The Poet's Eye
commentary
by Lightning Rod
the Poets' Eye is skeptical
without being cynical, innocent
without being naive and
critical without being
judgmental
Poet's
Eye View
of the Republican National Convention
for release 09-03-04
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Who Wears These Flip-flops?
Night One--False Colors
All nominating
conventions are like church services. It's the classic example of preaching
to the choir. Only the faithful are in the audience and the rhetoric can
get lofty. The Democratic convention was a litany to John Kerry's heroic
war service and the Republicans are bowing down to the dual crucifixes
of 9/11 and the war on terror.
There was no mistaking the message in the opening night of the RNC. "George
Bush is steadfast and we are at war with terrorism" Both are lies
of course. But if they are repeated enough times they might be mistaken
for truth.
John McCain showed why he is the most popular man in the party. His speech,
with the exception of the sections that were clearly inserted to cover
the official talking points, was eloquently written and delivered. Rudy
Giuliani was fiery and evangelical. He made his bones as a prosecutor,
after all, and he was the perfect one to indict Kerry.
The whole ceremony sounded like a Sunday morning sermon at a Bible Belt
evangelical television church meeting. The endless evocations of 9/11
and the repetitive assertions of George Bush's strength and statesmanship
were alternately tiresome and preposterous. I felt myself falling asleep
much as you would during a particularly pedantic church sermon.
But it seemed to suit the audience (choir) who, in contrast to the vital
and youthful faces I observed in Sunday's demonstrations, more resembled
representatives of the Polident set. There is a good reason why Republicans
are, in general, richer than Democrats--it's because they are older and
smarter. Ok, at least they are older.
During the French Revolution, aristocrats, who had long been taunting
the masses with their conspicuous consumption, had to begin traveling
incognito in order to avoid the outrage and abuse of the mobs. The New
York Times reports that the demonstrators have been hazing and harassing
the convention delegates as they attend parties and Broadway shows. If
the delegates were smart they would wear jeans and flip-flops and a protest
pin.
The Republican party is traveling incognito today. The neo-cons have shed
their tailor-made suits in favor of the more democratic looking Dockers.
This is also evident in the selection of spokesmen at the RNC. Not one
of the major prime-time speakers reflects the policies or positions of
the present administration. McCain and Giuliani and Arnold of Hollywood
are all centrists. The Republicans are making a desperate appeal to the
middle and in doing so are sailing under false colors
Night Two--Touchy-feely
This was touchy-feely night at the RNC. I don't know who wrote their jokes,
but I thought Milton Berle was dead. What is it about Republicans and
lame jokes? I thought it was especially rich to hear the Bush Twins say
that they had been raised to honestly represent themselves just like their
father does. And this coming from the mouths of the chicas who had been
busted in Austin for using phony ID's to buy their margaritas.
Arnold the Governator gave a rousing speech on the joys of moving to America,
becoming a movie star and making a hundred million dollars and then going
into politics. Anybody can do it in the land of opportunity, yadda yadda
yadda and it's all because of President Bush. Arnold, don't be a girlie-man
and say whatever they want you to say. Oh, I forgot, you're an actor.
You go by the script.
You can't help but like Laura Bush. She's a gracious and warm Southern
lady. I'm sure she pees lemonade and sweats pure perrier water. Oh, excuse
me, ladies don't sweat, they glow. And in our system a wife can't testify
against her husband, so she told about his soul searching in the situation
room after 9/11 and didn't mention about having to give him the Heimlich
maneuver to dislodge the pretzel.
But Laura was warm and charming as usual. Did I mention gracious? Oh yes,
gracious. But you could tell she was reading a speech that she didn't
write. I'll bet that when they are alone, she orders him around like a
little puppy. And he probably loves it.
Even the delegates seemed to be yawning on sensitivity night at the RNC,
but the evening was not without it's excitement. A hooded protester invaded
the Chris Mathews show in mid-interview to be tackled by a security guard.
They hastily cut away to Cambell Brown on the convention floor.
And a 21-year-old Yale student, posing as a volunteer at the Republican
National Convention, got within 10 feet of Vice President Dick Cheney
and shouted anti-war statements before being dragged away. Imagine getting
within 10 feet of Dick Cheney. The boy was obviously having a religious
experience.
Night Three--Evangelical Informercial
Tonight was
Take Off the Gloves Night at the RNC. Keeping with the spirit of evangelism
that has characterized this convention, Zell Miller delivered the perfect
keynote address. He is the embodiment of the lie that they are trying
to sell this week--a Republican who swears he's a Democrat. But he did
spark the first spirited reaction from the delegates that I have observed
during this convention. Republicans love to go to church and Miller was
the ideal Bible thumper to warm the crowd up for the Vice-President.
Why does Dick Cheney remind me of Hermann Goering or the Pope? Or one
of those apparatchiks that you used to see standing on the Kremlin wall
in an overcoat next to Stalin or Kruschev? Maybe it's because he never
smiles beyond that maniacal, clenched-toothed grimace.
It's all about the strong and steadfast thing.
They are really pushing the strong and steadfast thing this week. They
keep emphasizing the supposed fact that George Bush never changes his
mind. Even though half the free world disagreed with our incursion into
Iraq, he went on anyway because of his convictions and the world is better
for it. This remains to be seen, but those are the talking points. The
Muslims are not too thrilled with our occupation of their territory in
Iraq and Afghanistan. You would have to be blind not to see the seeds
of terror that are being sown there.
I don't want a leader that never changes his mind. I want a leader that
can turn on a dime if the situations in this changing world require it.
But I'm not like most church-going people. That's because I don't go to
church. I don't need a preacher to tell me the sky is blue.
But somehow the GOP wants you to believe that our country is safer than
it was before "the whole world changed" on 9/11. Here's some
news. The whole world DID NOT change on 9/11, any more than it changes
when 100,000 people die when a typhoon hits Bengladesh. The price of gas
keeps going up. Taxes in one form or another keep eating your paycheck.
You still don't have sensible healthcare because the insurance and drug
companies are raping you and the president tries to tell you it's because
of malpractice suits.
The only thing that changed on 9/11 was that Bushco got a free ticket
to embark on their designs of world conquest and domestic repression.
The Security issue is a red herring. The average American family is in
no more danger of being harmed by terrorists than it is of being struck
by lighting. They are much more likely to be harmed by the fact that we
have no comprehensive heathcare in the richest country on earth. But the
Repubs want to focus your attention on the imaginary demons that can be
vanquished at whim, rather than the real demons who require hands-on exorcism
.
In the process of trying to deify Ronald Reagan, the organizers of the
Republican National Informercial played a nostalgic film. It reminded
me of how the Soviets embalmed Lenin and displayed him in the Kremlin.
By that time Lenin's brand of communism was as dead as Reagan's brand
of Republicanism is today.
Night Four – Jesus Wore Flip-flops
And on the
fourth day He went among the multitudes at the Mount of Madison Square
and he preached to them saying,
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the debt.
Blessed are the warmongers, for they shall posses the land
Blessed are the sick, for they shall have no insurance
Blessed are those that hunger and thirst,
for we will let them hunger and thirst
Blessed are those that suffer, cuz they ain't seen nuthin' yet
Blessed are the rich, for they will get tax breaks
Blessed are the cruel, for you don't win imaginary wars with compassion
Blessed are the stupid, for they will vote for us
If the Republicans are nothing else, they are On Message. The message
of this convention is that Gdub is tough and unwavering and you are safer
because of it and John Kerry flip-flops. This writer watched all the major
speeches and over and over these themes were reiterated. One person could
have written them all. This message was repeated again and again without
the benefit of one concrete program or proposal. Those Republicans really
know how to throw an infomercial.
They were passing out flip-flops to illustrate their point. I found it
amusing that during Zell Miller's keynote addresss, the delegates were
waving their flip-flops while Zell can't decide if he's a Republicrat
or a Demicon. But then Zell Miller doesn't know in which century he is
living. Moments after he left the podium he challenged Chris Mathews to
a duel.
As a speaker, George Bush reminds me of many mediocre musicians that I
have known from Texas. When they work night after night in sleazy bars,
eventually they get pretty good at what they are doing. How do you get
to Carnagie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.
George Bush has been practicing for the past four years. He has repeated
so many lies that he can tell them without a blink. You might even think
he believes them. More than a year, a thousand American lives ago, Bush
declared victory in Iraq. That was a lie, or as he charitably calls it,
a miscalculation. Now, in his acceptance speech, he has declared economic
victory in a failing economy, he has claimed the garland for education
when our kids can't read, he gave himself a gold medal in healthcare when
five million have lost their insurance during his administration. He must
think that we will go for anything.
As usual the Republicans have chosen symbol over substance. The RNC has
portrayed Georgie as the Marlboro Man. They want us to believe that he
is tough and decisive. He shoots from the hip. He won't take no shit from
them terrrrrerrrishts. The Bush campaign is hanging its hat on this solitary
hook: George is a tough hombre and Kerry is a pansy Yankee who wears flip-flops.
If I were Kerry I would be particularly offended by the flip-flop thing.
He has vacillated no more than any other politician who has had a thirty-five
year career. Times and people and ideas change. I would be offended by
the flip-flop symbol just because I hate those little rubber torture devices
posing as footwear. I've always thought that flip-flops were strictly
for the deer and the antelope and other cloven hoofed beasts.
The Republicans didn't get rich by being stupid. They know that George
is bulletproof on the flip-flop issue. He has absolutely no voting record.
While John Kerry was serving in Vietnam, Bush was partying in Texas and
being absent from his National Guard duty. While John Kerry was voicing
his protest of the war before Congress, Bush was partying in Texas. While
John Kerry was being a public servant in Mass, Bush was partying in Texas
and losing money in the oil business. While John Kerry was building a
voting record in the US Senate, George Bush was playing with his toy baseball
team and partying in Texas. While John Kerry was voting his convictions
and working across party lines with John McCain to resolve our final issues
with Vietnam, Bush was in the largely symbolic office of Governor of Texas
and bragging about how he had given up partying. Flip-flop.
The Poet's Eye sees that we live in a world of symbols. A pair of flip-flops
with a stenciled slogan on it carries more weight than a coherent energy
policy or a real plan for education or healthcare. It's much simpler and
cheaper to produce, and the dumber you are the better it works.
Propaganda
must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.
They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations
They must be boomerang-proof
Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.
Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences of defeat
Propaganda to the home front must diminish the impact of frustration.
Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying
the targets for hatred.
Propaganda cannot immediately affect strong counter-tendencies; instead
it must offer some form of action or diversion, or both.
from Joseph Goebbels "Principles of Propaganda", 1934
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