So why throw my hat in the ring?
Good question.
There are certainly enough political pundits in the 'sphere as it is. Compared to the better ones, I'm way out of my depth and don't pretend otherwise. However, this does not preclude me from opening my trap and weighing in on this & that, so..... here I am.
I won't promise to be wittier-than-thou, or even terribly entertaining. This is, mostly, a narcissistic exercise, and I'll thank you for humoring me.
I will promise to have at least a small inkling of what I'm talking about, and to be as annoyingly frank as I've long been to friends and family. Seeing as how I've yet to be disowned by any of them, chances are good I won't totally alienate you either.
What exactly are my hot-buttons, you ask?
*The hijacking of the GOP by the religious right
*Creationism/"Intelligent Design"
*"Liberal" as pejorative
*GLBT civil rights
There. So now you know what I'm apt to yammer on about on any given day.
I'm decidedly left of center, but have no love of the Democratic party -- not for a failing of their ideals, but for their ineptitude of execution. I don't necessarily loathe Republicans either, lest you assume to the contrary. Instead, I'm torn between wondering where the hell all of the "moderates" are, and feeling as if the left has been bending over and compromising on too many things for far too long.
In the end, I'm an "independent", though it feels more akin to homelessness than liberation.
Welcome. Enjoy. Or not.
Updated: I'm aghast that I left Reproductive Rights off my list above. See what happens when you post too close to bedtime?
14 comments:
Seemed like the obvious choice to me! Thanks for the kind words.
Glad to see you doing this- I'm sure it will be entertaining.
_Tom
As long as one of us is sure. Thanks!
Thanks, Renee. I look forward to being reasonable.
:::sitting down with popcorn, putting feet up on desk, getting ready to enjoy the show:::
:G:
J -
I'll have to try that British accent thing. At worst, I'll just confuse the boy.
Renee,
In short, I think that whatever Rove did, he did deliberately, and likely did enough homework long before-hand to ensure his immunity to prosecution. I mean, think about it. Rove may be the devil incarnate, but he's not stupid. He's not incompetent. There's a different between being reprehensible and being inept, and there's enough history in the public record to show he's the former, not the latter.
The question for me is, what is the end goal? Yeah, yeah, "discredit Wilson". I don't know...maybe it's my tin hat talking, but this seems to be an awful big mess for something as simple as obliterating one guy. Granted, Wilson wasn't (isn't) just a lowly clerk, but still -- I think there's got to be more to it than that.
Bush & the Shrubettes might offend virtually all of my sensibilities, but I won't go so far as to accuse them of being impulsive or reactionary. There's a reason Rove said what he said; there's a reason for how he said it and to whom. I'm just not quite clever enough to speculate on what, precisely, the reason is.
Then again, maybe I'm giving him/them too much credit, and this is simply a loud, lone instance of Rove stepping on his dick.
We'll see.
Well thank you for sharing-I'd like to hear the British accent ranting about Rove, neighbor!!!! Like mixing Molly Ivins with Bridget Jones. I agree that he will cover his dirty tracks with this one. Disgraceful. Weasel.
What annoys me (What doesn't annoy me?) is how easily the Democrats bent over with the Blue Dress Escapade- why is it that their leadership seems to think they are doing anyone a favor by taking the high road? When Clinton was in a world of shit, the GOP flies landed all over him. Where's Pelosi? Where's the talk show junkett? Where is the Ann "Bitch" Coulter of the left??? Now admittedly we live in a FoxWhipped GOP dominated media whore society- but think of the contrast here! We allowed the taxpayers to foot the bill of expensive investigations and yet like the bumper sticker "When Clinton lied, No one Died". So when it comes to oral sex in the oval office- everyone's ears perk up. When it comes to national security, a war that has taken the lives of thousands including many children... when it comes to violating the secrecy of covert operations- we allow him to hide behind semantics and small legal "subtleties"? Come on America!!!
For those inclined, Mark A.R. Kleiman has an interesting take on Rove's criminal liability.
Greenlily,
Thanks for the tirade. I don't have a thing to argue with, either.
I'm sure hoards of us have noted the er...discrepancy between the GOP's handling of Clinton and their handling of Bush. Trouble is, the GOP's spin machine is far and away better than the DNC's. Capitalizing on how typically uninformed the general public tends to be, the DNC (without such a propaganda hammer in their own toolbox) is left defending itself against straw man arguments, slander and lies. God bless America.
Renee,
Well, according to The Raw Story, they've distributed The Royal Talking Points. I'd presume that those GOPers shunning the spotlight on the issue are engaging in plain-vanilla CYA. This is a shitstorm they don't want to get involved in. 2006 just isn't that far off.
"Where's Pelosi?"
Here, evidently.
I say.."Whats Up With the Left" More than "Where's Pelosi?". Leadership? Any takers?? Anyone even come to MIND?
I think we need to talk more about "Whats up with the left". WHY do Republicans have a better spin machine? The Democrats have all these liberal educated "self- aware" types, don't they? How come Christians can coalesce so effectively, aside from the obvious- money? It still seems like a tough sell, and yet they pull it off repeatedly. Why can't liberals organize? I assert that its partly because what moves up through our ranks are egotistical elitist hypocrites. Anyone care to dispute? They are so far left of center that they alienate anyone that does not share their particular brand of fury. Their self promotion prevents them from hearing alternative views, they do not need to comprimise, and they do not need to seek creative responses. They are already in the margin, they do not need to court the system. And they never learn how to. Spin machinists KNOW the system, they move in and out, subtle when they need to be. Bold when they need to be.
Part of it is this romanticized notion of GRASSROOTS organizing. its absurd. Its a good concept hijacked by elitists. I think the notion I would like to move past is the idea that anyone needs a "group" to do anything for a better or more just society.... We have been trained to think: organize, organize. event, event. Educate the dumb sheep that corral behind McLellan and Ralph Reed. That this is the way. ..Groups, Groups. Networks. Grassroots. If we could just get them to SEE that they are not as smart as we are! That they are brainwashed and moronic and only we know the truth. These petty people home watching Paris Hilton... why don't they see?
Even Exxon Mobil has accused environmentalism as becoming a million dollar "industry". Where is the response to that? Marketers are even designing green packages and corporations are greenwashing their dirty deeds. We are being played like suckers. We are a market, my friends! From Soy to Starbucks, you've been molded by the Bible of Madison Avenue and the sacrement of consumerism.
Lets talk about the fringe- I have long felt that learning to play within the system is the best way to transform it. I will be honest- part of me enjoys "in your face" activism but part of me also recognizes that this tactic backfires. I think it does not always help to move away from facts and policy and reasonable discussion to acting out- the question often needs asking: Am I trying to draw attention to a cause or an issue, or to myself? Is my difficulty with collaboration because I lack control in other areas of life, I lack power? Do I try to use groups or activities to play out unmet needs for attention, intellectual recognition, or unrealized skills? Am I playing out the very types of behaviors inherent to the power structure that contribute to WHY there is little peace, little tolerance, and lack of justice? How can I transform my actions from reactive to proactive? Tough questions.
A friend recently told me she rejects "groups" like peace groups because they are a magnet for needy, unhealthy minds! Wow! Never thought about that. Is mine a needy, unhealthy mind? I did not think so. I think slowly about fellow peaceniks and environmentalists over the years with whom I've shared comraderie..Think about it- nobody gets socially rejected in a peace group! Even the most egotistical self serving soul can find a home there. But once there, the power structure and cliques we are used to rear their heads eventually. And when someone is bullying, inconsiderate, domineering, or rude- this is applauded as assertive and active! When somebody writes a misinformed angry ranting twenty page letter to an elected official, people say "You go, girl!!!". When they waste everyone's time with their lectures on collaboration and democracy and then say "No, here is how I want you to do this...." they are "strong leaders"!!!! Radicals! Free thinkers!
I think that we send a double message when we act this way and we value the very arrogant behaviors that we HATE in other people like elected officials or business leaders. And yet the patterns repeat, from boardroom to drum circle, from Churches to temples, from PTA to PETA.
Corporate greed is just an institutionalized form of indifference to people's needs vs. profit on a higher, grander scale. When someone spends a meeting talking about themselves, they are a mini version of the polluter that dumps toxins in the playground, they just do not have the power to be assholes in a bigger way. They waste time. The irony is that when WE act this way, we often hide it in "activism". But make no mistake, there are certainly jerks and egotists that champion our liberal causes, particularly when their personality problems bar them from other social outlets. Sometimes the activist network becomes the dumping ground for misfit misogynists, pretentious pundits, unsung lecturers, and crass contrarians. Sometimes, indeed, we see the sincere of heart... but often they are trampled beneath tyrannical Birkenstocks.
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