The other Republican running for the same Senate seat as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is as rightwing as they come. But don’t take my word for it, take his. Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio tweeted the following message: “I have no problem with President giving political speech to kids……..if his name is REAGAN!”

In a personality contest with Crist, I would vote for Rubio hands-down. There’s just something about being what you are that Crist will never understand or approach. And even if Rubio is to the right of the gipper himself, at least he’s got a sense of humor. At least, I think he’s being ironic here…

Democrats have no problem going against the majority of American people and usurping the rights of parents by sending Pied Piper Obama into the American classroom.

“As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology. The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power.

“While I support educating our children to respect both the office of the American President and the value of community service, I do not support using our children as tools to spread liberal propaganda. The address scheduled for September 8, 2009, does not allow for healthy debate on the President’s agenda, but rather obligates the youngest children in our public school system to agree with our President’s initiatives or be ostracized by their teachers and classmates.

“Public schools can’t teach children to speak out in support of the sanctity of human life or traditional marriage. President Obama and the Democrats wouldn’t dream of allowing prayer in school. Christmas Parties are now Holiday Parties. But, the Democrats have no problem going against the majority of American people and usurping the rights of parents by sending Pied Piper Obama into the American classroom.

The Democrats have clearly lost the battle to maintain control of the message this summer, so now that school is back in session, President Obama has turned to American’s children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American’s youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves.”

I’ll say this for Greer — that Pied Piper line is a classic!

Shoot, I actually could climb up on the same high horse with Greer on this topic — if he hadn’t just made it all up. You know, what they call propaganda, or bold-faced lies. It’s just a chance for Greer to spout off. It’s not like he’s peering into the future a week and actually foreseeing the speech.

But that’s OK because at the bottom of Greer’s e-mail rant is a link that says, “Click here to learn more about President Obama’s address. Except I don’t think Greer would actually want you to go to the Department of Education site and see that everything he wrote about the speech was a lie. The link goes to a letter from Education Secretary Arne Duncan:

In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 — the first day of school for many children across America — he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.

Since taking office, the President has repeatedly focused on education, even as the country faces two wars, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and major challenges on issues like energy and health care. The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.

This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation’s school children about persisting and succeeding in school. We encourage you to use this historic moment to help your students get focused and begin the school year strong. I encourage you, your teachers, and students to join me in watching the President deliver this address on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. It will be broadcast live on the White House website www.whitehouse.gov 12:00 noon eastern standard time.

Man, sounds like Greer and Duncan are talking about two different speeches. That is, unless Duncan meant to say that Obama is trying to indoctrinate schoolkids to work hard and make good grades, or that universal education is a socialistic notion.

No, I think Secretary Duncan got it right — his version just sounds a lot more like something Barack Obama would say than Greer’s. But then, the speech Greer imagined will only be heard reverberating in the cavernous hall of Greer’s monolithic partisanship.

California is (obviously) getting the largest total amount: a whopping $15,719,496,704 to be exact. But that only breaks down to $427.66 for each of its many residents. My own Florida got $7,215,011,328, or $393.65 for each of us. I’ll take mine now, please.

So who got the least? The Northeast didn’t do too well. Poor little New Jersey will only be getting $2,143,010,560, or $246.81 per person. Vermont got the least total dollars: $298,910,336. Makes Alaska’s more than double figure of $702,954,752 seem hoggish, when you consider the Green Mountain State’s population is 621,270, or only about 9 percent fewer folks.

See where you own state and county ranks, and specifically where the money went at ProPublica.org.

Unfortunately, the RNC remains determined not to allow conversation on the issue. When callers dialed the RNC phone number given in the video, they were prompted to press 1 to speak to an RNC representative, but instead the RNC redirected those calls to the DNC’s telephone number.

DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse described the RNC’s redirection to CNN as a “neat trick”:

“The RNC is inciting angry mobs to shout out legitimate discussion at public events across the country and now they want to ignore people who deplore their tactics,” Woodhouse said. “Republicans don’t want to have a discussion about the future of health care reform — they want to shout out — and now completely ignore — anyone who disagrees with them.”

According to the Washington Independent, RNC Chair Michael Steele took full credit for the prank:

[This was in] response, said Steele, to the White House arrogantly blaming regular Americans “like my mother, like my sister” for the health care impasse.

“I thought it was a good idea,” Steele said. “Don’t sit there and think you’re going to direct a bunch of angry liberals to call the RNC when I know full well what that’s all about. I get the joke. My response was, talk to your own party, because they’re the ones ginning this up.”

Typically, the Republican Party remains unaccountable for its obstructionism and unaccounted for in the essential debate over health care.

Read the report card, then see how we graded the graders below.

Here’s how we graded the RPOF’s performance:

SUBJECT: Statistics. COMMENTS: RPOF assessed Mr. Obama’s math skills by using unattributed statistics to make its point, and for extra credit, threw in the technique of using truncated statistics by starting the clock on job loss (and economic troubles in general) on Jan. 20, 2009. In its health assessment the RPOF attributes its statistics to bolster its illogical argument. In assessing his finance performance, the RPOF eschews statistics completely — a masterful use of the dismal science. There are lies, damned lies and statistics, and nobody lies as well as the Republican Party. GRADE: A+.

SUBJECT: Rhetoric. COMMENTS: While assessing Mr. Obama’s history performance, the RPOF deftly moved the focus from his domestic cabinet-level “czar” appointments to connect them to the spread of communism across Europe in the 20th century. In dwelling on the easily ridiculed word, “czar” and ignoring the fact that Obama is not the first president to appoint them, they employ a cheap shot. Such skillful use of what appears on the surface to be logic deserves the highest marks. GRADE: A+

SUBJECT: Civics. COMMENTS: By portraying Mr. Obama as never missing a basket when playing basketball while being totally uninformed about North Korea, the RPOF uses two tried and true racist assumptions about African Americans — they are intellectually inferior, yet physically superior, to whites. For the added underlying message that Obama’s race and inexperience pose a threat to national security by invoking the specter of North Korea, they get extra credit. GRADE: A++.

SUBJECT: English. COMMENTS: The RPOF, FOX News and most talk radio hosts fail to understand usage, and don’t know when to employ “Democrat” versus “Democratic.” We suspect they’re misusing “Democrat” on purpose, a practice that began recently under President Bush, but as Jon noted, goes back at least to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. For pushing the envelope of the English language by delving deeply into reverse semiotics and the power of thematic repetition, as well as for their robust explorations into the tenuous relationship between truth and meaning, the RPOF deserved an A, but turned in a term paper late. GRADE: B.

My, what a difference a year — and actually being in the position instead of just talking out of your ass — makes.

I knew Stewart would have a field day with the Sanford tragedy but this exceeds expectations.

This is another step in how we’re going to open a dialogue with the African-American community …
— Jim Greer

Black-owned media tell GOP that money talks
By Mark Schlueb, Orlando Sentinel
Florida Republican leaders are trying to capture ground they’ve historically ceded to the Democratic Party — the black news media.

Friday, managers of black-owned newspapers and radio outlets told Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer there’s a simple way to get more attention for conservative issues and candidates: money.

“At the end of the day, it’s about money. If you buy advertising, you’re more likely to get coverage,” said Johnny Hunter, president of the Florida Association of Black Owned Media and publisher of Sarasota’s Tempo News.

Greer invited black-media news executives from across the state to a downtown Orlando hotel to hash out how the party can make inroads in the black community, which traditionally votes Democratic.

It was the most recent attempt by Greer to reach out to black opinion-makers since he took over as leader of the state party. Last year, the party created the African American Republican Leadership Council, a group led by state Rep. Jennifer Carroll of Fleming Island. A few months later, he and Carroll met with members of the black clergy.

At Friday’s meeting, the conversation seemed designed to reach a “pay to play” arrangement. In opening remarks, Carroll, who helped lead the discussion, told members of the black media that they can benefit as much as the GOP from increased coverage.

“You’re in business to make money, and you should look at avenues to increase your revenue if you can,” she said.

Most mainstream news outlets maintain a strict separation between advertising and editorial content.

All of the media representatives seemed to push for more advertising and agreed that the Republican Party and its candidates would receive more coverage if they bought ads.

They did not all agree about whether advertising would lead to positive news stories or endorsements, though some hinted that failing to buy advertising could bring negative editorials.

For black-owned media, advertising is simply a tangible example of respect, which some managers said the Republican Party has not shown the black community. Several said they are never contacted by the GOP about issues and political races.

Kevin Collins of The Orlando Times said Republican candidates rarely bother responding when the paper’s reporters try to contact them, even during election season.

“We’re a news outlet, and Republican candidates won’t return our calls,” Collins said. “It gives us the mind-set that we’re not important.”

Greer promised that the party would stop ignoring black media. He said that mainstream newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Tribune and Tallahassee Democrat cover the party’s issues regardless of whether they advertise, but the party chairman nevertheless seemed willing to accept the quid-pro-quo arrangement.

“When I hear that when we advertise, the paper will be more likely to disseminate Republican issues, am I hearing right?” Greer asked. “I don’t understand the legitimacy of disseminating information and having a tie-in to revenue — but I get it.”

Florida Republicans have stumbled in attracting blacks in the past. Last year, Florida’s 225-member delegation to the Republican National Convention included only six blacks. The party’s apparent choice for governor, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, was the only member of the Cabinet to vote against restoring felons’ rights, an issue of particular importance to the black community. And, as a columnist for the South Florida Times told Greer, the party has failed to ease immigration for Haitians who make it to Florida’s shores.

Even so, Greer said the party’s efforts to reach out to black voters is serious, though some GOP leaders told him it’s a wasted effort.

“This is another step in how we’re going to open a dialogue with the African-American community across the state,” Greer said.

Tell me, if you were Jim Greer would you have put that in a press release and sent it out to your distribution list?

The latest RPOF messaging blitzkrieg is aimed at bringing more African Americans into the GOP. To do this, they are closely aligning themselves with the group of reformers led by Abraham Lincoln who created the Republican Party in the 1850s. They are, of course, counting on Americans to A) not know their history and B) not bother to do the research to expose GOP lies.

The latest sally came in yesterday’s Miami Herald editorial section. In a letter to the editor headlined “Expose the racism in Democratic Party,” Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association from Sarasota questions a recent column by a Pulitzer Prize winner (and black man):

In his June 21 Issues & Ideas column, GOP blind to its race problem Leonard Pitts Jr. unfairly condemns the entire Republican Party as racist based on the actions of a few. In reality, the Republican Party, since its inception in 1854 as the antislavery party until today, has been the party of freedom and equality for blacks. A better case can be made that the Democratic Party is a racist party.

As author Michael Scheuer stated, the Democratic Party is the party of the four S’s: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism. Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40 years, and their policies have turned those communities into economic and social wastelands.

Democrats fought to expand slavery, while Republicans fought to ban it. After the Civil War, Republicans amended the Constitution to grant blacks freedom, citizenship and the right to vote. Republicans then passed the civil-rights laws of the 1860s that, sadly, were over turned by the Democrats with the Repeal Act of 1894 after they took over Congress in 1892.

Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen was instrumental to the passage of civil-rights legislation in 1957, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1968. He wrote the language for the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing. President Lyndon Johnson could not have achieved passage of the civil-rights legislation without the support of Republicans. Johnson’s statement about losing the South was not made out of a concern that racist Democrats would suddenly join the Republican Party. Instead, Johnson feared that the racist Democrats would again form a third party, such as the short-lived States Rights Democratic Party.

Democrats readily demean black professionals who do not toe the Democratic Party’s liberal line, denigrating them as ‘’sellouts” and ”Uncle Toms.” A Democrat blogger depicted RNC Chairman Michael Steele as a ”Simple Sambo” with a blackened minstrel-style face, nappy hair and big, thick red lips.

Condoleezza Rice was demeaned by a Democratic cartoonist as an ignorant, barefoot ”mammy.” Democrats Al Sharpton and Harry Belafonte denigrated Gen. Colin Powell and Rice as “house Negroes.”

Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy called some black judicial nominees, including Judge Janice Rogers Brown, ”Neanderthals.” Democratic Senator Harry Reid slurred Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as an ”embarrassment” who could not write properly.

Has Pitts condemned racism in the Democratic Party?

There are so many things wrong with this letter that it’s difficult to know where to start. Quoting ultraconservative Michael Scheuer to bolster your argument that the GOP is really the “big tent” party is just silly. Scheuer is, to put it bluntly, a crackpot in the Ron Paul tradition.

It is extremely dangerous (unless you’re confident that you won’t be called on it) to equate the current Republican Party with the party of Mr. Lincoln. Mainly because, though solidly antislavery, Lincoln and his cohorts did not believe that blacks were necessarily equal to whites, just that they should be afforded the same rights under the Constitution. Indeed, Lincoln did not want to abolish slavery; he sought to contain its spread, figuring that eventually it would just somehow die out.

That’s a long way from being a real booster for African Americans.

Sure, Everett Dirksen deserves to be recognized as a Republican who worked tirelessly to champion civil rights. By the same token, it must be noted that President Ronald Reagan’s administration worked just as tirelessly to roll back welfare and other social programs that were aimed at helping lower-income and poverty-stricken Americans — a majority of whom black.

And don’t you just love it when someone quotes a “Democrat blogger,” without naming him or her. I mean, if you’re going to quote them to bolster your argument, shouldn’t you name them or at least give a URL? Same with the unnamed “Democratic cartoonist.”

And sorry, but while Sharpton and Belefonte’s characterization of Colin Powell was in poor taste, it’s easy to find worse racist statements by the leader of the Republican Party — Rush Limbaugh: “I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.”

I bet if we continued this pissing match all day, I’d find a lot more overtly racist statements from the Republican side than from Democrats. But that is not the point. The point is that the Republican Party of Florida is trying to recruit more African Americans by distorting facts and using bald-faced lies. One would hope by now after the “swiftboating” of John Kerry Dick Cheney’s weapons of mass destruction media tour that we as a people would wise up to the lies and the lying liars who tell them.

But after all, we all live in an idiocracy …..

Check out the before and after itinerary fo the 2009 Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit. Before: Sanford. After: No Sanford.