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The Wisconsin election is just a scene in the future XXX feature of Post Citizens United

It is time again — like it ever ended — for the media and the talking heads to make mountains out of mole hills that are the Wisconsin political landscape.

I am talking about the Wisconsin recall election in which GOP Gov. Scott Walker kept his seat after spearheading a number of anti-public union measures. The election made Walker only one of three U.S. governors to survive recall. The 2003 gubernatorial recall of California Democrat Gray Davis put “The Arnold” Schwarzenegger in office almost 13 years after the action-figure bodybuilder-actor starred in the movie “Total Recall.” I don’t think that movie was about recalling a governor from office. Got Irony?

It seems everyone has a different spin on the Wisconsin election, why Walker won, what if anything does it mean to this year’s presidential election? And nothing really solid lies out there which is only logical since, like a fine wine, it takes awhile to sort out just what elections mean. I mean, what the real consequences are of an election other than the fact someone wins and someone loses. We got that, Jack!

Depending on your political bent, a couple of factors do seem to have gained favor among the pundits. Fox News is excluded because theirs is a point of view clouded by red state-colored glasses. First of all, the Wisconsin election is really meaningless when it comes to determining the outcome of the presidential race. Also, the electorate is predisposed to throwing out a pol only when he does something involving misconduct in office. I don’t know too much about that. This is a really good analysis of how Gray Davis lost to “The Governator.” If the second proposition turns out to be true then perhaps those pissed off at Walker should have waited. The criminal justice system might just do their dirty work for them.

The book really won’t be wrote for sometime regaling the ultimate effect of the Wisconsin recall election. It will have to be a chapter in “Welcome to democracy Citizens United style.” You know, if you don’t have your own politician, buy one! In other words, the obscenity of what our political system has become is just now being written.

Wait for the book, or no, wait for the movie to come out. You will likely to find in the back sections which are out of public view, or in one of those parlors where you feel you need a delousing and a shower upon leaving. It ain’t “Debby Does Dallas.” It’s not “Sex In The City.” It’s money. Very, very dirty money combined with ultimate power. Who needs Viagra, right?

 

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A debate en Español for Texas GOP senate candidates? ¿Por qué?

The idea of a televised debate in Spanish between the two Texas Republican candidates for Senate has sparked the fancy of a national media. Rumors circulating that top GOP vote-getters Ted Cruz and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have agreed to an all-Spanish forum on Univision is apparently wishful thinking, according to The Texas Tribune. A Univision reporter apparently made the suggestion and the idea took a life of its own.

Cruz, the Canadian-born son of Cuban refugee parents, is not very hot for the idea. The former Texas solicitor general — Princeton and Yale Law-educated — grew up speaking “Spanglish” in the Lone Star State. Dewhurst learned Spanish as a CIA agent stationed in Bolivia. The lieutenant governor seems open to the idea of debate in his second-language while Cruz defends his poor Español partly in English and partly in Español: ” In any language, parece que el Señor Dewhurst les tiene miedo a los votantes de Texas.” This translates as: “It seems that Mr. Dewhurst is afraid of Texas voters.”

While somewhat entertaining this political sideshow in the Republican battle for a shot at replacing retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison does highlight the often over-looked fact otherwise buoyed by ignorance that “all Hispanics aren’t Mexicans.” In fact, all Hispanics don’t speak or even cannot speak Spanish.

Hispanics, or Latinos, have families that originate from a variety of countries south of the United States including Puerto Rico, Mexico and most South American countries. And while immigrants and first-generation Latinos may speak  Spanish in their household those numbers decline through subsequent generations. A Pew Hispanic Center survey notes that only 47 percent — fewer than half — of third generation Latinos speak Spanish proficiently or read a newspaper or book in that language.

What might seem odd to those who see brown, or white, skin and a Hispanic-sounding name who no habla Español has long appeared to me as just one of those interesting facets of living in a multi-ethnic society. I once had a female roommate with a Hispanic surname who likely was helped in landing a TV reporter job because of those assets — not to mention her gorgeous looks — and whose Spanish was limited to “margarita por favor.” I have likewise known Latinos who spoke little or no Spanish married to Anglo wives who spoke “Español del rayo fluido,” (fluently, or so says my online translator!)

Given the audience who would watch a televised debate between these two GOP candidates — Cruz is a Tea Party favorite and Dewhurst, well, is Dewhurst — it would seem no more than a gimmick to stage a debate in Spanish for the pair. Likewise, it would be distinctly disadvantageous for Cruz if all he knows is an amalgam of the English and Spanish languages.

Personally, I don’t care if the two Republican senate candidates hold their debates in Esparanto. I have long been impressed with Democratic nominee Paul Sadler. The attorney from Henderson — yes, he did spend a couple of years during high school in Ventura, Calif., and yes, a high school friend of his was Kevin Costner, but who cares? — was a very skillful and passionate legislator during his time in the Texas House. Whether he has a chance, who knows? My money is on Dewhurst to win the runoff and if that pans out, he will be extremely difficult to defeat unless past or new rumors about his life are exposed as true. I won’t repeat the past rumors because they are just that, rumors, and they have as much of a chance being false as true.

Perhaps Sadler should start boning up on his Spanish if he doesn’t know the language or is rusty in its use. All I can say for now is bueno suerte, Mr. Sadler, you’ll need all the luck you can get.

 

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A government that governs. Now that’s a novel idea.

Is U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner crying wolf? Screwing the pooch? Kicking the dog?

Whatever the Republican leader is doing it doesn’t appear to resemble governing. Once again The Boner is going to the well for a debt ceiling tangle, insisting that ceiling cannot be raised again without “spending cuts and reforms that exceed the amount of the debt limit increase.” This means, of course, that Bone wants to hold the U.S. government hostage until the Republicans get their way. Funny thing they are doing this now, only a month or two before the national political conventions which will do nothing of note except name Mitt Romney’s GOP running mate.

Hey, we get the Republican party wants a government that does nothing. But we’ve got a totally dysfunctional Congress that will not allow the government to even DO NOTHING! It’s ridiculous.

The president started off his term in office reaching out to the opposing party. The other side didn’t want it mainly because their backers don’t want a black president. That’s pretty much the bottom line. Obama isn’t Socialist. He wouldn’t make a pimple on Karl Marx’s ass! The problem is a bunch of rich, racist people are pissed a black person — even one who is halfway white — would dare take the office of president. That’s the real rub.

Yeah, you can say all this culture war and religious war bulls**t. But it doesn’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing. And you know what that swing is all you Obama haters? It’s swinging on the end of a rope on a tree like the lynchings of old, the only solution for uppity Niggers, right? Sorry about the “N” word but I had to use it to make a point.

If New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker can make fun of themselves, together for a little spoof video, then why can’t politicians who are supposed to be elected for the common good do some good? Because they are all political putzes. Hacks.

Instead of just electing or re-electing a president, how about electing a president and Congress all of the same party and in overwhelming numbers. That way, maybe something can get done despite the stupidity of those who see government as evil. Actually, with some luck maybe the electorate will do so. Obama and a full Democratic House would be one hell of a birthday present, my birthday being in late October. We’ve got to do something. Our country is in bad need of a government that governs.

 

 

 

 

 

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The CNN Newt: Oh my

Which is worse?

a) Fox Newt b) President Newt c) CNN Newt.

That is a really difficult question when the Newt of which one speaks is Newt Gingrich. Obviously, a great many Americans believe with deep conviction that the prospect of, b) President Newt Gingrich, would probably be one of the worst occurrences possible. One must think the question through very carefully, however. Here is a sad political tale that just might help answer that question.

Like most other prominent conservative conservatives, who may or may not but probably are of the Republican persuasion, “The Newt” as I like to call him, used Fox News to communicate with other of his ilk. This was as a so-called “Fox News Contributor.” A Fox News Contributor is usually a Republican or disaffected Democrat who can appear to give their two cents’ worth in order to add up to approximately one dollar’s worth of right-wing propaganda. But The Newt has a perpetual wild hare and this wild hare, whose name is Callista, woke up one morning and told The Newt he needs to do something different.

“Sell some more books or bring in some more speaking fees or sell your old recordings of Paul Harvey. Do something Newtie, you’ve got to keep me in diamonds,” Callista said.

So Newt hit upon an idea. After watching how Sarah Palin’s fortunes took off after her ill-fated run for vice president, Newt decided he would run for president.

“Like, yeah, people are really going to elect me,” said The Newt.

Newt paid a price that he didn’t realize at the time. Fox News cast him adrift when he decided to run for president. Perhaps it wasn’t so much that Fox worried about providing equal time for opponents if Newt ran. That did seem like a good excuse and a good way to get rid of The Newt, whom everyone realizes is a gigantic pain in the ass.

Surprisingly, some Republicans actually had an interest in the former speaker for a short time during the pre-primary and primary run simply because of the party had never before experienced such an overwhelming glut of bozos who sought the highest office in the land.

But lo and behold, Newt had his run. He knew things were going pretty badly when his campaign bounced a check in Utah.

Now Gingrich must once again go to work — Mitt Romney being anointed the big, rich white guy heir apparent to the throne — using what little prominence he gathered through his 15 minutes of new-found campaign fame so he might continue buying diamonds for Duchess Callista.

It appears though that The Newt burned some bridges over at Fox News so now he is disowning the Republican Party network. Gingrich has decided CNN is less biased than Fox. Some would say that is old news and perhaps not even so accurate these days. Just watch those cold, hard eyes of Erin Burnett.

Fox shoots back. A network spokesman says Newt just wants a job at CNN after being bounced from Fox. What a low blow. The former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a one-time front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, treated like just another old political hack.

“Joining us are our CNN contributors, Democratic strategist James Carville, former press secretary for George W. Bush, Ari Fleshier, and Republican former U.S. House speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich,” says Wolf Blitzer.

And we still have seven months to go. The worst has yet to come, kind of, sort of.

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Conservative judicial activists strike again

Who knows how the Supreme Court decision on the Obama health care plan will come out. But already the Democrats are reversing their political fortunes and can run against “activist judges.” This time the activists are the conservatives of the Supremes, the four hardcore and one so-called “swing vote.” After a history which includes such golden oldies as Bush v. Gore and Citizens United v. FEC, the latest is a decision saying a person may be stripped search in jail for any offense. Driving without a license? Take off your clothes. Trespassing? Take off your clothes. Or as portrayed in the comical Arlo Guthrie monologue “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre” (pronounced “mass-a-cree” not massacre) littering, Arlo and friend would have ended up getting strip searched.

We can only hope Clarence Thomas or Antonin Scalia will be arrested for some petty offense that will let them “reap” from what they sow.