People aren't disagreeing with Obama on the issues. They are saying that Obama is the same as some of the worst people who ever lived. If the opponents would just disagree with policy, there would be no counter charges of racism. When someone calls the president a liar during a format where no one has ever done so or someone who carries a sign that states, "Obama is a lying African," its hard not to infer that the sentiment is racist. One can disagree with policy without attacking Obama's character. If that were done, there would not be a question of racial motivation.

Then again, the Right may only be able to attack character, which would make them non-racists, I suppose. Since the Slam has been down I ventured into real enemy territory-the American Conservative website. I respond to an issue and I get called every bad thing in the book. I've said that I won't respond to the character assassinations of me or of Obama, but only to discussion of the issues. I've only had a serious discussion with one person. Everyone else has attacked me or Obama or repeated something they heard on Fox or from Limbaugh. I have no intellectual challenge there like I do here. Tom, where are you???

Tom,

Hurry back. I need my Politicslam fix. I hate withdrawal symptoms. Arrrgh!!!

Today, the Republicans voted not to reprimand Joe “You Lie” Wilson. The Republicans are saying that there are no rules of conduct for house members when a president or any dignitary addresses a joint session of Congress. Is throwing a tomato okay? Is throwing a shoe okay? How about calling President Obama a “Lying boy?” How about calling him a “lying nigger?” Is this okay too?” They allow their latent racism (from the former Dixiecrats) to dull their understanding that the rules of conduct are to honor the position of the President of the United States, not the person occupying the position.

Once again, the Republicans fail to meet the minimum level of civilized behavior.

On 9/12 I felt sad watching people march in Washington holding their signs stating their hatred of Obama. These uneducated white people protested against Obama with the old standbys: (1) He’s not an American; (2) Back by popular demand, Obama’s a Muslim; (3) Obama equals Stalin, Lenin, Castro, and AH. These were the kinder signs that did not use outright racist wording.

These mislead people were protesting and in some cases threatening the government with violence (“We didn’t bring our guns this time”) instead of directing their anger toward the real culprits: (1) The banks that almost caused another Great Depression; (2) Pharmaceutical companies that charge Americans more for drugs than any other nation; and (3) Healthcare insurance companies that make sinful profits by denying claims, kicking their customers, who submit claims, off their roles. It’s the insurance companies that have the real death panels.
According to Glenn Beck, one of the march’s leaders, “The purpose of the march is to restore the patriotic feelings we had on 9-12-01.” This was a disguise for a hate-Obama march.

Lastly, these marchers allowed themselves to be duped once again by Freedom Watch, Faux News and other right wing lobbying groups. I always feel sad when people let themselves be duped into protesting against their best interests.

Zandra,

Regarding the job that the USPS does, this isn't a case of seeing the glass half full versus seeing it half empty. The USPS glass is 3/4 full. The USPS does a very good job. I have consulted with USPS and know first hand just how efficiently and hard they work. You can repeat the derogatory words of the Republicans, but that doesn't make the USPS a poorly run operation.

Zandra,

You make it seem as though the government tries to set up agencies to put private companies out of business. First, USPS does not get taxpayer money to operate. Another point regarding USPS is that the Constitution requires the government to provide this service. Second, Medicare was set up because private insurers charged so much for health insurance for the elderly that most old people couldn't afford it. Therefore, the government had to do the right thing and provide healthcare to seniors, BECAUSE the private sector was NOT doing so. Third, Amtrak is another service provided by the government because no private company was providing mass transit to alleviate the traffic congestion in the Atlantic corridor.

The government does not try to drive private companies out of business. The government fills a need that private companies won't fill.

I realize that President Obama presents me with a chance to become a better person, a chance that is hard for me to take in the light of Republican actions against him. Barack Obama’s actions should bring out the better angels of my being. Instead, I harbor resentment for a party I once seriously thought of joining.

Joe Wilson, R-SC called our president a liar during a joint session of Congress, an act by Wilson that is unprecedented. Wilson gave a half-hearted apology to Obama only after getting some pressure from his House colleagues. The President graciously accepted Wilson’s apology and said nothing more about the incident even though Wilson is using his 15 minutes of fame to solicit campaign donations based upon his standing up to Obama’s “lies.”

I want to punish Wilson and his low-brow colleagues like Eric Kantor R-VA, who made a speech praising Wilson while Kantor’s crowd shouted, “Liar, liar” implying that Wilson was right about President Obama.

I heard that the Rs are a homogeneous group made up mostly of white, right-winged, gullible people. I see the Republicans being made up of many different groups.

First are the Birthers, the ones who believe that Obama was born in Kenya. Second are the Deathers, who believe that Obama wants to kill old people. This group was started by the former half-term governor of AK. Third are the Tenthers, who believe that the Tenth Amendment forbids the US Government from providing healthcare to its citizens.

Now, I have to become creative in describing the rest of the groups making up the Republican Party. Fourth are the Aborters, who believe that Obama’s healthcare will force all pregnant women to get an abortion. Fifth are the Switchers, who believe that Obama’s healthcare program will require everyone to get a sex change. Sixth are the Costers, who believe that telling the American people about the cost of the Iraqi war is denigrating the victims of 9-11 and those who died in the war on terrorism. This group was also started by the former half-term governor of AK. Seventh are the Illegrants, who believe that illegal immigrants will be given free healthcare. This seventh group leads to the eighth group, the Truthers. The Truthers are the people who call Obama a liar for telling the truth by contradicting the Illegrants.

In fact the Truthers, like Wilson, shout, “Liar! Liar!” again and again when Obama says that the Birthers, Deathers, Aborters, Switchers, Costers, and Illegrants are not telling the truth. The thing that makes Republicans homogeneous is their craziness.

Obama doesn’t get upset with all the deceit thrown at him. He stays focused on his goal of getting his programs through Congress. He doesn’t take the lies against him personally. I do, which makes him a much better person than I. He gives me a model toward which to work. I want to be more like him.

On an entirely different subject, the Republicrazed Party has no limits to their looney charges. They have the birther conspirators (Obama is a native Kenyan), the deathers (Obama wants to kill old people), the duncers (Obama wants to indoctrinate our school children in socialism yada, yada, yada, and now the tenthers (the tenth amendment of the US Constitution forbids the government from reforming healthcare.

The Republicrazies don’t stretch the truth. They openly lie and the lies aren’t designed to convince the electorate to support the Republican healthcare reform, because they have no reform proposals. The crazed want only for reform, any reform, to fail and, thus, for Obama to fail.

The Republicrazies don’t care about people. They care about protecting their healthcare insurance company benefactors and defeating Obama so that the Republicrazies can pick up seats in the Senate and House in the 2010 midterm elections.

Ironically, I’m writing this as President Obama is speaking to both Houses of Congress about healthcare reform. He just said that those spreading the rumor that the government will create panels to kill off old people are lying. The Democrats gave him a standing ovation. The Republicans sat with their arms folded. The Republicans, if they were not Republicrazies, would have stood as well. They have to know that Betsy McCaugh, Glenn, the Beck, Rush Liarbaugh, and Sarah Palin are lying about death panels. By sitting with their arms folded, the Republicans were tacitly supporting their party’s crazies, moving them from Republicans to Republicrazies.

Joe Wilson, Representative R-SC, shouted at President Obama calling him a liar during Obama’s address, proving again that the Republican Party is made up of crazies and those afraid to stand up against the crazies in their party.

I find myself writing so cynically, because we no longer have a responsible two-party system. For me a responsible two-party system means that both parties have intellectual arguments to solve our nation’s problems. Currently, we have the Democrats trying to solve what is clearly a national problem; while the Republicans lie to discredit our president and defeat any reform.

Dr. Boustany, who is a birther, gave the Republican response. It was clear that he didn’t deviate from his prepared script after Obama’s talk. He accused Obama of things that Obama clearly stated he didn't want. Boustany suggested we start over to include what Obama had said he wanted in the bill. Boustany was implying that Obama had not wanted those very items. If Boustany was listening and wanted not to criticize Obama, he would have said that we Republicans agree with and support the President on these five points….

Any honesty would be so refreshing and perhaps begin making the Republican Party an actual political party in our two-party system.

Any car company that raises prices in a recession has no business sense. I suggest finding those business-savvy companies that did not raise their prices. They deserve your business.

I don't think that anyone has to worry about car prices rising because of the law of supply and demand. That law only works when consumers have purchasing power to lower appreciably the supply of cars. The cash for clunkers only temporarily lowered the supply. Car companies aren't going to raise prices when consumers aren't buying cars.