A Level Gaze

A Level Gaze

"What effect must it have on a nation if it learns no foreign languages? Probably much the same as that which a total withdrawal from society has upon an individual."
--G.C. Lichtenberg

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Edwards' Speech

I've been following the Democratic Convention mostly via NPR. Without video, even the Clinton speech, powerful as it was, sounded somewhat perfunctory and businesslike. I turned the television on tonight, though. As Edwards took the stage, something immediately struck me: the crowd is pumped up. They're nearly manic. There is absolutely no division in the room. They love Edwards and they love his wife. This crowd believes, fully, passionately, deeply, in getting Kerry/Edwards into office. Not one of them has any doubt that Kerry is a better choice, on every issue. They don't need to be convinced by a speech; they know they're making the right choice.

That's what it looked like to me on CBS, anyway.

But Edwards makes the speech anyway, and he completely kills.

"We don't just want people to get by, we want people to get ahead."

"We're going to say no to any American working full-time and living in poverty. Not in our America." Wow.

He spends several minutes talking about making sure veterans get good care. He talks about the human element of low incomes instead of the figures. He understands that not everyone is born, as he was, really smart and to a loving family. He understands that the nation will be better with fewer poor people, even if the government (gasp!) has to take a role

He's getting just as big a cheer going out as he had coming in. He crushed it. It's starting to look like we have a lot of rock stars in the Democratic party.

posted by David at 7/28/2004 11:06:00 PM ::

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Bam!

Digby's got, like, this move where he waits a little while, and then he pushes like 26 buttons all in the right order, and then he does a double-multiple combo that just knocks you flat on your ass.

posted by David at 7/27/2004 11:00:00 PM ::

Thursday, July 22, 2004

I have a theory...

...why Sandy Berger was snagging documents from the National Archives.

He's writing a book. Or was.

posted by David at 7/22/2004 10:36:00 PM ::

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Republicans and the Common Good

Via Josh Marshall, is this BizReport coverage of U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue's June 30 speech to the Commonwealth Club of California.

Donohue acknowledged the pain for people who have lost jobs to offshoring - an estimated 250,000 a year, according to government estimates. But pockets of unemployment shouldn't lead to "anecdotal politics and policies," he said, and people affected by offshoring should "stop whining."

"One job sent overseas, if it happens to be my job, is one too many," Donohue said. "But the benefits of offshoring jobs outweighs the cost."

Following the recent shitstorm over Hillary Clinton's telling a group of wealthy supporters, "We're going to take [tax cuts] away from you on behalf of the common good," this is really too much. When the rich lose a few percent of their already more than adequate incomes, republicans howl and piss and moan and make an unholy racket, as if to say, "Fuck the common good! I got mine, and I'm keeping it!" But when an outsourced worker loses his job, his house, his aspirations, and his dignity, he's supposed to "stop whining" and suck it up. Some other American will benefit, so it's all to the good.

The hypocrisy of this double standard, coming as it does from people who inveigh tirelessly against the minimum wage, who spend next to nothing on worker training, and are generally opposed on principle to any and every social safety net that doesn't come out of the barrel of a crucifix, is staggering.

posted by David at 7/01/2004 04:07:00 PM ::

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