The Best Thing About the 2012 Election So Far…

The best thing about the 2012 Election so far — at least here in Minnesota — is how easily I have forgotten about Michele Bachmann.  She’s almost non-existent, invisible, and uncharacteristically faux pas-free this election.

But then maybe that isn’t something to feel good about.

speaking at CPAC in Washington D.C. on February 10, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an election that Bachmann could lose so it probably makes sense for her to shut up and keep her head low, especially if you’re prone to controversy, as Bachmann certainly is.  She might even hope her able opponent, Jim Graves, trips up, not unlike I fear Rick Nolan has stumbled recently with an ill-advised ad attacking hapless Chip Cravaack.   (Come on, Rick…You have a building lead!  Stay on message.)

Whatever the case, whether by design or dumb luck, it seems that Bachmann’s absence from the political stage this election season could serve her well.  Her constituency isn’t used to seeing much of her anyway — unless she’s on Hannity — so this might play into sixth district’s comfort zone.

If only Michele would shut and keep her head down all year, every year.  Perhaps we’re seeing a new Michele Bachmann?  Don’t count on it.  Best to vote her out now when the opportunity is at hand.

Related articles

• Democrat Jim Graves Has A Chance To Unseat Michele Bachmann (huffingtonpost.com)
• Former GOP Governor Arne Carlson Endorses DFLer Graves in the 6th (twincities.com)
• The Man Who Could Beat Bachmann (thedailybeast.com)
• Anti-Islam, pro-Bachmann ad kind of backfires (salon.com)
• Bye Bye Crazy Eyes: Poll Finds Democrat in Position to Defeat Michele Bachmann (politicususa.com)
• Michele Bachmann Could Be Replaced [Greg Laden's Blog] (scienceblogs.com)

One More Post About Politics and Then I Am Sticking to Dreams

After this post — for my health and my sanity — I am steering clear, as much as possible, of politics.  Hereafter I am writing about dreams.

But let me make my non-dream thoughts perfectly clear.   The country is in ruin.   Republicans offer no solutions, only petulance and blame.  Republicans need to go.

I know we are all busy, but it doesn’t take a lot of time to sort this out.  Take an hour or two on a Sunday morning and watch the news shows.  Republicans live in a twisted, dark world that makes no sense.  None.  I don’t understand how anyone can watch these programs and see things differently.  Of course there are the ignorant and perhaps they can be forgiven, but I don’t know if we can have patience for that anymore.

On NPR this morning, for example, Boise Public Radio interviewed a mix of people about the upcoming election.  One participant owns a contracting business and she said she cannot hire new workers because of uncertainty and regulation.  She blames it on Obama.

If she plans to run her business based on the wisdom of GOP politicians, my guess is her small business isn’t going to amount to much.  If there is a contract to be gained, you’ll hire people.  But this business owner has been brainwashed by her party’s leadership to think stupidly.  It is sad, and unfortunately ignorance is a powerful obstacle to growth.

The real blame rests with the bad people running the GOP today.  I don’t think it is out of line to question their motives.  Destroying our government has been a long-standing goal for the extreme right.  As the extreme becomes more mainstream we increasingly find dishonesty in conservative rhetoric.

Look, you cannot be informed of the facts and make claims that our nation’s problems belong to Obama and his four-year term as president, a term that saw absolutely no cooperation from Republicans on any issue.

Moreover, I find it hard to believe that you can have any tenure in politics and not see the trends that started with guys like Reagan, Bush, and (yes) triangulating Clinton bearing the blame for where we are today.

Contrary to the facts, Republicans argue that we are over-regulated and over-taxed under Obama and thus we have our national decline.  It is a laughable argument, but one that dishonest conservative politicians preach as gospel and too many followers suck it up as fact.

Our decline began prior to 2008 when we in fact did start a mad rush to dismantle regulation, lower taxes, and get involved in loads of other problems like wars, defunding social services, and privatizing our government.  Government doesn’t serve the people anymore as it did a generation ago.  It serves the few, the corporate interests, and the politicians gaming the machine.

Listen to a Republican speak on Sunday morning.  Flip the channels.  Do it at random.  It is all the same.  Their rhetoric is despicable, I dare say anti-American.  Who do they serve?  They certainly doesn’t serve the meek followers like the Boise contractor who doesn’t understand how economic demand affects hiring decisions.  How does the pursuit of proven failure help the dying middle class which is seeing its fortunes float to an increasingly isolated few?

Is what we are doing today good for future generations?  That is the question that should be asked.  Better generations before us took pride in building a strong and well-functioning society.  We seem to be going in an entirely different direction today, one where you each looks after himself and we all suffer for it.  Is that America’s exceptionalism?

Republicans know better.  Not even the conservative mind can be so hopelessly empty and unsophisticated.  But they wouldn’t be on the national stage selling their lies if they didn’t have an audience of believers.  That is the problem.

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• Republicans hit Obama from all sides on response to Benghazi attack (conservativeread.com)
• Clinging To Nonsense: The GOP POV Is Usually Wrong And Thus Irrelevant (addictinginfo.org)
• Ex-GOP Sen. Larry Pressler on supporting Obama: “Veterans very offended” by Romney (salon.com)
• George Romney’s Real Civil Rights Record (thedailybeast.com)
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Choosing a GOP Rally Song

Tom Petty Might Have Something to Say About This

We’re getting into election season and we can count on the anti-progressive GOP hijacking the good work of progressive artists to give their campaigns some much-needed excitement and energy.   In fact riling aging rockers is the most consistent thing most Republican campaigns do in America today.

Already this year Romney had to stop using K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” at his rallies and Gingrich was asked to stop playing Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”  Republicans running into flack from musicians unhappy with them playing their music at rallies is almost a joke, and a yawner at that.  Perhaps it is time the Republicans stop choosing songs from progressive rockers (What’s wrong with Nugent’s “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”?) and choose from a body of music more fitting to their political message.  I would suggest fantasy.

And seeing that Republicans are all about family, why not choose a family fantasy, one with exciting, colorful images that – on the surface – appear simple.  That is, after all, what the GOP is all about today.  Shallow fantasy that’s easy to swallow.

So my choice for fitting GOP fantasy songs come from the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.”

They’re all great, we only need to choose which would be best.  When you start looking into it, that isn’t the simplest choice to make.  Really, any song from that classic will work, but let’s look for the best.

Let’s start with “We’re off to See the Wizard.”  It kind of sets the theme of the film after all.  It is a brief synopsis and quick overview of the story, kind of like reading Cliff’s Notes.  GOPers will be familiar with this approach of inquiry and fact.

“We’re Off to See the Wizard” ideally fits the GOP message, just because, because, because, because…just because.  You see “We’re Off to See the Wizard” really doesn’t say anything.  There isn’t any reason to believe that the Wizard is either wonderful or even a whiz of a wiz.  He just is one because of the wonderful things he does.  And what does the Wizard of Oz do?  I don’t know.  He just is a whiz of a wiz.  Just because.  And that is precisely the GOP message.  No ideas, just follow us just because…because, because, because.  You get it.  Call it the Whiz of the Wiz trope.  It fits.

I would stop right now and say you can do no better than nominate “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” unless…of course, you consider “If I Were King of the Forest”.

I hate to say it, but Dorothy looks a little Republican in this shot.

Showing that even a cowardly lion may aspire to kingly influence is right in line with GOP individualism, is it not?  All you need to do is puff up your chest, swish your tail and soon both mountains and chipmunks will bow and genuflect.  You don’t really need any plan for greatness, it happens on a wish.  You don’t need a sound economic strategy for a stronger future, for example, you just declare yourself an expert and that’s it, regardless of how wrong you are.  The key is making oneself king.  Pish posh about anything else.

You can see that the choice will not be simple.  Let’s make the decision even more difficult and consider another.  (Any Oz song will do.  We’re looking for the best.)

Don’t overlook the Tin Man’s tender tear jerker “If I Only Had a Heart.”  Of course that classic absolutely must be in the running…but only for its irony.  The Tin Man, after all, wants a heart so he can be “kinda human.”  Whoa!  That hits it.  If today’s Republicans were kind of human, well, we wouldn’t be racing toward ruin under conservative obstructionism and hostage taking.

But it is the irony angle that I like.  It is on par with Sarah Palin trying to co-opt Heart’s “Barracuda”.  Nice try, Fish Lips, but the only thing Palin has in common with a real barracuda is a vacant stare.

Which brings me to my conclusion.  To have a heart, understand irony, be courageous, and NOT be seemingly confused when Tom Petty asks you to stop using “American Girl” without his permission also means you have intelligence.  (At least a little.)  And thus I stop at my choice, my clear winner:  The Scarecrow’s “If I Only Had a Brain.”   This is the most obvious choice for many reasons and in the song I would like see take the lead over all others.

There isn’t a word in the Scarecrow’s song that doesn’t fit the essence of today’s Republican Party, not a word.  It exists as if it were tailor made for the modern conservative campaign.  It is direct and honest – which, of course, poses some problems for any legitimate tea drinking conservative – but perhaps it is time that conservatives come out of the closet, so to speak, and embrace their shortcomings.  They might come out as more sympathetic characters.

scanned from 1900 Wizard of Oz book (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Clearly the song works.  Think about it.  Whenever I hear even the first cackle of Michele Bachmann’s voice, for example, the Scarecrow theme begins to jingle in my thoughts.  It is a pleasant song so this offers a bit of a musical refuge from the loony nonsense stuffin’ head Bachmann inevitably speaks.  Everyone wins.

And if conservatives won’t embrace the song, why shouldn’t the rest of us?  I imagine choruses of better Americans standing in unison, supporting the conservative delegation with a little musical cheer, kind of like caroling, but different.  It isn’t difficult.  “If I Only Had a Brain” is easily hummed or whistled.  In fact, I have developed multiple variations of the theme for my own entertainment.  You can, too!  Hell, lead a “If I Only Had a Brain” group in your community.  Hum a song and save your country.

Below are the words to “If I Only Had a Brain”.  Check them out and tell me if I am wrong in my choice.

I could while away the hours, conferrin’ with the flowers

Consultin’ with the rain.

And my head I’d be scratchin’ while
My thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain.
I’d unravel every riddle for any individ’le,
In trouble or in pain.
With the thoughts you’ll be thinkin’
You could be another Lincoln
If you only had a brain.
Oh, I could tell you why The ocean’s near the shore.
I could think of things I never thunk before.
And then I’d sit, and think some more.
I would not be just a nothin’ my head all full of stuffin’
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain.More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/w/wizard_of_oz/#share

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GOP Rhetoric and the Power to Dismantle It

Conservatives, as we know, speak broadly in clichés and generalities, very little of which has any foundation in real circumstances.  Mastering the craft of empty bullshit is the surest way to the top of GOP politics, it seems.  And because achieving status with tactics such as these means it must work; there must be believers out there ready to accept even the simplest lies as truths and trash their own best interests in the bargain.

That in itself is trouble, but perhaps understandable in a sad way. People want to hear things that promise a simple way to a happiness they want to believe is theirs and familiar.

What is more troubling and less forgivable, are the lies and the liars who tell them.  But where do we pitch our fight?  Do we keep calling out the liars or do we need to unsettle the complacent?

If your power and advantage depended upon unfair policy favoring your interests, you would want to keep people away from the facts, too; unless — of course — you were a person of moral integrity, I suppose.  That’s another issue and one perhaps more troubling than ignorance.  It is better to be in ignorance of such things.  (Which, I believe, many conservatives choose to be.  Facts hurt the conservative position and we’re all naturally pain averse.)

So perhaps people like Bachmann, Santorum, and Romney are not all that skilled after all.  Perhaps they’re empty conveyors of canned messages.

Nevertheless, it is the bumbling so-called “moderate” or political middle in American society that troubles me.  How can we be so easily duped?  In an age when information is everywhere and accessible like never before, we don’t seem to care much for facts.  We care more about tripe like this from GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his vision for America.

“It is an America driven by freedom, where free people, pursuing happiness in their own unique ways, create free enterprises that employ more and more Americans. Because there are so many enterprises that are succeeding, the competition for hard-working, educated and skilled employees is intense, and so wages and salaries rise.”

Good lord.  Shut up.  At best this sounds like mocking dialogue from a Christopher Guest film.

The key words and phrases here — America, Freedom, Happiness, Unique Ways, Hard Working, etc — are abused and insulted in this sophomoric pitch.  Missing is any sense that these words have meaning other than serving as hooks for catching the gullible.

Conservatives use this trope of equating capitalism with freedom and happiness all the time and it is naive, simple, and stupid.  Exactly how is capitalism going to make you free and happy if you’re left on the outside?  Certainly capitalism enables economic growth and opportunity, which even in today’s Gilded Age, benefits everyone to different degrees.

Listen to Romney.  He simply presumes associations.  Freedom, free people, and happiness follow free enterprise which blesses the world with greater employment.  Jobs are the answer, always the answer, and the only answer.  It is that straight forward.

Well, not really.  (Especially if you cannot work.)

Anyone paying attention to the past two decades can see that free market — even regulated free market — doesn’t inherently equate with freedom and happiness.  Nevertheless, the myth persists and that myth can only persist as long as the public remains disengage from facts and the common sense of its own experience.  That bothers me.

We are a people which increasingly votes against its own future and best interests.  This comes from an inherent misunderstanding of our opportunities and risks in a rising global community.  Whether it is a matter of education, economics, environment, security or anything else, we cannot resort to the ideals and beliefs of past — whether true or not — to address the future.  Conservatives are inherently about conserving past practices and biases.  Ironically, however, they seem to understand least among us all how our great society and nation worked and rose to power in previous decades.  Under the banner of American Exceptionalism, they are systematically dismantling the social contracts and public goods that helped raise that banner.

Better than any GOP cliché is another that tells us knowledge is power, and that kind of power can dismantle GOP disinformation.  Until America’s majority wakes up and stops supporting political backwardness, we should not expect change.  Ignorance is not bliss.  The blame falls on us, the voters.

Related articles

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• Ezra Klein on Mitt’s Vision Thing (seniorsforademocraticsociety.wordpress.com)
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