Douchebagsayswhat?

I'm not the biggest fan of reading The New Yorker...I tried it for a while, and have to concede that they usually have very interesting articles, but given their output, I just couldn't make the time for it in a week and I have to admit it can come off as somewhat snooty for my tastes at times.

But I did enjoy their election seasons podcasts and will occasionally go over to Hendrik Hertzberg's blog.

Bill O'Reilly decided to start going after my boy this week about something he wrote about Newt Gingrich, who I think is the man of Bill's fantasies.

I could care less about his little rants on the show, but this week, they pulled the old 'catch him on camera while walking out of his apartment' routine which is just so low-class. Faux News continues to earn its reputation as the WWF of the news media.

I weep for the future.

Yeah, This is Odd

I agree with Ta-Nehisi Coates....this endeavor can't end well.

Highlights and Low Lifes From Tuesday's Elections

I guess I paid attention to the same bigger issues/races that most other people were on Tuesday night, but here's my little take from the roller coaster we just got off of...


The Big Enchilada- Like anyone else, whether for or against his candidacy, I extend congratulations and a skeptical eye towards Barack Obama. I could have done without the shots of race-baiting bigot, Jesse Jackson and self-centered attention whore, Oprah Winfrey, weeping for the cameras in Grant Park, but it is what it is and they are who they are. I was talking with a friend out west last night and, while we come from different parts of the spectrum, we both had a similar experience in the voting booth. I stared at my paper ballot before turning it into the machine, not quite believing what I was doing, but on Jerry's good name, it never even crossed my mind that I was voting for a black guy. Obviously, I know Barack is black, but the big "whoh!" moment of it all didn't really occur to me until Tuesday night when a panting Keith Olbermann made the call. This was a big moment for the country, one which I didn't really give a lot of thought to when deciding who to vote for, and that's probably both a good and generational thing.

And I'll side with Joe Scarborough and others who think it's time we taunt the liberal European countries with this one. While they often like to look down their pointy noses at the crass, racist America with our imperfect present and more imperfect past, I have to ask where their President/PM of African descent is if they're so damned enlightened.

But now it's time for the guy to get to work and, as I've said, I'm skeptical of him. While I'll concede the possibility that, in his heart, the guy is every bit the bleeding heart/pinko that some claim, I also think that he's a pragmatist above that. The guy is smart and wants to retain power. He would not have gotten where he is without those qualities. And he must know that he won't be able to get the legacy and time in office he wants if he governs like a left-wing loon, so I think his alleged/reported tapping of Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff is telling. Barry's heading to town to get shit done. His biggest challenge could actually be fighting back the beady-eyed, angry liberals who've been waiting to stick it to the GOP for the last eight years.

California Prop 8- Shame on the voters of California for choosing to put a ban on gay marriage in their Constitution. Before anyone gets smart with me, I realize that they probably have the right to do so (current ACLU challenges notwithstanding), but it's just in such bad taste. I won't waste my free space here recycling the full laundry list of arguments for gay marriage, but for the life of me, I can't see why it's worth their share of $74M to build the case for why two people can't just spend their lives together. For years, the rap against gays was that they're just a bunch of pleasure-seeking hedonists so then when it turns out that they want to settle down just like anyone else, the argument shifts. I'm neither a theologian nor an expert on what God believes, but my guess is that he's got bigger trout to fry.

Connecticut 4th District- As has been well-noted, New England now has no GOP representation in the House of Representatives since Chris Shays lost his seat. While smarty pants guys like Chuck Todd and Michael Barone might be able to correct me on this, this is probably the starkest regional imbalance in federal representation for either of the two major parties. The GOP is becoming the party of stodgy old white men and it's just not good for its future. Anyone who's interested in this might pick up Grand New Party. I guess the first big shin-dig will be today, when a bunch of 'thinkers' get together at the home of rabble rouser Brent Bozell to plot a comeback strategy.

Minnesota Senate- The Senate race in the Land of 10K Lakes is still going on. I've blogged here before of my visceral dislike for Norm Coleman so I'm really rooting for them to make up for the few-hundred votes short Alan Franken is before the recount.

North Carolina Senate- While the race had more history than took place in the last week of the campaign, Liddy Dole's "Godless" ad spoke volumes about the GOP's tactics. The Democrat party is not above deceptive, tasteless ads, but this one just hit a lot of people in the gut and I'm actually happy she lost, if for no other reason than as punishment for pulling such a ridiculous stunt.

Selah.

It's Bizarro Election Season!

Remember the Seinfeld episode where everything turned backwards, ala Bizarro Superman on them? Elaine got the really responsible friends who read ("Books, Jerry...Books!") and the whole bit?

That's what's happening now.

This year, all of a sudden, Obammies are the ones effectively equating political donations with protected speech and playing fast and loose with scrutinizing their donors while the GOP had a Come to Jesus Moment and all of a sudden find this and voter registration shenanigans to be highly offensible.

Who woulda thought...

One Thing I Will Miss When the Dems Get Their Majority...

...is seeing Ted Stevens wearing his Incredible Hulk tie when he has a big battle in front of him.

Don't make him angry. You won't like him when he's angry.

I'm Starting to Understand...

Why people of a certain age just start to get turned off to politics.

While I still get a kick out of it, this cycle, more than any other, has just made me so much more cynical than I've ever been before.

El Rushbo chimed in on the Powell endorsement.

Rush, why don't you just stop dancing around your true desires, come on down and call the guy a ni**er? It would be a much more honest way of expressing yourself.

A Convention Moment

"I'm a God-Fearing, Church-Going, NRA Member and I'm Proud of It"

Hahaha. Just kidding.

But that's what Matt Shaner, an otherwise boring, cookie-cutter Republican in PA is using in a new mailer for his upcoming PA 5th District Congressional primary.

He's trying to cash in on the Bittergate mojo.

Tip of the had to Mark Ambinder for this one.