About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Latest Entries

Actions Menu

Blog Roll

Other Links

Three Rings and a Sideshow
Author: BobR    Date: 08/12/2011 12:26:31

Last night was yet another Republican presidential debate. It was apparently quite the show (I didn't have the stomach to watch most of it). Like any circus, though, sometimes it's the sideshow that's more entertaining. But first - the main event:

There were plenty of contentious moments: Bachmann and Pawlenty were both trying to be THE candidate from Minnesota... Gingrich took a cue from Sarah Palin and blamed the "gotcha" media (the exchange actually caused the crowd to boo Chris Wallace for asking "tough" questions)... Santorum "came out" as the anti-states-rights candidate. And then there was Ron Paul teaching Santorum a little history lesson about Iran (this is one part I DID see):
“Iran is not iceland, Ron,” Santorum insisted. “Iran is a country that has been at war with us since 1979. Iran has killed more American men and women in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan than the Iraqis and Afghans have.”

“The senator is wrong on his history,” Paul interrupted. “We’ve been at war in Iran for a lot longer than ’79. We started it in 1953… the blow-back came in 1979 because we don’t mind our own business. That’s our problem!

I found myself agreeing with Paul on his foreign policy thoughts. That's dangerous, because he's such a John Bircher in so many other ways.

NOT at the debate were two members of the side-show: TX Governor Rick Perry and media personality Sarah Palin. Perry essentially "leaked" the news that he definitely will announce whether he's running on Saturday. This is the same sort of will-he-or-won't-he gamesmanship that Gingrich was using to pad his pockets (until he made the fatal mistake of actually running). Sarah Palin, however, is still running towards the cameras, wherever they might be. Iowans - lock up your corn.

Meanwhile: in campaign stops, Romney actually said on camera that corporations are people, which should strike a chord with all the farmers and people treated like replaceable meat cogs in the corporate machinery... Also, Rick Santorum essentially said that abortion is more traumatizing than rape, letting rapists off the hook and condemning women to carry their rapist's child to term.

Delving deeper into the bizarre, we have Mother Jones magazine revealing a long lost "documentary" in which then-education-activist Michelle Bachmann warned "Americans about a coming second Holocaust brought on by the U.S. public education system". Anytime a politician uses the term "holocaust" to describe anything that isn't an actual genocide (or maybe even more specifically THE holocaust) should be forced to watch several hours of footage from WWII concentration camps.

Of course - what's a campaign without celebrity endorsements? Hermain Cain got a thumbs up from Vanilla Ice, which is at once hilarious, ironic, absurd, and irrelevant. Bachmann was given some moral support by Miss America. Which of these two is more ridiculous? You decide.

The most astounding thing about all of this is that these are the front-runners. These are the candidates for the Republican party to become president of the United States. Every one of them is fatally flawed in some way, in some cases to the core of their party, and in some cases to the overall voters. There is not an inspiring statesman among them.

But - it does make for entertaining theatre, and easy pickings for the snark. Pass the popcorn.
 

42 comments (Latest Comment: 08/12/2011 21:54:39 by BobR)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati

Add a Comment

Please login to add a comment...


Comments:

Order comments Newest to Oldest  Refresh Comments

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 12:41:32
Morning

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 13:24:05
*does cartwheels through blog library and lounge*

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 13:28:53
*rummages through blog kitchen makes choclate milk and chocolate chip pecan pancakes*

Comment by BobR on 08/12/2011 13:33:23
blog is up


Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 13:34:15
Who made the mess in the kitchen?

Comment by Scoopster on 08/12/2011 13:35:09
Mornin' all & Happy Fridee!

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 13:35:39
What mess? It was like that when I got here. *hides escaped chocolate chips behind flour cannister*

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 13:36:34
Quote by wickedpam:
What mess? It was like that when I got here. *hides escaped chocolate chips behind flour cannister*


I was talking about that coco powder over here.....

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 13:40:15
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
What mess? It was like that when I got here. *hides escaped chocolate chips behind flour cannister*


I was talking about that coco powder over here.....



ummmm - nestle's quick bunny?

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 13:47:53
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
What mess? It was like that when I got here. *hides escaped chocolate chips behind flour cannister*


I was talking about that coco powder over here.....



ummmm - nestle's quick bunny?

http://www.tvacres.com/images/nesquik_bunny.jpg


Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 14:24:37
uh oh the nestle quik bunny killed the blog

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 14:32:14
Well Herman Cain has got that nomination locked up! An endorsement from a washed up, flash-in-pan has been, He has Joementum!

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 14:37:53
what is that from?

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 14:40:18
Will!

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 14:40:56
At least I hope that's our Will

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 14:48:25
BTW morning peeps.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 08/12/2011 14:51:51
Good morning, bloggers!! That is not me on with Steph.

As for the debate, I am reminded of a line from Macbeth -- "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing."

With John "The Wild Huntsman" Huntsman in the race, maybe the candidates can form a band. I suggest the name They Might Be Gas Giants or They Might Be Munchkins.

The hatred of those of different faiths, the hatred of undocumented workers, and the appeal to fear of those who differ with them politically brings to mind a song by They Might Be Giants.



Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 14:56:05
oops

Comment by Will in Chicago on 08/12/2011 14:57:04
Quote by wickedpam:
At least I hope that's our Will


Will has a deeper voice, and sounds like he has a bit of a New England accent at times. (Ask Raine.)

Another They Might Be Giants Song is appropriate to describe the anger of the GOP candidates.



Comment by Will in Chicago on 08/12/2011 15:01:43
Pam, if you want to hear my voice try Arizona at Work -- 08-03-11, where at the half hour mark I discuss the topic of yesterday's blog in its earlier form. (I added more on Breivik's views and more on Paul Weyrich, who went from founder of the Heritage Foundation to even more extreme views.) The main topic of the show is a discussion with the Reverend Dr. Kenneth B. Cragg on his new book, “Christians and Muslims: From History to Healing.”

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 15:11:35
Off to my half day Fridee.

Comment by wickedpam on 08/12/2011 15:14:46
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Pam, if you want to hear my voice try Arizona at Work -- 08-03-11, where at the half hour mark I discuss the topic of yesterday's blog in its earlier form. (I added more on Breivik's views and more on Paul Weyrich, who went from founder of the Heritage Foundation to even more extreme views.) The main topic of the show is a discussion with the Reverend Dr. Kenneth B. Cragg on his new book, “Christians and Muslims: From History to Healing.”



I shall bookmark for later listening

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 15:19:04
Mondo? Are you here? Did you DM me on the twitter -- with some strange link ( that I am nervous about opening)

Comment by livingonli on 08/12/2011 15:48:49


Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 15:49:12
Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 15:51:12
Quote by livingonli:
Good morning everyone. I couldn't watch that freak show last night especially since it would have meant watching Fox News so I watched LeftNeckChick and Shane-O's snarkfest and followed the twitter feed where John Fugelsang put up some good stuff.

I got a similar DM from Mondo the other day and McAffee identified the link as malicious. He says his twitter account wasn't hacked but that was weird.
Thanks for that info Liv-- I had a feeling it was a sketchy link. Mondo doesn't send sketchy links.

I streamed parts of the Debate online -- it was positively wretched. I nearly threw up when Santorum said that fetus were the innocent victims of rape.



Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 15:58:43
Quote by Raine:
Mondo? Are you here? Did you DM me on the twitter -- with some strange link ( that I am nervous about opening)


No, I didn't. I don't think the account is hacked. I locked it down last night changed my passwords, did a deep scan. No malware found. Nothing out of the ordinary in my stream for DMs. No weird tweets. I think it is some kind of spoofing

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 15:59:40
Quote by Raine:
Mondo? Are you here? Did you DM me on the twitter -- with some strange link ( that I am nervous about opening)



I've gotten the same spammy DM from some of my Minions as well.

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 16:24:23
Well if you haven't yet, change your Twitter password. I'm deleting that DM. Thanks guys!

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 16:35:31
Quote by Raine:
Well if you haven't yet, change your Twitter password. I'm deleting that DM. Thanks guys!


Indeedy, I already did the change. Twitter does seem to have issues.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 08/12/2011 16:40:19
It is a bit late in the week for this, but you might want to read what Drew Westen wrote in the New York Times on Sunday.

What Happened to Obama's Passion?

The president should, I think, communicate a bit better and expose the GOP agenda. He should remember that he has the world's largest bully pulpit.

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 16:43:53
I'd really like for you guys to read this. This is just so good. I'm gonna post just a scoche here:
(snip) White progressives often think that African American elected officials are politically naive. We will far more credit to Cornel West, who has never been elected to anything, than to an elected state senator, or even the President of the United States. We think that Obama does not understand the nature of John Boehner, Mitch McConnell or Eric Cantor, as though he has not sat across the table from them. He doesn’t understand how mean they are, we think.

Obama acts entirely within the tradition of mainstream African American political strategy and tactics. The epitome of that tradition was the non-violence of the Civil Rights Movement, but goes back much further in time. It recognizes the inequality of power between whites and blacks. Number one: maintain your dignity. Number two: call your adversaries to the highest principles they hold. Number three: Seize the moral high ground and Number four: Win by winning over your adversaries, by revealing the contradiction between their own ideals and their actions. It is one way that a oppressed people struggle.

Obama has taken a seat at the negotiating table and said “There is no reason why we cannot work out solutions to our problems by acting like responsible adults. That is what people expect us to do and that is why we have entered into public service.” That is the moral high ground.

Honestly, I have been reminded more than once in the last few months of those brave college students sitting in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter, back in the day. Obama sits at that table, like they did at the counter. Boehner and McConnell and Cantor clown around, mugging for the camera, competing to ritually humiliate Obama, to dump ketchup on his head.

I don’t think those students got their sandwiches the first day, but they won in the end. (snip)



Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 16:46:20
Quote by Raine:
Just a little more RW hypocrisy....

Anti-gay Indiana state rep solicited 18-year-old boy on Craigslist



I love the last quote from the self-hating gay Republican, "You've ruined me!" Good! I say.

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 16:48:19
Quote by Will in Chicago:
It is a bit late in the week for this, but you might want to read what Drew Westen wrote in the New York Times on Sunday.

What Happened to Obama's Passion?

The president should, I think, communicate a bit better and expose the GOP agenda. He should remember that he has the world's largest bully pulpit.
I winced reading that article. I've Met Dr. Westin -- he is a good person and I usually agree with him, I can't say that I totally disagree with his opinion either.

As a coincidence, I think what I just posted is a very interesting alternative view.

Lemme see if I can find something very interesting that I read about Westen's article and the people that refuted it. be right back.

(goodness I love this little blog. )


Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 17:00:17
I found it! ( a rarity for me, considering how many things I read in a day. )
Drew Westen's recent critique of Barack Obama's presidency and Jonathan Chait's devastating rebuttal raise a question for me: what matters more in politics, messaging or mechanics? In Westen's much-discussed New York Times piece, rhetoric and positioning are key: Obama's failings are fundamentally driven by bad messaging, weak leadership and a failure of conviction. Bullshit, suggests Chait: Obama has in fact "used exactly the kind of rhetoric Westen accuses him of refusing to deploy," but structural and practical obstacles like "special interest lobbying, the filibuster, macroeconomic conditions, not to mention certain settled beliefs of public opinion" can defeat the loftiest of presidential speeches.

Regardless of where you come down on Chait's critique of Westen's thesis (I'm mostly siding with Chait), it suggests another angle of analysis: most punditry, particularly of the blog and cable news variety, focuses on the messaging side of politics. What narrative is a politician pushing? What's the content of his or her speeches and advertising? Who is judged to be winning the rhetorical war of the moment? On the occasions when the mechanics of winning an election do get discussed, it's typically in the context of fundraising, which in turn matters mostly because it pays for television advertising.
There is a lot more at the link. I found both sides -- actually all three sides VERY thought provoking.

This morning, I went to the store, and as I usually do, I was listening to a WTOP radio segment today with Mark Plopkin ( Sp.?) and he was actually going on a really good riff about something similar to this. He took a question from a woman about the super commission -- she was clearly a liberal. His response was interesting: He was basically saying that a big problem is people focus more on personality/people over the real problems we have to solve.

It's a really interesting thought. Do people want a personality of Obama -- or do they want to solve the very real problems? I'm knocking nothing. I know what issues I really believe in -- but I have to wonder -- MEssage or mechanics? What is more important?

(this might be a blog post in the near future... )

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 17:22:21
Also the Show I was listening to this morning has been uploaded, you can listen here.

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 17:35:45
I flumped a lot of stuff on das blog -- at lunchtime -- Never a good eyedear.

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 18:43:55
I got to see something really cool on my way home from work yesterday. I was almost to my house and I saw the brown and gray streak swooping out of the sky. It was a hawk that had spotted a bit of prey in my neighbor's front yard. It was kinda awesome. Thank you for letting me share.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 08/12/2011 19:52:15
Hi, Raine!!

I do think a discussion of messaging and mechanics would prove fruitful. I think that there is room to work on both. (We should not just depend on the GOP to suffer foot in mouth disease a la Romney and Bachman.)

Mondo, I was driving recently and saw a hawk fly from the ground to a tree less than a mile in my house.

Comment by Mondobubba on 08/12/2011 19:56:58
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Hi, Raine!!

I do think a discussion of messaging and mechanics would prove fruitful. I think that there is room to work on both. (We should not just depend on the GOP to suffer foot in mouth disease a la Romney and Bachman.)

Mondo, I was driving recently and saw a hawk fly from the ground to a tree less than a mile in my house.


Will, I agree on the messaging stuff. The GOP is great with the messaging stuff. They are consistently on point. much more than us Democrats/progressives/liberals. We really need to work on it. Pelosi, etc (thanks Howard Dean) were more on point in 2006 durring the elections than any other time I can think of in recent memory. We need to get back to that and expand, expand, expand!

See predators doing what they do is both thrilling and scary, Will.

Comment by Raine on 08/12/2011 20:30:42
Quote by Mondobubba:
Will, I agree on the messaging stuff. The GOP is great with the messaging stuff. They are consistently on point. much more than us Democrats/progressives/liberals. We really need to work on it. Pelosi, etc (thanks Howard Dean) were more on point in 2006 durring the elections than any other time I can think of in recent memory. We need to get back to that and expand, expand, expand!

See predators doing what they do is both thrilling and scary, Will.
You are not going to like this, but I am gonna say it anyway --

the 50 state strategy was brilliant -- and devastating. (devastating I thin because it was not followed up -- by Rham.)

it was that strategy that got us a majority -- yes. IT was also that strategy that breought a lot of blue dogs -- That left it to Nancy Pelosi to herd cats.

As an Aside -- I no longer believe the GOP runs in lock step with messaging. What they do however is this: They throw people out when they hear something the rabid arm of the party doesn't like.

They are squeezing themselves out of existence. I don't want to see that happen to my party. That is why the cumulation of the Westen article coupled with the others posted here today are so facisnating.

I spoke with Bobber abotu this this afternoon, and he tends to lean towards the personality over the mechanics. I agree to a certain extent -- especially when a person uses that personality to manipulate the mechanics.

It's quite thought provoking to me.

(Now, I am going to the blog kitchen to have some of the Chocolate milk mala made.)

Comment by BobR on 08/12/2011 21:54:39
Quote by Will in Chicago:
It is a bit late in the week for this, but you might want to read what Drew Westen wrote in the New York Times on Sunday.

What Happened to Obama's Passion?

The president should, I think, communicate a bit better and expose the GOP agenda. He should remember that he has the world's largest bully pulpit.

this might be a rebuttal

Show All

Rev 3.7; Copyright � 2007-2017 by BobberBlogs�