Nattering Naybob: Some (overdue) reflections on the recently-concluded Republican and Democatic National Conventions…
Admittedly, I saw more of the Democratic Convention as compared to the Republican’s. I did watch some of the Republicans’ shindig, but I quickly tired of their game plan, which consisted basically of four elements: 1) saying that President Obama apologizes for America 2) continuing the ridiculous, out of context “We Built It” attack (accompanied by a nauseating song performed by a prototypical, cowboy-hatted, no doubt pickup-truck-drivin’, country singer right out of Central Casting), 3) legislators and governors (most notably serial bully Chris Christie) who talked more about themselves and their alleged accomplishments, than about the Romney / Ryan plan, 4) an empty chair (to go along with, I assume, the Republicans’ empty rhetoric).
By most accounts, the Democrat’s Convention was much more effective and memorable. I know that this is not the most authoritative indicator of electoral success, but it did my Progressive / Liberal heart good to finally see an unequivocal defense of Obama’s record, and the beginnings of a long-overdue response to the distortions, exaggerations, and “mis-rememberments” (I am trying to be polite, Red Ranger) that have been coming from the Republicans. Just about the only misstep of the entire three days was, in my view, not including the moving address given by John Lewis, the Georgia congressmen who is one of the true heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, in prime-time.
Otherwise, below are some of my favorite lines delivered by Democatic speakers, acknowledging that some were designed as “red meat” for the Democrats in the arena…still, they were funny:
John Kerry: “Ask Osama bin Laden whether he is better off than he was four years ago.”
Fomer Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm: “[Romney] loves cars so much, they even have their own elevator…[but] in Romney’s world, the cars get the elevator, and the workers get the shaft!”
John Kerry, again (why couldn’t he be this funny in 2004?): “It isn’t fair to say Mitt Romney doesn’t have a position on Afghanistan. He has every position. He was against setting a date for withdrawal — then he said it was right — and then he left the impression that maybe it was wrong to leave this soon. He said it was ”tragic” to leave Iraq, and then he said it was fine. … Talk about being for it before you were against it! Mr. Romney — here’s a little advice: Before you debate Barack Obama on foreign policy, you better finish the debate with yourself!”
President Obama (on the Romney /Ryan plan): “…All they have to offer is the same prescription [that Republicans] have had for the last thirty years: ‘Have a surplus? Try a tax cut. Deficit too high? Try another. Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning.’ ”
Ted Strickland (former Ohio governor): If Mitt was Santa Claus, he’d fire the reindeer and outsource the elves.”
But by far the most memorable moment, for me, had nothing to do with partisanship or electoral politics. It was when Gabrielle Giffords, a year-and-a-half removed from a bullet to the head delivered by yet another mentally unstable, socially mal-adjusted person with too-easy access to a gun, recited the Pledge of Allegiance (assisted by DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz). Democrat, Republican, or Independent, I defy anyone to have watched that and not gotten a lump in his or her throat.
The Red Ranger: I did not watch much of the conventions so I do not have much to say about them, however, I will make a few comments:
It is great that Giffords is recovering from her gunshot wounds. One thing that bothers me is that the Dems seem to be using this little known (at least before she was shot) representative who barely got re-elected in 2010 and portraying her as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Her shooting was certainly tragic but let’s not make her out to be more than she actually was. I wonder if the Dems keep trotting her out trying to keep their ill -informed masses thinking that this is what the Tea Party caused since the first reports about the shooter were trying to link him to the Tea Party. We all know that radical left-wingers have a short attention span and are allergic to the facts so the only thing they remember about the incident is the first thing they heard about it. I actually think Giffords called herself a closet Republican or something like that one time.
So it seems your favorite lines were for the most part negative attacks on the Republicans. It is interesting how there are few references to actual successes of the Obama administration. I guess when you really don’t have any successes there is nothing you can say about them.
One speaker at the Democratic convention that I really have to question is Sandra Fluke. Who is she and why does she get to speak at the Democratic convention? Like typical Dems you really do not need any credentials or accomplishments to get air time with the party. Do the Dems really believe that someone promoting a promiscuous lifestyle supported by others is the face that they want to present to the country? If you cannot afford to pay for your own contraceptives then do not have sex. However, I guess she fits in perfectly with the mantra of the Dems of denying personal responsibility and requiring others to pay for the outcomes of your actions and/or bad decisions.
Nattering Naybob: Regarding Sandra Fluke’s credentials, there is something called “Wikipedia” on the internet that gives one basic information on just about any public figure. Below is a summary extracted directly from Wikipedia regarding Sandra Fluke’s credentials and past work in the area of women’s health. if you did not take your cues from the spiritual and intellectual leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, who famously called Fluke a “slut” on multiple occasions on his show, on multiple days, you might have realized on your own that Fluke stands for issues other than “promoting promiscuity”. If you sincerely believe that her credentials below did not justify her providing testimony before Congress on issues of women’s health issues and reproductive rights, and the representation of the traditionally under-served in our society, there is little I can do at this point in your life to convince you otherwise:
“Fluke is a native of Saxton, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Pennsylvania’s Tussey Mountain Junior/Senior High School in 1999. She graduated from Cornell University’s Program in Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies in 2003.She co-founded the New York Statewide Coalition for Fair Access to Family Court, which successfully advocated for legislation granting access to civil orders of protection for unmarried victims of domestic violence, including LGBTQ victims and teens. She was also a member of the Manhattan Borough President’s Taskforce on Domestic Violence and numerous other New York City and New York State coalitions that successfully advocated for policy improvements impacting victims of domestic violence. She worked in New York City for Sanctuary for Families, which aids victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. She is the 2011 recipient of the Women Lawyers of Los Angeles’ Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant,which supported her production of a video on how to take out a restraining order.She also “represented numerous victims of domestic violence and human trafficking” and also worked to help “child victims of domestic human trafficking” in Kenya.Sandra Fluke graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2012 and served as president of Georgetown Law Students for Reproductive Justice.While at Georgetown University Law Center, she worked on issues that involved domestic violence and human trafficking.”
(All these citations above were fully documented with footnotes, which I have deleted for the sake of clarity here, so please don’t try to claim that Wikipedia is mis-stating or exaggerating her activities or credentials, or is a tool of the main stream media as is your wont).
Had Republicans allowed Fluke’s testimony to be entered into the record as scheduled, instead of barring her from testifying, like the reliable Fascists that they have become, she probably would not have come into public prominence to the extent she has. It was chiefly the justifiable outrage at her being banned from speaking that put here in the spotlight.
With respect to Giffords, I think that all the Democrats were trying to do was to include a member of their own party who was senselessly gunned down while attending a community town hall meeting with her constituents. I do not believe that any Democrats, either individually or as a Party, has ever tried to politicize the issue in any way other than to bring attention to the need to examine the issues of easy it is to acquire guns, regardless of one’s mental capacity or emotional balance. If there was a erroneous report in the moments immediately afterwards, that Gifford was attacked by a Tea Party member, then shame on the reporter, but please don’t extrapolate that out to the entire Democratic party. Much of the Republican Party has been erroneously claiming for years now that the President of our country was not born in the United States, yet I do not see you expressing the same outrage. Finally, if your barometer for someone making a speech at a Convention is how pertinent they are to the overall National discourse, what business did Clint Eastwood have speaking before Romney’s acceptance speech, other than making a complete jackass of himself and detracting from Romney’s presentation?
The Red Ranger: While I know you libs consider Wikipedia akin to the Encyclopedia Britannica it is hard to fully accept something as fact when anyone can post there.
So you are not disputing her basic premise that any woman should be able to have sex with any one at any time they want and if they cannot afford contraceptives then someone else needs to provide it to them.
You can’t actually be questioning the credentials of Clint Eastwood one of Hollywood’s legendary actors and directors. Perhaps if it was George Clooney speaking at the Democratic convention you could have gotten that tinkly feeling down your leg like you Dems are known to get.
Second Grade Minds 