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« Factcheck Redirect Update | Main | A Plea for Civility - Comment Guidelines » October 07, 2004
When Satire Goes Terribly Right - Er, "Left"
Posted by Bill
Ok, there are "Communists" for Kerry ..." ... and then there are Communists for Kerry: John Kerry’s stands on the major issues of the times, since the 1970s, have been a lot better than those of Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, or Bill Clinton. He is a progressive Democratic senator from a liberal pro-labor state, Massachusetts, as Roosevelt was the progressive governor of New York. Like Roosevelt in 1932, Kerry is saying some ridiculous things. (Roosevelt, for example, criticized Hoover for running deficits and promised to balance the budget. The deficit was not the problem, but a symptom of the Depression. Hoover was spending too little, not too much. After taking office, Roosevelt sharply increased federal spending to provide for people’s needs, which is healthy for society.) But, like Roosevelt, Kerry is articulating broad themes that lead away not only from the sinister nightmare of the Bush administration, but from a generation of right-wing political hegemony in the U.S. The opening line of their endorsement is my favorite: As I talk to friends on the left and center-left ... No buddies in the middle or center-right? Sounds suspiciously like the bullpen at 60 Minutes II. Hilarious. One link is satire, by the way. And yes, I know that there is a margin of difference between "socialism" and "communism," but these are communists: The People’s Weekly World is the newspaper of the Communist Party, USA reporting on and analyzing the pressing issues of the day: peace, social and economic justice, workers’ rights, civil liberties, reproductive rights, protection of the environment, and more. Via Awptimus, who has a few of his own thoughts on the endorsement. UPDATE: The Watcher points me to another official endorsement from the Communist Party of the USA: Thus, the remark heard in some left circles, "I will vote for Kerry but hold my nose," misses the point and is demobilizing. It may bring some momentary self-satisfaction to those expressing it. But it will do little to convince swing, undecided, or stay-at-home voters to go to the polls. In my experience, aside from right wing talk show hosts and their loyal listeners, few people believe that Kerry is a candidate of the left and progressive movement. Most know that he is closely tied to the U.S. ruling class and a defender of capitalism, as is Bush. That common class affiliation and fondness for the "free enterprise" system, however, doesn't prevent millions of voters from understanding that Kerry is a political centrist and espouses different policies than Bush. Nor does it keep them from realizing that a Kerry victory would give the broader movements more political leverage than they now have. (Funny emphasis mine) Posted by Bill at October 7, 2004 05:40 AM | TrackBack (1) CommentsYou know, the real Communists for Kerry have no idea what it is actually like to live under communism. I find these people completely pathetic and insulting. Posted by: Val Prieto at October 7, 2004 08:27 AM Re "Communists for Kerry" and the opening line "As I talk to friends on the left and center-left": a friend who is the local correspondent for one of the big three MSM news programs left a message on my answering machine last night that a BBC producer is in town (Miami) to do a story on the election and she needs some Republicans for the audience. She asked my friend if he could muster up some English-speaking Republicans for the piece, and the only name he could give her was mine. This is a guy who has lived here for 3 or 4 years and once told me that he believes the mainstream media are too conservative. It seems to me the MSM are totally isolated in their liberal world, surrounded by like-thinking people. No wonder my liberal friends sometimes act as if I'm from another planet.....and my political views are very similar to yours (RINO) - moderate. Posted by: Janet Eaglstein at October 7, 2004 09:35 AM It seems to me the MSM are totally isolated in their liberal world, surrounded by like-thinking people. Read Bernard Goldberg's book, "Bias." Posted by: Bill from INDC Journal at October 7, 2004 10:13 AM The Communist Party USA has also endorsed Kerry, although they insist that they aren't officially endorsing him. Posted by: Watcher at October 7, 2004 11:16 AM Watcher, Sounds like a Kerry-esque endorsement to me! Posted by: El Jefe at October 7, 2004 11:23 AM CPUSA in da house--keeping it real! Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at October 7, 2004 01:20 PM Those satire guys are pretty funny. They even have a Castro and Che guy. My views also are like Bill's, but I believe in a lot more ass kicking. I usually don't explain my views cause people give me wierd looks and say things like "You think giving the government more power is bad? But that's crazy talk." Of coruse I scream at them "Give me liberty or give me Death!" So maybe that is why they look at me like that. Posted by: ctob at October 7, 2004 02:14 PM The differences between communism, socialism and other variants and are like those between different types of cancer -- of interest to specialists perhaps, but morally irrelevant from the standpoint of the good. All cancer is a disease, and all forms of socialism, whether national or international, are necessarily tyrannical. Posted by: jimmay at October 7, 2004 02:35 PM All serious Communist revolutionaries hope that President Cheney and his puppet are reelected. Nothing can discredit the imperialist so-called "superpower" like another term of Republican power. Four more years! Posted by: b. s. monkey at October 7, 2004 04:14 PM "One Man, One Vote, One Time" Posted by: MrGrumpyDrawers at October 7, 2004 05:27 PM So, the implication is that because Kerry is endorsed by various far lefties, he must share all their viewpoints. As a far leftie myself (I'm partial to Scandinavian-style democratic socialism, and yes, I have witnessed its horrors first hand) I wish it were the case. The fact is that Kerry's values are quite different from my own, but I'm holding my nose this year as there isn't a third party candidate who can justify my full support. Americans tend to think in black-and-white (hence our two-party system, characterized as Good and Evil no matter which side you're on), but let's be honest. There is a wide political spectrum, and Kerry is pretty close to the center of it. Some right-wing extremists have endorsed Bush, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Bush endorses them. A Communist Party endorsement does not make Kerry a communist. Posted by: Megan at October 7, 2004 07:04 PM So, the implication is that because Kerry is endorsed by various far lefties, he must share all their viewpoints. No meagan. The implications are: A. He shares enough of their viewpoints that they embrace him enthusiastically (in the first real endorsement) and basically outline the exact "socialist" fears put forth by far righties like Limbaugh. And most importantly ... B. It's funny as Hell that some guy started a satire site that was over the top ("Communists for Kerry"), and then the damn REAL Communists come out and endorse Kerry! It's hilarious. You know it is. Just a little bit. You're chuckling inside. I can see it. :-) Posted by: Bill from INDC at October 7, 2004 07:10 PM Well, it's about as funny as www.whitehouse.org or www.hezbollah.ws Posted by: Megan at October 7, 2004 07:23 PM No, not really. Not unless the real Hezbollah endorses Bush. Did you score poorly on the word association portion of the SAT Verbal section? Posted by: Bill from INDC at October 7, 2004 07:42 PM >Did you score poorly on the word Oh yah, terribly. No, I see your point, but I guess the reason I find it only a little amusing is that the Commies are endorsing him because they don't have a lot of other options, not because they "embrace him enthusiastically." Gah! I'll stop now. Gotta leave the office and have a drink. Posted by: Megan at October 7, 2004 07:57 PM "the damn REAL Communists come out and endorse Kerry!" No genuine communist supports Kerry. The CPUSA is a nest of revisionist scum. All serious revolutionary communists understand that George Bush must be reelected. We lost much strength in the past, but Bush is helping recruitment. He is weakening the United States, bringing disgrace to it, and helping us recover. Unfortunately Bush is also helping the reactionaries of Al Qaeda to recruit new forces. Posted by: Central Committee, Communist League at October 8, 2004 05:41 PM To Val Prieto's "...Communists for Kerry have no idea what it is actually like to live under communism. I find these people completely pathetic and insulting." It should be pointed out that three of the Communists for Kerry founders are former Soviets who have emmigrated to the USA. In contrast, the Communist Party USA caught a bad case of flip-flop-itis from Kerry where they first endorse him, then don't endorse Kerry but condemn Bush. 40 minutes apart! Like the Kerry's own flip-flops, the CPUSA claims defensibility because the first is letter from their president endorsing Kerry enthusiastically; while the second non-endorsement is the official Party platform calling for Bush's ouster. To their credit (?) the CPUSA's claim that "...our platform goes much further towards full social justice than Kerry's" appears true. A review of the CPUSA election platform shows minor differences of degree with most of Kerry's. If this doesn't shock you, it's because of how far we as a country have drifted. The free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice. Capitalism's not perfect, but unlike Communism doesn't have a solid century of horrible failure, human misery and death behind it. Some of these folks need their faces rubbed in that, like Kerry's 1972 assessment of 'minor recriminations' against South Vietnamese after US withdrawal. 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