I'm back, with predictions
Yeah, so I kinda took a seven-month hiatus from blogging. Sorry about that. Long story short, things got a little crazy and blogging got relinquished to the back burner. The way way way way back burner. It actually got taken off the burner completely. But I digress.
Anyway, it's one of my New Year's resolutions to get back into the habit of writing. So I'll do the best I can to blog more regularly, i.e. at least once a week, about the various happenings that raise my ire. Given the incoming administration, that shan't be a problem.
Just a few passing thoughts on recent events before I get to my predictions for 2009.
First up, Chip Saltsman. For those uninitiated, Chip Saltsman is running for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He recently got himself into a little P.R. trouble for distributing a Christmas greeting that included a comedy CD that included a song of an impersonated Al Sharpton singing about "Barack the Magic Negro."
Now, I've heard the song several times. Rush Limbaugh plays it on his show with some regularity. There is nothing racist about it. It makes more fun of Al Sharpton and the L.A. Times (the paper in which the term "Magic Negro" originally appeared) than it does Barack Obama. The race between some Republicans to see who can be the most offended in the least amount of time was pretty embarrassing. Some were "shocked and appalled." There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. It was pathetic. If there's one problem with the current Republican party, it's the complete lack of backbone and utter willingness to shamelessly pander to any and every interest group.
That said, Chip Saltsman is a moron for associating himself with it. I'm as politically incorrect as the next guy, don't get me wrong. But I'm not running for Chairman of the RNC. When someone is trying to become the leader of an entire political party -- a political party with the recent misfortunes of the Republicans, no less -- it would help if they weren't absolutely politically tone deaf. Is the song racist? Any fair-minded, rational person would conclude that it is not. Should people lighten up and be able to take a joke? Absolutely. However, it's reasonable to assume that people might be offended by a white guy distributing a CD by another white guy impersonating a black guy that prominently uses the word "negro." The Republicans will have no chance of winning new voters if their time is ostensibly dedicated to saying to those voters "Oh come on! I was just kidding! Can't you take a joke?!" Moreover, it's simply unbecoming of a man seeking an office with so much responsibility. So, Chip, you're done. Thanks for playing. NEXT!
On to Cynthia McKinney. Personally, I was surprised she was still alive. I thought I'd heard something about her being mauled to death by a pack of rabid raccoons. Maybe that was just a dream I had. At any rate, I cannot effectively put into words the rage this woman brings out of me. She continues to be an embarrassment to her state, her country, and human beings in general. Actually, I'll go a step further. She's an embarrassment to all land mammals. Even the three-toed sloths of the world don't want to be associated with such a race-baiting anti-Semite. But again I digress.
Ms. McKinney was apparently incensed that her boat was turned away while trying to deliver aid to Gaza in the midst of the current military operation going on there. She also seemed bewildered that Israel was using weapons produced in America, and called on President-elect Obama to "say something about the humanitarian crisis that is being experienced by the Palestinian people, by the people of Gaza" and "discontinue the transfer of weapons of mass destruction used by Israel."
Right. Just a couple of points. First, did it ever occur to Ms. McKinney that Israel might object to an unchecked civilian ship sailing into a war zone? I suspect it did not. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right? Second, this might come as news to Ms. McKinney, but Israel is actually an American ally. Allies generally share weapons. As far as the "Weapons of mass destruction" claim, the only difference between the weapons used by Israel and those used by Hamas is that Israel's weapons actually work. Unfair, I know. Third, I don't know what she expects President-elect Obama to say. To my knowledge, he's never taken a firm stand on much of anything, let alone one of the most volatile issues in politics. But she can dream, can't she?
Anyway, on to my predictions for 2009:
- Obama's approval rating will be below 50 percent.
- The auto companies will receive a bailout, won't restructure themselves, and will continue to lose money to each car they make.
- Benjamin Netanyahu will become Prime Minister of Israel and will take out Iran's nuclear facilities after Iran announces it has manufactured a nuclear weapon.
- The House Republicans will start getting their act together, but the Senate Republicans will remain impotent and ineffective.
- The Obama administration will be more frustrating for the media than the Bush administration.
- The average temperature of the planet will not increase.
- The Senate will be without a Kennedy for the first time since 1962.
- The DOW will go under 8,000.
- Oil will go under $30 per barrel.
- The dollar will lose value.
posted by That guy @ 1:08 AM
2 Comments:
Interesting perspectives. Just one point. You might want to ask your African American friends if they find the use of the word Negro racist?
Would you care to comment on the "southern strategy" which has formed the basis of Republican party election strategy for the last 40 years?
Well, given that there was no outrage at the column that originally mentioned the term "magic Negro," it would be hard to argue that the word itself is racist. So I'm left to believe that it's not the word, but rather the context of the use of the word that some might find offensive. My position on racism is similar to that of my position on blasphemy. Which is to say, it is not what is said that is racist/blasphemous, but what is intended. No one says "negro" (or words derived thereof) more than Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle, and no one would argue that they have racist intentions. As I said before, the song itself does little more than say "The LA Times referred to Barack Obama as a 'Magic Negro.'" There was no racist intent. That said, it's just as inappropriate for polite company as material from the aforementioned Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. I just don't believe that any use of the word by a white person must be considered inherently racist regardless of context.
As for the Southern Strategy, it's a little outdated. It's still mathematically viable -- and will actually become more so after 2010 when electoral votes are taken from California and New York and given to Texas and Georgia -- but to say that it's a viable political strategy to appeal to the racist inklings of Southern white men is a rather archaic. As we saw in the last election, the idea that Southern states won't vote for a black man is appropriately ridiculous. We did see in 2000 and 2004, however, that Democrats can't compete without winning at least one Southern state. If Al Gore had managed to win his home state of Tennessee, the whole Florida recount fiasco would've been irrelevant. As much as it pains non-Southerners to believe, those of us from the South aren't all a bunch of bigots "clinging to our guns and religion." Race is simply a non-factor, at least for anyone born after the Eisenhower administration. It's much more likely that any future "Southern Strategy" will focus more on traditional values, responsible government and the like than it ever will on race. At the end of the day, though, good candidates win and bad candidates lose. If Republicans keep serving up wishy-washy, uncharismatic old men with annoying verbal ticks, then my friends, the Republicans are going to continue to lose elections regardless of electoral strategy.
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