When I was younger, I was a Republican. One of the reasons for that was because I thought they were more responsible with our nation's budget. Later I found out that they were just better at marketing. They marketed themselves as fiscal conservatives, when in fact, they were nothing of the sort.

We explain the big lie here (some mild cursing in the clip):




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The Republicans did an internal accounting to see what they were doing wrong in Congressional races (because they got mauled in the 2006 elections and the special election since). The results are amusing. We explain them in the short video below:



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Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama claimed over and over during the primaries that they were strong leaders who could take America in a new direction. They also claimed that George W. Bush was the worst president in US history. Then, how come they have never been able to beat him in almost any legislative battles?

This week they surrendered again. This time it was about giving immunity to telecommunication companies who broke the law to placate the Bush administration. Nearly everyone involved admits they broke the law -- otherwise they wouldn't need immunity.

I didn't rob a bank, so I don't need immunity for robbery. Everyone should have their rights, and that definitely applies to the telecom companies and the Bush administration as well, so it should be very simple for them to go into a courthouse and show there was nothing wrong with what they did. Except they can't, and that's why desperately need immunity for the crimes they have committed.

This isn't about spying on terrorists. The FISA court gives out warrants like they're growing on trees. If they spied on terrorists, it's the easiest thing in the world to show. No, this is for breaking the law and spying on Americans without a court order. Do we know who they spied on? No, and now we never will. Why? The Democrats are going to give these companies -- and by extension the Bush administration -- immunity for breaking the law.

In essence, the Democrats are giving a preemptive pardon to George Bush and everyone else that authorized and participated in this illegal surveillance program.

Now, if we only had a couple of strong leaders on the Democratic side who could stop this. Oh wait a minute, I remember two people that kept telling me how strong and capable they were. One of them even claimed that change was coming. You know when it might be a good time for change? Right about now.

Instead, Hillary Clinton is on vacation somewhere doing absolutely nothing about this immunity bill. When it's not about her career, all of a sudden she's not that moved to fight for us, our laws and our constitution. Since she's not going to be president, she's taken her ball and gone home.

And what about Obama? Nothing. Worse than nothing, because he's actually thinking about voting with the Republicans on a so-called compromise, which in the words of Sen. Feingold is nothing short of a "capitulation." Leadership you can believe in!

You think I sound angry here, you should have seen me all week on the show. If you want to see what I think of pathetic Democratic weakness, watch this (not safe for work or with kids around). The Democrats make it nearly impossible to respect them. And if you want to see what I think of Senator Clinton and Senator Obama's awful record of leadership on this issue, watch this:




If you can't beat the most unpopular president of all time in a simple legislative fight like this, how can you claim to be a strong and effective leader?

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Today John McCain finally did what he should have done a long time ago -- he rejected Pastor John Hagee. We celebrate in the video below:




Putting the kidding about "strike back" aside, let me tell you why it's important that McCain denounce Hagee. As I explained later in the show, I don't believe that McCain agrees with Hagee's insane beliefs. But if McCain did not denounce him and he won the presidency, he would feel that he was indebted to Hagee for his endorsement. Hence, he would try to appease this nutjob -- as the Bush administration has been doing with all of these lunatic evangelical ministers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson (both of whom said the US had 9/11 coming).

A guy like Jeremiah Wright isn't going to influence a thing in the White House if Barack Obama wins. But the Christian Right is different because they are a well-organized political movement. They have real power. This is why the Bush administration had a weekly call with these prominent Christian Right figures and often tweaked their policies to appease them.

The problem isn't that John McCain agrees with Rev. Hagee or Rev. Parsley, it's that he has to try hold on to their political support by giving them something they want. That's what is dangerous.

That's why it's such good news that they are no longer with the campaign, because even if McCain wins now hopefully he won't feel like he owes them anything.

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Karl Rove is not just playing politics. He's a despicable man who sets out to destroy people's lives, not just their political careers. I don't see how the media treats him as if he's just normal political player who plays hardball. This isn't hardball, this is criminal. Check out what he did to a former Democratic governor of Alabama:




Remember, this isn't us saying it; it's a former Republican operative in Alabama who outed Rove here. Thank God there are still some Republicans in the country with a conscience. You can read about the 60 Minutes story here or just watch it on Sunday. But here is a quote from the piece that give you a sense of the injustice that Don Siegelman has suffered at the hands of these hatchet-men:

Siegelman was convicted of bribery in a case that has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans. In fact, 52 former states' attorneys general from both political parties petitioned Congress to investigate Siegelman's case, resulting in hearings held last fall.

"I haven't seen a case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice being done," Grant Woods, the former Republican attorney general of Arizona and one of those who petitioned Congress, tells Pelley. "I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square."

This is what the US Attorney scandal is really about. They politicized US attorneys in order to pursue political goals inside the Justice Department. And it had real results, like convicting innocent men and sending them to jail. That's what is actually criminal. If we had a real Justice Department, they would be looking into charges against Karl Rove instead. But no matter what, one thing is clear, it's way past time to free Don Siegelman.

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I love Charles Barkley. I was a Republican at the same time he was and we both left the party at the same time. We left the GOP when, as Barkley puts it, "they lost their minds."

In the video below you'll see the Charles Barkley interview on CNN where he goes after the hypocritical conservatives. If you keep watching, you'll also see an explanation of why it doesn't make any sense to say you supported both Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.:




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John McCain won the Florida primary on Tuesday night on the strength of the Latino vote. He beat Romney 50-16 in that category and this helped to his 5 point win in this primary. Mitt Romney was vocal in his opposition to any sensible immigration plan, instead preferring tough talk about keeping people out of the country and sending them back. Well, guess who's being sent back now?

And this is a Republican primary in a state where most of the Latino voters are Cuban (who have more favorable immigration laws applied to them). Imagine what's going to happen to a Republican candidate in the general election? At least McCain was on the right side of a sensible immigration proposal in the Senate. For this, he has been scorned by the Republican pundits, talk show hosts and bloggers. But in reality, he is the Republican Party's only chance. If they send up a hater like Romney, they're going to get whooped in November.

We broke down the Florida results early last night and noticed how big the disparity in the Latino vote was in the exit polls:




Also, it's a pleasure to bid Rudy Giuliani goodbye. He was the most crazed Republican in the field with his consistent fear and war mongering. Huckabee might be even crazier, but Rudy was the most likely to start the next war and curtail more civil liberties. So, Florida let a little sunshine into the country by getting rid of the dark and ominous candidacy of Rudy Giuliani.

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Congratulations, Republicans! I knew you could do it!

Watch the short video below to see what record Republicans broke this year:




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Here's the recipe to convince Republicans that we need to leave Iraq:



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Listen below to the story of how two former Bush administration officials stole our hard earned tax dollars. That's at least $80 million more that should have been in our pockets instead. I love how Republicans pretend to care about fiscal responsibility and people leeching off the government, while they're robbing us blind:



Here's the article on the whole story behind the contract given to Logistics Health. This whole system is set up for former and current government employees to work together to make themselves rich at our expense. No one takes more money from the government than these insiders. You don't have to be liberal or conservative to get pissed about that.

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Pete Stark came out last week and made a strong statement against the Iraq War, the President and the Republicans in Congress (you can watch that here). So, immediately the Republicans attacked -- because that's what they do. And immediately the Democrats caved in -- because that's what they do. Nancy Pelosi, instead of rebuking the president for getting our kids killed in Iraq, rebuked her own party member for having the courage to stand up to the president.

So, what happened this week? Rep. Stark came out and ... apologized! It's pathetic. The Democrats wouldn't recognize a spine if they got smacked upside the head with one. Here is the sad unmanning of poor Pete Stark:



When the Democrats tried a similar rhetorical trick on the Republicans and tried to get them to condemn Rush Limbaugh for calling troops who disagreed with him "phony soldiers," you know how Republicans reacted? Instead of voting to condemn Limbaugh, they tried to introduce a resolution commending him. That's how you fight back.

I think the current Republicans are radicals, extremists and warmongers. They are a danger to this country and to this world. But at least I respect them. I give the devil his due. On the other hand, it is impossible to rally around the stomach-churning weakness of the Democrats.

Our founders have set up an excellent democratic system. This is what primaries are for. I wouldn't vote for a Republican on the national level now if you put a gun to my head. But I can't stomach voting for these wavering, vacillating, weaklings that are the current Democrats. But that's why we have primaries! Nearly every one of these Democrats in Congress should have primary fights on their hands. We should have a citizen rebellion. Enough is enough. We have to replace them all.

I don't need the primary candidates to be more liberal or more progressive. I am a centrist, with fairly conservative economic beliefs. I just need the candidates to be STRONGER. Please give us some people who will not cower in the face of petty tyranny and schoolyard intimidation tactics. I just want someone to represent me that has a brain AND a spine. That shouldn't be too much to ask for.

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This is how you do it:



Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

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This is literal. It's not a play on words. Republicans in New Hampshire are actually going to have machine guns at their fundraiser. And they are all going to fire them. What are they the Taliban? Doesn't Hamas fire machine guns into the air as a form of celebration?

At least they are smart enough to realize how stupid they are. They are concerned about each other's safety with all those machine guns around. Touching.

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I have been warning for some time now that the Democrats are pushing too slowly and cautiously to get us out of Iraq. And that at some point the Republicans would try to outflank them and pretend that they got us out of Iraq. That movement has now begun with several high profile Republicans getting ready to pull the plug on this Iraqi misadventure. Now, what's going to be the Democratic response? I hope it's not more of the tepid, lukewarm approach we've been getting so far.

The leading bill among the Democrats is the Levin-Reid bill that says we should begin withdrawal in April, 2008 -- and only if the president agrees. That's an awful bill. That allows the president to continue to get his way pretty much until the end of his administration, against the wishes of most of the Democrats, a huge majority of the American population and now even many Republicans.

They need to scrap that approach and get much tougher, much quicker. Otherwise, the Republicans in Congress will say they got us out of Iraq, and they might even be right.

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Last night's Republican debate was noteworthy mainly for its lack of noteworthiness, though it may also be remembered as the site of some of the worst questions in Presidential debate history. The clumsily phrased question about whether it would be good for America if Bill Clinton lived in the White House topped the list (what exactly did Matthews expect the candidates to say? "Yes -- as my butler?"), but coming in a close second was the question to Mitt Romney that wondered what he disliked most about America. There are trick questions and gotcha questions and questions about the differences between Sunni and Shiite that send front runners into temporary terror spirals, but asking a candidate what he dislikes about America is as senseless as...well, it's as senseless as asking a candidate what he dislikes about America.

Still, let's help a brother out. If you were Romney, how would you have answered that question? Here are a few answers. Supply your own.

"Governor Romney, what do you dislike most about America?"

-- Questions like that.
-- Sanjaya.
-- Everything, which is why I am running for President. I mean to systematically undermine the entire nation, subtly at first but with increasing boldness, like I'm a freakin' James Bond villain. Chris, ask me another one like that and I'm going to come down from here and slap the Hardball out of you.