Welcome to the first day of the first round of Theocons Region matchups in the the 2013 Daily Kos Republican March to Madness Tournament! The regional bracket is above and if you want to see the full tournament bracket, we posted a copy
earlier today in our initial set of matchups.
In this post, we're featuring the first four matchups from the Theocons Region. Simply click on the links below to cast your votes for the person you think is the best poster child for what's wrong with the GOP and the conservative movement. Votes will be counted until at least 8:30 AM ET on Friday. Tomorrow we'll vote on the rest of the Theocons Region matchups ahead of this weekend's second-round action.
Here are the matchups in today's round of Theocons Region action:
- #1 Rick Santorum vs. #16 Bill Donohue: Bill Donohue calls himself the president of the Catholic League, but by all indications, it's a league of one. If he actually had supporters, he'd a be higher on the list, but he still makes it because the media thinks his business card makes him an expert on how liberals are trying to repress Catholics when they support things like requiring health insurance companies to provide birth control coverage. Rick Santorum, meanwhile, is the guy who promised to be the first president to speak out against the use of birth control and having sex for pleasure. There's some controversy about whether he deserves to be a #1 seed, but I ask you this: if not Santorum, then who? Vote here!
- #8 Virginia Foxx vs. #9 Karen Handel: These are two awful human beings. Virginia Foxx is a congresswoman from North Carolina who says violence against gays is a hoax and apparently spends much of her time stopping interns from boarding elevators intended for Members of Congress. Karen Handel is an anti-choice extremist from Georgia who tried to use her position at the Susan G. Komen Foundation to stop women from getting mammograms at Planned Parenthood because Planned Parenthood also conducts abortions. Vote here!
- #5 Tony Perkins vs. #12 Phil Gingrey: I guess the main difference between Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) (who recently said that in his opinion, as a medical doctor, Todd Akin was making a reasonable point about rape), is that Perkins is smart enough to avoid talking about rape. As a result, Perkins is probably better known for his anti-gay positions while Gingrey is better known as a misogynist. But neither guy is someone who you'd want to have in a position of influence over your life, no matter who you are. Vote here!
- #4 James Inhofe vs. #13 James Dobson: Perhaps Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe should be on the teabagger list, but given that he believes God controls the weather and that the only thing that's manmade about global warming is that it's a hoax, Inhofe easily qualifies for theocon status. Yes, it's ironic that the true lesson of his faith should be that we have a responsibility to preserve God's creations not just for ourselves but future generations, but nobody ever accused him being being rational. James Dobson hasn't been heard from much of late, but the founder of Focus on the Family is as sexist and homophobic as ever—and he's a loyal Republican, too. Recently, he claimed that Obama had signed a law making it illegal to give stents to heart patients over the age of 70. It's almost laughable, but when you think about the fact that people actually believe what he says and vote accordingly, you can see why he deserves to be on the list. Vote here!
We'll announce the winners tomorrow, but you can check the latest numbers at any time just by visiting the polling page.
Don't forget, voting continues in first round day action in the GOP Establishment Region, the Right-wing Media Region, and the Teabagger Region!