Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Even Colbert Is Getting Cranky



Stephen Colbert - infamous for his ability to make Americans laugh about the sometimes heart-breaking absurdities of politics - is getting cranky.  Some of the quotes from his coverage of the Republican National Convention include:


 "Ryan stretching the truth to make his speech more effective is just another form of doping.  In that, if you believe him, you are a dope."

"That's a great new slogan.  Fox News: Shut Up And Watch."

"'Our dining room table was a fold-down ironing board in the kitchen' -- Ann Romney

Can you imagine?  It must have been so awkward when the maid interrupted their dinner to iron."

"The lame-stream nit-pick patrol are now saying there were other times when Ryan misrepresented the facts in his speech.  Here's when they say he was lying - riiiiight there when he starts moving his lips!"


Election cycles are grueling.  In 2004, I was agitated between the rock and a harder place of Kerry and Bush.  I wasn't enthusiastic about John Kerry but I also didn't like the jingoist war-mongering of Bush's presidency.  In 2008, I was considerably perturbed to see McCain - a maverick whose views I didn't agree with but whose integrity I had always respected - devolve into a politician pandering to the lowest common denominator.  This election, I have been transfixed by the candidacy of Mitt Romney: his endless flip-flopping, handy ease with facts, and irritation towards dissent remind me of Mormon authorities in a way that invokes unpleasant memories of my past.  Then Romney picked Paul Ryan as a running mate and the situation has been devolving ever since.  Last week's Republican convention made me long for the old 'Etch-A-Sketch' days, when people assumed Romney would once again shift to a centrist position after securing his party's nomination.    

I thought elections couldn't get any worse than the last one.  But in the past four years, I have watched our legislators squabble like children, forgetting the people whom they have sworn to uphold and serve.  Working together to solve the problems of our nation seems to be a dim memory.  

I don't know what the outcome of this election will be.  When a comedian whose job is to make people laugh at the absurd runs out of jokes, I find myself afraid for the future of my country.  What is in store for us as a nation?  Will we allow our politicians to continue distorting facts and blocking necessary legislation on partisan grounds?  Or will we dig deep as a nation and demand a higher standard of the people we have elected to serve us?  

Jon Huntsman Jr, former Governor of Utah and Ambassador to China, came onto the Colbert Report last week.  When Stephen Colbert asked him about the future of the Republican party, his response was:  

"It's got to be more.  It's got to have a heart and soul.  It's got to have solutions for this country.  When was the last time we sat down as a people and talked about solutions?"


14 comments:

  1. As the days progress, Romney looks more and more like somebody who will do or say anything to get elected.

    Love the crack about the Romney's ironing board. :)

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    Replies
    1. Which would make him different from every other politician how?

      Given the world domination dogma of the mormon church I swore I'd never elect a mormon to any political office. But even though Romneys economic plan is basically Obamas at half speed it is still better.

      Quite frankly the greatest tradgedy of american politics was expanding the vote from land owners to all white me over 21

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    2. Honestly, I fail to see how reducing taxes on the wealthy 1% - and gutting social programs that serve people in need - is a better alternative to what Obama has been attempting to do. (I would like to emphasize attempt, as Republicans have been notorious for blocking any and all attempts at passing legislation.)

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    3. Scott has finally, after seriously considering all sides of a Pancake, that he is voting for Smokey The Beat! (Tada!)

      He think some of his friends way join if we can just find a black that is white. ;-)

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    4. It was supposed to be Smokey Bear, but Smokey Beat could work too. Lol

      I guess I am not as ready to be up and around as I wish I was. Sigh. My mantra - Rest is the way through

      Oh, and there are two posts, the first was this morning The second at Main Street Plaza. :-)

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    5. And I fail to see how constsaly calling for the finacial punishment of the successful is any better. The top 10% pay something like 70% of all taxes. The bottom 50% gets more money from the governemt than they pay in.

      SS was never met to be an invesment vehicle, it was designed as a saftey net primarily for WW widows, and secondarily for those who managed to live longer than the national average and didnt have the funds to support themselves.

      Its become a ponzi scheme.

      I have no problem with helping those who need it, and I dont agree with the programs up first on the chopping block according to Repubs.

      But answer me this, why does the first lady, which is not on offical government position need 20 aides? Why does the Dept of Education need a SWAT team? Why do we give billions in aid to african governemnts, finace their overthrow and then forgive their debt?

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  2. "Fox News: Shut Up And Watch" was a hilarious moment. I also liked Colbert's commentary on the news media's assessment of Romney's acceptance speech as "solid" -- Colbert concluded that Romney would not conform to the shape of his container, and that objects could not pass through him.

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    1. Those were some good moments! :) And Fox News' assessment of Ryan's speech - I've never heard Fox speak that way of a Republican before.

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  3. What disappointed me most about Romney's speech was the flat out lying. For him to stand there and say he "really wanted Obama to succeed" was just too much. I had a flashback to him saying otherwise and sure enough Jon Stewart found the clip. Shortly after Obama was elected, I stopped watching FOX news. It was just too much negativity for me as a conservative Christian. I thought, surely the president isn't as evil as they portray him to be day in and day out.

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    1. Thank you for commenting - I am so happy to hear your viewpoint. I don't understand the antipathy towards Obama; even if you don't agree with his vision for the country, I don't think that is an excuse to vilify him. To paraphrase Huntsman, I think we all need to sit down and have an honest dialogue about solving our country;s problems.

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    2. I really liked Jon Huntsman. I really believe he would be a better candidate but he was willing to work together to get things done. In the era of the Tea Party, that mentality is no longer acceptable.

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  4. Great post!

    I including it, with another link, as part of my roundup of bloggernaccle posts that are funny, respectful and encourage discussion, with some Daily Show video links thrown in for a fun surprise. ;-)

    Hope you are doing okay!

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I love hearing comments and I welcome all viewpoints; however, I request that if you do choose to comment, please do so in a manner that is constructive and respectful of others.