Here we see true genius on display on Capital Hill. The first two examples come from the elite GOP strategists as they tell us dumbed down Americans what we are allowed to hear and believe.
Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Scott, a Republican, was asked to say that the state’s jobless rate could improve faster under a Romney presidency, according to the people, who asked not to be named.
What’s unfolding in Florida highlights a dilemma for the Romney campaign: how to allow Republican governors to take credit for economic improvements in their states while faulting Obama’s stewardship of the national economy.
Republican governors in Ohio, Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin also have highlighted improving economies...America Blog
On a similar note...
After we all spent another anxious morning waiting for a possible ruling on ObamaCare from the Supreme Court, only to be put off again until next week, Speaker Boehner sent out a memo to his fellow House Republicans insisting that there are to be no political shenanigans in the event of an ObamaCare-smackdown.
“There will be no spiking of the ball,” he wrote in a memo to the conference.
“Republicans are focused on the economy … We will not celebrate at a time when millions of our fellow Americans remain out of work.” …
He repeated that the House will vote to repeal any part of the law, which he referred to as “ObamaCare,” left standing by the Supreme Court, and that any attempt to enact new reforms will be “step-by-step.”
“Republicans will not repeat the Democrats’ mistakes,” he wrote. “We won’t rush to pass a massive bill the American people don’t support.” …
“No one knows what the Court will decide, and none of us would presume to know,” Boehner wrote...Hot Air
Now, as we begin to "drain the swamp" and dump some of the Congressional deadwood...we see what a few of these revered pundits really think of their dear constituents.
Bloomberg Businessweek is out today with "A Congressional Exit Interview", in which retiring Senators Olympia Snowe and Kent Conrad join outbound Congressmen Gary Ackerman and Geoff Davis to reflect on the state of affairs on Capitol Hill. The whole thing is pretty nauseating, suffused as it is with the kind of hand-wringing that passes for political courage amongst longtime legislators (it turns out political parties tend to be partisan!). But it is Congressman Ackerman (a New York Democrat) who, when asked about comity on Capitol Hill, gets the money quote:
"Society has changed. The public is to blame as well. I think the people have gotten dumber. I don’t know that I would’ve said that out loud pre-my announcement that I was going to be leaving. [Laughter] But I think that’s true. I mean everything has changed. The media has changed. We now give broadcast licenses to philosophies instead of people. People get confused and think there is no difference between news and entertainment."
DUH...Wat him say MO???
So there you have it: a man lamenting the lack of cooperation in American politics by denigrating the intelligence of those who disagree with him.
What's remarkable here is that Ackerman is saying out loud what many of the "the system is broken" thumbsuckers really believe: that their benighted constituents are unworthy of the service of our congressional philosopher-kings.
And yet what's the latest fetish for this group? Compulsory voting. In fact, if you're willing to go to the lengths of Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, it's compulsory voting with a cash lottery. Who knew that we could strengthen the nation's sense of civic responsibility just by treating elections like one of those fake giveaway police stings?
Perhaps Ackerman is right that the problem is the intelligence of the American voter. Since he's obviously enjoying his newfound freedom from political pressure, I'll look forward to him filing a bill to hem in the franchise prior to his retirement.
No comments:
Post a Comment