Blue Mass Group

A complex and interesting issue, thanks for the post. - promoted by Bob_Neer

As is often the case, the discussion at RMG is mostly about what happens at BMG. - promoted by Bob_Neer

Yes. It is very very useful to see this kind of thing put so comprehensively into such concise, direct and expressive prose. And then one understands one what is dealing with.

To those millions of Americans who have finally begun paying attention to politics and watched with exasperation the tragicomedy of the debt ceiling extension, it may have come as a shock that the Republican Party is so full of lunatics. To be sure, the party, like any political party on earth, has always had its share of crackpots, like Robert K. Dornan or William E. Dannemeyer. But the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital center today: Steve King, Michele Bachman (now a leading presidential candidate as well), Paul Broun, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx, Louie Gohmert, Allen West. The Congressional directory now reads like a casebook of lunacy.

It was this cast of characters and the pernicious ideas they represent that impelled me to end a nearly 30-year career as a professional staff member on Capitol Hill.

- promoted by charley-on-the-mta

("corporate California-created Tea Party Express" - promoted by Bob Neer)

- promoted by Bob_Neer