Somewhere in the lala land of Political Talk Radio (even “liberal talk radio”), I hear a caller explain why Howard Dean is a bad choice for DNC chairman. “He’s Emotional! He … he alienated his church by insisting on a bike lane.”

Or something non-sensical like that… I may have botched what he said, but it distinctly involved a church (if it’s his, it puts a lie to him being completely irreligious), and something involving bikes as a conduit through which alienation was spread.

Clearly it was a story that reverberated its way through right-wing media chambers, and was puchased as apocrophyl by said caller.

“Look what they did with Tom Daschle!” A boast of sorts. What they did with Tom Daschle, in case you forgot, was take, by any realistic perspective the most accomodationist of Minority Party leaders, ran against this accomodationist as an “obstructionist”, which from the perspective of a state that went 60-39 Bush’s way is probably apt enough, and won. Lesson, which should have been obvious in 2002: the Party Leader cannot be culled from such a vulnerable situation.

The latest New Republic issue has an interesting on article on why the Democrats are better equipped now, with 45 Senators in tow, than they were in 2001, with 50 in tow, to battle against Bush’s Contemporary policy initiative de jour. (Then Tax Cut, now Social Security Privatization.) It basically all boils down to Zell Miller (even before we knew the extent of his true colors, and perhaps because we didn’t know the extent of his true colors) and John Bereux (forever etched in my mind as the guy who was partying Cajun-style with donors while every other Democrat was watching Barack Obama’s speech at the DNC Convention) not being in the Senate, and not being replinished with, say, an Oklahoma Senator Brad Carson. They give Bush the “bi-partisan” veneer, and peel off a few other “bi-partisan” lackeys — politicians who need to be politically slapped in the back by Bush and formulate a “Stood up to Ted Kennedy” ad… and their presence “on the team” keeps the Republican Moderates (up in New England, mostly) in line.

Bush has scheduled a trip of “Town Hall Meetings” through Montana, North Dakota, Florida, Nebraska, and Arkansas — selling his Social Security Plan. States also known as the homes of Senators Nelson, Nelson, Baucus, Conrad, and Pryor.

Please note that I’m looking for the image of Bush kissing Lieberman from last night’s procession, and I find this interesting quip: And when Bush urged Congress to consider changes, only two Democratic senators – Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman and Nebraska’s Ben Nelson – stood up and applauded.

But I don’t know. Politically, I suspect it’s best for these guys to wait for a gay amendment to destroy or a gun-rights thingamobob (Guns seemingly the bottom line for America Ruralia Politics) to “take a stand against The Democratic Leadership”. Does being a Corporatist Democrat pay off that well?

All of this comes to a weird lesson in “Lesser of Two Evils” Politics: I guess you need to keep a 3-Dimensional “Dilution of Party Substance” or “Wanker” index to the fold in weighing your decision as to what such and such a politico means to the political fold, what messages he’s sending, etc. etc.

I say this with a tad bit of cynicism, but… You do realize that there were plenty of photographs and video of Iraqis celebrating their last election (and the one before that, and the one before that) where 99.99% of the vote went to Saddam Hussein?

See… it’s better that there was an election and it’s better that Iraqis showed up for the thing, but in the end… I don’t know what the damned thing meant.

We’ve known that the three victors were going to be (ahem): the Compliant Fawning Kurdistan Party, Allawi Sunni Review and Variety Party, and the Shiites Love America Party… The various other parties (from the AAA Aardvark Party to the Zygote Liberation Party mentioned in a prior post of mine)? Well, there is a certain absurdity to the proceedings. In America, at least the Natural Law Party and Constitution Party get some showing on C-SPAN, and don’t go around the nation with anonymous cloaks.

The Constitution has been written already.

In the end, I think we actually may just have an exit strategy ready to go. Coupled with an Enterance Strategy.

And… now is the time, in some afterglow of high ideals and before some things drag back into the forefront, for Army Recruiters to run around the nation’s economically troubled high school and college campuses, because… you know… when the Draft comes, it’s best to have a few fewer slots to be filled.

……
(Mia Gawd, Everyone hates Raed…)

At first I think he’s Hispanic, but a slightly closer examination and I have to say he’s just a fairly well tanned white guy. Early to mid 20s. Walking through the MAX Train with to stand next to a door…

… wearing a hat that says “Savage Nation.”

Any doubt I have that it is tied to radio personality, the most extreme of the right-wing radio hosts (Mr. “I hope you get AIDS and die. Go choke on a sausage!”) is destroyed by a large American flag image on the back of the cap.

It’s a new hat. He takes it off and looks at it with great admiration before putting it back on, thus destroying any chance that he likes the hat for any other reason than its tie-into Mike Savage. I’m watching through a reflection in the mirror, because, in the end, it is rude to stare at strangers directly…

… even Michael Savage fans deserve some respect.