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I have very little time this morning, but I want to put down a few thoughts about the end of the RNC (see, I did watch a little of it).
1. Putting up Zel Miller to be your firebrand is smart, because he's absolutely nuts and a Democrat - or at least the tag says so. He can be as crazy as he wants, ranting and raving. "See, he's mad, and a donkey!" GOP'ers can still claim to be compassionate, because they didn't yell like raving looneys. No wonder he's not running again. Georgia, I feel sorry for you that you had to deal with this dinosaur.
2. You can bring your family onstage, but only if we make an Orwellian fix. "Look, it's Dick Cheney's family!" "Wait, doesn't he have another daughter?" "why of course not. How could he, his family id double plus good." Even though Mary Cheney is working for the campaign, she didn't appear with her family. I guess the appearance of such a "selfish hedonist" would send the delegates into a horrible frenzy. It might include bookburning and looking for Frankenstien's monster with torches ("Look, the pesants are revolting!"). Truly sad for such a compassionate group.
3. I agree with Richard (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dedagda) when he said much of Bush's speech could include the statement "unless you're gay." His re-iteration of one of the most divisive planks does seem to go against the idea of "running to the center"
4. If Democrats are tax and spend, then what are Republicans? Democrats at least talk about Pay as you Go, you know, how most families do it. The whole idea of spending cuts when you give back people's taxes has become alien to this group. The government will be insolvent if they give Bush everything he proposed last night, and apparently they don't care. Do they know something we don't? is the Rapture coming soon, so they think they will be off the hook? No matter, we'll just have to mop up the mess.
5. Vague strategery. If it's not the "tax reform" bit, it's the war. There's no word on how anything would actually be accomplished. No end in sight, no telling how things are going, just vague statements that we'll make the world safer (as we piss off the rest of it), make democracies (in a new version of colonialism), and win the unwinnable. So what's next? With Iraq changing, iran is getting more irritated, do we go there? Saudi Arabia isn't looking like the ally we thought they were, what do we do about that? Many more questions than answers.
6. I still believe that fighting to prevent terrorism is important, but I'm certainly not happy about the way it's being done. I'm not one to keep appeasing people when the time for appeasement has past, but I can't think that being xenophobic gets us anywhere. I can truly say that W's father was a much more compassionate and worldly man than his son is, and had a much better worldview, working with, rather than against others to create a more tolerant world. You can't just bend everyone to your will.
7. Self-depreciation was actually the best part of the speech. It actually humanized him a little. Still, I got a kick when the protesters got into the "secure' MSG.
8. From the Daily Show: The Republicans are the party in power. Why are they so angry about the way things are going?
9. I don't know what the Kool-Aid the attendees were drinking, but man, I can't believe the agree with everything the man said. Dissent is OK, even in a political party. Even Arnold said so. Still, we saw the rabid right last night - and they don't dress so well (neither do I, but that's a whole 'nother thing). One point that bugs the hell out of me is the "Support the Troops" thing. In Republican terms, that also means you support the action, campaign, police action, whatever. If you don't support the action, you must hate the men and women of the military. This of course is absolute bullshit. I can support the troops, those that volunteered to do something i wouldn't do, but still criticize the reasons they are put in harm's way.
You can be a patriot without being a zealot. You can be for America without being religious, or white, or heterosexual, or a hawk.
Off to work, waiting for that tax reform...
1. Putting up Zel Miller to be your firebrand is smart, because he's absolutely nuts and a Democrat - or at least the tag says so. He can be as crazy as he wants, ranting and raving. "See, he's mad, and a donkey!" GOP'ers can still claim to be compassionate, because they didn't yell like raving looneys. No wonder he's not running again. Georgia, I feel sorry for you that you had to deal with this dinosaur.
2. You can bring your family onstage, but only if we make an Orwellian fix. "Look, it's Dick Cheney's family!" "Wait, doesn't he have another daughter?" "why of course not. How could he, his family id double plus good." Even though Mary Cheney is working for the campaign, she didn't appear with her family. I guess the appearance of such a "selfish hedonist" would send the delegates into a horrible frenzy. It might include bookburning and looking for Frankenstien's monster with torches ("Look, the pesants are revolting!"). Truly sad for such a compassionate group.
3. I agree with Richard (
dedagda) when he said much of Bush's speech could include the statement "unless you're gay." His re-iteration of one of the most divisive planks does seem to go against the idea of "running to the center" 4. If Democrats are tax and spend, then what are Republicans? Democrats at least talk about Pay as you Go, you know, how most families do it. The whole idea of spending cuts when you give back people's taxes has become alien to this group. The government will be insolvent if they give Bush everything he proposed last night, and apparently they don't care. Do they know something we don't? is the Rapture coming soon, so they think they will be off the hook? No matter, we'll just have to mop up the mess.
5. Vague strategery. If it's not the "tax reform" bit, it's the war. There's no word on how anything would actually be accomplished. No end in sight, no telling how things are going, just vague statements that we'll make the world safer (as we piss off the rest of it), make democracies (in a new version of colonialism), and win the unwinnable. So what's next? With Iraq changing, iran is getting more irritated, do we go there? Saudi Arabia isn't looking like the ally we thought they were, what do we do about that? Many more questions than answers.
6. I still believe that fighting to prevent terrorism is important, but I'm certainly not happy about the way it's being done. I'm not one to keep appeasing people when the time for appeasement has past, but I can't think that being xenophobic gets us anywhere. I can truly say that W's father was a much more compassionate and worldly man than his son is, and had a much better worldview, working with, rather than against others to create a more tolerant world. You can't just bend everyone to your will.
7. Self-depreciation was actually the best part of the speech. It actually humanized him a little. Still, I got a kick when the protesters got into the "secure' MSG.
8. From the Daily Show: The Republicans are the party in power. Why are they so angry about the way things are going?
9. I don't know what the Kool-Aid the attendees were drinking, but man, I can't believe the agree with everything the man said. Dissent is OK, even in a political party. Even Arnold said so. Still, we saw the rabid right last night - and they don't dress so well (neither do I, but that's a whole 'nother thing). One point that bugs the hell out of me is the "Support the Troops" thing. In Republican terms, that also means you support the action, campaign, police action, whatever. If you don't support the action, you must hate the men and women of the military. This of course is absolute bullshit. I can support the troops, those that volunteered to do something i wouldn't do, but still criticize the reasons they are put in harm's way.
You can be a patriot without being a zealot. You can be for America without being religious, or white, or heterosexual, or a hawk.
Off to work, waiting for that tax reform...
