A growing chorus is questioning Barack Obama’s seemingly disparate policy on Wall Street versus the auto industry. The “Wall St. v. Detroit” tension was highlighted yesterday with the encouraged stepping down of now-former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, as well as the pushed coupling of Chrysler with Italian automaker Fiat in order to tighten the debt belt. But is he being too harsh on Detroit? Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin weighed in on the ultimatum: “Their option is either to take a haircut or a bath.” Sometimes haircuts and baths are good. But if these haircuts and baths include cutting the promised retirement pensions to autoworkers who were explicitly promised “If x, then y” regarding benefits of becoming lifetime employees, is it necessarily a fair pitch across the plate?

Next up, financial segue time – French President Nicholas Sarkozy is threatening to walk out of this week’s G20 Summit on the global economic crisis unless France’s demands for tougher financial regulation are met. Still, what’s with the outgroup-y quip about blaming “the Anglo-Saxons” (read: us and our fish ‘n’ chips-eating neighbors across the pond)? That, and he and Angela Merkel are suddenly strange bedfellows in a good instance of camaraderie by negation. Drama at the G20.

Or maybe just drama on Fox News. Because nothing made me happier than the fadeout music on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ this morning being “Proud to Be An American” after repeatedly playing the clip of Glenn Beck crying on air. Does that look real to you?

Did I say something about strange bedfellows earlier? …did you see this commercial? I mean, it’s March Madness. Strange and beautiful things happen in March Madness – including, apparently, but not limited to Rick Pitino and Bob Knight putting on a jam session in their underwear. What does that mean? “It means you’re gonna have to put on some pants, pops.”

PBS had a really good Frontline episode air tonight that talked about our long-term fiscal policy. I especially like the mention of PAYGO (pay-as-you-go). It carries with it a funny correlation – the only recent years the U.S. had a budget surplus were those with PAYGO. Before it, deficits. After it, deficits. hmm….

I’ve been fairly upfront in the past about my distaste for extremist gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association as well as my personal interpretation of the 2nd amendment as a collective, not individual, right. At the same time, I’m willing to agree on some middle ground where, regardless of personal views, we can support common-sense measures like universal background checks and restricting gun sales to those over the age of 18. The problem here is that groups like NRA, or at least the leaders, don’t really care for a middle ground. The extreme and frankly terrifying views of people like Wayne LaPierre, head of NRA, force me to reiterate a point I’ve previously endorsed- it isn’t guns that scare me, it’s the people who own them. Take LaPierre’s recent appearance at the CPAC convention, where he made some remarks strangely reminiscent of living in a police state.

So, according to the leader of the most powerful lobbying group in the country, all rights and freedoms are nothing but “stains on a rotten piece of parchment paper in a museum somewhere” until they are “guarded by the blued steel and dry powder of a free and armed people.” Jeez, that sounds insane and I have a hard time believing that NRA members actually support this statement. Any readers out there who can attest to this? I will also add that no matter our disagreements, we can all agree on some gun regulations in the interest of public safety. However, when pro-gun leaders say things like, “the Founding Fathers understood that the guys with the guns make the rules,” it makes it that much more difficult for people to take NRA members seriously. Like they don’t have a hard enough time already.

So this is one of the few times I’ll openly admit to liking a Republican but when it’s the case, it can’t be helped. I kid, of course! They’re plenty of great conservatives out there (especially my parents) and one of my favorites is Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain. I’ve been subscribing to her popular blog for a while now and apart from being relatable, she seems very fun- unlike Chelsea Clinton. Here’s Meghan on her father and dating-

It’s difficult for me when I read bad press. I’m his daughter, and I’m a total daddy’s girl. I go on dates and guys are like, ‘Oh, you really look like John,’ and I’m like, ‘As I get older, I’ll look more like him. [Laughs.] You could actually be dating John McCain.

Ha! The reason I bring up Meghan isn’t to talk about her love life, of course but to highlight some recent remarks she made about professional wingnut Ann Coulter.

…certain individuals continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Republicans. Especially Republican women. Who do I feel is the biggest culprit? Ann Coulter. I straight up don’t understand this woman or her popularity. I find her offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing all at the same time.

While I obviously agree with her assessment of Coulter, I did find it interesting that she specifically made the point about the stereotypes of Republican women. In a party (and a field) that is hyper-masculinized, it is increasingly difficult for conservative women to break through. But more dangerously, Republican women haven’t really been united under an ideological umbrella that isn’t self-contradictory and self-defeating. For example, the most prominent conservative women’s group right now is the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), a group that claims to be feminist but is actually very anti-woman. The IWF, for instance, has repeatedly denied the existence of a wage gap, even though legitimate evidence to the contrary exists.The IWF has also opposed the Violence Against Women Act, the landmark legislation protecting women, on the grounds that prevalence of DV cases are exaggerated by feminists- the organization has even published studies making such outrageous claims.

So maybe it’s a good thing that Meghan McCain called out Ann Coulter for hurting women. But the problem is much larger than that. Republican women need to rally around an organization and an ideology that actually helps women, not sets them back. After all, while liberal and conservative women can (and should) disagree on many issues, I would hope that the wage gap and violence against women would not be two of them.

A few weeks ago I wrote a column about Elizabeth Warren’s address to Congress on the rise of predatory lending practices and the need for government to protect the consumer. Senators Durbin and Schumer must have taken her speech to heart, proposing to create a Financial Products Safety Commission.

A few weeks ago, in an interview with the Washington Times, newly-minted RNC chairman Michael Steele discussed his plans for remaking the Republican Party’s image, particularly in order to appeal to the “youth” vote.

We need messengers to really capture that region – young, Hispanic, black, a cross section … We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

Well, dear Sample Gates readers, I am proud to announce the unveiling of the first of (hopefully) many “urban-suburban hip-hop” videos by Steele. Who knew South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford could rap?!

Ok, while the video was clearly a joke, it makes a point that all Republicans should take note of- not all blacks are rap-listening gangstas. Like every minority group, they’re a fairly diverse group (shocker, I know!) and instead of superficial and offensive campaigns, perhaps Steele’s party can actually begin supporting policies that benefit young black people, instead of blaming them for all the miseries befalling them. Steele’s belief that recruiting some rap artists and planning “off the hook” pr campaigns (an actual quote) can miraculously erase the party’s pathetic record on civil rights just shows how out of touch he is with the black community (and reality).

…is a 13-year old kid named Jonathan Krohn. Krohn, author of “Define Conservatism,” was in the news recently due to his short appearance at the just-concluded Conservative Political Action Conference.

Krohn’s ideological hero, is wait for it…Bill Bennett, who as you may recall had some serious issues with gambling while he was acting as the moral police for the rest of this country.

So, considering that the Republican party usually acts like a petulant bunch of 13 year olds, it is very fitting that they would look upto a 13 year old! And the sad part here is that Republicans thirty years his senior sound exactly like Krohn. What does that tell you?

h/t: crooks and liars

My column this week is all about the hateful legacy of James Dobson, founder of the equally pernicious Focus on the Family, a far-right Christian organization. Dobson stepped down as the Chairman of the group recently and it remains to be seen what the future of the group will be.

Anway, in the column, I briefly mentioned a children’s educational video featuring the lovable SpongeBob Squarepants that Dobson protested due to its promotion of “homosexuality” and “tolerance,” since we all know that the two are truly heinous character traits. Incidentally, the video was created by the We Are Family Foundation in order to promote multiculturalism and tolerance after the 9/11 attacks, not that this matters to folks like Dobson.

Well, I was able to dig up the video from 2005 and it is posted here for your viewing pleasure. I must warn you though that watching this may result in catching teh gay. A gold star for those who can actually spot SpongeBob.

“The United States of America does not torture.”

That was the phrase that stayed with me throughout President Obama’s address tonight. It was probably different for everyone. But what had started to feel over the last eight years like hapless, overly-idealistic hopes for norms that would never float in a nation walking a tightrope between ever-diverging left and right wings, tonight, was brought to fruition.

This was in the same speech that brought Sen. John McCain to his feet in support of responsibly ending the Iraq war.

In crisis, we’re coming together.

For all the hopes of Obama’s success in achieving a binding synthesis of opposing party values such that our country could move forward as a whole, this was a positive litmus test. At times he even joked with the Republican side of Congress, notably at mention of the parties’ respective opinions on the stimulus bill. But the take-away feeling — and I think it’s this, more than any policy stance or future proposition, that should be considered the most salient aspect of the night — was one of fondness toward fellow Americans and hope for the future. “Warm and fuzzy” is not generally a way in which politically involved Americans would describe their feelings toward the other side, but tonight, a new level of mutual respect and fraternity was proffered for the future.

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