Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) needs our help constructing his new Republican Decoder Dictionary. He asks you to discuss and translate your favorite euphemisms for nasty things Republicans would like to do to working Americans in the comment thread. He will select a few of his favorites and read them, along with the moniker of the blogger who submitted them, on the House Floor.
Congressman Lujan will only read dictionary entries into the House record that are appropriate for that purpose although he promises to personally enjoy all comments, even those that might make his mother blush.
The story is below the fold:
I ran into Congressman Lujan a few days ago at Lowe's Garden Center. He had come home to plant chile and other crops before returning to DC.
"Hey!" he greeted me. "I want the Netroots to help me construct a Republican Dictionary. I'm calling it "The Republican Decoder Project." Can you help me with this?"
"Sure!" I told him, my arms full of Martha Washington geraniums. I agreed to schedule a one-on-one with him later that week at the Espanola Public Library. He'd put in his crop, and then we'd talk.
I showed up at the library as planned and chatted with his aide, Chris Garcia. "Have you decided where you're sending your daughter to school?" asked Chris.
"Iowa," I answered. "Coe College." Upstate NY and other Kossacks had helped us make our decision.
Chris proceeded to tell me a story about campaigning for Bill Richardson in Iowa. He drove hours though a blizzard with two other campaign staffers to meet with a farmer in a rural district who was reputed to control a block of votes. The farmer's wife fed them a huge breakfast upon their arrival at five a.m.
Then the farmer sent them out to feed the pigs. Chris scaled a fence with a bucket of scraps and fell into the pig pen. He scrambled out in time to avoid being charged by an angry sow, but ripped his trousers.
They spent the remainder of the day performing chores on the farm. "Hell," declared the farmer, when they had finished. "I'm a Republican. I don't vote in your primary. But come back for breakfast again soon!"
I went home and shared the story with Chloe. We streamed MSNBC on the internet. They were playing a piece about the far right nature of Republican primaries in Iowa.
Chloe looked at me dubiously. She had just returned from teaching performance poetry to inmates in the jail. "I don't know, Mom," she wondered. "Do you really think I'm going to fit in there?"
Here is Congressman Lujan's first video (followed by transcript) of the "Republican Decoder Dictionary."
TRANSCRIPT
Mr. Speaker, our nation faces serious economic challenges that require solutions that will create jobs and strengthen our economy. At a time when our top priority should be creating jobs for the American people, our Republican Colleagues have lost focus on working families. The House budget that Republicans introduced this morning fails to put Americans on a path to prosperity. Budgets are about priorities and values. And the Republican budget makes the wrong choices for hardworking families.
Let's talk about the Republican Dictionary.
"Premium Support System:" When they talk about premium support systems, they mean vouchers and privatization.
"Pro-growth Changes to the Tax Code:" When they talk about pro-growth changes...in fact, when they talk about anything that's going to change the tax code, they mean more cuts to millionaires and billionaires.
The Republican Plan ends Medicare and Medicaid as we know it by privatizing Medicare. Millions of seniors who rely on this program will be left out in the cold. While its critical that we tighten our belts, we have choices to make. Let's choose not to do it on the backs of our seniors.
Please provide and decode your favorite Republican ad-speak in the comment thread below. Congressman Lujan will read a few out on the House floor and I will share the video in a subsequent diary.
(Remember, while he can't read every comment into the record, he promises to look at all of them, and will try to answer some of them as well!)