The First Time As Tragedy, the Second Time As FarceIt's fair to say that I was not kind to Glenn Greenwald's recent essay on Republicans. But Greenwald's a thoughtful fellow, so I treated his words seriously. RJ Eskow, takes
a bite at the same apple. RJ's not very bright, and he simply repeats some of Greenwald's post without any apparent thought process:
Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld ... they're Mafia bosses doling out the largesse in return for unquestioned fealty. And today's so-called "conservatives" respond in kind. Will Roger Ailes get more exclusive interviews if he peddles the daily GOP lies and spins? As you wish, Godfather. Will Arnold Schwarzenegger become Governor if he pumps for Bush at the convention? Thank you, Don Karl. Will "Straight Talkin'" John McCain be rewarded with a chance to run in 2008 if he forgets what they did to his wife and kid? It' good to kiss the ring again, Mr. President. Let me hug you.Let's see,
Arnold was governor before he spoke at the convention; he was elected in November 2003. And George Bush has no ability to stop John McCain from running in 2008. And of course the ridiculous Godfather imagery reveals the bankruptcy of Eskow's vision.
Nowhere is the rampant gangsterism more apparent than in the public commentary offered by pundits and politicians. Everything that conservatives once stood for -- fiscal responsibility, preventing drug and alcohol abuse, enforcing the law, sexual propriety, supporting the military, preserving our institutions, decency in speech and deportment -- has been enthusiastically dismissed and derided by self-seeking figures in the media and politics.So Bush used to get drunk and high and screw secretaries? We don't care; he's the man. The GOP campaign and the Administration break the law? He's our guy; shut your face. The First Lady makes nauseating and unfunny jokes about j**king off a horse? Hey, we're just having some fun here. The VP tells a Senator in the august halls of Congress to "go f*ck himself"? His candor is refreshing.Uh, Bush used to get drunk, yes. I strongly suspect he got high. I strongly suspect that he enjoyed some secretaries in his time. So what? So did Al Gore, so did John Kerry when they were younger. So did Bill Clinton, while he was in the White House. The joke was not about j**king off a horse, it was about milking a horse, and it's the oldest country joke in the book. And Cheney was right to tell Leahy to try the anatomically impossible act. BTW, when I looked to make sure that it was Leahy, this page came up, which I found extremely
funny and profane.
We're running the country into debts so high we may never be whole again? Heh, heh; I got mine right in the bank, sucker. Destroying the earth through global warming? I know: we'll debunk modern science; our money boys will pay the Cato Institute to come up with some phony climatology studies.
Wrecking the country's finances. Trashing civil discourse. Law breaking. Ruining the earth itself for our grandchildren. That's some sick s**t. Now, we have the sight of Mr. Whittington -- by all accounts a good and decent man -- being forced to crawl on broken glass to stay in the club. Hey, too bad about Harry -- but business is business.You see what I mean about farce? Eskow doesn't know anything about the debt/deficit, or he'd realize that the latter went down last year and is far lower than during the Reagan years. He doesn't know anything about global warming other than that is just requires him to tut-tut about those evil SUVs while he turns up the heat to 70 degrees.
The creepiest sociopaths of all are the Christian conservatives who trash everything they allegedly believe in -- law, decency, sobriety, chastity -- to support these guys, just because they get a place at the table. (Bear in mind that the pathologies I'm describing refer to the leadership of the conservative movement. There are many truly conservative voters who are being sold a bill of goods by their leaders.)Pretty silly stuff here. Nobody beyond the nutbars believes that Bush has been anything less than sober and chaste in the White House. And of course Eskow undoubtedly supported a president who was far from chaste.
