SSSHHH… Not in Front of the Servants
Is it just me, or is GOP giddiness about their chimerical but purportedly inevitable “sweep” in the next election leading them into near daily outbursts of unseemly candor? Those of us on the left know quite well that they hold their non-rich supporters in utter contempt, but they at least used to recognize that most of them are capable of understanding simple phrases. ”Personal Responsibility” certainly stood for a lot of punitive and harmful things, but until the Palin/Beck Cuckoo Crack-up of 2008-9, they didn’t actually come out and just say them. My, what a difference a year or two of teabagging makes.
When I look back at the cringe-inducing but disarmingly vague expressions of George Bush, like “armies of compassion,” I have to admit that Chris Matthews, for perhaps the fourth time in his career, might actually be correct about something; a little nostalgia for Bush is probably in order. After all, the horror of eight years of zero job growth, a ruined economy, two lost but continuing wars, and a soaring deficit “forcing” draconian social spending cuts are a little easier to tolerate when Bush at least had enough respect for the voters’ intelligence not to proudly sell such shockingly undesirable outcomes in advance. His ideological soulmates still in office, however, see no more need for such gauzy and effeminate euphemisms as they busily deflect blame and promise dreadful consequences for the catastrophe they themselves caused. They just come right out and say that poor people should be starved so they can’t breed, sick people deserve to die for their dissolute habits and poor planning, so-called “terrorists” should be locked up and tortured if not summarily executed without so much as a trial, and the millions of unemployed should be cut off without a cent so they get off their slovenly asses and fix the Servant Problem. Unlike the more politely imperious ruling classes of yore, this bunch proudly blurts this stuff out right in front of said servants in a way I find, at least tactically, a bit dumb, and that’s putting it mildly.
Just to make things even more blindingly obvious, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gleefully exulted over the Republican-engineered Citizens United ruling, probably the least popular Supreme Court Decision of my lifetime, as though even the most spelling-challenged teabagger would fall for the idea that corporations ought to be “free” to, well, buy elections. Illinois Representative Paul Ryan one-upped him, though, when he came out and said that Medicare and Social Security, unfortunately, would have to go, too, because the rich are nervous about their portfolios again. Once such radical and obnoxious affronts to what remains of our status as a nominal democracy were greeted in the media with nodding approval, why wouldn’t Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning say “tough shit” while singlehandedly dumping millions of the unemployed into destitution? Don’t like it? Talk to the finger. And why wouldn’t multiple right-wingers use the Chilean earthquake to set diligently to work on the murderous CIA-installed right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet’s “legacy project?” Crazier things have worked before.
As I’ve said before and will again, a grim necessity for which I apologize in advance, the relentlessly uncritical parroting by the media of Republican “ideas” as their proponents continue to spin further into the vortex of their own vanity, greed, and risibly unwarranted delusions of superiority will leave them in an uncomfortable spot come November, unless they go back to lying, and pronto. You may be able to say what you really think on television, and have everyone on your side of the red light think it’s both wise and prescient (although even George Bush, for all his flaws, was usually smart enough not to do so), but it bodes ill when you forget that there are actually real people watching who have a lot more free time to watch, thanks to your brilliant stewardship of the economy.
My mother had a favorite expression about serial liars, “He’d lie when the truth would sound better,” which was at least a standard to which one could formerly hold Republicans. Now they’re telling the truth, and it isn’t pretty.
McConnell told the truth ? Holy S&*%!!!!!! I usually play a game (mentally), trying to guess how many lies he’ll tell in the first three minutes.( I lose track after that.)
The Pinochet legacy project?!!! Please tell me you’re joking. :
Unfortunately, no. It started with Pat Robertson, but today (or maybe yesterday) it was in an op/ed in the WSJ… Pinochet (with the help of the sainted Milton Friedman, natch) saved lives with the building codes (established under Allende and beefed up 3 years after Pinochet left, inconveniently…) and miraculous economic “development.” Not like those shiftless Darkies in Haiti, ya know. And there is a certain logic, since the earthquake only killed about 1/5th as many Chileans as Pinochet did.
It all goes back to this man …
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/01/business/financialtimes/main6256362.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.10
Let’s clean out the goddamn Boraxo box and be honest!
I read that FT story, and even had to sign up to do so. (I especially loved the cartoon of the Russian dolls that went with it…) Sometimes I feel like a fancy pants liberal elitist when I focus, once again, on “teh stoopid.” but how can you not?
I really think we’re way beyond fretting that any critique of today’s so-called conservatives – sons and daughters of Ronnie – is “liberal elite” carping. In fact it’s precisely this stock response from the American right, trotted out in part as a reaction to the Sixties and all that went with it, which has distorted all political labeling in our debates.
It is Orwellian.
I think it’s all one big, steaming pile now, one which the whole world can see as raw, race-baiting, kick the poor, American nationalism.
The real joke is these people think the larger world is paying attention to them, rapt perhaps over their every utterance, when in fact I’ll bet the larger world is horrified.
That Palin is so lacking in any sense that she blurts without a beat that running for the presidency is just the perfect career move if the road opens up for her, snaps it. It just proves how unaware she is, thinking that it’s just some job, no different than any other, which she should be able to do.
As Gen. McAuliffe, the commander of the 101st Airborne in Bastogne said in a different context in December 1944: “Nuts!”
It’s all nuts.
I guess that they’re right; government is down to the state, if not size, where you could drown it in the bathtub, so why not do so?
I hasten to add: I’m fully supportive of a woman being president, but not this woman. Not in a million years.
Populist madness …
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35675956#35675956
Y’know, Dirigo, I found my self not so enamored of that Ratigan character in that video. He was more than a little O’Reilly-like, in his inability to let his opponent speak. Sometimes I’m a little infuriated with Thom Hartmann for his overly reasonable demeanor with cuckoo people, but usually it ends up better to let them talk and do the dirty work for you.
I think more and more people are veering off the rails …
No worries Dirigo.
The truly insulting thing is that, of all the female conservatives out there, women of integrity (as much as any Republican can have, that is) and intelligent capability, they threw this unbelievable caricature at the electorate.
She is the complete cartoon image of the male republican fantasy and it is, by definition, the ultimate slap in the face toward women who understand the significance of what we have fought to achieve in society.
p.s. Hag – I’m wearing the ring. I believe that it has extreme healing powers. ;-}
And I’m wearing the coyote, to your health of course, but it’s also still a little chilly. I feel better, I hope you do, too.
Pedinska, the blame for Palin lies at the clay feet of the senator from Arizona.
I am very disappointed in him, more than you know, considering our (his and mine) background from a long time ago.
Words fail me. Utterly.
Nerve block in the leg before surgery works wonders. It’s still going strong 12 hours post. And, of course, there will be copious amounts of medications to replace the pom-tini. Not nearly as tasty though. ;-}
Oh, hell Pedinska, you can have both. I never follow those silly labels, and look at me!
Well, I tend to get every side-effect possible with some medications and alcohol really doesn’t mix well with at least two things I’m having to take. The pom-tinis aren’t going anywhere. And neither am I for the next three weeks!
I can always have Richard mix me up Pommie Temple.
He hasn’t already? What do you keep him around for? Ooops. Never mind.
Typical resmuglican ” thinking “. John Kyl – ” unemployment insurance just leads to more unemployed people “. Yup. And if we can just outlaw auto insurance traffic accidents will disappear. GOP rule #1 – create victims, #2 – blame victims, #3 – have Faux News villify victims as the reason the economy has tanked.
I’ve long suspected that that’s why Republicans actually prefer a bad economy… It makes the cruelties large and small seem “necessary.” And if they can’t destroy the economy fast enough, there’s always war.
It is some kind of litmus test for the American people. Will they be “stoopid” enough to slurp up the wingnut propaganda once again? A lot of arguments could be made in favor of it. Then again, the average voter, while often lacking interest and education, may still have some residual gut feeling about the (lack of) wisdom behind putting Palin into the White House.
I am curious….
Well, I have a little more faith in my countrymen than that; I saw Palin last night on Leno and her IQ seems the same, but her victim schtick just gets staler and staler.
PS… I’m surprised you didn’t comment on the Heel quote in the title; you were a little liquored up at the time, as I recall, though.
Oh, Tart,
believe me I had a big smile when I read the blog title. I remember clearly the many good laughs we got out of the “Youth Educator” handbook from 1890 and its incredibly (at least to our “modern” ear) funny words of advice along the lines “…don’t talk about problems in front of children or servants…”
Oh and yes, I may have had a beer (one or two) when you first placed your one finger in front of your lips and then, with that Tart-Smirk I miss so much, pointed towards Consuela. The simple “SSSHHH…” that followed made us explode in laughter.
I am surprised you have that much faith in your countrymen. I am torn, myself. I want to give them more credit but I also have to witness a lot of ignorance and ever since Dubbya, this ignorance and impertinence seems to be socially acceptable and is presented without the slightest bit of shame.
My dad is currently visiting from the Fatherland and we had a short discussion about this topic last night. He asked me if Americans could possibly elect Mrs. Palin president. My answer was that I am not sure but I reminded him with my own smirk that they had in the past elected a jelly bean suckling moron – twice no less. I remember the mix of satirically amused, yet also horrified reaction the election of Reagan caused among the European intelligenzia. My dad back then was convinced that Mickey Mouse was soon to follow. Well I guess with Sarah, we are as close to Mickey Mouse as one can reasonably expect. BTW, I also followed up with a rather self humbling mentioning of the fact that Germans in the 30s democratically elected an Austrian mad man with epic consequences…