In the belly of the elephant

So here's how I spent my afternoon: I attended the Idaho Republican Party's rally with GOP national chairman Ken Mehlman, a.ka. Jack Abramoff's "rock star," in downtown Boise. Really. I just walked in.

Well, I just walked in and people were standing around yakking for a half-hour. So I read all the literature, left, walked around the block a few times, tried to be inconspicuous so no one would ask me to wear a sticker or sign a loyalty oath or something. Finally, the program started. See, I even took this picture, albeit from the back of the room. I wanted a ready escape route if I needed one, you know?

Basically, Mehlman sung two notes: terror and tax cuts. Mehlman was masterful in sounding the usual GOP refrain: Be afraid. Be very afraid. "Look at the headlines," he said. (Which ones? The Foley story? George Tenet warning top admin officials in July 2001 of an imminent terror attack? Intelligence officials agree the occupation of Iraq has made us less safe? Congress gives the president even more unchecked power? No, none of those were mentioned, of course.) I think he meant "Look at the history books," for he ran off a litany of terrorist incidents stretching back decades. And now, he said, Iraq is the central front of the war on terror because Osama bin Laden says so! (Uh, Ken, it wasn't that way until your boss said "Bring it on ..." and al-Qaeda did.)

If Larry Grant wins, Mehlman said, his very first vote will be for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. (I guess this means they are giving up on holding Congress. And Grant has said he'd consider voting for an alternative Dem candidate, such as John Murtha of Pennsylvania or Steny Hoyer of Maryland, should one emerge.) If Grant wins, Mehlman said, he will vote to raise taxes across the board. And, he added, Bill Sali has never voted for a tax increase. He said that twice. (Ooops, I guess they're not counting the 20 percent sales tax increase that went into effect five days ago in the Jim Risch Tax Shaft, I mean Shift.) And if taxes are raised, American jobs will go overseas.

See, here's what I'll never get about Republicans, at least those who deny that some taxation is essential to a functioning civilization - and that, when carefully managed, taxes can even make our lives better. (See: Interstate highways. Social Security. Medicaid. The Food & Drug Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency. FEMA ... oh, forget that for now.) Free-market Republicans say all taxes are bad, period. End of discussion. But what about a targeted tax to help boost math and science classes in our high schools so our students remain competitive and jobs don't go overseas? Or what about a nickel-a-gallon tax designated specifically for alternative energy research and development that could ultimately help us become less dependent on fossil fuels? Or - most critical of all - what about rescinding the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans so we can pay down the deficit instead of passing a deferred tax increase on to our kids?

But that stuff's way too nuanced for anti-tax zealots. All's black and white in GOP world. Sali ... good. Grant ... bad. War without end ... good. Taxes ... bad.

Possibly the strangest thing Mehlman said was that more people watched George W. Bush's acceptance speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention on FOX than on any of the other networks. O-kay. But the point he was trying to make was not that Faux News is indeed the Pravda of the GOP, but this: We all have our own networks, and reaching out to your network is how people can help elect Republicans. In 2004, he said, George Soros gave the Democrats a lot of money but 1.4 million Republicans volunteered on campaigns, and that's what made the difference. Actually, Dems had at least that many volunteers - probably way more, I'd guess. What we didn't have were guys named Diebold donating to our campaigns nor priests and ministers preaching from liberal pulpits that we must vote a certain way or be damned.

One more thought: The crowd at the GOP's downtown Boise storefront headquarters appeared to number somewhere around 80 to 100. I'll be fair: That's not a bad turnout, considering folks got one day notice for an event during a workday. But really, what are they doing holding a rally on a workday with 24 hours notice, anyway? Democrats really know how to party, and we will have many times that turnout when we greet American hero Max Cleland to the Idaho Center on Oct. 16. 

Comments

[REB 84]

Keep speaking the truth.

Priorities ... Priorities ... We don't need no stink'n priorities!"

Its amazing how the American media works. We have lost at least eighteen more American service people during the first few days of October and Shiite Iraqi death squads are conducting small scale ethnic cleansing.

So, what are all the talking heads and politicians focused on? Surprise! Its another sex scandal. And it wasn't even real sex.

Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley's instant message records indicate he is a dude who gets off on fantasy cyber sex with teenaged boys. I believe this is the first virtual sex scandal in Washington DC political history.

Back here in the real world, American men and women are killed, maimed and scarred, both physically and emotionally every day. War is hell. Finally, the mainstream media is beginning to support our troops by speaking the truth about their sacrifices.
http://questionitnow.com/educationb/2006/10/support-our-troops-listen-to-them.html

[Chris]

Thanks for the excellent write up Julie.

One more glaring example that Republicans behind closed doors are completely different than Republicans in public.

Just shows that if you want the truth you have to venture deep into the lair.

[The Nickel-Plated JA]

The Pelosi-as-speaker refrain is getting awfully old. Of course, John Kerry started it by characterizing her that way at the '04 Convention. I'm glad to hear Larry suggesting he'd vote for someone else though: Pelosi is far too cosy with the Neo-Liberal "establishment" in the Party (read as: DLC and their fellow-travelers).

Personally, I'd rather see a Congresswoman from a California district about 30 miles further South become speaker: Zoe Lofgren!