Blitzer vs. Romney: Conservative Mormon vs. The Liberal Media

To all those that actually take the time to read this blog:

1. Thank you.

2. I’m sorry to bore you with another political post (but this one should be good)

Since the dawn of time, politicians have used two key strategies to allow themselves to be elected in America by proving they are dishonest, insincere, and manipulating (in other words, qualified). They are: 1) not directly answering the question asked (a la Dubya press conference) and 2) lying, and repeating the lie enough to make the public take it as truth (I did not have sex with that woman!). Both of these public relation tricks were on display in classic and memorable fashion the other night as I watched CNN. As always, Wolf Blitzer’s seemingly endless coverage of an election still five months away was discussing the platform of Barack Obama, and invited who better than the mighty Mormon Mitt Romney to make a counter point and speak on behalf of John McCain.

Before I go into details, it may be appropriate to make known my opinion of Mr. Romney: he’s a mannequin of a man who’s demeanor is as fake as John Kerry’s is lifeless. He is a talking-point puppet who speaks not from his heart but from the massive archive of anti-liberal statistics he smoothly recites to cover up his lack of personal innovation, all the while smiling with that neo-Reagan charm that makes me want to puke. With his Hollywood looks and golden-grey locks, Mitt Romney’s only real contribution to the political spectrum is to give 60 year old make-up covered rich women someone to fantasize about while their husbands are running into town to get their Viagra prescriptions filled.

On this nationally televised occasion, Romney would once again reinforce these beliefs. The conversation went a little something like this…

* * *

Wolf Blitzer: Thank you for joining us Mr. Romney, we’re glad you could make it! (I hate this man and have no idea why I invited him on my show.)

Mitt Romney: Thanks Wolf, good to be with you. (I hate you, too.)

WB: Lets talk about the economy, American’s want to know if their really is a difference between John McCain and George W. Bush? (This is as pointed a question I could come up with, surely he will answer it.)

MR: The answer yes of course, but of course the bigger difference is between McCain and Obama. In regards to Bush… (cue talking points about pork-barrel spending, off-shore drilling and trade, all policies Bush also supports).

WB: But so does Bush? (Take that Morman!)

MR: But the big difference between John McCain and Barack Obama, is just that, the difference between John McCain and Barack Obama. (You win on the Bush thing you white-haired host devil, now I’m going to talk about what I want to) See Wolf, John McCain want to lower taxes on middle income Americans, and Barack Obama wants to raise taxes! (I hope Wolf doesn’t know I’m talking out of my ass right now)

WB: Well actually Mr. Romney, Obama’s plan says that he’s only going to raise taxes on those Americans making $ 250,000 or more, while middle-class American’s will get tax breaks. (I refuse to let this prick lie to the American public, I don’t care if this gives me a reputation of having a liberal bias)

MR: Well, sweet talk is awful nice, but it doesn’t compare with straight talk. (the truth is awful nice, but it doesn’t compare to my lies!)

WB: (I can’t believe he just had the balls to say that!)

The conversation continued in this manner, Blitzer constantly attempting to sort through the bullshit Romney spewed to uphold his journalistic integrity, while Romney continued to confidently tell outright lies with a smile. Such is the present and future of “political discourse” in America, the greatest democracy on Earth!

If you don't believe me…here is the video compliments of CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/07/16/tsr.romney.interview.cnn

This has nothing to do with the real Boris Yeltsin

TONIGHT (7/25) @ World Cafe Live
YRock on XPN Welcomes:


"With their sophomore release, Pershing, SSLYBY works out its adventure streak by way of quirky chord changes amid massive hooks and addictive melodies. The new model is not only an improvement on the original, but seemingly posits itself as the shape of things to come."

For those of you in the Philadelphia area who have already seen, or are waiting till tomorrow to see The Dark Knight (like us), escape this mighty jungle heat with the California-dream-like melodies of Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin (by way of Springfield, Missouri...for the record). For Fans of Rogue Wave, Nada Surf, or Russian mongols.

Friday, July 18th | Doors 6pm | Show 7:30pm | Downstairs Live

88 Miles Per Hour...

Here they are, some unofficial highlights from our first year...

(oldest to most recent)

Dead Earth

The White Rapper Show

The Art of Eating

Thoughts Influenced by We Own the Night

Hello FairTax, Goodbye IRS

Confessions of a Fat Bitch

Spring Break, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Tourists

WE ARE...Galvanized

First of Nate's Western Journal Entries

Jam on the River (Nate's Take)

Jam on the River (John's Take)

The Politics of Smear
From Jesuit to Jenny Lewis

It's My Party...

Over the weekend (Arts Fest...lack of sleep...too many visits to Double Penetration Dough) we crossed the one-year threshold of this sad little page. We neglected to acknowledge the big birthday (July 8th) and are now the shitty friend who we will snub on future holidays. But birthdays are rarely all they're cracked up to be...



Coming soon (tomorrow): The only posts we're not ashamed to look back on

The True Patriot: A Review

While channel-surfing the other day during a commercial break of I Love the New Millenium I found myself stopping at CSPAN. Yes, CSPAN; the government channel dryer than your mouth after trying to eat five saltines without water in a minute (ten bucks you can't do it). What caught my attention was an Asian man who was promoting a small red book called The True Patriot. He was extremely articulate and responded to questions in a confident and clear rhetoric that immediately established himself respectfully in the right in the face of criticism. I was not a surprised at all when I found out the man, Eric Liu, was a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton. I ended up watching the entirety of his hour long session and anxiously ordered his book for half price off Amazon.com.

The book ended up being more of a pamphlet; a 6’’ by 8’’, 130 page manifesto if you will outlining the requirements for a newfound sense of American patriotism based in public morality, sacrifice, and practical purpose. A notion not based around blind-faith and ideology but rather a willingness to use a pragmatic approach to problem solving. The author repeatedly used a quote from Senator Carl Schurz, “Our country—when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.” He grounds his version of patriotism in consistently seeking to do what it best for the nation, not an unchanging belief that the nation is best. While I didn’t agree with the obvious partisan tone of the writing (he used the terms Democrat and Progressive interchangeably, two mindsets not synonymous in my opinion), he made pointed political arguments throughout the work that made a lot of sense to me. “The conservative’s blessing is that he is always rooted in the past. The conservative’s curse is that the future is unrelenting.” The True Patriot calls for a patriotism that uses ones love of country and respect for the past to lead us into a progressive and prosperous future. It is a message that I feel many Americans deserve to hear.

An underlying theme throughout the book is the right-wing’s strategic use of the notion of patriotism, and the left-wing’s regressive abandonment of the term. For too long Republicans have waved their flags, worn their pins, and demonized anyone who dares talk critically of the nation. For too long Democrats have allowed the right to steal patriotism, use it against them, and win votes by simply appearing more proud of America then their leftist counterparts. Such tactics have consistently worked, and will inevitably be used again in the upcoming presidential election. The True Patriot aims to motivate Democrats to stop conceding the power of patriotism to the right, and use its fundamental definition of desire to do what is best for America to ring loud and clear in progressive talking points.

Patriotism is not founded in a blind love of country, but rather a love of what this country stands for—freedom—and not unchecked freedom that allows an elite group to prosper while the majority suffers inequality of opportunity. Such is what has been occurring recently in this country, and the authors obviously wanted to make it a point to address the selfishness that has run rampant in the minds of those that have abandoned the common good for pursuit of self-interest. Perhaps the most powerful passage of the book plays on this idea of unchecked freedom:

“True patriots believe that freedom from responsibility is selfishness, freedom from sacrifice is cowardice, freedom from tolerance is prejudice, freedom from stewardship is exploitation, and freedom from compassion is cruelty.”

While The True Patriot is obviously written by a Democrat angry at the current direction his nation is heading, the message and motivation in the book has the ability to cross partisan lines. The writing is clearly articulated with the direction of an established speechwriter and will ring true to any American disappointed in the fake and insincere face patriotism has taken in modern American politics. Through the words of great leaders past, coupled with a progressive vision of the future, The True Patriot succeeds in sparking a much needed debate on the true meaning of patriotism in the spirit of Thomas Paine.