Between the war, single payer health care, billions doled in bailouts (and so far at least, without any regulatory provisions) prisons moving from GITMO to further secret locations, unemployment, and the general state of "Oh Shit!" we're currently in, there are many more important things to write about than the name for our new mascot. Yet, for whatever the reason, this name-game thing has for me, struck a nerve. Maybe I'm a sucker for silly season stuff. Maybe in growing up as the only non-black, non-Jewish Democrat in my school, I can't easily forget the politics of hate that were so prevelant (even in Blue Boro Brooklyn) during the 80's.
Either way, please follow me under the fold for more on why we need to win one for the Gipper.
Let me open by stating the obvious. Just because our new friend looks cute and cuddly, does NOT mean that he (I see "he" because Palin/Bachman aside, how many chicks out there are stupid enough to support today's GOP?) should be tagged with a cute and cuddly name. One like, NoNo, for instance. His name is important because I plan on having our friend with us for many years to come. As such, his name should be a constant reminder to us all at how just uncute and uncuddly his thinking really is.
Ronald Wilson Reagan, was and will always be the Gipper. Pre-Junior, he was, without question the absolute dumbest president of my lifetime. One of his very first steps in office was to remove the solar pannels that Jimmy Carter had brought to the White House. He was a man who literally thought that trees polluted the air. Thought that ketchup was a vegetable. Thought that outer-space lasers were the solution to the nuclear weapons problem. Took part in seances with his wife.
He was also, pre-Junior, the worst president of my lifetime. His stupidity was matched by a mean streak that saw him make a 1980 campaign stop in Philadelphia, Mississippi, home of the gruesome murders to three college aged civil rights workers. Saw him honor fallen German WWII soldiers. Kept him from ever using the words HIV or AIDS during his entire 8 year reign. His repugnant populist rants lead him to coin terms like the Evil Empire, a forerunner to Junior's Axis of Evil. It's no surprise that Junior modeled his administration after not his own father's, but instead, after the Gipper's.
When you think of tax breaks for the uber rich, think of the Gipper.
When you think of Wall Street run amok, think of the Gipper.
When you think of deregulation, think of the Gipper.
When you think of record Saudi oil imports, think of the Gipper.
When you think of record national debts, think of the Gipper.
When you think of a military industrial complex, think of the Gipper.
When you think of coups throughout the 3rd World, think of the Gipper.
When you think of the death squads that they come with, think of the Gipper.
When you think of arms for hostages, think of the Gipper.
When you think of secretly aiding both Iran and Iraq, think of the Gipper.
When you think of a shrinking middle class, think of the Gipper.
When you think of the rich getting richer, think of the Gipper.
When you think of the poor getting poorer, think of the Gipper.
When you think of the race divide, think of the Gipper.
And now, everything the Gipper (through Junior) has stood for is FINALLY over. Dead and burried like the Gipper himself. Just today, one of the front page stories was about how some high ranking Republican (and Gipper lover) has finally come to the realization that the Gipper's brand of politics can't work in today's political world. (Xtra mojo to whomever can find that link from earlier in the day.) This is why the fading Goposaur needs to be named Gipper.
Sure we can give the Goposaur a cute name like NoNo. But what has been cute about the past 8 years?
Besides, weren't we the party of "no" when the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party was voting against the war. Against the Patriot Act. Against tax breaks for the richest 1 percent. Against FISA. Against further deregulation. ANYONE in the minority can be called a "NoNo" at any time. It has no-no lasting meaning.
But there was only ONE Gipper. Let us never forget who he was.
Let's not be too scarred to vote in the only name that suits our mascot b/c the crew at Fox might find it insulting. Will the Faux News gang like us any more for not calling him Gipper? Let's not be too scarred to offend the Blue Dogs, many of whom voted the Gipper in office to begin with. Would any of them chose the Gipper's policies to Jimmy Carter's today? Would any of them think it wise to arm Iraq and Iran? Not conserve energy? Deregulate? Let's not be too scarred to take a stand against the founding father of the modern right wing movement. Yeah, to this day he might still be popular, but let's take the very first step in changing that.
So please, let's do the right thing. I know that after 15,000 votes it might be too late for many reading this. But if you have yet to vote, scroll down to the lower left part of the front page and do so. This is our small little chance at changing the legacy of the man who started it all. C'mon Kossacks, let's win just one for the Gipper!!!