Former House Republican Majority Leader and teabag organizer Dick Armey complained on Meet the Press that too many lower income wage-earners were taken off the tax rolls, and that they ought to be paying higher taxes. He went on to say, and to gesture with his hands so it was clear what he meant, that that would enable us to lower taxes on the top bracket.
Although the people in the streets may not have known it -- and almost everyone in the streets just had their taxes lowered, so they could not have known much about the subject -- that is what those stirring the pot were really after.
It is tempting to say that this is hardly a revelation, since we know that this is what they have been all about for several decades, but it was refreshing to hear Mr. Armey state it explicitly.
Not to be outdone, ever, Governor Sarah Palin spoke eloquently about the choice -- yes, she used the word several times -- to keep her pregnancy at a Right-to-Life dinner in Indiana. Her description of her experience was rather moving, but she seemed oblivious to the obvious: that the very act of discussing her choice in such glowing terms was, indeed, an endorsement of choice.
The essential problem these Republicans reflect is that the old-style (Gingrich, Hannity, Limbaugh) analysis of the economic and social forces that have emerged in this country does not comport with reality, and, thus, now-and-then, the truth emerges even from their lips... and, in today's YouTube world, those little lapses into truth will give the lie to their rants. Next time the Republicans talk about taxes or life, all we need do is run those clips.
The Republicans believe they can play photos of Barack Obama shaking hands with Hugo Chavez and diminish the president's support.
Some of the boomers may still fall for it; the millennials do not.
Oh, by the way, British scientists have shown in both rats and pigs that human embryonic stem cells can cure blindness in models similar to age-related macular degeneration ("AMD"). Clinical trials in humans will begin in about 2 years. When that happens, it will be interesting to hear Dick and Sarah justify flushing those embryos down the toilet instead of being used to restore eyesight.
What will be more interesting is whether rightwing boomers and their parents, now at the age to go blind from AMD, will seek to have their blindness cured, or live out the rest of their lives in darkness.
Any bets?