Month: January 2004

Welcome to the Freakshow

Joe Conason puts the smackdown on Stephen Moore’s fine example of calm, reasoned discourse.

The fragile yet plucky Ed “Victoria” Gillespie must have been called to action after being forced, once again, to endure the horrors of political hate speech like this:

“I think Howard Dean should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading,” barks a man leaving a barbershop; a woman with him completes the sentence: “… body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont where it belongs.”

What, you say Her Majesty the Gillespie didn’t make the rounds of all the bloviators and take these hooligans to task for their cruel bigotry? How odd. He must have taken an extra dose of laudenum after seeing that shocking internet Hitler ad on the RNC web site, and passed out.

Stephen Moore says the Iowa ad is about “cultural elites across America who are the ones behind Dean,” who are so unlike the “middle-class families with Middle America values, as in Iowa, [who] are going to be very turned off by Dean’s economic program.”

After pointing out that the Club For Growth is run by a bunch of rich champagne-swilling libertarian Fat Cats, Conason retorts:

I wouldn’t be surprised if many Iowans and even more Vermonters wish Moore would take his right-wing freak show back to Wall Street and K Street.

Actually, the real freakshow is going to be the 527 ad war. From what I’ve seen so far, it would appear that they’re using material Jon Stewart rejected for being too broad and obvious. (But hey, in a country where a majority believe that Saddam had something to do with 9/11, you really can’t be too broad and obvious, can you?)

This is going to be one wild election.

Clark Chat

If anyone’s interested, I’ll be participating the following live blogger chat with General Wesley Clark, who most of you know I support for the Democratic nomination:

Public IRC Server: irc://irc.forclark.com

Closed Read-Only Channel: #wireside

Open Discussion Channel: #clark04

We will also be mirroring the closed #wireside channel on a web-based page,

which any one can view at this following URL: http://www.clark04.com/chat/

The chat is scheduled to begin promptly at 5:00 PM EST, January 7,

2004. It will last approximately 30 minutes.

The questions that will be asked are being drawn from 15 leading political

bloggers. Follow-up questions will be taken, if time permits.

We estimate approximately 3000 people to be participating in this live

real-time chat with General Clark.

I have written several pieces about General Clark, going back some months prior to his joining the race. I still think that he is best positioned to beat George W. Bush, which as a good ABB Democrat, is of primary importance to me. However, as his campaign has been fleshed out and his positions, strategic instincts and political ability have become clear, I am even more enthusiastic about him.

I wrote below that I think that politics is really a matter of consumer marketing and I stand by that. I have seen almost no evidence of any interest among partisans or anyone else in specific policies this time. But, that does not mean that it doesn’t matter to me and many others who do follow politics on a substantive level.

On both counts, General Clark fills the bill. From a marketing standpoint, I believe he is the best positioned to embody the 2004 “manly outsider” zeitgeist without alienating large numbers of people who don’t like overt partisanship. I think he is the best candidate to capture swing voters in swing states and I still maintain that this is the key to winning the election. Big turn-out in blue states won’t get it done.

From a substantive standpoint, well, the guy is just awesomely smart. I, unlike my GOP countrymen apparently, consider this a requirement to run the most powerful nation on earth. His character is sterling, his credentials are top flight and his thinking is bold yet practical. I’m proud to support him.

Oh, What Does He Know – January 23, 2003

General Dynamic – March 9, 2003

I’ve Been Leaning that Way Myself – March 30, 2003

Wingnuts Launch “Decapitation” Campaign Against Clark – March 31, 2003

4 Star Democrat – April 18, 2003

Waiting For Wesley – August 25, 2003

Deep Thoughts – October 10, 2003

Perot Crazy – November 15, 2003

Tin Foil General – December 3, 2003

There’s No Business Like Show Business

Happy Belated New Year, my friends. I’ve been away travelling the scene, taking the pulse of the American people and now I’m back in the cozy confines of my tribe here in sunny Santa Monica. I have many observations on the primaries, but I fear I will have to swill at least one bottle of Dutch courage before I commit my usual left blogosphere heresy, so it may take a day or two. Or maybe not.

For political junkies like us it’s part pain, part thrill, but it’s the big game and if you love politics you’ve got to love presidential election years.

I notice more and more how cynical I’ve become over the past decade or so of bogus impeachments, dubious elections and power mad GOP radicals. I heard the news about Ashcroft recusing himself and my first thought was that it was an obvious delaying tactic. As with the speculation that a scathing 9/11 committee report, in which ”heads will roll” and the Bush administration will be embarrassed and chastised, my reaction is, “Yeah, when monkeys fly.”

Republicans control all the levers of power in Washington and there is no way in hell that anything that relies on an official institutional mandate will be allowed to put Bush in anything but a good light in this election year. That’s not to say that the media couldn’t unearth something damaging on its own, but… well, let’s just say that the monkeys will be dodging elephants in the flight path when that day happens. The puerile media kewl kidz will be kept entertained and busy until November with meritless scandals and hilarious GOP manufactured putdowns of the hapless Dems (while Ed Gillespie clutches his Mikimoto pearls and moans dolorously about the barbarity of Democratic “political hate speech.”)

I see that John Dean is speculating that Ashcroft’s recusal may mean that somebody has toined states evidence and I imagine that could be true, particularly if some poor low level or midlevel schmuck panicked at the sight of a couple of burly feebies. After all, Karl Rove was overheard screaming (in regards to a disloyal operative) “We will fuck him” in earshot of a reporter who was waiting to see him for an interview, so it’s hard to believe that secretaries, aides, assistant types didn’t see the perps gleefully riverdancing all over the office after they sent their “Luca Brazzi sleeps with the fishes” message via their loyal family bagman, Bob Novak.

So, who knows? But I’ve got a hundred dollar bet going that this investigation will not be concluded before November 2004. These guys control all branches of government and operate above the law in plain sight with no repercussions. They’ll keep the media merrily chasing decades-old rumors of gossip of whispers that say that as a Lt Governor, Howard Dean was once seen using the office telephone for personal use, which while not specifically illegal is nonetheless shockingly improper in its appearance of impropriety.

Meanwhile, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his state of the state speech last evening, tells us that being governor is better than being a movie star, an inspiring and noble sentiment that brings to mind such memorable political lines such as “Who am I? Why am I here?” It send shivers down the spine just thinking of the thousands of schoolkids moved to public service this morning.

He sees a bright future for California which just 3 months ago was teetering on the edge of total collapse and in dire need of a man on a white horse (or a cyborg on a black motorcycle) to save it. He has apparently done so. Hip hip hooray. And if any small niggling problems remain, he has found a winning new formula to end the political polarization that has hamstrung our system. He has promised to ignore the craven and ignoble legislature if they do not conform to his wishes. He will take his True Lies Traveling Salvation Show directly to the people! He’ll sign autographs, ham it up for the fans … er, citizens, toss T3 DVD’s and copies of his awesome nude poster into the crowd. He’ll tell them to vote YES on propositions 3004 – 5003 and not to worry their pretty little heads about the details. Just like in the movies, he will save us and everyone will live happily ever after. sigh

Why, my friends ask me, do I think that modern politics (except in times of real extreme crisis) is almost entirely a matter of entertainment product consumer marketing? Why do I persist in my cynical view that with the proliferation of cable “news” entertainment wrestling, people see politics as a reality TV program, a cross between Survivor and American Idol? Why do I look at the current political contest and the media’s predictable yet mind numbingly contentless horserace “coverage” and see a general election that is not a grassroots uprising or a patriotic affirmation, but a made-for-TV game show?

It’s because that’s what I see and it’s not just here in Lala land, but all across this country.

The primaries are about casting the lead in our new political reality show. Many people will be voting for who they want to “watch” over the next four years, the steely-eyed Rocket Man/bumbling airhead or ??????

The Republicans figured this out more than 20 years ago. It’s time we Democrats figured it out, too. Let’s get on with the show. This is it.