Rowdy's Roundup, with a side of elephant chips

President George W. Bush insists he made the Republican Party what it is today.  "Look, I know this probably sounds arrogant to say," the 43rd president boasts, "but I redefined the Republican Party."  That's just one sweet nugget from former speechwriter Matt Latimer's new book, Tales of a White House Survivor.  About Sarah Palin, Bush is quoted as saying, "I'm trying to remember if I've met her before.  I'm sure I must have.  What is she, the governor of Guam?"  (Presumably, Dubya was jesting.)

Senator Jim DeMint has figured out how to solve the nation's financial woes.  The South Carolina Republican says than instead of regulating Wall Street banks, we should just cut their taxes!  (See how simple it is to fix the economy?)  Wonk Room notes: "Those financial institutions already pay far below the statutory corporate tax rate of 35 percent by taking advantage of myriad tax credits and write-offs, as well as by sheltering income in low-tax (or no-tax) countries.  (Like drones inside a wasps' nest, the Teabaggers hum their assent.)  Arianna Huffington calls Obama's Wall Street speech "well-intentioned but naive."  (I'm thinking this describes the first eight months of his presidency.)

The American Life League claims to be the "largest grassroots Catholic pro-life education organization in the United States."  According to an exclusive report on Raw Story, the non-profit religious group is in violation of the tax code.  

Is there an upside to the Republicans' obstructionism on health care reform?  Some Democrats think so.

You can hear President Obama call Kayne West a jackass here. 

In a 240-179 mostly party line vote, Joe "You Lie" Wilson gets his wrist slapped by the House of Representatives.   

Teen runaway Rifqa Bary's hysterical claims that her parents were going to murder her because she converted to Christianity have been debunked by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  After fleeing from home, the 17-year-old cheerleader became a fresh-minted martyr to evangelicals who never miss an opportunity to screech about religious persecution.  Alas, this time they've placed their bets on the wrong greyhound.  Over at Right Wing Watch, Kyle walks that dog to the corner:  It appears as if just about every claim made by right-wing activists in this case has turned out to be unsubstantiated according the FDLE investigation, which concluded that there is no evidence of any abuse and no indication that she's in danger if she is returned to her Muslim parents in Ohio.  Still, fundies continue to proclaim that Bary's situation is part of a conspiracy to "replace our Constitution and the liberties it enshrines with the brutal and repressive program known as Shariah."  (Sigh.)

A prominent Kentucky politician has been charged in the murder of his fiancé, 29-year-old Amanda Ross.  Republican Steve Nunn, 59, was arrested on Friday by Lexington police at a cemetery where he had apparently gone to commit suicide.  Nunn told authorities that he killed Ross because he "was at the end of his rope and wanted revenge." 

Just when you thought you'd seen every crazy thing the right-wing can come up with...  Think Progress has video of Mr. Hi-Caliber, a lily-white Republican rapper, barking out these lyrics at the 9/12 Washington DC wingnut rally:

We need tanks and hummers, not hybrid cars!
We need honest politicians, not communist czars!
USA, not the USSR.
We need more Ann Coulter and less Bill Maher.
I don’t need another lecture from the Socialistic hypocrite.
Tuesday was your birthday, but where’s your birth certificate?

(Now if that doesn't snag him a Grammy, I don't know what will.)