Tim Murphy at Mother Jones writes—This GOP Candidate Questions Whether the Civil War Should Have Been Fought:
The most important congressional primary on Tuesday wasn't House Speaker Paul Ryan's cakewalk in Wisconsin. It was in neighboring Minnesota's 2nd District, where Republicans are scrambling to retain the seat held by retiring Rep. John Kline. Their new nominee: Jason Lewis, a talk radio host who founded an Ayn Rand social network and has a history of making inflammatory comments about slavery and women.
Republicans had fought hard to nominate someone other than Lewis in the swing district, which voted narrowly for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Kline backed Lewis' Republican opponent, businesswoman Darlene Miller. But Lewis won the district GOP's endorsement and cruised past Miller by nearly 20 points, setting up a November showdown with Democrat Angie Craig.
The suburban Minneapolis district is a must-win for Democrats hoping to take back the House, a goal that would require flipping 30 seats currently held by Republicans. That's a long shot right now. But it becomes a bit likelier when the GOP fields controversial candidates like Lewis in swing districts.
Lewis' past comments have been a gold mine for critics. In his 2011 book, Power Divided Is Power Checked: The Argument for States' Rights, he questioned the wisdom of the Civil War, arguing that it had been fought over states rights, not slavery, and changed the nation's constitutional framework for the worse. In his book, he proposed a constitutional amendment that would help restore what he believed had been lost, by allowing any state to peaceably leave the Union. And in a 2011 interview, Lewis declined to say whether the Civil War should have been fought, suggesting, as he had in the book, that there were better alternatives to ending slavery that President Abraham Lincoln could have considered.
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2013—Family Research Council shows how the grift is done:
Remember how we were talking about how the entire conservative movement's just one big grift focused on keeping stupid people terrified about everything, all the time, so that the stupid people keep sending them money? Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council have that one down.
"If a foreign enemy had plotted to infiltrate America, I’m not sure an army of undercover subversives could have done more damage than our government-run schools.
Leftists don’t want a single American child to escape their thought control. And they are crowding out true education. […]
Today’s science classes often feature big-government political propaganda, taking time and focus away from true science. Not to mention attacks on the Bible and arrogant censoring of any theories like intelligent design that challenge their Darwinism."
Here I've had a kid in public school all this time, and not once did I realize what a dystopian gulag it was. How dare it try to stomp out "true science" like … intelligent desi … oh, what's the point. I can't even pretend to think Tony Perkins knows what "science" is, not even as satire. "Intelligent design" is a "science" the same way as tying your feet to the bumper of a car and gluing skateboard wheels to your face can be considered "carpooling." That they even chose the term demonstrates that they don't know what either of those two words mean.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Well, Trump went there. Greg Dworkin brings us two explainers: humor and Florida. Polls show support for unified, one party government. Armando vents, and considers the future of Fox. More troubles for Ailes. And Christie. And an OMFG GunFAIL.
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