Humorless Politics Thread

[Steve of Bloomington]

Debate is minutes away!

Bible Spice!

Bible Spice!

Bible Spice!

[Sarah]

New Yorkers, how do you feel about Mayor Bloomberg's trying to change the law governing term limits?

[Fido]

Mixed, to say the least. He's turned out to be quite a competent mayor. I never dreamed that I'd be saying that I'm glad he was elected and re-elected, as someone who voted against him twice.

However, there are strong arguments both for and against term limits. I've come to think that Bloomberg himself is kind of a one-man argument against them, given his record as a two-term mayor and despite his past support for them. Part of me thinks that the commitment that's been made to them in this city shouldn't be sacrificed for the political expediency of allowing Bloomberg to run once again for mayor. Another part of me thinks that bad times are ahead, and he's exactly the man for the job once again, and that no one else could function as capably as he could in the role of mayor. (Another part of me wishes that if we were to be stuck with a McCain presidency, that Michael Bloomberg were going to be his No. 2, but that would probably just open up a can of worms.)

[Sarah]

I don't know anything about Bloomberg, but if I were living in NYC I'd be scared.

RANT:  A so-called body language expert just appeared on MSNBC.  When asked to analyze Biden's b.l. when he choked up during the debate while he was talking about the death of his wife and daughter and the injuries of his sons, all he could talk about was how by keeping controlling his emotions Biden lost a chance to "connect" with the viewers.  Talking about Palin during one of her many maverick maunderings, the "expert" noted how sincere she was when she wrinkled her nose ("that's what mavericks do--it shows that they think something literally stinks" [I paraphrase]) and frowned (to show she was angry!).  And here I was finding Palin's every expression and gesture fake, consciously intended to manipulate and deceive and impressed by Biden's dignity and self-control when he refused to pander by breaking down when alluding to the damage to his family.  How could I have been so wrong?

[Martin]

Yeah, well fuck that guy.

I can't believe how people thought Palin looked "real" and "sincere". She looked like a goddarn' robot, and spoke like one too. (That's what I meant with my Uncanny Valley comment in some other thread, though I suspect it didn't come through.)

[cutout]

("that's what mavericks do--it shows that they think something literally stinks" [I paraphrase])

Translation: As a so-called expert, MSNBC paid me to say stuff that sounds like it makes sense. The maverick->stuff stinks explanation will resonate with people who make loose associations and don't think very carefully about the stuff they read. A win/win!

[John Junk 2.0]

Palin is a walking pile of signifiers.  She is not a human being.

[Andy]

Yeah, well fuck that guy.

I can't believe how people thought Palin looked "real" and "sincere". She looked like a goddarn' robot, and spoke like one too. (That's what I meant with my Uncanny Valley comment in some other thread, though I suspect it didn't come through.)

there are as many people out there in the US who have a hard time admitting that republicans can do anything wrong as there are people on this board who have a hard time admitting that they can ever do anything right.  there's as much unconditional love for them in the US as there is unconditional hate here.

I hate both sides equally.

[Sarah]

The thing is, Andy, my hatred and fear of Sarah Palin are much more fierce than what's usual for me.  The way people respond to her so-called folksiness reminds me way too much of how they fell for Reagan, and if anything I think Palin--if it were ever necessary to take her truly seriously--would be more dangerous than he was.  I think she's ruthless, and that combined with her extreme religious beliefs scares the bejesus out of me.

Dagnabit. 

[Gilly]

I don't see the ruthlessness, but maybe I'm missing something. I see her as the annoying, gossipy ladies at my church who have nothing better to do than get involved in church politics even though they're just rattling off everything their husband tells them without a mind of their own.

[yesno]

I can acknowledge when the more libertarian-leaning Republicans promote specific ideas I agree with (marijuana decriminalization, more open borders). I think the problem now is that those guys are way, way outweighed by the Palin types, and there are just as many if not more Democrats who also hold the same views.

Gilly, what I see in Palin is an especially fierce know-nothingism. A jock-like disdain for nerds who actually care about policies and facts and nuance.  We're not electing the professor in chief but that attitude scares me.

[cutout]

I think she's ruthless, and that combined with her extreme religious beliefs

I've heard bits about her former church and former pastor, but still not clear on what qualifies as her own 'religious extremism'. She said this in a recent interview:

HH: Do you think the mainstream media and the left understands your religious faith, Governor Palin?

SP: I think that there’s a lot of mocking of my personal faith, and my personal faith is very, very simple. I don’t belong to any church. I do have a strong belief in God, and I believe that I’m a heck of a lot better off putting my life in God’s hands, and saying hey, you know, guide me. What else do we have but guidance that we would seek from a Creator? That’s about as simple as it gets with my faith, and I think that there is a lot of mocking of that. And you know, so bet it, though I do have respect for those who have differing views than I do on faith, on religion. I’m not going to mock them, and I would hope that they would kind of I guess give me the same courtesy through this of not mocking a person’s faith, but maybe perhaps even trying to understand a little bit of it.

[Andy]

just so that its clear, I hate, hate, hate palin.

[masterofsparks]

I thought a lot of Palin's faux-folksy charm rubbed off when, after Biden almost broke down when describing his wife's death and child's injury, she merely plowed right back into her "McCain will provide change" talking points. Not very neighborly, that.

I know a lot of folks don't like Keith Olbermann, but I saw an interesting bit on his show last night where he attempted to connect the McCain/Palin campaign with some of the stuff Bush did in 2000, like talking about trying to reform government, "reaching across the aisle," and showing a photo/poster of Bush (standing alongside Giuliani) with the words "A reformer with results" in the background. etc. He even found a clip of Bush identifying himself as a "Washington outsider." I just hope people know about/remember this when the McCain campaign is spewing their "maverick" and "reformer" nonsense.

[John Junk 2.0]

I don't see the ruthlessness, but maybe I'm missing something. I see her as the annoying, gossipy ladies at my church who have nothing better to do than get involved in church politics even though they're just rattling off everything their husband tells them without a mind of their own.

Argh!  AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!

Read about her actual political career. 

Also, your impression of her, though pretty sexist, would still suggest a horrible and scary person to have running the country.