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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Mission: Implausible

Mission: Implausible

by Tim F|  July 20, 20066:05 pm| 89 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Politics

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After the 2004 election victory Ken Mehlman made a very prominent play for the black vote. Sensing that the sell would call for more substance than than just a smooth sales pitch, Mehlman delivered a really smooth sales pitch. Policy-wise the GOP followed up with…privatizing Social Security! And not much else.

On the eve of the president’s first appearance before the NAACP the NYT reports that the GOP has reaped the rewards of its meager investment. Two paragraphs pretty much tell the whole story:

That perception of Republicans as insensitive to racial issues was fed again by the opposition mounted by some House conservatives to an extension of the Voting Rights Act. The House approved the extension last week.

[…] In an interview, Mr. Mehlman played down the effect of the delay in approving the extension to the Voting Rights Act. He noted that the party had black candidates running in statewide races in four states this fall, and that he always viewed the effort as a long and steady climb.

Regardless of whether qua Kayne West George Bush cares about black people, black people care about getting to the polls in Georgia. Nothing has an impact like holding up the landmark Voting Rights Act, brainiacs, to remind the black community that efforts to disenfranchise American minorities have actually picked up steam since the infamous 2000 Florida purges (for example).

Moving along, George Bush finally gave his first talk before the NAACP (note to NAACP – stop meeting in the summer). The mind practically boggles at all of the things that the president could talk about. Has somebody told the president that one in four black Americans live under the poverty line? Now would be a fine time to resurrect that abortive New Orleans pledge to take on poverty in America (remember that? It made great TV). It wouldn’t hurt to bring up the mounting challenges that low-income parents face in providing healthcare for their kids. Heck, nothing says culture of life like an initiative to slash America’s humiliating infant mortality rate.

To be fair the president gave lip service to the glaring education gap, but that’s as fair as I plan to be. NCLB remains a remarkably stupid way to solve our education deficits and I expect that the audience knows it. The rest just comes across as weird. Presumably the NAACP understands that ‘ownership society’ is GOP code for ‘you’re on your own.’ The policy initiatives that have come from this misleading term include SS privatization, which would expose Americans’ retirement accounts to the the mercurial caprices of the stock market, Medicare part D chaos and the successful initiative to make bankruptcy even more punitive. As a whole this ‘ownership society’ thing sounds like a great deal for anyone who has a fat monetary buffer to absorb unexpected downturns in employment, health, insurance and random acts of nature, but very bad news for everybody else. Naturally the president who views the former as his base thinks the idea is great. Finally, whoever suggested bringing up the Estate Tax should punch himself.

Something tells me that the GOP needs more than high-level lip service if it wants to make inroads into America’s black community. Maybe next year.

***Update***

They’re shouting Boo-urns!

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Reader Interactions

89Comments

  1. 1.

    Mike P

    July 20, 2006 at 6:27 pm

    They (“they” being the GOP) don’t get it and it seems they possibly never will.

  2. 2.

    Otto Man

    July 20, 2006 at 7:01 pm

    Finally, whoever suggested bringing up the Estate Tax should punch himself.

    Seriously. No mention of poverty issues — which he’s been awfully silent about since his “Hurricane Accomplished” photo op in New Orleans’ Jackson Square — and lots of talk about the estate tax.

    I think they mixed up his speech, pure and simple, and he was too dim to notice. When he starts talking about discrimination and racism before a Republican Pioneers luncheon, we’ll know for sure.

  3. 3.

    radish

    July 20, 2006 at 7:35 pm

    Yaaaaawnnnn… Streeeeettttchhh….. Oh, sorry, been working at home lately and watching the cats. Now where was I? Oh yeah, I was gonna say “Lip service!? How dare you accuse Republicans of lip service?!” The GOP’s had black voters all locked up (er, so to speak) ever since dubya’s major initiative to revolutionize black entrepeneurship. Those black votes won him that ’04 election, man, I’m tellin’ ya.

    Maybe I’ll call the Urban League tomorrow and ask how many of those “one-stop centers for business training, counseling, financing, and contracting” have opened up in the past two years. Or maybe I won’t bother. Somebody wake me up when it comes full circle and we can start looking for the mythical welfare queen with the fleet of gold-plated Cadillacs again. Now that was an entertaining storyline.

  4. 4.

    Steve

    July 20, 2006 at 7:38 pm

    Why can’t black people see that Democrats are the real racists? It’s like how Jewish people fail to see that liberals are anti-semitic. It’s just so puzzling to me.

  5. 5.

    Ancient Purple

    July 20, 2006 at 7:45 pm

    I think I need to give everyone a little education a la Darrell.

    Here we go.

    See, there is this thing called “trickle down” economics. Basically, we give huge tax brakes to wealthy people so that they can go buy another yacht or something similar. Then, in about 10 years that money through their purchasing of a yacht will “trickle down” to those in poverty so they will finally be able to afford to buy the $0.59 manual can opener to get at the 8 oz. can of pork and beans on the shelf.

    The problem is that those in poverty aren’t patient enough. They will get their $0.59 in due time. But if we gave them, say, $59.00 to buy some bulk rice right now, that would mean that the ultra-rich would have to settle for a Lexus or perhaps only one – ONE – chateau in France this year. And where is the fun in that???

    Thus completes your lesson a la Darrell.

  6. 6.

    demimondian

    July 20, 2006 at 7:48 pm

    Hey, Purp…been trickled on lately?

  7. 7.

    Nutcutter

    July 20, 2006 at 7:51 pm

    I saw the speech today.

    First of all, I give Shrub credit for saying that racism is not dead in the US, and those kinds of things.

    But why the long blah blah blah about Social Security and On-Your-Ownership? They weren’t buying that line of bull at all.

    Applause was mostly polite. And most of the speech was the now-familiar grocery list of self-congratulations and self-justification, which didn’t go over that well.

    Worst … somebody told the poor guy to ramp up the voice and the rhetoric as he went along … you know, the way a black preacher would. So he did. And it just sounded ludicrous. I couldn’t help thinking … who the hell is he shouting at?

  8. 8.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 7:52 pm

    And while we’re on the subject, don’t forget this gem from Bush’s meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus in 2005:

    At the conclusion of yesterday’s 40-minute meeting, Bush – who attended along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – was asked by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) whether he would support the re-authorization of a portion of the Voting Rights Act that must be approved every 25 years (It will come up for consideration next year).

    “I don’t know anything about the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” Jackson recalled the president saying in an interview with the Chicago Defender.

    He said that a hurried Bush went on to say that “when the legislation comes before me, I’ll take a look at it, but I don’t know about it to comment any more than that, but we will look at it when it comes to us.”

    “It was so unbelievable to me that as soon as I walked out, I got Frank (Watkins, Jackson’s top legislative aide) on the telephone, put (Congresswomen) Maxine (Waters, D-Calif.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), so that I could confirm what he just said is what I heard,” Jackson said.

    Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st) said he recalled the president saying he was “unfamiliar” with the Voting Rights Act.

    “I was surprised and astounded,” Rush told the Defender.

  9. 9.

    Zifnab

    July 20, 2006 at 7:53 pm

    Now would be a fine time to resurrect that abortive New Orleans pledge to take on poverty in America (remember that? It made great TV).

    The policy initiatives that have come from this misleading term include SS privatization, which would expose Americans’ retirement accounts to the the mercurial caprices of the stock market, Medicare part D chaos and the successful initiative to make bankruptcy even more punitive

    Finally, whoever suggested bringing up the Estate Tax should punch himself.

    Sometimes I think the best commerical in the world for the DNC would be to string together all the clips of bullshit promises, lame-ass excuses, and heckavajob-Brownies we’ve recorded over the past five and a half years and run a big disclaimer at the end saying:

    “Please don’t vote Republican. For all our sakes.”

  10. 10.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 7:57 pm

    Zifnab,

    Sometimes I think the best commerical in the world for the DNC would be to string together all the clips of bullshit promises, lame-ass excuses, and heckavajob-Brownies we’ve recorded over the past five and a half years

    Well someone should do it, sure, but they won’t be able to air that as a commercial. Maybe they could do some feature films, and run it as a series for a few seasons.

  11. 11.

    Steve

    July 20, 2006 at 8:02 pm

    What this thread really needs is Stormy saying how she’s going to show it to all her black friends.

  12. 12.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 8:12 pm

    Steve,

    What this thread really needs is Stormy saying how she’s going to show it to all her black friends.

    …which, for some reason, makes me think of Stephen Colbert and his black acquaintance. Or, better yet, this couple, and their black friends…

  13. 13.

    stickler

    July 20, 2006 at 8:47 pm

    Zifnab:

    Sometimes I think the best commerical in the world for the DNC would be to string together all the clips of bullshit promises, lame-ass excuses, and heckavajob-Brownies we’ve recorded over the past five and a half years…

    It’s been done. Have you seen the work of Michael Moore? I’ve heard he’s fat, but I guess his movie was pretty revealing anyhow.

    Granted, Michael Moore could probably put out Volume #2 of “Bush Fucks Up” and it’d be three hours long. Maybe you should get in touch with him; he’ll need lots of help compiling and editing the endless stream of material.

  14. 14.

    narciso79

    July 20, 2006 at 8:57 pm

    You do realize that this version of the voting rights act,
    makes it nearly impossible to do anything that ensures
    voter fraud; from ID checks to banning felons etc. We don’t really want to go into too much detail on the Katrina pledge seeing the waste we’ve seen regarding the massive
    aid package.

  15. 15.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 9:23 pm

    stickler,

    Granted, Michael Moore could probably put out Volume #2 of “Bush Fucks Up” and it’d be three hours long.

    And far too condensed–I bet ‘Katrina‘ could be three hours long, easy. However, ‘Iraq‘ could go on and on and on… it already has, actually. And it’s still far from over, and getting worse.

  16. 16.

    Tsulagi

    July 20, 2006 at 9:27 pm

    So he did. And it just sounded ludicrous. I couldn’t help thinking … who the hell is he shouting at?

    Well, at least he probably didn’t yell BOTSWANA in the middle of a sentence. Or did he?

  17. 17.

    tBone

    July 20, 2006 at 9:43 pm

    Why can’t black people see that Democrats are the real racists? It’s like how Jewish people fail to see that liberals are anti-semitic. It’s just so puzzling to me.

    And in 10 or 15 years, the Darrells of the world will inform us that Democrats are the real homophobes.

  18. 18.

    demimondian

    July 20, 2006 at 9:48 pm

    [T]he Darrells of the world will inform us that Democrats are the real homophobes.

    But they are, didn’t you know?

    You see, Democrats don’t protect latent gay men from molestation by Scout Leaders. Since it’s well-established (by one, largely discredited study) that gay men are overwhelmingly often effeminate during childhood, and are hence targetted by predators, this laissez faire attitude towards secual abuse disproportionally harms gays.

    Ergo, Democrats are the real homophobes.

  19. 19.

    Zifnab

    July 20, 2006 at 9:51 pm

    It’s been done. Have you seen the work of Michael Moore? I’ve heard he’s fat, but I guess his movie was pretty revealing anyhow.

    Granted, Michael Moore could probably put out Volume #2 of “Bush Fucks Up” and it’d be three hours long. Maybe you should get in touch with him; he’ll need lots of help compiling and editing the endless stream of material.

    About ten minutes before the end of Bowling for Columbine I thought Michael Moore was the most awesome documentarian this isde of the Atlantic. Then I see him pull that hokey ambush on Charlton Heston and it kills it for me.

    Still, that guy – much like Sheehan – takes most of his shit simply because they were the first people to stand up against the Republican smear machine with anything resembling balls.

    So I’ll salute the guy for having balls if nothing else.

    I mean, it could be worse. He could be Ann Coulter.

  20. 20.

    radish

    July 20, 2006 at 9:54 pm

    You do realize that this version of the voting rights act, makes it nearly impossible to do anything that ensures voter fraud

    Oh I don’t know about that. I think some of our laws ensure voter fraud pretty darn effectively, VRA or no. IIRC certain provisions of HAVA were supposed to take care of ensuring voter fraud, and they seem to be doing the trick quite well.

  21. 21.

    JJ

    July 20, 2006 at 10:11 pm

    About ten minutes before the end of Bowling for Columbine I thought Michael Moore was the most awesome documentarian this isde of the Atlantic. Then I see him pull that hokey ambush on Charlton Heston and it kills it for me.

    Being that Mr. Heston was the spokesperson for and personifcation of an organization with mega$$$ and mega-influence I didn’t see anything hokey about it. As Moore said, he lucked out by getting in. He also said that he hates putting himself out there like that, but somebody has to speak out. I think I believe him.

  22. 22.

    Nutcutter

    July 20, 2006 at 10:11 pm

    About ten minutes before the end of Bowling for Columbine I thought Michael Moore was the most awesome documentarian this isde of the Atlantic. Then I see him pull that hokey ambush on Charlton Heston and it kills it for me.

    You know what they say: No accounting for taste.

    Since I am a Moore fan by way of Roger and Me, which I never tire of watching, and his tv show, which was hilarious … I come to his material in a different frame of mind. I take him to be a master provocateur. And the Heston thing? For me, it was the high point of the movie. Watching that preposterous old drunk react to Moore was just the perfect ending.

    Moore’s whole schtick is to stick a hatpin into something puffed way up … by being more of a jerk than the thing he is exposing. He takes his obnoxious looking persona and annoying voice uses them to the hilt. He knows exactly what he is doing. And he is the by far the best at it. The reason the assholes on the right hate him is because they know he is doing their act, about a thousand times better than they can.

  23. 23.

    The Other Steve

    July 20, 2006 at 10:22 pm

    Ok, once again you all go and trash on Bush. Have you no shame? You whine for five years about him not going to the NAACP meetings, and now you not only have to whine about him going… you even have to whine about the NAACP holding its meeting in the summer.

    And SS privitization. This was part of the Republcian agenda to appeal to the black man.

    You see, the only way Social Security pays off is if you live a really long time. Black men don’t live very long, in fact on average they only get to enjoy about 2-3 years of SSA benefits before croaking. So can’t you see, the privitization was a great thing! It allows blacks to leave a sum of money to their children.

    Granted… fixing the healthcare system to be equitable so black men have a longer life expectancy would be preferable. But we can only do so much! You can’t have it all!

    You all disgust me.

  24. 24.

    The Other Steve

    July 20, 2006 at 10:23 pm

    You do realize that this version of the voting rights act, makes it nearly impossible to do anything that ensures voter fraud;

    Thank god! Because if there is one thing I hate it’s bills that ensure voter fraud.

  25. 25.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 10:40 pm

    LOL. Julian Bond was awesome on The Colbert Report just now. Add him to the list of (probably millions of) people I’d definitely vote for as President over George W. Bush.

  26. 26.

    RSA

    July 20, 2006 at 10:41 pm

    Something tells me that the GOP needs more than high-level lip service if it wants to make inroads into America’s black community.

    I think that this is exactly the problem: The GOP needs more than lip service but has nothing except lip service to offer black voters, by virtue of the current foundations of the party. Let’s think about the kinds of things that the minorities in general (and this overlaps with the poor) might favor: a better social safety net; better primary and secondary education systems; fairer criminal sentencing laws (remember the powder versus crack cocaine controversy?); elimination of racism in police forces; etc. All of these things take money and some understanding of how a non-minimalist government should work. Republicans, in general, seem unwilling or unable to do what it takes in these areas, either due to cultural conservatism, laissez faire views of economics and other areas of life, the Calvinist view that poverty is a moral failing, the idea that a stick is more effective than a carrot for effecting change, or. . .I don’t know what.

    You can’t trust GOP promises in their attempts to be attractive to the black population or the other groups I’ve mentioned above. I’m not saying Republicans are “bad” or “wrong” here (even if they are), but rather that for many Republicans, direct solutions will seem worse than the problems.

  27. 27.

    Nutcutter

    July 20, 2006 at 10:49 pm

    fixing the healthcare system to be equitable so black men have a longer life expectancy

    You know what, Steve? You pander to the black people you have, not the black people you wish you had.

  28. 28.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 10:50 pm

    RSA,

    or. . .I don’t know what.

    Their pandering to and doing the bidding of the highest bidders? Free market government, baby!

  29. 29.

    Zifnab

    July 20, 2006 at 10:57 pm

    Being that Mr. Heston was the spokesperson for and personifcation of an organization with mega$$$ and mega-influence I didn’t see anything hokey about it. As Moore said, he lucked out by getting in. He also said that he hates putting himself out there like that, but somebody has to speak out. I think I believe him.

    The problem I had with the interview was that Heston had a few very valid points which he argued fairly successfully. Moore’s response was to pour on the appeal to pathos to the point it made me sick. I’d have to rewatch the end of the movie to remember exactly what it was (besides him leaving the picture of the little dead girl on his driveway and slowly panning the shot away) that made me groan with embarassment. But Moore just was not on his game in that last 10 minutes.

    His whole shtick – from riding in an ice cream truck reading the Patriot Act in front of the Capital Building, to including a disclaimer at the beginning of his books mocking the Bush spying programs – tends to be centered around the idea that he wouldn’t be such an asshole if they hadn’t started this shit first. Not mature, perhaps, but certainly something too many of us have learned to appeal to. But Heston came off, firstly, as a tired old man, and secondly as a rather intelligent and informed individual. Rather than some smuck Better-know-a-district bait Congressman, Heston handled himself well. And Moore couldn’t handle that.

    That’s what pissed me off. When the chips were down and intelligent debate could have begun, Moore wussed out and resorted to pathos. In that moment, he committed the sin that’s gotten the left labeled as a bunch of peacenik wussies. Thinking with your heart rather than your brain.

  30. 30.

    demimondian

    July 20, 2006 at 11:02 pm

    You do realize that this version of the voting rights act, makes it nearly impossible to do anything that ensures voter fraud

    I know — it’s an anti-Republican anti-commerce America-hating document, isn’t it, since it makes it impossible to insure voter fraud. Now, when the Republican party gets caught attacking phone banks, or manipulating voter rolls…they might have to pay themselves.

    That’s going to put the party out of business, which will result in the unemployment of literally tens of people.

    And you leftist whackjobs go on about the millions of babies without adequate well-child visits. Will everyone think of the children? What about the adults?

  31. 31.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 11:05 pm

    The Other Steve,

    Black men don’t live very long, in fact on average they only get to enjoy about 2-3 years of SSA benefits before croaking

    Even that–even allowing for the gross ‘on average’ distortion that was embedded in there–still isn’t necessarily true:

    Social Security is also a large disability and life insurance program -about a third of expenditures pay for survivorship and disability benefits-and African Americans, women, and children are the major beneficiaries. While African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they constitute 18% of disability beneficiaries; women, who make up 52% of the population, constitute 72.3% of survivorship beneficiaries; and children under the age of 18-just 6% of the population-constitute 26.9% of survivorship beneficiaries and 22.1% of disability beneficiaries.

    These insurance features make Social Security a good deal for the average worker in general and for low-wage workers and women in particular. The average rate of return from Social Security for workers born between 1956 and 1964 is 2.7%, substantially higher than the 2% that could be expected from a privatized system. For women the average rate of return is 3.7%, and for low-wage men it’s 4.7%.

    Partial privatization will likely result in cuts to all benefits

    Social Security privatization would be a bad deal for women, children, African Americans, and low-wage workers, since it would significantly weaken Social Security’s insurance function. Diverting a portion of Social Security revenue into individual accounts will result in less income for Social Security itself, meaning that retirement, disability, and survivorship benefits will have to be cut. 1 It has been estimated that a diversion of 2 percentage points of payroll (out of a total of 12.4%) will require a cut in retirement, disability, and survivorship benefits of 41% for anybody who is younger than 55 next year (Aaron et al. 2000).

    This administration really can’t be straight with anyone about anything. They really are just pathological.

  32. 32.

    Nutcutter

    July 20, 2006 at 11:06 pm

    When the chips were down and intelligent debate could have begun, Moore wussed out and resorted to pathos

    Wow, that’s almost charming in its distance from the reality I took away.

    Moore is never, was never, and never will be about “intelligent debate.” Debate is for wonks and lawyers. Moore is a rabble rouser, and his weapon is theatrics. What you call “pathos” is just good old fashioned theater. He does it and laughs at his adversary.

    Whereas you have the Other Side, whose trade is Bathos, not Pathos, a la Terri Schiavo or Flag Burning. Moore coopts the bathos bullshit and turns it around on his target. It’s brilliant, and effective.

    Wikipedia: “…. and some of its critics have gone so far to call for a revocation of the Academy Award because they do not consider Bowling for Columbine a legitimate documentary. ”

    OMG, that is too funny. Nothing Moore does is “legitimate documentary.” It’s all theater. Featuring Moore in a clown suit.

    That’s the whole point.

  33. 33.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 11:12 pm

    Zifnab,

    I had the same sort of visceral reaction against Moore there, but for the opposite reasons. Although it’s been a while since I saw Bowling for Columbine, I remember thinking that Heston came off as a confused old man, and I thought that Moore was being unfair grilling him like that, regardless of the background. It’d almost be like grilling Reagan over Iran/Contra if it was clear that he wasn’t well, and didn’t really know what you were talking about, or why you were there.

  34. 34.

    Matt

    July 20, 2006 at 11:12 pm

    I caught some quotes on USA Today’s site. The “party of Lincoln” bit was telling though–I mean, granted, good thing abolishment was and all, but you know you’re in trouble when you’re addressing an audience and the most significant example you can provide of your party’s service to them occurred 200 years ago.

  35. 35.

    Matt

    July 20, 2006 at 11:18 pm

    I caught some quotes on USA Today’s site. The “party of Lincoln” bit was telling though–I mean, granted, good thing emancipation was and all, but you know you’re in trouble when you’re addressing an audience and the most significant example you can provide of your party’s service to them occurred, you know, 150 years ago.

  36. 36.

    Nutcutter

    July 20, 2006 at 11:21 pm

    Charlton Heston wasn’t just “confused.”

    And as for Moore being “unfair” …. can’t buy that. This guy is out there pimping the most divisive politics possible and using crass theatrics to do it …. Moore was just giving him a dose of his own medicine. So, it turns out that he was probably already descending into the fog of Alzheimers? Maybe it’s a public service to expose that fog. Is it asking too much to require leaders who can remember what they did an hour ago? For Republicans, knowing history as recent as what happened an hour ago really has no value. But for me, it does.

  37. 37.

    Zifnab

    July 20, 2006 at 11:21 pm

    I think that this is exactly the problem: The GOP needs more than lip service but has nothing except lip service to offer black voters, by virtue of the current foundations of the party.

    Part of the problem is they can’t even offer lip service. A Republican can’t defend civil rights without offending part of his cross-burning constituency. He can’t talk about the trials and tribulations of the black man and how he empathizes with them, because he’ll look like a liberal-wussy-pants. Even black Republican candidates can’t help looking bad to black people when they go after affirmative action.

    The best Republicans can do is crow about how “they’re the party of Lincoln” and how “Lincoln freed the slaves” ad nausem, hoping all the rudamentary elementry school history education they’ve been depriving the black community of these years will finally pay off.

  38. 38.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 11:26 pm

    Matt,

    The “party of Lincoln” bit was telling though

    Mehlman used that line too, and I’m sure he wasn’t the first of them to do so. I really wish Lincoln were alive today just to hear that bullshit–he’d smack the dick right out of Bush’s mouth.

    “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.

    “What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?” Lincoln’s Cooper Institute Address, February 27, 1860.

    “We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others, the same word many mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name – liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names – liberty and tyranny.” The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore, Maryland” (April 18, 1864), p. 301-302.

    etc., etc.

  39. 39.

    The Sanity Inspector

    July 20, 2006 at 11:27 pm

    Attitudes may be changing, slowly…

  40. 40.

    Zifnab

    July 20, 2006 at 11:35 pm

    Moore is never, was never, and never will be about “intelligent debate.” Debate is for wonks and lawyers. Moore is a rabble rouser, and his weapon is theatrics. What you call “pathos” is just good old fashioned theater. He does it and laughs at his adversary.

    That’s kinda a shame then. I like to think that the bad jokes and theatrics are designed to stir up debate when too many politicos and elites decide to seal themselves up in their ivory tower. It’s one think to poke fun at Cheney when he refuses to take questions from anyone not on Rupert Murdock’s payroll. It’s another to take the rare candide interview you manage to score with him and squander it on cheap jokes and bad emotional pleas.

    One reason I love John Stewart is that when he gets a hard core conservative in his crosshairs he gets deadly serious.

    Rabble rousing is all well and good when you’re on the outside looking in. But when Moore was on his crusade to get guns out of Walmart, he was, for a few moments at least, very serious and very real with the Walmart staff. When he ran his Farenheit 9/11 interviews, he didn’t joke around with those he interviewed like he did with the politicians he chased around D.C. with enlistment papers. In the latter case he was seiging the stupidity of Washington. In the former case he was actually dealing with people like… people.

  41. 41.

    Pb

    July 20, 2006 at 11:45 pm

    The Sanity Inspector,

    Attitudes may be changing, slowly…

    Attitudes are changing all the time, but you won’t convince me of anything with a link to a Star Parker quote any more than you would by linking to Michael Savage or Michelle Malkin or David Horowitz.

  42. 42.

    Nutcutter

    July 20, 2006 at 11:45 pm

    One reason I love John Stewart is that when he gets a hard core conservative in his crosshairs he gets deadly serious.

    Me too. Stewart is a classy guy, though. Moore is not.

    But I like Moore the Asshole. We’re at war with assholes, I want some assholes on my side.

    It’s the GWOA.

  43. 43.

    RSA

    July 21, 2006 at 12:27 am

    The best Republicans can do is crow about how “they’re the party of Lincoln” and how “Lincoln freed the slaves” ad nausem

    …and claim that all you need to know about political alignments during the civil rights period was that the movement was opposed by Southern Democrats.

  44. 44.

    Nutcutter

    July 21, 2006 at 12:34 am

    RSA – yes. The thing was much more a North-South thing than a Republican-Democrat thing. LBJ was not exactly a Yankee, either. He was one of them there Texxuns, if I remember right.

  45. 45.

    The Other Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 1:06 am

    We’ve replaced Darrell with Folgers Crystals. Let’s see if anyone can tell the difference.

    Even that—even allowing for the gross ‘on average’ distortion that was embedded in there—still isn’t necessarily true:

    Who cares. The fact remains that SSA privitization would allow people to pass money onto their children.

    You leftist whackos simply hate people, and money, and people having money.

  46. 46.

    The Other Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 1:11 am

    We’ve replaced Darrell with Folgers Crystals. Let’s see if anyone can tell the difference.

    Attitudes may be changing, slowly…

    Right on brother! These leftist whackos simply don’t realize that people can rise above poverty if they want to.

    Take the example of Star Parker. She used to receive Welfare, and now she’s got a full time job railing against Leftist Whackos who want to keep the welfare system around.

    The reality is Star Parker would have found a place as a full time conservative commentator with or without welfare. It wasn’t welfare that helped keep her from starving, it was getting a job!

    And they like to call themselves the reality-based community!

  47. 47.

    Nutcutter

    July 21, 2006 at 1:20 am

    You leftist whackos simply hate people, and money, and people having money.

    We only hate people who have more money than ourselves, Darrell. Unless they’re gay.

  48. 48.

    Pb

    July 21, 2006 at 1:26 am

    You know, in the future, I think I’ll see if I can answer wingnuttery with Lincoln quotes. There are too many good ones out there, and they really deserve a wider circulation.

    “I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that “all men are created equal.” We now practically read it “all men are created equal, except Negroes.” When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read “all men are created equal, except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics.” When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.” The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume II, “Letter to Joshua F. Speed” (August 24, 1855), p. 323.

  49. 49.

    chopper

    July 21, 2006 at 7:33 am

    man, that is a good quote.

  50. 50.

    Andrew

    July 21, 2006 at 8:22 am

    Holy living fuck, I can’t even begin to grasp the gulf in brain power between the man who wrote that quote (especially “the base alloy of hypocrisy”) and the current occupant of the Whitehouse.

    How the right has managed to sustain the “Bush talks funny but is actually smart”-meme is also beyond me.

  51. 51.

    Krista

    July 21, 2006 at 8:57 am

    I wonder if we’ll ever see his like again, or if it’s now impossible for a smart person with integrity to reach the top politically.

  52. 52.

    Pb

    July 21, 2006 at 9:08 am

    Krista,

    I wonder if we’ll ever see his like again, or if it’s now impossible for a smart person with integrity to reach the top politically.

    It might well be impossible now–we should be so lucky.

    During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to him, “You have the vote of every thinking person!” Stevenson called back, “That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!”

  53. 53.

    Faux News

    July 21, 2006 at 9:13 am

    What this thread really needs is Stormy saying how she’s going to show it to all her black friends.

    POTD! It would be amusing to see Vixen News (Stormy) pop up again and entertain us with posting such as the one above.

  54. 54.

    Mac Buckets

    July 21, 2006 at 9:16 am

    The GOP needs more than lip service but has nothing except lip service to offer black voters, by virtue of the current foundations of the party.

    Sorry, man, but whenever anyone goes partisan with the race issue, they’re just playing the Same Old Game. Tell us what Democrats have done for the black voters besides count their votes every election. Talk about lip service! 90% of blacks vote Democrat — and we’ve had 30 years of Democrat-dominated Congresses and twelve years of Democrat presidents since the mid-1960s (and one of those presidents was black!) — and what do they get in return, besides lots of election-year rhetoric and lots of rich, white Democrats running for every big office?

    You can’t trust GOP promises in their attempts to be attractive to the black population or the other groups I’ve mentioned above.

    Those Democrat promises, though — good as gold, right? Again, anyone who makes race a partisan issue is trying to con you. Both parties have an equally abysmal record on racial issues — the GOP because they have relatively few black voters, and the Democrats because they get 90% of the black vote without producing anything.

  55. 55.

    ats

    July 21, 2006 at 9:18 am

    Stormy is spending her weekend at the Kibbutz, learning to milk rattlesnakes.

  56. 56.

    The Other Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 9:21 am

    Tell us what Democrats have done for the black voters besides count their votes every election.

    Respect.

    It’s a small thing, I realize, but really it does go a long way to explaining the gulf between Democrats and Republicans.

  57. 57.

    Ancient Purple

    July 21, 2006 at 9:24 am

    Shorter MacBuckets: The Voting Rights Act is bad for America and even worse for African-Americans.

  58. 58.

    Andrew

    July 21, 2006 at 9:33 am

    Tell us what Democrats have done for the black voters besides count their votes every election.

    I would answer the question thusly:
    The Democrats aren’t trying to kill black people.

  59. 59.

    Pb

    July 21, 2006 at 9:37 am

    “Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.” Lincoln’s First Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861.

  60. 60.

    Nutcutter

    July 21, 2006 at 9:50 am

    Tell us what Democrats have done for the black voters besides count their votes every election.

    Well, black people look at what the Republican party does for the middle class white people who support it, and they see Republicans giving tax breaks to the rich, and pimping scams such as the rollback of the estate tax to people who will not only never see the break, but will be saddled with making up the revenue shortfall. Not only do the middle class whites have to make up that shortfall, they have to listen to lying shitheads in Washington telling them that the new tax break is a wonderful thing for them even though it’s the opposite of a wonderful thing for them.

    Democrats may be inept at times in their efforts to do the best thing for their black constituents, but at least they aren’t deliberately fucking them over and then laughing at them behind their backs. So if your choice is between the bleeding heart who can’t always get it right, and the lying cocksucker who would scam his own grandmother to get a vote so that he can keep his promises to his rich friends, you go with the bleeding heart and cross your fingers.

    Whaddya think?

  61. 61.

    Sherard

    July 21, 2006 at 10:04 am

    Hell Yeah!!! You tell ’em, Tim. Definitely requiring a picture ID, bringing voting requirements up to par with that paragon of Democrativ virtue – MEXICO – is a definite No-No. Not allowing people – living and dead – to vote more than once for Democrats would surely be the end of civilization.

  62. 62.

    Sherard

    July 21, 2006 at 10:05 am

    The Democrats aren’t trying to kill black people.

    Oh that is rich. Another full-on, 100% pure moonbat shows their true colors. Fucking retard.

  63. 63.

    RSA

    July 21, 2006 at 10:05 am

    Tell us what Democrats have done for the black voters besides count their votes every election. Talk about lip service!

    Probably not enough, but look at how poverty rates moved under Clinton versus Bush II. Look at how many black families moved out of poverty under Clinton versus Bush II. The examples I gave (a better social safety net; better primary and secondary education systems; fairer criminal sentencing laws; reduction of racism. . .) can be matched to Democratic proposals. To the extent that these proposals have been implemented, that counts in the Democrats’ favor. Unlike Republicans, they’re not actively trying to block such things. Bush, for example, sees a good economy and proposes tax cuts that mainly focus on the better-off. He sees the economy go sour and proposes. . .tax cuts that mainly focus on the better-off.

  64. 64.

    Andrew

    July 21, 2006 at 10:10 am

    Oh that is rich. Another full-on, 100% pure moonbat shows their true colors. Fucking retard.

    Yes, Sherard, it would be ridiculous to suggest that Republicans want black people to die.

  65. 65.

    Rusty Shackleford

    July 21, 2006 at 10:22 am

    One day after Bush met with the NAACP, the Republican controlled Senate freezes funding for Head Start.

    The Senate Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to freeze funding for popular education programs such as Head Start and grants to schools for poor children and those with special needs.

    And…

    “…Bush’s No Child Left Behind bill called for $25 billion in federal funding for local schools but that the measure approved Thursday provides just half of that.”

    Who is hit hardest by freezing funding for Head Start and underfunding NCLB?

  66. 66.

    Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 10:35 am

    Talk about lip service! 90% of blacks vote Democrat—and we’ve had 30 years of Democrat-dominated Congresses and twelve years of Democrat presidents since the mid-1960s (and one of those presidents was black!)—and what do they get in return, besides lots of election-year rhetoric and lots of rich, white Democrats running for every big office?

    It’s amazing, isn’t it, that after 30 years they still don’t get how the Democrats do nothing for them? They must be pretty stupid, huh?

  67. 67.

    Nutcutter

    July 21, 2006 at 10:40 am

    Of course, Mac-a-Roni, if you were really using your noodle, and you were wondering why blacks vote mostly Democratic, you could always ask them.

    If you really cared, I mean.

  68. 68.

    Zifnab

    July 21, 2006 at 10:58 am

    Talk about lip service! 90% of blacks vote Democrat—and we’ve had 30 years of Democrat-dominated Congresses and twelve years of Democrat presidents since the mid-1960s (and one of those presidents was black!)—and what do they get in return, besides lots of election-year rhetoric and lots of rich, white Democrats running for every big office?

    Since the 1960s we’ve had multiple attempts by Republicans to repeal the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and practically every social program since Roosevelt. I think the Democrats have their hands full – especially since they lost Congress in ’94 – just maintaining what they’ve built. The fact that these civil protection programs still exist at all for blacks, and weren’t sold off for political capital to white Dems looking to pass pork, says quite a bit about our party.

  69. 69.

    Nutcutter

    July 21, 2006 at 11:03 am

    Okay Mac, so much for the softball questions today.

    Got any hard ones?

  70. 70.

    Andrew

    July 21, 2006 at 11:04 am

    Got any hard ones?

    I’ve got a tough one:
    Would you rather be stuck in a small closet with Darrell, or Mac and Darrell?

  71. 71.

    Nutcutter

    July 21, 2006 at 11:09 am

    Would you rather be stuck in a small closet with Darrell, or Mac and Darrell?

    Is either of them going to bring food?

  72. 72.

    Pb

    July 21, 2006 at 11:13 am

    I have to admit, on these important issues, the Republicans are way out in front of the Democrats. The Democrats have no ideas, not the way the Republicans do. Democrats don’t have a plan. Will the Democrats have the political will to cut food stamps enough? Where’s their plan to underfund our educational programs? What’s the Democrat plan to disenfranchise black voters? What’s the Democrat plan to keep the economy stagnant? Where’s their plan to allow hospitals to kill patients on life support who can’t pay up? What’s their plan to keep us mired in foreign wars? What’s their plan to keep health care costs going up? What’s their plan to destroy social security? Where’s their tax relief plan for millionaires? What’s their plan to keep us dependent on foreign oil? I don’t think the Democrats have the leadership, the will, or the sense to continue with these incredibly successful Republican policies, and that’s why black voters should vote for Republicans.

  73. 73.

    Andrew

    July 21, 2006 at 11:17 am

    Is either of them going to bring food?

    Only their shining personalities.

  74. 74.

    Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 11:27 am

    A good starting point is that if you think the War on Poverty was worse for black families than the War on Drugs, you might not want to bother with those outreach efforts.

  75. 75.

    tBone

    July 21, 2006 at 11:29 am

    Would you rather be stuck in a small closet with Darrell, or Mac and Darrell?

    It depends. Would I have to wear a Boy Scout uniform?

  76. 76.

    The Other Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 11:47 am

    A good starting point is that if you think the War on Poverty was worse for black families than the War on Drugs, you might not want to bother with those outreach efforts.

    Millions now have three square meals a day and a roof over their heads!

  77. 77.

    Perry Como

    July 21, 2006 at 11:47 am

    and what do they get in return, besides lots of election-year rhetoric and lots of rich, white Democrats running for every big office?

    Let’s turn to the Republican Black Caucus in Congress and ask their opinion.

  78. 78.

    SeesThroughIt

    July 21, 2006 at 11:48 am

    The best Republicans can do is crow about how “they’re the party of Lincoln” and how “Lincoln freed the slaves” ad nausem

    …and claim that all you need to know about political alignments during the civil rights period was that the movement was opposed by Southern Democrats.

    The first one is probably my favorite just because Republicans treat it like the ace of trumps whenever the discussion turns at all racial. No matter what, they will always pull it out. Shit, they could pass the We Don’t Like Black People bill, and then, when called on it, scream, “Party of Lincoln!” and feel as though they just put up an impenetrable defense. (Never mind the actual views of Lincoln as quoted marvelously in this thread, of course).

    The second one I used to find pretty funny, but it gets less funny over time as people actually start believing it. “Southern Democrats favored segregation!” screams Sean Hannity, just as he’s been programmed to scream. Yes…conservative Southern Democrats. You know, like the heavily feted eventual Republican Strom Thurmond (who was against Black people before he was for [sleeping with] them). When Republicans start running that canard, it’s rather humorous, but as fewer and fewer people actually know about and understand the Dixiecrat phenomenon and start believing that bullshit GOP party line, the humor fades.

  79. 79.

    heathchilsolmlives

    July 21, 2006 at 11:57 am

    It’s amazing to me what a bunch of hypocrites you folks on the left really are. You talk this big game of inclusion and then you try to shut qualified candidates like Kweisi Mfume out of the process by putting all your money into Ben Cardin, a milqutoast white candidate if there ever was one. I guess African American candidates are only useful to you when they’re in minority districts, huh?

  80. 80.

    Pb

    July 21, 2006 at 12:08 pm

    heathchilsolmlives,

    It’s amazing to me what a bunch of hypocrites you folks on the left really are. You talk this big game of inclusion and then you try to shut qualified candidates like Kweisi Mfume out of the process by putting all your money into Ben Cardin

    I admit it–that one was all my fault.

    Seriously, man, what’s your problem?

  81. 81.

    Steve

    July 21, 2006 at 12:19 pm

    I admit it—that one was all my fault.

    Not just you. I go around tearing up Mfume campaign posters.

  82. 82.

    Jamil

    July 21, 2006 at 12:56 pm

    I saw excerpts from that speech yesterday. I was at my local barbershop.

    A room full of black men and you know what the comments were?

    “Ay man, change the channel, I can’t stand to listen to that motherfucker talk”

    “Yeah, fuck him. New Orleans is STILL messed up”

    The conversation about the NBA draft then resumed.

    The GOP has no inroads whatsoever into the black electorate. Until they do, they can count on blacks voting againt their candidates by shameful margins (9:1 in the last presidential election)

    I myself, will not evem ponder voting Republican until they

    1. Apologize for all the bullshit they’ve pulled. Starting with Reagan’s campaign speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi and working their way forward to the disenfranchisment of black voters in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

    2. Stop giving rich people fucking tax breaks. Trickle down economics my ass….Even Stockman said that shit was a joke.

    3. Stop waging pointless wars at the cost of billions of dollars while schools, hospitals and other civila infrastructure in poor communities crumbles.

    4. Stop trotting out rich, disaffected minorities as signs of their inclusiveness.

    5. Stop pandering to the crypto-racist demographic – be they minutemen, fundi Christians or John Birch society types.

    So sayeth the socially conservative, politically progressive black guy.

  83. 83.

    Andrew

    July 21, 2006 at 1:11 pm

    You couldn’t make this shit up if you tried.

    Nothing like a pimp slap/beard rubbin’ to show a black man you care.

  84. 84.

    RSA

    July 21, 2006 at 2:10 pm

    Oh, boy. How many holes would the Secret Service put in someone who treated Bush the way he treats other people?

  85. 85.

    Pb

    July 21, 2006 at 2:25 pm

    Well said, Jamil.

  86. 86.

    CaseyL

    July 22, 2006 at 7:34 pm

    I’m not sure the Bush Family is racist so much as it is a wanna-be feudal barony; that is, the Bushes feel the same indifference for blacks as they feel for women, children, the working class, the disabled, veterans – and, well, anyone else whose net worth is less than seven digits.

    The GOP is another matter, since bigotry is its co-mainstay (the other mainstay being omniphobia which manifests as sadistic bellicosity).

    Maybe the GOP used to stand for other stuff. Considering how quickly it abandoned that “other stuff” (like fiscal responsibility and small government) once it had the chance, though, I’m not sure the other stuff was ever more than something to lure the proles into the tent with. And its claims to be “the Party of strong national defense” are now laughable as well.

    I know good people like John hope to someday, somehow, reclaim their Party. But that’s just not going to happen if they keep rewarding the current crop of thieves and banshees with their votes. The current GOP has to be destroyed utterly, and something else built in its place.

    And that’s not going to happen as long as Republican voters keep telling themselves that, no matter how egregious and disastrous and plain evil the GOP is, the Democrats “would be even worse.”

    I’ve got news for those Republican voters: nothing, no candidate and no policy, that the Democrats offer could possibly be worse for America than today’s GOP. Nothing.

  87. 87.

    Nutcutter

    July 23, 2006 at 2:32 pm

    I’ve got news for those Republican voters: nothing, no candidate and no policy, that the Democrats offer could possibly be worse for America than today’s GOP. Nothing.

    Correctamundo. Via DKos:

    Bush’s DOJ being castrated deliberately in order to stop civil rights enforecement without changing the law

    It’s Bushworld. The people, through their representatives, can’t be trusted … even when you have a Republican congress. Whether it’s NSA, or civil rights enforecement, you just do whatever you want and fuck the opposition.

    Can anything the Dems do be worse for minorities than the GOP? Well, the voting of the minorities should tell you.

  88. 88.

    vetiver

    July 24, 2006 at 11:32 pm

    Since the 1960s we’ve had multiple attempts by Republicans to repeal the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and practically every social program since Roosevelt.

    Zifnab, why stop there? The current administration’s ideal is 1896. Unfettered commerce!

    1. Apologize for all the bullshit they’ve pulled. Starting with Reagan’s campaign speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi and working their way forward to the disenfranchisment of black voters in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

    Jamil, it didn’t start there. Reagan’s stunt was merely that campaign season’s assault in an ongoing campaign, the Southern Strategy. His telegenically befuddled deniability was all his own, and it became a classic (cf., Bitburg memorial). Bush’s problem is that while he’s as befuddled as possible in the Earth atmosphere, he lacks Reagan’s ability to deliver the line. Reagan had a skill that kept his income (if not his Oscar nominations) plump enough to sustain him comfortably with no outside support for 20+ (30+?) years before the California GOP discovered him at the GE soda fountain. Bush, on the other hand, has never developed any skill, never demonstrated any talent, never exhibited any ability worth anything on the open market. Every business opportunity he ever had was fed to him by his daddy’s friends.

    And if my 1986 self had any idea that twenty years on, I’d be favorably comparing Reagan to the current president… I’m just glad I didn’t know what was coming.

Comments are closed.

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  1. The Heretik says:
    July 21, 2006 at 9:54 am

    […] Actions speak louder than words. Bush has not much acted. After six years he finally spoke at an NAACP convention. Bush’s neglect is not benign, but active. Sweet Jesus, save us. It’s mission implausible. Rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham: “You knew he was gonna throw in “the party of Abraham Lincoln”, but the rest was equally predictable and hilarious. The GOP “let go” of its ties to black people and “wrote off” their votes. Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” […]

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