The Fierce Advocate

The Republican primary race of this year is beginning to look an awful lot like the Democratic primary in 1984. Here we have three candidates: The most electable one according to the money people in the party, the flashy newcomer who’s policy is not only unrealistic but untenable; and the other flashy newcomer, who is not only unrealistic but divisive. Care to guess who I’m talking about?


In 1984, the electable one was Walter Mondale, the flashy newcomer was Gary Hart and the other flashy newcomer who was unrealistic but also divisive was Jesse Jackson. Mind you, Mondale only won the primary by SIX STATES. That’s it. At the time, veteran Democrats were despairing because Mondale-as good of a man as he was-was a shitty candidate. He had no charisma, no ‘star power’ or ‘sex appeal’. Mondale, mind you, was a great representative of the state of Minnesota. He was beloved there. However, he didn’t have what Reagan had in spades-in spite of the fact that Reagan didn’t have the brains the Goddess gave lettuce. That didn’t matter at the time. As decent a guy as Mondale was, he didn’t stand a chance against the Reagan machine. Hart was charismatic but hinky-nobody really trusted him. With the power of foresight, I now know why, thanks to a yacht called Monkey Business. At the time, everyone thought Hart was great, and I considered voting for him in the primary, mainly because Hart was the first one to talk about booting the Far Left out of the Democratic Party. That took guts, and I respected that-and I also knew Hart was right. I didn’t, though-I voted for Mondale, because Mondale was the old school Democrat I grew up with. I still stand by that vote-part of the reason why Reagan dominated the 1980′s like he did was because of ‘flashy newcomers’ like Hart. Hart was Slick Willie part 1. And can you imagine what Reagan would have done to Hart in the general election? He would have wiped the floor with him. Like he did with Mondale, sorry to say.


As for Jesse, as much as he’s done for human rights and for equality for Black and LGBT people-and he’s done a lot-with the racism in this country, there was no way in hell he was going to get out of that primary as a viable candidate. I think he knew that. His was a symbolic candidacy, nothing more. However, Jesse Jackson DID pave the way for Barack Obama.


They blamed Mondale for losing the election, but the fact was that what people were really voting against was not the old-school Democratic Party of Mondale, FDR and Carter. What they were voting against was the Far Left which still had the Democratic Party by the balls at the time. The Far Left didn’t realize that times had changed,and the political landscape had shifted against them, thanks to their huge temper tantrum from 1968 to 1970.


Say what you will about Bill Clinton-and frankly, I’ve never forgiven that man for signing DOMA, DADT and the disaster to our economy known as NAFTA-but he did realize in the late 1980′s that a Far Left Democratic candidate would never win. Americans reject radicalism. We rejected the Far Left and we also reject the Far Right. We prefer our candidates to be in the center-and that’s what Clinton did, thank Goddess. He brought the Democrats back to the center. If it wasn’t for Bill Clinton, the Democratic Party would have gone the way of the Whigs.


And now, the Republican Party is right where the Democrats were in 1984, the party being held hostage by delusional crackpots, only this time it’s the Far Right, not the Far Left. This time, the somewhat electable one is Mitt Romney, the flashy newcomer is Rick Santorum and the delusional rabble rouser one is Ron Paul. If the American people rejected the Far Left guru Gary Hart and the delusional rabble rouser Jesse Jackson, what makes you think Santorum and Paul will fare any better? They won’t. If the Romney-Santorum battle continues-which it will-Mitt will win the nomination by the skin of his ass, like Mondale did. 25-26 states isn’t a mandate by any means. That does not portend well for him going into the general election. And, imagine the ticket-Romney/Santorum? Romney/Paul? That sounds to me like a ticket to disaster. Which portends very well for the President-and for US.


The Republicans have no clue that the American people have woken up from their Reagan induced sleep thanks to the crash of 2008. They have no clue that they are in the same position the Far Left was in 1984-the political landscape has shifted against them, and the people are no longer voting against their own best interests-therefore, the Republicans are well on their way to irrelevancy. And the Republicans have no idea what an ass whooping they are going to get in November, especially after the disaster called the Tea Party took over in 2010. After the ass whoopings in 1984 and 1988, the Democrats woke up and realized they had to get rid of the loonies. Thanks to Bill Clinton, they did. I’m not sure the Republicans will wake up until it’s too late. Let’s hope they don’t. I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and it’s well deserved.


This is why I keep mentioning Obama winning in a landslide in November. With the economy looking up (the unemployment rate is down to 8.5 % and it’s going to go much lower before the election) and the President’s successes both in foreign and domestic policy, compared to Romney, Santorum and Paul, he’s going to look like a great statesman, which he already is. The fear of Mr. Magic Underpants and the Bedroom Police (Not to mention Mr. Audit The Fed) getting in the White House is going to make those sitting on the fence voters get off their asses and vote. And they aren’t going to vote Republican.
So, let’s do this. Lets get out there and get as many people on the Obama bandwagon as possible. Let’s aim for that landslide. The Republican Party needs to know that they are NOT in the mainstream of America. They need a Bill Clinton. NOW.

The Democrats could run Barney Frank in 2012, and we’d have our first openly gay President, as Dixie Dove puts it. And they’re right. It’s increasingly pathetic, this GOP primary season. They have NOBODY. Newt? Serial cheater who has taken millions of $$ from Fannie and Freddie? Mitt? Mr. Magic Underpants who has no personal charisma? Besides, he’s done more flip flops on political issues than Nadia Comaneci. The REST of the assembly? Santorum? Let’s remember who’s last name is the name of the more disgusting results of anal sex, thanks to Dan Savage. Bachmann? Sure, if Crazy was a political party. Cain? The Pizza Man? Sorry, still not able. Besides, after all those stories of him sexually harassing women who worked for him, he’s toast. Paul? Mr. Ayn Randian? Please. The last person I listen to when it comes to politics is a pompous ass like Andrew Sullivan-beside, Paul just hates gay and lesbian people less than the others, Andrew. He still hates us. Oh-and Rick Perry basically killed his candidacy with that anti-gay commercial. It’s pretty bad when even the American Family Association is running away from you as fast as they can because they don’t want to be seen with a virulent anti-LGBT bigot like Rick Perry.


And they’re old. Old straight, white men (even Bachmann). Yeah, that’s going to really excite the young voters of various races, colors and creeds needed for a victory for either side. Good luck, GOP. Goddess knows you need it. The longer this joke of a primary goes on, the better for President Obama. By the end of this fiasco, there won’t be anyone willing to call themselves a Republican left.

President Obama’s at his best when he’s on the offensive rather than the defensive. And last night’s jobs speech is a brilliant move on the part of the President. He’s got the GOP trapped by their own agenda, and he’s got the PL trapped by THEIR agenda. They’ve been whining about jobs since the 2010 midterm campaign. And now, I’m sure they’re regretting that move. Because the President has just released the most sensible jobs bill I think anyone has ever released. Just the payroll tax cut alone traps the Republicans in their own tax cut bullshit. And the other parts of the bill trap the PL in THEIR FDR bullshit.


OK, so President Obama isn’t FDR. But-he’s unveiled a program to repair our infrastructure that reminds me very much of the WPA and CCC that FDR created. No, there’s no alphabet soup names to them. But, his proposal to not only modernize this country’s infrastructure but to put the unemployed back to work doing it is classic FDR.


Also, there’s the payroll tax holiday, the $4,000 tax credit to employers who hire the long-term unemployed, the proposal to reform regulations that will facilitate access to capital for entrepreneurs and small business and the increase in tax credits to those employers who hire unemployed veterans. This is classic Republican territory that President Obama’s stomping around in. And it’s a brilliant move. By co-opting such Republican talking points as payroll tax cuts (that even REAGAN wanted and never got) he’s sent the message that he isn’t afraid of the Tea Bullies. He’s taking the fight right to their faces. He’s going to use Republican talking points to beat the shit out of them.


The words “Pass this bill right away” will be haunting the Tea Party if they don’t get out of the way and let the adults talk. I basically see a much worse version of the hostility that faced the TP during those town hall meetings they had during the August recess. The President is going to get this bill passed, and if he has to use the American people to bully the Tea Party in order to do it, then he will. This is another brilliant move on the part of the President.


Edited to add something I had missed. But-this is not just brilliant, it’s FUCKING BRILLIANT:
The American Jobs Act is based on ideas supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and is fully paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes and by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share. It would have an immediate impact on job and economic growth, but Congress has to act now.


He’s got the GOP by the nuts on this one. If they don’t pass this jobs bill, there will be unlimited hostility towards them-even MORE than there is now with their approval ratings at 19%. If they PASS the bill, there goes tax cuts for the wealthy. A tactical move that Machiavelli would have approved of.


And they really think an ignoramus like Perry can beat Obama in November, 2012? Bitch, PLEASE.