Sour and grumpy (no, not me, it’s a link post)

First off, we have Richard Cohen of the Washington Post, who writes in a column that conservative Iowa Republicans guarantee the primary there will go to someone far to the right of NJ Governor Chris Christie. And that while these Repubs are totally not racists, they’re very upset about the “the mainstreaming of what used to be the avant-garde. People with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children.”
I’m not sure if Cohen genuinely thinks being disgusted by interracial marriage is indeed a normal reaction or if he’s trying to avoid accusing Republican conservatives of racism. Given his views on black shoplifters and cops stopping black men based purely on their race, I’m probably being overly charitable (and did I mention he was recently stunned to realize slavery was cruel?). Oh, as noted at the initial link, he’s also wrong about most Americans being horrified by the mingling of the races.
•The defeat of Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s anti-sodomy, anti-abortion candidate for governor has freaked out a lot of conservatives. Rush Limbaugh’s explanation: that old undead sexist cliché, women want government to take care of them! Oh, and also the Dem candidate appealed to people who desire “all the sex without consequences they wanted.”
The interesting thing is, Limbaugh says it as if sex without consequences is a bad thing. Is it simply a code phrase for “they want insurance to pay for birth control” or is he, as they say, just venting what people are thinking. Because a lot of conservatives do think sex “without consequences” is a baaad thing.
•Lori Gottlieb, a West Coast author, learned from her insurer that she’d have to pay $5,400 more under Obamacare than her old plan, which would certainly be bad. But as noted at LGM, she says nothing about actually checking the California exchange to see if that’s true. And makes several odd statements, such as complaining that if she came down with cancer, she’d be covered despite pre-existing conditions. This is a bad thing? Oh, and while she bitches about paying for other people’s insurance, she was fine getting maternity benefits as long as she needed them and then dropping them (apparently under the illusion none of her insurance premiums would go to anyone else’s maternity care). And according to the LGM comments, she’s much more wealthy than the struggling single Mom she presents herself as (although that said, I don’t blame her for being pissed if she does, in fact, end up paying more).
•Alicublog catches James Taranto complaining that Democrats are equally bigoted whether they support white people or black people. Another conservative (author Andrew Klavan) objects that by not throwing around names like “slut” or “retard” the way conservatives do, liberals actually prove themselves the more eeevil group.
•So eeevil that asking questions about NFL players and the risk of concussions is just part of the evil scheme to castrate American manhood and make us soft!
•Tony Perkins forgets that the Pilgrims were not the same people as the Founding Fathers. And in fact they took a dim view of other peoples’ religious liberties (but then, so does Perkins).
•Texas law makes it harder for women to vote because they change their name after marriage. Which is good for conservatives.
•A Senator declares that gay rights violates the most fundamental beliefs of Christian employers. As Slacktivist says, “Forget the Bible. Forget the creeds. Forget loving God and your neighbor. Screw that Jesus guy. The “very most deeply held” belief, according to Dan Coats, is being anti-gay.” Another example of religion being reduced to pure tribalism.
•Right-wing think-tanker Frank Gaffney claims that registering the poor is “creeping socialism” and “the end of America as we know it” because they’re all moochers. Um, you mean like the Atlanta Braves?