As you may have noticed, I’ve changed the look here. I’m not sure I’m going to keep it, but I’m going to give a while. We’re almost at the end of a very eventful year, and next year is likely to be equally eventful. Hopefully not as eventful when it comes to natural disasters, but it’s going to be one anyways. In a few weeks, we’ll start into the primary season, and that’ll take up a good portion of the news. No matter what, things are going to be … interesting. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do here, but I am sure I’ll have an opinion.
One of the things I’m going to be interested in, is seeing just who is left standing in the Republican field at the end of January. While this is a good thing, at the same time, it has made me realize just how much trouble the Republican Party is in. As much as it’s been entertaining, and definitely blog fodder, it’s disturbing to see the sheer ineptness. It’s an amateur hour instead of a serious run for the presidency. It’s the failure to properly vet themselves, to plan on how they’re going to present their message, and even make the ballot in some states that is just jaw-dropping. If you can’t take care of the basics of a national campaign, what makes you think you’re going to be able to take care of the country?
A little note to any of the “purists”: The next time someone advises you to “stay home” to “send a message,” ignore them. In fact, anyone who espouses staying home instead of voting is not a “real progressive,” they’re actually advocating for the Republicans. Milt Shook pointed it out over at Please Cut The Crap – Republicans win by suppressing voting, Democrats win when people vote. In 2010, there were a lot who advocated staying home , and look how that worked out. If there was ever a case of shooting yourself in the foot, that was it.
It’s not just that the House went to Republican control. States went to Republicans. Rachel Maddow put it this way: “If Congress is where policy goes to die, the states were where the Republicans let their freak flag fly. ” What does that mean? It means you end up with anti-union measures, voting laws to combat non-existent “fraud,” anti-immigration measures, cuts in services, and other things. Oh, and as a little point, it also handed redistricting to them, and I guarantee you that most aren’t interested in making things “fair.”
One of the things to remember when you see some of the “Professional Left” advocate this way: They’re not going to get hurt by it. No, seriously, they’re not. If they’re not in the 1%, they’re damn close. Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Arianna Huffington, Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher, et.al., will still have a nice comfortable lifestyle, in fact, will make more money if the Republicans win. It’s to their benefit if it happens. You might want think about that the next time one of them tells you to “send a message” and not vote.
Norbrook's Blog 
The real problem is that the people who genuinely listen to and are influenced by the Left Freak Show are not the people who are likely to read *any* of the pragmatic blogs.
True for the most part, but every now and then they get exposed to some of us. Usually when someone bitches about what we’re writing. 😉
Is it legal to copy and paste some of this to facebook? Paragraphs three and four are essential reading!
Yes, it’s legal. You have my permission – in the guidelines I put all the stuff about “copying” my posts. 😆
Norbrook, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate Christmas! I also wish you and your family A Happy New Year!
Once again thank you so much for this post, which, as always, is filled with valuable political insights. I plan to share this with many people I know who are followers of the “Professional Left.” I especially want to emphasize to them the compelling wisdom of your last paragraph:
“One of the things to remember when you see some of the “Professional Left” advocate this way: They’re not going to get hurt by it. No, seriously, they’re not. If they’re not in the 1%, they’re damn close. Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Arianna Huffington, Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher, et.al., will still have a nice comfortable lifestyle, in fact, will make more money if the Republicans win. It’s to their benefit if it happens. You might want think about that the next time one of them tells you to “send a message” and not vote.”
Thank you. It’s one of those things that I started thinking about a while ago. Why would supposedly progressive advocates be pushing a course which would be so destructive to the progressive agenda? It’s if you look at their self-interest that it becomes clearer. When were they doing the best, when were they getting a lot of attention? When Republicans controlled the government.
Look at Michael Moore’s home page. He’s all over Occupy Wall Street. My goodness, he’s jumping around the country hyping it, and not coincidentally, getting himself on camera and burnishing his “progressive” credentials. But, if you take a look at EclectaBlog, you’d realize that there are some serious problems being caused in Michigan by the Republican governor and legislature, particularly the wholesale destruction of local democracies. Funny how nothing about that gets mentioned on Moore’s page, even though he lives in Michigan.
aside…. I haven’t watched Olbermann since the day he accused the New Mexico State OFA director of being the third worst person of the day, without fact checking. The OFA director here in NM is excellent. Olberman’s comments were irresponsible and he never apologized… end of aside 🙂
I never watched Olbermann, even when he was on MSNBC. That’s because the local cable company doesn’t carry MSNBC or Current. In fact, there’s a lot of channels it doesn’t carry. 😥 So most of my exposure to him was watching parts of the show over the Internet, and really, his schtick got old in a hurry.
I so ♥ you but this is a very hard format for my old eyes. However, I will not forsake you and I will stand for GOTV 2012.
I’ll see what I can do about that – I might change the background, and I’m not welded to any particular theme at the moment.
Same reaction to the new look here. The old one may have been stodgy, but it was a heckuva lot more legible stodgy.
That said, I shall not forsake you, Norbrook. Even if you DO give these old eyes a hard time deciphering your pearls.
How does this look work for you? This is a different theme, called “Adventure.”
Yes, thank you! Much easier to read while still a refreshing change. Well done.
Hard on my old eyes, too, Norbrook. The changes in the background color behind the words seem to disrupt the reading of the words. Maybe it is an old brain that is the problem, and not the eyes. Anyway, it causes effort to concentrate. Other than that, it is gorgeous. 😉
My eyesight isn’t great but this version today, Tuesday, works well for me.
Norbrook – your blog is currently my favorite. I enjoy thinking about the questions and comments you pose. Plus, I like the group of people who post here. It has more of a ‘community’ feel to it, in large part because you take time to reply when there is time.
What do readers think the folks in their neighborhood, community, or city think about the issues addressed in blogs? Do you think the balance will shift from writing to talking with people live?
I talk with people where I live all the time – more than I actually do on the blogs. 😀 It’s a function of living in a small town, and yes, we get a breadth of viewpoints. For example, I have a friendly relationship with someone who is a “sovereign citizen.” 🙄 Yes, I think he’s full of it, and he thinks the same of me. 😆 I have friends and family who are conservatives, and so on. Somehow we manage to find things to agree on, and I’ve been known to persuade some. 😉
And there’s another reason I like this blog; there’s a wide view of the various components of campaign communication and not a sole focus on mass media.
Shortly OFA’s immediate plans for 2012 will begin to surface. They’ll pose a not insurmountable challenge to the blogosphere and twitterverse. I’m sure we’ll be talking about this here soon.
(I’m off to meet with two ladies for coffee, a retired Union President, and an active neighborhood contact. We’re catching up and talking about 2012.)
When I first saw this format, I thought (as I mentioned in a previous post) that you had moved into your rec room. My folks had this exact paneling in theirs … in 1970. 😉
The Republican presidential primaries are going to yield a candidate called None of The Above. My greatest fear is that that will lure Jeb Bush into the race. The fear is not so much that he would beat Obama (although he would certainly give him a run for his money) but that he would unify the Republicans. Right now a fractured GOP leading to low enthusiasm or even a third party bid are the suspenders (as in belts and suspenders) that I would like to have for 2012. “Republicans in Disarray” is something I want to see through and including November 6, 2012.
I think a lot of that is going to depend on whether Romney (let’s face it, he’s the default) can get enough delegates to avoid a brokered convention, and whether the failed candidates will line up behind him after that.
Even so, the extremely lukewarm support he has from the various base groups is not going to translate into massive turnout on their part. My personal opinion is that while Jeb might be thinking of a run, “drafting” him is equally a bad proposition.
Thanks Kiddo! This black on white is much easier to read ♥
You’re welcome. I was having trouble reading the previous format (a theme called “Dark Wood”) myself last night once I got tired. 🙄 So, this morning, I took a look around and found this one. It’s a little easier, and I like that I can put a header picture on it.