Outside the Beltway

Outside the Beltway

IDIOTIC POLITICS

James Joyner
4

I’ve somehow been subscribed to some rather insipid GOP mailing list that keeps sending me press releases. The sender is RNCResearch@rnchq.org. Many of them have the headline: They Said It! and feature such nonsense as,

“… Mr. Kerry saved his harshest words for Dr. Dean … ‘Anger and attacks are all well and good,’ Mr. Kerry said. ‘But when it comes to our jobs, we need a president who can build a barn, and not just kick it down.’”

Now, why would the fact that someone’s primary opponent says bad things–and not ALL that bad, really–about them be particularly noteworthy? Certainly, worse things were said of then-Governor Bush by John McCain in 2000.

Who are these mailings supposed to impress?

4 responses to “IDIOTIC POLITICS”

  1. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    ummm- I guess I’m an idiot…

    Last week when Gray Davis said:

    “My vision is to make the most diverse state on earth, and we have people from every planet on the earth in this state.”– San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 18

    I thought it was goofy/funny/symbolic enough to mail it to my list.

    Heck, the criticism of George Bush can mostly be broken down into two types. 1) He is the devil. 2) He speaks poorly.

    Considering the number of people who will cite #2 as being proof of #1, apparently it is effective.

    Paul

  2. JohnC Avatar
    JohnC

    Paul, I don’t think Bush is the devil. Not at all. I certainly don’t have anything against the man at all. I can laugh at his speaking, but I know it’s deliberately designed to appeal to the anti-intellectuals (why else would the Pres mispronounce the word nuclear in a world forum 30 times?).

    Underestimating your political enemy is never a good thing. And by purely categorizing the criticism of Bush into your 2 categories, you’re fighting an opponent that doesn’t exist.

  3. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    I’m a bit bemused by the nuc-u-lar thing myself. But the funny thing is that Jimmy Carter, who was a nuclear engineer, used to pronounce it that way, too. (He probably still does, but I haven’t heard him use that word in 20-odd years.)

  4. JohnC Avatar
    JohnC

    Yea, it’s a minor thing, really. Myself, I couldn’t believe that someone didn’t tell him that this wasn’t the way to pronounce it, but who knows. I don’t recall Carter pronouncing it nuke u lar, but I’ll have to check. I’ll just take your word at it in the mean time. 🙂

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