FH Musing @107

Comrade Stuck offers a quip in response to George Lakoff 's article on The Obama Code

Remnants of the democrat politics by grace. Rise above those heathen wingnuts and ignore them and everything will work out fine. The American people will recognize their douchebaggery for what it is and choose us.

Though republicans themselves have pretty much screwed themselves with respect to their image with voters, dems like Lakoff miss the point entirely on why it is a good idea to at least call the right wing on their bullshit. I think many AMericans know Liimbaugh and his followers,( which is the bulk of the current GOP when you add in those who hate him but fear him more) are full of shit. The problem is, imo, many voters are more interested in the fact that liberals at least stand up to the wingers, regardless of the content of the argument. Call it the wimp factor they are gauging, and they don’t want wimps representing them.

Funhouse Musing #106

Repartee over tea, in response to Comrade Stuck's essay's on Conservatism and it's pending demise.

I’ve said it before on this blog and others, sometimes mocked a little (not here) that the GOP now under control of southern ideologues are operating out a mindset that says, I don’t accept your liberal constitution and many of it’s basic tenets. Such as separation of church/state, individual civil liberties, and a whole array of notions of fairness and restricting government power. It is often a subtle and maybe even an un conscious (though less so with each passing day it seems) drive toward a type of authoritarianism grounded in centuries of the southern aristocratic lifestyle and ideology thought to be previously conquered with the Civil War and subsequent apartheid era, that only was thwarted 30 or 40 years ago. Read it in the rebellion talk growing on the right, whipping themselves into a state of mind of "hell no we won’t go". Add to that the political Fait Compli of the southern strategy with national elected offices split amongst two parties largely along the old Mason Dixon line and you have a setup for real secession overtones, not just culturally, but throughout our governing bodies at the national level. The bulk of the country has firmly turned against the beliefs and policies of the old south currently embodied in the GOP. And are turning toward the traditional polices of the democratic party, the ones calling for fairness for average people and restoration of the middle class. Only a complete failure of dems to fix the destruction wrought by 30 years of RW policies can change the direction now set. And if that happens, we may be in for the era of guns and knives.

Funhouse Musing #105 Wingnut

*discussions about Ed Morrissey/wingnut

Ed and all the other wingnuts, at least the ones not currently clawing out each others eyes, have slipped into full reactionary mode. This is the GOP in the 50’ and 60’s before they gathered the feuding clans together for the Conservative Movement"—based on limited government, restrained foreign involvements (ie nation building), and deregulation. Reagan tightened up the unholy alliance, and at least paid homage to the core tenets of conservatism movement style. Though in realty, he did raise taxes and grow government, and meddle in foreign countries( Central and South America mostly). But the press and public was to engrossed in his cheerful Americana persona and let those things pass.

Comes along dufus George with his delusions of grandeur and Churchill/Ghandi/and dualing FDR/Hoover lovechild (no regulation with big spending on Med. prescription for big Pharma) fantasies and flushes the Conservative Movement down the shitter. They have nothing left to but spout discredited Burkean bullshit and now hypocritical Buckley high dugeon conservative principle. And of course, watching Obama for anything to criticize, down to his lack of proper dress for the oval office. I expect the new Obama family dog will be vetted accordingly.

Funhouse Musing #104 Dem/Repub

*from conversations with Comrade Stuck

I would agree that ideology of the left and right and the electorate are in a significant flux right now. He forgets the politics of the 60’ and 70’ was a stormy amalgam of an unpopular war with a high draftee death count and a society trying to wrestle free from Victorian age social constraints.

The republican party has mostly been about a disparate group of factions with some similarities but dominated by hatred of the lefts beliefs and equal hatred for being out of power. They still hate the left, now even more, but the need to come together for winning elections is over for now. Overpowered by countervailing interests that have always been there. And now with southern ideology firmly in control.

I don’t think the left is all that much different than it has always been. It has new causes and new tensions between it’s factions, but mild in comparison to the GOP. We remain, imo, a party with factions that fundamentally agrees with one another, save for different emphasis on importance of one issue over another, and the details for dealing with it. Of, course now that the GOP is insane and irrelevant, that fighting dem spirit too often gets turned in on itself and we argue about a 19 month IRaq withdrawal versus 16, or when Obama does a Crazy Ivan left or right, and what that means.

Funhouse Musing #103 Democrats

*from conversations with Comrade Stuck

I agree, and that the shift is primarily back to the long time zone for traditional democratic belief. which boiled down, is a fair shake for the average citizen. That’s why it makes me chuckle with glee when wingnuts screach and run around cawing Porkulus, and socialist and Obama’s numbers keep going up. The country has just awoken from a 30 year wingnut failed experiment and get it. Common sense, a sense of fair play, and someone who so far is looking out for their interests is on the job once again. A democrat like Truman, Kennedy, FDR, and a sometimes Clinton. And BTW, trying to save industry and reform it at the same time is in everyone’s interest.

Hannnutty in Full Battle Regalia