The Republican War on Astronauts (and Women)

[bananas]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/24/jose-hernandez-astronaut-title_n_1377389.html

Jose Hernandez's 'Astronaut' Title Challenged By Lawyers In California House Race

The Huffington Post | By Mollie Reilly Posted: 03/24/2012 6:51 pm Updated: 03/24/2012 7:52 pm

A Sacramento law firm has filed a lawsuit challenging Democratic congressional candidate Jose Hernandez's use of the title "astronaut" on the ballot for his House race.

Hernandez, who is challenging freshman Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) to represent California's newly-drawn 10th district, is listed as an "astronaut/scientist/engineer" on the June primary ballot. He traveled as a crew member on the Discovery space shuttle in 2009 before leaving NASA in 2011.

The Fresno Bee reported that the law firm Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk filed the suit on Wednesday, asking a judge in the Sacramento County Superior Court to block Hernandez from using the astronaut title on the ballot on the grounds that "astronaut is not a title one carries for life."

Although Denham's campaign is not affiliated with the suit, the case is undeniably tied to the California GOP. Two of the firm's lawyers named on the suit are Charles Bell Jr., who served as general counsel to the state's Republican party, and Brian Hildreth, who worked for former Gov. Pete Wilson (R), according to the Bee. The firm has also previously done work for Denham's campaign committee, the paper reported.

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NasaWatch has an entry on this, and in the comments section RogerStrong points out:

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2012/03/jose-hernandez-1.html

Let's see what's going on here. Is he running as a Democrat, or as a Republican?

Wikipedia: José Hernández (astronaut)

He's running as a Democrat! So, does this law firm have any Republican ties?
Source Watch: Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP

Yup. More than Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney and Fox News combined. They're also known as the The People Who Brought You The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

They have a history of similar lawsuits against Democratic candidates:

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But let's give this arm of the Republican Party the benefit of the doubt. There's no proof that the lawsuit has anything to do with Hernández running as a Democrat. In fact according to Wikipedia, Hernández developed equipment for full-field digital mammography at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Chances are this lawsuit is merely just part of the Republican War On Women.

[nykym]

1. Wikipedia says

In the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and many other English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an astronaut.

link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut

Guess the gopers are upset because Astronaut has a better ring than Teahadist!

[mike_c]

2. or "hedge fund manager...."

Foreclosure robosigner.

Handicapped supply repo-man.

Slum lord.