The NY Times has an article pointing out the basic uselessness of the Republican Congress. One wonders at the need to print such a thing. Whether it was Denny "Supergrandslam Breakfast" Hastert
keeping his lapdog Foley's pedophilia under wraps or forgetting the words to to the Star Spangled Banner or crying Havoc! and losing the dogs of bullshit on Democracy and the American way of life; or Foley asking a 15 year old if he made the kid horny; or Delay doing his best "Captain on the Titanic" smile in his mugshot, or a bunch of chicken hawks accusing John Murtha of cowardice, this has been a wonderful laugh fest. Billy Bob Fist and the gang in the senate are almost as amusing -- except some of them do in fact occasionally feel some shame. McCain, Graham, Warner, Spector, Chafee -- at some point, these guys have got to feel really creepy and spend a lot of time washing their hands over the company they've kept...
Not that the Democrats have been all that scintillating. Outside of Murtha, Chris Dodd, Maria Cantwell and a few others, they've been noticeable for their failure to drive this nonsense home. Historical comparisons are odious, of course; they are also inevitable. If the Republicans are the Optimates backing Pompey, the Democrats are the Populares, backing Caesar...but, there is no Caesar.
Now, there might be one lurking. I am not eager to see All the King's Men; Sean Penn is too maniacal for the role created by Broderick Crawford who even looked like Huey Long. But, the nest Kingfish could be right around the corner. As David Brooks points out, the Democrats are looking more and more like the Humphrey Democrats-Bobby Kennedy Democrats that a they used to be. John Edwards is willing to say, "Hey, I was wrong on the war. But, we need to be looking at other things..." Hillary Clinton may lock up a lot of money, but her erudite approach and triangularization may not play so well. Bubba Clinton was never so effective as when he let his passions show through; Chris Wallace can attest to that. I have to wonder if she has any passions...
You know, Tennessee could be interesting. If an African American son of the Memphis political machine can wins there, Dubya's last two years could be very interesting. I know that no one expects the Democrats to sweep the Republicans out thanks to gerrymandering districts and the money imbalance. But, you know something? It might happen...Or, they could end up with a divided government and no veto-proof majority; if there is someone with some fire and some credibility in each house to lead, things could get interesting. Tammy Duckworth is running for congress on two prostheses, and the moron she's running against accuses her of "cutting and running..." She's a leader. Jim Webb is a war hero fed up with the wasting of the Armed Forces; fed up enough to jump ship. I find the stuff from the 70s and 80s they're digging up about him incredible, by the way...Macaca was last month, for the love of Tiffany...
Out here, we got nothing, by the way. Who can get excited about Arnold who is looking more and more like Ann Richards with a bad hairdo versus the quintessential taxing liberal. Angelides taxes your patience, your willingness to listen, your ability to stay awake. So, when he proposes new taxes to pay for failed programs and new-sure-to-fail programs, you gotta wonder.
On a related note, California is the most inept goddamn overtaxed bureaucracy I have ever encountered. I bought a new car over two months ago and am still waiting for my plates...If I ever get a registration, I'm going for the vanity number...LstCauses? CAOTLC? Dftst? Feedback, please.
when I bought my car five years ago it took eight months to get my plates. apparently the guys in San Quentin forgot to make them, or the folks at the postal service lost them...so I walked into the DMV and they handed me some random set of plates they had under the counter.
California politics are indeed a snoozer. I don't even feel like voting next month. Yawn.
Posted by: Comandante Agi | 01 October 2006 at 08:56 AM
Wow! That was an exceptionally well written slam.
And Agi up there- Where's "Total Positive"?
Posted by: Chuck | 02 October 2006 at 08:41 AM