A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
Reported by Marie Therese - August 3, 2004 -
It seems to me that this election year, in addition to the usual mud-slinging, there is a certain amount of "double entrendre" going on in this campaign on the part of pundits, commentators and comedians.
From references to Kerry and Edwards as the "Democratic duo" to an interesting juxtaposition of their faces in the upper right hand corner of the GOP's daily talking points to comments like those below, the Grand Old Party and its surrogates seem to be implying that there is something questionable about the relationship between the two Democratic candidates, that they are not like you and me and they are pulling the wool over our eyes. Here are a couple of examples:
LESLIE SANCHEZ (Republican, Big Story, FOX, 7/28): "There's two big transformations this summer, Peter Parker becoming Spiderman and John Edwards and John Kerry trying to look like normal Americans." Later: "Look at the way they define this rich-poor. Their idea of how you get from one America to the other is you either do it the old fashioned way - you marry for it - or maybe you sue for it."
MO ROCCA (Larry King's "After Convention" Show, CNN, 7/28): "It's interesting you bring that up because a lot of people think that John Edwards is sort of adopting the role of a spouse for John Kerry. I mean, you talk about - it's true, though, the way that John Edwards looks at John Kerry when he's talking, we call it the Edwards gaze, the way that he looks at him." Later, ROCCA continues: "Well, the dynamic of Kerry and Edwards is different than Bush-Cheney. Bush-Cheney is kind of like a co-Presidency, but, if you look at Kerry mussing up Edwards' hair, I mean, it's clear that this will be a traditional relationship, that Edwards will be a stay-at-home Vice President. A lot of people are upset about that. They think that Edwards has set the Vice Presidency back 30 years ago....I do want to say right now, if John Edwards is listening, if there has been any inappropriate touching, he has to feel strong enough to speak out."
Hey, Dems, wake up and smell the brimstone!
You and your surrogates need to be put through Caustic Comedy Commentary and Retort Boot Camp. You need to learn how to deliver the sizzling rock 'em-sock 'em comeback, the fantastic five word sound bite and the righteously indignant chest swell and he-man thump.
You need to memorize pages of Democratic talking points which you never depart from, no matter what the opposition says. You need to be examined and cross-examined on your facts by prosecutors and defense attorneys or, even better, by a Jesuit canon lawyer. Then maybe you'll be prepared to go for the jugular with the same relish and abandon as the likes of O'Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Scarborough and Matthews.
For some unfathomable reason, the Democrats and the progressives think those of us in their base have such delicate consitutions that we will withdraw in horror if one of our spokespeople - gasp! - verbally decks a rightie with a carefully aimed counterpunch.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Coming from a working class Irish Catholic family, I like a good verbal donnybrook as much as the next guy.
Unfortunately, the few liberal voices out there have been muzzled. I can't get Air America because my computer's too old (Real Player and QuickTime don't support the versions I can actually run) and I can't afford the cable premium channels so Bill Maher is out of my purview. Even though I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I can't listen to Air America on a real radio station or watch the video feed of Democracy Now!
What's wrong with this picture?
It appears that the economically disadvantaged and those on the wrong side of the "digital divide", who would be receptive to the liberal message, are NOT getting that message in any concrete way.
Is this because the right has (brilliantly I must say) co-opted most of the media outlets in the United States and are unwilling to allow a national opposing voice to share broadcast airtime? Is it because upper management at Clear Channel and Sinclair - conservative Republicans all - have decided in their infinite wisdom that people like me are irrelevant, inconvenient, unpatriotic, anti-American, pinhead bombthrowers and we, as such, have no right to hear our POV expressed in their media outlets?
Or is it what my little inner 'devil' whispers to me: "You're low income, you don't spend money, they don't care about you, you're off their radar screen, you're not one of the 60% who owns a home, you're irrelevant, you don't count, you're a loser, you're not going to buy a fancy new car, you're not going to contribute to an increase in the GDP, you don't have much of a retirement fund, what makes you think you matter, stop fighting, stay at home?"
I hate that little voice. I hate it because I fear it. I fear that its message is actually the REAL reason I feel so "left out" by a country that promises "equality" for everyone yet "de facto" doles out equality based on your FICO score, your bank balance and the amount of equity you have in your home.
I wonder, also, how many other Americans have the same vicious little voice telling them to stay at home, it doesn't matter, their vote doesn't count.
Well, this year it does.
If anyone reading this has decided to stay at home on November 2nd, don't. You matter. Your vote matters. You can change things. If you want to vote and you need child care, call your local Democratic Party and ask them for help. Thousands of us have volunteered our services on November 2nd.
Do you want four more years of the same or four NEW years with a different face and a different attitude?
The decision is yours and yours alone.
