U.S. politics isolation tank

[midwestyankee]

As promised earlier, here is a link to the article I'd read a couple days ago on the role of change - particularly fear of change - in the rise of the passion of the tea party folk.

Change, Reaction, and Conservatism: Reading the Tea Leaves (Andrew Sullivan)

These excerpts present a good chunk of the argument:

I think this also helps explain the intensity of the cultural reaction to Obama. There is a rational argument against some of his policies, of course (health insurance reform primary among them). But the passion of opposition stems, I think, in part from a sense that the way the world once was is disappearing, that this is inevitable, and a repressed acknowledgment of the inevitability actually intensifies a resistance to it.

The America of the future will not be the America of the 1950s, the teenage years of many of those in the Tea Party movement.


Obama, for many of the afraid, almost sums up in one person this entire, blurring, mocha, non-Rockwellian vision of the future, which is why so many under 40 felt drawn to him culturally and psychologically - and also why we under-estimated the inevitable cultural reaction among many of the over-40s once he actually had power and exercised it.

He is not, after all, the first black president. He is the first miscegenated president. He is a blurring of boundaries, a Hawaiian-Chicago-Black-Ivy-League-Child-Of-A-Single-Mother kind of blurring. The very complexity of his identity can threaten those whose experience simply hasn't been the same.
​

 

[WriterDom]

Admirably cautious, Writer Dom.

I'm laying my cock on the table, just for fun.

Palin gets the nomination and loses the election to Obama.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/tlc_releases_the_trailer_for_s.html?mid=partnerfeed

I think Sarah will be doing shit like this and getting a check from Fox News. Fun shit. Maybe helping out the Tea Party some more. Pays better than president and have you seen how much presidents age?

Besides, in republican primaries you have to win states. No points for just showing up. Her resume was thin to begin with and then she just quits her day job.

I wouldn't vote for her in a primary and probably wouldn't in the general. If that's the best they can do.

 

[midwestyankee]

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/tlc_releases_the_trailer_for_s.html?mid=partnerfeed

I think Sarah will be doing shit like this and getting a check from Fox News. Fun shit. Maybe helping out the Tea Party some more. Pays better than president and have you seen how much presidents age?

Besides, in republican primaries you have to win states. No points for just showing up. Her resume was thin to begin with and then she just quits her day job.

I wouldn't vote for her in a primary and probably wouldn't in the general. If that's the best they can do.

I agree with your general assessment: Palin is actually too greedy to go back to actual politics and government.

However, the rules have changed in some of the Republican primaries: they will award delegates proportionally. I don't think this applies to all of them but there will be a few of the early primaries that will work like the Demo primaries have worked for years.

 

[midwestyankee]

Wow. Just fucking wow.

Money quote:

WILMINGTON, Del. - Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.

The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine.

Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked him.

When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"
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[intothewoods]

Having grown up in the sticks surrounded by militiamen, I know what to look for. Always watch out for people who use the singular. "The Jew". "Your Jew".

"Your Jew, now, he's a clever son of a bitch..."

Me too actually, but I've grown soft in recent latte-sipping years.

Or perhaps too white and self-congratulatory in my gentrified life. Ahhh, just kidding to Netz. It was a fair assessment, although we're not the only racial group moving back to the city. I actually find it the funniest when people hear about a mugging and exclaim, what, I thought this neighborhood was turning around! Hello, douchebag, you moved to a city. What the fuck did you expect?

Wow. Just fucking wow.

Money quote:

WILMINGTON, Del. - Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.

The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine.

Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked him.

When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"
​

Heh, yeah, I heard about that one, though I didn't bother to watch the debate. I had an argument with someone in high school once who launched that one at me - did you know that exact phrase isn't even in the constitution?!! Like she fucking discovered a new planet. Oh shit, we all forgot to read the constitution. It turns out the Mormons are actually in charge.

 

[00Syd]

Not exactly national news, but hot damn, I'd drive home to vote for this guy:

http://tv.gawker.com/5667182/crazy-rent-is-too-damn-high-candidate-steals-the-show-at-ny-gov-debate

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

I alternate between fatalism and Peter the Great's philosophy re. Russia: This country is going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era.

 

[midwestyankee]

I alternate between fatalism and Peter the Great's philosophy re. Russia: This country is going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era.

I survived living in the 50s and I'll be damned if I'll let a bunch of saggy-ass Ozzie and Harriet fetishists try to take us back there.

 

[Netzach]

Lately I've had a kind of relaxed and fatalistic attitude. The kind you get on the plane when the flight attendants can't stand without holding onto something and are telling you how to brace for impact, and you've made your peace with god.

Nothing is going to change in this country until we hit the ground hard. Maybe it has already happened, in 2008, and we just haven't gotten all Dust Bowl yet.

FTW. Yes. It's a kind of zen as you watch people choke to death on their own buffet. The school system here has been gutted to total average/suckass by 8 years of everyone being a special snowflake who needed charter schools and magnets. Now they sure do.

 

[WriterDom]

All you have to do is get the 66 million Obama voters to support democrats in congressional elections. There can't be but a few million tea party people at best.

I believe it was Netzach who said Obama had 90 days to turn things around. He has had 90 weeks. Almost anyway.

 

[Netzach]

All you have to do is get the 66 million Obama voters to support democrats in congressional elections. There can't be but a few million tea party people at best.

I believe it was Netzach who said Obama had 90 days to turn things around. He has had 90 weeks. Almost anyway.

Yep. Disastrously bad. Those PUMA assholes were right for the wrong reasons.

Now show me a reasonable alternative to the status quo. I said reasonable.

 

[WriterDom]

Yep. Disastrously bad. Those PUMA assholes were right for the wrong reasons.

Now show me a reasonable alternative to the status quo. I said reasonable.

The biggest failure was unreasonable expectations. Even up to the "Summer of Recovery."

Can't un-ring the bell and start over. I would have probably spent my political capital on something other than a healthcare bill no one seems too pleased about.

If things turn out very badly in two weeks he might have done everyone a favor by removing all troops from Afghanistan and taking the heat for that. I just don't see a good ending there anywhere on the horizon. On the downside that means many dead Afghans who as much as waved at a NATO unit once the Taliban is back in business.

And yeah, clouded by security issues in Pakistan. It's one big clusterfuck anyway you see it. Not as simple as killing all the Taliban. Too many paths lead to Afghanistan and too many Jihadists.

It's all pretty depressing.

 

[midwestyankee]

What you don't hear from all those "the deficit will kill our country" Republicans:

Calculations by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and other independent fiscal experts show that the $1.1 trillion cost over the next 10 years of the Medicare prescription drug program, which the Republican-controlled Congress adopted in 2003, by itself would add more to the deficit than the combined costs of the bailout, the stimulus and the health care law.​

Source

 

[rosco rathbone]

What you don't hear from all those "the deficit will kill our country" Republicans:

Calculations by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and other independent fiscal experts show that the $1.1 trillion cost over the next 10 years of the Medicare prescription drug program, which the Republican-controlled Congress adopted in 2003, by itself would add more to the deficit than the combined costs of the bailout, the stimulus and the health care law.​

Source

Those were the RINOs that did that. The baggers are a new breed of Republican.

I have to say, I'm astounded at the speed they managed to ditch their past history. Look how long it took the Dems to shed the Carter legacy.

 

[midwestyankee]

Those were the RINOs that did that. The baggers are a new breed of Republican.

I have to say, I'm astounded at the speed they managed to ditch their past history. Look how long it took the Dems to shed the Carter legacy.

GWB was a RINO?

 

[rosco rathbone]

GWB was a RINO?

To the baggers and snake flaggers that are generating the current national narrative, that's exactly what he is.

You must not chill on Redstate.

 

[rosco rathbone]

NAACP report on the baggers.

http://teapartynationalism.com/

 

[midwestyankee]

To the baggers and snake flaggers that are generating the current national narrative, that's exactly what he is.

You must not chill on Redstate.

I prefer to cause pain to others, thanks.

 

[Marquis]

I just came back from a Q&A session with Andrew Sorkin.

I asked him when people will stop hating banks and he said when unemployment is down.

 

[cathrynb]

.....

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

I just came across this amazing Christine O'Donnell quote:

"It is not enough to be abstinent with other people, you also have to be abstinent alone. The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery, so you can't masturbate without lust."

Where does the Tea Party find these people?

Are you saying she's NOT you?

 

[midwestyankee]

I just came across this amazing Christine O'Donnell quote:

"It is not enough to be abstinent with other people, you also have to be abstinent alone. The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery, so you can't masturbate without lust."

Where does the Tea Party find these people?

Official Procedure for Identifying Suitable Candidates (Tea Party Insider Exclusive)

First, rule out any potential candidates with these obvious weaknesses:

1) Elite education, especially in Ivy League colleges or professional schools (i.e. Princeton, Harvard Law School): the elites are ruining America from their Ivory Towers.
2) Ability to speak in fluid, persuasive, complete sentences and paragraphs. This is the sign of a professional liar.
3) Belief in science. Science is one of the underhanded tactics of the elites who are hell-bent on ruining the America that we want back (i.e., those halcyon days just before Sputnik hit the sky).
4) Any non-Christian. Because this is a Christian nation, as desired by our Founders. Anyone who can read knows that the Constitution does not mention the separation of Church and state.
5) Anyone who has never owned or fired a firearm. How else can we institute Second Amendment remedies when we lose if we have candidates who don't know how to lock and load?

Next, select for these characteristics:

1) Lack of a recognizable professional career arc. Being unemployed or having been unemployed for periods in the past is a plus. We want candidates who are just like you.
2) Anger. Must be able to foam at the mouth when speaking of the Muslim in Chief.
3) IQ below 91. See last point under item 1) above.

Finally, make sure the candidates can be trained to speak into the camera when the little red light goes on. Ability to express the totality of one's wisdom on any issue in 30 seconds or less is a major plus.

Please understand that several hundred Medicare and Social Security recipients died to bring us this valuable piece of intelligence. Honor their sacrifice.

 

[rosco rathbone]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43936.html#ixzz131YERxo3

Palin Presidency Downgraded To Remote Danger

 

[WriterDom]

Official Procedure for Identifying Suitable Candidates (Tea Party Insider Exclusive)

.

Humor! I get it. Let me try

Tips for democrat candidates:

Never mention you are a democrat. It can only hurt. Instead use catchy phrases like "conservative values," "common sense economics," and "fiscal responsibility." Never show Obama in your ads unless it is photoshopped to include horns and a tail.

Contact the DNC for the pamphlet, "Successful spider hole construction, by Saddam Hussein," just in case Air Force One shows up in your district. Order today and we'll send you a video of Barney Frank borrowing 200,000 dollars to save his government job in the conservative hotbed called Massachusetts.

Repeat over and over, "I was against ObamaCare," even if you voted for it. Repeated enough, some of the sheep will believe you.

Vow that you will not vote for Nancy as Speaker. (Yes, that won't be an option, but just saying will make you sound more conservative.)

To be on the safe side, don't even mention the word "recovery." Or "Stimulus package." Or "jobs saved." Instead talk about Budget and Fiscal Responsibility, accountability and transparency, and fiscally sustainable solutions. If you did vote for the failed stimulus bill, deny, deny, deny, and if that doesn't work, then borrow more money.

Promise you'll move to a trailer if elected Governor. So far only Bill White has taken the advice.

Invite Alvin Greene to campaign in your state. It will drum up the "short bus" vote.

Ignore the polling, especially Rasmussen. Unless you gave money to the Eisenhower campaign, you aren't even included in their phone bank.

And remember if you lose, try again in 2012. When the base of the democrat party will put down their bongs, be out on parole, and be mesmerized by the only president in history to need a teleprompter to order a pizza from Dominos.

 

[sb2009]

So, anyone talking about Krystal Ball (unfortunate name).

She's actually running here against Wittman, who's a typical Old White Guy ;-)

Anyway, so our home phone is getting the automated phone calls and my oldest answered the one from Krystal Ball and as the kid was having a MUCH MORE IMPORTANT conversation, she yelled at the recording "MY MOM IS VOTING FOR YOU ALREADY BECAUSE YOU HAD SEX!"

So. My lessons: 1. My kid hears every.damn.thing. even if I think I'm out of earshot.

2. She doesn't LISTEN to everything so comes out with half assed shit that must sound really great when she tells her teachers at school!

Anyway, while Ball can be compared to Palin in a way by being pushed to the forefront quickly, I really admire the way she didn't back down because an embarassing photo surfaced. Of course, she was not doing anything illegal or really immoral - she was messing around with her husband after all, and it was a fake penis ;-)