By Manifesto Joe
After the past couple of weeks, I'll have to stop using the nickname of "Slick Willard" to refer to Mitt Scumney. He hasn't been slick at all, and some of the American people are getting a chance to see whom this really is.
I suppose his asinine behavior while visiting the Summer Olympic Games in London should have been enough foreshadowing of this. Like Obama's predecessor, this is a doofus, a son of privilege whose main talent seems to be for making a fool of himself.
He followed up on insults to America's closest ally with the Libya debacle, attacking alleged weakness in the Obama administration even before the victims' families had been notified. Even many top Republicans were aghast at that one.
Then there were the "47 percent" remarks, which appear to show Romney as the ignorant plutocrat he really is. The only "redistribution of wealth" that people like him object to is the kind that travels down the socioeconomic ladder. When it comes from the bottom up -- as it usually does -- it's called "smart business."
'Incompetent' was polite
Even prominent plutocrats are upset. Peggy Noonan, the onetime Reagan speechwriter who's now with The Wall Street Journal, said she was being polite when she called the Scumney campaign "incompetent." What she meant, she said, is that it is more like a "rolling calamity."
Here's a link to a story about Noonan's dismay.
Many polls are now showing Obama in the lead, reversing previous trends. One factor, I would say, is a closing of ranks among America's "center-left." Obama's lack of fight, at least for a long time while faced with Republican intractability, was disheartening to many. But the Republican Party has come so much under the spell of its kook element that the "center-left's" potential dissidents realize that Obama is the only person standing between us and utterly irresponsible right-wingers.
I worry, though, remembering an old adage that nobody ever lost a dime underestimating the intelligence of the American people. It has surprised even me, just a bit, how many people are still obsessing over where Obama was born when the U.S. is being faced with such a grave choice in November. The "birthers" always deny this, but I think the fact that there's an uppity n----r in the White House is what bothers them most. I would have thought that the Il Doofus (Bush 43) disaster would have spoiled the "Republican brand" for at least a generation, but the election of a black president seemed to make a lot of Il Doofus' damage invisible to many middle-class white people.
Scumney may still be able to make it close enough for the Republicans to steal it with their voter disenfranchisement strategy, and so forth. But at least the latest gaffes are giving people a chance to see whom he really is. As Massachusetts governor, he talked like a moderate, and even governed like one to a great extent. But recent missteps, plus his choice of Paul "Ayn" Ryan as his running mate, make clear that this is merely a privileged, opportunistic dork who's willing to tell anybody anything to have the office to which he obviously thinks he's entitled. The Republican right wing owns him now, and they also will do anything to grab power.
Manifesto Joe Is An Underground Writer Living In Texas.
Showing posts with label gaffes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gaffes. Show all posts
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Cain Not Just A Koch Brothers Puppet, He's An Ignoramus
By Manifesto Joe
I should preface by saying that Herman Cain isn't stupid at all, at least certainly not in the classic sense of the word. Truly stupid people don't get master's degrees in computer science from Purdue University. But there's a big difference between intelligence and wisdom, and Cain exhibits little of the latter.
In the world according to Herman Cain, those of you out there who aren't rich, and have no job, "blame yourself." (Translation: Blame the victim.) Here's a link to a story on this.
Encouragement of self-hatred is nothing new in the Republican Party. It's one way they've stayed either in power or on the fringes of it for well over a century -- by isolating, dividing and fragmenting society's losers. It's never been corrupt institutions, it's always YOU. It's never hard-luck incidents like recessions, stock-market crashes, layoffs or catastrophic illnesses in families. Anything to keep the losers from banding together and doing something collectively about corrupt institutions.
This has always been a Republican subtext, and perhaps Cain should get some credit for having the chutzpah to say it right out loud. But that doesn't make this notion any less foolish.
A society is, at the very least, the sum of the individuals who are part of it. Certainly there are lazy, wasteful and moronic people out there (including many who inherited wealth and live in gated communities). There are also plenty of hardworking, thrifty, shrewd folks who have been laid off at work, have seen their life savings fractured because of reckless speculation by the high rollers, and/or have had the misfortune of getting sick or seeing a spouse or child come down with a catastrophic illness.
There are many other considerations in the "race," which as the Bible eloquently says, doesn't always go to the swiftest. (Since he is an associate Baptist minister, I assume that Mr. Cain knows his Bible.)
Luck is a factor that is often crucial. Just being the right stiff, in the right place, at the right time with the right line -- pure dumb luck -- is a biggie. Mark Cuban comes to mind. I suspect that there are many out there as hardworking, shrewd and thrifty as Cuban who are now desperately looking for work and fighting off foreclosure. But, with Americans and their mass media being the dollar-worshipping types that they are, one hears plenty about Cuban, and little if anything about the struggling, faceless masses out there.
Ruthlessness is another key factor. Anyone who's spent much time in the corporate world knows that this can't be underestimated. A ruthless person is apt to be willing to do things that a more ethical and dignified person is unwilling to do. Consequently, ruthless people often end up in managerial roles, and then tend to reward and promote ruthless toadies just like themselves.
In short, someone who has had their eyes and mind open in America, or any other place, for a few decades should know that material success and failure are unpredictable and capricious things. And, the winners tend to just keep on winning, and the losers ... they tend to spend their lives struggling just to get out of that hole.
According to his Wikipedia biography, Mr. Cain grew up relatively poor:
Herman Cain was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Lenora Caine (née Davis), a cleaning woman and domestic worker, and Luther Cain, Jr., who was raised on a farm and worked as a barber and janitor, as well as a chauffeur for Coca-Cola president Robert Woodruff. Cain has said that as he was growing up, his family was "poor" but "happy". Cain related that his mother taught him about her belief that "success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but what you start out with spiritually". His father worked three jobs to own his own home — something he achieved during Cain's childhood — and to see his two sons graduate.
It's certainly an inspiring success story. But Mr. Cain should be reminded of his roots, and also of the fact that in the Great Recession some Americans, a great many, have had difficulty finding just one job, let alone three.
Very few lives out there have been the stuff of Horatio Alger novels. It's nice that Mr. Cain's life has gone like that. For most of us who grew up poor and became a little upwardly mobile, it was a struggle just to make it into the middle class, against odds. Saying "blame yourself" is a platitude from a smug, self-satisfied ignoramus.
Now for the Cain campaign ad on the Web
People are trying hard to figure this one out. Were they serious?
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/cain-unorthodox-ad-131143258.html
This 56-second Internet campaign ad looks as though Herman was trying to win over the votes of cigarette fiends.
Then there are the numerous gaffes
TV journalist David Gregory was a bit nonplussed when Cain admitted not really knowing what the "neoconservative" movement is or was. It's merely been discussed ever since Il Doofus (Bush 43) took office. How could a person seeking the White House in 2012 have missed out on something political that has been so extensively covered since 2001?
There was also his illegal-alien-killing electric fence for the Mexican border (oh yeah, just a joke), and the one about Jesus being the "perfect conservative" who was killed by a liberal court. Wow.
Again, perhaps Cain should get a little credit for admitting when he doesn't know something, as in the case of "neoconservative." He didn't just go on talking and making a bigger fool of himself, a la Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann.
But a person this foolish, and so ill-informed on the issues, shouldn't even be running for Congress, let alone the Republican presidential nomination.
Experience has taught me not to "misunderestimate" the foolishness of Republicans. I suppose it's still possible for Cain to get the nomination. But the powerful Wall Street branch of the party wants a November winner, not an October buffoon. Even Rick Perry, poor as his debate performances have been, is looking like someone the kingmakers will prefer to an amateur like Cain. (At this point, I'd bet on Romney, though he'll have to name an extreme right-wing running mate to placate the Tea Party.)
Manifesto Joe Is An Underground Writer Living In Texas.
I should preface by saying that Herman Cain isn't stupid at all, at least certainly not in the classic sense of the word. Truly stupid people don't get master's degrees in computer science from Purdue University. But there's a big difference between intelligence and wisdom, and Cain exhibits little of the latter.
In the world according to Herman Cain, those of you out there who aren't rich, and have no job, "blame yourself." (Translation: Blame the victim.) Here's a link to a story on this.
Encouragement of self-hatred is nothing new in the Republican Party. It's one way they've stayed either in power or on the fringes of it for well over a century -- by isolating, dividing and fragmenting society's losers. It's never been corrupt institutions, it's always YOU. It's never hard-luck incidents like recessions, stock-market crashes, layoffs or catastrophic illnesses in families. Anything to keep the losers from banding together and doing something collectively about corrupt institutions.
This has always been a Republican subtext, and perhaps Cain should get some credit for having the chutzpah to say it right out loud. But that doesn't make this notion any less foolish.
A society is, at the very least, the sum of the individuals who are part of it. Certainly there are lazy, wasteful and moronic people out there (including many who inherited wealth and live in gated communities). There are also plenty of hardworking, thrifty, shrewd folks who have been laid off at work, have seen their life savings fractured because of reckless speculation by the high rollers, and/or have had the misfortune of getting sick or seeing a spouse or child come down with a catastrophic illness.
There are many other considerations in the "race," which as the Bible eloquently says, doesn't always go to the swiftest. (Since he is an associate Baptist minister, I assume that Mr. Cain knows his Bible.)
Luck is a factor that is often crucial. Just being the right stiff, in the right place, at the right time with the right line -- pure dumb luck -- is a biggie. Mark Cuban comes to mind. I suspect that there are many out there as hardworking, shrewd and thrifty as Cuban who are now desperately looking for work and fighting off foreclosure. But, with Americans and their mass media being the dollar-worshipping types that they are, one hears plenty about Cuban, and little if anything about the struggling, faceless masses out there.
Ruthlessness is another key factor. Anyone who's spent much time in the corporate world knows that this can't be underestimated. A ruthless person is apt to be willing to do things that a more ethical and dignified person is unwilling to do. Consequently, ruthless people often end up in managerial roles, and then tend to reward and promote ruthless toadies just like themselves.
In short, someone who has had their eyes and mind open in America, or any other place, for a few decades should know that material success and failure are unpredictable and capricious things. And, the winners tend to just keep on winning, and the losers ... they tend to spend their lives struggling just to get out of that hole.
According to his Wikipedia biography, Mr. Cain grew up relatively poor:
Herman Cain was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Lenora Caine (née Davis), a cleaning woman and domestic worker, and Luther Cain, Jr., who was raised on a farm and worked as a barber and janitor, as well as a chauffeur for Coca-Cola president Robert Woodruff. Cain has said that as he was growing up, his family was "poor" but "happy". Cain related that his mother taught him about her belief that "success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but what you start out with spiritually". His father worked three jobs to own his own home — something he achieved during Cain's childhood — and to see his two sons graduate.
It's certainly an inspiring success story. But Mr. Cain should be reminded of his roots, and also of the fact that in the Great Recession some Americans, a great many, have had difficulty finding just one job, let alone three.
Very few lives out there have been the stuff of Horatio Alger novels. It's nice that Mr. Cain's life has gone like that. For most of us who grew up poor and became a little upwardly mobile, it was a struggle just to make it into the middle class, against odds. Saying "blame yourself" is a platitude from a smug, self-satisfied ignoramus.
Now for the Cain campaign ad on the Web
People are trying hard to figure this one out. Were they serious?
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/cain-unorthodox-ad-131143258.html
This 56-second Internet campaign ad looks as though Herman was trying to win over the votes of cigarette fiends.
Then there are the numerous gaffes
TV journalist David Gregory was a bit nonplussed when Cain admitted not really knowing what the "neoconservative" movement is or was. It's merely been discussed ever since Il Doofus (Bush 43) took office. How could a person seeking the White House in 2012 have missed out on something political that has been so extensively covered since 2001?
There was also his illegal-alien-killing electric fence for the Mexican border (oh yeah, just a joke), and the one about Jesus being the "perfect conservative" who was killed by a liberal court. Wow.
Again, perhaps Cain should get a little credit for admitting when he doesn't know something, as in the case of "neoconservative." He didn't just go on talking and making a bigger fool of himself, a la Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann.
But a person this foolish, and so ill-informed on the issues, shouldn't even be running for Congress, let alone the Republican presidential nomination.
Experience has taught me not to "misunderestimate" the foolishness of Republicans. I suppose it's still possible for Cain to get the nomination. But the powerful Wall Street branch of the party wants a November winner, not an October buffoon. Even Rick Perry, poor as his debate performances have been, is looking like someone the kingmakers will prefer to an amateur like Cain. (At this point, I'd bet on Romney, though he'll have to name an extreme right-wing running mate to placate the Tea Party.)
Manifesto Joe Is An Underground Writer Living In Texas.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Governor Goodhair Aide's 'Whorehouse' Remark Is Insulting To Whores
By Manifesto Joe
As Jerry Jeff Walker sang -- "When I get screwed, I like to be kissed." Following is our connection: David Carney, a consultant for Gov. "Goodhair" Rick Perry of Texas, warned against turning the Republican Party into a "whorehouse" with the aim of casting a wider tent for voters. Here's a link to an Associated Press story.
This raised the ire of proper Republican women across the Lone Star State. But another group should be equally pissed: practicing whores.
I confess that, despite macho posturing among fellow Texas men, I passed on any and all opportunities with those practicing the oldest profession, and therefore have no firsthand experience. But I have heard this on good authority: Good ones, the real pros, will kiss you first.
Not so with Republicans. And this remark by Perry's strategist is actually a bigger insult to a group seldom quoted by the mainstream media.
The Iraq war, tax breaks for the rich, overseas tax havens for corporations, Enron, the subprime mortgage debacle, abuse of credit card holders, assaults on civil rights and liberties, incentives for polluters and corporations that export jobs, neglect of returning veterans, whittling away at Medicare and Medicaid ... I never got kissed before any of those mind-boggling travesties.
So, it seems like a worse insult to those hardworking women who are, well, honest enough to be hookers out in the open. They are at least above-board, and I doubt that they would put you at risk for diseases much worse than the ones Republicans have already inflicted upon us.
The standard political response to all this, of course, is that "Governor Goodhair" is in trouble yet again, not long after his infamous secession remark. And this gives plenty of cannon fodder to U.S. Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison, a "moderate" Republican who is almost certain to be his challenger in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary.
But I'm honestly concerned about the aspersions cast herein upon the hardworking crack whores of our mean streets. They're a skanky bunch, to be sure. But, to even suggest that the current stalwarts of the Republican Party, especially in this state that spawned the likes of Il Doofus, are a lot better than them? Well, it's a "stretch." (No double-entendre intended -- really!)
Manifesto Joe Is An Underground Writer Living In Texas.
As Jerry Jeff Walker sang -- "When I get screwed, I like to be kissed." Following is our connection: David Carney, a consultant for Gov. "Goodhair" Rick Perry of Texas, warned against turning the Republican Party into a "whorehouse" with the aim of casting a wider tent for voters. Here's a link to an Associated Press story.
This raised the ire of proper Republican women across the Lone Star State. But another group should be equally pissed: practicing whores.
I confess that, despite macho posturing among fellow Texas men, I passed on any and all opportunities with those practicing the oldest profession, and therefore have no firsthand experience. But I have heard this on good authority: Good ones, the real pros, will kiss you first.
Not so with Republicans. And this remark by Perry's strategist is actually a bigger insult to a group seldom quoted by the mainstream media.
The Iraq war, tax breaks for the rich, overseas tax havens for corporations, Enron, the subprime mortgage debacle, abuse of credit card holders, assaults on civil rights and liberties, incentives for polluters and corporations that export jobs, neglect of returning veterans, whittling away at Medicare and Medicaid ... I never got kissed before any of those mind-boggling travesties.
So, it seems like a worse insult to those hardworking women who are, well, honest enough to be hookers out in the open. They are at least above-board, and I doubt that they would put you at risk for diseases much worse than the ones Republicans have already inflicted upon us.
The standard political response to all this, of course, is that "Governor Goodhair" is in trouble yet again, not long after his infamous secession remark. And this gives plenty of cannon fodder to U.S. Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison, a "moderate" Republican who is almost certain to be his challenger in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary.
But I'm honestly concerned about the aspersions cast herein upon the hardworking crack whores of our mean streets. They're a skanky bunch, to be sure. But, to even suggest that the current stalwarts of the Republican Party, especially in this state that spawned the likes of Il Doofus, are a lot better than them? Well, it's a "stretch." (No double-entendre intended -- really!)
Manifesto Joe Is An Underground Writer Living In Texas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
