No Rebranding That "TEA"

This should come as no surprise to faithful readers of this site. "Republican rebranding" has been nothing but a majorly EPIC FAIL. Republican "leaders" can try as much soft lighting as they want, but that doesn't change the hard reality of the state of their party in 2014.

Here in Nevada and across the nation, the Republican Party has merely "rebranded" the same crazy "TEA" it's been hawking for the past 5 years. Don't believe us? Believe those primary results.

Still don't believe us? Then turn on your gawd damned TV! Really, grrl. Don't tell us you haven't seen this yet. And don't tell us you still haven't clocked this yet.

Oh, and let's not forget this. Even though Cresent Hardy loves him some "segregation laws" and Cliven Bundy, it's still not enough for Niger Innis and his deep pocketed BFFs. And that may actually be enough for Niger Innis to win the NV-04 G-O-TEA primary!

Get it now? They still like their "TEA" brewed extra strong over in G-O-TEA Land. And the 21st Century Know Nothings the call the shots.

Republican "leaders" can "rebrand" all they want, but they can't make us forget reality. There's ultimately no way to "rebrand" the "TEA" that's come to define the Republican Party of 2014. There's only the choice they're making as to how much more they want to drink.

"The Ultimate Sacrifice"

This shouldn't be such a pungent punchline. Our founders probably didn't mean for it to be this way. But alas, it's now this way.

We can't personally remember a time when Congress was a respected institution, but we know it occasionally used to be that way. And technically, it's supposed to be that way. After all, Congress makes laws. And the law is supposed to be respected.

Unfortunately, Congress couldn't be any less respected than it is now. But then again, G-O-TEA "leaders" in Congress have worked very hard lately to earn this disrespect. When they engage in pointless ideological grandstanding and reckless & nonsensical bloviating, why should we respect them?

So we could understand initial reactions to NV-04 candidate Niger Innis' assertion that he's making "the ultimate sacrifice" in running for Congress. Where's the sacrifice? He's running for a position that offers a six-figure salary in an institution that's become notorious for its agenda of nothing. Where's the sacrifice in competing for for what's essentially become a glorified paid vacation?

But then, we thought about it some more. Theoretically, Congress is supposed to be a body of public servants. They're supposed to sacrifice for the public good. And they're supposed to be a part of a respected institution.

Sadly, that's not the case. And sadly, the recent unfortunate remarks from Niger Innis will probably just be treated as another "stupid gaffe" rather than a call for serious introspection from his own party's "leaders" on Capitol Hill. Think about it. If they're not there to make any kind of sacrifice or offer any kind of public service, then why are they there in the first place?

Another Day, Another "Rebranding" FAIL

What else can we say? We told you so. And we definitely saw this coming. After all, G-O-TEA politicians are good at following their true leader. And today, Cresent Hardy proved our point... And then some.

So what exactly did the current Nevada Assembly Member and NV-04 Congressional Candidate do? Let's start with his interview with the Las Vegas Sun this week. When asked about his views on LGBTQ civil rights, Hardy dropped these bombs.

“I will always vote against same sex marriage because of my religious beliefs, the way I was raised,” said Hardy, who is Mormon. “For me to vote for it would be to deny the same God that I believe in.”

Hardy also would oppose the Employment Nondiscrimination Act [ENDA], a federal measure that would make it a crime for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on the employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity, adding that language to a list of federally protected classes. In 2011, Hardy voted against a similar law in Nevada; Horsford supported it.

“When we create classes, we create that same separation that we’re trying to unfold somehow,” he said. “By continuing to create these laws that are what I call segregation laws, it puts one class of a person over another. We are creating classes of people through these laws.”

Let's start breaking this sh*t down. So Cresent Hardy believes he'd have to deny the god he believes in order to grant LGBTQ families the same freedom (and responsibilities) that other families enjoy. What kind of god does he believe in? News flash: Cresent Hardy doesn't have to deny his faith to ensure legal equality.

And that leads us to the other bomb he dropped on The Sun this week, which also happens to be the bomb that the national media are now noticing. How on earth is ENDA a "segregation law" that "creates separation"?

Actually, ENDA would do the opposite. In 34 states, LGBTQ workers are forced to work in fear (or lose their jobs) because some companies engage in unjust discrimination. ENDA would actually remedy this and prevent segregation by ensuring equal opportunity for all workers.

This is why Governor Brian Sandoval (R) signed into law a state level ENDA in 2011 (that Cresent Hardy voted against). And this is why US Senator Dean Heller (R) voted for the federal ENDA last November. Both are fellow Republicans, and Heller is a fellow Mormon, so what's Cresent Hardy's problem? Why doesn't he get what they get?

But wait, there's more! At the Hispanics in Politics brunch this morning, Cresent Hardy doubled down on his anti-equality platform with another declaration of his opposition to marriage equality. And in case that wasn't enough H8 for the audience, his G-O-TEA primary opponent, Niger Innis, also declared his opposition to marriage equality. And funny enough, Niger Innis considers himself to be a "civil rights leader". Oops.

So how's that "Republican rebranding" coming along? Did no one else get Governor Brian Sandoval's memo? Or are they just ignoring it? If the NV-04 G-O-TEA primary is showing us anything, it's that the newly "rebranded" Nevada Republican Party looks exactly the same as the old one.

Oh, and they've yet to learn this very important lesson. If they want to wow us, they better not remove that wig... Unless there's another wig under that wig.

Poor Dave McKeon

I know we've been doing quite a bit of it this week, but we really must take one more stroll down Memory Lane. Remember Dave McKeon? He's now the Chair of the Clark County Republican Party. And he was supposed to make everything better for Southern Nevada's G-O-TEA faithful.

Needless to say, that still hasn't happened. Instead, McKeon's family woes continue to make news in Nevada and California...

Wait, what??!! Remember that Dave McKeon is the son of Rep. Buck McKeon (R-California), the Santa Clarita Republican who likes to question whether hardworking immigrant families are somehow aiding and abetting terrorists. He's also made a habit of mastering the art of pay-to-play politics (of pure corruption).

And now, Rep. Buck McKeon is finally calling it quits. No, he's not quitting his pay-to-play racket. Rather, he's quitting Congress. He just can't stand the fact that the G-O-TEA Culture Warriors keep getting in the way of his military-industrial complex gravy train.

McKeon, at a press conference formally announcing his reported retirement on Thursday, said that about 80 members of the House GOP caucus identifying as tea partiers contributed to his decision to retire.

"That was just one issue," McKeon said according to Defense News. "I can't say it was not part of it because it has been a frustrating year. Not so much for us but for our leadership."

The outgoing congressman said that too often in the last few years House Republican leadership came to their caucus with a certain plan on legislation that was eventually "rejected" by tea partiers because "it wasn't good enough."

"I think every member of our conference needs to look at themselves and re-evaluate what they were sent here to do," McKeon added.

Well, cry me a river. Buck McKeon is now complaining about the Crazy Caucus nearly derailing America? Where was he when the Crazy Caucus was about to throw America into Armageddon? (Crickets.)

We find it quite ironic that Rep. McKeon is shedding (crocodile) tears now. Could it be due to his weakened political position in his own district? (A heavy TEA drinker was already preparing to run before McKeon announced his retirement, and national Democrats were already preparing to contest his seat this year.) We can't help but laugh as Buck McKeon only comes around to criticizing the TEA powered political Frankenstein monster when the monster turns around to come for him.

We can only wonder what poor little Dave McKeon must be thinking right now. He's about to lose his juice on Capitol Hill, and that can't possibly come at a worse time. Does he have enough juice left to stop members of his own party from sabotaging Cresent Hardy's already long-shot challenge to Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) in NV-04? Is the Nevada G-O-TEA Civil War about to enter another round of gruesome battles this year?

Whatever comes next, we're just glad we're not in Dave McKeon's position.