Saturday, April 05, 2003

I know what's making me feel caustic today.  I slept pretty well, this is a good day because Kansas is playing tonight and I've got a poker party to look forward to before that, it's a gorgeous day outside.  The kids are being good, and it's been a nice morning.  So it's none of that stuff. And before I launch, I have to say that I never have, nor do I now want Hyperbole to turn into a ranting political blog.  I'm not interested in being a crank.  I have a certain reputation among people who know me for being really loud about my opinion, and dismissive-to-disrespectful towards the opinions of those who are wrong.  I have worked in the past couple of years on reining this in, on being more mellow and even-handed, with a lot of success, I think--I can't (and wouldn't want to) become a placid person, willing to shrug off anything, and I certainly will always have an opinion with convictions.  But I needed to check it, and I've done pretty well on Hyperbole, I hope, at making my opinion clear on various subjects without looking like a jerk or a crank.  I hope. Nevertheless, for right now I'm going to regress a bit.  Just for this blog entry.  If you're a regular Hyperbole reader and enjoy my opinionated-but-more-low-key style, you'll have to bear with me.  If you want the vitriol, here it comes.  And if you're a first time reader, please bear with me, if you don't like it click over to Hyperbole Abroad or maybe Hyperbole Progeny if you'd like.  It's not always like this. I have absolutely HAD IT with the G.O.P.  I have had it.  This morning I read the lead in Salon about John Kerry's troubles with Tom DeLay, as well as Josh Marshall's piece on Talking Points Memo.  And it just sent me over the deep end. In brief, Kerry (a Dem presidential candidate, and the one I like the most) made a perhaps unwise, but in any case glib remark about how we need regime change here in this country.  He was promptly savaged by the Republicans as Unamerican. (Digression:  I'm going to try and be careful to distinguish "the right" from "Republicans" because while there's a lot of overlap, there is a distinction in many cases.  I have good friends that are conservative, Sean, Matt, and Nick among others, and while I disagree with them, I can respect their opinions.  It's the politics of the GOP that I'm talking about here.).  I am absolutely sick of the strong-arm tactics of the GOP, equating support for Bush with patriotism.  I'm sick of people who dodged the draft questioning the patriotism of those who fought, including Kerry, Max Cleland, Bob Kerrey and others.  I'm so sick of the notion of giving "aid and comfort to the enemy" whenever anyone questions a tactic or a political decision.  I am positively SICK of the terrorism hammer being used to silence those who feel differently.  I've just fucking had it, man. How dare they?  How fucking dare they?  Anyone remember how much criticism was leveled at Clinton by the GOP during Desert Fox in 1998?  Is there no limit to the hypocrisy.  For shame.  For shame. And I am so sick of Tom DeLay that I could throw up.  Last week he said that there is nothing more important during war time than a new tax cuts.  What?  What the hell are you talking about?  Why?  Even IF one supports the tax cut, can someone POSSIBLY explain what these two things have to do with each other?  Has anyone EVER more nakedly used the war hammer to pass an unrelated domestic agenda?  The Republican Party (Another Digression:  there are exceptions to this--I'm talking Racinot, DeLay and other high profile GOP members and not McCain, Collins, Chafee etc.) acts as if they are God's messengers, sent here to purge the world of democrats and traitors, or at least to demonstrate that they are the same.  They offer little by way of explanation, simply hammering through whatever they'd like with the consent of Bush, Cheney, and God.  And the strong-arm political tactics are effective but immoral.  Yup.  Immoral.  Hypocritical, cruel, misleading lies.  Immoral. It's all tactical--making claims about the left-leaning media in order to shift the focus from the overwhelmingly right wing television and radio media circuit.  Cowing Democrats into submission by questioning patriotism.  Shielding the President by using a monstrous beast like Tom DeLay to do the dirty work to advance the cause of the super-wealthy contributors and the religious right. I'm not taking issue with any political issues in this rant.  I may disagree with some conservative stances--some so strongly that I'd fight to the death.  But if an argument can be made for those stances on abortion or the military or the environment, I can at least respect the position.  But this isn't about that.  I've had it with disingenousness and fabrications and hypocrisy and the bastardization of democracy and open debate by right-wing self-important gladhanding ideologues.  Shame on the GOP.  You make me ill.  And, if you'll pardon my French, I will feel better if I say that Tom DeLay is a bullshit fuckface asshole lying shit-for-brains crotch monkey.  Sorry, Grandma. Rant over.  2:03:40 PM    Let's hear it. []