cross posted at
My Left Wing
Dedicated to Extremist Sunday.
For those who don't know Pappy O'Daniel, I highly recommend the Coen Brothers film "O Brother Where Art Thou" - Politics 101 for mass communicatin' to the electorate.
In a sidestory of the film, Pappy O'Daniel is the Governor of Depression Era Mississippi facing one Homer Stokes, a servant of the "little man" (he travels with a midget on his campaign stops to emphasize his point). In a great stump speech, Stokes says:
And I say to you that the great state
a Mississippi cannot afford four more years a Pappy O'Daniel - four more years a cronyism, nepotism, rascalism and service to the Innarests! The choice, she's a clear 'un: Pappy O'Daniel, slave a the Innarests; Homer Stokes, servant a the little man! . . . When the litle man says jump, Homer Stokes says how high? And, ladies'n jettymens, the little man has admonished me to grasp the broom a - ree-form and sweep this state clean!
What a speech! What can Pappy do? On the flip.
Well Homer Stokes, as a classic populist, has a dirty underbelly, as the Grand Wizard of the KKK:
Brothers! We are foregathered here to preserve our hallowed culture'n heritage! From intrusions, inclusions and dilutions! Of culluh! Of creed! Of our ol'-time religion! We aim to pull evil up by the root! Before it chokes out the flower of our culture'n heritage! And our women! Let's not forget those ladies, y'all, lookin' to us for p'tection! From darkies! From Jews! From Papists! And from all those smart-ass folk say we come descended from the monkeys! That's not my culture'n heritage!
This has a certain appeal. And Homer Stokes is confident of this. At a campaign rally, he protests the playing of an integrated group, The Soggy Bottom Boys:
Wait a minute...you's miscegenated! All you boys! Miscegenated! These boys is not white! These boys is not white! Hell, they ain't even ol'-timey! I happen to know, ladies'n gentlemen, this band a miscreants here, this very evening, they interfered with a lynch mob inna performance of its duties! It's true! I b'long to a certain society, I don't believe I gotta mention its name, heh-heh...Ahem. And these boys here trampled all over our venerated observances an' rich'ls! Now this-here music is over! I aim to - Listen to me! These boys desecrated a fiery cross!
But Stokes has misjudged his crowd. They boo him:
Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Is you is or is you ain't my constichency?
Pappy, has read the situation correctly:
PAPPY:Holy-moly. These boys're a hit!
JUNIOR: But Pappy, they's inter-grated.
PAPPY: Well I guess folks don't mind they's
integrated.
Pappy sees it:
Opportunity knocks.
That's fine, that's fine!...Ladies'n gentlemens here and listenin' at home, the great state of Mississippi (Pappy O'Daniel, Gov'nor) thanks the Soggy Bottom Boys for that won-a-ful performance! Now it looks like the only man in our great state who ain't a music luvva, is my esteemed opponent in the upcomin', Homer Stokes - Yeah, well, they ain't no accountin' f'taste. It sounded t'me like he harbored some kind a hateful grudge against the Soggy Bottom Boys on account a their rough'n rowdy past. Sounds like Homer Stokes is the kinda fella gonna cast the first stone! Well I'm with you folks. I'm a f'give and f'get Christian. And I say, well, if their rambunctiousness and misdemeanorin' is behind 'em - It is, ain't it, boys? Why then I say, by the par vested in me, these boys is hereby pardoned!
Obviously, this is only half serious. I love "Oh Brother Where Art Thou." But, there is a strong element of the ugly Homer Stokes in the Dobsonites. When the American People get a close look at the hate they spew, the are turned off by it. They reject it.
Like Pappy O'Daniel, Democrats need to contrast their reason, rationality and "f'give and f'get" faith with the Dobsonite hatefulness.
A pure message of hate, as the Extremists will exhibit today, as they exhibited before - in the Schiavo travesty and in Extreme Sunday I, will be rejected by Americans.