When he was elected President of the College Republicans in 1981 Jack Abramoff was quoted (by way of Today's Globe) as saying the following:
"Our job," Abramoff wrote, "is to remove liberals ''from power permanently -- [from] student newspaper and radio stations, student governments, and academia.
"We are replacing these leftists with committed conservatives."
Well, y' know Jack does come from a famously un-ambitious generation... hence infantile fantasies of domination and elimination were often confused with a sort of go-getter hustling disposition.
Ah but sort of morbid bombast clearly something Jack never outgrew, along with the other political barons of the GOP, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, Karl Rove etc etc etc...
Late at night when the bourbon flowed long enough, they'd start squalling away like bloodthirsty Mau Maus.
Hell they liked being characterized as such, made them feel all tough and studly under all that baby fat.
Still and all that, this does point up a real problem over the long term: in a Two party System, If One Party has indentified it's competition as a Threat to National Security that Must Be Eliminated, then how long can democracy survive?
Monday, February 06, 2006
Sunday, February 05, 2006
John Kerry in Menotomy:
Much to Humble Elias' surprise, our Junior Senator showed up at the local caucus yesterday to make a few introductory remarks. He struck, for the most part a truculent populist tone praised the Local Town Committee and made the necessary argument that the strong efforts of the past will yield victories in the future.
To a crowd that hoped to be yet washing JK's inaugural confetti out of their hair it was a hard sell to say the least.
But he made it, and Kerry deserves credit for making the effort.
If John Kerry has an Imperial Guard, it was Town Hall yesterday, these are his Spartans. They made something akin to 25,000 phone calls on his behalf to New Hampshire in 2004, they flooded the "Arc of Destiny" from Nashua to Manchester from November 2003 to November 2004...they got the vote out.
They have their bona fides and can rightly boast that they helped switch NH to the democrats in 2004.
Imagine what they can do in Massachusetts in 2006?
So hell yes, John Kerry came to say thank you...Napoleon kissed his Imperial Guardsmen, Kerry shook hands and listened to all comers. Deval Patrick was there as well, as was Mike Festa and (so I was told) Tim Murray. These are the people the candidates need to convince to win the primary and then go out and work like New York Cab Drivers in a blizzard.
Otherwise it was good to see JK Playing to the base, don't know what the plan is, but it is a wise move for him to get out there ad keep things agitated. As long as you don't act like you are beaten, then you ain't beat.
To a crowd that hoped to be yet washing JK's inaugural confetti out of their hair it was a hard sell to say the least.
But he made it, and Kerry deserves credit for making the effort.
If John Kerry has an Imperial Guard, it was Town Hall yesterday, these are his Spartans. They made something akin to 25,000 phone calls on his behalf to New Hampshire in 2004, they flooded the "Arc of Destiny" from Nashua to Manchester from November 2003 to November 2004...they got the vote out.
They have their bona fides and can rightly boast that they helped switch NH to the democrats in 2004.
Imagine what they can do in Massachusetts in 2006?
So hell yes, John Kerry came to say thank you...Napoleon kissed his Imperial Guardsmen, Kerry shook hands and listened to all comers. Deval Patrick was there as well, as was Mike Festa and (so I was told) Tim Murray. These are the people the candidates need to convince to win the primary and then go out and work like New York Cab Drivers in a blizzard.
Otherwise it was good to see JK Playing to the base, don't know what the plan is, but it is a wise move for him to get out there ad keep things agitated. As long as you don't act like you are beaten, then you ain't beat.
Friday, February 03, 2006
PS...
Humble Elias has been laid off again...after a mere four months on the job. Damned resource action. Look for more blogging as I am once again cast into the roiling waters of the unemployed.
Ah...I was just wondering...
just who d'ye suppose Kerry Healey is gonna select as her Lt. Gubernatorial running mate?
Romney skipped literally dozens of qualified people to come up with "Failed State Rep Candidate Barbie", no doubt Healey will pick someone even more inept and trivial.
If she was serious she'd go with someone like Dan Grabauskas or Wayne Budd, but Kerry hasn't got the judgement ghod gave a spider monkey, it'll be some bar room bouncer or a losing candidate for Mayor of Peru.
Anyway it'll be an interesting process...Chris Gabrieli and Marie St. Fleur are at lose ends.
Romney skipped literally dozens of qualified people to come up with "Failed State Rep Candidate Barbie", no doubt Healey will pick someone even more inept and trivial.
If she was serious she'd go with someone like Dan Grabauskas or Wayne Budd, but Kerry hasn't got the judgement ghod gave a spider monkey, it'll be some bar room bouncer or a losing candidate for Mayor of Peru.
Anyway it'll be an interesting process...Chris Gabrieli and Marie St. Fleur are at lose ends.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Dear Tom...
You there Mister Attorney General?
Lemme tell you something, stuff like this, is just plain disheartening to all good grass-roots democrats.
You've gone through two Lieutenant Governor candidates in three days big guy, this isn't just bad luck its the spectre of ineptitude that is now stalking you.
Yes, ineptitude, that this all plain democrats hate, the fumbling spirit that steals elections away from us in the cinch.
Already that spiteful no talent bitch Joanie Vennochi has started throwing bouquets and kisses at that social climbing crook Kerry Healey.
You can expect more of this from the other moderate worwhipping punditariat at the Globe in the daze to come.
First things first though, don't listen to Joanie Vennochi, don't listen to any of them as a matter of fact. The lot of them aren't worth the powder necessary to blow them all to hell.
Nonetheless, ya gotta so something about this Tom, the news isn't gonna do you much good in the caucuses this Saturday and the rest of the Lt. Governor's spread is cheesed off at you. However, they will get over it sooner or alter their ambitions and yours will have to comingle at some point.
I'd lay off the search for a running mate right now, you've run out of time and blown through the options, concentrate on a good showing at the caucuses. Use St. Fleur's withdrawal to discuss our crippling dependence on debt to run the macro-economy and increasing our households.
Always strike a populist tone Tom, keep reminding folks that you are the only non-millionaire in this race. Don't back on off on your crimefighting bona fides either, you've throw a lot of crooks in jail, now its time to help you keep a big crook like Kerry Healey out of the corner office.
Stuff like that...yes its crude but it will get something started.
In short, keep punching, otherwise people will start wishing Bill Galvin hadn't bailed.
Sincerely
Humble Elias
Lemme tell you something, stuff like this, is just plain disheartening to all good grass-roots democrats.
You've gone through two Lieutenant Governor candidates in three days big guy, this isn't just bad luck its the spectre of ineptitude that is now stalking you.
Yes, ineptitude, that this all plain democrats hate, the fumbling spirit that steals elections away from us in the cinch.
Already that spiteful no talent bitch Joanie Vennochi has started throwing bouquets and kisses at that social climbing crook Kerry Healey.
You can expect more of this from the other moderate worwhipping punditariat at the Globe in the daze to come.
First things first though, don't listen to Joanie Vennochi, don't listen to any of them as a matter of fact. The lot of them aren't worth the powder necessary to blow them all to hell.
Nonetheless, ya gotta so something about this Tom, the news isn't gonna do you much good in the caucuses this Saturday and the rest of the Lt. Governor's spread is cheesed off at you. However, they will get over it sooner or alter their ambitions and yours will have to comingle at some point.
I'd lay off the search for a running mate right now, you've run out of time and blown through the options, concentrate on a good showing at the caucuses. Use St. Fleur's withdrawal to discuss our crippling dependence on debt to run the macro-economy and increasing our households.
Always strike a populist tone Tom, keep reminding folks that you are the only non-millionaire in this race. Don't back on off on your crimefighting bona fides either, you've throw a lot of crooks in jail, now its time to help you keep a big crook like Kerry Healey out of the corner office.
Stuff like that...yes its crude but it will get something started.
In short, keep punching, otherwise people will start wishing Bill Galvin hadn't bailed.
Sincerely
Humble Elias
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
By the Way...
don't tell anyone, keep it on the QT but I think we won on Monday.
Yeah I know, Kennedy and Kerry were only able to swing twenty five votes behind a filibuster bid but stop and think, they whomped that coalition together in something like four days.
If they'd had a full week and a little luck who knows what they could've accomplished?
A progressive block, a resistance center if you will is forming in the US Senate. It isn't coalescing at a speed pleasing to the internet, the personalities aren't net favorites, but it is happening. Our jobs as bloggers and the new media punditariat is to nurture this block and get them in contact with the base.
A transmission belt has been created, up until now, liberal politics on line has been enthusiastic but a top-down phenomenon.
Now however a disparate coalition of bloggers and on line activists pushed the filibuster hard and got results...Feinstein flipped completely to our side and Obama (who wanted to get through this mishaugas unseen I suspect) was forced off the bench and into the fight.
As Stirling Newbury put it, Obama and Feinstein decided to play to the base for once and not curry the goodwill of Chris Matthews and Tim Russert.
Why did they decide to play to the base? Because the blogger community highlighted the issue and pushed it hard.
Not bad for a motley and leaderless bunch of "moon bats".
There is much more to be done though, issues and agendas must be delineated, the transmission belt must be improved and made reliable and efficient. Link all that up with the right coalition of senators and then push the sumbitch hard and we can bring the praetorian class to its knees.
Yeah I know, Kennedy and Kerry were only able to swing twenty five votes behind a filibuster bid but stop and think, they whomped that coalition together in something like four days.
If they'd had a full week and a little luck who knows what they could've accomplished?
A progressive block, a resistance center if you will is forming in the US Senate. It isn't coalescing at a speed pleasing to the internet, the personalities aren't net favorites, but it is happening. Our jobs as bloggers and the new media punditariat is to nurture this block and get them in contact with the base.
A transmission belt has been created, up until now, liberal politics on line has been enthusiastic but a top-down phenomenon.
Now however a disparate coalition of bloggers and on line activists pushed the filibuster hard and got results...Feinstein flipped completely to our side and Obama (who wanted to get through this mishaugas unseen I suspect) was forced off the bench and into the fight.
As Stirling Newbury put it, Obama and Feinstein decided to play to the base for once and not curry the goodwill of Chris Matthews and Tim Russert.
Why did they decide to play to the base? Because the blogger community highlighted the issue and pushed it hard.
Not bad for a motley and leaderless bunch of "moon bats".
There is much more to be done though, issues and agendas must be delineated, the transmission belt must be improved and made reliable and efficient. Link all that up with the right coalition of senators and then push the sumbitch hard and we can bring the praetorian class to its knees.
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