Scozzafavaed
(Pronounced: /skoʊzəfavəd/)
-verb

1. Purged of moderation, e.g., within in a Congressional district
2. Inadvertently revealed internal chaos, e.g., within in a political party
3. Adj., Doomed due to popular support of the GOP electorate

"Dude, you see Glenn Beck talking about how our congressman supports indoctrinating us in the ways of socialism through paper money last night? We need to get him Scozzafavaed."

Could have been worse. Could have been much worse.

(via Talking Points Memo)

The reason should be obvious…

The question of abortion coverage in the health care bill has bedeviled top Democrats for weeks. Under its current language, the measure would allow individuals to purchase policies through a new insurance exchange that would cover abortion procedures.

Getting "abortion" mixed up with "valid legal medical care" is, of course, contrary to everything America stands for. Doesn't anyone have a better idea, one that won't just cater to pro-choice types?

Democratic leaders may turn to compromise language drafted by Rep. Brad Ellsworth, an Indiana Democrat opposed to abortion rights. Ellsworth has proposed using private contractors to pay providers of abortion services – an idea that has come under fire from both supporters and opponents of abortion rights.

Nice work, Rep. Ellsworth! I don't have a dictionary handy, but I'm pretty sure that's the textbook definition of a compromise.

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Lt. Col. Allen West (Ret), who is running for Congress in Florida's 22nd District, released a statement on Friday morning that heavily insinuated that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan — the soldier responsible for the Fort Hood killings — was a Muslim extremist.

"This enemy preys on downtrodden soldiers and teaches them extremism will lift them up," West said, in a statement titled "Terrorists Are Infiltrating Military". "Our soldiers are being brainwashed."…

In releasing his statement, West appears to be the first politician to claim a link between Malik Hasan's shooting rampage and Islamic extremism or terrorism. Reports on the incident aren't 100 percent clear. But they generally suggest that Malik Hasan was acting out of intense stress over a pending deployment to Iraq. That said, authorities have not ruled out that Hasan was acting on the behest of an unidentified radical group. Hasan was a lifelong Muslim who worked at a psychiatric hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

Please bear in mind that Col. West managed to win this award without the use of nearly any pertinent information or time for serious analysis.

The Colbert Report airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30pm / 10:30c.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.

Have the teabaggers discovered sarcasm? Is that possible?

(Via Townhall, which notes that "it's happened to all of us." Fair enough. I'm sure they'd say the same thing if Joe Biden gaffed the words to the Pledge.)

A series of spot interviews suggests that the protesters have come to Washington from all across the country – Texas, Ohio, Oregon and the greater Washington area. It’s a generally older crowd, many in their 50s and 60s, predominantly, white, and many self-identified as Christians. They are fiercely conservative and deeply skeptical of the government, many of them adamantly opposed to abortion rights.

Whoa! They got white conservative Christians and Christian conservative whites! That's a broad coalition they've got there.

Many of the demonstrators, like Judith Garloch of Newark, Ohio, said they were opposed to an increasing government role in the health care. Many said they feared cuts to the Medicare program for Americans 65 and over… But Ms. Garloch, like many in the crowd who while visibly angry could not articulate the main problems in the health care system or how they should be solved.

To be fair, being informed and knowing what you're angry about are not requirements for The Angry Game.

All you need is a sign and a swastika.

I'm speaking, of course, about Mike Huckabee's heartwarming new book, A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit. It's a hot cup of cocoa scented with winter spice potpourri and a dollop of baby Jesus for the real American soul…

Huckabee recounts twelve Christmas memories–often funny, sometimes deeply moving–that range from his childhood in Arkansas to his years as a young husband and father to his time as a governor and then a presidential candidate. These true stories will help you smile, take a deep breath, and maybe slow down your own holiday treadmill. For instance:

As kids, Mike and his sister would sneak open their gifts before Christmas, play with them, then rewrap them so their parents wouldn't notice. The plan worked great for several years until one Christmas morning when young Mike unwrapped a brand-new football… that was covered in mud. That led to a powerful lesson about patience.

Haw haw haw, gosh, I bet it did! You know what else teaches a powerful lesson about patience? Having to wait around for your political career to rise above the level of folksy pundit also-ran.

I bet that story'll be in Huckabee's next book, An Inane Easter: Thirteen Stories that Celebrate the True Values Voter Spirit.