We’ll have more to say about this and our own conversations in a bit. Objective reaction aside, there’s also a certain skewed genius here.
Republicans In Vegas Fight For The Conch
Whether Anderson Cooper planned the mayhem or he lost control of the proceedings early on, slapped down disdainfully by the candidates, this Vegas affair showcased unleashed looniness. Proving one never knows. We were prepared for a snooze fest.
You, Dear Reader, doubtless have a favorite scuffle. Our macro take away? Romney content to let Republican primary voters draw the necessary conclusions seeing the competition. Cain did no damage to himself nor did he add energy to his trajectory. Did we miss anything?
Ralph: “Whoever holds the conch gets to speak.”
Jack: “Conch! Conch! We don’t need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things.”
The ‘Republican’ Inner Voice: Let Them Die
The hypothetical? If a young healthy person elects not to get health insurance but encounters sudden catastrophic medical emergency, should society help?
In fairness, Paul hearing the chants of ‘yeah, let him die’ answered ‘No’, suggesting the hypothetically illl person a Randian martyr and offering local charities. That moment an accurate snapshot about the health of our social contract. How lucky are we to have such a resolute champion to articulate the America we remember.
Chump Change
What to make of empty theater? Discussing something dead before arrival?*
Politically, the Boy King never looked so small, so pedestrian, so marginal. He’s just another cable marketer, flogging a cobbled together package of half measures and flinches. More Goldilocks Syndrome. If this was Obama’s idea of “going big” he’s obviously never even said ‘Supersize’ at McDonalds. And his small ball is already flat. So what was the point?
* (see Comment explaining Boehner and Cantor’s public posture of reasonableness)
[Read more…]
Republicans Debating Stuck In A Moment They Can’t Get Out Of
Tonight’s debate confirms Ed Rollins was right: it’s a Perry Romney race. We’ve only had one direct lengthy conversation with Rollins (and it was earlier this year). We felt him, of course, as he was a big presence down in Texas during the Perot bubble. He should be relieved to be out of that seat.
Perry showed steadinesss and vacuity that will soothe his oligarchical backers. His ‘social security is a ponzi scheme’ a calculated gamble. We disagree with the talking heads that see Romney as the clear winner. Perry’s dog whistles seismic. From South Carolina on we see Romney struggling – except possibly Florida.
Newt increasingly comes across as an aging hair metal band crashing a Gathering of the Juggalos. He seems content to suck up to everyone to maintain his perch as ‘ideas’ man. In his own mind, he probably has cast himself as Colonel House calling the shots in someone else’s White House.
The fossilized nature of ‘conservative thought’ striking but irrelevant. All the issues pushed around are camouflage. Wisconsin, Ohio and New Jersey more realistic models for the cloaked oligarchical agenda. It’s true enterprise zones were novel when Jack Kemp pushed them in the late 1970s/1980s. The Laffer Curve/supply side economics, too. If the Republican Party intended to be overt about its actual governing strategy the lack of intellectual innovation would be problematic. Now, it’s only for rubes.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 11
- Next Page »