Fiction can be fun, but I find the reference section a little more enlightening.
-- Ace Ventura
I wanted to avoid writing something on the spectacle known as the Republican National Convention, mostly because I've found myself (surprisingly) in the role of "political educator" to many of my relatives, many of whom would not have have bothered to vote, let alone watch a debate or speech.
But when my own sister (who before this year had as much interest in politics as a dead squirrel) texted me the following:
omg mcCain has got 2 be joking ahhhhh
I realized that not only have I made an impression, but that I'll eventually have to return to the online world that has so graciously provided me with the material needed to combat the misinformation I hear on a regular basis.
Imagine my surprise to see the reactions not only to the selection of Governor Plain as J-Mac's VP, but to the convention. My first reaction (other than "Who?") was, "This woman is the anti-Hillary Clinton, and that should be the theme, if not the words, used by the Democrats for the rest of the campaign."
After awhile, I came to another conclusion: the Republicans know they are going to lose.
Consider the following:
John McCain Is Their Nominee.
This is a man who eight years ago evoked the same feelings from hard-core conservatives that Joe Lieberman evokes from hard-core liberals. In short: they hate his guts (mostly due to his religion-switching habits). This is a man who eight years ago called religious figures like Hagee and Dobson "agents of intolerance." Now he courts them. This is a man who proudly claimed to have supported President Bush 90% of the time; now he's supposedly the guy who can "change" things in Washington.
Back during the 2000 GOP primary, the Karl Rove machine created a poll that lead southerns to believe that McCain may have conceived a black child out of wedlock (a reference to his adopted daughter from Bangledesh). Now Karl Rove "unofficially" advises the McCain campaign.
This is the GOP's best offering. I shudder to think who their worst candidate might have been.
Their Heavy Hitters Are Losers.
Romney. Thompson. Giuliani. Huckabee.
All have one thing in common (besides being liars): they aren't holding political office right now. Politically-speaking, they are unemployed.
Compare that to Democrats like Kucinich (has a seat), Kerry (has a seat), Clinton (has a seat) and Kennedy (has a seat). Other than Bill Clinton (who can't run for President anymore) and Carter (someone with enough sense to realize he's too old for this sorta thing) all of our guys have jobs. As in, "work for a living." As in, "has some basic understanding of the working class."
Democrats don't have time to run around the nation giving speeches on what government should and shouldn't be doing; they're too busy trying to get government to work right. I'm not surprised that the Republicans are complaining about the effectiveness of government; in their warped world government is only working when they are controlling everything.
Their Candidate Is Not In Control.
He had the gall to use the Hollywood-inspired, "I'll have my people call your people" reply when asked about how many houses he owns. When he started talking about his lack of economic expertise, I thought he was gonna sing like Sam Cooke. And his VP is getting twice the attention that he's getting (and that's not necessarily a good thing).
(And if you believe that McCain chose Gov. Plain Palin, then I have to say, "Welcome to Planet Earth; how was the trip from Krypton?" Eveyone and their grandma knew McCain wanted to choose Lieberman, so if anything this proves that McCain left his Maverick-ness back in 2000.)
The GOP Convention looks like the political equivalent of a pick-up game. I swear the only thing speakers were asked to do was mention "John McCain" and "POW" in the same sentence. Oh, and I doubt that McCain would have OK'd using fake military props.
Compare this farce to the Democratic Convention: organized, on message, vibrant. And it had "Barack Obama" stamped all over it. At the end, even so-called PUMAs would have to admit that there was no lack of unity and structure. Which means that Obama is calling the shots and not letting his advisors run all over him.
"Diversity" Is An Old, Wooden Ship.
I can't remember the last time I saw so many old white men at a such a large event. I swore I had switched on the Matlock Convention by mistake. At least back in 2000 and 2004 Bush pretended like he gave a crap about diversity.
But since the Republican Convention 2008 is all about the "Great George W. Bush Whitewash," any references to the Decider have been, well, non-existent. If I was to base the political landscape on this Convention alone, I would think that Bill Clinton was president for the last 16 years and the GOP are leading some kind of revolution.
Which means that not only have the Republicans decided not to mention the Bush tax cuts or the war he started, but they won't talk about his efforts (as transparent as they were) to garner the Latino vote. In fact, it appears that for this election cycle "racial consolidation" is the name of the game.
And a funny thing happens when you don't have alot of racial and ethnic minorities at your big show: issues that resonate with racial and ethnic minorities don't get raised or addressed.
And with the exception of Gov. Palin mentioning that she's a "hockey mom," I can't say I've heard or seen alot of women's issues being brought up either.
But quite franky, a convention hall full of old white men can't be expected to be greatly concerned with the issues that effect minorities and women. Otherwise, I'd imagine that certain Constitutional Amendments would have been written earlier in our nation's history.
George W. Who?
I've already touched on this, but the lengths these guys are going to avoid having Bush's presence infect this convention is staggering. For all their talk about unity, we should take note that it's the Democrats who proudly but their last two presidents (one who lost re-election, the other was impeached) on the podium while the Republicans can't wait until their guy can no longer claim to be Commander in Chief. A video feed? Are you kidding me? Can you imagine the gossip that would have spawned if Bill Clinton gave his speech via satellite?
I guess it's hard to convince the public that this is a "referendum campaign" if your party's been running things for the last eight years. So the best thing to do is to lie about the opposition, pretend the guy in charge is someone of unidentifiable political allegiance, and say you're gonna make things all better.
A Pick Made In Desperation.
Based on the Rush Limbaugh's The Religious Right's McCain Campaign's John McCain's decision to select Palin, I can only imagine that if the Democratic Primary ended with Hillary Clinton winning the nomination and the media worrying about the direction of disenfranchised Obama supporters, McCain would be raising Alan Keyes' hand last night.
Her selection didn't win over Hillary supporters. Her comparing herself to Harry Truman (WTF?) was laughable. The two seem to be having trouble reconciling their position on a key plank in the GOP platform.
And if anything was an indicator, it was the initial reaction from the GOP's "best and brightest." They freaked (and for good reason). It doesn't matter what they're saying now; when her named was first announced they freaked. And that speaks volumes about how they really feel.
So We Can All Chill, Right?
So yes: these guys are hurting big time. I suspect that should they lose both the White House and more Congressional seats, the Republicans will hunker down and play the Grand Old Obstructionists role. McCain tried his best to give an inspiring speech (his target audience is still a mystery to me) but he had to deal with that giant eating utensil protruding out of his back. Neverthelss, last night was all about getting the gang together for one last push.
Sure, where the media sees a party on the comeback (???) I see a party running on fumes. Where some Democrats and liberals see a party plotting to brainwash the American People (hey, it's worked before), I see Team Rocket plotting to kidnap Pikachu, knowing full well their asses are about to get electrocuted.
But I'm also aware that they will not hold back. Giving up power is a hard thing to do. Reconciling the fact that you had power (an awesome amount of it to) and squandered it horribly is also hard to do. So expect them to come out swinging.
Expect the attacks to be emotional in nature (remember: this isn't an election about issues). That 9/11 video was just the beginning. A cunning warrior doesn't attack the body or mind; they go for the heart. Fear, doubt and hate will back on the menu.
One suggestion on how to handle them (and their ilk) for the remainder of this election cycle is a very simple one, and I give all the credit to daveawayfromhome, who's the originator:
...there's a sure-fire way to unscare many of the voters out there - it's called "humor". What is it that makes something funny? Some scientists will tell you that it is the release of tension, that laughter is a response as primal as fear, that laughter signals the end of danger, and so allows everyone to relax.
Notice, laughter comes after danger, to let you know that everything is okay now. Sure, Republicans can cry "danger" again. Let them. Make fun again, then relax. How many times will the cycle go before the "cries wolf" effect kicks in. The Bush Administration and the Republican Party has been maintaining a high level of fear for almost seven years. We know that the danger is not that great, and that we, the public, ought to be able to relax, but nobody has given the signal yet, nobody has laughed.
Republicans play upon our fears to maintain their power, and, as much as Democrats would like it to, careful explanations and reasoned arguments have simply not worked at all with much of the average electorate (it's only worked those elitist intellectuals, victims, no doubt, of too much knowledge).
Instead, Democrats need to simply make fun of the Republicans and their fears. Mock their fear-mongering. Maybe call them pussies. Done properly, the mockery can become self-sustaining, turning doom-saying Cassandras into hysterical fools. As an added bonus, Republicans tend to have absolutely no sense of humor about themselves, and so their bluster and defensiveness upon being made the butt of a joke adds to their ridiculousness.
Their fear may have trounced our logic, but our humor can dissipate their fear. The only way they can counter our humor is with logic of their own, and considering that very few of them are logical I'd say we have an advantage.
They're setting themselves up nicely, but we still have to be the ones to knock them down.