Rundle08: The anarchists more organised than the GOP
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Halfway down Silper Street, between the advancing lines of riot police, in the full gasmask and riot outfit — ah pigs, now I get it — the trailing ranks of anarchist protestors, and the stray wisps of gas, I paused outside a cafe with MSNBC playing on a TV set, and the subtitles switched on. Ah, sweet luxury of press credentials! Like the gift of the fermata, I could slip back and forth between the lines unmolested, quelle luxe! It was noon, and the major protest rally, ten thousand strong, was just starting to move from the park spread beneath the gold-tipped Capitol dome. But the black bloc, the armed vegan bloc, and the general mayhem bloc had broken off early, and were playing cat and mouse with the cops, trying to scatter and re-form close to the Excel centre for a front-on assault. They never really got there — the Minnesota burglary rate will spike this week given the sheer number of out of town cops in situ — and the only really fun stuff was a couple of police cars set on fire, and a half dozen windows of Macy’s broken, but they gebinerally outperformed the lumbering midwestern-beefy cops, who failed repeatedly to learn that if you face an entire riotsquad column in one direction, the protestors will — anyone anyone Bueller Bueller — yes, go in the other. At Harriet Island on the St Paul riverbank, Billy Bragg was opening a “reclaim Labor Day” openair concert, and a rocked up version of Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land blasted through the lower blocks of the city. And, oh, according to the TV, Hurricane Gustav was a bust.
Wow, these Republicans just cannot take a trick. Having turned the whole convention into some sort of ghastly telethon in a half-empty stadium in the hope that the debacle of the Convention could be turned into a moment of patriotic rallying during a national emergency, the damn emergency is petering out into a mere storm. No spectacular death tolls, house blown to matchsticks etc, just lots of sogginess. God is clearly dicking with these people — he’s having a larf, playing with the weather controls to keep everyone wrong-footed. Whatever happens with Gustav, it is too late to put the Republican convention back on a firm footing. Today’s sessions were taken up almost entirely with pious appeals to send money, blankets, mail tins of sardines etc etc, pull together as Americans and so on. With the centre half empty, the whole thing had the feel of one of those old 48 hour telethons of yore — Cure Dropsy Now, etc — which you could tune into at 2am to see Bobby Limb weeping into button on collar while singing My Favourite Things. Bobby would that you were here at this hour. A couple of stooges also spoke, but I would be lying if I said I remembered their names. It was never going to be a great day, but even before things had really got going it got much much worse, with a double-whammy on Sarah Palin hitting like, well, two tropical storms. First came the news that her 17-year-old unwed daughter was pregnant, a fact apparently released to deal with rumours that Governor Palin’s most recent baby was actually her daughter, Bristol’s (soon to be a tropical storm). Nothing per se wrong there for most of us, except for the fact that the GOP has been hammering everyone for years on the values question, importance of marriage, terrible effect of absent fathers blah blah BLAH. These things ain’t meant to happen. Doubtless we will find that Bristol was in one of those terrible “true love waits’ teen virgin programmes — the full title being “true love waits until three malibu shooters at a postprom party have gone to work on teens whose s-x education comes from the Book of Joshua”. Palin was forced to make some statement about families being out of bounds for politics — which is hilarious because part of her appeal was as a fecund mother who took a Downs syndrome foetus to term, and of course the chaotic life of the Clintons was used as an anti-standard, though I don’t remember Chelsea shopping for mittens. But hey that was just the curtain-raiser. By lunchtime we heard that Palin had retained counsel in a long running and incredibly complex story about whether she tried to improperly interfere in an ongoing investigation into some corrupt thing or other… forget it mac, it’s Alaska. It’s a pretty heavy hit for a candidate who was always a risky proposition, and who even some conservative commentators are saying was a poor choice. John McCain says he knew about both issues. Cue Mandy Rice Davies. But the example that people are beginning to mention is that of Thomas Eagleton, the hapless first VP pick of the hapless George McGovern, who concealed from the candidate his history of clinical depression and electro-shock therapy, and who was subsequently replaced by the hapless Sargent Shriver. Bizarrely, Geraldine Ferraro is another example — the lustre was taken off Walter Mondale’s bold 1984 pick by revelations about loose tax arrangements, unfiled returns, etc, most of it the fault of her sleazy husband. For all the spinning, no-one retains counsel in these circumstances unless actual prosecution or impeachment is on the table — and if it were to get to that stage, well it may be all over red rover. McCain ran on the issue of experience, and the clarity of that message has been smudged somewhat by Palin’s sudden proximity to the nuclear button. But he’s also run on the idea of judgement, and if it turns out that he blew this one, well, what does he have? Having met Palin only once or twice, for less than an hour total, legal problems for her would focus attention on just exactly how he does make decisions, and whether he was being insouciant or cynical about the choice of whoever would take over after one double dose of Cialis too many, and the subsequent customary Republican keel-over at the fifteenth hole. Barack Obama has made a short announcement to the press, saying it’s all a matter for the Palin family — Sarah, Bristol and Michael, former Python, who in fact fathered Sarah during the filming of Pole to Pole — and, well, cue Mandy Rice-Davies. Someone would have to be combing through the acres of Coulter, Hannity, Novak etc thundering about how teen pregnanacy has nothing to do with society, and it’s the family stupid and so on. Neither of the official Democratic candidates will stoop to it, but there has to be a few attack dogs out there somewhere. With nothing officially announced for tomorrow, the Convention planners, are presumably, even as I write, working out whether to get back as much of the extravaganza as they can, or continue with the appeal for mittens (not Romney, woollen gloves). They will have their work cut out, as significant numbers haven’t bothered to show up. This evening’s party for the American Conservative Union — the ol granddaddy of conservative ginger groups — looked, this evening, like a trainspotters’ mixer, until bizzarely a large Asian delegation turned up to swell the numbers. It appears to be like that all over the joint. The anarchists meanwhile have reformed their convergence centre twice after police raids, and are promising a rematch tomorrow, their floating re-arrangement of meetings, press conferences and decision-making managed through a bewildering network of legal, medical and affinity groups. The irony is that amidst the whiff of tear gas, and the charging of police phalanxes, the anarchists seem better organised, more onto it than the Republicans.
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31 Comments
I’ve left this comment on a couple of recent articles now, so sorry if my repetition annoys anyone, but: Quick one for you John James - if all human life is sacrosanct, does that make all military operations which go anywhere near civilian settlement (eg all of them) just as evil as abortion? And therefore are political leaders advocating military responses to anything as evil as you perceive the Democrats to be? And if not, why not? Are the unborn more sacrosanct than folks unfortunate to live where US bombs are falling?
“all without mentioning, even in passing, her pregnancy!”….which pregnancy would that be Daniel? Her recent one when she knowingly brought to term and delivered a Down’s Syndrome child?
Doubtless Daniel that would not happen to you. Doubtless you would have urged the mother have the child vacuumed from her uterus to be flushed down the refuse chute.
Ted Stevens a senator much loved in his native Alaska and with very long history of public service is indicted but as far as I am aware there has been no trial and he therefor has not been yet found guilty except to the prejudiced….eh Daniel?
Palin has been widely lauded for her gubernatorial and mayoral executive leadership. She has in fact more executive leadership experience than all three other candidates on the main parties presidential tickets.
So far the left seems strangely unable to mount a reasoned attack on her politics and so as exemplified by Crikey, Sanderson ‘The Brilliant in My Own MInd’ and Daniel ‘The Perverse One’……they smear….and liberally!
Rundle and Sanderson! Talk about ‘Pulp fiction’ ! Rundle cant tell the difference beteween anarchists and socialists and neither has the faintest insight into what is unfolding in this Presidential election. What Sanderson thinks is Palin’s weakness is actually galvanising the Republican base. That she is being attacked because her 17 year old is pregnant and with snide remarks that her disabled baby is not actually hers is like a red rag to a bull with the pro -life movement.
This combined with Obama’s inane reply when asked to identify when the Unborn become human ( “above my paygrade”, what a tight arse! ) and Nancy Pelosi ‘s comment that Catholics can be Catholic and support the killing of the unborn, because it doesn’t matter whether the victim is human or not, its all about ‘choice” and then the choice of Biden, a pro -abortion Catholic for VP. Obama, Pelosi and now the Democrat machine/bloggers have managed to do what John McCain had been having difficulty doing for sometime and that is convince the Evangelicals and Catholics that this is the same old sh*t they saw with Clinton et al.
Palin’s experience far outstrips Obama’s, who has run nothing except the Coffeee club for Harvard lawyers.
This is going to be one hell of an election. Several Catholic bishops have commented publicly ( John kerry will remember well what happened last time this occurred) and wait till Joe Biden fronts the inevitable questions about his public policy positions and the teaching of the Church he maintains he respects. I think Palin will ‘eat’ this guy in debate, but time will tell.
But Crikey have got to get some better insight than Rundle and his cheer squad provide. Back to your ‘Phantom’ comics, Davo!
Paul, your Dukakis stats are interesting but how relevant are they? This election follows two terms of Dubya, the 88 election followed two terms of Reagan. Whilst a smartarse lefty like myself would regard these two as relatively similar, history will regard them extremely differently and the US electorate will do the same. Yes, all sorts of changes can occur rapidly during elections, and any sort of scandal can produce these, but all things being even, Obama is in front and will stay that way. Dukakis’ support was never firm enough to get over the general view at the time that the US was travelling well and the status quo was to be maintained. That does not apply now.
Terrific piece on Palin….although the allusion to Michael was beyond the pale. Ho Ho.
Paul, I would like to remind you that you believe that Obama has little hope of winning. I would like to see you put forward a coherent argument for that proposition (and not just some vague musings about American racism etc). You argue that an eight point lead eight weeks out from the election means nothing yet the great majority of candidates who have had that kind of lead at this point have gone on to win the Presidency. Most commentators believe that Obama is more likely to win than not yet you say he is in an almost impossible position. Do you have some special evidence to support this assertion?
If you are not willing to present the argument and the evidence then have the good grace to admit that it was a silly assertion and withdraw it.
Loved the Fox News commentator on Palin (courtesy of The Daily Show):
“Palin actually has a lot of experience in International Relations because she is, you know, up there in Alaska which is right next to Russia.”
David Sanderson,
I won’t sink to your depths of making personal insults.
I won’t bother going into the details of US specific politics, rather I’ll just speak in general terms for your benefit.
The election is not today.
To repeat an all too often quoted line:
A week is a long time in politics.
Following on from that, eight weeks is an eternity.
And further, an eight point differential some eight weeks from an election means jack.
Don’t get me wrong, I dread the thought of Palin as VP and potential Potus (McCain I don’t mind so much), yet I do recognise that all the GOP needs to do is get people to vote by scaring them with the potential of more liberal appointments to the USSC, and that’s just starters.
The NYT take on the Palin vetting schemozzle:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/politics/02vetting.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=login
Good God! The irony of David Sanderson demanding ‘good grace’ from another could surely only be matched by Richard Dawkins asking Pope Benedict for absolution…..
vote McCain / Palin ‘08 : Dumb & Dumber !
Only to your incoherent mind Daniel
Yeah, it is always aesthetically pleasing to see a cynical manouevre backfire and then explode leaving a holy mess of moose stew and rubber chicken dripping off the lacquered hairdos of god-blessed, but otherwise gormless, Republicans.
“Palin’s experience far outstrips Obama’s, who has run nothing except the Coffeee club for Harvard lawyers.”
Obama was also a state senator and is now a sitting senator for the state of Illinois. Obama was vetted during an incredibly drawn-out and grueling Primary process with the most cunning and experienced political players the US has to offer, McCain met with Palin once or twice before choosing her as VP, a choice so obviously cynical one has to wonder whether Alan Keyes would now be VP if Obama and Clinton’s positions were reversed.
Prior to becoming the Governor of Alaska, Palin was mayor of a town with a population of 10,000. As mayor she managed to put this tiny, insignificant town into about $20 million debt. 10 of her 12 years of political experience were as mayor of a tiny insignificant town, which she ran into the ground with a dodgy land deal. And if ‘executive experience’ counts for so much, the McCain/Palin ticket should be reversed, as Palin clearly has is more experience than J-Mac.
Also is there something bad about being President of the Harvard Law Review I don’t know about? This sentence really needs more references to arugula and ivory towers if it’s to make any sense.
Lets see look at some other Palin brilliance: She is under investigation for abuse of power. She supported the corrupt Ted Stevens and even was one of the directors for one of Stevens PAC groups. Her opinion on abortion is radical even for a pro-lifer, she opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Palin believes Creationism/Intelligent Design should be taught alongside evolution in school. These are all perfectly valid reasons to be suspicious or oppose the possible Palin vice-presidency (or presidency if McCain croaks) and all without mentioning, even in passing, her pregnancy!
Good job Sanderson and Rundle don’t actually work for Obama as doubtless these truly poisonously prejudiced left wing extremists might well be ignominiously dismissed :
“Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I thought there was somebody in my campaign who was involved in something like that, they would be fired.”
Pity Crikey does not have the same standards as Obama
David Sanderson,
I repeat myself. 8 points ahead 8 weeks out means jack.
Dukakis was double digits ahead after the conventions, and 8 points ahead 5 weeks out.
Didn’t he do well…
Paul, I think you’ve failed to include Dubya’s trashing of the Republican brand into your conclusions about Obama v McCain. It’s gotta be worth several points more than the effect of America’s slight but inherent racism on the vote.
As much as it pains me, I have to agree with JamesK. The BO fan club don’t seem to appreciate how middle America thinks. The votes that will matter are white with basic education, suburban, christian and ever so slightly racist.
Palin’s family trouble can be spun and sold as a strength, much as GWB’s history of drug abuse and alcoholism was in 2000. If you’re a born again Christian, the evangelicals will forgive you for all your wrongs past or present.
Although there is that element of good christian housewives who believe that Palin’s duties are in the home (where she might be portrayed to have failed miserably), all the GOP needs to do is ensure that Obama is portrayed as an elite progressive (and he so very much is) and the conservative masses will mobilise and vote, not for McCain, but against Obama.
Barring a third party conservative spoiler candidate (like Ross Perot, who served Clinton the 92 election on a platter), Obama has little hope. If Nader runs again, he has no hope at all.
Well done to all contributors who earned their place in the 3/9/08 First Dog. I am SOOO jealous.
John James, glad to hear it and I look forward to as many references to the evils of less-than-completely-necessary military actions (eg McCain) from you in the future as you currently make to the evils of abortion (don’t need to explain which candidate I’m referring to!).
Glad to see you are maintaining the rage JamesK. You must be a worry for your doctor though.
I must admit the left-wing arrogance in the comments section and indeed simmering throughtout this bellow-the-belt horrid biased attack piece is revolting, however I understand most of it stems from a lifetime of petulance and jealousy. To say that Gov. Palin has undermined the very values she has fought for throughtout her time in office is an insult to any office bearer in elected office. She is the perfect candidate, and that’s what makes you squirm. You can’t take it that McCain is still hanging in the race, still in with a chance, in a cycle that was meant to kill him, finish him off for good. You can’t digest that Gov. Palin, while politically still young, has achieved so much in the name of her country, that she has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined, that she governs a region bordering two nations in Canada and Russia, the only American state that is such, that she is one of the leading voices on energy, that she was right on ANWR and will remain right, that she is the most popular governor in America, that she neutralised the electoral effect of the most anticipated national address this millenium, that she has become a fundraising juggernaut, is extremely photogenic, uses her gubenatorial repsonsibilities as a means of strengthening the national security of the United States by improving Alaska’s borders, that she was bombarded atomically by a democratic state legislature with unfounded allegations and came out even stronger, that she is the first female nominee on a Republican ticket, attracts Hillary voters, increases female voters for McCain, is anti-establishment, pro-life, pro-gun, has fought against and weeded out corruption, a true underdog who epitomises so much that can’t possibly be within the realms of reality amongst the Grand Old Party that you live to condemn so the only thing you have is to tell the world that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant. Shame on these gutter-dwellers. B.P. is a separate entity from S.P.
Careful, John old boy, your going to have a cerebral incident if you keep on carrying on like that.
For those having trouble believing that Palin is a big problem for McCain I suggest you read this LA Times article. Incidentally, the right ragers above can rest assured that the Times is not some left wing coven:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-palinassess2-2008sep02,0,3826591.story
Come on Dave, get serious. Of course all human life is sacrosanct. I’m not going to launch into a discussion about legitimate self defense and ‘just war’ theory but a helpless unborn child! Mate, give me a break! The issue with abortion is why one part of the human family are denied the protection of law that you and I expect and hope for in a liberal democracy. Its not rocket science!
“Palin has been widely lauded for her gubernatorial and mayoral executive leadership. She has in fact more executive leadership experience than all three other candidates on the main parties presidential tickets”
Again, if executive experience means so much, why isn’t McCain running as Palin’s VP? This whole argument is completely incoherent.
Paul, that is a seriously dumb contribution. The latest Gallup poll has Obama moving forward to a 50-42 lead. Fox News, not normally known for left-wing hysteria, says that this is “a safe number for victory”.
Nevertheless, you say that Obama has little hope of winning. You are either an unrecognised genius or a fool.
Paul, I asked you to demonstrate why Obama has virtually no chance despite his eight point lead. A little rant about Dukakis does not make the case as it ignores all the other occasions when the strongly leading candidates, from either party, went on to win the election.
You are obviously unable to admit that you are in error. It is conceivable but unlikely that Obama will ‘do a Dukakis’ (for one thing Obama’s campaign is far better managed than Dukakis’s) but it is awfully stupid to say that he has very little hope of winning at this point.
Did I wake you up JamesK?. There, there, go back to sleep.
Far from making the race closer it is virtually certain that, barring unimaginably huge gaffes from Obama, she has destroyed the slim chances that McCain had. I am happy to concede that she is an attractive, lively personality and, yeah, the Republicans are very short of those, but her record and level of experience is so pathetically slim she will be unable to survive the campaign with any worthwhile standing left by polling day. It would take too long to detail these shortcomings here but a look over some of the blogs on Huffpo will give you a reasonable overview.
Her selection is already doing great damage to McCain’s reputation as a sound decision-maker. It is becoming clearer by the hour that the vetting process was minimal and rushed. Given that he had so little personal knowledge of her that vetting acquired even more significance and it is clear that he made a complete hash of it (Bristol’s pregnancy is likely only to be the first of many unhelpful revelations). McCain is known to be something of a chauvinistic womaniser and it is likely that her beauty had some kind of stimulatory and rationality-distorting effect on his old brain.
Because he failed to vet properly there is now a new Alaskan gold rush among the media. No doubt they will find more dirt than gold but actually that is the point of the exercise is it not?
Theo, you claim “that she is the first female nominee on a Republican ticket, attracts Hillary voters, increases female voters for McCain”.
Hillary voters? If you really think left-liberal New York career women are going to vote for a huntin’, shootin’, anti-abortion, anti-gay, bible-bashing, insular, cretinist [sic], just because she’s female, you really haven’t been paying attention.