Archives for October 2011

Eliot Spitzer Declares #OWS Already Won? Not Yet. But It’s A Start.

2011/10/15 By Dr Leo Strauss 20 Comments

The spectacle, energy and unpredictability are contagious. Some national media are suddenly departing from the phony narrative of Right and Center-Right politics to give glimpses of the Occupy Wall Street drama.

Twitter naturally offers a more dynamic, unfiltered stream of tactical initiatives. When Ad Busters sent the initial email now months ago calling for the Wall Street ‘culture jam’ the call was for something brave, visceral but transitory. How delightful to see that simple summons to action grow into such an organic, ad hoc celebration of the possible.

All of it independent of the compromised, exhausted corporate facades foisted upon us by now a cable company as the voice of “the Left” or “Progressives” or “non-Rightists”. Or Arianna’s cynical duping of her readers and contributors to create her personal cash out with the dying AOL. How many long for the day to be free of both?

For all of their raucous, disorganized sprawl, #OWS and its now global siblings speak without pre-packed theme music, fast-flash graphic segment intros and patronizing (insulting?) personality brand enhancing promos groomed by focus groups and Q ratings. In other words, within the #OWS multitudes it’s highly likely there are voices much like you and the Stiftung. There’s also something restorative to the soul to see and and be reminded America as she once was and could have been. #OWS greatest gift so far is tangible reminder “We are not alone”.

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Uncle Pat Sings The Same Old Song

2011/10/14 By Dr Leo Strauss 5 Comments

The Drudge Report is hyping Uncle Pat’s latest Spenglerian opus, “End Of An Era: When MTV Began To Play Michael Jackson,” or some such. According to the Drudge summary, it looks like Pat went back to his studio with his producer with one goal: to recapture the punch and power from his halcyon days. Some chapters, like Crisis of the Catholic Church, are particularly riff heavy, recalling the pyrotechnics of his epic Houston 1992 stage show. Perhaps it’s akin to his last will and testament to posterity?

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Republican Debates: Beyond Fatigue, Contempt

2011/10/11 By Dr Leo Strauss 18 Comments

Hard to imagine after tonight’s Republican debate yet another one follows on October 18th. The group dynamics revealed the candidates see Romney and Cain as front runners. Both emerged untouched. Overall, this cavalcade is a dispiriting manifestation of mediocrity made real.

Romney performed adequately, riding today’s earlier Christie endorsement. Cain enjoyed his attention, responding aggressively. Perry appeared slightly bored and disengaged. We saw no gaffes that would thin third tier candidates Bachmann serves no structural political purpose, nor does the languishing Huntsman. The latter, polling at less than 1%, must marvel he’s still invited to show up. Newt’s flattery campaign for everyone furthers his efforts to be an advisor for whoever wins. How he must rue that Cain built the campaign he envisioned for himself – one based on media coverage and hype, eschewing the traditional work and expense of building a ground game.

The debate’s theme? The economy. The words ‘middle class’ cut and pasted into traditional Rightist talking points. The Occupy development got cursory attention. Apart from contemptuous dismissal by others, Newt wisely embraced ‘well behaved’ demonstrators to shield the Tea Party. The candidates talked at middle class or more often, down to it, but not one bothers to embrace it. Why should they? It’s all but destroyed.

How fitting that the Senate earlier today voted down Obama’s concoction of Republican tax cuts and other proposals sold to rubes as a “Jobs Act”.

Day On The Green With Occupy D.C. October 2011

2011/10/09 By Dr Leo Strauss 9 Comments

I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the Malls at night
And revolution in the air

No, nothing even close to revolution in the air. And not even ‘Occupy D.C.’, whose K Street park base was empty, glowing green in the flickering Fall sunlight. Instead, another group, calling itself ‘October 2011’ gathered a small band in front of the White House, numbering perhaps 45. (The tourists and on lookers like the Stiftung swelled that number to may be 200). The October 2011 faction has been operating from a permit on Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the National Theater.

The signs and handouts varied from try Bush and Cheney for war crimes, end Israeli control over U.S. foreign policy, to demands for a beer summit with Obama. The leaders of the Octoberists are silver haired and remember fondly ‘Hey, hey, LBJ’ days. One of their flock took off his shoe and threw it at either the White House or a Secret Service officer. No one is sure which. After a brief flurry of force, the Octoberists were pushed away from the WH. He was hauled away and his medical history provided to The Man. Eventually everyone cooled down and the Secret Service permitted the 45 or so to gather in front of the WH gates to demand a beer summit.

When the Octoberists were informed Obama and staff were away at Camp David, a certain deflation set in. So the trek commenced back the 5 blocks to the Octoberist base on Freedom Square. Their permit expires tonight. It’s not clear they want to or would be invited to join Occupy D.C., whose permit on K Street is still valid. The Octoberist camp, in place for a week, was well laid out. A tent for legal aid. A medical tent. Code Pink educational seminars. Art displays depicting the loss felt by families for their fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the Afghan and Iraqi people.

All in all, it felt like mildly disgruntled PTA meeting without cookies or PDF agenda. The Octoberists seemed to celebrate their coming together and connection as much as wanting to impart any message. The chants were led but if a good riff came from the crowd, the group was open to improvisation.

Downtown, 10 feet away from the Octoberist base camp the Taste of D.C. festival closed down Pennsylvania Ave for blocks. Restaurants and companies from all over offered freebies to throngs. Most D.C. citizens seemed content to play with the GEICO Gecko or taste Armand’s Pizza. The Octoberist demonstrations seen as just more vaudeville theater adding color to a day on the town.

The entire vibe today wholly inapposite to video from NYC or the unctuous Erin Burnett ‘reporting’. D.C. police know big crowds, how to manage big crowds and when to lie low or make their presence felt. Unlike NYC it would be ludicrous to imagine the vaguely amused D.C. cops even thinking about using pepper spray. These were not crowds and if not PTA Meetings, rambunctious Cub Scout Den re-enactments.

And unless some new dynamic occurs, these are not the makings of 1848 or 1905, either.

Romney’s Brave New World

2011/10/08 By Dr Leo Strauss 10 Comments

Romney delivered his ostensible foreign policy address this week. In a nutshell, here’s what he declared:

Mr. Romney, whose vision generally called for a strong and resolute America to lead the world, also outlined eight specific actions he would take in his first 100 days if elected president. These include strengthening naval power by increasing shipbuilding; improving relationships with the country’s close allies like Israel, Britain and Mexico; increasing deterrent measures to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon; revisiting a missile-defense system; reviewing the country’s strategy in Afghanistan; and starting a campaign for economic opportunity in Latin America. (When he unveiled his economic plan in Nevada last month, he also offered the 10 actions he would take on his first day in the Oval Office).

Mr. Romney said he would use the “full spectrum of hard and soft power to influence events before they erupt into conflict.” Though much of the Republican field has yet to articulate their specific foreign policy views, Mr. Romney tried to differentiate himself from some candidates — as well as some members of the Republican Congress — who have advocated a more isolationist strain of foreign policy . . . In an American Century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world,” he said. “In an American Century, America leads the free world and the free world leads the entire world.”

Fortunately, one need not spend a great deal of time deconstructing the speech. For starters it’s from Romney and conveyed the conviction and steel of a teenager discovering pop music. Second, Romney himself is too smart to believe it. Part of private capital is show and puffery, but in the end it is ruthlessly empirical: do the numbers work? Romance is a no no. And the numbers simply don’t add up for any of Romney’s speech.

It’s all very Gee Dub Bush. Anachronistic, old school. Pure positioning for the primary. Still, the practiced cynicism to deliver this speech on this scale is world class. One can understand why he was so personally disliked by the other candidates in 2008.

Even the domestic specifics of Romney’s speech, increasing DoD’s budget and adding an additional 100,000 to the Army are essentially non-starters in the real world of Washington, D.C. politics. (Smartly, the Marines are actively seeking to down size). Romney said in Afghanistan merely he would ‘listen’ to his generals.