Reader J sends this along, with the suggestion that “Agenda 21” (a completely non-binding set of policy suggestions) is the new amero:
“I would adopt a very strong policy towards the United Nations of dramatically taking on its absurdities,” the former House Speaker said. “I would explicitly repudiate what Obama has done on Agenda 21 as the kind of interference from the United Nations,” he then added.
[….]According to the U.N.’s website, “Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.”
Even though the U.S. government is not legally bound by the initiative, local governments across the country have implemented some of its strategies for sustainable development. Smart growth, transportation planning, and limited rural development are all Agenda 21 goals.
I wonder a bit if one of Romney’s weaknesses is that he doesn’t like to use the secret code that wingers like, no Agenda 21, no Dred Scott, no oblique references to ameros or black U.N. Helicopters. He’s not apocalyptic enough and he doesn’t speak their language.
jafg
“He’s not apocalyptic enough…”
Gee, sounds just like Gloom Porn addict Cole.
Bubblegum Tate
You know, there’s probably something to that. Paranoia is fuel for the winger base, and the politicians who excite the base the most all have some crazy-ass conspiracy theories that they can trot out to reliably enthusiastic response. Romney doesn’t do that, and the base is, at best, lukewarm on him. Correlation is not causation, of course, but….
Xecky Gilchrist
Smart growth, transportation planning, and limited rural development are all Agenda 21 goals.
Yeah, definitely the kind of thing worth shitting your pants over. Wingnuts are weird.
Davis X. Machina
It’s not the amero that scares me, or the black helicopters. It’s the frickin’ manatees.
How do we stand up to the U.N. manatees?
That’s what I want to know from my candidate.
Steeplejack
I thought Agenda 21 was that movie where the South Africans kept space aliens in a detention camp. Why does Newt care about that?
Wait, what?
FlipYrWhig
Wasn’t Ken Buck on about this in the Colorado senate election? IIRC, something about bicycle paths being a gateway to one-world soçialism.
MikeBoyScout
Agenda 21 + Area 51 = 72.
The life duration of the ovule is 72 hours! OMG!
Jennifer
Romney could end all this flavor-of-the-month nonsense and the wingers would happily fall in line if he would only come out with a proposal to arm us with a fleet of Airwolves for protection against the black helicopters.
Jerzy Russian
@Xecky Gilchrist:
Yes, this is what gets me about most conservatives today.
Normally most people would agree that it is not a good idea to shit in
the village well. In today’s climate someone on the left could suggest in some public venue
that it is not a good
idea to shit in the village well, and I bet some conservatives will then mock that
person, and apparently be in favor of shitting in the village well.
It pisses me off that simple things like the notion that maybe using less gas in cars or
reducing air pollution from factories are good ideas have become
poisonous for public discussion.
Jerzy
robertdsc-PowerBook
@Jennifer:
LOL.
Jay C
@Bubblegum Tate: @FlipYrWhig:
You just have to know, that if the “Agenda 21” suggestions had been promulgated by some “approved” right-wing think-tank (AEI, say), the GOP candidates would be falling all over themselves touting its sensible proposals, and flaying the Obama Admin for ignoring such a commonsensical and popular program…
But paranoia (especially such involving the wingnuts’ pet boogeyman of the UN) is a big sell out there on the Jesusland hustings, so conspiracy-theory gibbering is what one gets….
Omnes Omnibus
@Davis X. Machina: Manatees?
MattF
I think that if the wingers pushed Romney hard enough on the subject he would go as Agenda 21-crazy as anyone. This is the problem with Romney. He has one, and exactly one, true belief, that Mitt Romney must be the next President. And he will do whatever to make it so.
Chris
@Steeplejack: @MikeBoyScout:
This.
“Agenda 21” has this nice, sinister, top-secret, sci-fi-ish kind of ring, like “Area 51” or “Section 31.” Which is probably why they’ve latched onto it.
Now, why the hell do the forces of the New World Order want to legislate environmental policy in American states? That part, they never get around to…
rikyrah
they are frigging crazy
SiubhanDuinne
@Davis X. Machina:
Holy jeebers. From the article:
The stupid is getting burnier all the time.
rikyrah
I thought they were just going back to birther nonsense.
Bubblegum Tate
@Chris:
It’s a “backdoor to soshulism.” The theory is that environmental policy is designed to erode freedom–you can’t buy incandescent bulbs anymore! You must buy low-water-usage toilets! Cap and Trade squelches business growth and opportunities!–so that little by little, both individuals and businesses cede control to The State and its nefarious Planning Committees until you wake up one day and…SOSHULISM!
As far as I can tell, they don’t think they’re being hyperbolic in the slightest with that mess, either.
Amir Khalid
@SiubhanDuinne:
And that’s not all the lady said. Another quote from her at the very end of the story:
WereBear
@Amir Khalid: Oh dear heavenly lawd.
It’s my highly considered opinion that the right wing has effectively unmoored rational thought from the positions they encourage their rabble to hold. Their minions, in turn, don’t give a thought to what they say or hold dear; that’s for the ones above their pay grade.
Citizen_X
@Davis X. Machina: Boy howdy, you weren’t kidding. The manatees are working for the UN one-worlders!
Open your eyes, sheeple! Agenda 21 IS A COOKBOOK!
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: That lady needs to breathe in some car fumes.
dmsilev
@SiubhanDuinne: Is that somewhere in the hidden Bill of Rights? You know, the “Real” 11th Amendment, which the Bavarian Illuminati suppressed, which states that “Congress shall make no law, and the President damn well better not even think about, limiting the rights of honest God-fearing Americans to despoil the landscape as they please.”
dmsilev
@Citizen_X: Soylent Green is Manatee!
No wait, that doesn’t seem right.
Perhaps we’re in The Matrix, and the manatees are the Agents?
MikeJ
@dmsilev: Did you never read Thomas Paine’s Rights of Manatee?
Rhoda
He’s a Mormon, that’s the problem.
That he flip-flopped is an issue; but he’s come down in the end on the conservative side so if they liked him they’d simply say he came to Jesus. It’s the Mormon issue that is holding him back and will determine if his 25% is a ceiling or a floor. The huge deal is the last poll that showed Gingrich within a point of Romney in New Hampshire; if the conservatives dam the torpedoes and go with Gingrich then Romney is going to have a big problem.
That’s why he has to play in Iowa now; and why Gingrich is helped by the debates. I read Dan Balz piece in the Post today; it’s all about how the tea party crowd thinks Gingrich’ll spank Obama in the debates and for that they’ll overlook a great deal.
I still think in the end Romney isn’t the nominee; and it’s basically because he’s a Mormon.
MikeJ
@Rhoda: I still remember how much the proto teabaggers hated McCain and then when votes were cast, the larger part of the Republican party went for the guy adored by the media who had waited for his turn. I can’t see why anybody who would vote for McCain would have any problem voting for Romney.
Yutsano
@MikeJ: I like manatee. They taste like chicken.
eugene
Agenda 21 will take away your SUV and force you to ride a light rail train, where you’ll be sitting next to strapping young bucks carrying their free-range T-bones that they bought from the local Whole Foods with your tax dollars.
scav
OT FYI, the news that the UCD cops have been put on admin leave (surprise surprise) is on the Guard and not at the NYT and ChiTrib for whoever was tracking this sort of stuff. Slightly odd, as it’s an AP byline. Guardian
FlipYrWhig
@Chris:
Oh, that’s easy. To squelch individuality and force everyone to do What They Say. Who’s “They”? Pfft, isn’t it obvious? That’s also why you need to have a gun. To stop Them from coming ’round here.
Jay in Oregon
@Citizen_X:
Off-topic: I wonder what would happen if you told some of these conspiracy nutters that “sheeple” is part of a COINTELPRO operation that seeded the word into Truther/militia/UFO literature and websites? Operatives know never to actually use the term itself, so they could tell who was a true believer and who was a false-flag agitator.
lol
@MikeJ:
In 2008, winner-take-all primaries tended to be states that McCain won while proportional delegates tended to be the ones he lost. So when he won, he won big. When he lost, it was very narrow in delegate terms. Before Romney and Huckabee dropped out, McCain didn’t really grab a huge portion of the Republican electorate.
Several states have switched to proportional delegates this time around. This will make it very difficult for Romney to put his opponents to bed since he struggles to break 40% most places.
Cacti
@Rhoda:
It’s more than big problem. If Romney can’t win the first Yankee primary, he’s done, because Yankees and Mormons are all he’s got right now.
xian
@Rhoda: oh man, I’d buy front-row seats to a Gingrich/Obama debate.
JPL
@Rhoda: He’s flip-flopped on everything else, how do we know he’ll remain a Mormon?
Brandon
DougJ: I think your Romney isn’t one of them schtick is something I would read from Joe Klein and is highly reminiscent of the journalism during the ’00 and ’08 elections that cast Bush and McCain as moderate and upright guys who only dabbled in conservative crazy out of necessity. I would appreciate it if you didn’t feed that meme because it will be thrust down our throats on a daily basis for most of next year.
The reality is that Romney lacks the imagination to properly signify to the base. But his real evil lies in the fact that he’ll go all in on whatever crazy they come up with. Whether he believes it or not is beside the point and in fact, I am firmly convinced that the only thing Romney believes in is his own aggrandizement. He is a classic nihilist and sociopath.
You can believe that there is a rational, educated person inside his head that doesn’t get the stupid, but that view entirely missing the point because Romney is a classic nihilist, which makes all other considerations irrelevant.
In summary, he doesn’t go home every night and slap his hand against his forehead, sign and then muttering to himeslf about the stupid he encountered today, which is how you portray him (Obama we know does because he said as much when making fun of Brain Williams). The man is a sociopath and nihilist, so please stop trying to fit him within a favorable narrative (or a narrative that is comfortable for you) because anyway, he’ll be pimping that same narrative himself through his campaign.
Bex
@MikeJ: McCain isn’t a Mormon.
Cain
@Rhoda:
How will Mormons react to this? Will Utah do? Hold their nose and vote for Gingrich? What about other areas with high Mormon populations?
Villago Delenda Est
@Jerzy Russian:
That’s because these are conservative in the original sense of the word ideas.
Modern “conservatives” have nothing to do with conservative in the original sense of the word. Nihilists is more like it…they don’t even bother with an ethos. It’s all about pissing off the pointy headed liberal elite and their natural allies, the DFHs, that don’t get that allowing gay marriage will result in dogs and cats living together.
Tony J
@Amir Khalid:
They’re paraphrasing Magneto now? Really?
Citizen_X
@xian: Shhh! That’s not the right response. The proper response is “Gingrich? Oh no! He’ll destroy Obama in a debate! I’m terrified of what a Gingrich Presidency would be like!” Hell, I’ll make the bumper stickers: GINGRICH: He Scares Libruls!
Now, I’m sure a Gingrich Presidency would be terrifying, but so would being devoured by zombie Smurfs. Neither is very likely. Unless, of course, Obama gets too close to Perry and gets a crippling dose of Stupid Rays.
xian
@Citizen_X: you’re right, of course, but one thing I’ve learned is that wingnuts don’t pay attention to what I say and don’t draw logical inferences either. They will continue to think I am scared of a Gingrich candidacy even if I say I want it. (That’s how they treated our “bring ’em on” attitude toward Palin too, constantly repeating that we were *terrified* of her.)
Patrick Phelan
See, now what gets me about this particular thing, is that since humans and dinosaurs never coexisted (and that’s a basic fact of evolution, so this lady must know it, right? right? the Creation Museum and a few episodes of the Flintstones don’t trump actual scientific knowledge, right?) they’re saying “If dinosaurs had used these environmental movements” – because only dinosaurs could have initiated them, see above re: coexistence – “they could have avoided extinction, and would now rule us as scaly gods.”
So we should avoid it? We shouldn’t use the movements that will allow us to avoid extinction and rule over the next species that comes steppin’ around wanting to be dominant? Screw that! Let’s get stepping on species domination! To hell with the uplifted manatees!
So, yeah, this woman must be a card-carrying member of VHEMT. The only other options are depressing.
DougJ
@Brandon:
I truly believe that Romney is not one of them.
xian
@DougJ: well, sure, he’s electable. that’s what makes him the most dangerous one.
birthmarker
Seems to me that Agenda 21 segues awfully well into 12-21-12…
bgdaniels
Just curious – has anyone here ever read Stuart Hall or Michael Berube? They really put this secret language notion in perspective – I think it’s time the left starts treating it seriously in the sense that it’s worth taking head on every time. The right has done a brilliant job of creating this alternate universe to live in, and the left spends way too much time thinking its false consciousness. Instead of laughing at them and making fun of them, I think it’s worth creating a project that builds coalitions to fight back and rearticulate some of their ideology, such as global warming not being a hoax. People really believe this stuff, and there’s a better reason than “that’s what big capital tells them to believe” – otherwise, everyone here would believe it too! We spend too much time thinking life is like the Matrix, and that if only Republicans would take the red pill….the “red pill”, in this case, is the hard work of changing the common-sense associated with this stuff, like destroying the idea that “oh, it’s snowing outside, global warming is fake!! OMGLOL” Just a thought.