By PSmith, February 27 at 4:53 pm

•  “Gore Vidal’s line is that the GOP are not a political party. They are a bunch of rich people who want to get and to keep as much money as possible. They want to pay NO taxes. They do not want to contribute to the common good. They have nothing but contempt for the rest of US. Particularly they dislike those who have come to ‘their’ country.”

~~~

Well Psmith, thanks for posting this from Gore Vidal. He’s right of course, but this reminded me that not necessarily everyone has figured this out.

It’s particularly problematic that the POOREST of the republican supporters, haven’t figured it out. They honestly think their ‘one of them’. They don’t get that they as held in as much contempt as the rest of us, though that should be even easier to figure out now than it ever has been.

re: By Folktruther, February 27 at 1:27 pm:

No, Folktruther, it wasn’t just about the form; it was indeed about the substance.

I mean, what the hell was this asinine attack on volcano monitoring? Maybe the governor of the state that received over a $120 billion in federal aid after Katrina thinks hurricane monitoring is also a waste of money?

As Paul Krugman has pointed out, the GOP’s critique amounts to snickering at things that might sound funny to a dull-witted thirteen-year-old: the self-styled ‘party of ideas’ is now the party of Beavis and Butthead.

”...Obama wants to fund meat inspections?? Dude, Obama wants to see your meat! - huh-huh-huh….”

GORE VIDAL contd

THE FUTURE - BLACK, NATURALLY; IT IS GORE VIDAL AFTER ALL

There was a Youtube interview with Gore Vidal by Patt Morrison from 1995. Now sadly deleted with Mandelbrotion’s page.

In which Vidal explained Timothy McVeigh, and the Oklahama bombing as payback for a US government that is the enemy of its people, based on Ruby Ridge and Waco. McVeigh, he thought, didn’t know he was killing children; ‘he did it in a fit of rage.’ He was a first class soldier, who won medals in Iraq 1991. But he had to be portrayed as a madman. In fact, based on his writing, he was ‘a brilliant kid, who would have made a good constitional lawyer.’

And the extreme militia types are ‘the future of the country - the men with the flags and the guns.’ “This is just the very start of the violence.”

That ‘if the government had a brain it would leave these people - who hate the government, as much as I do, alone. But, oh no, they have to go in and kill them.’

And that ‘when bankrupt, the only enemy left for the government (the US Military Industrial Congressional complex) - a permanent wartime government - is ... the US people.’ With two million people in jail and five million involved in the criminal justice system; “a disgrace.” It didn’t come to pass as he direly predicted then.

We hope that it won’t do so now either. But it is worth bearing in mind that Gore Vidal foresaw that it could, in 1995.

Even more fascinating was his view that ‘there has been a quiet exodus of middleclass Americans who don’t want their children to grow up here.’ Where there was ‘no education system for the poor.’

That the people didn’t realise that they are ‘getting screwed.’ That the US is highly taxed, considering that, unlike Europe, they get so little for their money; with no state medical system, no welfare state, terrible public education system. Taxes; ‘it all goes for war.’

Prescient indeed.

Download your Gore Vidal youtube videos while they are still there. And ponder them when they disappear. Or before.

With Amy Goodman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHaXtSXD8ww

Riz Khan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjoV29dt4AQ

Afshin Rattansi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjCBR-vABMc

CBC - George Stroumboulopoulos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcO4WD5Z81c

Jon Snow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KgkFNSHYno

GORE VIDAL

@ Nelson Robison, February 27 at 10:30 am #
> the Grand Orgy Party

We have seen the lies of the Cheney years - 911, Katrina, Afghanistan, Iraq, looting the treasury, war profiteering, financial crimes, fraudulent bailout, loss of Magna Carta - habeus corpus, police state surveillance, police state enabling legislation. On and on. The last eight years ‘brought to US via Chevron and the Oil Lobby.’

The one person who’s apocryphal vision is equal to the depth of the darkness of the GOP is ... Gore Vidal.

In his multiple youtube videos he excoriates them time and again. He doesn’t say anything good about the Democrats either. There is, he says, one property party with two right wings - Democrat and Republican.

Gore Vidal’s line is that the GOP are not a political party. They are a bunch of rich people who want to get and to keep as much money as possible. They want to pay NO taxes. They do not want to contribute to the common good. They have nothing but contempt for the rest of US. Particularly they dislike those who have come to ‘their’ country.

In every respect, his analysis - including his direst predictions - now appears prescient. In good times he seemed unrealistically extreme. Without a cloud in the sky. But at this moment, with the storm of the century about to recommence, his fears and his worst case scenarios are vital in order to be forearmed against the worst possibilities if the recovery fails. Or is not allowed to succeed.

This does not mean that one should not work and speak for its success. But the wise investor looks first to the worst case outcome - ‘Don’t get wiped out.’ In our case, literally. - Nassim Taleb, Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan.

I think there may be amethod to the Repug madness. consider how quickly Corn was accepted as an alternative fuel- readily produced, auto retooled and service stations equipped. Interesting that even though Electric cars have a long research history they were quickly pushed aside for Corn Biofuels.
Unfortunately the reality that corn bases fuels would seriously effect food production and availablity did not come to mind until it actually happened. Big surprise that ‘Liberal’ Idea proved to be nearly fatal. Gee have to scrape that idea and go back to fossil fuels until another ‘good’ idea surfaces.
Now Consideration of picking a New Gov, with an investigation of charges of Abuse of power already in progress.Have her ‘work’ her folksy way, then take her to Neimann Marcus on a shopping binge. then let it leak. Portray her as the worldest Greatest Mom and wait to reveal her 17 yr old daughter is Pregnant out of wedlock.
Now take another new Gov, who’s state was allowed to be ravaged and people killed because of Gov’t inaction, and have him Respsond to the Address made by the New Popular Pres to both houses of Congress. A Gov should respond to a Congressional Address? Also be sure he is the most soft spoken and least talented speaker to follow the most captivating and savvy speaker.Be sure he speaks from an isolated spot with rhetoric which only speaks to his experience, after a Unifying, Communal Experience about where we all find our selves Now.
Add to that the ‘Redo’s’ Steel has had to humilate himself rectifying to adhere to the RNC’s dictatorial mandates.Steel is not a stupid man, but having to constantly clarify his previous comments makes him look stupid.
Repug are setting up ‘their’ minorities to fail intentionally. By choosing the least apt, the least prepared and the weakest competitors who can be easily knocked down everytime they open their mouths.
Repugs are using minorities like they used corn biofuels- Trying to prove their ideas and personnel choices have always been far more superior (Oily White Christian Men)when Ruling the Country.
they are either luring minorities in to use them as their patsy’s or they are trying to send a clear message to ‘Keep Out’- either way works for them.

The comments aqre entirely about form, not substance.  And assumes that Real politics is between the Dems and Gops, both of whom support the rich and powerful.

After viewing Gov. Bobby Jindal’s response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, I have come to some conclusions regarding the Grand Orgy Party;
1) They have no one in the stable to take over. Their populist strategies are now going down in flames, and they are not anywhere near finding someone with the charisma and intelligence of Barack Obama.
2) The Grand Orgy Party is just that, a grand orgy of excess when it comes to their plans, but the “NO” party when it comes to bailing out the common people of America. These people have only self-interest at heart and care not one whit whether the rest of Americans go down in flames economically, socially, and become homeless and hungry.
3) The Party itself is made up of people for whom the
rest of America is nothing more than wage-slave labour that does not concern them. If all jobs go overseas then so be it, they(the corporations)still don’t have to pay any taxes on their earnings from selling goods in America.
4) As the demographic shifts in America, the Republican party will become less and less meaningful
and without doubt will try to steal more and more elections.  Progressives and people with a stake in how government is run, should be aware of the consequences of another stolen election like 2000. We would then he in a heap of shit, that the American
people would not be able to climb out of for possibly
centuries.
All this being said, Bobby Jindal is the worst public
speaker I have seen in a generation. How he became governor of Louisiana is beyond me, with such a rich history of public speakers, could not the GOP find another person to run for office, and about his clothes, someone better give that man lessons in “power clothing.”  The worst suit since a pastor I remember in Lake Worth Fla, who bragged he never spent more than $100.00 on any given suit, and it truly shows on Bobby Jindal.

The republicans are desperate; they’re auditioning anyone who might be able to lift them out of the sewer their party has become.

http://www.iauthorbooks.com

This is all just too strange, and totally creepy. Like Sarah Palin.

~~

Will Revelations About Bobby Jindal’s Weird Secret Past Destroy His Political Career?

By Max Blumenthal, The Daily Beast. Posted February 25, 2009.

http://www.alternet.org/story/128913/will_revelations_about_bobby_jindal’s_weird_secret_past_destroy_his_political_career/

It was a flop all right.

Desperate people (and groups) do desperate things, eh?

This was downright suicidal.

Should be serving Slurpys at the local 7-11.

“The quickest rise to prominence, followed by the fastest plummet from the pedestal, in recent political history”?

I’m sure Sarah Palin is relieved that someone else now holds that record!

Eddie Haskel, “Hello, Mrs Cleaver….errr.. I Mean…Good evening my fellow Rush Huffers”

rush has his back.  he knows they have nothing else in the stable.