And now, just another example that the right will literally grasp at ANY subject to serve as a platform for their contempt:  The Olympics.

Plans had already been in the works for First Lady Michelle Obama to attend the meeting of the International Olympic Committee in  Denmark, in hopes of swaying IOC voters towards selecting Chicago, Illinois as the home for the 2016 Summer Olympics.  As the voting date drew closer, it became apparent that Chicago was in a tight race with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil…Madrid, Spain…and Tokyo, Japan.  At present, the IOC seems to be leaning towards Chicago, since it takes a lot of money to host the Olympics, and the committee feels a bit more secure (given the worldwide recession) in picking a location in the United States.  However, due to the complicated and political voting process, it is still (literally) anybody’s game.  The decision was made: President Obama would also fly in to Copenhagen on Friday, the day of the vote, when he and the other countries’ representatives would each be given 45 minutes to speak before the voting process begins.

And THAT’S when the latest faux conspiracy was born…

Fox News‘ talking heads (Hannity/O’Reilly/Beck) went into immediate overdrive. They asked: With two wars, a recession, and a health care debate going on…does the President really have time to be jetting to Denmark to try to lobby for the Olympics to be held in America?  On Sean Hannity’s show, guest Michelle Malkin went one step further in suggesting that the entire effort was merely a ploy by Obama to line the pockets of corrupt Chicago “cronies:”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYkOyLuXdXQ

The White House’s response was simple and elegant:  they posted an item-by-item “Reality Check” responding to each ridiculous claim, and in each response they identified the claim’s source (whether a Fox personality, or a guest on a Fox show) by name.  Here is that blog…

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele also tried to level criticism at the decision for the President to make the trip:  perhaps not realizing that construction and planning for the 2016 Olympics would have to start IMMEDIATELY, Steele made the statement, “If the priority is the Olympics in seven years, okay, then tell the nation that’s the priority and that’s what we should be focused on because we’ll create jobs then and we won’t worry about it between now and 2016.“  White House Press Secretary Gibbs provided a response to Steele’s noticeably snarky attack:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfmx7eEJKGw

Of course, there are some obvious FACTS that reveal just how petty and wrong-headed these attacks are:

1 - The entire trip is going to take 18 hours…during most of which, Obama will be on Air Force One and able to conduct other presidential business.  I think he can spare the time.

2 - This is not unusual.  In the past, whenever countries are in a close race to obtain the vote, Presidents and Prime Ministers of these countries would OFTEN attend the IOC meeting.  These appeals can be very VERY influential in terms of garnering last-minute IOC voter support.

3 - Anybody who still thinks the Olympics are only about sports…has not been paying attention.  Hosting the Olympics is extremely prestigious and DOES have an impact on a country’s standing in the world and foreign affairs.  For one thing…it could help a country that has lost some “good will” in the eyes of the international community (hint hint) gain some of it back.

4 - If done properly…it can generate a TON of revenue.  China, was a bad example…they built huge, expensive, temporary structures, and as a result cut into profits.  Athens, also a bad example…had huge cost overruns, most notably to overhaul their subway system, roads, trains, and other infrastructure.  Atlanta did a much much better job…in fact, they even had the wisdom AFTER the Olympics to repurpose the Olympic housing as dorms for the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University.  As it stands, Chicago already has strong infrastructure, an huge international airport, and plenty of stadiums and venues ALREADY BUILT.  BEST CASE:  The Chicago 2016 group estimates that $22.5 billion dollars could be generated.  MIDDLE OF THE ROAD:  Other experts suggest that the $3.8 billion (with a $500 million “buffer”) will likely not be enough…but that the likely benefits STILL outweigh the risks.  WORST CASE:  A study by the Anderson Economic Group says the Chicago 2016 projections that the Olympics would generate the equivalent of 12 Super Bowls, and that the increased tourism would net the equivalent of 70 Super Bowls…are too optimistic.  The group sites that potential cost overruns and smaller revenues could put the Chicago taxpayers at risk…but that the long-term benefits are still substantial.

5 - Regardless of how much the Olympics cost, or produced in revenues…one thing is for sure:  it would create JOBS.  Yes JOBS, glorious JOBS.  This point is certainly not lost on Mayor Daley, who says that the new jobs should be seen as the true benefit of hosting the games. Estimates say that 315,000 new jobs would be created, 172,000 of them in Chicago…and those jobs would generate new income equaling $11.2 BILLION.

6 - Lastly, contrary to commentators on Fox and Michael Steele, who rather naively seem to think that jobs for the 2016 Olympics wouldn’t be created until 2016…many jobs would be immediately created, with more jobs created each year leading up to 2016.  File this little fact under “D” for “Duh.”

But as always, the people attempting to create controversy and outrage…have little use for these obvious facts, studies, and elements of common sense.  The outrage itself is a yet another blind, unreasoning response to a president that these people simply despise.  To think that these critics really care about Obama supposedly “shortchanging” other issues and crises…is to be misled. The Olympics is a wonderful, inspiring, national pride-generating event…and the real reason the right-wing protests, is that they can’t bear the thought of Barack Obama bringing it home.

Anyway, I thought we’d take some time to look at each of these “Great Conservative Women“…and to try to determine why each was chosen for inclusion:

Great conservative women?

Bay Buchanan:  Having served as Treasurer of the United States under Reagan, and as Pat Buchanan’s sister…she certainly has the pedigree and credentials.  And…she definitely shares her brother’s seething hatred towards illegal immigrants, and is prone to the occasional, racially insensitive remark.  She came under fire when it was revealed that Marcus Epstein, an employee of Buchanan’s and serving in both of her “anti-immigrant” organizations, had been walking down the street spouting racist remarks…and decided to call a passing African-American woman “ni**er” and karate chop her on the head.  Buchanan’s response to the media coverage…was to keep on employing Epstein and to denounce the media attention as “a modern day lynching by a faceless, angry, ignorant mob who reveled in the collective assault on their victim.“  Buchanan also received a few confused looks when she said of media claims that McCain may have been unfaithful to his wife: “This is not the Democratic Party, this is a party of values. We assume our candidates have been loyal to their family.”  Seriously?  Has she not been paying attention?

Star Parker:  Syndicated columnist and author Star Parker is one of the best kept secrets of the conservative movement.  This is surprising, given that she is an African-American woman within a group that is often criticized for its lack of diversity…you would think they would actively attempt to shine the spotlight on her more often.  Star brings to the table a rather odd and convenient (for conservatives) definition of racism:  government programs…are racist.  Star says that supporting public education…means you don’t think black kids can “hack it” at private schools.  Support public assistance programs?  She says that means you don’t think blacks are capable of getting jobs.  She is even willing to throw African-Americans under the bus in order to voice her anti-Muslim views: “I think it’s underappreciated just how entrenched hatred toward Jews are in the — in some parts of the black community. In fact, radical Muslim influence has been growing in these communities for years through leaders from Louis Farrakhan, Malcolm X, others. They have a huge economy in most black communities and black neighborhoods. They’ve been recruited in our prisons, these young men, for decades.  I don’t know how many even know that we today have sitting congressional black caucus members, too, that are Muslims, one from the state of Minnesota, where they’ve had deep problems with extremism, everything from Muslim taxi drivers who refuse to carry passengers that have liquor to Muslim grocery store clerks who refuse to let people buy pork.”

Kate Obenshain:  This former chair of Virginia’s Republican Party, is rumored to be considering a run for the Lieutenant Governor’s seat in Virginia next year.  Obenshain…is a conservative’s dream:  hates Obama, hates big government, and pro-feminist as long as “feminism” means “supporting any woman running for office,” regardless of any other considerations.  Obenshein can turn on a dime:  one minute she is criticizing Hillary Clinton for changing her positions on issues, making the incredible sexist remark that Clinton “continued to obfuscate, and then she ran to Wellesley and hid behind the skirts…and said, ‘Those big…mean boys were picking on me’…instead of being able to state her positions“…the next minute she is proclaiming Hillary’s defeat by Obama the “death of feminism.“  She publicly defended the “Barack the Magic Negro” song…and later drew fire when she stated that Obama had the lowest approval rating of any president at that point in their administration, when the polls under discussion…showed just the opposite.  If you want to get a sense of Obershain’s level of understanding of complex issues…visit here for her virtual “non-participation” in a conversation about Iran.  The other guests are making actual points while Obershain can, as usual, only contribute snarky remarks.

Michelle Malkin:  Malkin, a blogger, commentator, and syndicated columnist represents “one-stop-shopping” for anti-immigrant views and right-wing conspiracy theories.  Malkin drew perhaps the most controversy when she wrote a book…defending the United States’ use of internment camps for incarcerating the nation’s Japanese-American citizens, and by extension, defending the use of “racial profiling” today.  She has also attracted criticism when she posed for a picture with a man holding a sign with a swastika on it…when she recently argued that Obama speaking to the nation’s schoolchildren represented “indoctrination“…when she called Obama a “racial opportunist” on the Today Show…when she said “We’ve lost plenty of liberties” under Obama and that almost all of our rights have been compromised.  The list goes on…try this:  go to the MediaMatters website results for Michelle Malkin and scroll down…and down…and down…and that’s just page one of three.

Clare Boothe Luce:  It’s almost sad that Luce’s name has become associated with the other women on this list, as it is the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute that puts out the calendar.  Luce was a highly intelligent, moderate woman, with a passion for the fight for universal suffrage for women…and she was one of the first women to serve in Congress.  While serving, she openly objected to the Democratic administration’s foreign policy…but backed the administration on several other policies, including aid to victims of WWII.  No real controversies…other than strong anti-communism sentiments (certainly not unusual given the time period), she held no extreme viewpoints.  Intelligent…fiscally conservative (back when people actually knew what that meant)…compassionate…moderate.

Marji Ross:  You’ve probably never heard her name…but as head of Regnery Publishing, a publisher of right-wing materials, she is the answer to the question you have asked whenever you’ve seen the latest Anne Coulter/Michelle Malkin/Bay Buchanan book and wondered, “who publishes this sh*t.“  She does.

Phyllis Schlafly:  Author, socialite, activist…in many ways Schlafly is the “grand dame” of conservatism.  And…I suppose it is easier to be a woman in the Republican Party if, like Schlafly, you have been a lifelong OPPONENT of feminism and equal rights for women.  She went on record as saying she would cancel speeches if her husband thought she were away from home too much and that she doesn’t believe that a husband can rape his wife: “By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don’t think you can call it rape.“  That’s Phyllis Schlafly, ladies and gentlemen:  leading the conservative movement…into the eighteenth century.  Most recently, she chimed in on the “Obama wants to kill granny” myth…you can guess on which side.  We can safely say that if anything would cause Clare Boothe Luce to spin in her grave…it would be Schlafly’s inclusion on this list.

Kellyanne Conway:  Conway is a regular “talking head” as well as a Republican strategist and head of a conservative polling company.  A master of the fine, deceptive art of hyperbole, Conway’s hits include suggesting that political correctness will lead to non-English speaking air traffic controllers, and planes crashing into each other…defending Giuliani’s marital infidelity by bringing up Obama’s former pastor (yeah, I know…I don’t get it either)…stating that McCain had been completely consistent in his votes on war funding (WILDLY wrong)…and on Larry King, making a flagrantly racist remark about whether Hillary Clinton should “let [Obama] SIT ON THE BACK OF THE BUS of her presidential ticket.”

Anne Coulter:  Commentator, author, syndicated columnist…if it’s offensive AND conservative, chances are that Coulter said it.  If you think MediaMatters has a lot of material on Michelle Malkin, its five pages of links to Coulter-related items barely scratches the surface of a woman known for three things:  talking over people…making offensive comments based on race/gender/sexuality…and having ALL of her facts wrong.  Coulter is, perhaps, best known for making the rounds of the morning talk shows…while whining that she is denied coverage by the mainstream media.  There is really too much to describe here, so I’ll give you one Coulter quote that exemplifies her generally depraved level of dialogue: “Oh, and I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards. But it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I’m…so I’m kind of at an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards. So I think I’ll just conclude here and take your questions.” Classy…

Michele Bachmann:  The Representative from Minnesota has both her constituents walking away from her…as well as the rest of her party, for comments she has made ranging from religious fanaticism (like saying the recession could be ended through “fasting and prayer”) to advocating armed insurrection (like saying people might have to exercise their “Second Amendment rights” to “take back” the country).  During the presidential campaign she got a lot of attention for saying that there were some “un-American” members of Congress that needed to be ferreted out, and most recently, she has been publicly sponsoring several conspiracy theories regarding the U.S. Census…and has come under fire after a census worker was found murdered with the word “Fed” written on his chest.

S. E. Cupp:  A relatively unknown writer and commentator, a contributor to Politico.com and a frequent guest on Fox.  Pretty lame contributions to the political debate:  Democrats are going to tax you…yadda yadda…Obama wants to indoctrinate your children…yadda yadda…Obama is to blame for the ‘unfair’ treatment of poor Sarah Palin…blah blah blah…

Of course, the GOP’s tendency to act from a predominantly chauvinist perspective, no doubt, prevents some women from wishing to be associated with the political party OR the ideological movement…for example, just recently Senator Kyl of Arizona tried to remove maternity coverage from Health Insurance requirements because men don’t need it, and Texas Governor Rick Perry’s consultant said that allowing Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson to run for governor, in order to attract more women’s support, would be a bad idea because you don’t want to “take your principles and throw them out the door and become a whorehouse and let anybody in who wants to come in, regardless.”

An interesting exclusion:  No Liz Cheney?  Despite the fact that her entire platform seems to consist of stubbornly defending even the most ridiculous of her father’s statements and policies…many seem to think she represents the future of the party.  Time will tell, I suppose…

Either way, I have to say that it seems sad that this list is mostly comprised of commentators and columnists…many who are known more for being offensive and dogmatic than they are for making real contributions to either society or to intellectual debate.  It appears that the conservative movement…is STILL looking for a few good women.

1 -- A message solely consisting of hatred towards Obama, or…

2 -- Overt racism, or…

3 -- Absolutely zero knowledge of what is ACTUALLY in the Constitution, or…

4 - Absolutely zero knowledge of what Socialism/Marxism/Communism/Fascism are about, or…

5 - Absolutely zero knowledge of what is in any of the versions of the Health Care legislation, or…

6 - FOX-provided talking points with no basis in reality (ie. the “Czarist Conspiracy” nonsense).

There is a good reason why the GOP doesn’t want to allow people to know what is really going on at these protests…they know it is going to cost them politically.  Increasingly, GOP insiders, advisors, and analysts are warning that the subsequent loss of votes among more moderate groups of citizens, are going to cost them a lot of elections.

Ironically, the White House seems to be doing the Republicans a favor, while conservative media and some Republicans are the ones promoting the extremism, and thereby harming their own party’s interests.  Press Secretary Robert Gibbs went on record as saying that the president does not believe the protests are racially motivated, and senior White House advisor David Axlerod would respond to the protesters only as far as to say, “They’re wrong.“  Both of these reactions, again, ironically coming from Democrats, would lend people to believe that these protests somehow represent the real “concerns of the people, although perhaps misguided.“  Meanwhile, both FOX News and some Republicans (several even spoke at the rally, including Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Pence (R-IN), Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Tom Price (R-GA)) are openly supporting the fringe element’s language, tone, and conspiracy theories…forging a self-destructive alliance that in the end will, most likely, be very politically damaging.

It will be damaging because…the American people are mostly mainstream, moderate people, who see the protest (and others like it) for what it is:  around 70,000 people, with nothing better to do, holding ugly signs with misspelled words, shouting ugly things.

FreedomWorks, the corporate-funded, fake grassroots organizer pimping the event for FOX…tries to tell us it was around 700,000 people.  Right-wing blowhard Michelle Malkin set the number at 2 million.  Glenn Beck cited a number of 1.7 million based on a University…that he couldn’t remember: “We had a university, I think it’s University of — I don’t remember which university it is — um, look at the pictures. And you know, they can do body space and calculate, 1.7 million, that crowd was estimated.”

The picture the Tea Party group issued to back its ridiculous attendance claims?  Here it is:

Too bad…it’s a fake:  it’s missing the National Museum of the American Indian which opened in 2004, so it certainly wasn’t taken last Saturday.  What they don’t understand is…we already knew it was a fake.  Every moderate, intelligent, reasonable person KNOWS that 1.7 million people weren’t there…and we know why the 70,000 people were there, and we don’t want anything to do with them.

I can’t say it any simpler than this: the reason why this is a VERY bad strategy, starts with the fact that most educated moderates, do not want to be in any way associated with this person:

Most conservative Democrats…would never be a part of a group that carried these mass-produced signs, carried by MANY of the protesters:

Independents…do not want to be affiliated with this guy:

African-Americans, Latino-Americans, and members of other minorities…will never ally with these protesters who are taking pictures of a photo of Obama they have placed under a pile of horse manure:

The truly “Nice People” this protester’s sign refers to…would find the “We came unarmed…this time” threat of gun violence TOTALLY unacceptable:

Anyone who actually paid attention in school would find the ignorance of these two signs sadly comical:  one man apparently has no knowledge of Marxism, and the other is too stupid to know that there weren’t ANY czars in the USSR…and that there aren’t really any in the US, for that matter:

The “multi-layered ignorance” of this sign (and the hat, and the t-shirt) would turn away anyone with even the slightest intelligence, or sense of religious tolerance:

Now, I have certainly only showed a very small selection of signs, and some would accuse me of cherry-picking.  No: watch the video clips popping up all over the internet, and you will see HUNDREDS of signs comparing Obama to Hitler…HUNDREDS of flyers bearing the picture of Obama as a witch doctor with a bone through his nose…HUNDREDS of signs proclaiming Obama to be a communist…or a racist…or a Muslim.  The clips show a crowd that hates Obama, loves Glenn Beck, and thinks that Senator Joe Wilson, despite being both unprofessional and WRONG…is a hero:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Ntu7Aapys

The NBC News covered the protest, and their clips featured a woman who stated, “We are losing our country, we think the Muslims are moving in and taking over.“  And why shouldn’t she think that…when the leadership of the Tea Party movement is NO SANER than she is:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fymdNxn82M

Do you hear that sound, Republicans?  That is the sound of millions of normal, calm, thoughtful people WALKING AWAY from you and the guy calling the president an “Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug.“  Millions more walk away when they see GOP supporters mindlessly parroting every inane thing that Glenn Beck says:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hH3rIamUn0

The GOP needs to start seeing this…the same way that THE REST OF US are seeing this.  Until they do, more and more moderates will be walking away…many of them laughing: