Bob Inglis Mans Up

By Sniffles

There have been times that we cats have heard words that should have been spoken by prominent Democrats.

Last night, for example. Keith Olbermann took teabagger mental case Sharron Angle to task on her no-abortion-even-in-cases-of-rape-and-incest stance. "I can't imagine many Nevadans, many Americans, many human beings," he said, "as cold and as callous as to agree with this sick, sick woman."

Bravo, Keith. Would that some members of our team would say stuff like that. After all, what are they waiting for? How much farther off the deep end can the GOP go?

But wait — Olbermann's just been trumped. And by a South Carolina Republican, no less. Take a look at what recently defeated Congressman Bob Inglis had to say about the state of his political party.

Re the famous quitter from Alaska: "There were no death panels in the [healthcare] bill... and to encourage that kind of fear is just the lowest form of political leadership. It's not leadership. It's demagoguery."

Re Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh: "I think we have a lot of leaders that are following those [television and talk radio] personalities and not leading. What it takes to lead is to say, 'You know, that's just not right.'"

Re racism at the heart of Republican/teabagger opposition to President Obama: "I love the South. I'm a Southerner. But I can feel it."

Finally, Congressman Inglis had this to say about his party's contribution — or lack thereof — to the political discourse. "I think what we're doing is dividing the country into partisan camps that really look a lot like Shia and Sunni. It's very difficult to come together to find solutions."

Wow. We cats PURR — and at a guy we never thought would earn our uniquely feline approval. In our humble opinion, Democrats should have been out swinging with this kind of truth-telling long ago. As for the other side, of all the elected Republicans who could have finally spoken up, who knew that Bob Inglis would be da man? Will other Republicans —the semi-reasonable ones, the mavericky ones, the ones who secretly hate Sarah Palin — follow him? Hm. We certainly hope so, but as far as well can tell, the silence is still deafening.

Meanwhile, we eagerly await the teabaggers' anti-Inglis fury. Something tells us we won't have to wait too long.

UPDATE: Nope, didn't take long at all. The fur is flyin' over at Free Republic. "You lost, you little turd. Get over yourself." "Sorry, Bobby, but you lost because you are a RINO!!!" "He's just shilling for a job now in the White House." "Just another idiot in the wrong party."

Most of the vitriol is over the nonexistent death panels. Nobody is addressing Inglis' claim that the teabaggers are racists. Interesting!