Monday, November 07, 2011

The Elephant Walk

Can you believe the presidential election is less than a year away? So, here's what's going to happen. After another dozen or so more debates, the Republican presidential candidates are going to loathe the sight of each other because there's no way to weed anyone out of the process before the primaries begin. The worthy Jon Huntsman will be first to go, followed rapidly by Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum, Paul, Cain, and any other fringe candidates. Except, they're all fringe candidates. This will leave only Mitt Romney and the idiot Rick Perry standing, even after the stunningly ridiculous vaudeville routine the Texas governor delivered in New Hampshire that has become a viral video. By the time the GOP Convention begins in Tampa next August, the nominee designate will be Romney, because the Republicans always nominate the rugged looking guy who's turn has arrived, just like Bob Dole and John McCain. This will leave the Tea Party faction madder than Herman Cain's wife. They'll beg someone; anyone, to be the ABR (Anyone but Romney) candidate, up to and including Sarah Palin and Jeb Bush, and when rebuked they'll attempt a brokered convention or try to draft someone. But in the end, Romney will be the man and the Tea Party will go insane. They'll either attempt a third party  run with God knows who, perhaps Glen Beck, or intentionally sabotage Romney's campaign. For the Tea Party crowd, the choice between a Muslim or a Mormon is too much to fathom.

I know this because I have (insert your own cliche here: read this book, seen this movie, trodden this path) before. The only variable is at which party's convention will the most protesters gather. And  what happens in the streets could revive that whole "law and order" business the Republicans have run on so successfully before in times of civil disobedience. Already, they mock the "Occupy" movement as being populated by hippies and the homeless. It's unpredictable what will happen when the movement "occupies" Tampa because of Florida's irrational governor Rick Scott and the allegiance of the police. In 1968, when the Democrats nominated the moderate Hubert Humphrey, who was a defender of LBJ and the Vietnam War, street protests turned into bloody, skull-cracking melees after Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley unleashed his baton-swinging police on the protesters, in what an independent commission later determined a "police riot." The ugliness and brutality caused the populace to turn to Richard Nixon, our second worst president, to restore order in the land. The moderate Democrat lost because of discord within the party and the anger of the liberal left. Mitt Romney will lose because of the same anger on the rabid right. My hope is that voters are enlightened enough to see that the Tea Party Congress they put in power in 2010 has done nothing but harm, and they will just as assuredly vote them out. The right-wing's blitzkrieg on public employees and their unions should seal the deal.

Everyone seems to have gotten the message but the police. As public employees, their rights are under siege as surely as teachers, city service laborers, and nurses. The right's open war on collective bargaining includes police unions too, yet police forces in Oakland, New York, Chicago, Denver, Boston, Atlanta, and Nashville have attacked the "Occupy" camps with violence and arrests. If the police were not ensnared in an "us vs. them" scenario, they would join the protesters instead of beating them. But riot squads train for similar situations requiring crowd control, and when assembled to face a large group of disgruntled citizens, they will exercise that training. When the police are ordered by a municipal lackey to dismantle an assembly with nightsticks, helmets, Plexiglas shields, pepper spray, and all the toys, don't you think they're going to use them? If Memphis Mayor A C Wharton were wise, and I know he is, he would instruct the police to protect the protesters in the Civic Center Plaza against predators in their midst, and put up a dozen port-a-potties as a gesture of goodwill. If nothing else, the movement has Bank of America quaking in their jackboots. New York police arrested 24 people over the weekend who were attempting to remove their funds from Citibank.

The Democratic Convention, which usually attracts the most protesters, will be in Charlotte, N.C. in September. Depending on the state of the economy and the intransigence of the Republicans in office, President Obama will either be regaled as the guardian against the barbarians at the gate, or excoriated for granting the Tea Party Congress a foothold by trying to reason with them in the first place. Nonetheless, Democrats don't force their members to sign tax pledges or defend traditional marriage, like Kim Kardashian's, from the encroachment of the gay hoards wishing to live happy lives, so the convention should be less tumultuous. Despite the expected Obama anger outside, within the convention hall, Democratic unity has been strengthened by the irrationality of the opposing party. Regardless of the President's shortcomings as a political negotiator, none of the carnival barkers that pass for Republican candidates can match him for intelligence, judgement, or respect on the international stage. So, with zero precincts reporting, I can now predict the next president will be Barack Obama. The question is, what will happen with Congress?

The country desperately needs a jobs program for infrastructure repairs, educational improvements, and technological advances, but we'll never get there with the conservative logjam that blocks any and all progress. The House Republicans have wasted their opportunity to lead with a series of meaningless bills concerning social issues rather than addressing the real economic concerns that have made the U.S. a borrower nation. And the Senate has been paralyzed for years by the tyranny of the minority and their misuse of the filibuster. Early on, Senate Republican leader Mitch "Frogman" McConnell freely acknowledged the party's supreme goal was to unseat Obama, and their "just say no" tactics should be repugnant to anyone who values democracy. Yet, in spite of the GOP's obstruction, Obama brought the nation back from the brink of a second great depression, passed healthcare insurance reform, saved the American auto industry and accelerated the development of the electric car, killed Osama bin Laden, stopped a genocide in Libya (for which he was criticized as "leading from behind"), which enabled the Libyan people to kill a murderous dictator, and he ended the war in Iraq. Imagine what he might accomplish with legislators who actually had the best interests of the country at heart.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

You've crossed the line.

You owe an APOLOGY to Clarence "Frogman" Henry....How could you ever lend such a hallowed name to a guy like the likes of Mitch McConnell?

Anonymous said...

I actually think Newt may emerge as the candidate. And I hope he does because he is the smartest one up there. He would have Barry stuttering like a m**********r.

Anonymous said...

You said "... and the Tea Party will go insane."
Uh, .......

Anonymous said...

The rabid, hateful faction of the Tea Party will fight tooth and nail to keep Romney, "The Human Pretzel", from representing the GOP at the top of the ticket.But backroom power brokers, e.g. Rove and Robertson, could convince the GOP radicals to live with a TP candidate in the second position. As the "blockade" Republicans in Congress continue to seal their fate as the least liked Congress in history, we can only hope the American electorate will send them home with their collective "tails" between their legs and elect representatives who will actually work to create jobs and growth to pull the economy out of its tailspin. Romney is the only choice for the GOP if they intend to capture the center demographic as they have alienated blacks, Latinos and women in their "red meat" spectacle for these last few months. One thing for certain, this will be the ugliest, "down and dirty" presidential campaign America has ever witnessed.

Alan said...

"They'll either attempt a third party run with God knows who, perhaps Glen Beck, or intentionally sabotage Romney's campaign. For the Tea Party crowd, the choice between a Muslim or a Mormon is too much to fathom." They will want Beck ,a Mormon, yet against choice between a Mulsim and Mormon is too much to fathom. Randy THINK!

Anonymous said...

I loved Hubert Humphrey but I would call him a liberal -- if only for his wonderful speech on minority rights at the 1948 convention. OF course I wasn't wild abut his support of the Vietnam War, but what else could he do as LBJ's VP?

Also, as much as I despise Nixon, he was not our 2nd worse president simply because such valuable legislation as founding the Environmental Protection Agency, and promoting the Clean Air act and OSHA. I don't include Clean Water because that passed over his veto. Just saying, we've had worse than that -- like the six presidents before Lincoln.

Anonymous said...

I believe Randy is the only one THINKING here to begin with. What were you thinking ?

Anonymous said...

Alan, fact is, a neanderthal's thinking is about a light-year ahead of your self serving comments always attacking the Blogger. This is not your stage, try Vaudville.

Alexander Fleming said...

Alan, since we apparently don't evince an understanding of sarcasm in our recent remarks, let's revisit Randy's statement. It's called "hyperbole". You see, if Randy were to say, "The bag weighed a ton," you would really know that it didn't ACTUALLY weigh a ton, but you know what he meant anyway. Right? Right!

So, in a similar vein, we know that Obama, (who really wasn't born in the U.S., right?), really isn't a Muslim.

And Glenn Beck REALLY isn't a Mormon. I don't care what he professes to be. He ain't "actually" LDS. He's a cynical opportunist, and it suits him to say that he converted to that faith. However, I doubt that the LDS church elders would claim him.

The Tea-Tards know this. That's why they'd support Beck over Romney, even though Beck "says" he's Mormon. But he isn't. Not "really". Not if you're tea party.

I'm really sorry Cain's campaign is imploding so soon. Maher is so right--if Cain were nominated, and ran against Obama, every bigot in the GOP would have to slit his own throat.

Randy Haspel said...

Gee Alan, you caught me in a mistake. I forgot that Beck was Mormon. So please remove Beck and insert the name of any of the hatemongers you listen to on a daily basis.

Bossypants said...

Alan, Can you say "ouch"?

Alan said...

Randy I have known you a long time. You should make your points on facts and leave off the slurs. One Anonymous said I always attack you. All he or she wants is to hear one side of the argument. The only way we progress is to openly hear both sides and do some critical thinking. If you shut yourself of from the other side you can no longer make a truly informed decision and just become a blind follower.

Anon...er, James Hooker said...

Randy, er, Randolph, I must say that the name ¨Anonymous¨- wherever I find it, puts me off. Sign your name or go read a fucking book.

Anon 1:
I hate ¨I Ain´t Got No Home¨

Anon 2:¨I actually agree with you on Newts debating skills - even with no teleprompter. One question though: Is it physiologically possible to stutter and shit your pants at the same time? Seems like there would be at least a short interval.

Anon 3. The Flea party´s NOT insane?

Anon 4. (Or maybe still anon 3 - can´t tell) I´m ready for down and dirty. Plus, are you saying there is no rabid, hateful factions of the left? Get a grip. Two words: Za nax.

Alan. You signed your name! You might be wrong about Beck taking such a huge pay cut, but at least I can call you Alan.

Anon 5: He could have fucking been a man and resigned. And see, you didn´t hate Nixon as much as you thought you did.

anon 6 and 7: you´re starting to run together.OH -Anon 7: Bloggers blog, and therefore open themselves up for the occasional slap around. Goes with the territory.

Alexander. I actually saw Randolph, before he married Her Loveliness, with a bag that weighed a ton - tho in fairness to Randolph, it was closing time.

Randolph Haspel: Watch out Randy, he could be listening/watching MSNBC...they´ve got more than a thimble of hate too.

Bossypants: Alan gets points cause he used his name.

And Alan: (as of Thursday, November 10, 2011 11:14:00 AM CST) You´re right in this respect. Agendas are loaded guns when left in the hands of unsupervised children and the left AND right have them - by the box-car load.

My fingers hurt.

Alexander Fleming said...

Anon...er, James,

I can call you Betty. And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al!

:) :) :)

Anonymous said...

Alan, you should know by now that you are wasting your time and breath trying to get Sputnik to see the light. He suffers from the common liberal ailment of diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain. If a jaybird had his intelligence it would fly backward. This blog is the most laughable piece of journalistic bullshit on the web. All an intelligent person can do in the face of such misinformation and irrationality is to stand in shock and awe of the inanity of the liberal so-called mind. God save us from liberals. Everything that they touch becomes dysfunctional. I only read this blog about once every other month to see if the laughable excrement is still oozing from Sputnik's mouth and alas, it is. I wish that I could bring myself to pray for him, but I honestly think that he is beyond redemption. And that is not a laughable matter.

Sigmund Freud said...

Anon 11-11-11 9:12:00 PM CST:

Did you have potty training issues as a child?

Randy Haspel said...

Congratulations, Alan. You have a fan.

alan said...

Why can't people have a rational discussion and leave out all the personal crap. What is accomplished by name calling on either side. Just because you hate someone you do not further your point by belittling the person. It is not an intelligent way to win an argument.
All it does is to bring you down to the same level.

performs said...

So true, Alan! "Why can't people have a rational discussion and leave out all the personal crap."

Not only does it not win an argument, it does not show any sign of having anything to argue about. It seems to simply be a baseless boast of presumed superiority. How useless and pathetic is that?

Anonymous said...

An economist said that if the worthless, derelict rabble who call themselves Occupiers and 99%-ers were to earn as little as $34,000 per year they would be 1%-ers relative to the world's population. Any healthy person who can't earn at least $34,000 in America is probably more interested in handouts than in working to earn a living. I'd be willing to bet that they are also the bums who are fascinated with socialism. Most of those that I have known who were sympathetic to socialism or income re-distribution were too lazy and worthless to stay with a job for very long or were only interested in easy low paying jobs. When things go south for them they start squealing that someone else should pay their bills and that if they don't then they are selfish. In reality they are all cases oif arrested developmnt and sqealing titty babies crying for their bottle. I'll bet lots of fans of this blog fit into this category.

Anonymous's Econimuss said...

Anon 11-13-11 5:14:00 PM CST:

I never said that! You've just been hanging around with the wrong bums. Don't you know any capitalist bums, like the ones at Goldman Sachs, for example.

Anonymous said...

Alan in case you haven't noticed rationality doesn't go over very well on this blog and what you call personal attacks are actually an accurate description of the source of all of the bias, prejudice, and spin that attempts to pass for legitimate journalism. Sputnik is an unwavering leftist ideologue who will never give in one bit to opinions that oppose his own. He sees himself as the bearded, wise, thoughtful Marxist philosopher as depicted in the silly photo of himself which he sometimes uses. I merely attempt to remove his mask. Sorry if my mode of expression offends you. I have great respect for your intelligent attempts at proposing counterpoints. But again, you are wasting your breath. Truth is the biggest enemy of the left and no amount of truth will cause them to waver one iota on their path to perdition.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 5:14pm, you are so right about the Occupiers. The Democrats and the left in general portrayed the Tea Partiers as dangerous racists, homophobes, and even Nazis. In actuality, they were mostly older conservative Americans who want a return to constitutional government and fiscal responsibility, but this is dangerous heresy to the Democrats and the left. They hold up the trashy, destructive Occupiers who shit and fuck in public, get drunk, do drugs, and wantonly destroy property, and leave a trial of filth wherever they go as heroes to be emulated. One Democrat congressmen compared them to the brave revolutionaries who fought with Washington at Valley Forge. That is all any sane person needs to know about the Democrats. The elections of 2012 will see a tidal wave of oustings of these un-American, destructive fools from office. I can't wait.

Randy Haspel said...

Dear Anonymous Dumbass,
You may be interested to know that although Alan and I may disagree vociferously on these posts, we are, in fact, lifelong friends who once were roomates in the 70s. And nothing has changed because I know his heart. We've argued all our lives.

You, on the other hand, are merely a vile and hateful delusional moron, and you can kiss my ass.

Sorry, Alan. Sticks and stones and all that.

Anonymous said...

Gee Sput, I guess I forgot to say that you are an incurable adolescent with a nasty temper. You stamp your foot and call people names who call you out. It is usually twitty girls who behave like this. Is there something that you are hiding from us? Come on...fess up we are all adults. No one cares if you subscribe to Blueboy.

Melody Haspel said...

Okay, I wasn't going to say anything because this is Randys blog and his thoughts and rants and it should all be about that and NOT personal, but ..... no. You Mr. Anon asshole, you have to go and say stupid, nasty, PERSONAL things about a man that ony speaks HIS truth. What, are you an idiot on top of being a pussy? The least you could do is sign your name to your bullshit. Look we all have the right to say what is in our hearts and minds and like my mama used to say ... if ya can't stand the heat... well you all know what I mean. Stop the mean and nasty bullshit or you'll have to deal with alot of people who care about Randy.What kind of pussy writes such crap and then can't or won't take ownership? Balls to the wall buddy or go play somewhere else, Dick. By the way, my name is Melody Haspel, call me sometime if you need to know how to be!

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:37 Man did you hit the nail on the head! You get it. To liberals up is down and wrong is right. They live in Bizarro world. You libs go ahead and insult me for using a comic book reference. The fact is little Lulu would be a better president than that mistake in the white house.

Anonymous said...

I have written more than I intended to this time around. Lately, I have posted a single commentary and then split. I'll check you Bolsheviks out sometime in January. Like I said before I have decreased my activity here to about once every other month. My gag reflex can only take so much at one time. Sput, you have a very foul mouthed wife. Why didn't you marry a woman with some class? What trailer park did you pick her up in? I feel for you. By the way, my name is Gerald Wright, Jerry to my friends, and I live in Idaho. I lived in Memphis briefly back in the 70's and I still have a couple of like-minded friends there whom I very occasionally visit. That is where I picked up on this blog several years ago. Now that you know my name and where I live, what difference does it make? Call me Joe Blow or anything that you like. I will still go by Anonymous, but you will know who I am by my sweet spirit. I pester Sput because I can tell a four-flusher from a mile away, and he is a four flusher extraordinaire.

Anonymous Jerry said...

One last thing. I first heard of Sput back when I lived in Memfrica back in the 70's. I heard his band play a time or two in Overton Square and I remember being impressed. Years later after I had moved I visited an old friend and was turned on to his radio show. I have to admit that he was one of the best DJ's I had ever heard. My buddy heard his last radio show when he had some sort of liberal/psycho meltdown. I was saddened to learn that he was such a lefty. Later the same buddy turned me onto this blog. As many of you know I used to post here quite frequently, but it became too intellectually insulting which is why several months ago I reduced my exposure to an occasional drive-by. Like I said I will try to remember to fire a couple of shots sometime in Jan. to keep things spiced up. My bark is worse than my bite. I just have trouble refraining from rattling the cages of lefties. Later....

Melody Haspel said...

Jerry Wright.. well, well, well.. still a redneck I see. Same asshole as back in the day. Oh, and by the way if you can't stand my words then go somewhere else to read. What, a little cussing bother the "big bad ole neck"? You haven't changed a bit and it looks like it's a good thing you left Memphis. What a joke. Enough said.