Political Theatre category archive

Teabagger candidates put the lie to the saying, “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Alex Slater, writing at the Guardian, wonders where the yellers went:

These candidates have taken to such tactics as dashing from buildings to unmarked cars in order to avoid the press, using decoy cars to divert the attention of waiting crowds, literally sprinting away from cameras, even asking reporters to submit their questions in writing so they can get neat, perfectly drawn-up answers in return that come not from the candidate, but from press secretaries.

The year of the missing Tea Party candidates has Washington observers scratching their heads for two reasons. First, is this the start of a trend where we’ll see statewide candidates guarded and shielded as much as presidential candidates? And second, how on earth are the Tea Party press handlers going to control their candidates who actually become elected officials?

The Tea Party candidates can run (literally), but they can’t hide forever. And once in the senate or the house chambers, they’re going to be unleashed to say whatever they want – usually, the first racist, bigoted or just idiotic pronouncement that comes into their minds.

John Cole explains.

The South seceded from the union to protect and preserve the institution of chattel slavery.

Too many white Southerners not only refuse to admit that, but also lie about it to our children.

From today’s local rag:

An elementary-school textbook that asserts many black soldiers fought for the South during the Civil War is circulating in some area schools.

That claim has been widely discredited, according to historians. Moreover, they say, it is often made by groups looking to rewrite history.

The book is being used by fourth-graders in Norfolk and fourth- and fifth-graders in Chesapeake. In Suffolk, it is not the official textbook, but it is used as a resource for fourth grade.

To countenance this lie is despicable. To spread it . . . .

Vivian Paige reacts.

Turn off Fox. Details here.

Via Delaware Liberal in a post which I commend to your attention.

(15 second ad at the beginning)

Via Delaware Liberal.

In the Guardian, Paul Harris considers the apparent increase in violence against gay men. I say apparent because, although there have been some high-profile incidents in the news, the statistics aren’t in as to whether the it’s the quantity or the reportage that has increased.

Rosie Swash muses on the relationship amongst hate, homophobia, and hard times. A nugget:

But it was a different comment that stayed with me about this vile incident. “The tenor of hatred and bigotry seems to be rising right now,” said New York governor David Paterson, on CNN, “as it often does in the midst of a recession and economic downturn… people’s angers are fulminating themselves in the wrong direction.”

It’s harsh.

But on target.

Just for grins and giggles, take Dick Polman’s current events quiz.

Bonus questions here.

In the Guardian, Gary Younge looks at the inconsistency between what teabaggers say they want and what they vote for. A nugget:

When Tea Party supporters talk about “taking our country back”, they are – in part – expressing nostalgia. They literally want to take it backwards to a past when people had job security, and a couple on a middle-class wage could reasonably expect their children to have a better life than their own. The party they have been voting for and the candidates they are supporting now have actively and openly worked to undermine those aspirations. Their frustration at the Democrats’ inability to deliver on their promises should be eclipsed only by their fear that the Republicans do manage to deliver on theirs. No wonder they are so angry. They keep treading on their own toes.

Description from the website:

The President explains that even as we focus on creating jobs immediately, we must also ensure the economy is better for our children by investing in education – not cutting it by 20% as Congressional Republicans propose.

Offered without comment:

Shorter Leonard Pitts, Jr.:

The teabaggers are Know Nothings.

His column implies that Mr. Pitts, who is a perceptive thinker of good mind and kind heart, only recently read up on the Know Nothings.

The kinship between the ante bellum Know Nothings and the current ones has been obvious since the git-go to anyone familiar with that particular early manifestation of American bigotry and xenophobia.

Heck, I’ve been saying that of wingnuttery in all its forms since this blog was three months old.

Rather over-the-top methinks:

I think it might be the case that the GOP stokes anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican fear/anger for pure political purposes, while its leaders and the business interests they represent want to keep the flow of cheap labor in the pipeline for easy exploitation.

No, I think it’s because they know that fear clouds thought. They therefore promote fear, because clouded thought is their friend.

Not so far as the FBI is concerned.

All seriousness aside, this is the very portrait of the arrogance of the out-of-control.

This illustrates why we need the ACLU.

A nugget:

Margaret, the problem with Populism is that the population includes asses like Sarah Palin and her Tea Party. Someone needs to remind them that this is America. The government is elected by the people. Questioning your government is patriotic. Hating your government, one the other hand, is simply a form of self loathing.

And let’s talk about that hatred. It seems so at odds with the supposed Christian morals they so proudly espouse. They hate big government but instead of taking issue with the largest part of that government – the military – they take issue with healthcare. They hate big government in healthcare but they have no issue with government being big enough to intervene in the private health decisions of a woman seeking to end a pregnancy or the private decisions of a husband wanting to end the decade long sufferings of his wife. They hate big government but they don’t seem to hate using government to legislate hate against homosexuals. And they hate big government, but they don’t seem to hate it when they can use it to fuel their hatred. Gosh I hate that…

That’s just the beginning. Read the whole thing.

The 10th anniversary is traditionally the tinth anniversary.