Howard Fineman uses the same Frankenstein’s Monster analogy I used in “The Bed That Karl Made.” Fineman writes,
The Perry-Rove story is shaping up as the ultimate tale of dangerously unintended consequences, with Rove in the role of Dr. Frankenstein and Perry as his living, rampaging political creation.
Insiders know that Rove helped launch Perry’s career by advising Perry’s successful run for agriculture commissioner in 1990.
But the larger, deeper point is that Rove designed and built the Texas Republican machine that has now allowed Perry to go national — even after Rove and company tried (and failed) to stop him by running Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) against him for re-election.
Get this:
Rove and much of the rest of the GOP Texas establishment was and is embarrassed by Perry
They’re capable of embarrassment?
From a distance, it makes little sense for the GOP to be any more embarrassed by Perry than by that nitwit Michele Bachmann, or for that matter by that other nitwit Paul Ryan, who is being urged to run. There’s something unique about Perry that really puts them off.
I suspect that the problem is, as Fineman says, that Perry’s “down home” crudeness is not an affectation, as G. W. Bush’s was. That’s who Perry is, even at black tie dinner parties. In other words, he doesn’t clean up well.
Have I mentioned that Perry genuinely creeps me out, too? Although I admit I am mildly interested in seeing if he is competitive in New Hampshire, a state that is decidedly not Texas. I wouldn’t think he would do well anywhere in the northeast, as the Yosemite Sam schtick does not play well in these parts. We’ll see.
But Dave Weigel writes that the Republican field is so ghastly that part of the establishment is hoping for a brokered convention. Although that begs the question — if the GOP establishment could pick any candidate it wanted, who would it be?
It also occurs to me that if Jeb Bush is ever going to run for president, this may be the time. The contrast with Perry could make Jeb look, well, not at all like his brother George.
Elsewhere — Steve Benen considers the stupid factor. And a great-granddaughter of Herbert Hoover says that if the GOP loses the youth vote in 2012, the millennial generation will be lost to the GOP forever.
Yeah, the Republicans may have shanked that shot way to the far right with Perry and/or Bachmann.
And now, Daddy, and Little Boots’ pal Rove, will ask for a Bush-mulligan with Jeb, the non-prodigal son.
I can definitely see this happening.
The problem with Jeb is, who to put in the VP slot?
Obama’s decision on immigration yesterday will help him with Hispanic voters.
My prediction was that Marco Rubio would be the VP for whoever the GOP chose to lead the ticket. All the better to siphon those voters away from Obama.
That’s politically problematic because a Jeb/Rubio ticket would be too Floridian. And, having that Lex Luther evil wannabe, Governor Scott, reminding people of what can spawn out of Florida is as bad, if not worse, than Texas, won’t help them either. So Rubio may have to wait until 2016, or 2020 or ’24, for his shot if Jeb does decide to run. Anyone else though, and I’d bet my bottom dollar on Rubio in the VP slot.
How about Ryan?
You’d have a “Young Gun” paired-up with the “Son of a Gun.” But having the Medicare-killer on the same ticket as the brother of the SS-killer may not help with the much vaunted independents.
I think Scott Brown might fit on that ticket nicely.
Sure, that’ll cede Massachusetts back to the Dem’s, but there will be other Republicans opportunities to gain seats, and not just keep them.
So, unless there’s another Hispanic Republican out there that I’m missing, I think a Bush/Brown ticket will be a Republican ‘Dream Ticket.’ And very likely, a winning ticket.
The one person I don’t think we’ll see paired up with Jeb if he decides to run, will be Liz Cheney. The “Sheevil” daughter of Dr. Evil Cheney will have to keep her chair on the cable and netword news shows, because even the 30%ers will find it difficult to justify another Bush/Cheney ticket. Though, I’m sure there are some out there that do dream about that. I’ll have nightmares for weeks just for thinking about this.
Bush/Brown would be formidable — although not invincible — in the general. I don’t know what the establishment really thinks about Scott Brown, though. The base has decided he’s not their type, so he wouldn’t be a popular choice.
Yeah, maybe not, but I think the base will vote for anyone with an “R” next to their name.
And the Bush name is still gold in a lot of circles in this country. The base? – they still loves them some Little Boots – they just can’t mention his name out loud. So, they’ll be aboard. “Miss me yet?” was not just a poke at Liberals, it was nostalgia trip for a ‘lighter, whiter,’ time, when Conservatives ruled – and almost always had their way.
I think Jeb can be sold to the traditional righties as his father’s son, the responsible one – minus the tax increases, of course; and as the anti-W antidote to the dumbass independents. And Brown can be marketed to the middle as “Hey, he took Teddy’s seat, so how bad can he be?” And he was a Tea Party darling in the beginning, before he realized that by siding with them he might be committing career suicide in MA. I still think Brown can ‘code-talk’ with them, while trying to seem reasonable to the rest of the voters.
The whole Teabag bowel movement was beyond just a rebranding attempt by the Republican Party. I’m not 100% sold that it was created just to get away from W.
I think they just finally realized on their own that they had a 30% problem, and chose to segment them away from the rest of the party because they were getting harder and harder to control. This was evident to them by their worshipful adoration for Palin, and their disdain for McCain.
So they allowed this “Tea Party” to represent the retrogrades and Birchers, racists and religionists, and to give them cover by the “Money Guys” by screaming about debt and spending. They hoped it would somehow or other hold together. Hey, it had since Nixon blended his “Southern Strategy” with his “Silent Majority,” and Reagans “Moral Majority” was then carefully blended into the mix. And it did work for awhile. But the true Teabaggers are coming out now, their cover blown. They are now the racist, misogynist, and Dominionist wing of the party. And now, THEY have become the “Tar Baby” for any Republican candidate for office – from the local to the state level, from the House to the Senate, and even the Presidency. It’ll be interesting to see what the Republican Party does to try to control them, and get them back in the fold. You can already see that they’re no longer funding them, and that FOX is not trying to goad them into action by poking them with a stick. I think that’s one of the reasons they let Beck go – to rid themselves of having to air their Frankenstein monster for an hour a day.
And the best thing that could happen to Obama and the Democrats is that the Republicans CAN’T control the Teabaggers, and they’ll form a Third Tea-party, sucking votes away from Republicans on all levels, from the House, the Senate, and the Presdiential ticket.
To sum up, I think a Jeb/Brown ticket would be formidable for the reasons I stated above.
Don’t forget, even without Rubio, Jeb has appeal to Hispanics because he’s married to a woman born in Mexico, so you can believe that will be front and center to counter Obama’s support among Hispanics. (You can be sure the Bush children will never be called “anchor babies”).
And I think the Teabaggers will be a loose canon no matter who runs for the Republicans, unless one of their very own is on the ticket. But that remains problematic for the Republicans because people are catching on to just how crazy that 30% wing is (with or without an official name – though having a name makes branding easier for everyone who’s not a Republican), and they have a delicate dance to perform for the next 14+ months. All I’ll say is – it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of f*cking assholes! 🙂
Ooops!
That last sentence should read: All I’ll say is – it couldn’t happen to a BIGGER bunch of f*cking assholes!
Also, too – Jeez, some days I sure do like the sound of my own voice, don’t I?
🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-9Ok9Pugq0
Deek is back, crude as ever
Rove et al. are embarassed by Perry because he’s a local boy, one of their own, and therefore one of their experiments that ran out of control. Egg’s on their faces. Michele is just some nitwit from up north somewhere. They don’t see themselves as having any connection to her.
It would be interesting to find out what Jeb Bush is up to these days, does he have any inclination toward higher office now or in the future. He might be smart enough (or trapped by commitments) to wait another cycle or two for the current GOP confusion to clear, the memory of GWB to fade, and the current national mess (largely created by GWB) to pass. Let time erase Bush fatigue, instead of having to fight it.
I’ve said it elsewhere, but I’m not too worried about 2012, even given the terrible and worsening economy. Obama has some tremendous advantages as incumbent. It’s 2016 that scares me, particularly with all these younger names various posters keep coming up with. I have told others that I believe there’s about five years left to get out of this country before another Republican gets in, worse than GWB, and finishes the job on America.
That, and they may think she’s someone they can control, in the event she stays alive in the primaries past April.
moonbat,
I’m wondering, win or lose in 2012, who will be the Democrat’s candidate in 2016?
I hope it’s not Cuomo, who’s about as far away from his Daddy as Chris is to Mike Wallace.
Al Franken’s got NO shot. Though why a Liberal comedian is more unelectable than a Conservative B-actor, I don’t know, except that it’ll be true, despite Al’s political chops, and much higher IQ than Ronnie.
I’d be interested to find out who other folks think may be a viable candidate. Maybe we’ll have to see who the Keynote speaker is at the convention, like we did with Obama in ’04. Even then, though, Edwards looked like he might be the standard bearer for ’08. But who could have predicted THAT disaster?
Who do you think can lead the Democrats to victory in 2016?
Who do you think can lead the Democrats to victory in 2016?
I don’t have a clue, gulag. This, plus the fact that posters are mentioning all these up and coming GOP young bucks truly scares the crap out of me. That, plus I believe the economy will be so far depressed in 2016, after 8 years of Democratic control, virtually guarantees a GOP win. Sorry for the dark vision, but that’s what my eight ball is telling me. I hope I’m wrong.
I caught Perry’s comment about Al Gore inventing the internet..It just shows that Perry is a low class and vicious politician who thrives in the gutter..What more do you gotta see to assess his character..?
Sorry, gulag, I am an independent; but, I don’t consider myself a dumbass. I also cannot remember the last time I voted Republican. I just don’t have the desire to register as a Democrat. Additionally, I think a lot of independents are more Democrat than Republican. The problem with the last election was turnout; not all independents voting Republican.
moonbat,
I hope you’re wrong, too.
But my magic 8-ball is telling me the same things, which makes me want to sequester myself on election nights of 11/2012 and 2016 with a large bottle of Jim Beam, a case of good beer, an 8-ball of something else, and an ounce of (un)common sens-amilla!
gulag, gimme your address, I’m comin’ over…
moonbat,
In good time.
In good time, my friend… 🙂
Bonnie,
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you – as I’m sure you know. I love and respect you and your opinion.
But I beg to differ about something – I think most Independents lean towards Conservatives.
I think 2008 was an abberation.
And that if McCain hadn’t put Palin on as VP, but instead had put Lieberman (or even Graham) on his ticket, he might very well have won.
You are probably what I consider a truly rare breed – a real independent “Independent.”
Too many others use that term to hide their Republican affiliation, or the fact that they don’t have a f*cking clue as to what’s going on – maybe for good reasons, like the state of the economy, working mulitple jobs, or trying to take care of their kids.
And also, there are a lot of slothful voters who know they have a civic responsibility, but wait until the last minute to (mis)(under) inform themselves before they go out and pull the lever – they also call themselves “Independents.”
It sure sounds a lot better than saying, “I’m either bone-f*cking stupid, or bone-f*cking ignorant. Let me read my Conservative newspapers Op-ed columnist, or turn on the radio or TV news a couple of days before the election.”
The reason we are in the mess we are, is the mis, and under, informed voters who are divided, and then conquered, when, election after election, they vote against their best interests, lest that some black or brown person have something approaching what the THINK they have.
We are a country of stupid and ignorant, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic morons. And that’s why we will never have nice things ever again – unless we can educate the ignorati. And, since ignorance is now one of the most valued attributes in our country – good luck with that!
‘Gulag, go to “the fellowship of the minds” and some true blue American “morans” in action.