Daboo on :
Nice to hear your voice on the blog!
Sunday, January 20. 2008An "allegory" for our times.
Sup.
So I've seen a couple of entries here that discuss the primaries, and to that end, wondered if you, keen observers of the world (real and warcraft...y) might enjoy a little story I wrote, allegory actually, about the absurdity that is the Rebulican race thus far on LaskoVision. If you would be so Kind: The Tale of Phollyville Thanks in advance and honored to have a login to such a prestigious roundtable such as the Homestarmy. I hope I do has what it takes. Trackbacks
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Daboo on :
Nice to hear your voice on the blog!
Mad Giggler on :
Interesting take on things. I don't particularly agree with your simplification of things, but I like to see what Romney fans have to say about him all the same.
Danny on :
What don't you agree with? You're a "blue shoes" kind of guy, right? That's not a knock, I just want to know the context of the response. And mostly, I want to know why you aren't a Romney fan.
The Mad Giggler on :
I like to think of myself as a "red and blue" shoes kind of guy with red dots on my socks. I can't really endorse any of the candidates wholeheartedly. None of them is my "perfect" choice.
Like I said, I just think you've oversimplified a few things. I won't really touch on your blue shoes candidates other than to say I think Obama has more to offer than just "ideas." I think you've hit the nail on the head with Huckabee. He screams "one trick pony" to me. McCain on the other hand is deeper than just "we know him so well. He looks like my grandpa." For one thing, he's the one blue candidate who doesn't seem to go along with whatever the party says just because the party says it. He's shown in the past that he's willing to bridge the partisan divide, which is something that Phollyville really needs. Your well-coifed man has very little to offer me other than his red-dotted socks. I get the distinct impression he'll say anything to get into office, which means I have no idea what he'd do once he gets in. Just because he has red-dotted socks doesn't mean he's a great guy either. There have been plenty of people wearing red dots on their socks that failed to live up to the red dot standard. And there are plenty of people not wearing red dots on their socks that exceed those standards. Ancient of Days on :
My take on all the "red shoe" candidates:
Guliani is a political bull trying to get himself voted into a china closet. He doesn't have the tact or political skill it will take to guide the country for the next 4-8 years. Huckabee seems a simpleton, and is pushing a taxation concept that sounds like an intellectual ivory tower that will never bear the burden of our government's spending habits - no one President can do that, I don't think. It would take a completely clean slate in D.C., including getting rid of the lobbyists, DoD, DoHS, et al. Where MG sees McCain as someone "willing to bridge the partisan divide", I see someone who doesn't have strong political convictions of his own, who goes with the polticial expediency of the moment. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't want Romney to win. Everything he tries to do will be overshadowed by his religion - it'll be the only thing the media wants to talk about. That aside, I think Romney is the best chance. Sideshow on :
I think the Religion story will get played out. It'll be more of a focus during the candidacy but I think it'll go away were he to be elected. It would come up occassionally, sure, but overall I think it wouldn't be a major factor post election.
That being said I can't support Romney, I agree completely with what Giggler said about him. I can't trust him. He'll say what he thinks we want to hear whether it's the truth, a stretching of the truth, or a flat out lie. (See his comment regarding his father marching with MLK) In this regard he's only slightly better than the Shoemaker's Wife. Ancient of Days on :
I disagree...every decision he makes will be second-guessed, labelled "Look what the 'Mormon President' did."
The Mad Giggler on :
I don't want to get into a fight over McCain, and I'll openly admit that I haven't followed his career as closely as I'd like, but I have read stories over the last eight years (I didn't really take interest in him until he lost to Bush) about him working out deals with leading Democrats to push worthwhile things through in Congress.
Example: "One such effort is the cap-and-trade system in which market forces are used to reduce the overall emissions of greenhouse gases. Joe Lieberman and John McCain have crossed the aisle to introduce this legislation in the Senate. It is backed by 44 Senators from both parties, and the companion bill in the House has 81 co-sponsors from both sides of aisle." - http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:k7T2lmusJsIJ:www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_ektid23012.aspx+willing+to+bridge+the+partisan+divide+mccain&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us He certainly has had a few about-face moments on key issues, and that's all I really want to say on that. I agree that Romney's religion overshadows things too much, but judging by his promises made to get into office in MA and subsequent behavior while in said office (not to mention his various campaign themes this past year), I don't feel that I can trust anything he says. Captain Jack Sparrow on :
I'm not sure I understand the mistrust in Romney. Yes, he said his dad marched with MLK and there's no proof, but there's no proof he didn't, either. As for his promises in the election for Gov of MA, he kept them. He said he wouldn't touch abortion laws and he didn't.
And whatever else, the guy is the most accomplished presidential candidate we my ever have had. No one has come out and said, "I worked with Romney and he's a jerk, a liar, or anything else. No one from MA is saying he's a liar. "They" call him a flip-flopper when the only thing he's "flipped" on is he said he wouldn't touch the abortion laws and now he says he will make it a state case. Looking back at his record, the guy has kept his promises. The Mormon thing is about as high-profile as the Kennedy and Catholicism and it went away. Certainly, if he was caught drinking coffee the press would have a field day, and there will be some anti-blogs talking about how he was being influenced by SLC, but the same thing happened to Kennedy. And in terms of his "themes", From his speech announcing his candidacy he has preached "Washington is broken," and he's the candidate of "innovation and change". The media started talking about how he evidently saw it working for Obama so he's using it. He used it first. Check it out for yourself. Bottom line, the guy has kept his promises, is wildly successful, is the most qualified, graduated from Harvard Law and got an MBA at the same time and graduated in the top 3% of each class. He has demonstrated success in non-profit, for profit, and government endeavors. Not to mention the fact that he shut down his business for three days and sent his entire staff to go look for his business partner's daughter in NYC. And if you don't think that's true, it's the stuff of legend in MA. Anyone will tell you that story. Thanks, guys. I appreciate your comments on the story and your take on the race. Mad Giggler on :
Look, I'm not saying Romney doesn't have good points; for me, it's a toss-up between him and McCain on the red side, but he didn't exactly leave MA with a favorable impression (43% approval rating). (http://wbztv.com/local/Mass.Insight.Boston.2.578841.html) Now look at the way he changes stances:
A) Campaigns in MA hinting that he is "pro choice." (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E6DB153FF935A15753C1A962958260 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/romney-attended.html) Wins office and shortly thereafter decides he is, in fact, "pro life." (http://www.mittromney.com/Issue-Watch/Values) B) He backs a law granting civil unions to same-sex couples then decided to oppose it. (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/02/23/romneys_stance_on_civil_unions_draws_fire/) Now, every candidate changes positions from time to time, so let me add that I don't agree with some of his positions that he's actually stuck with: A) "Enhanced Interrogation Technics": When asked directly whether waterboarding was torture, Romney stated, "[A]s a presidential candidate, I don't think it's wise for us to describe specifically which measures we would and would not use." http://us.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/debate.transcript.part2/index.html B) This is a blue issue for me, but I don't care for Romney's stance on immigration. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atewSkkXANnk&refer=home http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney#Immigration C) I don't particularly care for his Foreign Policy. I think we've extended our troops enough, and he seems pretty hawkish judging by statements he's made in various debates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney#Foreign_policy Sideshow on :
I agree here. I think Romney is a good person. I think he's a good business man. Romney did a great job helping to clean up the mess that was the SLOC after the bribery scandal hit the news.
I don't know that he can really be called "most accomplished presidential candidate we my ever have had.", but Of All the GOP Candidates I would much prefer him or McCain than Any of the Others. I'd much prefer him over Hilary. I just can't say that there aren't things about his politics, and his issue flip-flopping that don't have me worried. The fact that he is so willing to tell people what they want to hear is a scare. And Like Giggler there are things in his platform that he hasn't changed his mind on that I don't like as well. Truthfully right now it means nothing to me. I'm not voting in the Utah Republican Primary because I refuse to affiliate myself with one side or the other. To vote in the Democratic primary I don't have to do that, so I'm more focused on the Demo's than I am the GOP. Sideshow on :
There's proof that MLK was in a different part of the country on the day he said he Marched with him.
Radar on :
Why isn't anyone talking about the independently owned shoe store? They make shoes that everyone can wear.
Mad Giggler on :
Kodos: It's true, we are aliens. But what are you going to do about it? It's a two-party system; you have to vote for one of us.
Slave Guy: He's right, this is a two-party system. Radar: Well, I believe I'll vote for a third-party candidate. Kang: Go ahead, throw your vote away. http://www.snpp.com/episodes/4F02.html |
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