From the end of Steve Erickson’s dispatch from the Heartland:
Whatever else was true of him, no one doubted Richard Nixon was a man of ability. Whatever else was true of him, no one doubted Barry Goldwater was a man of conviction. No one doubted that Gerald Ford was a man of integrity, or that Ronald Reagan was a man of eloquence, or that George Herbert Walker Bush was a man of experience, or that Robert Dole was a man of legislative accomplishment, or that George W. Bush was a man of crusty charisma, or that John McCain was a man of heroism. Nothing we’ve seen of him so far indicates that Mitt Romney shares a single one of these qualities. Craven, arrogant, empty, dull, opportunistic—he’s a man of only ambition and acquisition, his distinctions the antitheses of all the attributes that have commended others to his party in the past. As such he reflects what the party has become: a political body so obsessed with defeating the president as to nominate a man known for but a single thing, which is that the name those mysterious tax records bear is not “Barack Obama.”
Well, he’s also known for that whole Clark Griswold episode with the dog on top of the car.
Hol-i-day Roooooad.
The irony is, his sole two selling points are his religiosity and his successful and amoral pursuit of money, neither of which he dares campaign on.
And his Ivy League education that he criticizes Obama for having, too.
And his awesome association with the Olympics (whoops).
And his health care bill and assault weapons ban. (oops).
At least Clark Griswold knew how to get laughs.
You are selling the man short. Is this not howlingly funny?
Or this?
Well, now you mention it… Maybe Mittens is on the wrong career path altogether.
The hair factor can’t be underestimated.
If true they should have gone with Governor Goodhair. Way better hair than Mitt’s, apparently no more gaffe prone than Mitt, and the fundies like him.
It’s not just that he doesn’t have any of those qualities. He’s the antithesis of every single one of them. Ability (incompetent campaign); convictions (Etch-a-Sketch); integrity (taxes); eloquence (hahahahaha); experience (can’t campaign on anything he’s ever done); legislative accomplishment (ditto); charisma (Romneybot 2.0); heroism (ducked out of Vietnam, and made sure his five sons didn’t serve, either). Every single one.
His sole positive selling points are that he’s rich and he’s white. Sadly, that’s enough for a competitive presidential campaign in 2012 America.
Awww man…approvingly quoting someone’s howlers in criticism of another howler-prone ass is no way to help your man win. Not really.
Which howlers?
C’mon.
Like dis:
C’mon…
Nixon had ability, indeed…the ability to work with people like Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn, then turn around and be Eisenhower’s attack dog when McCarthy got too powerful. Nixon’s only real ability was backstabbing.
Gerald Ford was part of the Watergate plot. He was a career insider who had proved beyond any possible doubt with his cover work in the Warren Commission that he would play nice with the plotters. His pardon of Richard Nixon was ample proof of that as far as I am concerned. Nixon knew where too many bodies were buried and he got quid pro quo for his silence.
Ronald Reagan was a bad actor. Really bad. He read lines like they wer made of wet newspaper. Shit, man…he even read Peggy Noonan’s lines!!! On purpose!!! Eloquence? Please. He proved that beng President of the United States takes less native IQ than does being a good movie actor. And that was before his brain began to atrophy.
George Butch I was indeed a “man of experience,” but most of it was negative. We will find out the truth one day. Watch. He was a spook from the get-go, in on all the dirty deals of the second half of the “American Century.” Bet on it.
His son, Butch II? I get yer “crusty charisma,” right here!!!
W. was a born loser from a winning crime family. Nothing more. Ever. John Gotti Jr. writ large.
“No one” doubted those things? He shoulda come talk to me. I’m “someone,” ain’t I?
Oh…he must mean “no one important enough to help him in his quest for success.” No one in the PermaGov and its media satrapies.
Oh.
Nevermind.
Yore freind,
Emily Litella
P.S. Who is this Erickson guy? A personal friend, maybe? I hope so, because if not it means that you have either completely lost your critical sense or you’re taking marching orders from the Obama campaign.
Please!!!
AG
You’re politically tone-deaf. All the notes were perfectly pitched and balanced against each other.
For a historical comparison…
“The Germans?”
“Forget it, he’s rolling.”
“Politically tone deaf,” eh?
You mean I don’t buy into the simplistic political jingles that you regularly you present as “fact?”
Guilty as charged.
Thank you very much.
AG
And yet you present yourself as a critic, not a mere passive member of the audience.
Yes, I do.
And?
Make your point, please.
AG
My point?
This shit is art.
You’re an artist. You should get it.
But you don’t.
You’re hung up on bullshit.
Was the guy’s point that Gerald Ford had the most integrity in the known universe?
Or was his point that people thought Gerald Ford had integrity but they don’t think that Romney has any?
Was Ronald Reagan as good as Brando? Who the fuck cares?
The point is that prior Republican candidates, including our favorite, Tricky Dick, has some fucking thing that people people admired.
Romney doesn’t.
“I got bank” doesn’t cut it for a rapper, and it doesn’t cut it for a politician.
WTFU.
What? You mean the art of political lying? The hustle? The proceeds of which are the current decline of America? The murder of millions?
Oh.
Then Hitler really was an artist.
But not as heavy as the PermaGov, I guess.
We’ve killed more and lasted longer.
We win.
That art?
Shove it.
Parse all you want, Booman. That’s your gig now, apparently.
Here’s what the motherfucker said:
He said “…no one doubted…” If that’s not what he meant, then that’s not what he should have said.
And you should have called him on it.
Equally lamebrained writing aimed at Obama would bring immediate scorn from you. But for your own man? You lay right the fuck down. That’s not “art,” it’s politics. Politics as usual. Business as usual. Politics and business as usual that has led the U.S. right to brink of collapse. And you are now complicit in this.
I’ll call you on it every time you lay it down.
Bet on it.
AG
Hyper-literalism.
You’re the kind of guy who would pan Shalkespeare’s Julius Caeser because it contained some historical errors.
Or the Grateful Dead’s entire pantheon of work because they sometimes played out of key.
Nobody likes a rat. And nobody likes a nit-picker.
But, here’s where you’re wrong in this case. You have to go after the man’s point. Is his point misleading? Is his point dishonest? Is his intention to deceive?
Unless you think his point was to convince you that every person in the world thought Dubya had charisma or that Ford had integrity, then you aren’t chopping away at what he’s trying to say.
You may not like it that he makes an assertion that isn’t literally true. But only a moron thinks he’s trying to convince you of the literal truth of those statements.
They are stated from contrast. They are true as far as they go, and true as far as he needs them to go.
People largely saw prior Republicans as having some core virtues like heroism, experience, integrity communications skills, savvy, and conviction. These are things that people do not see in Mitt Romney.
Lastly, this is politics. It is battle. The truth is always one of the very most important things. But there is also that which must be done.
I leave you with dear Brutus:
Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream
Bullshit.
Shakespeare was “art.”
This shit?
Cheap politics.
Anyone who seriously compares Shakespeare’s oeuvre with that of the Grateful Dead is in deep, deep trouble.
Word.
I am neither. I only deal in truth. Call it what you will. Call it what you must.
His “point” is most obviously to shill for Obama and oppose Romney. Is this somehow dishonest? Only if one is trying to portray Obama as anything other than a PermaGov frontman. If i’s not dishonest…if he really believes his own shit..then it’s just stupid.
Oh.
And if I think that it is boilerplate politcal bullshit, then what am I doing? Trying to find a core of honesty in this almost totally dishonest, jive political system? Color me guilty.
Oh, c’mon. One either writes what one thinks is true or one bullshits. Simple enough. This is pure bullshit, as is your defense of it.
Lord!!! You are just faling deeper and deeper into the rabbithole.
Bullshit, Booman.
“People” did not have he resources that they have now. The IQ level that believes the mass media falls lower and lower with every day.
HALLELUJAH!!!
The IQ level that believes this level of political bullshit also falls lower and lower with every day.
But y’all do keep on trying, apparently.
Mind what side on which you end up, Booman.
Truth and hustle, DemRat and RatoPub…the lines shift as things develop. Ron Paul was more “truthful” than any other major politician this time around. By far. A Republican. And Obama’s lies are gonna bite him in the ass eventually. Bet on it.
Your own acceptance of those lies?
Your own ass is in danger.
Bert on that as well.
The worst bullshit of all.
A lame excuse.
And I leave you with Gandhi’s book title.
Your choice, Booman.
Hustle or honesty.
Karma is real.
Bet on that as well.
Later…
AG
Do you think this is choir practice?
WTFU.
Pick a side or STFU.
Shall I send you some candles and oils so you can prepare for Rand Paul’s speech at the Republican National Convention.
If both sides are lying about everything then there are no sides, Booman. Then it’s just about choosing the smart liars or the dumb ones.
You say that there is nothing to commend Romney.
I agree.
You believe that politics…successful politics…in this country is about lies. About half-truths. About hustle. About evasions. And on the evidence of the last five or six decades, you are pretty well on the mark. But also on the evidence of those last decades, this bad/guys/worse guys dichotomy has served to drive the U.S. ever further down in an accelerating spiral of failure.
I have said before here that the first politician to stand up and plainly speak the truth of the matter(s) would win a landslide election. I still believe that, but I must amend it somewhat.
The first politician to stand up and plainly speak the truth of the matter(s) without being immediately buried by the PermaGov media would win a landslide election. That is a big caveat. Ron Paul tried and failed. You snark about his son. I have yet to see Rand Paul stand up and tell it like it is the way his father did. Until he does…and does so consistently over a long period of time in the face of tremendously powerful resistance…the Rand Paul jury is out as far as I am concerned.
We shall see.
My gut feeling?
He’s too soft.
Like I said…we shall see.
The story of this election now?
See my sig.
You’re on the side of the smart liars. You’re making your bet, and it’s a good one as far as it goes.
It just doesn’t go far enough.
We need a revolution, Booman.
A Truth Revolution.
Until (and if) we get one, it’s just going to be ever further down the old rabbit hole for this country. Ron Paul told the truth about our position in the world, about our massively overextended attempt to use military force (and the ongoing threat of military force) to continue the economic imperialist tactics that at one time made us the richest, most powerful country in the world. Mao Zedong called the United States a “paper tiger” way back in 1956. Kneejerk all you want about his own faults, but he pinned it in this series of statements. Prophecy as politics. Truth as politics.
1956, Booman.
Prophecy? You bet your ass it was prophecy.
Fang by fang, claw by claw we are being dismantled and there is not a goddamned thing that we can do about it except use WMDs and start World War Last.
It’s getting seriously windy and very wet here, Booman. Haven’t you noticed?
I have.
It is time…past time, actually…to speak truthfully to the American people about the worldwide cost in human lives that has been paid for our ability to get grossly fat and thoroughly lazy.
Until that day happens?
Just more wind and rain, podna.
Just more wind and rain.
Bet on it.
AG
Good old Chairman Mao starved thirty million of his people just a few years that obnoxious little speech.
Overall, about 40 million of Mao’s subjects died during his rule from a combination of brutality and stupidity.
How many Americans died at a result of stupid and brutal American policies in the same time frame? Probably less than 200,000, and that’s including people dying from the corruption of the FDA.
But, go ahead and use Chairman Mao as the spokesperson for your views of America.
Here’s a rebuttal from the King of the Hippies.
Let’s have a classroom example here, Arthur. Here is a transcript from the movie Animal House. The setting is the living room of Delta House, which has just been banished from campus and most of its members have been expelled. The model is Dartmouth University.
What is Bluto’s point?
Is his point that the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Does this factual error detract in any way from his argument?
And is Otter’s point any less valid because he had a little diversion into the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons, neither of which they literally intend to use?
Of course not.
It’s art.
And they aren’t making apogees from the Japanese or arguing in favor of nuclear weapons. Only a dipshit would get hung up on that crap and miss the point that it is a better to destroy the graduation parade than to wallow in their own misery.
If you need a lesson on revenge, here you go:
“Apogees from the Japanese” -spell autocorrect is hilarious.
No one died from this “art.” Booman. Except maybe Belushi, and he was a foolish junkie. Gifted, but foolish. I know. I was there. On the set of SNL and in the general scene where Belushi lived. I saw it. Up close and personal.
What you are doing? What the Obama hustlers are doing? It has mortal consequences. In the mlillions.
Talk about karma…
You use “Animal House” as an argument.
I use Afghanistan.
Iraq.
Fallujah.
Cuba.
Abu Ghraib.
Omertica.
Which is more real?
And which is more deadly?
Please.
Wake the fuck up.
You are living in some kind of dream world.
AG
SHUT THE FUCK UP, ARTHUR.
In no world is the Romney campaign and their neo-conservative warmongers in any way comparable to what Obama has done and promises to do.
You have a choice here between John Bolton and Hillary Clinton.
Make the choice.
The whole Ron Paul crap is over and done with.
Romney thinks we should still be fighting in Iraq.
Romney thinks we shouldn’t have a timeline to leave Afghanistan.
Romney thinks we should bomb Iran.
Romney thinks we should allow Israel to bomb Iran whenever they see fit.
Romney wants us to go to war with Assad in Syria in an overt way.
Romney probably wants to replay the Bay of Pigs.
You’re a musician who plays a lot with blacks and Latinos.
The GOP is actively disenfranchising them.
The GOP is demonizing them.
Pick a goddamned side.
It’s a binary choice.
One thing happens or the other thing happens.
If you live in a two-dimensional, binary world then you are absolutely correct Booman.
It’s kind of a flat life, though. Are you sure that’s where you want to live?
In Koko The Clown land?
They’re drawing you, Booman.
WTFU.
AG
I don’t live in a binary world, but I do live in a two-party country.
Take a stand.
I have.
AG
Arthur, I appreciate your presence and perspective on this blog. I really do.
But when you’re going to descend into obtuse nitpicking of a guy’s point every time it doesn’t acknowledge that both parties, elite media and corporations, etc. are all an indistinguishable part of the monolithic PermaGov, you are wasting your time with this blog, which is written by and for people who think those distinctions are important.
As Booman has pointed out, the guy’s point was simply that enough people admired [insert perceived attribute] about other modern Republican nominees that they won the nomination, and Romney doesn’t have any of those characteristics.
If you disagree with that, fine. But don’t leave a half-dozen or more messages, the essence of which is that real people don’t believe this shit (empirically false) and that it’s all pointless because the game is rigged.
You could make such comments about every fucking post in this blog. Please don’t. We get it.
I don’t get it. He’s a permagov pervert. A conspiracy nut. he probably actually believes there was shooter on the grassy knoll.
Let him rave. No one listens.
Y’mean…there wasn’t!!!???
You bought der PermaGov farm way back then?
Wow!!
How’re the crops doing?
Not well, I hear.
So it goes.
In the eyes of the PermaGov you’re only a sharecropper anyway. When the farm fails, y’all kin move on outta the way. Or be moved, of course.
You are just a number, brother. Nothing more. Expendable if necessary.
Happy wid dat?
You shouldn’t be.
AG
I neither believe that what I am doing is a waste of time nor do I believe that the pursuit of some kind of objective truth in the political life of this country is either “nitpicking” or a descent into anything, Geov. It is an attempt at ascent, if anything.
This blog is the only one that I have found that shows signs of real practical intelligence in its look at politics in general. I am simply pushing for more signs of intelligence. Intelligence sometimes acts in a viral manner. Maybe a little boost here will spread. If I knew a better way to do this I would pursue it, but given my own position in life, this is what I can do. So I do it.
Now…? Gotta go pursue truth in music. It’s pretty much a 24/7 gig. Bet on it.
Later…
AG
Nukular, chootspah, and sheikh — and that’s from the educated wing of the GOP.
I doubt these two. Never saw a drop of charisma from W. He always looked like a boozer who needed a drink. McCain was a bad pilot who crashed, I believe it was four aircraft. If his father was not an Admiral they never would have given him so many chances. It’s quite possible he was not shot down, but punched out. He endured a lot as a POW, but that was no more than was expected from an American fighting man, particularly an officer. I respect the service, but there was nothing unusual to exalt them man above his fellows.
Weren’t both Cranky McSame’s father and grandfather Admirals?
Yes, indeed
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Here’s the best campaign ad of 2012:
http://youtu.be/5v4PWW301JM
Hunter over at the GOS calls it “Mitt’s increasingly self-satirizing campaign” in a post about Mitt’s Ohio ad being filmed in Oklahoma City [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/08/1118053/-Romney-s-Ohio-ad-uses-footage-from-the-wrong-state
]
but reading about the original Bain investors’ connection with El Salvador Death Squads is horrifying. guess it brings together all the threads we’ve been discussing about rMoney’s personality problems. ethically challenged doesn’t begin to cover it.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/08/1117948/-Families-of-Bain-Capital-s-original-investors-had-
ties-El-Salvador-s-infamous-death-squads