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...
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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?)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Descent Continues...
While attempting to watch Governor Bobby Jindal's rebuttal of Barack Obama, I was struck by the sense of ineptitude in the republican party right now. While it's pretty standard to have a rebuttal of the presidents statements in that format, it seems that whomever wrote Mr. Jindal's speech needed to at least ACT like they were paying attention to what the president was saying. In Obama's speech in which he specifically stated that he wasn't' for "big government", Mr. Jindal's reply ignored this and rambled on about the vague "bureaucrats" that he faced down during Katrina. Given the colossal failure of the republicans regarding Katrina, opening this wound isn't such a good idea. But what is really embarrassing is that the whole story was made up! So not only did it seem the rebuttal was ill-written, not only did it ignore the content of Obama's speech, the glaring failure of the young Jindal was a contrived story of him facing down "big government", a complete farce...
Right now our president is running loops around republicans, out smarting, out maneuvering and out performing them at every turn. Jindal who was talked about as a presidential candidate in 2012, not only ruined that possibility, I'm wondering if he'll even be re-elected...
"Golly Andy, the bureaucrats won't let us save the people..."
I'd like to thank ArtMaggotHysteria for letting me use his artwork. There is always fresh material, give the site a visit and return often, always something fun...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Left-of-Center President!
Again, President Obama captures the imagination of our country, but this time it is not as the story of the first Black President, but AS the President. There are no more campaigns, leadership is needed now, and tonight Barack Hussein Obama set out to convince that this country is not only capable of rising from a myopic, nihilistic haze, but in fact, that by simply doing what we know we can, ("the nation that invented the car" for example), we can restore the greatness that we once held in the world. While reminding the nation of the deficit he inherited, the wars he inherited, and the cynicism held by many citizens, he left no doubt that we are in good hands, OUR Hands. As the president helps us to realize the importance of commitment to community, he reminds us that this commitment IS the reward, it is what MAKES a community, and in fact the community cannot exist without it.
While cutting the taxes of 95% of working people, Obama effectively neutered any argument the bloated carcass of the GOP may have had, and in doing so, may give the Democrats decades of congressional dominance. By putting faith back into American Government, Barack is bringing back a forgotten idea; that government can be good! Regulating Wall-Street stops multi-billion dollar Ponzi schemes, keeping an eye on money lenders makes sure the housing market doesn't tank, monitoring industrial waste keeps are environment healthy, these aren't bad things, (but something that hasn't been said in 29 years or so). Obama, by actively demanding an amount of government, industrial, and financial responsibility has essentially reclaimed the U.S. as a progressive country, and in doing so starts moving the country in the liberal direction it was originally designed for...
While sounding as giddy as I do when I watch Obama, I still realize there are things out there that he did not address that must be brought up, specifically, Extraordinary Renditions, (What is the story Mr. Holder?). "Truth Commissions"? (sorry Mr. President, justice must be served to Rove, Cheney, and George II). Ensuring that "Faith Based Initiative" funds are used properly, (a pet project of mine) and the Drug War, (not an immediate issue, but would like it to be addressed).
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