Episode 44: The Puppet Broke the Strings?

031209.2306



Something pretty amazing happened recently. RNC Puppet Michael Steele has been all over the press for these little “slip ups.” I wrote a pretty damning entry about his role as the chairman of the RNC. A week later, I mentioned that he was one of a handful that had the courage to challenge Rush Limbaugh, and then displayed extreme cowardice in apologizing for disagreeing with him. This story begins a couple days ago when Steele made a remark about abortion rights with GQ magazine. He stated that he was pro-life, but insinuated that the ultimate right to choose lies with the “individual.” The GOP were pretty upset with his stance, and he quickly revised his statement to mean individual states have the right to choose. I may be putting words in his mouth here, but after reading that interview, I really think Steele may pro-life, but he doesn't believe everyone has to subscribe to that idea – it is an individual choice. Therefore, he would not be in favor in overturning Roe V. Wade; Steele was trying to recover from a tailspin that he knew was going to get him in big trouble.

I give Michael Steele a lot of credit for speaking his mind. It is very apparent now why the GOP chose him to be the RNC chairman, and it is even more apparent that Steele was indeed a puppet. There was a momentary glimmer of hope that a republican could speak what he feels and not be told what to say. It was a glimmer as fleeting as a desert wind in July. Now Steele is on the chopping block for a vote of no confidence. The racial gambit employed to attract “the new GOP” will be considered a failure, and the person who was supposed to chair the RNC all along will take his place. The true leaders of the Republican Party will emerge, their manipulative tactics will be exposed, and they will sink further into the depths of irrelevancy. There is absolutely zero political and intellectual discourse going on in the Republican Party right now, and they will continue to be irrelevant so long as they cling to obsolete ideologies and fail to reconfigure their ideas for the 21st century.

I did my homework on Michael Steele. He is rather moderate. Some of his ideas are not that bad. If he wants to be a leader of the party, he had best say what’s on his mind while he still has a political forum to do so. Less “yo son! The GOP be my homies baby!” and more real politics – more creative thinking. The clock is ticking…

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Episode 37: A New Republican Puppet

021409.0114

Allow me to tell a story.

Once upon a time, there was an historic race for the democratic presidential nominee. Many entered the race, but were overcome to two transformational figures who could become either the first woman or first black president. The battle was long and arduous. Both candidates drew huge crowds and garnered tremendous support. In the end, it would be the Obama who won the candidacy. On the day that Hilary Clinton conceded the race, Clinton HQ staffers around the country let out a collective gasp in disbelief. Many of them vowed to abstain from the elections, or vote for McCain because their team lost, and they lacked faith in Obama at the time.

Obama, having defeated Goliath gained a mighty tailwind going into the presidential race. The first wind of population swelled to a crescendo when he delivered one of his most powerful speeches before the DNC when accepting his nomination. However in the distance, rolling thunder clouds were brewing. The dark clouds became a fierce storm a week later when McCain unleashed his secret weapon against Obama – the unknown, untested, (the un a lot of things), Sarah Palin. In one fell swoop he ignited the republican base and nominated one who could be the first women to hold a seat in high office. The rest of America knew better. Sarah Palin was a mere puppet whose primary objective was to attract disenfranchised Hilary voters. Americans were smarter than that and resoundingly rejected the scare tactics, and the same old ways of politicking.

Fast-forward to present day. Obama is our first Black president. He enjoys massive popularity at home and abroad, and offers a degree of intellect and compassion we haven’t seen in the White House for nearly a decade. Republicans would be foolish to challenge Obama when he has the amount of political capital that he has, so they have instead attacked the main stream media, Nancy Pelosi, and left-wing bloggers. Despite their best efforts, they are still losing the message war, primarily because they have no message. In such a case, it may be prudent to spend some time evaluating the real world and tailor their conservative principles to the way things work in today’s globalized economy, information technology, and cross-culturalization. However, they have elected to ignore future trends, and have decided Sarah Palin could very well be the new voice of the GOP, with Rush Limbaugh as their surrogate leader until Palin beefs up on her facts, history, and newspapers. Sarah Palin is not version 2 yet, and Rush Limbaugh is not a politician, so they still need a legitimate face of the party. Now they can actually look among their ranks and try again to find someone who is a republican future thinker (an oxymoron I know). However, they resort to a tried a failed tactic (a common theme) and instead chose another puppet to be the face of the party. Enter Michael Steele. His selection as the leader of the RNC makes him the first African American leader of the RNC to much chagrin to the KKK. What better way to steal the African American vote from Obama than to pit him against another African American candidate. The GOP forgot a key component when crafting their new puppet however; they left out the future thinking component that is a necessary tool when combating a person with Obama’s superior intellect. They have a puppet that will do anything and say anything the puppet masters say. It’s a throwback to the shameful days of our history, and republicans should be ashamed. And I am personally offended that they chose him. Because after reading up on him, he is as close to a conservative future thinker as the GOP could cook up, but he has been assimilated by the collective and forced to repeat republican talking points that are divisive, asinine, and completely out of touch with reality. Just for once, I’d like to see republicans do something with honesty and integrity.

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