Posted: June 27, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Damage Control Gone Wrong
Rehberg’s recent focus in the media on cracking down on lawsuits against the government is a classic example of abysmal damage control.
Rehberg seems to be attempting to get on the other side of the issue of “lawsuits against the government” by appearing to crack down on them. By doing so, one presumes, he hopes to neutralize some of the negative sentiment he dredged up over his own lawsuit against the Billings, MT firefighters who risked their lives to save his scrub brush. No doubt Rehberg has polling which shows how damaging his lawsuit could be to his U.S. Senate campaign against the popular Jon Tester.
The most recent example of Rehberg’s behavior can be found in today’s Missoulian, which reports that Rep. Denny Rehberg [is] one of 38 co-sponsors of the Government Litigation Savings Act that’s intended to reform the Equal Access to Justice Act, which says any government agency that loses a lawsuit to a private individual, group or business must pay the legal costs of the winner.
But for such a practiced practitioner of political games, Rehberg has violated the cardinal rule of Congressional crisis management: If you don’t have anything to hide, don’t behave like you do. By signing on to this bill, and pushing it in the press at every opportunity, Rehberg appears overeager– and that is causing his strategy to backfire. His focus on cracking down on lawsuits against the government is only serving to recall in voters’ minds Rehberg’s own lawsuit against Billings’ city firefighters.
See also:
Rehberg’s EAJA Crusade will harm the Poor, Disabled and Veterans
@ http://leftinthewest.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4664
That’s the GOP goal, get rid of the poor, except those healthy enough to be servants
I don’t think they wish to get rid of the poor. I think they’d prefer to just ignore their plight as they have always done.
Wow! The Caped Crusader strikes again! Oopsie. I mean the Crocked Crusader strikes again! Come ON, Dopey, lay off the suace for awhile, dude! This is a crap bill. You HAD to be drunk to sign on to THIS one, Dopey! My advice? Take a good look at this one after you sober up, dude! It’s NOT what you THINK it is!
This bill is NOT gonna hurt all the enviros you loathe. What it’s gonna do is hurt VETRANS, and ordinary folks like those folks suing social security in an attempt to get their needed benefits! In fact, it’s gonna hurt ALL KINDS of ordinary citizens petitioning their government for redress who don’t have the resources of a moron lucky enough to be born on the Rims with baZILLIONS up the wazoo like certain congressman I know! But a moron like you would destroy EVERYONE and ANYONE in attempt to please your BIG KOCKH buddies!
Why? Why are you this way, Dopey Reeburp? Well, I’ll answer. You see, Dopey, you’re a Teatard. And we ALL know that Teatards believe that the Pledge of Alligiance ends at LIBERTY! Well, Dopey, my inebriated bucolic bozonic moronic twit, it goes ON to say JUSTICE FOR ALL! Why do you hate justice, and justice for all in particular, Dopey?
BTW, Dopey, still suin’ the friggin’ FIRE DEPT., you dimwit? Well, HAVE A NICE LAWSUIT! And for God’s sake PUHHLEESE sober up next time before signing on to a crap bill! One would THINK that maybe you’da learned your lesson ’bout climbin’ on board sumthin’ drunk as sh*t! But then again, maybe not!!! If that bonk on the head didn’t scare you straight, NUTHIN’ will!
Most Montanans don’t care about anything but removing the environment from protections afforded only by the lawsuit. The mob doesn’t want to look at the bigger picture…
We must educate, Jedi. Raise their level of consciousness. Yes, you are right. In a life and death race between consciousness and corporate propaganda, the coporations have the edge. UP to a certain point. When the level of suffering finally overtakes propaganda, THEN we can start the revolution to give the corporate bastards what they TRULY deserve! (use your imagination here) I live for that day, the day when the proverbial pendulum finally hits the corporations right in the ass! HARD! It’s comin’! I mean, how many palatable ways ARE there to rob people of social security medcaire? None I’d say. Them’s figtin’ words!
Yes, doglap, you have always reassured us that we could fall back on revolution; but my reading of history has led me to believe that revolution is usually precursor to totalitarianism; so why not just skip that step with all of its horrors and elect somebody like Michelle Bachmann right off the bat?
HEY, we’re old, Jedi, but we ain’t DEAD! It’ll be the gray panthers that have to start this revolution! Did you read about the over sixty dudes in Japan, professionals, etc., who volunteered to clean up the reactor meltdown? Why not? They got nuthin’ to lose! That’s us, dude. We f*cked this country up, we gotta make it right! We got no sex life left. Hell, most of us are broke. All we got left is altruism and purpose! And we need to do sumthin’ dramatic for closure for our generation, sort of a Woodstock for earth! Woodstock came first, our revolution closes the deal!
We’re old, but all you need is a good trigger finger anyway! And maybe a good pair of spectacles for long distance shootings. Yes sir, spectacles, testicles, watch and gun! And we be ready! We’re gray but not too old for the fray! Are you ready to join up? I got an orthopedic .50 cal just for you! It comes with wheels, sort of a Righteous Rascal for a Radical! Are you in? I’ll send you a beret! (what size you wear?) And if you can grow a beard, that’s cool too!
So yes, Jedi, I AM waiting for the revolution.
Here’s some music to get you motivated!
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2011/06/glastonbury-jimmy-cliff-sings-for-peace-in-afghanistan.html
Denny http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=404
As grandma advised, ‘crooked is as crooked does’ to volunteer firefighters….and how about first responders that went to ‘The Boat’? Why not sue them as well for ‘disturbing’ political sanctity?
Wow! Now THERE’S a mental image for ya! An inchoherent, besotted, alchohol-fueled Dopey Reeburp, bleeding profusely from a head wound, reeking of booze, gesticulating wildly and flailing his arms about while being forcibly strapped to a gurney, ranting combatively at the first responders attempting to help!
“Your name! I want your names! You’re gonna hear from my lawyer about this! I’ve got your number! You haven’t heard the LAST of Dopey Reeburp! No sir eee! This ain’t over! By a long shsot! I’ll see you in court! And you too! And you too! Your NAMES damnit! I know you got names! I ain’t stupid you know!”
Door to ambulance closes, muffling the teatardian, randian ranting. But even as the ambulance drives away, Dopey can still be heard haranguing the first responders for their personal info!
HEY, that’s our Congressman, Dopey Reeburp! Fiction? I report, you decide!
if you have HBO – or known someone who does have them dvr HOT COFFEE. It’s a compelling look at the right’s coordinated attack/manipulation on/of the legal system for corporate America. All of the usual bad players are involved…Rove, the US Chamber of Comm, and every other evil winger POS.
There’s should be some sort of coordinated plan to grab every winger you know and make them watch this so they can learn a little bit about what they are really supporting when the right trots out the tort/legal reform, frivolous lawsuit, poor-poor-corporations myths. These guys are just plain evil.
http://hotcoffeethemovie.com/
The average Montana already hates torts and lawyers. Denny’s campaign will just be additional grist for the mob. Most of us would prefer to leave it up to the very efficient corporations–and their bureacratic pals. Who really need to be able to sue?
Once again, jed, you point in the right direction and shoot at the wrong target. Matthew Koehler is correct. The boogeyman Denny is invoking here is ‘the environmentalist’, far more frightening to many than lawyers are.
Face it wulf. I have. You and I see politics differently.
You would enjoy a one on one with George Will. I just don’t see it as the complicated. Big brains should be used to solve problems. Not to further complicate them like you and George do.
Federal environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act have citizen-enforcement provisions. So, no matter how hard congressmen try to ignore their oversight duties, citizens are there to make sure corporations aren’t making off with more than the law allows. Of course Denny’s pissed, all his best deregulation efforts are being neutralized by citizen lawsuits and public-interest lawyers. After all, he’s paid to abdicate, vanquish eco-extremists, and deliver pork to corporate doorsteps whenever asked. He behaves a lot like the rest of Montana’s congressional delegation in this regard. Single-payer anyone?
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/28-1
Libby – single payor
Wait what?! One town in the whole US got single payer and the rest of use can just fuck off?WTF BAUCUS!!!!
If WR GRACE had honored it’s committments they’d be picking up the bill
http://motherjones.com/environment/2000/05/libbys-deadly-grace
“Over in Big Sky country, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is fighting for 2012 re-election. And South Dakota’s Democratic U.S. senator, Tim Johnson, is coming to the aid of what he describes as “my good friend from Montana” by sending out a fundraising e-mail. He’s asking for $10 apiece to help Tester raise $100,000 by June 30. “Republican special interests found themselves an out-of-touch, do-nothing candidate to throw all their money behind…” is how Johnson talks about Tester’s challenger, U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg.”
Our ‘good friend’ Jon Tester should come out in favor of Ron Paul & B. Franks’ med marijuana bill. That would make him a lot of fans heading into the election and show that Denny is a complete hypocrite with his states rights bullshit.
Yeah, just what Tester needs, something super-divisive with its biggest advocates being a bunch of swearing potheads.
I dont think giving Montana the right to regulate itself in this matter is divisive at all. You seem confused.
I agree with the issue, but there’s a problem. I came up to Helena during the session and one of these hearings happened to be going on, and I saw 5-10 rational people and dozens of full-on angry ranting potheads. I mean, it seems the rational few were dominated by a slate of nuts. That’s the problem I’m talking about.
I dont think its that big of a deal. People in general are crazy and there are lots of weirdos out there. Its obviously something that stirs people up in big numbers and also a way to attract people who might otherwise be on the fence. Supporting the bill in Congress does not mean supporting medical marijuana in any case. It just means he is supporting the right of us and every other State to decide what is best as opposed to letting the federal government decide for us. I dont see how that doesnt play well with voters in Montana.
Havre,
Your description is not true. I was at every hearing and the room was generally filled with people that supported MMJ and need it for medical reasons. Then there were 5-10 religious zealots generally representing Safe Community Safe Kids. The craziest/stupidest people in the room were the republicans on the committee. The Republican vice chair, Rep. Cary Smith from billings, organized the group SCSK with the help of his wife, the whole group consists of one Mormon church that Rep. Smith attends. Sad, he should have disclosed that before he helped put together the worst MMJ law in the country.
Have you ever seen a mob controlled by 5 – 10 rational people?
What I mean to say is, no politician can take on this issue without being mobbed by the angry stoners. And you can’t win elections with a pack of angry potheads following you around.
I think you mean no politician can oppose it without having a pack of angry stoners following them around. This would get them to follow around and harass Denny I would presume.
I’ve seen angry drunks, never angry stoners
You can win elections with happy stoners following you around. The reason everybody is so mad is because the religious republicans attempt to eliminate access for patients is completely transparent. Nobody is fooled, this is by far the worst MMJ law in the country and it’s because we let some of the dumbest people ever elected help put the thing together. i.e. Rep. Smith.
So all those people who reeked of stale beer with the “cat in the hat” hats and 420 shirts were there for a different hearing? How about Heidi Handford. That woman is a political liability waiting to happen. The point I am trying to make is you can’t beat the crazed potheads away with a stick, and that makes the issue toxic for politicians, in my opinion.
Hey, dude, it’s all about democracy! One more time. That damn thing is favored by a HUGE majority of Montanans. So, it ain’t rocket science. Let us err on the side of democracy! So WHAT if the stoners get stoned. More power to’em. It just doesn’t matter. Let democracy ring! A state full of stoned citizens would not be a totally bad thing. Let’s try it.
And for the record, I do not partake myself. I’m an alky. OH yeah, I tried it, and tried it again. The best stuff. NAM stuff right from Thailand called Thai Bhudda. Nasty stuff. I didn’t like the high though. Now, if some folks do, I don’t care. Smoke’em if ya got’em! Works for me.
But for GOD’S sake keep the rightwing religeeowacks outta the process.
Never once was a person there in a “cat in hat” hat. You are being very dishonest and I question whether you were ever at the capitol during the hearings.
There seemed to be Montana politicians during this last session that did not think it was toxic to stand up for Montana citizens and our awesome citizen initiative process. Republicans were the only ones willing to repeal the will of the people.
Think of it this way, what if the conservation movement was led, even overrun by Earth Firsters. They’d have less support. It doesn’t mean conservation isn’t the right thing to do, its just about how to go about it.
Not even an argument, Havre. The enviro movement consists of many different groups, all with a part to play. Hell, Earth First! They’re nuthin’!
And the two issues are apples and oranges. There is absolutely NO reason to continue to incarcerate people for mj possession. None, except to enrich the court system. Do you really think that ONLY the stoners you see testifying are the only folks who use mj? Get out more. Prohibition does not work. I know. We tried. It’s a harmless weed for smokin’. That’s all. Legalize it and nothing, absolutely nothing changes. Hell it’s already here. Let’s move on to things that REALLY matter, like the environment.
Im not following your argument here Havre. First of all if it is the right thing to do then its the right thing to do…regardless of whether smelly beer stained cat and the hat wearing folk would end up involved.
If we are talking about politics and not about doing the right thing then it still seems win win to me. What are we at about 50% of people eligible to vote actually do? You may find these people toxic but I would speculate that a large % of these ‘toxic’ people fall into the category of the 50% of eligible voters who normally do not vote. I would also speculate that overall voter turnout in this population is going to come in the next election due to the likelihood of another MM ballot measure and it would be a simple matter to ensure those people check Tester if he simply came out in support of Paul & Frank’s bill. Which again would really be just an affirmation of the right of Montana to regulate itself not outright support for medical marijuana but the right for us to decide what we want to do.
I think its a fallacious argument to think that Tester should not take a position on this simply because there are abnormal or toxic people who tend to be involved (on both sides I would say). Maybe thats a political calculation his staff has already made for him but it sounds shortsighted to me. In a race where the difference is polled at a couple percentage points it seems that turning out normally disaffected and apathetic voters and getting them on your side is a pretty smart bet.
p.s. Might improve test scores!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/was-shakespeare-a-stoner_n_886225.html
The Supreme ‘Tea Party’ Court has showed it’s corporate friends it’s getting their money’s worth with muzzling We the People by denying public campaign funding in Arizona, dismissing Class Action lawsuit of millions of women (really, $8 an hour Walmart clerk can hire lawyers to take on Walmart corporate alone?), and thinks Corporations are HUMAN??