Thursday, December 1, 2011

World View


My oldest friend is traveling in Europe (again). In his emails he's said more than once how astounded Europeans are (yeah, I know, why should we give a shit, right?) at the spectacle of American politics in this election season. Along those lines, and probably breaching some form of netiquette, I'll reprint the following article in its entirety. And I'll remind the reader that the last sentence is something I've said here many times:

A Club of Liars, Demagogues, and Fools

By Scott Horton

The German newsweekly Spiegel takes the latest disclosures concerning Herman Cain and the rise of Newt Gingrich as an opportunity to offer a foreign bird’s-eye view of the current Republican Party and the American media froth around it. My translation:

“Africa is a country. The Taliban rule in Libya. Muslims are terrorists. Immigrants are mostly criminals, Occupy Wall Street protesters are always dirty. And women who claim to have been sexually molested should kindly keep quiet.”

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Republican Party. Or rather: to the distorted world of its presidential campaign. For months it has coiled through the country like a traveling circus, from debate to debate, from scandal to scandal, contesting the mightiest office in the world — and nothing is ever too unfathomable for them… These eight presidential wannabes are happy enough not only to demolish their own reputations but also that of their party, the once worthy party of Abraham Lincoln. They are also ruining the reputation of the United States.

They lie, deceive, scuffle and speak every manner of idiocy. And they expose a political, economic, geographic and historical ignorance compared to which George W. Bush sounds like a scholar. Even the party’s boosters are horrified by the spectacle…

Platitudes in lieu of programs: in serious times that demand the smartest, these clowns offer blather that is an insult to the intelligence of all Americans. But as with all freak shows, it would be impossible without a stage, the U.S. media, which has been neutered by the demands of political correctness, and a welcoming audience, a party base that seems to have been lobotomized overnight. Notwithstanding the subterranean depths of the primary process, the press and broadcasters proclaim one clown after the next to be the new frontrunner, in predictable news cycles of forty-five days.

Spiegel ties the disintegration of the Republican Party to the Tea Party, “a ‘popular movement’ that was sponsored by Fox News and never showed any interest in the business of government — neither in information nor intellect, which are its requisites, but rather in a self-marketing exercise driven by commissions and millions.”

The most important observation Spiegel offers is this: At a time of mounting crisis, when much of the world is looking to the United States for leadership and initiative, the celebration of sleaze and ignorance that has marked the Republican primary is damaging the reputation of the nation as a whole. Even those who despise the G.O.P. should be concerned about the depths to which the party has sunk.


Count me among those who mourn the loss of Republican rationality. The country needs two strong parties, both thoughtful, intellectually credible, each committed to doing what's right for the country, including making necessary compromises. It's only those blinded by Fox "news" and deafened by the RWS™ who fail to see and condemn the obvious degradation of the R party into a destructive, untethered abomination, to the detriment of us all. In this case, the view from Europe is a clear one.

5 comments:

  1. Ummm Sid,
    Guantanamo's Prison, oh excuse me,
    "Detention" facility is still chock full O' A-rabs, even after some 1,044 days of a Muslim, I mean, Democratic President...
    And 715 of those days He had a Democrat Congress too...
    But thats OK, cause He let the Bush, oops, O-bama tax cuts expire...
    and as much as I like Europas temperate clime, its Mississippi 1963 when it comes to Racial thangs..
    Umm thats not quite fair to Mississippi, its more like Boston, 1974, you know, when they Intergrated the Schools 20 years after Brown V Board of Ed-ja-ma-cation...

    Frank

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Pixels"??
    Umm I think you mean RAM, or Bandwith, its so sad when Dot-Matrix tries to play in a Laser age...
    And whats so great about Europe? You know what they call a Big Mac in Paris? You don't even know what trailblazing movie that line's from do ya?

    Why did Bobby Fisher open with K2-K4 99% of the time? cause he was a G-E-N-I-U-S, like Me...
    And its called "Preventing Alzheimers" cause while I typed my usual Screed I was playing the King's Indian against some Wood-Pusher from Pakistan, watching tuesday nite's "Glee" episode, and renewing my car tag...
    Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta move my Horsey...

    Frank

    ReplyDelete
  3. Once it's on my screen, Frankie, and viewers have to look at it, it's pixels.

    ReplyDelete
  4. After spending a major part of my life outside of the US, I find it no surprise that most western Europeans, Australians, and Kiwis know more about US politics than the average American. Go figure... And then there's Franky- get back in your closet.

    ReplyDelete

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