Arizona’s twin embarrassments score a rare hat trick

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On Thursday, Arizona's twin embarrassments "Senator Obstruction," Jon Kyl and "Senator Sore Loser," John McCain, scored a rare hat trick on MSNBC. Kyl made David Shuster's "Hypocrisy Watch" segment on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (he's a regular pick), and McCain was Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in The World" on Countdown (also a regular pick). The Rachel Maddow Show completed the hat trick with a piece about McCain who appears to be trying to wrest away the title of "Senator Obstruction" from Jon Kyl. (Chris Matthews, per usual, babbled on about his own convulted political theories on Hardball and had nothing of value to say.)

Arizona's senators continue to heap embarrassment upon the citizens of Arizona and engender scorn for us from our fellow American citizens who no doubt must be wondering out loud to themselves "what the hell is wrong with those yahoos in Arizona?" (If you are from a "red" state with two Republican senators, or Connecticut, I say "right back atcha!")

Earlier this week I reported that Sen. Jon Kyl pushes back against "outrage" over AIG bonuses. Taking his cue from GOP Chairman Rush Limbaugh and Faux News comedians Sean Hannity, Bill O'Rielly, Glenn Beck and Charles Krauthammer, Kyl was of the opinion "what's the big deal?" The $165M in AIG bonuses is peanuts at this point. For these apologists for the Wall Street Oligarchy, "free market" capitalism means never having to say your sorry for ripping off your fellow American citizens' savings and retirement accounts and destroying the world's economy in the process. As long as you got rich, regardless of your methods or means, you are a "success" in their eyes.

As previously reported, Jon Kyl called politicians attacking AIG bonuses "demagogues" (he's looking at you Sen. Grassley). By Thursday, Kyl was having a hissyfit over President Obama going on The Tonight Show instead of attacking AIG bonuses. Apparently boy genius does not watch the news. President Obama criticized the AIG bonuses in his press conference on Monday, and again in his speech to two town halls in California. Sen. Kyl is so woefully ignorant because he simply does not care about the facts.

Sen. Kyl was taken to task for his hypocrisy by David Shuster.

SHUSTER: … In the midst of all of the outrage over the bonuses being paid at AIG, Senate Republicans are now criticizing the bonus money and are wondering how this all could have happened.  And that takes us to tonight‘s “Hypocrisy Watch.”

First the background. Today four of the five Republicans who comprise the GOP Senate leadership team held a news conference on Capitol Hill. They blasted the executive bonus money and insisted it was unacceptable.

KYL: Everybody is upset about these AIG bonuses, everybody. I suggest that what we ought to focus on, however, right now is how it was possible that these bonuses were paid.

SHUSTER: Senator Kyl, that‘s a great question. Why don‘t you ask this senator, Mitch McConnell, a fellow member of the GOP leadership team, who was conspicuously absent from today‘s news conference? A month ago leader McConnell said, quote: “I really don‘t want the government to take over these businesses and start telling them everything about what they can do.”

"Senate Republicans, we know it‘s unsettling to have so many of your constituents outraged and infuriated over something like AIG, but when you claim the government should stop these executive bonuses a month after saying the government should butt out, that‘s hypocrisy and it‘s wrong."

Rachel Maddow did a piece on the Neoconservatives who manipulated this country into an unnecessary war in Iraq six years ago this week. Among the Neoconservatives who were responsible was Sen. McCain. Now Sen. McCain and his "other" BFF Sen. Lindsey Graham (don't tell McCain's BFF Phil Gramm) are holding up the nomination of Chris Hill as the next ambassador to Iraq, falsely asserting that he lacks the necessary experience. Chris Hill has been an ambassador and has the support of every previous ambassador to Iraq and the Pentagon, including McCain's sainted Gen. David Petraeus. Now who is not listening to the generals, senator? McCain's true objection appears to be that Hill is not one of the Neoconservatives who were responsible for the Iraq debacle. Who does he want? John Bolton? (The discussion about McCain begins around the 5:43 mark of the video).

The partisan obstruction of the nomination of Chris Hill as ambassador to Iraq earned Sen. McCain (so much for his "I know bipartisanship") and his "other" BFF Sen. Lindesy Graham the "Worst Person in The World" title from Keith Olbermann on Thursday.