The end of the Republican Party?

Yesterday, the Republicans lost the presidency again. They also lost a bunch of the Senate races. Yes, they did retain control of the House but their hold there is tenuous once Democrats learn that they must vote every two years.

But Republicans are showing that they haven't learned anything about the new America. It will no longer bow to the will of "angry white guys" a term that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has used. People want compromise. So what does Republican senator Mitch McConnell have to say after the election? After all, this was a guy who said the goal of the Republicans was to deny President Obama a second term. Here's what he said today.

"The voters have not endorsed the failures or excesses of the President’s first term, they have simply given him more time to finish the job they asked him to do together with a Congress that restored balance to Washington after two years of one-party control. Now it’s time for the President to propose solutions that actually have a chance of passing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a closely-divided Senate, step up to the plate on the challenges of the moment, and deliver in a way that he did not in his first four years in office. To the extent he wants to move to the political center, which is where the work gets done in a divided government, we’ll be there to meet him half way. That begins by proposing a way for both parties to work together in avoiding the ‘fiscal cliff’ without harming a weak and fragile economy, and when that is behind us work with us to reform the tax code and our broken entitlement system. Republicans are eager to hear the President’s proposals on these and many other pressing issues going forward and to do the work the people sent us here to, do.”

Yep, Mitch showed some real class. NOT. How about the Republicans moving to the center, Mitch?

But it doesn't look like the Republicans have learned their lesson. The country is not all that conservative or all that white. It's not a good time to be a racist. At the University of Mississippi, students rioted Obama's victory. There were chants of racial epithets against Obama and blacks. And what about the Tea Party? The local greater Cincinnati Tea Party issued a statement and it's not comforting.

“the world mourns the loss of America. Socialists, welfare and unions took over this country yesterday. Today I wear black. The day America died. ....Today we mourn the loss of our country. Today the takers clearly outnumber the makers. Government has grown to take over this country instead of a government of the people. Reasons for this loss of our freedom can be found in all national, statewide and local candidate and tax issues. ....We will be a socialist nation within months. However, a revolution is rising and all those elected officials that are blind to what they have done to this country should be encouraged to become enlightened, should be encouraged to step down and should not be reelected.”

Look, when the base of the Republican Party won't moderate and has moved to the far right, the Republican Party will go the way of the dodo bird. This country is not as conservative as the party would have you believe. It's clearly not the crazy right-wing that dominates the party. How did hard right-wingers like Todd Akin,Richard Mourdock and Joe Walsh do? They all lost. Heck, Akin's senate opponent, Claire McCaskill bought ads supporting Akin in his primary fight. She wanted to run against the right-wing yahoo.

Republicans should realize this. The country is no longer dominated by angry white men. It's more liberal than they could imagine. If they can't even embrace the true libertarian streak of the father of conservatism Barry Goldwater and moderate their views, then it's over for the Republican Party.

Saturday Night LIve lampoons New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his interpreter for the deaf Lydia Callis

She's an Internet star. I'm talking about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's interpreter for the deaf, Lydia Callis. She's attractive, graceful and expressive. Well, Saturday Night Live did a parody of a news conference over Sandy and having some fun with Ms. Callis. Check it out. Bonus. Check out actual video of Ms. Callis.

MSNBC Election Music; clip from "Dave"

MSNBC has the best election coverage music. It's inspiring, patriotic and it also uses the NBC theme. Below is the music. And since this post has an election day theme, below is a scene from Dave. (1993) In the clip, Dave (Kevin Kline) who is a presidential imitator pretending to be the real president, balances the budget to save homeless shelters. It's a great movie so check it out.

The case for President Obama and the Democrats

If you're still undecided here's some last minute advice on who to vote for tomorrow. Vote for President Barack Obama and the Democrats. Here's my argument.

1. We're not in a Great Depression, Part 2. At the end of 2008, the country was about to head into the Great Depression, Part 2. Thanks to the economic stimulus passed by Obama and the Democrats, this country did not go into another Great Depression. That's a fact folks. This country is not in a depression or even a recession.

2. Passed national health care. This has never been done before. Finally a President got a national health care plan passed. The United States can take its place among other western nations that have national health care.

3. Killed Osama Bin Laden. Obama made a promise in 2008 that he would get terrorist Osama Bin Laden, the man behind the 9/11 attacks. He made this a priority in his administration. And Obama delivered.

4. GM is alive. When it looked like the auto industry was going to die, the Democrats and President Obama bailed them out. Now, the auto industry has roared back. Thousands of jobs were saved.

5. The Republicans have a neanderthal attitude towards women. If you believe in a women's right to choose, the choice is clear. The Republicans platform would outlaw abortions in all cases. And in an effort to defend this position, Republican candidates have repeated the ludicrous claim that women can't get pregnant from rape. One has said that rape was intended by God. Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan wanted to redefine rape as "forcible rape."

Mitt Romney won't answer whether he would support the Lilly Ledbetter Act. This law helps women to enforce their rights against sexual discrimination in the workplace.

6. The Republicans do not want to work with Democrats. The Republicans are dominated by the Tea Party wing of the party. They don't compromise. They are in the far right-wing of the political spectrum. Folks, Mitt Romney is part of this wing also. He describes himself as "severely conservative." Let me make this clear. To solve the deficit, it takes arithmetic. It requires some revenue increases also known as taxes and spending cuts. The Democrats are willing to cut spending but the Republicans won't increase taxes on the big rich. And who can forget Sen. Mitch McConnell's statement that the goal of the party was to deny Obama a second term. That was said in 2010.

7. A Democratic congress will get things done. Think about this. A Democratic House and Senate. Things will get done. Look at the great accomplishments when Congress was controlled by the Democrats.

Make a statement for fairness, freedom, and justice. Vote for Obama for President. Vote for Democrats.

Yawn. Bengals lose again.

Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals took the lead against the Denver Broncos, 20-17, heading into the fourth quarter. If you're a Bengals fan, you expect the sky to fall any moment. And it did. This fourth quarter sequence summons the Bengals way. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completes a pass for a first down on third and fifteen. Play nullified for center Jeff Faine's holding. DOH. Third and twenty five. Dalton tries to force the ball to A.J. Green on a deep route. He's hit as he throws the ball. Interception. DOH. Future Hall of Famer quarterback Peyton Manning easily leads the Broncos to a clinching touchdown. Game over. Bengals lose 31-23. Oh and let's not forget the Bengals defense. Or let's forget them. The Broncos converted 64 % of third downs. The Bengals are the Homer Simpsons of the NFL.

Wreck-It Ralph 3D Review

In the late seventies and early eighties, video game arcades were a top entertainment destination. They were dominated by 8 bit games such as Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. The home console invaded America in the late seventies only to die in the mid-eighties and become resurrected with Nintendo's foray in the late eighties. Now comes the animated film, Wreck-It Ralph, which is a homage to those golden days of 8 bit gaming.

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the villain of a 2D arcade video game called Fix-It Felix Jr. The game is much like Donkey Kong. Ralph is kind of like the Hulk. He goes to the top of a building and he stomps around causing damage to the various floors represented by windows. Felix (Jack McBrayer) is controlled by a human player and he runs around fixing the damage. When Felix gets to the top, the residents pick up Ralph and throw him off the building. Wave over.

When the local arcade is closed, the video game characters come alive. It's similar to Toy Story where the toys come alive when the children are not around. While attending a support group for video game villains, Ralph states his wish to stop being a bad guy. Later, he crashes a party for the thirtieth anniversary of Fix-It Felix Jr. It's a party Ralph realizes that the characters of the game did not invite him to. During the party, Ralph believes he can gain acceptance if he can obtain a medal, something earned by human player in many video games.

Ralph decides to sneak into a game, Hero's Duty to get a medal. This game is a first person shooter in which players are space marines fighting Cy-Bugs. Ralph gets a medal and escapes in a ship but there's a Cy-Bug aboard. He crashes the ship into another arcade game called Sugar Rush, a kart racing game. There he meets Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), a nine year old girl and has the handicap of being a computer glitch. Vanellope takes Ralph's medal and uses it to enter a race. Ralph must now find a way to get the medal back. Meanwhile, there's a threat from the Cy-Bug.

The voice acting in Wreck-It Ralph works. John C. Reilly displays his yearning to be accepted among his video game cast. Jack McBrayer is perfectly cast as a goody two shoes and naive character. Jane Lynch does a good job as a tough Marine from Hero's Duty. And the lovely Sarah Silverman does a cute nine year old girl. She leaves her usual sarcastic wit at home.

Director Rich Moore does a competent job but with Wreck-It Ralph but it has major problems. A good movie starts with a good screenplay. Jennifer Lee and Phil Johnston's screenplay is confusing. This video game world has its own rules and even if you are versed in video games, you don't know what they are. The screenplay throws out important lines regarding rules without further exposition the same way Pac-Man eats a dot. Doze off for a second and you will be lost. For example, bugs in the real world are attracted to light but why are the Cy-Bugs so excited about it in the video game world? Children and adults will be lost if they don't pay attention.

Then there are problems with the art direction. I'm talking about the world of Sugar Rush. It's an overdose of red, white and pink. Mix in Daliesque type structures and you have a film that looks like it was made by guys who were smoking the whacky weed. The result is that you will get an ice cream brain freeze headache.

If you're thinking about going to the 3D version of Wreck-It Ralph, forget it. The movie follows the snob's version of 3D. Don't emphasize it. The result? There were many times that I questioned whether the movie was in 3D. There's no depth, no pop. Textures don't stand out. Compare this version of 3D animation to How to Train Your Dragon. (2010) Dragon didn't treat 3D like it didn't exist. That's why it's a much better 3D film.

I wonder who this movie is aimed at. The world of video games is dominated by the console, XBOX, Playstation and WII. While I welcome a valentine to the eighties arcade, it's a world that is gone. The arcade deserves a better movie than this confusing mess. The grade is B-.

Stephen Colbert extends his offer to Donald Trump

Amidst the destruction of Hurricane Sandy, super rich guy Donald Trump extended his attempt to extort President Barack Obama to get his college records. What a nice guy. If you recall Stephen Colbert countered and made an offer to Donald Trump. Well, Stephen Colbert extended his offer last night. Below are the two pieces Colbert did on Trump's offer. First up is the Colbert's offer and then Colbert's extension. Riotous.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive