48 hours before the returns, preparations in the form of fine beverage.
It has come to this.
After the big gamble on subprime mortgages that led to the current financial crisis, is there going to be an even bigger gamble, by putting the fate of a nation in the hands of a man whose only qualifications are ego and mouth? ... After this man has wrecked the economy and destroyed constitutional law with his judicial appointments, what can he do for an encore? 1
The entire article is seething with dumb hate for Obama. It is the new journalism. You fill the article with so much spin and hypocrisy that even I couldn’t look them all up, then fill the cracks with enough hate for the righteous to hold on to. It is the new political format; the Invincible Article. Democrats can write this off as lunatic fringe, but the Republicans are experts at turning ignorant statements into reasonable rally-cries for the faithful. Some things simply stick to the electorate. The greatest trick the devil continues to play is to convince the electorate that he doesn’t exist. Etc etc. Perhaps this is all a bit much for the more reasonable out there.
To ambitious politicians such as Obama or running mate Joe Biden, that's just crazy; they can't imagine folks who care more about family or community than about getting ahead. [T]his doesn't mean that people in places like Elk County or Centre County aren't ambitious -- they are. But rather than focus on material needs, they focus on being better parents or better hunters, better Christians 2
People connect with this sort of bullshit through a recognizable, realistic and sympathetic vessel: Joe the Plumber:
he did appear on stage in jeans and a checkered shirt as the crowd applauded and chanted, “Joe! Joe! Joe!” Later, he signed autographs. 3
Though he’s been chewed up and spat out by the political machine, he’s not giving up and he’s a hero to millions who identify with his psuedo-plight as an American Taxpayer. The old blues on the radio are repeating their old dream of a better place in a better world. That world doesn’t exist in Joe the Taxpayer’s mind: the McCain campaign is counting on your vote for the rights of those who have achieved the dream to kick the ladder out from under them. Let the poor and weak suffer and if I made it, so can they no matter what the circumstance. These old white and rich testaments to the American Dream in action never look back to the old era they were raised from: the world of Selma, segregation, national bigotry, war and a giant economic deficit. Just keep your eyes on the ball, don’t look up at us and you’ll die quietly after a life of labor and the politics of contradiction.
I realize there are those American workers who labor long and hard and still don't earn much money. There is nothing wrong with giving them a tax cut - assuming they pay taxes in the first place, and not all low-income people do. But there is something wrong with extending that benefit to those Americans who - for one reason or another - haven't invested what they should or made bad choices, took the easy road, passed up the chance to get more education or additional skills, refused to relocate for better jobs and so on.
There isn't a parent of grown children anywhere in the country who doesn't understand this concept. They may love their children equally, but that doesn't stop them from acknowledging that their offspring - like all human beings - perform at different levels and reap benefits accordingly.
This is the refrain of modern conservatism. The epic struggle against perceived hardship leads you to the imaginary world where you’ve conquered racism and poverty where you claim your rightful portion of your gross income. Meanwhile your secretary, nurse, tailor, bartender, cab driver, vendor, and countless others you meet along your day-long story between the life of excess suffer from lack of health care, wondering if the paycheck will pay off some of that hospital bill or tuition towards your American Dream, albeit in a lackluster, unforgiven form. It is the will of God, now, for what its worth. The credo.
Fuck the weak, ignore the poor, and stick to your guns. You ignore the outliers: the hard-working, under-privileged poor and make examples from a hand-picked selection of Republicans. Make the believers believe. I believe in Obama because I believe in those words. I believe what he says. When you start criticizing Obama on his words you take on the lost argument against Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Jesus’ words before he turned water to wine or brought Heath Ledger back from the dead. I do believe in those words. I believe in those words like I believe in the words of the Constitution and the long-time-suffering Bill of Rights. Of Equality. Of sickness and health. Of principles backed by riots and assassinations. American Fear dictates less and less from the idealists that make their mark by speaking words of Hope and the ideal view of what this country could become. Come Tuesday, we will have Democracy. The people get what they deserve.
That brings us up against the 48th hour before we start getting returns, and my low battery indicator here at Sugar Maple where I’m stealing Cafe Centraal’s wifi. The self-fulfilling prophecy of politics.
After the big gamble on subprime mortgages that led to the current financial crisis, is there going to be an even bigger gamble, by putting the fate of a nation in the hands of a man whose only qualifications are ego and mouth? ... After this man has wrecked the economy and destroyed constitutional law with his judicial appointments, what can he do for an encore? 1
The entire article is seething with dumb hate for Obama. It is the new journalism. You fill the article with so much spin and hypocrisy that even I couldn’t look them all up, then fill the cracks with enough hate for the righteous to hold on to. It is the new political format; the Invincible Article. Democrats can write this off as lunatic fringe, but the Republicans are experts at turning ignorant statements into reasonable rally-cries for the faithful. Some things simply stick to the electorate. The greatest trick the devil continues to play is to convince the electorate that he doesn’t exist. Etc etc. Perhaps this is all a bit much for the more reasonable out there.
To ambitious politicians such as Obama or running mate Joe Biden, that's just crazy; they can't imagine folks who care more about family or community than about getting ahead. [T]his doesn't mean that people in places like Elk County or Centre County aren't ambitious -- they are. But rather than focus on material needs, they focus on being better parents or better hunters, better Christians 2
People connect with this sort of bullshit through a recognizable, realistic and sympathetic vessel: Joe the Plumber:
he did appear on stage in jeans and a checkered shirt as the crowd applauded and chanted, “Joe! Joe! Joe!” Later, he signed autographs. 3
Though he’s been chewed up and spat out by the political machine, he’s not giving up and he’s a hero to millions who identify with his psuedo-plight as an American Taxpayer. The old blues on the radio are repeating their old dream of a better place in a better world. That world doesn’t exist in Joe the Taxpayer’s mind: the McCain campaign is counting on your vote for the rights of those who have achieved the dream to kick the ladder out from under them. Let the poor and weak suffer and if I made it, so can they no matter what the circumstance. These old white and rich testaments to the American Dream in action never look back to the old era they were raised from: the world of Selma, segregation, national bigotry, war and a giant economic deficit. Just keep your eyes on the ball, don’t look up at us and you’ll die quietly after a life of labor and the politics of contradiction.
I realize there are those American workers who labor long and hard and still don't earn much money. There is nothing wrong with giving them a tax cut - assuming they pay taxes in the first place, and not all low-income people do. But there is something wrong with extending that benefit to those Americans who - for one reason or another - haven't invested what they should or made bad choices, took the easy road, passed up the chance to get more education or additional skills, refused to relocate for better jobs and so on.
There isn't a parent of grown children anywhere in the country who doesn't understand this concept. They may love their children equally, but that doesn't stop them from acknowledging that their offspring - like all human beings - perform at different levels and reap benefits accordingly.
This is the refrain of modern conservatism. The epic struggle against perceived hardship leads you to the imaginary world where you’ve conquered racism and poverty where you claim your rightful portion of your gross income. Meanwhile your secretary, nurse, tailor, bartender, cab driver, vendor, and countless others you meet along your day-long story between the life of excess suffer from lack of health care, wondering if the paycheck will pay off some of that hospital bill or tuition towards your American Dream, albeit in a lackluster, unforgiven form. It is the will of God, now, for what its worth. The credo.
Fuck the weak, ignore the poor, and stick to your guns. You ignore the outliers: the hard-working, under-privileged poor and make examples from a hand-picked selection of Republicans. Make the believers believe. I believe in Obama because I believe in those words. I believe what he says. When you start criticizing Obama on his words you take on the lost argument against Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Jesus’ words before he turned water to wine or brought Heath Ledger back from the dead. I do believe in those words. I believe in those words like I believe in the words of the Constitution and the long-time-suffering Bill of Rights. Of Equality. Of sickness and health. Of principles backed by riots and assassinations. American Fear dictates less and less from the idealists that make their mark by speaking words of Hope and the ideal view of what this country could become. Come Tuesday, we will have Democracy. The people get what they deserve.
That brings us up against the 48th hour before we start getting returns, and my low battery indicator here at Sugar Maple where I’m stealing Cafe Centraal’s wifi. The self-fulfilling prophecy of politics.