I first met Rick Perry in 1985. He was a Democratic freshman state rep, straight off the ranch in Haskell, Texas. He wore his jeans so tight, and, umm, adjusted himself so often that my fellow young legislative aides and I used to call him Crotch. Even among state representatives, even among Texas Aggies (graduates of this cute remedial school we have in Texas), Perry stood out for his modest intellectual gifts. Hell, he got a C in animal breeding. I have goats who got an A in that subject. But lack of brains has never been a hindrance in politics.Why am I laughing? The mocking humor of progressive elitists only serves to energize our conservative opponents. We must learn to take the pose of sobersides, look grim, never ridicule their senseless commentary, never make a joke at their expense. THEN, perhaps we'd take the wind out of their sails. Come on! We can do it!
Rick Perry threw his hair in the ring on Saturday. His entrance into the GOP presidential field can be a game changer. Perry can raise money as well as Mitt. He can rally the base as well as Michele Bachmann, and he will say or do anything—annnnnnnyyyyyyything—to win. And in today’s Republican Party, if you want to be the nominee you have to be willing to do some really crazy s--t.
....
When you’re more open to secession than Jefferson Davis was a century and a half ago, well, you've gone pretty far.'
Photo from Wikipedia.
Times like this when you really miss Molly Ivins.
ReplyDeleteDon´t be silly, Grandmere, they love it when we look grim, stern, intellectual, measured (besides, it far more fun, and I know this to be fact, to kick ´em in the groin right back)...it´s a measure of their self-imagined patriotic Tea Partyhood to have a few pitchfork scars in their as*...we must give them what they want until they say Uncle Sam (or give as many dollars as the can, for stumpping, drunk´n, Bbq´n, march´n, organiz´n, cobra boots and diamond bezel Rolex shoop´n which will help the general economy).
ReplyDeleteWe won't see the likes of the late, great Molly any time soon.
ReplyDeleteLen, I don't think I could carry the sobriety off anyway.
Prior Aelred, wonderful stuff at your link.
Thank you, Prior Aelred. We're not the only ones who miss her.
ReplyDeleteYou all seen the great link that Dennis posted on Facebook?
Oh Lord. Rick Perry, Wildeyes and Mittens leading the howling pack to replace the Compromizobama.Has the country lost its f'ing mind?
ReplyDeleteLapin, I missed the boat in not using that picture in my post.
ReplyDeleteJohn D, it doesn't look good for the Republicans, and it doesn't look good for the rest of us if the Republicans win.
Suspect the opportunity will present itself again, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteI wish, at this point, I had the money set aside to flee this country. If the Republicans do win, it's that or taking up arms against our own . . . representatives.
ReplyDelete[Mark, PLEASE don't post those kind of sentiments (in your second sentence). We're better than the "Second Amendment Remedies" crowd.]
ReplyDeleteBegala IS a Texan (UT alum, I'm guessing, from his Aggie-dissin'?), so what he says about "Governor Goodhair" (Molly OBM) is a Texas matter I won't involve myself in. ;-/
In general, however, I agree that mocking is less useful than forthright OUTRAGE. Mocking is what you do, when you have nothing else (see re "Homosexual Camp" in the 1950s, for example). We're beyond that. We WON'T go back. We WON'T be threatened [see re Goodhair treating Ben Bernanke (WTF?!) "ugly", for example]. We WON'T be fooled (by Texas Governors!) again!
Ah yes, this is the guy who thinks that the United States in 'the best hope of mankind'.
ReplyDeleteI think he's a tad confused about who the Messiah is, don't you?
I think it is noteworthy that Perry launched his presidential bid in Charleston, SC--the first state to secede from the Union since he has even called for Texas to withdraw fron the United States..
ReplyDeleteSam Houston twirls in his grave.
ReplyDeleteMark, please don't talk of taking up arms. I want no talk of violence here as a solution to anything. You know that.
ReplyDeleteJCF, how do we express outrage? Do we shout all the time? Irony as an expression of outrage has long history.
Guv Goodhair said it would 'treasonous' for Bernanke to 'print money', but one of the first to slap him down was Carl Rove. The Bush machine does not like Perry, and we know what a force the Bush machine can be.
Tim,we already have a Messiah, don't we?
David, that the launch of Perry's campaign took place in Charleston is significant.
Poor old Sam.
GM, I resonate with your perception that ridicule only further fuels the fire of the rabid right, particularly as they cloak themselves in the robes of martyrdom...
ReplyDelete... but they will don those robs if we are serious, too. The real problem is that they are invincible to reason or ridicule alike. That doesn't mean we should stop speaking the truth both in love and with wit -- but always remember that we are not going to convert the Perry and Bachmann of this day and age, but will with hope in our hearts and able wisdom and humor perhaps influence those who are susceptible to reason or have a sense of humor, so that they do not vote for these paragons of politics.
We are not out to convince the prosecutor, but the jury.
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ReplyDeleteHow interesting that I'm not the only reader of this post to immediately think of Molly, God rest her soul. From her Wikipedia article:
ReplyDelete"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
PS - All that hair brushing and crotch-adjusting make me wonder when the big sex scandal will be exposed. You KNOW there's one bubbling under that tightly-wrapped package, don't you?
We are not out to convince the prosecutor, but the jury.
ReplyDeleteTobias, I agree. If my words convinced the likes of Bachmann or Perry, I'd know a miracle had taken place.
Russ, Molly's words on Bush and Perry were wonderful, indeed. She, as a true-blue Texan, knew them inside and out. I expect we'll see many of Molly's words on Perry quoted in the course of the campaign.
that tightly-wrapped package
For shame, Russ. Still, you made me laugh, so shame on me, too.
A politician who adjusts his crotch a lot is never a good thing.
ReplyDeleteMind you there was that recent pic of Bachmann apparently attempting to simulate oral sex with a corn dog. That's not good either.
ReplyDeleteCathy, frequent crotch adjusting in public is never a good thing. I don't want to see that.
ReplyDeleteJCF, how do we express outrage? Do we shout all the time?
ReplyDeleteAu contraire, sometimes nothing is LOUDER than a silent vigil.
Irony as an expression of outrage has long history.
I agree---but there's a difference between irony and *mocking contempt*. THAT is what fires up the Right so much in backlash.
Fine. I'll lie to myself about it, too.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Molly again:
ReplyDeleteDamn if I could fool you, Mimi!
Grin.
Cathy, Bachmann simulated oral sex with the corn dog but did you see the photo of Perry? He really went down on it. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Mimi, lowering the tone once again.
JCF, if you expect me to be silent, you expect too much. Why do you think I have a blog? Of course, there is a time for everything, even for silent vigils.
ReplyDeleteMark, I'm not asking you to lie at all, not to yourself and not to anyone else. I simply do not want suggestions of violence as a solution here on my blog.
He's the one Aggie joke we aren't laughing at.
Rmj, I love it. I'll keep that in mind until Perry's star burns out. Last night, the talking heads in the news declared him the front-runner. Only a few days ago, it was Michele Bachmann. Sic transit gloria mundi..
Russ, I hear you and Molly.
Well looky here, apparently I'm not the only one that thought occurred to:
ReplyDeletehttp://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/08/published-in-austin-chronicle.html
Mimi-
ReplyDeleteSeems to me Perry is the Texas equivalent of the more flamboyant LA governors: somehow attractive within the state, but products of a local culture that doesn't carry ten feet beyond the state.
Jindal was touted, briefly, as the GOP's answer to Obama precisely because he wasn't the stereotype of a LA politician. Perry is the stereotype of an obnoxious Texan. It works on the state level, but we've never sent anyone like that to D.C., and I don't think the country much cares for it, either.
Just to pound that dead horse a bit more.....
Sorry, Mimi, lowering the tone once again.
ReplyDeletePaul, one of these days I will be forced to get stern with you.
Rmj, Jindal is a strange bird, a former Hindu, now Roman Catholic, who spends an awful lot of time visiting fundamentalist churches in north Louisiana. His agenda, taken from the extremes of the Republican Party, is what makes him popular here. He still spends an inordinate amount of time outside the state raising funds for his reelection as governor of Louisiana. Perhaps he still has hopes of playing a role on a larger stage, but I don't think it will happen.
Paul, nothing is more subtly high-minded than the way you lower the tone. Just sayin'!
ReplyDeleteCathy, please don't encourage Paul. :-)
ReplyDeleteActually I did see the photo of Perry today, as it happens (oh Lord spare my eyes), and what I don't understand about US politics is why such a large proportion of the prominent presidential candidates or indeed presidents of the past 20 years either seem to have had a rabbit operating the gears of the brain (as Bishop Alan Wilson puts it) or have felt an irresistible urge to adjust their crotch in public, as it were. Or both. Why is that? Is it something in the water? ... Please explain.
ReplyDeletePlease explain.
ReplyDeleteCathy, it's beyond my powers to explain.
I have a feeling that Cathy and I will have a lot of fun whenever we finally meet.
ReplyDeletePaul, should a meeting between you and Cathy take place, the very earth we stand on would be knocked off its axis.
ReplyDeleteGive me a place where I may stand and I shall move the earth.
ReplyDelete--Something I remember from first-semester classical Greek.
Pablito, you are too much. I'm rolling on the floor. You and your Greek!
ReplyDeleteJust quoting Archimedes: dos moi pou stō, kai kinō tēn gēn.
ReplyDeleteSee, sometimes I invoke classical philosophers. Not always lowering the tone.
Paul, you raised the tone of the entire thread considerably with the quote from Archimedes and more than made up for your previous tone-lowering transgression.
ReplyDeletePaul always raises the tone. He pretends he doesn't but he does :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we will meet, Paul, sooner rather than later, if I come to greet Mimi on her home ground, which will be not to far in the foreseeable future, I hope.