ANATOMY OF A MELTDOWN - Repub Reflux
While I breathlessly await the outcome of special prosecutor Fitzgerald's two year CIA leak (perjury/obstruction of justice??) investigation, I can't help but think about when it all began to go wrong for W. and company. It may seem like Hurricane Katrina put him on the skids, but things went bad waaaayyyy before that.
It all started when Karl Rove decided that he could mold Georgie B. into a president. Unfortunately, it was President of the United States.
If this were a movie (Pygmalion meets Joan of Arc / co-directed by Stanley Kubrick and Fellini) the screen would dissolve into a glycerin haze, and the flashback sequence would begin....
I believe the public's pereption of Georgie boy began to unravel directly after his '04 election -(no, not re-election, he was appointed by the Supreme Court the first time around.) Giddy with power, and itching to start spending all that hard won political capital, he decided to begin sealing his legacy by revamping social security - an issue, by the way, not mentioned much during the '04 campaign, which is odd considering it became a "crisis" as soon as he was elected.
With that, {cue caliopy music}, the traveling Social Security dog and pony show (which apparently closed on the road) was underway. The entertainment centered around a series of carefully crafted and controlled events for which audience members had to be republican in order to gain admission, and could only ask scripted questions. Even in this this closed circuit environment, Georgie managed to make an ass of himself, most notably during a rare unscripted exchange this past February.
Mary Mornin, a woman in her late fifties, told the president she was a divorced mother of three, including a 'mentally challenged' son. The President comforted Mornin on the issue of social security, stating that 'the promises made will be kept by the government', but, without
warning, Mornin began to elaborate:
MS. MORNIN: That's good, because I work three jobs and I feel like I contribute.
BUSH: You work three jobs?
MS. MORNIN: Three jobs, yes.
BUSH: Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that.
...Is it me, or do you also feel this man would flat line a cat scan?
Then there was Senator Bill "l wanna' be President" Frist and his good buddy Tom "the hammer" Delay's ill fated power play - the shameless exploitation of the Terri Schiavo right to die issue. A glossy production undertaken mainly to pander to the party's base - the righteous neo-con evangelical right. The concussion from the explosion of the Supreme Court telling the legislative branch, in essence, to pound salt, reverberates to this day. Let's not forget that the Bushster flew back to Washington, cutting short his Easter vacation brush clearing, in order to facilitate this disgusting folly, which took place after midnight to further enhance the melodrama. If one event could be looked upon as the beginning of the end, I believe this over-reach by the conservative far right wing of the GOP was it.
Following that debacle was Dubya's "can I pick 'em or what" appointment of John Bolton for U.N. Ambassador, which culminated, thanks to members of Bush's own party, in Mr. Milk Mustache having to be snuck through the back door, being granted a recess appointment, valid only until the the end of '06.
Rising gas prices, an issue over which which I believe Bushie actually has the least amount of control, continued to be a major factor in the steady erosion of his poll numbers.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, grieving gold star mom Cindy Sheehan, who who gave us anti-war folks the focal point we needed to join together and be acknowledged, stole the show during what should have been the summer media doldrums, proving for Bushie - There Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Blues.
This is all being played out against the backdrop of the aforementioned CIA leak investigation, the heart of which is the W. Administration's justification for the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld war of choice in Iraq, which I really haven't addressed here because it is a sub-plot which requires its own story board.
Wild Bill Frist's SEC investigation, which has heated up as of late, has of course added to the fray. Then there's Tom Delay and the "baseless" indictment(s) - which have been a LONG time in coming - (I unabashedly grin as I write this). I wonder if the "perception is reality" folks
to my right are making peace with turn about being fair play?
On to the latest plot twist, W's (unsupervised?) pick for Supreme Court Justice, Harriett (muck and) Miers. When you manage to get Bill Kristol, George Will, and Pat Buchanan, among many prominent party faithful, to vociferously express their dissatisfaction, not to mention the Wall Street Journal's editorial page advising you to back off from all the evangelical pro-life chatter (not that there's any litmus test or John Roberts "let's not make religion an issue" double standard here) - you know you've hit a nerve - - - a raw one.
This could have been Bush's crowning achievement - the culmination of all Republican hopes and dreams. His chance to remake the country in the image of the conservatives, to transform America into a right wing myopia - I mean utopia - (Freudian slip). He could have emerged from the ashes as the anointed savior of the Republican party - taking his seat at the right hand of Reagan ..... I feel a hymn coming on .....
Bush has succeeded - in royally fucking up - again. This would-be party potentate, years in the making, has shown up, to the conservative's great chagrin, a day late and a dollar short. It should be mentioned though that this one at least is far from over. If Rove manages not to be indicted, and gets back on the stick, this one could be "righted". (So I hope the Dems are buzzing in case a quick shift in their "don't interrupt the folks who are busy hanging themselves" strategy becomes necessary).
It should also be mentioned that just about every piece of legislation passed by this republican led congress, (yes, they have had some succes), from tort reform to bankruptcy law, has favored big business, and screwed over "we the people."
Katrina merely shined the spotlight directly on this President, who, until recently, had been able to dart between scripted shadows. During Katrina, Rove was in the hospital for kidney stones, and Cheney was, in the bunker? on vacation?? "The Dick" emerged just long enough to ensure Halliburton and FEMA were hooked up, and to be told to go fuck himself on national television by a hurricane victim in Mississippi (poetic justice). Next thing we knew, he was undergoing behind the knee aneurysm surgery.
This is what happens when you leave a half baked semi-fictional creation on his own to "lead". At least the general public seems to have caught on to the idea that competence is the main trait one should demand from an elected official.
Remember, about 20 years after Woodstock, EVERYBODY in the world was happy to tell you "I was there man." I predict 20 years from now, people will be saying, "George W. Bush - I didn't vote for that asshole".
As for Dubya's prospects of climbing out of this canyon....
Fade to Black
It all started when Karl Rove decided that he could mold Georgie B. into a president. Unfortunately, it was President of the United States.
If this were a movie (Pygmalion meets Joan of Arc / co-directed by Stanley Kubrick and Fellini) the screen would dissolve into a glycerin haze, and the flashback sequence would begin....
I believe the public's pereption of Georgie boy began to unravel directly after his '04 election -(no, not re-election, he was appointed by the Supreme Court the first time around.) Giddy with power, and itching to start spending all that hard won political capital, he decided to begin sealing his legacy by revamping social security - an issue, by the way, not mentioned much during the '04 campaign, which is odd considering it became a "crisis" as soon as he was elected.
With that, {cue caliopy music}, the traveling Social Security dog and pony show (which apparently closed on the road) was underway. The entertainment centered around a series of carefully crafted and controlled events for which audience members had to be republican in order to gain admission, and could only ask scripted questions. Even in this this closed circuit environment, Georgie managed to make an ass of himself, most notably during a rare unscripted exchange this past February.
Mary Mornin, a woman in her late fifties, told the president she was a divorced mother of three, including a 'mentally challenged' son. The President comforted Mornin on the issue of social security, stating that 'the promises made will be kept by the government', but, without
warning, Mornin began to elaborate:
MS. MORNIN: That's good, because I work three jobs and I feel like I contribute.
BUSH: You work three jobs?
MS. MORNIN: Three jobs, yes.
BUSH: Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that.
...Is it me, or do you also feel this man would flat line a cat scan?
Then there was Senator Bill "l wanna' be President" Frist and his good buddy Tom "the hammer" Delay's ill fated power play - the shameless exploitation of the Terri Schiavo right to die issue. A glossy production undertaken mainly to pander to the party's base - the righteous neo-con evangelical right. The concussion from the explosion of the Supreme Court telling the legislative branch, in essence, to pound salt, reverberates to this day. Let's not forget that the Bushster flew back to Washington, cutting short his Easter vacation brush clearing, in order to facilitate this disgusting folly, which took place after midnight to further enhance the melodrama. If one event could be looked upon as the beginning of the end, I believe this over-reach by the conservative far right wing of the GOP was it.
Following that debacle was Dubya's "can I pick 'em or what" appointment of John Bolton for U.N. Ambassador, which culminated, thanks to members of Bush's own party, in Mr. Milk Mustache having to be snuck through the back door, being granted a recess appointment, valid only until the the end of '06.
Rising gas prices, an issue over which which I believe Bushie actually has the least amount of control, continued to be a major factor in the steady erosion of his poll numbers.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, grieving gold star mom Cindy Sheehan, who who gave us anti-war folks the focal point we needed to join together and be acknowledged, stole the show during what should have been the summer media doldrums, proving for Bushie - There Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Blues.
This is all being played out against the backdrop of the aforementioned CIA leak investigation, the heart of which is the W. Administration's justification for the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld war of choice in Iraq, which I really haven't addressed here because it is a sub-plot which requires its own story board.
Wild Bill Frist's SEC investigation, which has heated up as of late, has of course added to the fray. Then there's Tom Delay and the "baseless" indictment(s) - which have been a LONG time in coming - (I unabashedly grin as I write this). I wonder if the "perception is reality" folks
to my right are making peace with turn about being fair play?
On to the latest plot twist, W's (unsupervised?) pick for Supreme Court Justice, Harriett (muck and) Miers. When you manage to get Bill Kristol, George Will, and Pat Buchanan, among many prominent party faithful, to vociferously express their dissatisfaction, not to mention the Wall Street Journal's editorial page advising you to back off from all the evangelical pro-life chatter (not that there's any litmus test or John Roberts "let's not make religion an issue" double standard here) - you know you've hit a nerve - - - a raw one.
This could have been Bush's crowning achievement - the culmination of all Republican hopes and dreams. His chance to remake the country in the image of the conservatives, to transform America into a right wing myopia - I mean utopia - (Freudian slip). He could have emerged from the ashes as the anointed savior of the Republican party - taking his seat at the right hand of Reagan ..... I feel a hymn coming on .....
Bush has succeeded - in royally fucking up - again. This would-be party potentate, years in the making, has shown up, to the conservative's great chagrin, a day late and a dollar short. It should be mentioned though that this one at least is far from over. If Rove manages not to be indicted, and gets back on the stick, this one could be "righted". (So I hope the Dems are buzzing in case a quick shift in their "don't interrupt the folks who are busy hanging themselves" strategy becomes necessary).
It should also be mentioned that just about every piece of legislation passed by this republican led congress, (yes, they have had some succes), from tort reform to bankruptcy law, has favored big business, and screwed over "we the people."
Katrina merely shined the spotlight directly on this President, who, until recently, had been able to dart between scripted shadows. During Katrina, Rove was in the hospital for kidney stones, and Cheney was, in the bunker? on vacation?? "The Dick" emerged just long enough to ensure Halliburton and FEMA were hooked up, and to be told to go fuck himself on national television by a hurricane victim in Mississippi (poetic justice). Next thing we knew, he was undergoing behind the knee aneurysm surgery.
This is what happens when you leave a half baked semi-fictional creation on his own to "lead". At least the general public seems to have caught on to the idea that competence is the main trait one should demand from an elected official.
Remember, about 20 years after Woodstock, EVERYBODY in the world was happy to tell you "I was there man." I predict 20 years from now, people will be saying, "George W. Bush - I didn't vote for that asshole".
As for Dubya's prospects of climbing out of this canyon....
Fade to Black
posted by L.F. Gerace at 6:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home