If you haven't seen Tropic Thunder: it's a great film, with one major caveat. They make too many 'retard' references. And by that, I'd say that one 'retard' reference would have been uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, I am going to have to make one myself. Because, even though "everybody knows you never go full-retard", the Republican Party seems to have done just that.
No... I take that back. What they've done is so manipulative, it's almost clever. It's not full-retard: it's full-attempted-distraction. More below the fold...
'Retard', being such an offensive word, isn't it at all. I have had both a brother and a nephew that were born with physical and mental problems (both passed away) and neither would have suggested the plan hatched by the GOP.
Obtusely insanely demeaning to people with little education fits the bill better.
I first thought something was up when the news channels flashed this shot up during McCain's speech on Thursday...
Ha Ha! They can't spell, I thought. But I looked at the guy holding the sign. That looks like the type of guy that knows how to find correct spellings for words using his BlackBerry. Then, browsing through the PunditKitchen website this morning (think of it as political LOLCat pictures), I saw this...
Different writer (look at the difference in the letter 'A' on both, the brush widths, and the paint colors). But the same sort of 'stupid' spelling mistakes. And with yet another well-educated-looking, suit and tie wearing, possibly-a-strategist Republican waving the sign around.
This isn't stupidity. This is a set-up. And, may I add, not a very well-hidden one. Here's how it works...
1 - deliberately spell signs wrong. I mean, come ON. You live in America and you can't spell it? It's as phonetic as new-clear. Or Mav-e-rick.
2 - ha ha, say the people on the web, Republicans can't spell. They're idiots!
3 - play up to the base. "Those damned Libruls make fun of yooo because they thinks their lattes makes them so smart." Maybe that last word should have been 'smrat'.
That's not full-retard. That's just fucking obtuse (pardon my language). Playing UP to the stupidity meme by DELIBERATELY making the 'impromptu' painted signs with spelling errors so you can talk about that instead of THE ISSUES?
You don't have to wander far around the internet to find people pushing the idea to Rural America that those danged Libruls are laughing at you in their fancy schmancy coffee shops. This Facebook thread is a good example...
Kayleigh starts the thread
If one more person corrects me on grammar or spelling, when it is perfectly obvious what i am trying to say, i am going to scream! Seriously people, its fucking facebook! Grow up!
--- a few pages later, a flame war has erupted ---
Caitlin replied to Casey
Well dear, and by dear I do mean Ms. Casey Harrington, I'd much rather be nerdy in New York going to a school in the city (i.e. one of the biggest centers of cultural events in America) than bitter and unable to spell while attending the University of Georgia...
...
Casey replied to Caitlin
Well, (COMMA) sweetheart, and by sweetheart, I do mean Ms. McNaughton, I would much rather be having fun and going to school for free in Georgia (i.e. yankee bitches can lick my cunt) than have a stick up my ass and sit around and sip coffee all day while talking about how bad the Bush administration is and scoffing at less-than-perfect grammar. Sounds like an AWESOME life to me. Pardon me whilst I vomit in the face of your divine grammar...
The McCain campaign wants to avoid talking about the issues. ANYTHING they can do to distract people from talking about the mess our planet is in, or the clustershag that is the economy, or unemployment at 6.1%, or how Palin didn't even know that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are PRIVATE COMPANIES that suffered as a DIRECT RESULT of the "you're a nation of whiners" strategy from the McCain camp ...anything that will allow them to talk about anything else other than THE ISSUES, they'll grab.
And as you see from the above, they're quite willing to make themselves look a little silly for a few hours if it gives them a few days' breathing room away from THE ISSUES.
Did I mention: IT'S THE ISSUES, STUPID!?
Tim Shriver, the Special Olympics Chairman, said it best (in the video above):
We feel it is unnecessarily humiliating and degrading to people with intellectual disabilities. We feel that they're treated with total disrespect...
I mean, come ON Republicans. Playing up the "we're with you because we're stupid like you" angle? Dissing the poorly educated by having your well-dressed, well-fed, never done a hard day's work at a real job in his life, white-bread convention people pretend to be common and poorly educated and without any options to get out of their hand-to-mouth, paycheck to paycheck life? All because you had three dollar's worth of signs made up for one speech?
Give me a break.
IT'S THE ISSUES, STUPID.