Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The President Engages Us...
While I certainly understand some amount of anger towards Obama regarding his recent, "Special Olympics" comment, it stands to reason that the most "outraged" aren't actual Special Olympians, but the Rightwing Attack Machine, (RAM). You see, Conservatives can't differentiate between a joke and political commentary, that's why they assume, that Rush Limbaugh is a "political commentator". When Rush ridicules a person with Parkinson's disease as "acting", nothing out of the conservative base. When "El Rushbo" says feminism is for "unattractive women" to get ahead, crickets in the conservative corner. BUT, when the President makes a disparaging comment about his bowling game, the Faux-Rage from the RAM goes into overdrive. While seeming to have no sympathy for minorities, women, or others in general, all of a sudden the conservatives are the champions of the mentally handicapped...sorry but we're not falling for it.
While many in the RAM derided the President just for going on a television show, the reality is that this is why the American people hired Obama. An easy going, open communicator with the American people, isn't this what a president is supposed to do? While I do think Leno is a D-bag, the president's accessibility is exceptional. By being on TV, by talking to the citizens, he emplores us to become more involved with our government, creating knowledge about our government. The president is engaging us, he is meeting us were we relax, (Leno), and play, (NCAA B-ball), there is no shame in this. The last president we had only came out of his hole when he had to, (and given his response to Katrina, not even when he had to), Barack is changing what it means to be a representative of the people. By using the technology of TV, internet and email, the president is speaking directly to more people than any other president in history, bringing sunlight to a darkened oval office...
Again I would like to than ArtMaggot Hysteria for the custom pix...
While many in the RAM derided the President just for going on a television show, the reality is that this is why the American people hired Obama. An easy going, open communicator with the American people, isn't this what a president is supposed to do? While I do think Leno is a D-bag, the president's accessibility is exceptional. By being on TV, by talking to the citizens, he emplores us to become more involved with our government, creating knowledge about our government. The president is engaging us, he is meeting us were we relax, (Leno), and play, (NCAA B-ball), there is no shame in this. The last president we had only came out of his hole when he had to, (and given his response to Katrina, not even when he had to), Barack is changing what it means to be a representative of the people. By using the technology of TV, internet and email, the president is speaking directly to more people than any other president in history, bringing sunlight to a darkened oval office...
Again I would like to than ArtMaggot Hysteria for the custom pix...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Descent Continues...Part II
The Battle Ensues...
In this corner we have Michael "The Man in Black" Steeeeeeeeele...
.jpg)
And in this corner, weighing in at over 20 million listeners, "El Rushhhhhh Booooooooooo"!
As the fight unfolds we realize this is not the simple infighting of an inclusive whole, but a battle to the death for the mantle of "Conservative Leader". Can Steele capture the conservative dynamic and deliver it to the republican party, WHILE changing the face of the party? Will El Rushbo drive his listeners so far away from compromise that there is no hope for a viable republican party? Let's take a look...
Steele fires the first shot, calling Limbaugh an "entertainer" and his comments "incindiary", trying to bring a moderate tone to the Republican leadership. The problem with this is that Limbaugh's listeners are anything but moderate, and unfortunately they were a great chunk of what made up the previous republican party. So by alienating Rush and his fans, you are essentially giving up the most rabid conservatives in favor of, (or at least hoping for), a more moderate version of the republican party. Will this work? Didn't Obama get those moderates already? If you can't count on Rush's 20 million to vote, then do you push left in the party, (thereby pushing the dem's more left)? (By the way, after firing this "first shot", Steele promptly apologized for even questioning Limbaugh.)
The point we are getting at here is that the republican party of the last 29 years is done. It started with Reagan and ended with Bush. What is left are the social conservatives that won't drop the abortion debate, and wealthy people. I've got to tell you, that ain't much of a base to work from. The main concern, (and should be deeply troubling to conservative thinkers), is that
Rush Limbaugh is not a superior intellect, nor is he a leader, he truly is an entertainer, with his bottom line ending at a paycheck every week. Can the republican party moderate itself from the divisiveness that the conservative movement has thrived on? Can the republican party survive without the Far-Right? Will Limbaugh realize soon enough that he may kill the republican party completely?
As the Descent Continues...(you would think that there would be a bottom somewhere don't you?)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
