Vulgar Display of Ignorance

In the hours following the tragic Arizona shootings, many media members have engaged in what can best be described as a vulgar display of ignorance, choosing to play a game of political finger-pointing, rather than simply reporting the facts. Void of any evidence to link the shoot to the Tea Party or any of its affiliates, progressives began an aggressive campaign to link the shooter to the group. Only minutes after news of the shooting broke, several left-leaning figures, including Daily Kos founder, Markos Moullitsas, began posting tweets that seemed to imply that the rhetoric of certain conservative leaders, such as Sarah Palin, could have led to the shootings. As the day progressed and we learned more about the suspect, more and more progressive journalists began to engage in similar tactics, ignoring the facts about the suspect, and instead building on the assertion that conservative rhetoric played some role in causing the senseless act of violence.

Several writers from Slate, including Dave Weigel, New York Times contributor, Heidi Moore, and Wonkette’s Ana Marie Cox all used their Twitter stream to blithely point their fingers at the right for causing the day’s events. Even Pima County Sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, joined in the fray, decrying “rhetoric of hatred, mistrust of governmentt, paranoia about government that inflames public daily, especially unbalanced people.”  Sheriff Dupnik went on to lash out the Arizona state legislature for being too soft on gun control. Thankfully, Fox News’ Megyn Kelly displayed the intestinal fortitude to hold the Sheriff accountable when he appeared on her program.

I understand the human need to try and find some closure when something as horrific as the shooting of Rep. Gabby Gifford occurs. On 9/11, we all asked, “who could do this to us and why?” When you examine the history of the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, you see a young man with a history of exhibiting signs of extreme mental unbalance. The sad fact is that it is a difficult proposition to understand what motivates mentally unbalanced or mentally unstable people and this is what causes so many people distress about this particular case. We may never be able to wrap this case up, place it a box of understanding and prevent a similar event from happening again. It does seem that were will remain some loose ends remaining, even if and when Mr. Loughner is prosecuted. This scares the hell out a lot of people.

For whatever reason, conservatives deal with uncertainty better than progressives. Even the most extreme right-wingers I follow on Twitter refrained from pointing fingers at the Left for this tragedy. In fact, almost all of the conservatives I followed offered their sincere condolences to all those effected and seemed shocked that progressives would attempt to politicize the situation.

While we may never be able to understand the motives behind Saturday’s shooting, or understand why bad things happen to good people, we can do our part to help the country move forward. First, we quit trying to point the finger of blame at political figures we disagree with for causing this tragedy. The only person responsible is the person who pulled the trigger. It’s now in the hands of the judicial system to handle the prosecution. Next, support your elected officials by showing up at their next public meeting in your community. Even if you disagree with their positions, show up, let them know how you about the issues that matter to you, but remember they “are human and need to be loved, just like everybody else”, so leave them with a handshake and a smile. Don’t let this shooting scare you away from being politically active and aware. Finally, find a way to engage in constructive dialogue with those you disagree with politically.

Hate the Game, Not the Playa!

A tweet from Slate caught my eye tonight—@Slate: Ever wonder how much news is created by under 140 characters from @SarahPalinUSA? Introducing the Palin Tweet Index! http://slate.me/gKIhfT . For the past two years, Slate writers have dissected literally every one of the Palin family’s social media mumblings, no matter how mundane. I sometimes wonder if the writers are like the homophobe who tries to shield his true sexual orientation by constantly casting disparaging remarks at other gay people, or do they suffer from something even more pathological.  They certainly obsess over her enough; their site features a “department” called “Palinisms”, which exists solely to memorialize Palin’s speaking snafus. One Slate writer, Jacob Weisberg, even published an entire book on the subject.

Let’s be clear, pundits on the right are guilty of equally egregious ad hominem attacks on progressive figures. If you ever have the misfortune of landing on an ABC radio affiliate in the afternoon, you will hear Sean Hannity and Mark Levin try with every ounce of their being to come up with some utterly juvenile nickname for Democratic politicians. Indeed, Hannity and Levin spend far more time name-calling than addressing real issues. Similarly, the right-wing blogs focus a majority of their attention in attacking the character of adversarial politicians.

Politics evoke emotions and these emotions are sometimes hard to channel constructively, yet we must if we ever want engage in positive political dialogue. This does not mean we need to cave-in on issues. On the contrary, we should be even more vociferous on the issues. Debating the issues requires us to examine an opposing point of view and rationally construct a rebuttal. It is how we nurture and grow our democracy. When we focus our attention instead on the PEOPLE we disagree with, we function a little less like our “founding fathers” intended and a little more like the rest of the world.

Searching for the political Cool Hand Luke

In the movie Cool Hand Luke, Luke Jackson serves time in a Florida prison work camp. From the moment he is introduced to the camp, Luke establishes himself as a fiercely independent spirit, challenging the authority of  the prison guards and refusing to accept the heirarchy of power among the prisoners established prior to his arrival.  One of the movies most memorable moments occurs when Luke (Paul Newman) challenges Dragline (George Kennedy), the self appointed leader among the band of prisoners,  to a prison yard fight.

Dragline uses his size and strength to pummel Luke. However, each time Dragline knocks Luke to the ground, he rises back up to take the next round of punches. At first, the other prioners cheer the fight on, but after a while they begin to see the extent of the beating and encourage Luke to either stay down or start bleeding so that the guards will stop the fight.  Luke refuses, rises to his feet and attempts a weak swing at Dragline who picks Luke up and throws him over his shoulder like a sack of potatos. When Dragline puts Luke down, he takes another swing at Dragline’s face. Dragline looks at Luke tells him “you’re beat” and to “stay down,” but Luke rises back up, as Dragline walks away.

Later that night, Luke manages to win most of the money in camp by bluffing his way through a hand in poker. Dragline looks at Luke and makes the comparison of the way Luke continued to fight him with “nothing” to the way he won a big hand in poker with “nothing.” This prompts Luke to issue one of the most famous lines in movie history, “…sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.” As the movie progresses, we see Luke defy the authority of the prison guards and that of Captain, seeking to escape from both the literal and metaphorical chains they attach to him, refusing to allow the authority of the prison camp establishment intimidate him.

When I think of Cool Hand Luke, I’m reminded of what the Republican Party currently needs. In the current political clime, Barack Obama plays the role of Captain. Indeed, you can almost hear the words, “what we have here is failure to communicate,” coming out of Obama’s mouth. The prison guards represent Obama’s lackeys in the Democratic Party–Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, etc. Dragline represents the current “leaders” in the Republican Party–John McCain, Sarah Palin, Lindsey Graham. The other prisoners represent the Republican Party and Luke represents the figure the Republican Party lacks.

Yes, the Republican Party needs their own Luke, someone willing to challenge the authority of the political establishment, someone willing to challenge the Captain and his guards, someone willing to take the punches from those in the Republican Party who will tell him or her, “we’re beat, stay down.”  The Republican Party needs politicians,not with policy, but with swagger. The Republicans need someone to energize their party with their dissidence.

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) understands this, but lacks the eloquence to properly express this philosophy.  Asking a political party to take lessons from a Paul Newman movie is far less controversial than asking a political party to take lessons from the Taliban. I might not agree with everything Sessions says, but I admire his bravado nonetheless. Earlier in the week, Sessions called out Barack Obama, saying that Obama wants to “inflict damage and hardship on the free enterprise system, if not kill it.”  After that remark, members of Sessions own party played the role of Dragline, distancing themselves from Sessions comments, submitting to the authority of the Democratic leadership.

Instead of standing up beside Sessions, lambasting Obama for his contempt of the private sector, accepting the punishment the White House would surely throw their way, the Republican leadership tucked their tails between their legs and said they did not agree with Sessions. They chose to cut and run, instead of staying and fighting.

We have seen this same cowardice since 2000. Every Republican politician has marched in line with the leadership at top. Every now and then, a few Republican politicians will have a moment of clarity and take a stand like Sessions; however, none of them go far enough.

For example, when Sessions made his accusations about Obama’s attempt to “kill” capitalism, he could have launched into a speech against socialism and took a chance to criticize many in his own party. 

The Republicans taxed and spent the past 8 year like there was no tomorrow and tried to force the government in arenas where the government has no business (gay marriage, Terry Schiavo, etc.). Yes, the few remaining Republicans in Congress are just like their Democrat counterparts. In the words of Bon Jovi, “it’s all the same/only the names have changed.” 

As much as I hate the Democratic Party, the Republican Party is actually more puzzling to me. Why is that they continue to push issues that many, if not most, Americans see as products of bigotry and misogyny. You don’t win elections by telling people “we think this group of people should have these rights, but not these.” They’re free to believe that, but don’t try to legislate it.

The best way for Republicans to win elections is to focus on the economy. “I’ll cut your taxes. I’ll decrease regulation of your business. I’ll let you make as much money as you want and spend that money the way that you want. Other than that, do what you want, just remember your rights end at your nose.” 

Instead, Republicans vote with Democrats on raising taxes, increasing government spending, using the government as a vehicle to fix mistakes made by the private sector. Let us not forget, a Republican president started the Federal bail out program. Three Republican Senators voted in favor of the Federal stimulus program. No wonder the Republican Party is at rock bottom, right now, it has no backbone to support it. Hopefully, before too long, the Republican Party will find it’s Cool Hand Luke and throw a wrench in the Democrats plan to turn the United States into a European socialist state.

How the election returns might have played out at the Clinton household…

I think we’re all curious as to how Hillary and Bill really feel today. Perhaps, it played out like this last night at their household:

(Scene opens in Clinton living room. Bill sits in a recliner, cigar in mouth, glass of Scotch on table. Bill flips through the channels on a big screen TV, stopping briefly on Cinemax, removing the cigar from his mouth and leaning towards the TV and grabbing his glass of Scotch.)

 

Bill: Well, alright, alright…that’s what I’m talking about. Tap that ass Mr. Postman!

 (After about 30 seconds, Bill leans back into his chair, returns the glass to the table and puts the cigar back in his mouth. He flips over to MSNBC, just as they are calling Ohio for Obama. Chris Matthews is there talking to Keith Olbermann in the background …’Well Keith, I’ve got the tingling sensation in my leg again’)

 Bill: Hil, come in here babe. You need to see this.

 (Bill takes out his BlackBerry to check a message…’Joe Lieberman gave me your number, said you told him it was ok if I called. Thought I would txt you first to make sure she is not around. Would love to chat more, luv Sarah’  Bill types back a response, ‘Nows not good. The bitch is back.. TTYL. ‘ )

 Hillary: Who are you talking to?

 Bill: What are you talking about baby?

 Hillary: The Blackberry? I saw you typing a message.

 Bill: Oh, that? That’s nothing, sweetie. That was ol Carville just e-mailing me about our fantasy football league. I’m in first heading into this next week.

 Hillary: Whatever. You make me sick you fat piece of ….

 Bill: Baby, sit down

 Hillary: Don’t you “baby” me you stupid piece of shit….

 Bill: Baby, sit down. They just called Ohio for him.

 Hillary: For him who?

 Bill: For.. “that one”?

 Hillary: What? What did you say?

 (Bill points to the TV. Hillary turns red, grabs glass of Scotch off of table and hurls towards the TV. She runs towards the windows ripping the curtains off the wall. She picks up a vase in the corner and hurls it towards Bill. It shatter on the wall behind him. )

 Bill: Chill…Hil!

 Hillary: (as she approaches Bill in the recliner) This is all your libido’s fault. You caused this. You ruined my shot.

 Bill: Baby, watch the leather. Watch the leather. (adjusts in the seat and puts his cigar out in ashtray) This is just a temporary set back. I’ll make some calls tomorrow and we’ll start working towards the future.

 Hillary: Calls? You’ll make some calls? Who in the hell are you going to call? That bald Cajun friend of yours? He’s probably at a Playboy convention. Lanny Davis? A lot of good he did me as my campaign officer.

 Bill: I’ll take care of it. Now you come over here, you know I get all warm inside when you get firey like that…

 Hillary: Get your hands off me. You…you…MAN. You and HIM have ruined my life and destroyed my destiny. <slaps Bill and starts to beat him. She then notices a hanger on the couch, she points to it and asks…> What’s that? Is that a….

 Bill: Look babe, the new guy was the one who went to cleaners today. He doesn’t know any better.

 Hillary: (She begins to unload on Bill again with one hand as she reaches for the hanger with the other hand) Oh, “he doesn’t know any better?” Is that his excuse? You tried to pull that shit with Monica, that shit ain’t going to fly with me. You’re back in Hillary-wood now. (She takes on the personality of Joan Crawford as she issues the following) I told you, no more WIRE HANGERS. (she begins to beat Bill with the wire hanger) You, Obama and all other men are exactly the same and I am sick and tired of it.

 Bill: (reaches for the remote and does the only thing he knows to do, turns the DVD player on) Hey look, the L Word is on… (Amazingly, Hillary immediately drops the hanger and plops on the couch. Bill sneaks out into the kitchen takes out his Blackberry and lights another cigar. He begins to compose a text message. “Sarah, Bitch is gone, was wondering if you wanted to get together for band practice. You on flute, me on se.<Bill hits backspace and begins over> sax. Holla’ back. Bill….and SCENE!)

St. Louis, Missouri Vice-Presidential Debate

I could sit here and analyze the Palin/Biden debate like a million other blogs, but if you have read or plan on reading any of my other posts you know where I stand and can probably predict what I will say.  With that said, I’ll spare you an in depth analysis. However, I would like to say that calling these  head-to-head meetings, “debates,” seriously cheapens the meaning of the word.

What we saw tonight and last Friday night do not even begin to resemble a debate. These are televised opportunities for the candidates to talk about their past, vaguely refer to the future and to demonize their opponent. At no time do the candidates ever come close to fully answering or even acknowledging the moderator’s questions. The American public would be well served if strict debate rules were enforced at least once every campaign season.

Moving forward, I finally figured out what discourages me the most about the McCain/Palin campaign. At several points during tonight’s debate and during the Presidential debate last Friday night, both Palin and McCain had the perfect opportunity to distance themselves totally from the Bush administration, but both times they failed to so.

Let’s face the facts, the past eight years have been an extreme failure. I can agree with the Obama/Biden campaign on that issue. However, we disagree on how to move on and repair the damages done over this time period. The Obama/Biden answer is, simply put, more government and more taxes. I still don’t understand how raising the taxes on someone who makes over $250,000.00 is going to help out my bank account.

The McCain/Palin campaign had the perfect opportunity to step back and say, we agree that the past eight years have been bad. What this country needs is a return to the basics–personal responsibility, smaller government, lower taxes, responsible foreign policy. As a government, they need to worry about their Constituionally prescribed duties and stop worrying about things not contained in that document. 

George W. Bush and Obama represent what the Republican Party is not. The McCain campaign would benefit by showing how Bush betrayed the basic principles of conservatism, limited Federal government, and fiscal responsibility. George W. Bush betrayed the United States and he betrayed the Republican Party. Palin should have said, “we aim to restore the United States by reducing the role of government in your life and the life of your business.” That, gentle reader, is the way to counter the Obama campaign and distance from the Bush campaign. Much more tomorrow…

The Daily Kos

Over the course of the past week, I have listened and watched as many of the major media outlets in our nation tried to attack Sarah Palin, especially the New York Times and the various television networks owned by NBC.  These obviously biased media outlets decided to run with less-than accurate leads and ended up having to retract some of their stories.

Though never directly tied to any of these stories, the media often passed the blame of these malicious stories off to the “blogosphere”, specifically the Daily Kos. I originally discovered the Daily Kos during the 2004 general election. Like many, I wanted change in the White House and the progressive media was hyped up about this new progressive blog. I checked it out and found it all a bit boring.

Over the next few years, as the Daily Kos became a larger part of the political landscape, I would visit the site from time to time, just to get a feel of what topics were being discussed. I never put much stock in the website, even as an idealistic, self-described “progressive” in college.

I decided to revisit the Daily Kos this week and what I found was quite telling. When Phil Gramm made the statement that the United States had become a “nation of whiners,” he spoke of the people involved with the Daily Kos, and those who support it. For example, look at this discussion involving the Wednesday night festivities at the Republican National Convention.

Several of the Kos readers/responders attack Palin, comparing her to the “popular girl” in high school, which says a lot about them. These are the people who got picked on in high school. They were never able to reconcile this and still live with the scars of being a loser, so they remain losers.

They’re like the kids I played football with on the playground. They provided the new, fancy Nerf football, but when things didn’t go their way, they took their ball and went kicking and screaming to the teachers, “they’re not playing fair.” In life, when things don’t go their way, they go and bitch and moan to the government, “They make more money than me. Boo! Tax them, tax them, make it fair Daddy Government, make it fair!” That’s why they admire Barack Obam; he promises to take from those who have more and give it to those who have less–classic redistribution of wealth.

Thoughts on the RNC…

If the Republicans could some how capture Wednesday night, package it and open it every day from now until the election, they would be in good shape. In addition to the energizing speeches from former presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani, Governor Sarah Palin delivered one of the most energizing speeches in political convention history, a moment watched by over 40 million Americans–that’s more people than watched John McCain or Barack Obama’s speeches and more people than watched the season finale of American Idol. 

Palin seems to be exactly what the Republicans needed–a strong conservative voice with small town roots  who provides a historic alternative to the Obama/Biden ticket. Yet, I’m reminded of Barack Obama’s 2004 Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention.  John Kerry followed that speech the next night with a lackluster speech that spilled into the general and ultimately led to his demise. Democrats recognized Obama as the future and they liked the future a lot more than the present, as a result voter turn out was low and Bush won.

I fear the same thing could happen to the Republicans this year. McCain did nothing to generate excitment in me. Sure, I’ll end up voting for him because I don’t want the United States to end up like a European country, but I’ve probably voted in more Presidential elections than Obama and I’m only 30. In short, you vote for the top of the ticket, not the VP or the keynote speaker. Yes, Palin will help, but it might not be enough. Regardless, the Republicans have found the face of the future of the Party.

Palin’s alleged Pentecostal roots worry me a bit. I desperately hoped that the Republican Party would learn some lessons from the disastrous Bush administration–chief among them, the need to break from the radical religious wing of the party. Watching the RNC this week was like watching a Gaither Family Homecoming concert, not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was waiting for Bill Gaither to join Fred Thompson on stage and lead the delegates in a chorus of “He Touched Me.” Let me be clear, I’m not suggesting that Bill Gaither is a religious radical–I like Bill Gaither–but there is a perception among many in our country that the Republican Convention is more like religious crusade. In order to win future elections, we, as Republicans, must distance ourselves from the religious radicals in our party as they do not honor the core value–limited Federal government–of our Party.

Another example of how things haven’t changed came from the Left.  Apparently, the bands Heart and Van Halen are pissed at the McCain/Palin ticket for using their music at the Republican National Convention. I aim not to debate the legal aspects of the bands’ claims, but to instead point out how pathetic it is of them to bitch and moan about the Republicans using their music. If you have problems with their political views, issue a statement that says “while they may use our music, this is by no means an endorsement on our part of their campaign.” Instead, we get, “you think differently than me, therefore you cannot use my music.” It proves just how whiney liberals can be and it proves just how dependant upon government they are, threatening to use the court system to seek retributions. Give me a break!

Ode to Escalators: Avoiding the Obvious!

With my love of politics, I should blog about Sarah Palin’s rivoting speech tonight at the Republican Convention. However, I feel I need more time to let Governor Palin’s words seep in before issuing a critique. Let’s just say that I’m glad to see someone else step up and confront Barack Obama head-on.

Instead, I thought tonight I would lighten the mood a bit and discuss something that has been on my mind for a while. Escalators!

Yes, on this historical night, I choose to talk about escalators over politics. After all, though I may not agree with his fascist politics, I can understand Barack Obama. He’s a college student that never grew up, something I tried to do until I turned 27. However, I still cannot understand the point in moving stairs.

In order to get from my parking garage to my office building, I have to use at least two sets of escalators, and three if I choose to get breakfast on the way to work. I’m a fast paced guy who doesn’t like wasting time in transit. If I have some place to be, I want to get there as quickly as possible. Ironically, it is this apparatus invented to ease movement, that hiniders mine and slows me down.

First, no matter where I am, if I get on an escalator, I get behind people who refuse to move faster than the stairs. They seem content to move at the snail’s pace escalators are designed to transport us and no matter how hurried I may look, how loud I may huff and puff, these people aren’t going to move an inch faster than the stairs will allow.

This brings me back to my original question. Why do we need escalators?

Would it not make more sense, and be far more healthy, to have stationary stairs instead of escalators? In this litigious age of the Americans With Disabilities Act, almost all of our buildings and public places are designed either with elevators or other means for handicaped individuals to move around a particular area. Anyone physically unable to use stairs would have an alternative and even the extremely lazy would have a way out of burning calories, but for those of us who like to buy a cup of coffee on the walk to work and get to our desks before that cup gets cold, the path would be free of at least one obstacle.

Seriously, is there something I missing with escalators?