Category: politics

Michael Steele, you’re a moron.

I tried to ignore the comments about “slum love” in regards to Bobby Jindal and “bling-bling” in reference to the economy, on the grounds that maybe you were just trying to look like a total moron to pander to your audience.

But it turns out you really are a total moron. A complete, clueless, contemptible moron. Because today you again missed the entire point of what has happened in the last month, still insisting that you want Obama to succeed (regardless of the fact that his success means the death of this nation as we know it!) and for conservatives to simply shut up and get in line. And then, you threw Rush Limbaugh under the bus – for D.L. Hughley of all people. On CNN. You accused him of being “ugly” and “incendiary,” nothing more than an “entertainer,” and agreed that CPAC “looked like Nazi Germany!”

To D.L. Hughley!

Do you not see the irony in that, Mr. Steele? That you somehow respect that lunatic comedian Hughley over a man like Limbaugh whose contributions to American conservatism are practically the only reason we’re not far worse off than we are? And on a network like CNN, whose vehement opposition to all things conservative is well-known, and who harbors some of the hardest-left sentiment on television today?

Instead, you denigrate one of your strongest allies, and along with him tens of millions of like-minded citizens who want to see American conservatism make a comeback. However, with you at the wheel of the RNC, making idiot mistake after idiot mistake, I’m not sure we’ll be here to see it happen under your party. Maybe Ross Perot was on to something after all.

And for pete’s sake, the constant “ghetto slang” is irritating. Cut it out. Act like a man, not a child, and stop trying to prove your “blackness.” Conservatives don’t care whether you’re black, white, red, yellow or purple. We care about what you say and do. And frankly, you’ve been one hell of a disappointment so far.

Edit: He has now apologized for being “inarticulate.” Says he wasn’t trying to slam Rush with those comments – though it’s hard to find any other meaning. Oh, and no withdrawl of his comparing CPAC to Nazi Germany. Nice.

On Bobby Jindal

I’ve found the blogosphere’s collective reaction to Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal speech the other night rather surprising in many ways – and sadly expected in others.  The responses seem to fall in three major groups:

  1. Allahpundits – Could just as easily be named after LGF, but I’ve already poked that bear once this week. These are the conservatives who reacted strongly in a negative way to Jindal’s response, often reacting negatively to Jindal himself for various reasons (chiefly his pro-ID stance or strong orthodox Catholicism, from what I have seen). They criticize his form or his beliefs while generally (sometimes reluctantly) praising his content.
  2. Dittoheads – The Rush Limbaugh types who love what he said and don’t care how he said it. They see Jindal as the next coming of Reagan, the Conservative counterpart to Barack Obama. Rush praised Jindal on his show, going so far as to say that “I don’t want to hear from you ever again if you think that what Bobby Jindal said was bad or what he said was wrong or not said well, because, folks, style is not going to take our country back.”
  3. Liberals – Hated on Jindal for his politics, beliefs, race, and everything else you can think of. From Chris Matthews’ “oh god” and “outsourcing” comments to Paul Begala’s “kook right” cracks, backed by endless commenters decrying him as simply the GOP’s attempt to play the race card (hello, Michael Steele) – we see the seething leftist masses decrying the Lousiana governor simply for opening his mouth to challenge the Annointed One.

And then there’s me. I fall somewhere between the first two points, but leaning more toward the Dittohead crowd – Jindal’s otherwise-brilliant performance was tarnished by a slightly wooden demeanor. I think he was trying too hard to play to the crowd, or as Ace put it, “channel his inner Bubba.”  He, like Mitt Romney, cannot pull this off successfully, and comes off as fake when trying to do so. Instead, he should be allowed to present himself as who he is – a somewhat stiff intellectual, who is also brilliant and insightful. Conservatism is not about appeals to emotion – appealing to what feels good is practically the definition of liberalism – but it must be communicated effectively. Reagan is remembered as great not because he made people feel warm and fuzzy, but because he made smart choices and then communicated them effectively, while not compromising his position. This is the conservatism that the GOP needs to rediscover if it wants to succeed.

Ed Morrisey has his appearance on the Today show the day after the rebuttal speech. Here, he is engaged in a discussion where he provides quick, confident, specific answers and facts and appears confident and passionate. This is Jindal at his best. Unlike Sarah Palin, who excelled at getting in front of a crowd and getting them hyped up in a rah-rah style of enthusiasm, but didn’t appear confident when having to quickly shift gears (especially with a hostile interviewer), Jindal is much better one-on-one where he can directly react and respond to the other party. He is analytical and quick on his feet when taking questions or even attacks, and is able to respond strongly and effectively. It is for this reason that I would like to see a ticket along the lines of Jindal/Palin for 2012 – a strong, focused, extremely intelligent leader at the top of the ticket, with a powerful supporting figure who can energize and relate more effectively supporting the ticket. While I don’t know where these politicians will be in three years – or if Palin can recover from her “Quayling” – it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Please be joking

I love how last time I posted I talked about being more consistent in writing, and then a week went by without me doing anything here. I’m awesome like that.

So I’ll be starting off today with gaffes and appalling statements made by famous people! Yay! Let’s get started.

President Obama: “[The] nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”  Except it was Germany that invented it, not us. Oops!

Vice President Biden: “I’m embarassed, I don’t know the website number… I should have it in front of me…” I’ll steal Ace’s comment on this one: “Thank God we dodged that idiot Palin as VP, huh?”

And my personal favorite:

A Senior White House Official: “President Obama has accomplished more in 30 days than any president in modern history.” How high are these people, and what are they on? And where can I get some?