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Tonight's speeches at the Republican National Convention are over, and I am exhausted, lemme tell ya. All that force-fed red meat... I'm going to have to stick to wheat germ and water for a week to feel normal again.
Seriously, were you surprised by the heartlessness of Mike Huckabee and the attacks by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin? When it began, I figured we would get a slew of 9/11 references, anti-gay and anti-choice attacks, reminders that poor people are worthless, nods to Abe Lincoln (my 12-year-old moaned, "That's slander! Lincoln wasn't this kind of Republican!"), slick soundbites, hockey mom jokes, more references to 9/11, and outlandish claims that the party faithful won't bother to investigate for veracity. You know, the general sound and fury signifying nothing. And of course, the Grand Old Prosperity crowd roared their approval as Cindy McCain happily bounced wee Trig Palin on her knee. Whee! Well, their worldview always disappoints, and what went down in St. Paul tonight was exactly what I expected.
Did I learn anything new or useful about the Republican nominee for vice-president? Only that she is every bit as mendacious and craven and unacceptable as her number one. Ooh, she can earmark Alaska, shoot the wolves from the plane, and send every ounce of American decency down the drain... and she's a wooo-man... Feh.
Look: I stand with Palin and the insufferable McCain flack Carly Fiorino on this. No one would question a man who had five kids about his fitness for any job, so people need to leave Palin alone on that point. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to dismiss her, which we've already covered ad nauseum. Palin is indeed a firecracker with lots of spunk and apparently limitless ambition, but she has nothing worthwhile to offer in the way of making the US a better country, and her insult-filled, substance-free speech tonight made that all too evident to me.
My recommendation to Barack Obama: Just respond substantively and ignore repugnant Republican insults. Sarah Palin speaks well and looks great, but she has nothing on the Democrat, save three more cute kids and a snarling Rudy "9/11" Giuliani over her shoulder. (Message to RG: Hope is not a strategy -- and no, hope is not Obama's strategy, but cool line, Rudy. I would much rather be hopeful than heartless and greedy, though.)
I'll break the plutocrats' pap down tomorrow if the strength and interest can be mustered. Right now, my stomach hurts, as it always does after a night of listening to rabid right wingers. As a matter of fact, I really must go and throw up. My diet is primarily whole grains, veggies and fish. Red meat in the quantities dished up tonight -- especially when it's raw -- always makes me physically ill.
Labels: anti-republican, conservative, gop, palin, Politics, progressive commentary, republican, right-wing
