The last couple of days, I’ve been getting a flurry of releases from SC Republicans that I haven’t stopped to read, because they all seem to be about Nancy Pelosi, which doesn’t interest me since my area of concern is South Carolina.
But the headline on this one was just SO over the top, so indicative of a party (the GOP) just quivering in anticipation at the advent of an individual. You’d think this was the second coming of Ronald Reagan, or some other partisan messiah.
Here’s a sample:
NEWS RELEASE
Victory launches daily reminder of why
Palmetto Values don’t fit with Pelosi Values
(Columbia, SC – September 17, 2010) When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s jet touches down in Charleston a week from Saturday, you probably won’t see any South Carolina Democrat candidates welcoming her. When America’s most wildly unpopular official comes calling, it’s good to have something else on your agenda that day, because a political embrace from Nancy Pelosi is like getting kissed by Typhoid Mary.
Pelosi puppet-in-waiting Rob Miller and fellow liberal Democrat John Spratt, who juggles the books for Pelosi as chairman of the House Budget Committee, would prefer it if Pelosi’s visit went unnoticed.
But they don’t need to worry about that. Starting today and continuing every day next week, SC Victory 2010 will countdown until Pelosi arrives with a daily reminder of why her views are at odds with the majority of folks here in South Carolina…
… and so forth and so on… But I’ll give you a hint: At no time are we told WHY the woman is coming here, or in what way it bears upon our lives. Maybe she’s coming to see Jim Leventis, the godfather of her daughter, or for some other personal reason. I don’t know, and I don’t care.
Hey, ya got me convinced: This Pelosi woman is not popular in SC.
Good thing she’s not running for anything here, huh?
Now, do you have anything to talk about that’s worthy of my attention? You know, something having to do with South Carolina… If you have something critical to say about these Democratic candidates in SC, something about THEM, please share it. Or — if you can manage it — something persuasively positive about your OWN candidates. But don’t bore me talking about somebody from frickin’ San Francisco. I don’t vote in San Francisco. I don’t intend EVER to vote in San Francisco. Believe it; I wouldn’t kid you about this.
Political parties are just so unbelievably insufferable. They just get worse and worse and worse. Just when you think they couldn’t possibly insult our intelligence any more, they go a little lower…
Related Posts
Could it be that SC Republicans’ fair lady (Ms. Haley) has no positive platform, and the rest of them–“You lie” Joe Wilson and the Deminted one have only fear to monger?
BTW, while I haven’t seen as much of it, I have little use for such over the top silliness from the Democrats or anyone else for that matter.
That’s it! I’m fed up with politicians, with hyper-partisanship and the toxic atmosphere in DC!
I’m joining Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity”!
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-16-2010/rally-to-restore-sanity
“Only fear to monger”–nice turn of phrase!
The GOP is all about fear. Be afraid of everything and everyone that doesn’t look or speak like you. Nancy Pelosi is a fine woman who happens to vote as a pragmatic liberal. This makes her a prime target for the classless Republican Party who offer essentially nothing but a failed economic agenda and a bloated military that wastes people’s money without providing one iota’s worth of security beyond that of a military 1/3 the size of what we have now.
But somehow Brad manages time and time again to confuse the idiot GOP with political parties in general. It really is pretty disgusting to have the Dems, who are at least attempting to address the nation’s problems in a meaninful way, with the imbecils who continue to distort, lie and weasel their way to power.
And what do they use this power for? For the good of the American people? Hell no. The bastards are merely trying to rule in order to feather their own nests. The GOP is about wealth creation for the super rich. And it’s worked. The poor and middle class have gotten nowhere for 30 years while the elitists in the GOP fool and fear their way into making the gullible believe there is a boogeyman behind every rock. And, inexplicably, they fool some poor school bus driver into thinking it’s in his best interests to give a billionare’s son his parent’s fortune TAX FREE! Unbeleivable.
But until the press gets it and starts calling the GOP out for the liars and scoundrels that they are we will continue to read about GOP idiocy in the name of political party partisanship. It’s NOT political party partisanship, it’s GOP fear mongering.
Just so you know this is no isolated deal, I got a release from Joe Wilson today that ALSO had “Pelosi” in the headline. An excerpt:
Apparently, Rob Miller — a member of a venerable South Carolina family (his uncle was once managing editor of The State, and HIS father was once editor of the Charleston paper, as I recall), whose name is FAR more relevant to the decision before South Carolina voters than Ms. Pelosi’s is. I’m no big fan of Rob’s, but this is about what you owe the voters — they DESERVE to hear you make actual, relevant comparisons between yourself and him.
I see from your release that you actually KNOW that she represents San Francisco and not South Carolina, and that therefore she’s NOT his opponent. So since that’s the case, Joe, WHY do you keep on…
Oh, never mind. It’s pointless to try to make it make any sense.
You know there’s a reason why San Francisco is one of the most expensive places to live and Columbia made the list of the cheapest. Supply and demand.
People who can afford live anywhere more frequently choose to live in Pelosi land, not Lexington, SC. Crazy demagogues like Joe are trying to keep it that way, I see.
Uhhh… not me. Kathryn. If I had a billion dollars (why fantasize about a mere million in this century), I’d live right here.
Oh, I’d maintain a place in New York, and London, and maybe a little beachfront getaway (just a few acres) on Maui. Or Kauai.
But South Carolina would remain home. And San Francisco wouldn’t even make the top 100.
Uh, but Brad–that’s feelings. Look at the data: where does it cost the most in this country to live–San Francisco, Manhattan–and why? Hawaii is expensive, and Washington (because of the government)….
Yeah, SC is home, but if I were truly rational rather than sentimental, I might not live here.
SF not even in your top 100? you must have some strong reasons….
Ginning-up the Pelosi-hatred down here and linking it to the Wilson and Spratt races is part of the nervousness the national GOP is feeling: the expectations have been set so high for a landslide in November that falling anything short of that will be seen as a major setback for the Republicans. And these two races are still up in the air, make no mistake. They are not taking these races for granted.
To be fair to the GOP, the Speaker of the House does wield great power and influence over the course of legislation, (not to mention 3rd in line of succession to the Presidency) and the person who holds that office is determined in part by how we vote in our local Congressional races. In 2012 you can be sure that Democrats in Massachusetts or Seattle or some such location will post a similar email expressing disgust over impending visits from Speaker Boehner.
Ha! The Bay Area is my second home!
Wilson sure likes portraying himself as a victim.
Not me. While we gripe about Columbia’s rush hour, we’ve got it easy compared to LA or Atlanta.
If I had a billion dollars, then I’d have a house on Lake Murray.
I’m with Ralph. And yeah, “not in my top 100” does sound high, and I thought about another number, but that one was nice and round. Suffice it to say that it’s not on my list. If I had all the money in the world, there are so many other places I would go that in the course of a lifetime, I doubt I’d get around to Frisco.
I’ve been to SF twice. The first time was on the way to Hawaii from Florida in 1970. It was cold. In June. Bad impression. Then, when we came back from Hawaii, we picked up our car there before starting a cross-country trip to Memphis. I found almost everyplace else on that trip more interesting than Frisco.
Oh, wait — back in 05 I had to go to a Knight Ridder meeting in San Jose, so I was in the area. Was glad to leave.
There are just so many wonderful places I’ve never been and know I want to go (Spain, New Zealand, Cuba, the aforementioned London, Maui and Kauai — the only island other than Oahu I visited while in school with Burl was the Big Island) — and so many other places where I’ve been and like to return to (New Orleans, the coast of Ecuador, rural central Pennsylvania, New York in small doses, the museums and not much else in Washington, etc.) that I just can’t imagine finding time for SF.
And Kathryn living here is a rational choice. Let me explain it this way: Last night we went to the Greek Festival. It was nice, about as big a crowd as I can stand. Juanita’s cousin Will was with us from Memphis. He said that the Greek Festival in Memphis is much bigger and more crowded — a real madhouse — and they charge admission. That, to me, was another instance of why I prefer to live here. To me, those places you refer to as such magnets for masses of humanity repel me. As a place to live, anyway. You say they’re expensive because they’re desirable. I say they’re expensive because they’re overcrowded, causing the living space to be badly overstressed.
I LIKE NY, but in small doses. So I’d like to maintain a pied-à-terre there. Ditto with London. But I can’t think of anything in SF that would make me even want to go there in small doses.
The bay area: The Golden Gate Bridge & Park, the Presidio, Marin County, Berkeley AND Stanford, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, the ballpark on the bay, architecture, restaurants, vineyards, the PCH, yes – the marine air, the hills and vistas and the street cars. So the weather in the city can be damp and the politics can be out there – but those are just the mirror image of what we’ve got here in Cola.
Me, I think Columbia needs to push itself a little – aim a little higher. We need sustained commitment to the idea of incremental improvent, not necessarily adherence to one vision. Columbia feels complacent to me. I never think of SF as that.
Cold in June–love it! Little to no snow–if my dad had been “stationed” at Hanford, and retired there, I’d be quite happy– I love the Pacific Northwest weather….
Walkable cities are great, and one with cool, temperate weather and liberal politics–awesome!
I also hate crowds and eschew festivals. I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I am making by joining the Breast Cancer Walk. It will also surely be too hot and too sunny for my taste. I prefer to stay indoors after 10 AM or so this time of year.
[Furthermore, I think we are all plenty and sadly aware of breast cancer. I hope they stop with the awareness crap and fund actual research!!!]
Yeah, what Mark just said describes it for me. There’s all that stuff there. That’s why I feel no urge to go there. Too much stuff.
And it’s too hilly. Which reminds me of its geology, which reminds me that it’s all about to fall into the sea.
There’s just something … a little off… about California in my mind. I have trouble understanding people wanting to go there — whether the present-day people, or their ancestors. Nothing against them; I just don’t QUITE understand them.
It may be genetic. I’m descended from people who felt no urge to leave the East Coast. Sure, THEIR ancestors came over from the old country, so they’re a LITTLE off, but not as much so. I feel like the people who came here from Britain and such just wanted something here that was available in the old country, just not to THEM. But then there were some among them who weren’t satisfied here, either, so they pushed a little west. And then some among them couldn’t get along there, and went further west, and on and on, until that impulse was frustrated by the Pacific Ocean.
Hunter Thompson, if I remember correctly, sort of wrote about the same phenomenon in his book about the Hells Angels. Basically, he was saying, there was a REASON why the Hell’s Angels were such a California phenomenon.
Anyway, whatever it is, I don’t have that impulse.
You ever see Tom Hanks in “Volunteers,” the Peace Corps spoof set in Thailand? At the climax of the story, when everything’s going wrong, he speaks my favorite line: “If I get out of this alive, I’m never leaving the East Coast again.” (It’s at the 8:20 point on this clip.)
I was living and working in Kansas when that movie came out, and not liking it, and I really identified with that sentiment.
Columbia could be a really great place to live. Sadly, whenever anything really world class comes to Columbia it seems to fail. I always thought Richland Fashion Mall was about the coolest mall I’d ever been in. It had that great big food court with all those fancy looking sculptures. And it failed.
Then there was this giant water sliding board on Two Notch Road. It was way ahead of it’s time and should have served as the basis for a truly special water park. It too failed.
Then there was the Bounty Restaraunt. What a nifty place. Likewise it failed. (Although it did have a pretty good run).
One last example: Does anyone remember the old planitarium on Senate Street? What a great place to visit when I was growing up. Sadly, it too is long gone.
And there are other examples. Not sure why Columbia cannot keep cool stuff. I guess people who live here are content to go to Walmart.
I am all for Columbia bringing in knowledge based industry. NCR was a major presence and employer in the Midlands from the mid 70’s through the 80’s. The NCR plant in West Columbia not only designed computers but also manufactured the computers.
I want to see companies in Columbia that create technology, not just use it for their business.
@bud-
Riverbanks Zoo is world class…and thriving!
and I well remember the Plantarium–my dad is an amateur astronomer, and we’d come up from Aiken….
@bud
NCR was a great technology magnet. In the 80’s, the plant in West Columbia over by Midlands Tech and the airport, hit a home run with their mid-sized computers running UNIX.
Sadly, AT&T, who wanted to be a major computer player, realized that the only way they could achieve that goal was to buy a computer company. AT&T, the company with the Death Star logo, launched a hostile takeover of NCR.
NCR’s CEO, Chuck Exley, said that AT&T should change their slogan from “Reach Out and Touch Someone” to “Reach Out and Grab Someone”.
AT&T’s CEO, Robert Allen, derisively nicnamed “Mr. Rogers” by NCR employees for his tendency of wearing sweaters during telecasts to NCR employees, said “He would not change anything in NCR”. Where was Joe “You Lie!” Wilson? Because AT&T lied; shortly after AT&T took over NCR, AT&T started moving their deadwood manglement into NCR management positions.
AT&T raped and pillaged NCR!
@Brad,
Yea, I also enjoy Columbia’s Greek Festival. I like the family reunion atmosphere of the festival. Everytime I go, I run into former coworkers that I haven’t seen in a while.
Thursday and Friday, I had lunch there. Thursday and Friday, my wife and I picked up dinner; Friday, we picked up dinner also for the weekend.
I told one of the ladies at the cash register “This is the one event that I look forward to in Columbia”. She thanked me.
I can’t imagine Columbia charging an admissions fee like Memphis does. I don’t want to be in a madhouse. That is why I avoid Harbison Blvd from Thanksgiving through the New Year even though my allergist is on Harbison.
Lunch at 2010’s Columbia Greek Festival: http://twitpic.com/2ozoss/full
After picking up dinner for the weekend in 2009: http://twitpic.com/id4kf/full
Bud,
Columbia still has a bunch of cool places besides your very eclectic list of things that failed. Your list closely resembles a list of places I thought were cool when I was 10. I haven’t thought about the zoom flume in quite a long time. What about the top of the capstone building that rotates so you can see the whole city or the polar bear underwater viewing room at the zoo. I thought those were neat too when I was 10. I believe I begged to go up in the capstone repeatedly whenever we drove by. I think my parents might have regretted ever mentioning it. Alas, the polar bears are gone now too, but I think the capstone can still rotate if they choose to let it.
Seriously though, the state museum, the riverwalk, long street theater, the horseshoe, mckissick museum, the Caroliniana library, the downtown Richland county library, Congaree national park (nearby – not far from the Bounty, in fact), the zoo….and I’m leaving out others, I’m sure – I think these are all pretty cool and intersting places.
Capstone still serves brunch on select Sundays. I think it’s part of one of USCs academic classes. (Hospitality management perhaps). And yes the zoo is pretty cool, top attraction by attendance in SC. Some things are cool at 10 and in my book still cool at 54.
Columbia isn’t cool. It’s “famously hot”.