The Silly Season In Politics
The term "silly season" is a lot older than I thought, reaching back into the 1800s. It refers to late summer, when governments go on massive taxpayer-funded vacations all over the world. Silly trivia: the "silly season" is known, for reasons obscure, as "cucumber season" in many other languages (you just can't make this stuff up).
Here in America, of course, we take our silly pretty seriously. August, in recent political history, was when the infamous "swift boat" ads ran, which contributed to the destruction of John Kerry's campaign for president. Kerry contributed to this as well, mostly by staying on vacation and not responding to the attacks, which (in retrospect) looks pretty... well... silly.
But this year's season could produce a bumper crop of silly. The silly, it seems, is just bustin' out all over. And it's only the beginning of August, when our elected representatives all take off work for five weeks. Who knows how silly things are going to be by the end of the month?
From the Democratic side of silly, William Jefferson, former House member, was just convicted of bribery. That's not very silly, but he will be remembered for a very silly act -- stashing $90,000 in his freezer. Sentencing will happen later, so this silliness isn't quite over yet. At least he lost his re-election bid, so we won't have to witness the silliness of a sitting member of Congress being hauled off to the pokey.
On the Republican side, the silliness is coming so fast and thick, it's hard to even keep up with the feverish pace. News stories which appeared today alone include a Republican former U.N. ambassador claiming that former president Bill Clinton talking North Korea into releasing two Americans is somehow the moral equivalent of ignoring the annexation of the Sudetenland. The Republican National Committee, facing an onslaught of calls from an ad run about healthcare reform, is apparently redirecting callers to the Democratic National Committee. Wow, there's a bright idea to grow your party! Direct callers to the other party! As the guy in the Guinness ad would say: "Brilliant!"
In other Republican silly news, a fake Barack Obama birth certificate from Kenya has surfaced, but that hasn't stopped mainstream Republican Party officials from embracing the "birther" movement. Here's a hint, guys: if you want to look less silly, you need to denounce those with views most of the public finds silly. But, I forgot, up-is-down and black-is-white are the marching orders of the day in GOP-Land. I'm still trying to figure out the logic behind trying to call the cash-for-clunkers program a "failure" -- because it is just too wildly popular. Republican senators apparently thought twice about this one, and will allow an extension to pass before the program runs out of cash -- probably because there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of car dealers who not only vote Republican, but also donate large sums of money to Republican politicians, and they probably had a few choice words to say about this silly tactic.
But the icing on this silly cake, for me at least, was Arthur Laffer (of discredited "Laffer Curve" silliness), on CNN this morning:
"If you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they're run well, just wait till you see Medicare, Medicaid and health care done by the government."
Um... Ooooh-Kay. We certainly wouldn't want government to get its filthy paws on our Medicare and Medicaid! Because that would be just... silly!
Sigh. I need a vacation.
[Program Note: This column is taking a vacation for the next week or so. This Friday, instead of our usual Friday Talking Points column, we will be running a special report on President Obama's second hundred days in office, which I was able to write in advance. Repeat columns from the past few months will run on ChrisWeigant.com early next week, and this column will resume normal broadcasting starting next Friday. Thanks for your understanding, and if you'd like to get in on some silliness yourselves in the meantime, check out this hilarious page, where you can make your own fake Kenyan birth certificate. Fun for the whole family! Who knows, one of you may be president some day... sillier things have happened!]
Cross-posted at The Huffington Post
-- Chris Weigant
I think it must be something to do with the mid-day sun or maybe it is just too many cocktails by the pool....
I wish I could take a 5 week vacation but not being a member of congress I don't have that luxury.
...Stan
Bob Cesca zeroed in on one of the town hall protesters today. The image showed a senior citizen in a Marine Corps hat. This man yelling about "socialism taking over his health care" is likely in BOTH the VA and Medicare systems.
The irony, it weighs...
Irony knows no limits...and that is a very good thing. It's what keeps my sanity intact...more or less.
Speaking of silly...
What about the White House request that Americans flag emails and blog posts that are critical of ObamaCare and send them to a White House email addy
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/gop-senator-white-house-encroaching-on-first-amendment.html
"I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward emails critical of his policies to the White House. I suspect that you would have been leading the charge in condemning such a program -- and I would have been at your side denouncing such heavy-handed government action."
That sounds like something I would say.
Comments anyone??
Anyone going to denounce this White House program?? Anyone?? Anyone?? Buehler??
Michale....
What I think is silly is how the Democrats have the house and the senate and are not able to get the job done. I think it is silly because they are being made out to be a do nothing congress by do nothing Rebulicans who got us into this mess in the first place. It very simple on the Health care front. Obama needs a ticker; for everyday wasted during their break he needs to show the public how much money could have been saved. As te savings mount people will grow unnerved. "WE COULD HAVE SAVED ALL THAT MONEY!"
It is not silly that corrupt officials get caught that is called justice, Chris.
Before coming to China I thought the DMV and Post Office worked pretty well. The mail came on-time. I could make appointments for the DMV and waits there were resonible. Seeing as how because of the Republican economy lead many of the offices to close and workers to be laid off. But I know that wasnt your point so indeed I am laughing too.
Have a great time on your vacation. Do something nice for yourself.
Yeah Right
What the town-hall meetings represent is a feeling of rebellion, an uprising against change they do not believe in. And the Democratic response has been stunningly crude and aggressive. It has been to attack. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, accused the people at the meetings of “carrying swastikas and symbols like that.†(Apparently one protester held a hand-lettered sign with a “no†slash over a swastika.) But they are not Nazis, they’re Americans. Some of them looked like they’d actually spent some time fighting Nazis.
Then came the Democratic Party charge that the people at the meetings were suspiciously well-dressed, in jackets and ties from Brooks Brothers. They must be Republican rent-a-mobs. Sen. Barbara Boxer said on MSNBC’s “Hardball†that people are “storming these town hall meetings,†that they were “well dressedâ€, that “this is all organized,†“all planned,†to “hurt our president.†Here she was projecting. For normal people, it’s not all about Barack Obama.
The Democratic National Committee chimed in with an incendiary Web video whose script reads, “The right wing extremist Republican base is back.†DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse issued a statement that said the Republicans “are inciting angry mobs of . . . right wing extremists†who are “not reflective of where the American people are.â€
But most damagingly to political civility, and even our political tradition, was the new White House email address to which citizens are asked to report instances of “disinformation†in the health-care debate: If you receive an email or see something on the Web about health-care reform that seems “fishy,†you can send it to flag@whitehouse.gov. The White House said it was merely trying to fight “intentionally misleading†information.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204908604574334623330098540.html