Heartbeat of Fox America

That would be Idaho. We're probably the left ventricle. Hear whatever on Fox News, and, by God, it's gospel. For example, 82% of Rs in Idaho hate health care reform. Of course.

Let me relate a story. Last night I was watching election returns, and the night got late (and boring) and I fell asleep in my chair. So, later, when I got up and went to bed, I was looking for my cell phone, which is also my alarm clock. I couldn't find it, but didn't feel like looking for it, so I just went to bed. After all, in the AM, once it went off, I'd find it.

This AM the (GD annoying) ring tone woke me up, and I realized the phone was ringing from under the chair next to my bed. I just woke up and wasn't "thinking," but what went through my mind was "oh, I left the phone in my shirt pocket that ended up under the chair." Just a quick flash, not really a thought, more of a reaction. You know, when the alarm is going off, you just want to shut the (GD annoying) thing off.

So, I leaned out of bed and grabbed my shirt and gave it a yank so I could pull it closer and get the phone out of the pocket. And my poor dog yelped. What I thought was my shirt was, in fact, my dog, and I yanked on his ear. Same color.

Yes, the phone was under the chair, and under my dog (!) (how'd that happen, I have no clue). But the point is, I was certain that my shirt, cell phone in pocket, was under the chair. Just the first flash of a thought in my mind.

And, I think, that's pretty much the amount of thinking that most, yes, most, people devote to politics. They get some echo of a reflection of a flash of thought, and, by God, gospel. This unfortunate phenomena is not limited to Rs, but in Idaho, I do think that it's more prevalent in that group. After all, it is really reinforced. You have that echo of a reflection of a flash of thought, and you then hear it on Fox, and most of your friends and co-workers are saying it (Obama is coming for your fishing poles!!!!!!!), and pretty soon, gospel. No one really challenges that ghostly transparency of a thought. So, it's good.

Not reality based, but amply reinforced. So it must be right. Unfortunately, for these misguided non-thinkers, the dog never yelps. So they never learn that they're wrong.

Ward's final woe

Well, congratulations to Raul Labrador for his victory over the hapless Vaughn Ward. I wonder, did Labrador win because his very conservative tea party-ish message resonated with the voters, or did Ward's many screw ups cost him a victory? The latter, I suspect, based on the old adage "Democrats want to fall in love, Republicans want to fall in line."

The establishment was clearly behind Ward, and Reps should have fallen in line behind that party endorsement. Idaho voters seldom depart from the desires of the R party leadership, so, something happened. Can't blame anti-incumbent fervor in this case, since there was no incumbent R in the race.

Now what? Well, Minnick can't run to Labrador's right (I don't think, though God knows he'll try). Maybe the "repeal the 17th Amendment" bit of nuttiness will came to haunt him, though I doubt it. Short of something like "Nuke their ass and take their gas," nuttiness is not a hindrance to getting elected in Idaho.

Minnick probably can't use the immigration issue against Labrador. RL seems to have staked out a position that should play well in Idaho, at least as it's stated on hisweb site.

Raul supports strengthening border security and cracking down on illegal immigration both in Idaho and across America. It remains vitally important that we redouble our efforts to secure our borders and control illegal immigration. In Congress, Raul will support real immigration reform that puts border security and enforcement of immigration laws first.

Labrador manages to say "border security" three times in that short statement.

Ward's litany of woes

TPM has catalogued Vaughn Ward's missteps and gaffes, and makes a credible argument that Ward is the "Worst. Candidate. Ever." Check it out.

What's next? Tyrannosaurus Rex moms?

Sarah Palin's famous coming out speech on national TV during the McCain-Palin campaign featured the metaphor (or was it a simile?) "hockey moms." You remember the big laugh line: "How's a hockey mom different from a pit bull? Lipstick!" Har har har.

Well, now Palin has invoked grizzly bears for her next rootin' tootin' butt-kickin' mom metaphor, saying that "mama grizzlies" are coming to take the country back. (First you gotta ask, back from whom? That black guy?)

So, where does she go from here? How do you escalate from mama grizzlies? She's already used elephants. Mama blue whale? Nah, to tree-hugger save-the-whales. Mama great white sharks? Meh, no, who wants to identify with a shark? (Answer: lawyers. Ha!)

Saber toothed tigers? Pterodactyls? Woolly mammoths? Tyrannosaurus'? Okay, but then where? Mama death asteroids? Mama black holes? "You don't want to mess with those mama block holes, when they take back our country they'll vortex your ass so fast it'll make your head spin, mister, and you'll never see the light of day again, also."

I just watched SP on Fox News on Sunday. She's definitely something else. A real live wire. Great at hitting R talking points and bashing Dems, and looking good doing it. But, I get the feeling "there's no there, there." Another empty suit. Sigh. Someone called her "George Bush in a skirt." You betcha, too.

Update: This is a bit snarkier than my usual writing, and I think that Palin just somehow brings that out in me. So, this is probably my last Palin post.

Palin Ward

So, Sarah Palin comes to town to raise funds for Vaughn Ward, and draws something like 1,100- 1,500 folks. Seems a bit embarrassing that the turnout was so low. I heard on the radio that 50 (!) folks coughed up $1,000 each to get a picture taken with her, so they raised at least $50,000.

Personally, I don't get the value in having a pic of yourself with some famous person. It's not like that's going to convince me that you're good friends with him or her. Just seems sort of clingy and a lame effort to associate with fame. Whatever.)

Anyway, since Labrador is the more tea partyish candidate (isn't he?), one would expect Palin to endorse him rather than Ward. I've read the accusations that she's just doing so because of Ward's connection to the McCain campaign, and that seems plausible.

I wonder why she even takes the time to come to Idaho to endorse anybody. Seems like there are lots of opportunities for her to endorse and raise cash; why pick Idaho? Is it because she's trying to get the seat back for Republicans? Is it the McCain connection? Whatever it is, I think it shows that Ward's campaign is really struggling.

See, had Palin come here to stump for Sen Crapo, I think the crowd would have been much bigger. I think lots of folks have been turned off by Ward's gaffes lately, and it showed up in the turnout. Should be an interesting race.

So, do we Dems poke our noses into that race and vote for one or another? If so, who? Answer: probably Ward. If he continues his ineptness, he'd be the weaker candidate against Minnick, I suspect. Also, if Labrador got elected, he's the more conservative of the two and I'd rather not be stuck with him.

And no, I still don't plan to vote for Minnick, but I'm not likely to vote against him, either.

Willing suspension of disbelief

When you watch a movie about talking animals, and manage to enjoy it even though, you know, animals can't really talk, you have accepted the premise of the show and can move on past the lack of reality. You have willingly suspended your disbelief. This then allows you to experience the joys and emotions stirred up by the characters and the story, even though it's obviously not real.

I think a similar mental feat is at work with our Republican friends. Put these two ideas together in your head for a moment. 1) We have too much government and too many regulations that are strangling business. 2) Drill, baby, drill.

Scratch a Republican, and you'll find both of these ideas, happily coexisting. Need I say more than, Sarah Palin?

I'm quite certain that our Republican friends deplore the BP oil spill in the gulf. They lament the destruction of the fishing and tourism businesses that will result, and the jobs lost. And they probably worry about environmental damage and the expenses of clean up, especially if shifted to the taxpayers.

There is no rational way to square these concepts. Let oil companies drill, baby, drill, but don't regulate them. So, then, what? Prayer alone is enough to prevent oil spills? Oil companies will never screw up? (See, Amoco Cadiz, Exxon Valdez, BP in the Gulf of Mexico) We need to just accept the oil spills that happen as a cost of doing business? What do Republicans really think about this?

Well, I think they don't think about it. They've willing suspended their disbelief. They just ignore the potential problems and focus on, apparently, whatever talking point party leaders are pushing at the moment. Drill, baby, drill, but OMG do not regulate those poor oil companies because government is evil and screws up everything it touches.

It's just not rational.

And don't get me started on the religious conservatives who believe God gave humans dominion over the earth but also the obligation to be good stewards of it, and yet who say, drill, baby, drill but OMG do not regulate those poor oil companies because government is evil and screws up everything it touches. Sarah Palin?

Yes, that's how it works

The Statesman reported on changes coming to the kindergarten program in Meridian. In order to accommodate shrinking budgets, the school district is taking various cost saving measures. One of the biggies is having kindergartners go for a full day, every other day, instead of half days 5 days a week. One upshot of this is, parents will most likely end up paying for more day care.

And see, that's exactly how it's supposed to work out. Meridian voters elect some pretty conservative legislators. Marv Hagedorn and Shirley McKague, for example. Mike Moyle, Russ Fulcher, and other conservatives also have part of their districts in Meridian. These legislators are among the "no taxes for any reason" crowd. That seems to be what the majority of the good folks in Meridian want.

So, perfect. Elect a "keep taxes low at all costs" legislator. Shift stable property taxes to the sales tax. When the economy hits a down cycle and revenue drops, cut school budgets. Then the conservative Meridian voters (the ones with young children) get to pay more for day care. Pretty much, they're getting what they voted for. I wonder if they like it?

BTW, Americans paid less in income taxes in 2009 than in any year since Truman was President. If we're Taxed Enough Already, yet we're paying less taxes than even under Saint Ronnie, when do those folks ever decide that some level of taxation is acceptable? Never, I suspect. I don't think they're entirely informed/rational.

Also BTW, sorry for the hiatus in posting. I've been under the weather lately, but now seem to be coming around.