Today In The Strange

++ Odd Fact--The GOP has only won presidential elections since 1928 if Richard Nixon or a Bush was on the ticket.

++A NYTimes poll shows that a plurality of Republicans do not want Chris Christie to run for President. 41% no--31% yes. Jeb Bush and Rand Paul are tied at 40% yes. Among Democrats 80% want Hillary Clinton to run.

++Maine's Le Page, Pennsylvania's Corbett and Florida's Scott are the most endangered governors this year.

++Chris Matthews says that Democrats might lose up to 10 seats in the Senate this year. 

++The Issa investigations into the IRS have cost $14 million.

++Rush Limbaugh says that liberals who protest against the Arizona Law are only interested in protecting the rights of Muslims or those who practice Muslimism.

++Louie Gohlmert, the leader of American conservatism, says that the Arizona law is needed in the fight against the "religion of secularism".

++Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has an idea to cut health care costs. He suggests passing a law to allow Emergency Rooms from turning away the ill.

++The House GOP proposes to tweek Obamacare. The CBO says it will throw 1 million off employer plans and add 500,000 to the uninsured and cost the USG $85 billion.

++The House GOP tax reform bill is dead before arrival as Mitch McConnell says the GOP doesn't have time this year for tax reform. He is banking on the GOP taking over the Senate.

++Ohio has restricted early voting ,particularly in areas of the state where African Americans turn out.

++In answering my own question of yesterday about how corporations could be religious. The Arizona Law, in fact, declares that corporations, endowments,and other entities can discriminate because of religious beliefs. So I guess like Hobby Land just declare you are religious.

++Attorney-General Eric Holder told State Attorney-Generals they needn't bother defending bans on same sex marriage. Today, we know why. A Federal judge just overturned Texas' ban on same sex marriage.

++From the sublime to the ridiculous,Bill Kristol says the problems in Syria and the Ukraine are because the United States is in retreat. Andrew Sullivan at The Dish has a response to this. I would just add to Andrew's fine response that when you have 57% of your discretionary budget allocated to defense and you have 800 overseas bases-compared to Russia's 1, and involved in over 100 "hot" conflict areas,this can not be seen as a retreat.

++I guess the GOP wants to get on the scoreboard with the Iran sanctions bill sponsored by AIPAC. Even AIPAC backed away,saying now is not the time. Some of us remember how the GOP has a mischievous history of sabotaging negotiations--Nixon sabotaged LBJ's Vietnam Peace Plan and Reagan undercut Carter's negotiations with Iran over the hostages. So why stop now?