RNC wrapup
A few observations on the RNC, which I mostly watched for the past two nights (and which has ruined my week).
-- 9/11. At least three fourths of the convention was about 9/11, war, and the fear of threats to our safety.
-- For all the seriousness and solemnity one would think 9/11 would evoke, there was an awful lot of laughing, jeering and cheering. Tasteless exploitation because it “feels good.”
-- The “People of Compassion” slogan should have been completed with “are outside Madison Square Garden.”
-- What mostly came through when Bush and Cheney spoke was a naked desire for power and control, and a condescension, if not contempt, for both their opposition and their cult followers (i.e. all of humanity).
-- The cult. A cult of extremism. Reactionary. Smug. Oblivious to its crass stupidity.
-- The disconcerting feeling that something is very wrong when this cult is accepted as normal. There is a very large elephant in the room, and it is not benign.
-- The Republicans know how to produce propaganda – regular repetition of short films designed to humanize Bush, a “reporter” on the floor of the hall, and bald lies, because why the hell not?
And one note on the rest of the campaign:
-- The lesser evil *is* lesser. That *does* mean something. These people must be stopped. Kerry needs to fight and fight hard, starting now.
P.S. For some of the best RNC commentary on the Web, see the Rude Pundit:
The Last Vestiges of Decency
Dick Cheney, Meet Bernard DeVoto
God Hates Bush
The Terminator Vs. the Bushwomen
Oh, Thank Heaven For September 11
A few observations on the RNC, which I mostly watched for the past two nights (and which has ruined my week).
-- 9/11. At least three fourths of the convention was about 9/11, war, and the fear of threats to our safety.
-- For all the seriousness and solemnity one would think 9/11 would evoke, there was an awful lot of laughing, jeering and cheering. Tasteless exploitation because it “feels good.”
-- The “People of Compassion” slogan should have been completed with “are outside Madison Square Garden.”
-- What mostly came through when Bush and Cheney spoke was a naked desire for power and control, and a condescension, if not contempt, for both their opposition and their cult followers (i.e. all of humanity).
-- The cult. A cult of extremism. Reactionary. Smug. Oblivious to its crass stupidity.
-- The disconcerting feeling that something is very wrong when this cult is accepted as normal. There is a very large elephant in the room, and it is not benign.
-- The Republicans know how to produce propaganda – regular repetition of short films designed to humanize Bush, a “reporter” on the floor of the hall, and bald lies, because why the hell not?
And one note on the rest of the campaign:
-- The lesser evil *is* lesser. That *does* mean something. These people must be stopped. Kerry needs to fight and fight hard, starting now.
P.S. For some of the best RNC commentary on the Web, see the Rude Pundit:
The Last Vestiges of Decency
Dick Cheney, Meet Bernard DeVoto
God Hates Bush
The Terminator Vs. the Bushwomen
Oh, Thank Heaven For September 11
