Not kidding…

Tired of the usual chicken dinners, the Manchester Republican Committee is planning to arm supporters next month with Uzis, M-16 rifles and other automatic weapons for a day of target practice at a Pelham firing range.

“The thought just struck me one day: a machine gun shoot. What the heck?” said Jerry Thibodeau, the committee chairman.

Thibodeau, who is himself a hunter and skeet shooter, pitched the Aug. 5 event as a fun social gathering, as well as a demonstration of the party's support for Second Amendment rights.

The concept prompted shudders across the political aisle. Chris Pappas, the city Democratic party chairman, called the event “not just in poor taste; it is downright offensive.”

“The citizens of Manchester have lived through a deadly spike in violent crime the past year-and-a-half, despite the campaign promises of (Mayor) Frank Guinta to lower crime rates,” Pappas said. “That the mayor's political party would seek to glorify the use of machine guns for political gain is unconscionable.”

Today Chris Dodd became the next Democratic candidate to unveil a detailed health care plan.   Basically, he wants to combine the existing Medicare/Medicaid system with a supercharged version of the Federal Employees program.

Of the proposals I've seen thus far, this strikes me as the most doable.  Single Payer is never gonna work in this country and, anyway the insurance companies will fight it to the death.  Instead, this model creates a marketplace to compete and also gives consumers choice.

I also really like the fact that it separates coverage from employment.  Having a good job is a silly criteria for having access to good insurance, so the two elements should be de-linked, 

There are, however, a couple of things that need to be clarified:

Employers pay based on ability to pay… How is this determined? Size, profits?

I am skeptical of anyone who says this can be paid for out of efficency gains.  

Well .. the Pat Tillman story gets worse and worse …

(New documents shed light on Pat Tillman's death, Detroit Free Press, 07/26/07)

Whoa. 

Perhaps a kick in the teeth, as well… Gotta love this one  from the Hill…  Anxious  Republicans fear another beating:

Nine months after Republicans were routed in the midterm  elections, campaign observers, K Street lobbyists and political experts say  there is little evidence the party can rebound in 2008.

The same bad news – the president's low approval ratings, opposition to the  war in Iraq, and the lingering taint of congressional scandal, from the Jack  Abramoff investigation to Sen. David Vitter's (La.) involvement with the alleged  “D.C. Madam” – leave observers skeptical that the GOP can dent Democratic  majorities, let alone reclaim power in the next election.

    “The only thing that has changed is that everything that  was bad got worse,” said Bernadette Budde, political director of the Business  Industry Political Action Committee. BIPAC supports business-friendly candidates  of both parties, though most of the group's donations go to Republicans.

If the election were held today, “We'd be lucky to hold our own,” one House  Republican said.”

Don't giggle with glee just yet – more below the jump…

Aside from the “facism creep” of the past few years, howzabout  the fact that they're wrong on just about everything?  Gorver Norquist believes thy can still pull it together if it weren't for that  Iraq thingie::

Grover Norquist, director of Americans for Tax Reform, believes the conservative coalition of anti-tax, pro-gun and anti-abortion advocates can still deliver elections, but only if Iraq does not remain the central issue in voters' minds.

So, by this (il)logic, America is still really a bunch of antitax, antichoice gun nuts, we're just a little miffed about the Iraq thing. Uh, okay. Oh, wait.. I get it… that vocal minority of Americans can still get their collective heads out of their asses and away from their Left Behind books and Ted Nugent gun videos to pull of one more for the Gipper. Say it again… uh, okay. Quite a big “only if”, dontcha think? Eh, hell with Norquist… I think this Grover's a lot smarter anyways:

Now, I'm not expecting thngs to turn around too quickly in '08, even if the Dems get more seats and the WH, which is a very real possibility. At least they won't get worse. It's just that there's still no bold, progressive agenda to be seen anywhere, and I fear the squandering of an historic opportunity which results in another backlash and then another 1994. Lest you think I'm being poopy on this, I fully realize that perhaps when the Republican minority is more minor (and the Lieberman problem is effectively neutralized), there's not the constant obstructionsm and they're busy licking their wounds or thier hookers' feet, perhaps some good positive change could actually happen (odds are even greater if Hillary doesn't make it to the WH). I'm still quite jaded, but at least “wait and see” is finally entering the brain dialog.

Now, this isn't just another cynical rant brought on by madness 12 hours alternating in the blistering sun and in my dank, dark crawlspace (see here for more on that..). The larger point I'm trying to make is that it's pretty likely that the GOP is going to be taken to the cleaners in '08, and we can't use that as an excuse to be complacent. We need to keep the pressure on the Dems, both for positive change and undoing the damage of the last 12 years of Repub rule. It's time to stop “practicing” democracy and start getting it right.

crossposted on five before chaos. Sorry.