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Boy, the Tea Partiers sure threw Harry Reid a gift by making Sharron Angle the GOP nominee in his Senate race this fall. Indeed, though Angle has been mostly sequestered since winning the nomination, she's proving to be one of those gifts that keeps on giving.

She finally emerged from her Cave of Media Silence and went on TV in Vegas, interviewed by Jon Ralston in his excellent "Face to Face" program. And it wasn't pretty:

Only once did she flatly admit her pre-primary language was too strong, when asked to explain her comments that the citizenry will resort to “Second Amendment remedies” — referring to the right to bear arms — if conservatives didn’t win this election.

“I admit it was a little strong to say,” she said. “That’s why I changed my rhetoric to ‘defeat Harry Reid.’ ”

... She said the separation of church and state is a doctrine meant to “protect the church” and that elected officials should “bring our values to the political system.” She sidestepped her comments from the 1990s that the separation of church and state is an “unconstitutional doctrine.”

Actually, what she said was this:

Ralston: The separation of church and state arises out of the Constitution.

Angle: No, it doesn't, John.

Ralston: Oh it doesn't? Oh, the Founding Fathers didn't believe in the separation of church and state, the Establishment Clause, the First Amendment?

Angle: Actually, Thomas Jefferson has been misquoted, like I've been misquoted out of context. Thomas Jefferson was actually addressing a church and telling them through his address that there had been a wall of separation put up between the church and the state precisely to protect the church.

Ralston: So there should be no separation.

Angle: To protect the church from being taken over by a state religion. And that's what they meant by that.

This is just plain weird. In the space of mere seconds, Angle shifts from denying that the Constitution enumerates the separation of church and state to describing how it works. And yes, it is intended to protect religious freedom -- which is precisely why the separation is so absolute. After all, a "state religion" is enforced precisely by people who use the power of state to enforce their religious beliefs.

Which is also what Angle does when explaining her position on abortion:

When Ralston challenged her comments to a Reno conservative talk show host that abortion should not be available even in the case of rape or incest, Angle said she values life.

“You want government to go and tell a 13-year-old child who’s been raped by her father she has to have that baby?” Ralston asked.

“I didn’t say that,” she said. “I always say that I value life.”

She went further to say she believes government should stay out of the issue of abortion, but it decided to insert its control after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

“The government decided to get involved in this, not me,” she said. “I’m just defending my position.”

To say that this is incoherent is gross understatement. Angle is a perfect example of how the Republican Right in this country has gone over the cliff: there is nothing coherent or rational about her positions, except that they are those of a typical right-wing extremist.

I'm sure wondering how all those smug conservatives like Sean Hannity and Dick Morris who were reading Harry Reid's poll numbers a few months back and boldly predicting he would be gone as Majority Leader come November are feeling these days.

They can thank their beloved Tea Party movement, if they like.

via Liberal Oasis:

Freshman Sen. Ken Salazar, who has been trying to position himself as a moderate Dem and describes himself as a “person of faith,” is under attack by Focus On The Family over the nuclear option.

And he’s not taking it sitting down. Scripps Howard reports:

"I do think that what has happened here is there has been a hijacking of the U.S. Senate by what I call the religious right wing of the country," Salazar told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday.

He singled out Focus on the Family by name, objecting to full-page newspaper ads the ministry's political arm recently placed, targeting 20 senators in 15 states.

"I think what has happened is Focus on the Family has been hijacking Christianity and become an appendage of the Republican Party," Salazar said in an interview. "I think it's using Christianity and religion in a very unprincipled way."

You know why bloggers don't get invited onto more news shows? Because we would absolutely clean the politicians' clocks over hypocrisy like this. Billions of dollars to spend on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have killed more than a million innocent civilians, but they go all brave and weepy-eyed over theoretical babies. Funny, how little attention they give to them once they're out of the womb:

In the wake of Dr. George Tiller's murder, the U.S. Senate is debating a resolution that condemns violence against abortion providers. The words "reproductive health care" are in the bill, causing Republicans and anti-abortion senators to oppose it, according to a Minnesota Independent article.

Senators Amy Klobuchar, who is the lead sponsor, Jeanne Shaheen and Barbara Boxer worded the bill to say "acts of violence should never be used to prevent women from receiving reproductive health care." The bill's opponents say it glorifies abortion. The article also said that an anonymous Republican senator moved to use the "secret hold," which prevents a vote on the bill.

Klobuchar told the Minnesota Independent, "As a former prosecutor I have seen how acts of violence can tear apart communities...No matter how heated the debate or how great our differences, violence is never the answer."

A similar bill passed the House June 9, but it was a watered-down version of the one currently in the Senate. It did not mention Dr. Tiller or his profession, and did not use the words "reproductive rights" or "abortion."

I can appreciate the fact that Virginia Republicans are nervous right now. They’ve lost the last two gubernatorial elections, they lost last year’s U.S. Senate race, they’re about to lose next year’s U.S. Senate race, they lost their majority in the State Senate, and there’s some evidence that the national Dems consider the state in play at the presidential level. It’s enough to make any state GOP committee a little panicky.

But loyalty oaths? Seriously?

If you’re planning to vote in Virginia’s February Republican presidential primary, be prepared to sign an oath swearing your Republican loyalty.

The State Board of Elections on Monday approved a state Republican Party request to require all who apply for a GOP primary ballot first vow in writing that they’ll vote for the party’s presidential nominee next fall.

If this were limited to Virginia, it would merely be disappointing. Alas, these Republican loyalty oaths seem to be catching on elsewhere.

Int'l Herald Tribune:

The U.S. Senate has given final approval to a far-reaching package of new ethics and lobbying rules, with an overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats agreeing to better police the relationship between lawmakers and lobbyists.

If President George W. Bush signs the bill into law, which administration officials indicated he would, members of Congress would face a battery of new restrictions. The legislation, approved by the Senate on Thursday on a vote of 83-14, calls for bans on gifts, meals and travel paid for by lobbyists and makes it more difficult for lawmakers to quickly capitalize on their connections when joining the private sector.

The measure, which grew out of scandals that have tarnished the image of Congress, represents a cultural shift in the traditions of Capitol Hill. While proponents hailed the measure as the most significant reform since Watergate, questions remained on how some provisions would be enforced and whether the measure would change lawmakers' ability to secure pet projects known as earmarks.

Moments ago, Republican Senator David Vitter held his first press conference since his admission that he cheated on his wife by using an escort service in Washington D.C.. Vitter claims he is the victim of his political enemies and just like all good, hypocritical Republicans these days, he's not going to the right thing. Instead of resigning the disgraced Senator, who called for President Clinton to resign in 1998 because of an extramarital affair, is going to fly back to Washington D.C. and act like nothing happened. He also disputed claims that he visited a brothel in New Orleans, saying the reports were "not true."

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His wife, Wendy Vitter also spoke, saying she has forgiven him and that their marriage fine. I don't have a problem with that, but as I wrote in a past post, Senator Vitter doesn't work for his wife, he works for the people of Louisiana and all Americans in the U.S. Senate. The D.C. Madam, Debra Jean Palfry has called for Vitter to be prosecuted and I think at the very least Senate leadership needs to take a look at Vitter's actions.

Via Time:

When Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana confessed to "a very serious sin" on Monday night, Debra Jean Palfrey was not about to forgive him. Sin is one thing; but Palfrey believes Vitter — a proponent of the "sanctity of marriage" — should fess up if that sin was a crime as well. [..]"Why am I the only person being prosecuted?" she told TIME over the phone. "Sen. Vitter should be prosecuted [if he broke the law]" Read more...

Apparently, Vitter has a thing for ladies of the night. It's ok though, he's received forgiveness from his wife and God and claims he's not going to discuss the matter publicly. The problem is, he doesn't work for his wife or God, he works for the citizens of Louisiana and the entire country in the U.S. Senate...you know, the public? Howie asks when Vitter will resign, and I think it's time for Patrick Leahy and Harry Reid to look into the Senator's behavior...

  With Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyoming) having passed away, Wyoming election law directs the state Republican Party to put together a list of three possible replacements, from which Gov. David Freudenthal (D) will chose Thomas’ successor.

Last week, without any real detail, MSNBC reported that Lynne Cheney, the VP’s wife, might be considered for the post. Today, ThinkProgress notes that the Casper Star Tribune reported that Cheney isn’t exactly going out of her way to deny the rumors.

A lot of Republicans — maybe 20, maybe more — want to replace the late Craig Thomas in the U.S. Senate, State GOP Chairman Fred Parady said Monday.

Applicants already include recently resigned Wyoming U.S. Attorney Matt Mead, state Rep. Colin Simpson of Cody, state Sen. John Barrasso of Casper, and former state GOP Chairman Tom Sansonetti of Cheyenne. […]

A spokesperson for Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice president, would not deny that she, too, was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat, according to The Associated Press.

I can only hope that if Cheney is added to the list for Freudenthal, it’s done to make the other two candidates look reasonable.

Reuters:

U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a Democratic bill to increase the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade, demanding it first include small-business tax relief.

Democrats fell short of the 60 needed to end debate and go to passage of the House-passed measure, which would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour from $5.15 per hour over two years.

As I understand it, the bill is NOT dead, but can be passed with some caveats for small-business tax relief.

The San Francisco Chronicle is doing their annual "Year in Pictures" feature.

C&Ler Hugh J. found this one and sent it to me. I admit it, I'm gonna miss all the fun stories that good ole Kathy "3/4 Pose" Harris provided.

I shall call you Chad: Congresswoman and U.S. Senate hopeful Katherine Harris dangles a possum she bought for $400 at the Wausau Possum Festival, all but locking up Florida's pro-possum vote. She also ate possum at the festival, which had to be disturbing to her new pet.
The Chron caption is pretty funny, but I know that the C&Lers can do better. Have fun.