George Lakoff, that is. Happy that Obama, at long last, is using a progressive frame -- and that it seems to be taking.
The only thing Lakoff misses is the full import of Obama's "They deserve a vote" litany. It's not only moral shaming on the issue at hand -- though surely it is that. It's also a direct attack on anti-governmentism in general. It frames legislating, per se, as a moral responsibility -- and by extension, governing as a moral responsibility. The GOP has become the NOP(E), the Party of No, of nullification, of Grover Norquist's bathtub. And the delicious irony is that the attempted drowners have become the drownees. Just as the Dems rendered themselves basically unelectable in the 70s and 80s by rejecting the exercise of power, so now the Republicans have rendered themselves unelectable by rejecting the functioning of government.
We wuz framed, and now they iz framed.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Wedge issues - Updated
What if Newtown hadn't happened? Would we be seeing this battle royal move out of the wings and take center stage? Almost certainly not. And yet it might be that this is exactly the kind of political fight Obama and the Dems need. Because what it will do -- what it has already done and will continue to do -- is bring the deepest, darkest parts of the Republican soul out of the woodwork. It's Pavlovian -- their most lovingly fantasized bait. And that will be the political gift that keeps on giving.
These nutjobs are already threatening impeachment, secession and armed insurrection. Another few months of this, and the GOP will be lucky to hold onto the House in 2014 -- in spite of a decade's worth of gerrymandering. And you just know the next few months will not simply be a gusher of paranoia porn. There will be incidents. There will be a Ruby Ridge or two. There may even be assassination attempts. In fact, if it were to be announced tomorrow that one had been uncovered that was planned for the Inauguration, would a single person be surprised?
What Obama has done by going strong at gun control here is to make the political calculation to play offense, to drive a wedge issue, rather than avoid it. He's making the bet that Cuomo made with gay marriage -- that the game is about to change, and the winning play is to catch that wave. For a generation we have accepted the omnipotence of the NRA. Taking them on was simply unthinkable politically. And yet here Mr. Compromise is doing just that with flags flying.
Yes, I do believe he was personally affected deeply by Newtown -- you could see it in his statements. He's not a good actor, and he wasn't faking that. He really does love his daughters. (And, btw, how cringe-worthy was the NRA ad linked to above that makes them the focus of anti-Obama rage? The political instincts of these new death-wish (pun intended) crazies are perfect. They can't help saying the most offensive things imaginable.)
Still, time has passed since Newtown, and I would not have bet a couple of weeks ago that he would go to the mat on this. The fact that he is doing so tells me that he is seizing a political opportunity, arguably for the first time, to deliver a fatal blow. He is laying the bait, and they will take it, and they will scare the shit out of the majority of American voters. The GOP will get indelibly linked to James Yeager et al. And yes, they will continue to carry 30 percent of the vote and maybe 40 percent of the counties, but they will drop from a minority-Congressional party to an interest group.
I used to think the GOP would spend a decade or two in the wilderness and then come back. I now wonder whether they are on the way to being the 21st century Whigs.
Update: And speaking of 19th century political analogies, how about 18th century political origins? This history of the 2nd Amendment is fascinating.
These nutjobs are already threatening impeachment, secession and armed insurrection. Another few months of this, and the GOP will be lucky to hold onto the House in 2014 -- in spite of a decade's worth of gerrymandering. And you just know the next few months will not simply be a gusher of paranoia porn. There will be incidents. There will be a Ruby Ridge or two. There may even be assassination attempts. In fact, if it were to be announced tomorrow that one had been uncovered that was planned for the Inauguration, would a single person be surprised?
What Obama has done by going strong at gun control here is to make the political calculation to play offense, to drive a wedge issue, rather than avoid it. He's making the bet that Cuomo made with gay marriage -- that the game is about to change, and the winning play is to catch that wave. For a generation we have accepted the omnipotence of the NRA. Taking them on was simply unthinkable politically. And yet here Mr. Compromise is doing just that with flags flying.
Yes, I do believe he was personally affected deeply by Newtown -- you could see it in his statements. He's not a good actor, and he wasn't faking that. He really does love his daughters. (And, btw, how cringe-worthy was the NRA ad linked to above that makes them the focus of anti-Obama rage? The political instincts of these new death-wish (pun intended) crazies are perfect. They can't help saying the most offensive things imaginable.)
Still, time has passed since Newtown, and I would not have bet a couple of weeks ago that he would go to the mat on this. The fact that he is doing so tells me that he is seizing a political opportunity, arguably for the first time, to deliver a fatal blow. He is laying the bait, and they will take it, and they will scare the shit out of the majority of American voters. The GOP will get indelibly linked to James Yeager et al. And yes, they will continue to carry 30 percent of the vote and maybe 40 percent of the counties, but they will drop from a minority-Congressional party to an interest group.
I used to think the GOP would spend a decade or two in the wilderness and then come back. I now wonder whether they are on the way to being the 21st century Whigs.
Update: And speaking of 19th century political analogies, how about 18th century political origins? This history of the 2nd Amendment is fascinating.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The politics of cruelty
Yet another terrific post from Charles Pierce, on the human cost of allowing the "negotiations" meme to prevail. These really are issues of life and death, and it is flat-out immoral to consign millions of people to profound suffering, pain and death unnecessarily. Reality defeated delusion on Nov. 6, and reality should not let delusion back into the tent for the sake of yesterday's Beltway decorum.
In fact, the Dems should take a page from Israel's book. They shouldn't negotiate until they have a real partner for peace. They should not sit down with terrorists, with America's Hamas. There's actual work to do, and John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and the rest of the Party of Lies have nothing to do with it. They're a distraction.
In fact, the Dems should take a page from Israel's book. They shouldn't negotiate until they have a real partner for peace. They should not sit down with terrorists, with America's Hamas. There's actual work to do, and John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and the rest of the Party of Lies have nothing to do with it. They're a distraction.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Gaffe confirmed
In case there was any doubt about whether Mitt's infamous (and possibly fatal) "47 percent" video was just a pander and a lie, rather than a gaffe (i.e., a true statement of his feeling, however embarrassing), the latest results from the election are now in. Gaffe it was, and is. There were many varietals of sour grapes he could have chosen to serve. He picked Racist Scrooge.
Dig in - Updated
I had no particular feeling one way or another about the prospect of Susan Rice succeeding Hillary at State. But now I hope Obama names her, and I hope she gets confirmed on a party-line vote. He needs to stare these jerks down.
Update: As Bob has been saying, the facts are on Rice's side. This is an opportunity space, not a danger zone. Let the hearings happen. A full, open examination of reality will discredit McCain and Graham and the rest. Obama should give them all the rope they are willing to grab. That, in fact, is what I take his hot response at yesterday's presser to have been -- a macho dare, and a clever lure.
Why? Because what is most likely the case is that Benghazi was not just a diplomatic outpost but a staging HQ for US spooks. In other words, this was CIA spy stuff that got blown up. Why else, do we suppose, Mitt suddenly dropped the subject, after going at it hammer-and-tongs for weeks? Isn't it likely that he got a confidential briefing, in which it was made clear to him that pressing on this "issue" risked exposing our clandestine intelligence operations and operatives? So let Senator Senile and Senator Smarmy hammer away -- and let their party suffer the political consequences. Even if my speculation about the underlying facts of Benghazi is wrong, even if all that happens is that Susan Rice's actual statements on these news programs get played again and seen for what they are, this is a political winner.
Update: As Bob has been saying, the facts are on Rice's side. This is an opportunity space, not a danger zone. Let the hearings happen. A full, open examination of reality will discredit McCain and Graham and the rest. Obama should give them all the rope they are willing to grab. That, in fact, is what I take his hot response at yesterday's presser to have been -- a macho dare, and a clever lure.
Why? Because what is most likely the case is that Benghazi was not just a diplomatic outpost but a staging HQ for US spooks. In other words, this was CIA spy stuff that got blown up. Why else, do we suppose, Mitt suddenly dropped the subject, after going at it hammer-and-tongs for weeks? Isn't it likely that he got a confidential briefing, in which it was made clear to him that pressing on this "issue" risked exposing our clandestine intelligence operations and operatives? So let Senator Senile and Senator Smarmy hammer away -- and let their party suffer the political consequences. Even if my speculation about the underlying facts of Benghazi is wrong, even if all that happens is that Susan Rice's actual statements on these news programs get played again and seen for what they are, this is a political winner.
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