Polispeak: December 2007: Archives

December 20, 2007

The Evolution Of Candidate Huck-A-Bee genre: Hip-Gnosis & Polispeak & Tongue-In-Cheek

Everyone seems to be all abuzz over Mike Huckabee and his tremendous rise in the GOP polling. Well before his emergence as a top-tier candidate, Thought Theater suggested he was worth watching and could easily emerge as a formidable candidate.

Now that it seems to have come to pass, I thought it was time to have a little fun at the expense of the former Arkansas governor...especially in light of his background as a Baptist minister. I've especially enjoyed the seeming no-holds barred battle being waged by Romney and Huckabee for the souls (code for votes) of evangelical christians.

One has to love when the faithful engage in the politics of piety...a virtual race for the altar. In the wake of George Bush, there seems to be little shame in ranks of the righteous. In fact, they seem convinced that their next president should accede to the bully pulpit and complete the mission of savaging the separation of church and state. Let's hope the propensity of these fundy GOP voters to perform like a flock of sheep persists...and they hitch their holier than thou wagon to one of these bloviating believers.

If my antennae are right, it may be the perfect storm that sinks the ship of this current iteration of religious extremism and sends the movement (in lockstep like loyal lambs) tumbling off the cliff they so callously cleaved under the tutelage of Karl Rove and his self-anointed antagonists.

I have no doubt that counting these star-struck sheep, in what may be their faith infused finale, will undoubtedly assist me in sleeping like a baby. Let's hope it happens since the alternative is unthinkable.

In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy the following:

Candidate Huck-A-Bee

Tagged as: 2008 Election, Bible, Evangelical, Evolution, Faith, Fundamentalism, GOP, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Mormon, Religion, Religious Right

Daniel DiRito | December 20, 2007 | 6:55 PM | link | Comments (3)
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December 8, 2007

Top 10 Ways To Identify An Evangelical Republican genre: Gaylingual & Hip-Gnosis & Little Red Ribbon-Hood & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

In the aftermath of a week of bully pulpit ballyhoo from the GOP presidential candidates, I decided to address my disdain in the only manner which would allow me to stomach the subject...sarcasm.

Having watched Mitt Romney tell us the meaning of faith in America and listened to Mike Huckabee toss tactical banana peels at the Bostonian's (former Massachusetts liberal) forever flip-flopping feet, I found myself wondering which candidate would soon be sporting a wooden cross on his shoulder for the duration of the campaign.

Fortunately, there may well be a silver lining hidden in these holier than thou high jinks. By the time the GOP is done vetting it's candidates, the average fair minded American may find them to be far too extreme and far too beholding to their religious right-ocrites. We've all heard the expression "if you live by the sword, you die by the sword"...well...2008 may provide a worthy successor, "if you live by the lord, you die by the lord"...especially when you spend all of your time fighting about which lord to worship.

Moving on, the following is my offering to assist voters in determining how to qualify for entry into the GOP's evangelical enclave. Feel free to offer additional requirements and restrictions. I would hate to be accused of an act of omission...I've heard the punishment is ghastly...if you're not George Bush or an acceptable affiliate.

The Top Ten Ways To Identify An Evangelical Republican:

Number Ten:

They're opposed to sectarian conflict in Iraq but in favor of sectarian politics in the United States.

Number Nine:

They're opposed to homosexuality and same-sex relationships but they'll vote for a presidential candidate who does drag and lived with two gay men if he can beat Hillary Clinton and her "typically" unfaithful heterosexual husband.

Number Eight:

They wouldn't dare vote for a Clinton given Bill's disgraceful sexual antics in the White House but they're happy to support a candidate who used New York City funds to carry on an adulterous affair.

Number Seven:

They criticize Democratic candidates for suggesting they would only nominate pro-choice judges to uphold the law of the land while they require their own candidates to pass religious litmus tests in conflict with the law of the land.

Number Six:

They're in favor of abstinence only sex education even if it leads to more unwed teen pregnancies and more parent sponsored abortions (call it the evangelical version of NIMBY - not in my back yard; NIMBU - not in my babygirls uterus).

Number Five:

They're in favor of the separation of church and state if it involves opposing a congressional inquiry into the fundraising and spending habits of leading televangelists but opposed to the separation when it comes to selecting a presidential nominee.

Number Four:

They support candidates who endorse more funding for AIDS in Africa while embracing a candidate who favored quarantining AIDS patients in America as well as having Hollywood fund AIDS research instead of the government.

Number Three:

They tout Ronald Reagan as their political icon despite the fact that he was unable to acknowledge the toll of HIV on gays in America or even utter the word AIDS...while they and their church's now run around talking about saving Africa from the ravages of HIV...as long as it doesn't involve condoms.

Number Two:

They talk about their Christian values while they favor denying health care treatment to the children of illegal immigrants. Family values apparently stop at the waters edge (that would be the Rio Grande river).

Number One:

They'll never make enough money to truly benefit from George Bush's tax cuts for the rich or condemn his doubling of the national debt but they're happy to call the Democratic candidates who supported an increase in minimum wage and favor a national health care system unacceptable tax and spend liberals.

Bonus Qualifier:

They abhor the fact that Jesus was tortured, mocked, and condemned to death without due process but they're damn sure in favor of waterboarding and disregarding the principle of habeas corpus while indefinitely imprisoning war on terror detainees.

The following video clips provide Mike Huckabee's assertion that his surge is God's work (therefore proving Mitt Romney is a "Christian" imposter) and some candid discussion of Romney's faith speech (a speech that pales in comparison to the JFK speech).

Huckabee: Higher Power Responsible For His Surge

CNN Discussion On Romney's "Faith" Speech & The GOP Religious Test

Olbermann & Robinson On The Flawed Romney "Faith" Speech

Tagged as: 2008 election, Abstinence, Africa, Christianity, Eugene Robinson, Evangelicals, GOP, Hillary Clinton, HIV, Hollywood, JFK, Keith Olbermann, LGBT, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Mormonism, Religion, Ronald Reagan, Rudy Giuliani, Same-Sex Marriage, Tax Cuts

Daniel DiRito | December 8, 2007 | 10:24 AM | link | Comments (3)
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December 7, 2007

Keith Olbermann Special Comment: "Bald-Faced Liar" genre: Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation & Video-Philes

Keith Olbermann once again excoriates George Bush and his actions with regards to the seeming failure of the administration to acknowledge the fact that the latest National Intelligence Estimate fully undermines the President's assertion that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons and is apt to be the place from which WWIII would originate.

As Olbermann points out, not only was the president's assessment wrong, he apparently sought to withhold or failed to share the findings of the NIE report which were largely completed a number of months ago. Instead, the President chose to make numerous inflammatory statements in which he invoked the dangers posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Olbermann has scolded the president on many occasions and he has previously called for his resignation and/or his impeachment. This time Olbermann goes even further in calling the President a puppet of Dick Cheney...a "snake oil salesman" of the worst kind; one who creates facts out of thin air in order to advance his own agenda. Olbermann closes with the assertion that the President is nothing more than a "bald-faced liar" who has no business being the President of the United States.

Tagged as: Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Iran, Keith Olbermann, National Intelligence Estimate, Nuclear Weapons

Daniel DiRito | December 7, 2007 | 9:37 AM | link | Comments (0)
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December 4, 2007

"National Intelligence" - A "Bush League" Oxymoron? genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

Before George Bush leaves office, he may well succeed in redefining the term "national intelligence" as the signature oxymoron of his spin happy administration. After months of ominous warnings about the threats posed by Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program, the latest National Intelligence Estimate tells us Iran discontinued the program in 2003.

So as it turns out, while the neocon's were working to foment enough support for a strike on Iran, those assigned to provide us with the factual data needed to justify such an excursion were concluding that the assertions offered by the Bush administration lacked substantiation.

As if this isn't enough reason for concern, just how does a president rationalize telling the American public that Iran's actions may well be apt to cause WWIII while he doesn't possess any recent intelligence to support such an assertion? May I suggest two possible explanations...neither of which brings comfort. One, the President thinks most American voter are stupid and therefore easily manipulated and mislead. Two, the President is actually inept and lacks the intellect to formulate a functional foreign policy. Sadly, I suspect the reality is a near lethal combination of both. Even worse, I'm of the opinion that his penchant for bouts of bravado leave him unable and unwilling to reformulate of reconsider when his conclusions are found to be flawed.

I think the following graphic captures the degree to which spin has become the staple of the George Bush presidency. Disconcerting as it may be, it seems we're left to hope that the 2008 election will arrive before he is able to further compromise our credibility. I know I'm not holding my breath.

No Spin

Tagged as: Foreign Policy, George W. Bush, Iran, Iraq, Neoconservatives, NIE, Nuclear Weapons Program, WMD's

Daniel DiRito | December 4, 2007 | 10:30 PM | link | Comments (2)
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