The other day, Matt Yglesias and I were wondering if the SARS cover-up in China would have any impact on the democritization of that society. Matt points to some anecdotal evidence today that perhaps it might.
Archives for April 2003
Finding Their Voice?
Via the prolific and now professional Matthew Yglesias (I am sucking up- I have a favor to ask him if he would ever respond to my emails), I see the first sign that Democrats may be creating a coherent message with some substance:
“Ohio has lost 167,800 jobs, or more than 3 percent of its total work force, since Bush was sworn in,” Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee said in a statement. “More specifically, the Canton metropolitan area has lost 6,300 jobs (3.43 percent of its work force) and the Lima area has lost 2,500 jobs (3.18 percent of its workforce) since Bush took office.”
Now, of course, I hope the donks are not successful, and I probably will not agree with their message, but you have to admit that this is better than what we have had to deal with for the last two years, which was nothing more than a litany of bumper stickers saying Bush is stupid, he was selected, and, of course, the old standby, “No Blood For Oil.”
Maybe the donks are figuring it out- opposition parties oppose policies, not the person. Who would have thunk it?
The Truth is What You Want To See
Kevin Drum has this to say about the 90’s ascension of Newt Gingrich:
It’s hard to explain how this felt to a liberal like me. It was like waking up one morning and discovering that Norman Mailer was the new leader of the Democratic party. A guy who had been considered a fringe radical just a few years earlier was suddenly a serious statesman.
Umm, Nancy Pelosi? Ron Dellums? Jesse Jackson? There are enough wingnuts on either side, Kevin. I am not sure why Gingrich scared you anymore that the other collections of lunatics in both parties- except for the fact that Newt was successful at gaining power and changing the political make-up in Washington. As Kevin is a Democrat, I can see how that scared him.
Question to Readers
Sometimes it is the smallest things that bring down corrupt regimes. Little things like third rate burglaries, etc. Is it possible that the Chinese secrecy and deception regarding SARS could be the foundation of an internal uprising, particularly when people in China start dying in the numbers that I unfortunately think they will? Could this be the end of communism in China?
Howard Dean- Another Smart Person Who Doesn’t Know Jack Shit
Santorum may be a bigot, but Howard Dean is an opportunistic moron- and once again, Democrats prove why they can not be trusted with National Security matters. Apparently, Dean can’t decide if the Iraqi people are better off without Saddam:
BLITZER: But governor, nobody — nobody disagrees there are going to be problems. But aren’t the people of Iraq so much better off now without Saddam Hussein on their back?
DEAN: We don’t know that yet. We don’t know that yet, Wolf. We still have a country whose city is mostly without electricity. We have tumultuous occasions in the south where there is no clear governance. We have a major city without clear governance. We don’t know yet, and until we do…
Note to Democrats- Hussein was a bad man and the Iraqi people are better off. I am sure Carville and Shrum will remember to get that in the next talking points.
Howard Dean- Another Smart Person Who Doesn’t Know Jack ShitPost + Comments (12)
Santorum, Pt. 2
By now, unless you live in a cavem you have probably heard that Rick Santorum was intentionally misquoted, and in a manner that is quite appalling (although not perhaps as apalling as Santorum’s views on homosexuality).
Here is the quote as it first appeared:
“If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.”
Now here is the actual quote:
“If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.”
Despite what some might want to think- that is a big difference, and it was absolutely irresponsible for the AP to report the quote in the first manner. If you think I am exxagerating how awful this addition was, try these sentences I am making up on for size and tell me if you see a difference:
“I don’t like many people.”
Compare that to:
“I don’t like many (black) people.”
or “I don’t like many (gay) people.”
Big difference. Regardless, though, Santorum is not off the hook. He clearly has some Cro Magnon views on sexuality (as discussed by Sullivan and Scalzi) and some frighteningly paternalistic viewpoints regarding the role of government and individual liberty.
Sometimes I think these guys are actively trying to get me to vote for Democrats.
*** UPDATE ***
The Diabloggers have a great entry on the Santorum affair even though they call me stupid for initially not noticing the inserted (gay) in my first post). Oh well- they were right, I was stupid.
Monty Python
Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who!
What Monty Python Character are you?
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