Randi Rhodes: GOP Death Lust

HOUR TWO GUEST: Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on his 2012 campaign to get back into Congress, the GOP death lust that's been on display, the President's jobs plan, etc.

Rick Perry’s execution obsession just feeds the worst in people. And the people we’re talking about are Tea Party people, so you’re talking about feeding the worst in people… in the worst people. Texas executes four more times as many prisoners as any other state. The list of the leading causes of death in the state of Texas should include Rick Perry. I think that more people are executed in Texas than die of natural causes in a lot of states… including maybe Texas. Texas executes so many people by lethal injection that I’m sure the amount of lethal drugs used actually increases pharmaceutical company profits. Wow. Maybe that’s what behind all this. Somebody check and see if those drugs they give prisoners to kill them are made by Merck.

Lawrence O’Donnell said last night that Rick Perry is more of a follower of Pontius Pilate than he is of Jesus. Worse, actually. At least Pontius Pilate tried to wash his hands of the blood. Rick Perry wears blood like a badge of honor. Rick Perry and Pontius Pilate have at least one other thing in common. Both of them ruled for a long time over an arid land, and pretty much wrecked it economically and socially.

On yesterday’s show we told you about Kent Snyder, the 2008 campaign chairman for Ron Paul, who died without health insurance and left behind $400,000 in unpaid medical bills, which is basically Ron Paul’s definition of “freedom.” Snyder’s family set up a website for donations, and tapped into Ron Paul’s list of donors to try and pay off the bill. Well, it turns out that Ron Paul supporters are pretty stingy with everything… except sanctimonious advice. They were only able to raise a grand total of $34,870.53 towards paying that $400,000 debt. I’ll save you from doing the math—in percentage terms, that’s what mathematicians call “diddly squat.” They raised 8 percent of the money they needed—and that’s with all of Ron Paul’s connections. Of course, when you get right down to it, those are all the people who don’t give a crap about anybody else. I don’t want to draw too many conclusions from this, but my take is that, when it comes to deciding how to provide healthcare in this country, “pass the hat” is not an option.

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