The Problem With Sarah

I like Sarah Palin.

I can hear all the boos and hisses roaring through cyber space as both my Republican and Democrat friends are reading that line. But, it’s true and I don’t mind admitting it. Would I vote for her? Not today, maybe not in 2012. Do I think she would be a good candidate? Sure. Why not? Anything is better than the current occupant of 1600.

That “why not”, has become a fun phrase for me this Holiday Season on the precipice of what will surely be an announcement in the next couple of months. Mostly because I am not clear on the polarizing effect this woman has on people. I don’t see the reason there is so much hate directed towards her by both R’s and D’s. So, I have been asking everyone I can: “why not?” Frankly, I’m getting the answers I expected.

This week in New York City I posed the question to some of my favorite people. Folks I consider bastions of intelligence and fair mindedness. Except when it comes to Sarah.

This is how one conversation went, with the most vehement of Sarah haters in the group. I am leaving the person’s name out on purpose because I don’t want to embarrass them. Let’s call the person SPH.

Me: Tell me the real reasons why you don’t like Sarah Palin?

SPH: Because she’s so stupid.

Me: Really? Palin’s stupid? Did you make $30 million last year?

SPH: Stupid people are capable of making money too you know.

Me: Do you really think she is stupid? Tell the truth?

SPH: Ok, no, she’s not stupid but she has set women back 40 years?

Me: How?

SPH: Oh come on.

Me: Seriously, how? How has she set back women? I am assuming you mean equality wise.

SPH: It’s so obvious.

Me: OK. Then why am I missing it?

SPH: Mama Grizzlies?

Me: What about them? What’s the problem with being a strong woman? What is the problem with protecting your family, being loyal to your family? You’re a feminist, why can’t a woman embrace these things? Does every woman have to be Gertrude Stein?

SPH: Nothing is wrong with those things. That’s where she should stay, at home protecting and being loyal to her family. She has no experience.

Me: City council member, Mayor, Governor, Candidate for Vice President. Responsible for cutting the Gubernatorial budget by 80% in Alaska, bringing awareness to Alaska, teaching the State businesses that they need to form an economy not dependant on Federal spending. That’s just a short list and you call someone like this inexperienced? Have you met our current President?  He has never done any of that and certainly isn’t doing any of it now. So, let me ask again, do you honestly believe Palin to not have any experience? Oh, and also, are these things a stupid person is capable of accomplishing?

Silence.

Me: Come on? I’m listening. I want to know, why is Sarah Palin in your lexicon of hate?

SPH: She pisses me off.

Me: Why?

SPH: She’s a whiner. Always bitching about the media and how they portray her. Thinking they are out to get her.

Me: They’re not? Of course, they are out to get her and you’re swallowing it right up. For the amount of time Palin is out there pitching, the only thing the media ever focused on is piddly little mistakes everyone makes. Trust me, under the same microscope everyone would look like an idiot. They have absolutely targeted Palin.

SPH: See? She even has you believing it.

Me: Because it’s true! Sometimes things are what they are. They hate Palin, just like you do and for what reason? That’s what I am trying to figure out. I think Bush haters are kind of ridiculous too, but at least he had a record they could rightly or wrongly, draw upon. Sarah’s record is pretty damn impressive. Sarah’s dealt with a media induced smear campaign since day 1.

Well, I still haven’t figured it out. I had that very same conversation with different derivatives and no solid reasons were given.

I know what the problems with Sarah are on the political level. What I don’t get is the deeply personal issues people have with her.

I, for one see no reason why she wouldn’t make a good candidate. I don’t think she is stupid. I think she builds on her experience everyday and she learns something from all of her projects. Palin knows how to bring awareness. Her curb appeal is obvious to me. Whether or not she has the real substance behind it is what is bothersome. I think she has the basis to be a great leader. She’s cheap, understands the plight of the American family, realizes that an economy cannot rely on Federal spending to move it along, and knows how to protect those she loves. That is an American leader. Not some Johnny come lately jackass community organizer elected President merely because his predecessor conjured enough hatred amongst the American public that any change was considered acceptable. Talk about lowered expectations.

Sarah’s problem is what I refer to as the polarization of the Coasts. I’ve said it before and am sure I will say it throughout my life as I don’t see it changing. The East and West Coast doctor the spin in politics and they hate Sarah. The coasts lead the charge in any Presidential election and the middle of the country tends to just follow along. The Coasts love to intellectualize everything.

I love intellectualization. It’s fun. If I had the opportunity, I would do nothing but sit around all day and intellectualize everything in my life. I would live inside my own head and have great fun thinking about things like; what would happen if instead of teaching my son right from wrong, left from right, etc., I just sat here and observed the wonder of him trying to figure it all out on his own. What would happen? What if I didn’t go outside chop some wood and started a fire, or turned up the thermostat to keep warm. What would freezing be like? Would I be better intellectually for the experience? I mean I know from what others have taught me that my son would end up a ravaged dolt, we would die from exposure and so on and so forth. But, do I really know it? Maybe I should just sit here and think and let life go on about me.

Well, that’s a cheap example but it’s pretty much what the Coasts like to do. They seem to tarry to the sort of people who would rather sit around enjoying their own oblivion lost in thought rather than actually doing something about anything at all. And, anyone who speaks in plain and simple truths are just plain stupid. Sarah fits in that category to these people.

These people would rather hear a bunch of platitudes laid out in eloquent well-parsed oratory than hear the actual root of problems and their subsequent solutions. They would rather be sold a bill of goods aimed at making them feel better despite the fact that bill of goods will never be delivered.

Yeah, I cringe when I listen to some of her speeches too. Her style leaves me a little limp, but the foundation is there. She knows what a gallon of milk costs. She knows the value of a dollar, how to protect that value and how to communicate with the masses more than the intelligentsia. What the hell is wrong with that?

Oh, and did I mention, I think she’s hot?

Trifecta 11/2/2010

Wow. What a week.

Republicans prevail as expected, Nancy Pelosi flips all over the place and that scumbag Olberman gets the boot. Not bad. But, there are serious caveats to watch for and lessons to be taken from Tuesday’s historic victory.

First, let’s think about the Republican win and what it means for the next two years. There were certainly hopes that Lord Falderal would get the message and finally work with the R’s to try and get something productive through the legislature. Productive meaning, passing bills and laws that don’t bankrupt the Nation, or upset our Capitalist model.

Well, after Falderal’s speech and the Republican reaction to it, it’s clear that just ain’t going to happen. Why? For one thing, as should have been expected, Falderal did not feel one ounce of chastening for the lambasting his party received. Unlike Clinton when faced with the same dilemma in ’94, Falderal did not show any grace or leadership, and just flat out admit the message was received and he would play ball. He did say he is ultimately responsible. Big friggin’ deal. What does he think we are Kindergarteners? He gets zero points for making that assertion. Of course, Falderal is correct, he will indeed be judged in 2012.

So where does that leave things?

The only sad possibility now is that Congress basically does nothing for the next two years and the R’s focus on taking back the White House and aiming for a super-majority in the House and the Senate. The reality is, that will be the only way to break gridlock. I know it sucks and I would rather see people play well together in the sandbox and actually accomplish something. But, the poisoning in the well goes too deep and the whole thing needs to be dug out and replaced.

My prediction is Boehner will put up the Healthcare Bill for repeal as fast as possible. Falderal will veto and then the Republican Party will have the ammunition needed to take the White House and turn more blue seats red. The argument will be that the only way for repeal to go through and any action taken on future bills will be to take even more D positions. If things stay the same with the economy or only look slightly better that will be an easy sell.

Also, Nancy Pelosi has been cackling away about running for Minority Leadership. Could the R’s be given a bigger gift? In my opinion, she is one of the main reasons Tuesday went so well for the R’s. If she stays on…well…2012 is in the bag.

Probably the most important thing to come out of the election for the R’s is the addition of some great candidates for 2012. There is really good talent out there now and the R’s no longer have to worry about Palin, who really is an albatross that will have to be dealt with at some point. Even better is that the lineup going into 2016 is looking pretty great as well. Pawlenty, Rubio, and a slew of other possibilities will give voters some serious talent to ponder. The tired old guard will of course put their names into the ring, but now there will actually be some very serious young, diverse and brilliant contenders to take out Falderal.

The Tea Party Movement had an amazing showing on Tuesday although the lesson there is to pick some better candidates next time because the loss of Delaware, Utah and Alaska was completely avoidable. The GOP, Democrats and the country as a whole better start taking the Tea Party seriously. I am not a tea partier but I have spent the year defending them and I am gleeful they showed those smug fuck Democrats what they could do. I lost what respect I had for the D’s this year as I watched them demonize their fellow countrymen as incoherent racists. It was a truly disgusting display and showed the true colors of the party of hypocrisy. The downtrodden and hurting are apparently only legitimate if they belong to the D’s. Foul, just plain foul.

Finally, watching the fall of Olberman has got to be one of the most fabulous feelings ever. Unfortunately, it only amounts to a pissing match between the d-bag and his boss and lacks real substance, but what the hell; I’ll take what I can get. The truth is I enjoy watching that kind of demise as it showcases another hypocrisy, that of Liberals constantly hounding Fox about being political whilst defending the mainstream media as bastions of legitimacy and fact-finding. Uh huh.

I hope I never feel the need to say this again, but this year the Democrats really disgusted me on so many levels; something which has never happened to this extent before and what I have to say to the Democrats is this:

Fuck y’all. You just got schooled.

Pay Attention East Haven: Vote for Linda Monaco

UPDATE: With the election of a new Governor, Mike Lawlor has been appointed to something or other and there is a special election being held February 22, 2011

Yes, this is another East Haven, CT post.

It may seem I have been strangely obsessed with East Haven this year given the amount of space dedicated to blog posts regarding the shenanigans going on in the small Connecticut town. There is a reason however, and that reason is I believe East Haven to be a great metaphor for the United States as whole, as far as abuse of power by the Government goes. I am not going to re-hash those shenanigans; you can read about them here:

http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/04/good-police-chief-bad-mayor.html

http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-then-there-were-three-arrested-that.html

East Haven is the perfect example of why voters need to toss out the offal that creeps throughout the halls of our Capitals, both at the Federal and State levels. Like the United States, East Haven is wildly patriotic, proud, and has one of the strongest senses of community you will ever find.

East Haven is a town of real, hard working, family oriented people who have been hit hard by the crumbling of the economy and the tyranny of its local government. Like the rest of the country, the problem stems from the stagnant pool of politicians the town is burdened with. Like the US of A, East Haven needs a change.

For the last 22 years, Representative Michael Lawlor (D) has represented the town at the state level for the 99^th Connecticut General Assembly District. Lawlor is kind of East Haven’s prodigal son. He’s been through the system so to speak; attended the town’s public schools, was awarded a law degree, became a prosecutor, and all the other boring regimental stuff you do when trying to become a career politician. There is nothing wrong with that, and I honestly don’t have a lot of bad things to say about Mike.

The problem with Mike is he’s played out like a bad banjo string. He has been indoctrinated to go along with whatever whim the Connecticut legislative Democrats conger up. Lawlor has become a de facto part of the problem by not formulating original and productive ideas predicated on the wants and needs of his constituents. Instead he votes along with a body of career politicians, so fat, happy and stupid, it’s embarrassing.

The Connecticut legislature hasn’t had a significant turnover in so many decades it is astounding to think about. The reasons could be varied and I personally have no idea which ones are valid, but my theory is voter apathy, the result of which has been ridiculously high taxes, an ever-increasing amount of brain drain, and the exodus of much needed jobs. The state has been blessed with a great Governor whom could have been even greater if she had a reasonably intelligent group of legislators to deal with.

This year, East Haven has a fabulous candidate challenging Lawlor, a candidate who has a very good chance of winning and would be a major boon to East Haven.

Linda Monaco is the real deal.

Born from good hardworking Pittsburgh stock, Linda’s route to politics was not a straight line like Lawlor’s. Linda didn’t wake up one day during her formative years and say; hey, I think I want to be a politician, so I’ll map out my life path to make sure I get there. No, Linda’s route was more circuitous, and along the way she picked up the kind of experience, education, and values that make the now elusive American Dream seem possible again.

Linda has run the gamut of a true American life. She’s worked hard, been a single Mom, realized the achievement of higher education later in life could only benefit her family, and has an attitude and personality not often seen in modern politics. In other words, she’s likable and not in a “she’s better than the alternative kind of way”. You can’t help but be taken by her verve and energy. There is no syrupy, sickeningly sweet political lubricant with Linda. The intrinsic feeling you get is that she is for real and can be trusted. That is what Government needs today. Real people who have been through the trials and tribulations of real life.

She is not a party hack either, and that is one of the things I like most about Linda. (As should be abundantly clear, I have been majorly disappointed with the choices the CT GOP has made this year.See: http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/05/connecticut-gop-needs-enema.html) It doesn’t matter what political party you are registered as, if you believe in capitalism, small government and liberty, you can feel good about a vote for Linda.

What we have in this country and the State of Connecticut and the Town of East Haven, is a crew of political Methusalahs who need to be taken out because as we all know, they won’t just bow out gracefully. Linda Monaco would be a good start towards achieving that goal.

What the United States and East Haven needs now is jobs, jobs and more jobs. Linda Monaco understands that and more importantly…she gets it. As a small business owner who has had to tighten her own reigns while at the same time making life easier for her clients by creating a sliding scale payment system, she not only knows how to create income, she knows how to help other people create it as well. This is the kind of simplicity that will save this country, the understanding of supply and demand and not living beyond our means while also helping out our own by buying their goods and services and keeping it within our own community families.

Linda is whom we need in Government. What we don’t need is a bunch of Mike Lawlors whose idea of job creation is to go along with his myopic brethren creating Government growth. It will be a long, long time before you see me write this line again about anyone seeking public office:

It would be an honor for East Haven to be represented by someone like Linda Monaco and not the other way around.

The cavalry is coming in November and if you live in East Haven, CT, be a part of change for the good. Vote for Linda Monaco.

Check out Linda’s website:

http://www.lindamonacopeoplefirst.com/

Party of Hypocrisy

I have always believed the Democratic Party to be perpetually fueled by hypocrisy on so many different levels. However, there is one area in which I find their hypocrisy to be particularly appalling; how they deal with dissenting views. Not only do they tend to be the Party of the impolite, they love to use insult and slander as their tools, certainly more often than Republicans do. Some of my D friends like to say it is because of their great passion and commitment to the Party.

This may be, but oftentimes when I find myself in debate with said D friends, they pack up their marbles and stomp off claiming there is no arguing with a “Republican” because somehow we lack the intellect to debate effectively. Personally, when someone storms off I consider that a win!

Democrats claim to be the protectors of the downtrodden as well as everyman. Even to their own people they are condescending. They talk down to their constituents like they are some kind of saviors. “Don’t worry if you can’t make it on your own, we’ll protect you from those evil business people and Republicans by taking their wealth and distributing it to you.” Instead of boosting their people up, Democrats almost seem to revel in tearing them down so they can “take care of them”.  It’s almost like they need that in order to show their indispensability to American Society.

Democrats urge their followers to rail against the machine. The problem is the machine is them! They perpetuate a self-defeating prophecy in order to flex their muscle and expand the growth of Government and keep their people on cradle to grave Government assistance.

Democrats create the state of fear they are always blaming the Republicans for by making their own countrymen fear…their countrymen! They scream on high about how Republicans in Government are victimizing the very people they work for when in fact, what they are doing is trying to create a situation where everyone has the ability to reach their personal best. How? By keeping Government out of their lives as much as possible.

Free speech and civil liberties are the sabers Democrats like to rattle and claim to protect. Well, isn’t it odd when a movement like the Tea Party comes around they are instantly demonized by the Democrats as racist, anti-intellectual rednecks? These are the disenfranchised and victimized, the very people the Democrats claim to protect. I guess though it makes sense, if they are obscene enough to drag their own people down I guess it would be all the more easier to do it to “outsiders”.

Panic is what has created the great hatred towards the Tea Party Movement. The Democrats know they screwed up royally with this caricature of a President and now they have no idea what to do. They are in huge trouble and their message has gone completely haywire.

The Democrats should take a lesson out of the Tea Party’s message and realize that the so called victimized come in many shapes, sizes, and philosophies. They won’t though, they will continue with their hatred and mixed messages until another faux messiah comes along and dupes their easily duped sheep into a false sense of entitlement.

How Does Rosa DeLauro Stay in Office? Simple. By Doing Nothing.

Not Really DeLauro

How do you stay in office in New Haven, CT? Do nothing.

Well, that is an oversimplification but to make the argument, I refer to Connecticut Congressperson Rosa DeLauro who represents the 3^rd District covering New Haven as well as the surrounding towns.

For the better part of two decades, I have been asked on numerous occasions: “When will Rosa DeLauro finally get voted out of office?” My standard answer is always: “They will cart her carcass from the steps of the Capitol in a pine box.”

What is her secret to longevity? She does nothing.

In a city like New Haven political staying power requires you to do as little as possible. There are a lot of examples, the Mayor being one of them, but no one has the epic do nothing staying power of DeLauro.

DeLauro does have to do the required perfunctory work at election time, but it’s minimal at best. Made even easier because she uses a time tested pattern that has never failed and won’t anytime too soon.

My first personal experience with DeLauro was at some parade a decade ago where I was on the dais with her and then State Senator Bill Aniskovich as well as some other political mucky-mucks. Before and after the parade I witnessed her approach every octogenarian she could line up in the sites of her beady eyes, grab their right hands with her right hand, put her left hand on their wrist, get down low to their ear and whisper: “Don’t worry. I won’t let those awful Republicans take away your Social Security.” I should have counted how many people she did this with, but suffice it to say it was a lot.

I didn’t know her very well at that time and Senator Aniskovish whispered to me that this is how she got elected and hasn’t changed her mantra in every election since her first in 1991.  Ah, ha.

So what has DeLauro done since getting elected on the anti-Republican pro-Social Security chant since 1991? She sponsored and co-sponsored close to 200 resolutions and 4 were passed. Quite a record. They appear below. Have a look and be amazed at their largesse and the amount of work that must have gone into them.

H.Res. 823: Expressing deep condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those killed and injured in the attack on the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 5, 2009, and support for the WFP's mission to bring emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and around the world.

H.Res. 1240: Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Day.

H.Res. 353: Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

H.Res. 787: Expressing support for designation of October 13, 2009, as National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

Some earth shattering stuff there, huh? Looks like there is more for Pakistan than New Haven doesn’t it?

The citizens of the 3^rd District are really being represented well from DeLauro’s presence in those chambers. (Please note sarcasm) And, present she is. To her credit DeLauro has only missed 139 roll call votes out of 12,447. That’s roughly 1%. Not bad.

Consider this though, at a pay rate closing in on 200K, benefits to beat the band, and all the curb appeal in her hometown that comes along with a Congressional office; wouldn’t YOU show up to work, too? Especially, if you could just stay in the background and not do anything? Sure, they drag her out on occasion to make a speech here or there; she gave a nomination speech at the Democratic Convention for Bill Clinton before his second election. And, man did she suck. It was painful to watch. She has all the exuberance of a toad that’s been run over by a Peterbilt.

But, DeLauro doesn’t have to be a good speaker. In fact, she doesn’t have to be a good anything.

What DeLauro has is her name and a very brilliant husband who is a nationally revered political strategist. If ever there were an argument for branding in politics, this would be it. DeLauro comes from a long lineage of Italian-Americans in New Haven with connections all over the place. Her husband, Stan Greenberg, has capitalized on this and built a brand that is seriously hard to beat.

The people voting DeLauro in year after year are the same demographic every single time. Old Italian loyalists and hard line Democrats who are lined up well in advance of Election Day by DeLauro and her minions, per her husband’s time tested plan.

No Senior Center or nursing home in the 3^rd District is safe from DeLauro and her Republican hating rhetoric. She loves to use fear as the impetus for getting these folks to grease up the spokes on their wheel chairs and risk the trip out in a DeLauro sponsored bus to place that vote. And, of course, if they are too frail and hopefully a little loose in the brains department, DeLauro and her staff will sign them up for an absentee ballot. I couldn’t find numbers on how many absentee votes DeLauro typically gets, but I would feel comfortable speculating it’s a lot.

Her other major constituency, the Democrat hard liners, aren’t going to give up a sure thing. These folks don’t care that she has very little power, ambition, or brains, all they care about is keeping the seat away from Republicans and the ability to name drop and maybe get a few tix to the White House, or a recommendation for little Johnny or Susie to Yale. For DeLauro that is just great, because there is some major league dough rolling through the estates of the 3^rd District and again, she has to do very little to bring it in.

Actually DeLauro!

That money is enough to keep her mug out in front of the party loyalists who may not know her, but just need to know who to vote for. You know, the sheep of the Democratic Party. And, let’s face it; it’s a mug you wouldn’t soon forget. She even has a signature affect…her scarves. Another brilliant touch most likely generated by her husband.

She also works hard to stay away from controversy. The only two scandalous events an opponent could use against her are small potatoes.

In 2008, DeLauro first endorsed epic thief and ne’er-do-well Senator Chris Dodd for President very quietly. Then when it started to come out that he had used the banking system as his own piggy bank, she quickly endorsed Lord Falderal at a huge event at her home. Big deal, who cares? So, she associates with scumbags; every politician does. Also in 2008, she and her husband came under minor fire for allowing Rahm Emanuel to hang upside down at their residence in DC for free. Whoa, prepare the stockade!

Hey, you can’t argue with success. But, it’s a damn shame the 3^rd District is represented by such a lame duck. There have been some fine candidates from both the Republicans and the Green Party over the years. However, neither party has gotten significantly behind their endorsed candidates. Why? Because they recognize the Greenberg/DeLauro strategy and feel like their time and effort is better spent in other races. In other words, they have basically given up.

One might ask why would they do that? Answer: because she does nothing. She leads absolutely nothing. She really isn’t a risk because she is just going to go along with her Congressional brethrens’ plans and claim them as her own to her constituents. And, it’s hard to fight her on any other basis. She stays away from scandal and doesn’t fight for anything significant, she just nods her head and goes along for the ride.

The opposition looks at her as a non-entity. The philosophy goes like this: if the R’s are in power, their agenda will be satisfied by the majority, if the D’s are in power, well, then we lose anyway.

It’s a foul cycle.

What it would take to beat DeLauro is someone who could energize a younger voting base and get them involved in the political process. Unfortunately, we all know how hard that is. Most political operatives would argue that all you need is money to beat her. That is not necessarily true. What needs to be done is to impassion the electorate by making them understand how ineffectual she really is.

One problem has always been that her husband (I am assuming it’s him) will only allow limited and selective debates with her opponents. The reason: she can’t defend her job and is indeed a lousy public speaker. They aren’t going to risk having her look bad when faced with substantive questions. No matter how many times candidates in the past have tried to insist on debates, she always wears this false air of importance around her that she is too busy to debate. Ridiculous.

So, my prediction is that unless a real firecracker of a candidate comes along, DeLauro will remain a fixture until the majority of her constituency dies off, or she does herself. Until then, the 3^rd District can depend on very little coming from the Feds thanks to DeLauro and the sheep that vote her in.

 

Power to the People

This election season Connecticut has the perfect opportunity to start the tedious process of taking back their Government, both at the State and Federal level.

August 10th is the primary date in which Republicans can make their voice heard. This is a unique situation where in two very important races the choice is between two people who can buy their way into public office, and two tried and true public servants.

In an era where “throw the bums out” is a recurring mantra, and Congress is sure to be turned upside down, it is easy to make the decision to vote in outsiders. I mean, after all, the battle cry is to rid Government of the fat, happy, and stupid people currently running things. However, it is prudent to consider some of the talent already in place.

There are still good public servants out there. They may not be as flashy as what I refer to as “Sociopathic Politicians”, but they have the public’s interest in mind unlike their competition.

Unfortunately, like the general public, the Grand Old Party in Connecticut is not immune to flashy candidates with big bucks. This year the Connecticut Republican Party opted to go along with the flow of public discontent and endorsed two relative outsiders to politics and public service. In my opinion this was a haphazard and amateurish maneuver.

For the office of Governor of the great State of Connecticut, the GOP endorsed Tom Foley, a former Ambassador to Ireland and holder of a dubious position created by President George W. Bush whereby Foley was supposed to “help the Iraqi state economy get back on track”. This despite Foley’s comparatively dismal performance in managing his own companies and lack of candor in fessing up to the committee that appointed him as to the content of his criminal record. A criminal record, which includes charges of violence against women, as well as, the general public.

http://articles.courant.com/2010-06-25/news/hc-thomas-foley-michael-fedele-0625_1_mr-foley-thomas-foley-arrest-records

Passed over as a GOP endorsed candidate was their own Michael Fedele, current Lieutenant Governor, successful business and family man, and a proven public servant. Fedele also lacks the proverbial skeletons that haunt the closets of Foley. In other words, a man of character, sense of duty, and non-flashy kind of guy.

Fedele could be any one of us. First generation immigrant, who made good, decided to give back, and has had an exemplary run in State Government. What he doesn’t have is Foley’s dough and that is what the Republicans believe will win this election.

Which is why the GOP also endorsed Linda McMahon over Rob Simmons in the Connecticut Senate Race for Chris Dodd’s seat. While a monkey would be better than Chris Dodd, this person doesn’t even rate a monkey’s position on the evolutionary chart.

McMahon is the former CEO of the WWF. Up until two years ago she has advocated general violence, violence against women, pornography, and capitalizing on the general depravity of human nature in order to amass many millions of dollars. But, as it so often goes with Type A personalities who have made well in the business world, it is now time to for Linda McMahon to gain the acceptance of the general public as a whole, by putting on her Polly Anna routine and running for office. A routine that cost many millions of dollars to fabricate, and which has positioned McMahon as a businessperson and Washington outsider. Well, as much as someone who has given countless bucks to lobbyists can be an outsider.

This is what the GOP has chosen over Rob Simmons, a lifelong public servant who not only has an impeccable record in serving his constituents, but a personal one as well. Like Fedele, Simmons hasn’t a nasty instance in his past. Also like Fedele, he doesn’t have the means to tap the kind of money McMahon can. McMahon has dedicated $15 million just to flesh out information on her competition and has said she will allocate as much as $30 million towards this campaign.

Don’t get me wrong, Simmons can raise money, but when you are up against an unending fount such as McMahon’s, it’s hard to compete. Which is sad, and is why it is far time to show where the power really lies.

The power is in your vote, not Foley or McMahon’s pocketbooks. You can be the bastion of common sense the State and country so desperately need.

The public needs to give the GOP a good solid kick to the shins and wake them up. A vote for Foley, or McMahon is doing nothing for you or the public, all it does is give these two clowns another notch in their ego belt.

Go out on August 10^th and send a message. Vote for Fedele and Simmons. Then we can get on to the real business of booting Dickie Blumenthal and Ned Lamont or Dan Malloy into the political hinterlands.

http://fedele2010.com/

http://www.joinrobsimmons.com/

Tom Foley: Sociopathic Politician?

In my mind there are two types of politicians. The ones cut out to be public servants and the ones who enjoy the spotlight and act from a pseudo political pulpit enjoying the recognition whilst staying safely away from getting their hands dirty.

The former are usually thrust into politics at the behest of people who have been impressed with the future candidates verve, intelligence, and ability to lead. This normally occurs after a successful career that showed real tenants of leadership. Unfortunately, few politicians of this genre exist in government today.

The second type of politician is your basic sociopath of which we have in abundance in this country. (Just check out the White House, Congress, & the Senate)

The sociopathic candidate does whatever they can to get into office typically without actually knowing what the job really entails, because the job doesn’t matter. What matters to these whack-jobs is to feel accepted by a large number of people (usually duped by their glib charm) who by their votes give the candidate the feeling of self worth they so desperately clamor to attain.

To me, the perfect politician and public servant has done their time in a job or business that has flourished due to their leadership abilities and not just because they had a blank check from Daddy and Mommy. A person who has worked their way up through the primordial slime and are now able to give back to the public.

This year Connecticut has provided a perfect example of both types of politicians in a couple of races. The most prominent of which is the Connecticut Gubernatorial.

Connecticut is fortunate to have enjoyed the reign of M. Jodi Rell, in my book, the gold standard of public servant. Jodi is the type of person who never forgets who she just talked to 30 seconds ago whether they are a janitor or possible big campaign contributor. And, if the conversation called for some kind of action, you can bet she will get it done and tell you about it either with a card or a phone call.

Jodi got her job when she was Lieutenant Governor and Former Governor John G. Rowland got carted off to the pokey after a colossal witch-hunt, which really didn’t turn up anything significant. However, Jodi was faced with a mess of a public relations nightmare to deal with and had to regain the State’s trust, which she did so well, she got elected in her own right for a second full term. Unfortunately, for Connecticut, she is not running again.

Enter about a dozen candidates for Governor as would be expected, especially in this political climate of throw the bums out.

After some card shuffling and soul searching by potential candidates the deck has shaken out to two top runners for the Republican ticket, (I think there are actually 3 or 4 candidates from the R side, but these are the only two I care about) who will face off in a primary in August.

Mike Fedele is the current Lieutenant Governor of the State of Connecticut under Jodi Rell and he is of the good variety of politician I spoke of earlier. I would vote for him on the sole fact that Jodi picked him as her running mate. Her endorsement is enough for me, but I am biased, I know Jodi and I personally know how great she is.

For those who don’t know her and would require a more comprehensive bio of Fedele, here is a quick run down. Fedele is a first generation immigrant who is self made, spent time in the CT legislature and has never been a spot light seeking kind of guy. He is a family man who happened to adjust very well to public service and has done a top quality job wherever he goes. He is unburdened by any skeletons in his closet and has chosen, admirably, to run his campaign with public funds.

His opponent? Egads, if ever there was the perfect example of the sociopathic variety of politician this dude is it. I believe this to be one of those guys who probably talks to himself in the car, shower, hyperbolic chamber, whatever, just to enjoy his own rhetoric. (He is also probably the type most often found at 2am in a dark corner, naked in the fetal position, sucking his thumb, while shaking and crying.)

Tom Foley is one of those pieces of junk you can watch on TV, hear on the radio, see in the paper or a brochure and feel like you need to not just take a shower, but douse yourself with gasoline like a Buddhist Monk, in order to forever rid yourself of the ridiculous tripe that comes out of his mouth.

Foley has some impressive achievements under his belt; he has bankrupted a company, smacked his wife around, spent time in jail (let’s be fair though only a night) and is an impressive storyteller. The man is an amazing master of hyperbole and is able to manipulate the truth like a Kennedy or a Clinton. (Read that: liar)

His time spent in politics and Government consists of being Ambassador to Ireland, which allows him the title of diplomat, and some ambiguous gig in Iraq that has lead to great (albeit embellished) stories about his war service. I imagine he and Dickie Blumenthal must have great convos at Veteran cocktail parties.  

Check here for fun info on Dickie. http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/05/gi-dickie.html

Ambassador to Ireland? I’d like to be rich enough to buy that job too! Foley’s job in Iraq was some hare-brained thing where he was tasked by Bush to help develop plans for State owned businesses to re-establish and strengthen their economy. Uh…yeah…

Then there are his legal wranglings. When it came to light Foley may have had an er, uh, disagreement with his ex-wife that involved the local gendarmerie, he came forward and said he would allow full disclosure of the case to the public. Likewise, some vehicular malfeasance in which he “rammed” another vehicle completely freaking out the occupants, and resulting in an attempted assault charge.

Now, watch the shiny ball people… He never really fessed up the details and there were apparently some efforts to expunge the records or otherwise “lose the files” so to speak.

This is kind of a fun factoid. In 2002, Governor John Rowland appointed Foley as co-chair of some special committee on divorce and custody. Foley’s ex-wife wrote a letter against the appointment. That insolent cow! How dare she, you know, after the guy beat her and everything!

Now check THIS out. As I mentioned, Fedele has chosen to use public funding for his campaign. This disallows any special interest groups or any one contributor the ability to donate boatloads of money with the idea there may be some favors to repay. THAT my friends, is a sign of integrity.

Foley has challenged the Constitutionality of Connecticut’s Campaign Finance Rules not once, but three times all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to keep Fedele from collecting the money he is entitled to in order to campaign for the primary. Luckily, this hat trick failed miserably. He has lost (thankfully) all three times. The guy isn’t even elected yet and he is spending tons of taxpayer money on frivolous lawsuits!

These are the forensics of the sociopathic politician. Someone who buys their way into political posts without the burden of having to serve at any quantifiable capacity, a person who uses their purchased, not earned, political capitol to satisfy their own need to be recognized. It is actually pretty sad, not just for Tom, but for the public as well.

So, I beg you CT GOPers to please vote for Fedele in the Primary on August 10^th. I would much rather be writing posts on those other two sociopathic politicians Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy.

Revolution? Yes We Can!

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their Constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.

--Abraham Lincoln

Not a huge fan of using quotes usually. I think it’s kind of hacky. If you are going to write something and can’t illustrate the point effectively yourself; don’t write at all! (Some of you just said…well then stop typing!)

Once in a while however, a good quote can really knock your thinking from one of myopic indoctrination to one of clarity.

Americans have become so influenced by the deluge of information and misinformation thrown down at us like so much offal over the last 150 years, that we have lost sight of who we are and how this country is supposed to work. The bulk of Americans no longer see themselves as We the People, but as Us the Powerless.

Think about it hard. The last time you got screwed by Bank of America, or the DMV or Wal-Mart, etc; what did you do? You probably screamed like hell up to a certain level of management and then gave up regardless of how truly pissed you were; chalking up whatever egregious indignation you suffered to the inability to fight such a behemoth of an organization. Of course, it’s true that for one individual it is virtually impossible to “fight City Hall” as it were.

But with a coalition, Americans can “fight City Hall”, or Bank of America, or Wal-Mart or whomever. That’s how our country was built. We are not powerless unless we make ourselves powerless and that is exactly what we have done.

This is why when I hear someone scoff at the idea of revolution my blood boils over.

Talk of revolution usually elicits two responses:

1. Abject revulsion; as the word Revolution to most liberals has become synonymous to drunken, inbred ramblings of racist redneck hicks propagated by a love of hell raising and hatred for authority in general. Liberals believe that anyone who even thinks of revolution to be clearly devoid of any semblance of intellect whatsoever. Revolutionists are in effect, dangerous ignorant extremists to most Liberals.
2. To conservatives and moderates, the idea seems fantastic, but impossible to achieve given the size and ingrained infrastructure of our current Government. The prospect just seems so damn daunting.

To the first group, my response would be: you are the truly ignorant amongst us.

Are you implying that Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, George Washington, Ben Franklin et al, were extremist dolts? Is it because you have become so fat and happy given the liberties these revolutionists fought for that you couldn’t possibly fathom any other mode of operation? Are we now to be a country that merely opines rather than takes action towards the betterment of their own people’s destinies? Or, shall we allow the Government to do that for us?

Liberals are not patriots. Oh, not by a long shot. They have no problem taking and taking and bitching about how little they receive for doing nothing and how stupid everyone else is. They offer solutions in which they have no intention of helping to achieve. Their raison d’être is perpetuating cradle to grave government reliance.

These are the same people who have labeled the Tea Party folks an ignorant mob of predominantly white-faced miscreants looking to shore up their 2nd Amendment rights. Clear and utter bullshit. Tea Partiers are not the problem, they are doing what they can to showcase a growing viewpoint: American Government as we know it does not work!

To Conservatives and Moderates: I would beg look back to the beginning when Britain’s Goliath-like grip was broken by a rag tag, ill equipped group of patriots who were short on resources but long on belief in the power of regular people and the desire for a good quality of life unencumbered by Government. This should be the very inspiration we need to begin a real change, not the crap Lord Falderal sold the nation last year. The first American Revolution was a seemingly impossible undertaking: fighting the formidable British Empire. But they did it and so can we. Any nay saying on the subject is bilge.

The difference between now and Revolutionary times is there were real leaders then. Now, we have nothing but trained rhetoric specialists and lawyers with aspirations and personal agendas. Any idiot with a team of newly minted college English majors sporting laptops and a teleprompter can get into office regardless of their experience in real life.

There was also a more pure distribution of information; no Internet, or biased media poisoning the minds of voters into thinking things are not what they really are and that the citizenry are in essence controlled by the Government and not vice versa. Sure, there were fewer people to get the word out to, but at least the voting public could be confident that information looked something like the Truth.

Today, the well has been poisoned. I know very intelligent people who take the word of CNN, MSNBC and even FOX as gospel and vote accordingly. Mindless. There is no initiative to seek the real truth since it is just easier to take the word of whoever the flavor of the week media correspondent is and go with that.

Seldom will you find me agreeing with Sarah Palin, but she is right on point with the media. Amazing things can be done through editing and camera angles as well as selective choices of dialog to use in any media package be it audio or video. They have the power to make an idiot look like a genius and a genius look like an idiot. Ask John Stewart, that’s how he makes a living. We have become a sound bite society and we use these clever edits to choose our so-called leaders.

We have let this system run on autopilot for way too long and are paying the piper for it now. The United States Government and Capitalism as a whole is a rudderless ship careening towards the reefs of destruction. The near miss of Lord Falderal’s hapless healthcare reform is the perfect example. Despite an overwhelming amount of people who were against it, it would have passed both Houses because our leaders have no clue what their constituents really want. And, for those of you who see some sort of conspiracy by the right wing that claim Falderal is tinkering with Socialism; here’s a clue, he is and it is no conspiracy.

This collective legislative scum could care less about the people they represent. They care only about their own careers and their places in history.

Thankfully the people of Massachusetts spoke, sending a shot across the bow of rank and file legislators all over the Nation. Now the House healthcare plans will have to be scrapped and retooled. The message is clear; the people are angry and will not be pushed around any longer.

Massachusetts was indeed a game changer, and it should be used as an example of what can be accomplished when people get together, express how they are feeling and turn those feelings into action. If the aforementioned topics in addition to the Massachusetts election don’t get you fired up, how about this: the Supreme Court's latest ruling on Campaign Finance? It not only lets the foxes into the henhouse, it also filets and breads the chickens.

It’s time to find real leaders regardless of what party they come from; strong leaders that can speak directly to the people at their own levels. We haven’t had a real leader since Teddy Roosevelt was President. In short, we need a real revolution. Not the kind where we forcefully take over the government, but the kind with a long-term strategy devised to dump this President and the entire legislature. We the people must take over the government and get back to where we came from.

It is also important to realize that revolution is not about throwing out the party in control and replacing it with the other party. It’s about rethinking the whole structure. It’s about replacing the morons who are running things from the Executive Branch down. They no longer represent real people; they represent party hacks and special interest groups. If Massachusetts didn’t illustrate that point, I don’t know what else would.

Can we do it in the next three years? Yes, we can; only this time for real.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
--Thomas Jefferson

Upside Down Flag? Appropriate for the Times?

Is the United States really in enough distress to fly the flag upside down?

Dr. Thomas Byrd an eye doctor from Downriver, MI chose to fly his flag upside down in front of his offices over the July 4^th weekend. As you can imagine the act caused a bit of a furor. Most people interpreted upside down Old Glory as a sign of disrespect to veterans, our current serving military personnel, and anyone else who loves this country.

The thing is Dr. Byrd did not flip the flag to express some kind of anti-American sentiment, quite the contrary. Dr. Byrd himself is a veteran and is aware that in accordance with the United States Flag Code, the inversion of the flag is a signal of distress. The flag in the upside down position is supposed to indicate that American citizens are in extreme danger to life and property.  Dr. Byrd believes this is the case of the country at this time and wanted to draw some attention to his concerns. He believes that awareness is what we need in this time of peril.

I couldn’t agree more and although it may be extreme, I think we should have a movement to get everyone who believes the country is going the way of Rome to fly their flags upside down until we take a 90 degree turn to the positive. It would be like the yellow ribbons or any of a number of the symbolic movements we have had in this country when trying to show solidarity.

We need to show these pig-fucking Government shills that it is still the people running this game and that the people are pissed.

It is time for everyone who voted for all of these jackasses (not just the one in the White House) to come together and reach a common ground. Ok, I got carried away there, we’ll never reach a common ground, but anything is better than this.

We need to act like this Presidency is the equivalent to 9/11 in that we need to come together as a country then throw the bums out and start over. This country needs an enema and it is the people who should deliver it. November is not going to be enough. We need to keep the momentum going. Obama is toast in 2012; that is a forgone conclusion, so it is now time to decide what we want in a leader as a country and get to work.

This little trick with the flag is just a symbol, but a lot of movements start with a symbol. It’s something to bring people together, no different than a slogan, like, oh I don’t know, Hope and Change, maybe?

Everyone is hurting and everyday there is more and more dissent. It is no longer productive. The dissent is not productive and the Government is not productive and something has to break. The American people need to rely on themselves and get cracking with some real candidates who have the country’s best interests in mind. Unlikely candidates. People who never even considered running for public office now need to step up to the plate.

I have argued with my Mother, a devout Lord Falderal supporter, that she could do a better job than this President. She thinks I am nuts and just gets pissed when I bring it up. But, you know what? She could. Just like millions of other Americans, she knows how to run a budget, she knows how to protect her family, she knows how to care for her loved ones and those less fortunate than herself. Mom knows what works and what doesn’t. She doesn’t have any airs; she is selfless and puts the needs of others in front of her own. As much as I love Mom, she is not unique, there are plenty of people just like her all over this country.

We don’t need anymore lawyers who do nothing but interpret and interpret laws until no one remembers what the hell they were for in the first place. We need people who act. We need to take chances again, be pioneers. It’s a whole new world and we are quickly going the way of Rome. This country has become so dependant on the Government that we have gotten fat, soft, and apathetic. And, what happens when you become fat, soft, and apathetic? You get fucked. And, THAT is what your Government is doing to you right now.

Cheers, Dr. Byrd.