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In penance for my sins, I watched the Republican National Convention tonight. Well, mostly, as I did flip to comic relief every once in awhile to the Browns-Bears preseason football game from time to time, and from what I saw there it was possibly one of the worst preseason football games ever, but I digress.
I did see Clint Eastwood’s speech, which had its humorous moments, and Marco Rubio’s, which would have made Torquemada blanch, and then, finally, Mitt Romney’s.
I’ve watched at least parts of lots of political conventions, starting in 1964 when I was six years old. Don’t remember much about those. I was ten when the DNC in Chicago unfolded, which was, to say the least, interesting. Then there was Nixon’s recoronation vs the hope of McGovern, the fresh smiling face of Jimmy Carter vs. the Nice Guy who was so nice he had pardoned Nixon, the truth-telling Carter vs. the American Exceptionalist fantasist Reagan, the I will raise your taxes Mondale vs. Fritzbusters, boring vs. boring, The Man from Hope vs. The Man Who Marveled at Supermarket Barcodes, President Let the Good Times Roll vs. A Mean Old Man, Wooden vs. Awshucks, Mr. Heinz vs. Awshucks, and Hope and Change vs. Another Mean Old Man and his White Trash Sidekick.
Then…this.
After an introduction delivered by a Batista Fascist saying that belief in God was what had founded America and made it great, Mr. Plastic took the stage.
Mitt Romney stuttered and stammered for over a half hour, made choreographed fake smiles, and tried to sell the American people that his experience making millions at Bain Capital by “improving” the companies Bain “invested” in qualified him to become a president who can create jobs. He only looked serious when he was enthusiastically leading cheerleading for unfettered “free enterprise,” ie capitalism, which he equated to families, faith, community, and yes, America itself. He promised unqualified support for Israel and Poland, and implied that his election would result in a new Cold War with Russia.
Yee-haw!
Never mind that Bain Capital never created a single American job for anyone not in the investor class, though it did destroy thousands. If you want to know how in an entertaining way, see Other People’s Money with Danny Devito and Gregory Peck.
No doubt the M$M will gush about what a fantastic speech Mr. Plastic gave, and no doubt national polls will give the Republican nominee a post-convention bump. Probably. Maybe.
All I could think was, first, do the Republicans really believe this crap? Even the RNC attendees weren’t exactly enthusiastic. And second, was this the best they could do?
Maybe it was, but either one of my cats could have put on a better act.
Obama’s going to destroy this fool.
And I’m still voting for Stewart Alexander. Good night, and good luck.
46 Comments
Recommended. That was, without a doubt, one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. I’m not sure if anyone will remember anything but that chair thing, but anyway, wow. Someone said, maybe on twitter, something about the astonishing decline in oratory, and I agree.
Recommended too. I’m an “old white man”, the only safe Republican demographic, and I find it amazing to see what a zoo the Republican party has become… I’m an old enough white man to remember Dwight D. Eisenhower and watching the convention it is if another 50s icon, Audrey Hepburn’s granddaughter had been arrested for being involved in a satanic cult.
As to voting for third party candidates, I think it all depends on what state you vote in. My absentee ballot is cast in Illinois, which is a shoe in for Obama… I can vote for a third party, make my statement and not put Romney in the White House… the opposite would be true in Texas, I also could vote for anybody without it affecting the result. But, if you live in Ohio or Florida or any of the swing states and this year you decide to make your “statement of principals”… you may be putting the Tea Party in control of the republic… think long and carefully before you do that… this moment in America is rather like Germany in the late 20s and early 30s… a very civilized country stands at the crossroads.
“…this moment in America is rather like Germany in the late 20s and early 30s… a very civilized country stands at the crossroads.”
This is a powerful statement. You are correct. Ike would not have tolerated any of this. The passing of Neil Armstrong to me is very sad. It symbolizes to me the “death of reason,” in America. We are indeed at a crossroads. The choice is the myopic self interest of business models which benefits are to trickle down, but don’t and defy gravity or the selfless actions of citizens committed to a goal, willing to die for progress and the evolution of a species.
America just lost an exceptional man. A real hero. We need more like him….
“…this moment in America is rather like Germany in the late 20s and early 30s… a very civilized country stands at the crossroads.”
This is a powerful statement. You are correct. Ike would not have tolerated any of this. Armstrong’s passing is very sad. It symbolizes to me, the “death of reason,” in America. We are indeed at a crossroads. The choice is the myopic self interest of business models which benefits are to trickle down, but don’t and defy gravity or the selfless actions of citizens committed to a goal, willing to die for progress and the evolution of a species.
America just lost an exceptional man. A real hero. We need more like him….
You can say that again! I think you did, come to think of it.
I stopped watching political conventions quite some time ago. Having had to put up with so many “Dog and Pony” shows of the corporate nature in my former profession. (Oh where is the ASPCA when you need them.)
Once they became nothing more than some media event – like some disaster of biblical proportions – they got old and tiresome after 30 seconds.
The same can be said of the candidates as well.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/best-they-could-get-accepts-republican-nomination,29383/
From John McCain to Mitt Romney proves one undeniable fact. Equal opportunity in higher education has been an abysmal failure.
Yup.
Ah, the moral relativism of Democrats. How courageous of you.
Again, here’s Jonathan Turley:
http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/john-cusack-jonathan-turley-on-obamas-constitution/
I’m proud to be voting for a third party candidate in purple state, and I hope others are, too. When they tell us it’s “okay” to vote for Obama if the race is close, they’re trying to take away our moral standing, and if we don’t have that, we’re as bad as Obama and his 1%.
If the Tea Party takes over thanks to people like you, frankly you can take your “moral standing” and insert it where the sun don’t shine.
Agreed. At the end of the day, you either support Obama, or you do not. And I do not support that scum-bag.
It is too bad that the democrats have become so awful that we can’t support them, but that is not our fault.
However, continuing to support them, no matter how bad they get, simply enables Obama (and others like him) to go ever further toward the Right.
If the democrats continue to slide to the Right, the tea party won’t need to take over—they’ll get all their policies enacted anyway.
Couldn’t have put it better myself. I don’t believe for a minute that Obama will treat me and mine any better than Romney would; he’d just say he regretted doing it as he takes money from the same people who back Romney.
To wit, Wall Street.
You’re in Spain, man, and have been in Europe for decades according to your own website.
You shouldn’t be allowed to vote any more than American Zionists who have forcibly displaced the locals in Palestine. Tell me this, do you get the luxury of voting in Spanish elections as well?
Yeah, yeah, I know. My ancestors took America by force from people who were already here. But at least I’m still freaking HERE!
Don’t tell me, or anyone else in America, how we should vote until you move back. I don’t tell the Spaniards or the French or the British or the Irish or anyone else how to vote in their elections. and demand the same in return.
There are millions of Americans living abroad and we have the right to vote we also have obligations. Since Illinois is in the bag for Obama, I probably won’t go through the paper work this year.
I wish everybody in the world who is affected by American policies (that’s everybody, everywhere) could vote in our elections too. The American government has no problem with interfering in the internal affairs of countries around the world and giving them unsolicited advice on how to govern themselves and organize their lives, so anybody who can affect American policies should exercise that privilege. Really your argument disappoints me.
You know damned well I am not in favor of the American government interfering in the internal affairs of countries around the world, or of American corporations and their subsidiaries doing the same, for that matter.
If everyone around the world could vote in American elections, would every nation in the world allow Americans to vote in theirs? Well, if you’re going to do that, you might as well have a world government. That’s a legitimate position for which I have some respect–I’d love to see something like Star Trek’s Federation show up–but I don’t expect to see it in my lifetime.
My point is that if you don’t live here, you can’t really understand what living here is like. It’s not your fault; just the way it is.
As for disappointing you, that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
I was born and grew up in the USA, my family has been in America since the 17th century… I spent my summers in my granny’s little village a half an hour’s drive from Hannibal Missouri, My father’s father was an Iowa farmer… Of course I “understand” what it is like to live in the USA, however I also understand what it is like not to live in the USA… an experience I think most of my fellow Americans would benefit from as much as I think I have.
If either duopoly candidate/parties take over, it’s because of the people who voted for them, not the people who didn’t.
Sorry, no. It is going to be close. Very close.
Unenthusiastic Republicans go to the polls and hold their nose and pull the level marked “R”.
Unenthusiastic Democrats do not go to the polls because they have better things to do, like clip their toenails or vote third party.
So take all the people who voted “R” last time — they will vote “R” this time.
Take the people who voted for Obama last time. You have evidence just from the comments in this thread alone that not all of them are going to vote for Obama.
I think you guys really need a third party. But it takes a really long time for a new party to gain the credibility and votes to even hope to make some sort of difference. And by a long time I mean > 30 years.
I also think this is an ideal time to start a third party. There will be a lot of disenchanted Democrats who will pull the lever, giving it a good start. But that is all it would be: a start. It would still take 30 years before it could get big enough to be a credible alternative to the existing two parties.
If we created something like the Federation, America would not be allowed in.
Oh and America would not WANT in. So there’s that.
Thanks Barbarian for saving me the disgust of watching the wannabe clown in chief of the repub variety play with his balloons. I’ve seen balloons before, and I’m sure they were red&white&blue. O gets his turn to play with them too soon.
Its a shame we have to listen to clown talk before we can get to making the most important electoral decision of our lives, which is: Which clown is the better balloon player to vote for? Isn’t democracy colorful.
I do believe Obama is the corporate PTB’s candidate. I fully expect the Democratic Convention to be the worst political convention ever, because it will be the slickest attempt to shaft us.
The Tea Party is your worst nightmare? Come on. I’ll take foolish and misguided over clever and manipulative any day of the week.
But like lefttown, I’ll happily vote for Jill Stein. She’s my candidate, no matter what the long knives have to say about it.
This was worth repeating, lefttown:
“I’m proud to be voting for a third party candidate in purple state, and I hope others are, too. When they tell us it’s “okay” to vote for Obama if the race is close, they’re trying to take away our moral standing, and if we don’t have that, we’re as bad as Obama and his 1%.”
Hi, Juliana, Ohio Barbarian, and warp9. I’m so glad there are people who are not even thinking about buying the “let’s-vote-for-Obama-if-the-race-is-close” propaganda. It seems to me there must be a small amount of concern about third party voters, because I’ve seen comment after comment advocating that. I’m thinking that’s what the veal pen handlers are saying these days: “Sure, vote third party. Obama doesn’t care how close the election is, as long as he wins.” Maybe there’s some nail-biting going on right now?
David Seaton: Tea Party. Pffft. I’m much more afraid of neoliberals and Obama Loyalists than I am of Tea Partiers. Funny how words like “moral standing” mean so little to Obama supporters these days. Well, why not? Words like “assassination of Americans,” “due process,” and “drone murders” don’t mean much to them, either.
Over at counterpunch.org for the weekend, there’s an excellent interview by Lee Ballinger of Cheri Honkala, who is Jill Stein’s runningmate. Here’s an excerpt:
“We had a huge fight in Pennsylvania where the Democrats only have to get 2,000 voter petitions signed to get on the ballot, the Republicans only have to get 2,000 voter petitions signed and we had to get 40,000. We had to work from six in the morning til ten o’clock at night and then another group of people had to stay up all night long to verify the petitions. We did all that in a state that has a huge number of unregistered voters.”
They are now qualified in 40 states.
But, if you live in Ohio or Florida or any of the swing states and this year you decide to make your “statement of principals”… you may be putting the Tea Party in control of the republic
What we have here is a classic example of an infinitely recursive function. Progressives shouldn’t use the election as an opportunity to change the Democratic Party’s behavior* because that election is too important. Once the election has past, Democrats will tell progressives that it’s the wrong time to use the next election to change the party’s behavior because that election is too important. And so on.
* And I fail to see any mechanism by which individuals can change the party’s behavior. The 2010 Arkansas primary established that: OFA came in on the side of Blanche Lincoln to put down a primary challenge to her, even though polls showed that she had zero chance of winning the general election.
The difference between the two major parties is about the same as that between a very aggressive form of cancer and a moderately aggressive form. Either way you die; the question is how long it takes and how painful it is.
Worse than the DNC in Chicago in 1968?
I wish people like you and me that want to vote third party only when that won’t lead to a disaster in charge need to get organized.
To change the subject slightly white and black progressives don’t know how to swing. And swing voters usually get what they want. When Hispanics began swinging away from Obama he reacted fast. But rubber stamping Obama then snapping and having nothing to do with him ever again makes him fall in the wrong direction.
It’s a shame that no one blogged on my blog post expanding on this theme.
When we look at how hororible this convention is we might note the problems in the post we didn’t know about,
http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/78-78/13207-beating-up-on-the-minority-delegates
On the one hand, I feel silly debating what a man who was President over 50 years ago would do today. on the other hand, I am very tired of hearing how wonderful Eisenhower, Nixon and Goldwater were. No, none of them were wonderful.
As to Eisenhower in particular.
Eisenhower was the same guy who mercilessly crushed the bonus military occupation of Washington D.C. by war veterans at the command of Hoover and wanted to be a Republican, like Hoover.
Eisenhower was the same guy who picked for the Supreme Court the guy in California who had been in charge of interning the Japanese.
Too bad for Ike, his choice backfired.
Earl Warren became one of the most liberal Chief Justices the SCOTUS has ever seen. But, after the school desegregation decision, Eisenhower said to Warren, when they were at a gathering of Southerners, “See. These are nice people. They just don’t want their little girls sitting next to some gorilla.” Warren put it in his biography.
Eisenhower ignored desegregation decisions until the public outcry became too great. Eleanor Roosevelt even visited him in the White House begging him to enforce them.
And, when asked what the biggest mistake of his 8 years in office was, Eisenhower replied that it was his nomination to the SCOTUS of Warren.
As far as corporatism, Eisenhower could not have been more in love with the oil companies and the car manufacturers.
What was Eisenhower’s reaction to the witch hunts of Joe McCarthy, which ruined so many reputations, lives and careers? Why, nothing, really, except to vastly expand Executive Privilege to make sure his circle was safe from Revoltin’ Joe.
And after doing nothing at all about the MIC, which he served his entire adult life, he makes a farewell speech warning about them and somehow that makes him a hero. If he was so against the MIC, what did he do to curb it during his 8 years in the Oval Office prior to the day he made that speech.
I could go on, but I am not sure there is any point.
Short of the ever elusive successful seance, no one really knows how Eisenhower would react among today’s Republicans, not me and not anyone else.
However, no fact that I have read about the man tells me Zombie Eisenhower would have been all that uncomfortable.
Very interesting. Thank you.
Thanks for that very informative link. I think the Democrats decided after 1980 that they would have a “united front” Party loyalist convention every time. In 1980, Ted Kennedy, who had primaried Jimmy Carter and lost, refused to publicly shake Carter’s hand.
Many Democrats convinced themselves that this very public and visible split within the party had divided it, thus causing the election of Ronald Reagan.
I disagree with that assessment. There were a lot more factors involved that year than Democratic Party disaffection for Jimmy Carter. For Democratic Party activists to think that is arrogant presumption, in my view. And boy, do some of them get so EVER pissed off when someone tells them they’re mistaken.
Besides, I was talking about the overall visual effect of the RNC which is usually designed to provide an image for the gullible public to “buy.”
No undecided or third party voter with a brain could possibly fall for the the poorly choreographed and insincere fantasy that was the 2012 RNC. In this matter, I think future Republicans, just as their Democratic counterparts, will look back on this convention as an abject failure not to be repeated, as if the Party’s looks at the convention are really all that important to many voters.
They are not, but the Republican Party activists won’t admit that because of THEIR arrogant presumption.
Every election, we hear over and over and over how the upcoming election is THE critical one. And Republicans hear the very same thing.
If I truly have no choice but to keep voting for Democratic politicians whose official actions are barely distinguishable from those of Republican politicians, forget the dramatic pronouncements. Just shoot me now. And I mean that literally. I’ll even pay well for the favor.
However, no , in reality, this is not Germany just before Hitler took over. Not even close.
Even if it were, in reality, exactly what will Obama do that is so much better than what he has done in the past four years or that is so much better than what Romney would do if he were elected?
In reality, Massachusetts did not flourish under Romney, but it survived. In reality, Massachusetts is not flourishing under Romney’s Democratic successor, either, but it will, in all likelihood survive him as well.
The country even survived 8 years of “Bring it on” Bush. In very very significant matters, the Obama administration has taken the exact same position as the Bush administration took and, on some issues, the Obama administration has taken positions that are even more extreme.
I would never say that there has not been not a dime’s worth of difference. I would say that the two administrations have been sufficiently similar in enough significant ways that I am no longer vulnerable to scare tactics.
What a beautiful and compelling illustration of what happens when you give the teabaggers any influence at all. At this point, all the Democrats have to do to have a more successful convention is to prevent an old man from coming up on the stage and talking to a chair.
People like me never rubber stamped Obama. After the FISA betrayal, there was no way I could vote for him in 2008.
Yet I could be willing to vote for the democrats again, but they have to change first in order to get my vote back. Although, at this point, there is NO way I could ever trust Obama, there have been too many betrayals—I wouldn’t take any promises he makes now as any more credible than his promise to filibuster the retro-active immunity for the telecoms.
If they can get anybody who will come up and state that the Afghanistan War was a mistake from the start (like Eastwood did), or mention the promise to close Gitmo, I’ll be very happy. :-)
Where did you get that disaffected Republicans always go to the polls and vote Republican?
People on the right have long voted for quite a number of Presidential candidates who are not the Republican candidate, ranging from the Constitution Party to the Democratic candidate.
Quite a few who thought their party had become too extreme endorsed Obama in 2008. There was even a name for Obama’s Republican supporters. I am not sure of the spelling, but it was either “Obamicans or Obamacans. Julie Eisenhower was the most notable.
All of Ron Paul’s followers certainly will not be voting Republican.
A good many of them will be home clipping their nails or voting for someone else, probably Johnson.
Some may even vote for Obama because they do believe that a third party vote is futile.. (I’ve run into quite a few libertarians on message boards who claim to be “libertarian from the left,” like Bill Maher.)
And disaffected Republicans do stay home.
I will vote third party, but not because I believe one of the third party candidates will land in the white house in 2012. For one thing, I want to cut into the Democratic Party meme that Democrats can disappoint the left as much as they want because “the left has nowhere else to go. I hear that said about Democrats all the time, but never about the right.
“Thirty years” sounds ever so much better to me than “never.” Frankly, I think it may well take longer, given how hard Republicans and Democrats and the TV networks have made it for third parties. However, it will never happen unless Democrats do vote third party.
The Green Party has done well enough this time to be on the ballot in many states and the Green Party candidate qualified for matching federal funds this time, first time ever.
Sooner or later, Democrats are going to have to stop pretending that “the left has nowhere else to go.” And anything I can do to hasten that day, I will do.
And, if they throw in “strong public option,” I’ll be over the moon.
Hey David,
I wouldn’t even bother….it’s like banging your head against a wall here at FDL…
This is the same crowd that still believes that there wasn’t much of a difference between Gore and Shrub
It’s sad that a lot of innocent people are going to suffer (even more than they already are) if Rmoney becomes president
If you are serious about having a third party option in US politics, now is the time to start looking at having candidates ready for the next local elections in your area, the next state elections, and in two years for Congress.
The reason that most strategies in the past have focused on primarying a candidate in one of the major parties is that primary turnout is substantially smaller than general election turnout. If you can bump a major party incumbent and — big condition — the party still swings behind you in the general election, you can change the direction of a safe seat. This essentially is what the Republicans over 48 years, and Tea Party, have done. But going third party doesn’t have this luxury of numbers. OTOH the party establishment will fight you tooth and nail in the primary. Take your pick.
So to do a third party run locally (for example), find a candidate with a good story and reasonable ability to deliver, determine what target number of votes you are going to need to win decisively, get voter lists and map out a strategy for canvassing for the filing petition (try for 10% of your target vote total or you have a go-no go decision on your hands), start introducing your candidate around places where people gather, identify the motivating issues of the campaign. You should know by filing date a target number of voters per precinct that you will have to turn out to meet your target total.
The problem that progressives have as swing voters is there are few credible (in the eyes of major party strategists who would try to co-opt you through policy changes) places to swing to. Credibility has to do with the knowledge before the election that you have enough strength to afffect at least one jurisdication. In a city, you have the power to flip a key ward. In a state election, you have the powr to flip a region of the state or a collection of demographically similar counties. In a federal election, you have the power to flip a Congressional District in the House or a state for anything else.
Then once you’ve swung, you have to become the reliable base of the third party through thick and thin. In addition, because there are so may third parties, you have to build working coalitions with some of the others to create a big tent effort. Your party gets the support of the coalition for certain seats and acts to support other parties’ candidates for other seats.
Party conventions and coalition rallies are ways of motivating voter turnout and the expansion of your base.
Obama’s major opposition isn’t Romney. It’s I’m too discouraged to bother to vote.
The Green Party ballet signatures won’t challenged like in the past. Almost any election excited will help the Democrats.
OhioB — I read this MyFDL diary only because it was put up by you…those of us on blood pressure meds need to be kind to ourselves now and then… :-)
lefttown — I agree with your comment @ 11 above and this one @ 27 is just as good…
It is odd in a maybe funny/maybe sad sorta way that the Rs and the RNC are getting so much eyeball and ear attention by people who keep telling us how much they despise the Rs and clearly must have been at gunpoint to spend several hours the other night running up a FDL comments thread related to the RNC well over the 400 mark with comments about Rs and the RNC.
Poor Clint Eastwood. The guy is an American movie icon and this is how many Americans are going to remember him? …having a discussion with a empty chair…I once was in a HS play called “The Summer People” where the only props were two chairs…so I will give Clint credit for his theatrical effort. If Clint Eastwood had done the same skit on Barack Obama’s convention stage in front of a bunch of Ds the reviews would be now reversed here at FDL…I like Clint Eastwood movies and while Clint may be mocked ( unforgivenn? :-) )for doing what he did as an American he had every right to do it.
As for the D brand — the easy to please Ds are now trying to power up a rally movement to get Obama over this WH elections finish line with a win…principles,moral high ground or just plain decency are now all being chucked over the side just to keep the rally going.
Barack Obama is a warcriminal and let G.W.Bush retire as a warcriminal facing no political or legal consequences. At this point Americans who will not see this,do not want to see this are hardly qualified to be preaching to us about evil,cajoling and berating those of us who are not signing off on Obama’s warcriminal choices.
But lets talk about the Rs some more being there clearly is nothing to talk about regarding the Ds and this warcriminal/corporatist D POTUS Obama.
Besides maybe a Hollywood movie star or two may find some spine,get up on Obama’s convention stage and speak some truth to power…one can hope anyway.