bill masquerading as "religious freedom" legislation. It was actually based on the same model legislation that inspired the original SB 192 that Hardy cosponsored. And that model legislation has recently been popping up in even more state legislatures across the nation.

So who wrote this "license to discriminate" model legislation? Where did it all come from? Yesterday, we took a closer look at the origins of SB 192/SB 1062 and uncovered a trail that leads to the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a shadowy front group that masks all the Koch Industries/"TEA Party, Inc." money being poured into this "license to discriminate" campaign.

However, there's even more to this story. It turns out that the Ethics and Public Policy Center has been working hand-in-hand with another shadowy front group hiding another set of familiar players.

The Center for Arizona Policy has been decrying Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's (R) veto of SB 1062. After all, it prodded Arizona G-O-TEA legislators to introduce and pass the Ethics and Public Policy Center's "religious freedom" model legislation. And it's a state affiliate of CitizenLink, a nationwide religious right outfit.

But wait, who's CitizenLink? Where did that comes from? It turns out that CitizenLink is the 501(c)4 arm of Focus on the Family, a notorious anti-equality organization that's been devoted to fighting against LGBTQ civil rights for over a quarter century. And not only has Focus on the Family been fighting against LGBTQ civil rights in America, but it's recently become involved with Russia's state sanctioned homophobia & transphobia campaign. And it's never hesitated to stoop to shocking lows to promote its extreme agenda.

In the wake of all this "religious freedom" hogwash controversy, State Senator and Lt. Governor candidate Mark Hutchison (R) performed some linguistic gymnastics to try to distance himself (and running mate Brian Sandoval) from the bill he cosponsored in Carson City last year. Now, we have a better understanding of why he's done this (along with other Republican politicians who are running away from the now toxic legislation). And why's that? Simple: It's not easy conveying a "moderate" persona when one is carrying water (and legislation!) for the Kochs' "TEA" powered empire and the extreme religious right.

From "Rebranding" to Crash Landing...

Here we go again. Once more, G-O-TEA politicians must pay the consequences of paying too much attention to the bullshit "words of wisdom" that drop from Rush Limbaugh's mouth. Once again, "El Rushbo" threw a temper tantrum over Jason Collins' return to the NBA courts and Michael Sam's possible entry into the NFL. And once again, G-O-TEA "playaz" are trying to turn Limbaugh's temper tantrum into actual legislation (and losing lobbying clients while doing so).

Oh, and speaking of actual legislation, Rush Limbaugh also had something to say about Arizona's SB 1062, aka Arizona's version of the "License to Discriminate" Bill. Surprise, he loves it! Surprise, he hates the "drive-by media" reporting on the real danger this bill presents. And surprise, he makes absolutely no sense when he claims Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) has been "bullied" over this bill.



We guess Rush Limbaugh would know, since he's the biggest bully of them all. And he's now stooping to new lows (even for him!) to promote the Koch-TEA Empire's greatest legislative masterpiece yet.

Unfortunately for him and other fans of "legalized" wrongful discrimination, the rest of America doesn't feel the same way. The NFL threatened to move the Super Bowl out of the state if SB 1062 had become law. And now, we know Governor Jan Brewer (R) just vetoed it. So there we have it...

Except that's not all. While Arizona faced a potentially horrendous anti-LGBTQ statute, Texas faced a potentially paradigm shifting courtroom decision while California faced one fewer ballot initiative this year. In California, proponents of a ballot initiative to overturn a new law guaranteeing civil rights for transgender students failed to gather enough valid signatures to place this initiative on the 2014 ballot. And in Texas, a federal judge just struck down Texas' marriage ban. Just as we've been saying here for some time, H8 is so outdated and marriage discrimination has no legal leg left to stand on... Not even in Texas.

Of course, the 21st Century Know Nothings are seething in rage tonight. That's why they're reveling in frivolous law suits, accidentally endorsing marriage equality on Twitter, and attacking each other for daring to "attack god". Oh, yes. That's right. They're really going there.

Meanwhile closer to home, the Nevada Republican Party continues to struggle with acceptance of the 21st century. After State Senator and Lt. Governor candidate Mark Hutchison (R-Las Vegas) boasted of his cosponsorship of SB 192 and Governor Brian Sandoval's (R) support for his bill, Sandoval himself then rebuked his own favored running mate Senator Hutchison and promised to veto anything resembling SB 1062. And that would have meant a veto for the original version of SB 192 that Hutchison supported.

Once again, we're seeing the result of all that "Republican rebranding". And what's the result? Just take a look at California, Arizona, & Texas. Republican "leaders" are struggling to save face as their own base demands more and more extreme legislation... Along with a divorce from 21st century America. And funny enough, they're the ones claiming to "defend family values & traditional marriage". Yep, those Republicans are enjoying quite the "rebranding" lately...

License to Discriminate, Brought to You by Koch

What on earth is going on? The Nevada Legislature is not even in session this year. So why is it grabbing headlines this week?

We can thank SB 192 for this. Even though SB 192 itself died in Carson City last spring, its legacy has quickly been resurrected. And now, it's striking fear in the hearts of civil rights advocates across the nation.

So far this year, various reincarnations of SB 192 are bubbling up through several state legislatures. The most notorious one yet has emerged in Arizona in the form of SB 1062. Meanwhile in Georgia and Missouri, similar "license to discriminate" bills have been introduced.



Clearly, these bills are making waves across the nation... But where did these waves come from? Where did this all begin? The answer may surprise you.

We suspect few people have previously known about the Ethics and Public Policy Center. However, we're sure you've already heard of the Kochs and their burgeoning political empire. And believe it or not, the Kochs' well heeled tentacles reach into the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Oh, and it's also funded by the same "TEA Party, Inc." aligned billionaires' club who are behind such infamous TEA fueled entities as Donors Trust and ALEC.

It turns out that the Ethics and Public Policy Center has an "American Religious Freedom Program". And it turns out that "American Religious Freedom Program" gave birth to the "religious freedom"/"license to discriminate" bills that are now emerging in state legislatures across the nation. So finally, the mystery of the origin of these "license to discriminate" bills has been solved.

And surprise (/snark), these bills come from the same source as the rest of the G-O-TEA legislative agenda. Once again, "TEA Party, Inc." is hiding behind shadowy front groups to push Orwellian legislation to further it's extreme ideology. And this is why we shouldn't be surprised that other G-O-TEA front groups are rushing to back the "license to discriminate" movement.

Same Ol' Story, Same Ol' FAIL

Don't blame us for being repetitive. Rather, blame various Nevada Republicans trying to climb up the political ladder. Oh, and blame their "TEA" drinking counterparts nearby for their refusal to acknowledge the existence of the 21st century.

Oh, where do we begin? Let's start with Attorney General candidate Adam Laxalt (R). He made some noise earlier this month with his vocal opposition to Governor Brian Sandoval's (R) approval of outgoing Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's (D) decision to drop the State of Nevada's legal defense of marriage discrimination in the Sevcik v. Sandoval federal law suit. And so far, he's still going there. Even when a nationally prominent conservative columnist raised her eyebrow over Laxalt's fervent opposition to marriage equality, he responded by claiming he's "compelled to defend our constitution". Apparently, Adam Laxalt still needs those "basic plumbing lessons" on the inner workings of the US Constitution.

Oh, and he needs to step away from Cresent Hardy's "segregation laws" and Barbara Cegavske's delusions of grandeur. They don't seem to have an understanding of the Constitution or common sense. They only seem to understand the deepest dark desires of the G-O-TEA base. But then again, this may be why Adam Laxalt is following their lead.

And herein lies the heart of the Republican Party's "rebranding" FAIL and identity crisis. Various Republican "leaders" have attempted to "rebrand the party" into a more "consumer friendly image". But whenever they've tried, the 21st Century Know Nothings have fought back with more demands for ideological "purity". And so far, they've succeeded in forcing the party to double down on their "Culture War".

Case in point: Arizona. The legislature there passed the equivalent to the original SB 192 (there, it's SB 1062). And now, the bill awaits Governor Jan Brewer's (R) decision to sign or veto.

On one hand, US Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) has joined a growing chorus of Republicans and conservative business groups begging Governor Brewer to veto SB 1062 along with all the state’s Democrats and civil rights advocates. But on the other hand, the 21st Century Know Nothings who comprise the G-O-TEA base want SB 1062 to become law, even as the state faces another round of boycotts should the "License to Discriminate Bill" become law. Yet even as the deadline to act on this bill quickly approaches, Arizona's Governor hasn't given any indication of what she will do to it.

So don't blame us for being repetitive. Rather, blame the G-O-TEA politicians who keep peddling their outdated platform that celebrates wrongful discrimination. And blame the "TEA" fueled Culture Warriors who still refuse to admit defeat in their effort to undo the entire 20th century. They keep living the same old story, and the Republican Party keeps failing into the same old FAIL.