If it ain't fixed, break it again

Mitch McConnell - conservatism won vs. change

When America last voted in 2012, Obama was confirmed, and the Democratic lead in the Senate strengthened, but the gap in the House of Representatives only reduced from 193/242 to 201/234, allowing the GOP to maintain its campaign of sabotage in D.C.. Since the POTUS kindly obliged by self-destructing, the Reps are not only back to 241/191 at the House, but also holding a large majority at the Senate. Even if Barack won't let them totally destroy Obamacare, they can do pretty much as they like. 

And go at Hillary's throat. 

If Clinton's popularity erodes further over 2015, a real Plan B could emerge. Someone more likely to succeed than Joe Biden, who doesn't stand a chance - and not only because he's 5 years older than HRC. And preferably someone more consensual than Elizabeth Warren, who said she wouldn't run against the Obvious Candidate, but wouldn't mind being the Obivous One.

Arkansas goes to GOP. Not to Hillary Clinton 2016 - 20141105
twitter.com/stephanemot/status/529808582347198464

Right now, the GOP enjoys a much wider choice of candidates. Of course we'll see Rand Paul and a bunch of new nutties in the great Sarah Palin - Herman Cain tradition. Plus a 2016 version of Jon Huntsman, maybe Rob Portman. This time, if a fresh new face prevails, we may not get an out-of-the-blue Veep Pick.
Among the favorites:
- Chris Christie: the heaviest of the heavyweights, but only literally, and if he returns from his "bridge to you know where"
- Jeb Bush: probably too late for him, too early for George P. Bush
- Pick Your Latino: Ted Cruz a bit boring, but Marco Rubio's place on the ticket is not anymore guaranteed.

Anyway, today, neither America nor the GOP are fixed, and the latter needs to prove it can do something positive to the former.

blogules 2014
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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ISIS the end of Iraq?

Again, the end of Iraq was sealed in 2003 with the invasion led by the Theocon-Neocon duet Bush-Cheney (as usual, from my 7-year-old "Universal Declaration of Independence From Fundamentalism"):

"For fundamentalists from all religions, George W. Bush turned out to be the best person at the best place at the best moment.

His strategy should look like a total failure to whoever considers the Iraq quagmire, the Palestinian fiasco, or the worldwide surge in terror. But to the contrary, Bush's strategy proved a complete success.

Because George W. Bush didn't act as a President of The United States of America in the interest of his country.
And George W. Bush didn't even act as a Republican in the interest of his party.
George W. Bush acted as a fundamentalist in the interest of fundamentalism.

(...)

Bush did not wage a war on terror but in favor of it : instead of focusing on terrorist networks and reducing their ground (ie by fighting injustice and poverty, promoting peace in the region and especially between Israel and Palestine), he deliberately infuriated the Muslim world and helped fundamentalists recruit new flocks of followers. And he targeted a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 but everything to do with peace in the region.

A new playground for international terrorism, the end of Iraq as a united country, civil war here, the rise of a new form of fundamentalism in Iran when reformers were "threatening" the Khomeini generation, the failure of Fatah and the victory of Hamas... all this was not collateral damage but the very aim of his sick game."

If George W. Bush deliberately set the region on fire, Barack Obama proved a poor fireman. He got Bin Laden and pulled out the troops as promised, but couldn't fix the whole mess. Furthermore, his sincere goodwill was not really rewarded, like that lovely Nowruz speech: it did lead to an Iran Spring, but didn't come with any back-up when the regime crushed it. Spinned by the GOP ahead of the elections, the Benghazi fiasco deprived the POTUS from all hope of convincing the rest of Washington to act in Syria or anywhere else. 

So for now, the new Bin Laden, self-proclaimed Caliph Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, is fearing much less Uncle Sam than Vladimir Putin or - who knows - Xi Jinping. Heck, even Francois Hollande looks scarier. 

All al Baghdadi needs to make it perfect is a GOP victory this November.

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A Bridge To You Know Where

On damage mode ever since the George Washington Bridge scandal derailed his 2016 campaign, Chris Christie must prove that he's not totally out of the game.

Chris Christie's 2016 bid now a bridge to nowhere. Time for some traffic problems at the GOP.
twitter.com/stephanemot/status/422171645852143616 (20140112).

.

Can the New Jersey Governor finesse his way out of this mess? The concept drawing to mind the image of the hippo dance in Fantasia, it could at least be fun watching his efforts in a tutu and ballerina shoes:

'Chris Christie finessing his way away from the George Washington Bridge scandal in front of fellow GOP hopefuls ('White House Fantasy', Walt Dismay Pictures)

Robert Gates didn't wait for the crash to submit his own resume, attn potential candidates looking for a running mate able to work for BOTH George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In his memoir, "Duty", the former Secretary of Defense even added some Veep Debate credentials for 2016 by slamming Joe Biden's inconsistent foreign policy record. As if serving Dubya and Obama were consistent... His successor Chuck Hagel looks weaker, but he stands his ground.

Meanwhile, the GOP continues to postpone its unavoidable reform*, and to make do with tea partiers, theocons and other anticons.

The NutHouse just picked David Schweikert for the Environment subcommittee of the Science Committee. Since the man signed the "No Climate Tax Pledge", no climate control law shall pass under his watch. Schweikert has a pristine oil-lobby-friendly voting record: against greenhouse gas regulation, in favor of more drilling, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge...

With snafued enemies like these, Hillary Clinton can sleep without a worry until the Primaries.

Unless, of course, the 800-pound gorilla manages to rock the dance floor.

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* see "Grand Old Parting - enter the anticons"

Forward. Hopefully, including for the GOP

There were elections in the US yesterday, as well as in the Banana Republic of Florida, where democracy impotency remains a preexisting condition (it would take more than a few hurricanes to turn this State upside down, but regime change could be a nice start):

Barack Obama won a race he simply couldn't lose against a soon to be forgotten man who simply had no business running for the top public servant job, or representing a divided party that completely lost its compass*. On Mitt Romney's face, I saw the same relief John McCain displayed four years earlier**. For the first time during the whole campaign, the former Governor of Massachusetts sounded sincere and looking forward the future. And his concession speech was the most graceful I've ever heard.

The race was close, but the outcome undisputable. The only world leader to survive the Big Depression could even afford creating some suspense by forgetting to campaign during the first debate. The faux pas probably cost him a much larger victory, and the most outrageous attempts to negate democracy in Florida might still deprive him from well deserved electoral votes.

Once again, the presumably model democracy failed: six billion dollars were spent on a divisive campaign, mindblogging frauds were revealed in several states (as usual, leaning towards the same party), and a handful of States received too much attention for the wrong reasons.

So we're back to square one: the Obamas in the White House (NB - make no mistake: Michelle Obama, the smartest one in this beautiful family, should be credited for this victory even more than her husband and the amazing campaign network), Democrats in the Senate, Republicans in the House, a fiscal cliff looming on the closest horizon, and the infamous Philly Busters back at bat. Barack even received the first 3 A.M. call: a Patriot (missile) act from Turkey.

But there are reasons to hope: Sandy made the voice of moderates get heared when hatemongering could have peaked, and US voters sent back home a few rotten apples (Richard Mourdoch, Tea Party lunatics...). Four years after conservative Proposition 8 passed in California, gay marriage gained ground in 3 states. Bonus (20121108 UPDATE): J Street candidates fared very well, succeeding in 70 of 71 races and confirming the pro-peace, pro-Israel alternative to AIPAC.

The "us vs them" mantra won't work anymore, and the United States of America are given a second chance with people like Barack Obama, Chris Christie, Michael Bloomberg, and who knows, even the John Boehner who reached a deal with the White House before conceding to his herratic base.

Hopefully, John Kerry shall become the best Secretary of State ever, Tim Geithner be replaced by someone who wants to reform Wall Street.

Most crucially: this time, the GOP has little choice but start reforming itself. Silencing radicals, for a start: neocons should be evicted with Cheney, theocons with Bush, Tea Party with a sound budget deal, hatemongers with the evidence of their efficiency as voter repellents. And every passing election makes racists and sexists even more irrelevant. The GOP will probably look for a younger candidate, more representative of the nation's diversity, and preferably more likely to convince the growing number of Independents who left a party gone crazy.

Bill Clinton, the man who triggered the Democratic reform two decades ago, gave it all during this campaign, paving the way for Hillary Clinton 2016. Let's hope he won't need too much Obamacare until then. Anyway, the time has already come to look for new faces there as well.



blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* see "Between balance and Ryan, Romney made his choice"
** see "The Maverick is free again"
***"Grand Old Parting: fix your party before causing more damage to your country"

Mitt Romney detonates himself, the fifth victim of the Benghazi attack

Mitt Romney officially became the fifth casualty in the Benghazi attack, and he did that to himself in a defining moment of the presidential campaign.

This was not about who knew what when, nor even about winning an argument: the Republican candidate simply proved unfit for the job, and certainly not credible as a potential Commander in Chief. Barack Obama was not just "presidential", he was The President, the man in charge, a world leader strong on principles, doubtless about what he stands for, confident in his ability to cope and to deliver.

Romney blindly persisted in the very role he was asked to distance himself from: a partisan, non-presidential candidate, barking where national unity is required, positioning himself at a lower level than his rival, and ultimately losing face when moderator Candy Crowley delivered the independent verdict: I checked the facts, and the president is right on that one, you just lost the elections.

After the debate, I shortly switched to Fox News. Somebody obviously died in the family, they all looked like they were at a funeral. 

Only 20 tweets during the debate? I'm getting rusty

I presume the former BCG exec heard about the Peter Principle but today, he faced his own incompetence. And body languages spoke volumes: a 65 year old businessman without a vision for the future and without a clue about what public service means, facing a strong, consistent, wise world leader leagues above him.

From the start, Mitt Romney didn't seem on a good day: when he came forward to answer the first question, he did it a bit awkwardly, then he shot his rehearsed story too fast for it to seem natural. The former Governor fared better later in the debate, but remained mostly on the defensive, even on his supposedly own turf.

And this time, Barack Obama was there, and enjoying the debate.

Yes, again, he missed easy opportunities, juicy, low hanging fruits any trained debater would die for. Again, he wasn't the one who raised the 47% issue. And sticking to economics when it came to similarities between George W. Bush and W. Mitt Romney... how about values and contradictions, how about foreign policy? Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize, restored America's honor worldwide, and got Bin Laden. The overwhelming majority of Romney advisors on foreign policy worked for Bush-Cheney, and last summer, Romney himself almost provoked a war with England!

But Barack was there, back with his mojo, his bright eyes, his firm coolness.

And there was the defining moment when Romney detonated himself.

Who cares what happened before and after? Who cares if Romney persisted in his outrageous sales pitches? Who cares if Obama oopsed a "when I was President"? Who cares if the NRA supports Romney more than ever after that chat on gun control?

By the way: I must praise Candy Crowley for her choice of questions from the audience. Without her, this kind of critical issues would have been obliterated from the campaign.

There was a moment when I thought the moderator lost the control of the debate, and when both candidates where getting at each other at close range in an inaudible non-dialog, I was hoping she'd come up and say "hey kids, recess is over, back to work". But she eventually stood up and won the day.

Now back to work, indeed. Everybody. Barack Obama in the White House, where he belongs. Mitt Romney back to Bain and the Caymans, where he belongs. And the Republicans back to the drawing board, as far from the White House and the Congress as possible, where they belong until they - at long last*! - reform the GOP into a party fit to govern.


blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)

* see "Grand Old Parting: fix your party before causing more damage to your country"

---
(UPDATE) illustration: twitter posts during the debate  (@stephanemot)

"We almost didn't get off the ground", Mitt?

"So we started a new business called Bain Capital (…). We almost didn't get off the ground." - Mitt ROMNEY 2012 RNC

"We almost didn't get off the ground"?!? It's your "2 guys in a garage" start-up fable that doesn't fly, Mitt.

In the above picture: Raiders of the Lost Tax Returns

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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The Commander In Chief Has Spoken

I won't be cruel enough to compare DNC 2012 and RNC 2012... Scratch that. I mean. Who could decently resist the urge?

The only speech we remember from Tampa is Clint Eastwood's "Clumsy Harry" flop, and I can't count the stellar performances I've seen in Charlotte over the past three nights. Light years ahead of the Tampa duds.

What better answer to Fading Star Shooter Clint Eastwood than Recovering Gabrielle Giffords? Gaby wasn't stellar, simply radiating. Not decomposing side by side with an empty chair, but proudly looking forward, standing in front of a US flag. Gaby went ahead and made our day very very special.

Of course, this being the DEMOCRATIC party, a mirror to the great American rainbow, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer had to stick to his guns just like, the previous night*, Sister Simone Campbell stuck to her 'pro-life stance'. And of course, Schweitzer, who knows Mitt Romney and business far to well to vote Republican, was not aired by FoxNews. What I didn't expect was CNN cutting Charlie Crist in the middle of his speech.

I think Barack Obama gave the greatest speech any human being could give under the circumstances, but if I were to pick the best performance of this great convention, I'd vote Michelle Obama, with John Kerry a not so distant second.

Sorry Bill. I loved the way you tippergored Barack while Hillary was in Noncharlottistan, but John Kerry was much more presidential than you. And he didn't stretch his talk beyond the essential: every single word, every single sentence connected. Timeless yet timely common sense, wisdom, vision... If Kerry was not a great campaigner, he would have been one of the greatest POTUS in History. Actually, I wonder if I haven't already seen his face on a US bank note.

The way President Kerry dismembered President Romney... splendid. Yes, that was an easy task: "I, Romnbot"** isn't assembled yet. Yes, he didn't miss the opportunity to expose the actual flip-flopper. But as the - I hope - next Secretary of State, John Kerry also exposed Mitt Romney as the worst possible world leader, nailing him with a delicious "before you debate Barack Obama on foreign policy, you better finish the debate with yourself". Ouch.

Romney never stood the comparison with Obama, Biden, Kerry, Clinton, or even that empty chair. Even Jill Biden outshone any GOP speaker. A full time teacher, a military mom, and the thing that both Obamas and both Bidens have that the Romneys and Ryans lack: sincerity in the eyes. With friends like Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, or Joe Biden, Barack Obama will move more mountains. Mitt Romney looked everyday smaller, more lonely. Someone smoke him out of the hole he dug himself into before November 6!

With that unique smile of his, Joe Biden showed how Barack Obama decided to take the high way instead of Romney's "Bain way". He highlighted equal access, stakeholders, values, instead of inequities and shareholder value. And confirmed the record: GM alive, Bin Laden dead.

Romney's record? An old, scratched LP playing the same negative tune on and on, never moving to a new plane, never even disclosing a plan. America doesn't need negative vibes right now, "it has never, never, ever, been a good bet to bet against the American people", and "we have no intention of downsizing the American Dream".

The Romney campaign communique following the DNC summed up the GOP's lack of ideas and vision. It could have been written before the convention: "Tonight President Obama laid out the choice in this election, making the case for more of the same policies that haven't worked for the past four years. He offered more promises, but he hasn’t kept the promises he made four years ago. Americans will hold President Obama accountable for his record – they know they’re not better off and that it’s time to change direction. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will restore America’s promise and deliver a better future for our country."

And after watching both conventions, how can one possibly hesitate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to lead the world? How can one possibly put Paul Ryan in Biden's seat behind the POTUS for Romney's State of the Disunion Address? In a position to potentially nominate the next Supreme Justice?

America needs love, good vibes. Look at Joe and Jill, look how Michelle Obama introduced her lover, outhugging Bill Clinton in a warm embrace.

America needs self confidence. Look at Obama talk about the return of "Made in America" when "No-Tax-Return" Mitt Romney plays it "Hidden in Caymans". Look at this Commander in Chief mocking at the Gaffer in Chief's foreign politic antics in London.

Barack Obama couldn't propose the same kind of speech as four years ago. He had to go down from the Olymp of timeless principles to concrete, day to day issues, and he did it efficiently and gracefully. But he didn't lose his mojo nor his vision of History, and he presidentially restored citizenship as a core value.

From Day 1***, this Convention has been all about Unity in diversity and adversity. And united, all Democrats stood for democracy.

And at the end of it all, Barack Obama delivered an inspiring acceptance speech, boosting the whole country forward, where Mitt Romney only read a boring denial script, barely comforting Bain investors.

Take that, Mitt: Barack is The President. And THE. Chief. Executive. Officer. 

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)

* see "Bubba Clinton rocks DNC 2012: GOP Unity My Ass!"
** see "I RomnBot (Meet Mitt)" *** "DNC 2012 Day 1: Come Together, Now"

DNC 2012 Day 1: Come Together, Now

If the 2012 Republican National Convention was all about getting at Obama and at each other's throats*, the 2012 Democratic National Convention reminded us from Day 1 the origin of the word "convention": literally "coming together".

Everybody is behind President Barack Obama, and everybody shares the same positive vision of America as a land open to opportunities, not a land confiscated by opportunists. Everybody looks forward with a man who is proud of his record and doesn't try to hide it.

The thing is that America's better off than when Obama took office except politically, and precisely because of the GOP's deliberate sabotage and systematic obstrusive tactics. RNC 2012 only highlighted internal wars, dogding key issues? DNC 2012 resolutely faced Afghanistan, war, and veteran issues, and Tammy Duckworth stood in front of Romney Duckforcover like a Brave in front of a Dodger.

Stacey Lihn also stood in front of Romney like a brave for her daughter Zoe, who owes her life to Obamacare and may lose it if Mitt were elected. Obama cares for you, Zoe. For Romney you're just a burden, some distant statistics. And each time Republicans talk against Obamacare, they point out the fact that Obama cares, and that Romney doesn't, that he simply doesn't get it.

Clint Eastwood couldn't find his words while talking to an empty chair? Ted K. slammed Mitt's Ks from his grave (Deval Patrick, Rommney's successor as Massachusetts Governor wrapped the Boston sandwich).

I'm glad I switched to CNN for the DNC: I could watch Ted Strickland's awesome one man show. Towards the end, I quickly zapped to check that FoxNews censored him in order to protect "Romney the outsourcing pioneer"... and that they aired boring Kathleen Sebelius instead. Thanks to CNN, I could bump into past and future comets, from Mike Dukakis to Kamala Harris.

I'm not always a fan of Rahm Emanuel, but I liked the way he summed-up Obama's score: General Motors alive, Bin Laden dead. Romney prefers General Motors dead and Bain Capital alive. GOP tried to sell Romney-Obama as Reagan-Carter*, but Mitt's not even Reagan's empty chair, and Barack and Michelle's siblings (Maya Soetoro-Ng & Craig Robinson) are leagues over Billy Carter!

Following Martin O'Malley's boring speach, Joaquin Castro woke up the audience, and Julian Castro rocked the house, nailing Mitt "flip-flop" Romney with the sweetest "actually..."

Michelle Obama clearly won the day. She's not just a great First Lady and Mom in Chief, but a wise politician and a fantastic leader. Where Ann Romney read a script and played a role*, Michelle Obama spoke her mind out, the most sincere and convincing way. She's the one who fights against obesity, not for fat profiteers. She's the one who stands for the 1% who matter: those defending the nation, not those dodging taxes and military duties. And she's the one who cleaned the White House after 2010, and put Obama back on tracks for 2012. Tonight, Michelle Obama connected, and smacked America's most powerful home run. Over the fence, beyond all divisions. The First Lady.

Truth is: Obamas care, Romney scares.

Come together, now.

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* see "Total Un-Recall: RNC 2012 In Denial, Welcome to Tampa, FL (Fantasy Land)", followed by "Lies, damned lies, and RNCs" and "Romney's big night? A bitter sleeping pill"

Romney's big night? A bitter sleeping pill

At long last! Surviving three long days of 2012 RNC on FoxNews was already a challenge, but this last one... To tell you the level of torture: even Dick Cheney skipped it, and only "Turd Blossom" Karl Rove seemed to enjoy the stench.

Consider this:

- The moto of the day: painting Obama as Carter, Romney as Reagan. But on this RNC propaganda video of Reagan, you see the difference with Romney. Romney's name may start the same way as Reagan's, all you can see is the rhyme with money.

- Newt and Callista Gingrich reciting a soulless script with the enthusiasm of Christopher Lee snoring in his coffin.

- Jeb Bush talked about a better, fairer education system for America, and in the same breath invited on stage Sean Duffy, a teacher who judges other teachers, and qualifies them as "good" or "bad". Jeb's ideas may sound nice, his vision of "higher learning" ended up in ballot fixing, and the "equal access" he's been promoting the most efficiently is the equal access to guns. When Jeb Bush makes a comparison between diversity in milk and education, he lists 'milk that doesn't even have milk in it': I presume he wants to see Intelligent Design taught in school, that's 'pseudo-science that doesn't even have science in it'.

- After that? Rick Perry spinning weather vane Romney: oops, a whirlwind of insHannity.

- US Olympians worshipping Saint Mitt, He Who Saved the IOC. Next thing we know: Romney will be walking on water (flic, floc, flip, flop). Only on FoxNews: "It doesn't get any more American than that" (Nikki Haley about US Olympians). Eluding taxes in the Cayman Islands maybe?

- Saint Sarah Palin playing the 2008 martyr of unfair attacks by the Democrats. The Palinism of the day? "Reverse discrimination stuff", about these Dems who shamelessly display African-American or Latino speakers during their conventions for electoral purposes (indeed, no decent GOP member would ever consider such an infamy).

- Sean Hannity mentioning "false narrative". Not about the 2012 Republican National Convention, but about the Democratic campaigns unveiling the true Mitt Romney.

- A video of Mitt Romney talking about his dad. "He was immovable". Obviously the quality skipped the next generation. The only moving moment was the testimony of people who were visited by Mitt when they were in despair, but that's only a sign of good marketing know-how from a profesionnal missionary.

- Clint Eastwood tried to make Romney's day, and instead made an embarrassment of himself. His apparition had something reaganesque to it: after all, Clint brought the only star power this dullest convention in ages would ever see. But he struggled with words, remembering only a few good punchlines in an inarticulate and confuse speech. Someone had to remind him to mention Romney. Clint refused, before realizing where he was. He eventually fired "a businessman, a stellar businessman", and "let'im go". Let'im go, really. Someone, have mercy: bring a wheelchair for poor ole Clint. Please.

- After that, we had to watch Marco Rubio deliver his address to a bay of P.I.G.s. Maybe this young man needs to learn that the USA are supposed to be a democracy, not a theocracy. Rubio pitched Romney so poorly the old man reached first base before he even threw the ball. - It was supposed to be his day, and Mitt Romney stretched his apparition to the fullest as well as to the foolest. His handshaking session across the floor was an embarrassing scene where a jimcarreyshy Tin Woodman struggled to make natural contact with actual human beings. This guy's obviously not used to shaking hands without signing a contract right after.

- After robotting his way up the Calvary, Mitt read his prompt with a body language that screamed "get me out of here". Progressively, the carfully crafted script almost brought some humanity, and even actual emotion on this deadpan comedian's face, but he had to deliver at that precise moment his ultraconservative vision of women as mere mothers and housewives. Right there, Mitt lost for good the votes of independent women. Who needs a POTUS stuck in the 1950s with a vision from the XIXth century? Romney's speech was only inspiring to Bain Capital owners. It was so boring I felt like turning off the TV, until I remembered this guy was already completely disconnected.

- In the end, Mitt Romney was rescued by a sea of fellow helium balloons on stage. Paul Ryan threw in a couple of tea bags before both perfect families reunited in the usual final tableau.

Hey, Republicans, sorry to tell you that but this is not a remake of Carter-Reagan, folks: you're in for Obama-Biden vs Bob Dole-Dan Quayle, and for Obama 2012 vs Romney 1812.

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!!

* see "Total Un-Recall: RNC 2012 In Denial, Welcome to Tampa, FL (Fantasy Land)", followed by "Lies, damned lies, and RNCs"

Lies, damned lies, and RNCs

Another marvelous day in Tampa, Fantasy Land*.

The doomed project of "humanizing" GOP candidate "I, RomnBot" continues with an incredible cast of losers:

- Mitch McConnell, a poster child for the GOP's obstructiveness in DC, criticizing the Democrats for being divisive

- Rand Paul, undeterred by the video eulogy for his not-dead-yet dad (persona non grata in the fakely harmonious reunion), delivered a more or less edulcorated version of the familial mantra, punctuated by one or two mentions of the official candidate

- John McCain, who wished he came "under other circumstances", completed the consistent "support" of an utterly divided party to an utterly flip-flop candidate: Rand Paul asked for less defense? John McCain asked for more defense, simple as that. Republicans, when Romney adresses RNC 2016, you'll feel as relieved he wasn't elected as you are now listening to this guy.

- Bobby Jindal didn't show up thanks to Hurricane Isaac, the perfect alibi to skip the embarrassing display of hypocrisy and denial.

- Rob Portman said something true: "blaming others doesn't qualify as a plan". Right. That's why the GOP doesn't qualify as a ruling party. He went on to tell a "classic American story", using his dad's entrepreneur aura for political purposes just like Mitt. Who built it? Not you guys.

- Tim Pawlenty brought tears to my face. This man is so funnily pathetic. No one laughed when he criticized Obama for being the POTUS who spends most time on holidays and golf: all other Republicans have an elephant memory long enough to remember George W. Bush. Actually, Dubya and 41 showed up on the screen. They didn't want to be associated with this comedy and just chatted by the green, remembering the good old days when they roamed the Oval Office.

- A Mike Huckabee look-alike hijacked the stage, and for one moment, I almost believed it was the same guy who kept bashing Mitt Romney on FoxNews.

- Then came Condescending Rice. The woman who contributed to the worst foreign affair messes in US history dared give a few lessons to a man who received a Nobel Peace Prize for restoring America's credibility worldwide, and got rid of Bin Laden and Gaddafi without losing one soldier. Condi Rice also dared bring up 9/11 and the way true leaders should react to crisis: by reading "My Pet Goat"? She went on and dared speak about how we should stand up against tyrants, she who sat while playing the piano for Vladimir Putin... Shameless, and proud of it.

- I'm glad Susana Martinez wasn't the last speaker tonight: by many standards, she was the ideal running mate for Romney. But by saying "no more barriers", she did nothing less than advertise for Obama's immigration policies and against Romney's program. The thing is, as soon as someone starts saying something sensible in this convention, it always sounds like an echo to the Obama-Biden campaign, and a condemnation of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

- If Paul Ryan's speech sounds familiar, that's because it was written by the same guy who carved those of Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, and Dan Quayle, the man I keep seeing each time Ryan appears in public. Some guy may look likeable and full of humor, so was George W. Bush, also a man with more than radical and dangerous visions. Like all others, Paul Ryan lied. And I still can't believe how he dared bring up GM against Obama. Maybe he didn't vet his running mate carefully enough. Worse: the factory he said closed after Obama pledged to save it? It went down under Dubya's watch.

This convention is as outrageous as pathetic. At least, before, enemies showed up in person. Even McCain claimed 99% of the delegates in the end (only 90% for Romney).

Tomorrow, Newt Gingrich will show up in person. He wasn't allowed a prime time slot of course. But I can't wait to read between his acid lines.

Mitt Romney will close the farce. After Marco Rubio, probably his second choice if Ryan hadn't pass the cut. Not as good an orator as the Wisconsin representative, but precisely: Romney is such a downer, the damage will already be half done.

Rubio's job will be to sell Romney as a Tea Party compatible product, and maybe to to prepare the audience for another hurricane: his former rival for Florida Charlie Crist will speak at the Democratic National Convention.

So far, he's been the only (former) Republican to tell the truth: "An element of (the) party has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they've proven incapable of governing for the people".


blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!!

* see "Total Un-Recall: RNC 2012 In Denial, Welcome to Tampa, FL (Fantasy Land)" and "Attack of the GOP First Lady Wannabe clones"

Total Un-Recall: RNC 2012 In Denial, Welcome to Tampa, FL (Fantasy Land)

Welcome to Tampa, FL (Fantasy Land), where the GOP is holding its 2012 Republican National Convention: an impressive gathering of the Haves, the Have Mores, and the I Vote Romneys, and basically a huge marketing event aimed at selling a soap too slippery to be held correctly, and too foamy to wash anything correctly (except maybe via money laundering in the Cayman Islands).

But Mitt Romney only made a quick apparition for Day 1 bis* of the RNC: at the end of the speech of his wife Ann, a truly remarkable person who managed to tweet while she was on stage and inspiring me the following series:

• - Yes, Ann Romney can become the first lady. Of Puerto Rico. Or rather the Cayman Islands
• - Oh my. Ann Sarah Romney forgot to wink.
• - Ann Romney pours too much tons of fake empathy to sound sincere. Her "I LOVE YOU WOMEN" is embarrassingly condescending
• - Ann Romney's "I love you women" mirrors her husband's campaign: 100% marketing 0% sincerity
• - Hey Ann Romney, I'm smart enough to know Mitt's solutions are dumb enough: they put the US in this mess, remember?
• - Yes, Ann Romney. Mitt Romney makes me laugh too. As long as he's not in the White House, that is.
• - Attack of the GOP first lady wannabe clones. Can't tell Ann Romney from Mrs McCain, Santorum, Gingrich...
• - Ann Romney truly is exceptional: she was tweeting during her speech. As if fake compassion wasn't enough...
• - Ann Romney: "he's too Mitt to fail". Selfpersuasion is not a solution.

Of course Ann Romney didn't write that tweet, and of course she didn't write that speech. Everything in this show is fake. It's all about storytelling, with actors playing roles on stage. Ann's job was to sell Romney Soap Bars to average housewives, members of the fabled "99 percent" she read about in a Forbes Magazine Mitt left behind in the john. A distant ethnic group she romneyshly courted by a very direct and unsubtle marketing gimmick: "I love you Women!". Mia Love definitely did a better job at ticking demographic segments off Mitt's endless list.

And Romney received a ton of support in the late hours of Day 1 bis: Chris Christie. The heavyweight spoke of a Second American Century (probably Before Christie), and a fantasy land where the other party would be divided and divisive, misleading and misled. Unfortunately, the Governor of New Jersey, by portraying the ideal POTUS-VP tandem, exposed how far the Romney-Ryan ticket was from that dream. And pointing out the fact that Mitt Romney didn't even consider him for the job was the final straw: with such powerful paws, a pat on the shoulder has the same effect as a stab in the back.

Theme of the day? "We Built It". The military failures, the deficits, the economic collapse, that's us. You miss Bush-Cheney? Vote Romney-Ryan. Yes we can build it again. Relapse you can believe in.

At the RNC, divided, we never fail to make you laugh. I can't wait for Day 3 of this farce.


blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* Day 1 was cancelled because of Hurricane Isaac - Hurricane Ron Paul rocked the ground on Day 0 but the GOP managed to ban it from its show

----------
20120830 UPDATE: tweets about AR

Between balance and Ryan, Romney made his choice

Ever since Bush-Cheney-Rove destroyed the GOP from the inside, the party has lost its compass. And I've said it again, again, and again: if you're Republican, if you love your country, and if you like your party, fix the GOP before causing more damage to both*.

Until that happens, you're doomed, and bound to witness comical suicidal dashes every four years: a somewhat moderatish loser emerges from zooesques Primaries, but to achieve that he has to do things that negate his own self, and ultimately to pick a lunatic that suits the radical flavor of the month.

Four years ago, when theocons were setting the agenda, John McCain had to pay a visit to the infamous Discovery Institute and to select an ayatollah as a running mate to receive the official blessing from his old nemeses Dubya and Rove.

This time, with Tea Partiers the leading cult, Mitt Romney had to euthanize Romneycare, and to put a fiscal taliban on his ticket.

Like Palin, Ryan embodies the negation of America as a republic and as a democracy. Both politicians have a vision of politics that negates the "polis" itself, and ineluctably lead to the destruction of America as an ideal of nation.

Unless the whole country has become crazy, this sick Mitt Romney - Paul Ryan joke simply cannot go all the way to the White House.

Just like I said in 2004, just like I repeated in 2008, this GOP is bound to lose: either the elections, or its very soul.

Wake up.

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* "Grand Old Parting: fix your party before causing more damage to your country"

I, RomnBot (Meet Mitt)

Another exclusive interview from our Agence Fausse Presse: former Massachusetts Governor Willard Mitt Romney.

Blogules: "Thank you for having us today, Governor. Wow. What a great smile."

Mitt Romney: "You know, I'm 65, but I look 55, and soon I'll be 45. The 45th POTUS, that is. I found out the best way of keeping fit was to spend time and money."

-"As long as it's just my time and your money, I can join you for a little while... Did you expect the primaries to last that long?"

-"First, they're far from over: Rick has left the race, but Newt and Ron will keep piling up as many delegates as they can until the Convention, and even as we speak, voters are casting ballots for Herman Cain. Second, from the start, these primaries were meant to last, and the Republican Party optimized the process to make the show as entertaining as Obama-Clinton '08."

-"It sure has been entertaining, but instead of building momentum around the best Presidential candidates, your show is exposing on prime time a bunch of morons struggling for the survival of the most unfit for the job."

-"Precisely. It was meant as a clear religious statement."

-"Uh. I said 'morons', not 'mormons'."

-"I know you said that. I was referring to the "survival of the most unfit" part: we're finally proving Darwin wrong. Actually, our primary process is so smart it should be considered a perfect example of intelligent design."

-"I see you're already shamelessly hustling up creationists... But you do believe in the survival of the fittest, don't you? You, ever the good capitalist..."

-"Yeah, yeah, Romney's the name, money the game. But it's not a matter of fitness. Only a question of timing. Of understanding the music of money."

-"And what kind of music would that be?"

-"I don't give a grand. What matters is the timing, the moment when the music stops, just like when you play musical chairs. The aim of the game is to pass the buck before that moment, to get rid of all the junk, to collect the $200 M, to build a hotel in the Caymans, and never, ever, to go to jail. That's where all the Mormons go."

-"The morons. Morons belong to prisons. You said 'Mormons'."

-"I know I said that. Morons go to jail, but we Mormons do have a thing for the Cayman Islands. Salt Lake City is so far from everywhere anyway, and it's so quick with our private jets. Since we have three Beechcraft‎s, four Cessnas, two UTCs, five Lockheed Martins, and a couple of Boeings, I don't need to pass by home after work to pick up Ann and the kids. Each one brings their own set of Vuitton trunks, and I take care of the dog. Strapped to the roof, as usual."

-"To the roof of the jet as well?!?"

-"Seamus always relieves himself during takeoff. I never even considered bringing him in."

-"May I ask something: have you ever considered trying to be likeable?"

-"Look. I'm trying to be electable, and that's already something difficult for me. Not running risks, maintaining Chinese walls, keeping emotions out of the scope, milking the cow... That's the way I like it."

-"Indeed, you never quite left the BCG... And by the way, you must be toying with matrices and consulting a lot for the future Veep. Any hint regarding your running mate?"

-"The vetting has started, yes."

-"Let me guess... You need someone to compensate your weak points: a Republican identified as such by all sub-currents of your nuthouse, preferably an icon for fundies and Tea Partiers, a woman, with charisma, some sense of humor, an aversion for boredom, and an open bar at Fox News. But I don't see Sarah Palin don a white shirt and a black necktie to promote the Book of Mitt at your side. And she won't help for key demographics..."

-"Sarah refused: she's planning a coup for the Convention. Susana Martinez would do a perfect Biden-buster, but she used to be a Democrat."

-"So did Reagan."

-"Yeah, but I'm already OK with Reaganians. The thing is, I have to cope with various breeds of loonies who want me to marry Marco Rubio, or to have some kind of zealot one Huckabeat away from Presidency... I'd feel so more comfortable with a running mate as boring as Paul Ryan."

-"Another 'moderate' on the Gingrich-Limbaugh scale..."

-"I'm not a moderate. I'd think and say whatever you'd like me to think and say to win that race. I've been programmed to win races."

-"Sometimes, you almost sound like a robot."

-"Because I am a robot. I wasn't built in Motor City by accident. And I wanted GM and co to file for bankruptcy in order to get all the patents for a song. Picture that: an armitt of Romneys roaming the World. Without any purpose whatsoever."

-"Except, maybe, to convert everybody to Moronism?"

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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Six Buffoons in Search of a Kingmaker

It takes a looney to know one: Palin just endorsed Gingrich.

And the only sane person in this nuthouse dropped out of the GOP race (not Stephen Colbert, the other one: Jon Huntsman*).

Which leaves us with 6 people: Romney, Gingrich, Paul, Santorum, Perry, and the future Guest Star.

Who knows from which asylum the nominee shall vet his Veep? And how about a third candidate? Say, from the INETP (INdependent Evangelical Tea Partisans), or from Sarah Palin's LGBT party**?

You know what's missing for GOP candidates this year?

Let me rephrase it: you know who's missing for GOP candidates this year?

Rupert Murdoch.

The Great Kingmaker is out of the race. Posing as a bald monk meditating on some distant hill, chain-twitting pearls of wisdom, but cut off from all wordly matters. Maybe a few eavesdroppings now and then - you can't kick the habit that easily.

Anyway, at Fox News, the whole crew seems to be running headless. Even Theocons need a Qibla.

Ideology-wise, surviving members of the nuthouse can only agree on their greatest common divisors:

1) They want to kick Obama out. On the grounds that...
... the guy's a sissy (he won a Nobel Peace Prize, only used two choppers to kill Osama, and didn't even invade Libya to get Qaddafi)
... he's screaming at oil diggers as soon as they spill a bucket or two in the Gulf
... he's a divisive figure: our dear GOP has never been so divided
... he was not even born in the United States of Amerika, and, for the Grand Wizard's sake, the place is called The WHITE House for a reason, duntcha think?

2) They want to Restore Amerikan Honor. In other words...
... restore the great Amerikan values (teaching creationism at school, and waterboarding at West Point),
... restore the sound economy of 2008
... restore budget orthodoxy by removing all taxes and launching an illegal war
... invest less on schools (to prevent the Steve Jobs of tomorrow from happening), and remove all regulations (to create a land of opportunities for the Kenneth Lays, Bernie Ebberses, and Bernie Maddoffs of tomorrow)

Six buffoons in search of a Kingmaker...

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* who, eventually, didn't get a ticket to ride all the way to Florida (see "Grand Old Parting: fix your party before causing more damage to your country")
** see "Mid-Term Elections : Sarah Palin to run in West Dakota"

Grand Old Parting: fix your party before causing more damage to your country

Can a Republican reach the White House this year? The answer is yes, possibly, but the real question should be: can Republicans actually run the country anywhere except into the wall*?

As I write, South Carolina Evangelists are preferring Mitt Romney to Rick Saint Orum**, and most pundits expect him to become the next GOP nominee. Mitt is probably considering vetting a running mate who doesn't know how to don the white shirt and wag the Book of Mormon, but Newt Gingrich keeps throwing Hail-Mary-passes and Latter-day Slanders, actually helping Romney for the general elections by depicting him as a Massachusetts moderate (the closest thing to a mass murderer in Amerikan lingua). For GOP's sake, even Harry Reid is a mormon.

Rick Perry is a moron, so he can perfectly qualify for the Veep position, in the great Dan Quayle tradition. Twitter darling Ron Paul prefers to bet on the next caucuses (Nevada): obviously, Libertarians cannot trust pure democracy, you know, that process where voters are actually free to think by themselves when they cast a ballot? I wish Ron were running as an Indy come November to ruin the party, but he might be tempted to salvage a few bridges for his son Rand, a mini-me with a sheep wig (Gary Johnson? I said nevermind). Which leaves us with Donald Trump, a Romney impersonator with an even sillier wig, but who does a decent "you're fired".

Mercifully, because Jon Huntsman didn't drown in New Hampshire, we'll enjoy the presence of a reasonable man in the race until at least Florida.

Mitt Romney also seems a reasonable man, but if you're starting to picture him as the next POTUS, here's some food for thought:

.Yes, this guy can win...:
- Okay, he speaks quite good French, but he is likeable enough (though not as much as Hillary, with whom I bet - four years ago - that Obama would replace Biden for his 2012 run), and he is a moderate by nowadays GOP standards (which doesn't mean anything, but some independent voters might get fooled, and even Reaganians could fall for this caricature character from a 1980s sitcom). But Romney won't be allowed to run without making unacceptable compromize, and without a dangerous lunatic one heartbeat away from nominating the next Supreme Justice.

... but no, neither Romney nor any other Republican candidate should become President...:
- We're not just talking about a person but about a party. And right now, the Republican party is not fit for power. Simple as that. This divided nation cannot afford a divided party that hasn't achieved anything positive over the past twenty years, and officially imploded eight years ago***. If they really love their country and their party, Republicans must first reform the GOP to transform it into a sustainable platform, fit to govern the nation. Even the Democrats did it twenty years ago by getting rid of their most caricatural parts, and by trading ideology for pragmatism. Of course, Reps still manage to win now and then (and not always by cheating in Florida), but look how they fail miserably when they do. And the only time they came up with a consistent vision, it was the ultimate negation of republican and democratic values. You want more impostures? Guess who turned record surplusses into record deficits, privatizing gains and socializing losses? And guess who saved American capitalism?

... and yes, Obama is still the man:
- Yes he could have performed better in many ways at home and abroad, but the things he did wrong were the things he did the conservative way, for instance getting along with corporate abuses or Israel excesses. At home, Obama managed historic reforms before the Reps shook the House. Yes, the economy hasn't recovered yet, but he has already cleaned an impressive part of the incommensurable mess they caused, and even until now they keep provoking further damage (last year's surreal budget drama exposed if needed the GOP's inability to govern). Yes, Guantanamo is not closed yet, and yes, Obama couldn't prevent the implosion of Iraq borne by the 2003 invasion, but he proved a better and smarter Commander in Chief by getting Bin Laden and freeing Libya with limited means. Yes Iran remains a danger, but the regime has lost the ideological battle home and Obama was inspirational for a change that later rocked the region.

Yes, he can.

But for that, he needs four more years, and a majority.

Since America is a free country, voters can decide that they preferred the way the country was run before Obama (reminder: the Bush-Cheney administration destroyed more value and more values than any other in American history), and that the whole country should be run like the House they voted for in 2006 (a disgrace mocked all over the world). A no-brainer, I tellya.

Right before the 2010 midterm elections I asked that simple question: "Can America really afford a Republican Second Dip?".

I have the bad habit of repeating myself, but so does History.


blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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*without caps: forget about that dream image of a bull on Wall Street.
**For the few retards who didn't catch his subtle marketing positioning, and the surprisingly many retards who embraced it, Rick Santorum wrote down a few words below his name on his campaign billboards: Faith, Family, and Freedom. In other words: Theocons, Paleocons, and Anticons* (for that latest flavor, see "Grand Old Parting - enter the anticons").
*** see "GOP: time to split"