Most of your know my Bigger Asshole theory of effective protesting, but here it is again — in a confrontation between protesters and those being protested, whichever is the bigger asshole loses. That’s because the goal is to sway public opinion, and public opinion will turn against the bigger asshole.
Today Texas Gov. Rick Perry stepped into a big ol’ pile of assholery in a speech to a National Fetus People Conference:
PERRY: In fact, even the woman who filibustered the Senate the other day was born into difficult circumstances. She was the daughter of a single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas senate. It is just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters.
Yes, Mr. Oops has taken it on himself to lecture a woman about what she should have learned from her life experiences, experiences that he himself never had. The Patriarchy speaks.
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(I believe I speak for many women when I say that nothing pisses us off more than a man lecturing us about what we should think based on his notions of who we are. It dismisses us as less than persons. It’s the male chauvinist equivalent of the antebellum plantation owner saying his nigras jus’ loves the massah.)
Kay:
Rick Perry is very disappointed that a grown woman doesn’t understand her own life and experiences in exactly the same way he and the attendees of the National Right To Life Convention do. First he defines what her life means, and then sorrowfully recounts how she just hasn’t learned the right lessons from his definition of her life.
Y’know, it’s a wonder that man can walk and talk and dress himself, going through life as he is with his head shoved up his ass. Digby and Shakesis also, um, comment. However, somebody needs to explain a few things to Jonathan Chait. He ain’t gettin’ it.
In the short run, the bill Wendy Davis blocked on Wednesday will almost certainly pass into law eventually. And wingnut state legislators will continue to pass transvaginal ultrasound requirements and defund Planned Parenthood and find ways to close clinics for the wommenfolks’ own good, you know. Because they can’t leave well enough alone (see previous post about GOP crack).
But in the long run — well, I do believe I feel the turning of the tide. And I’m not alone. See:
On Wendy Davis, the Supreme Court, and Speaking Out As Women
Wendy Davis’ abortion law filibuster may be a ‘Texas Spring’
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/06/wendy-davis-scotus-and-speaking-out-as-women.html?test=true
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-is-wendy-davis-abortion-law-filibuster-a-texas-spring-20130627,0,6885101.story
Wendy Davis, Feminist Superhero
Yes, Rick Perry and the Texas troglodytes will pass their bill. Please proceed, governor. This is just getting started.
Perry’s remarks are arrogant, patronizing and presumptuous. If only she had learned, indeed! Learn your own life lessons, Governor!
But maha, I wonder. What if he had dropped the concern trolling and instead just snarked that her life proves his point? If he had read her life explicitly for his interests, rather than disingenuously for hers, then would that have been better?
I admit that would have required Perry to possess a sense of irony. Certainly his life proves a lot of _your_ points, maha!
I don’t see your point. And take care what you say next, because the ice is growing thin.
Lately I’ve been hearing that there is an analysis in GOP circles that they can be electorally viable with just the white vote, if they get enough of it, and restrict enough voting in the Democratic constituencies. So a lot of them have decided it’s really OK if they lose the Hispanic vote by blowing up immigration reform in the house, and piss off the women of the nation with these insane abortion laws, and essentially do all the stuff they were intending to do anyway. I can only hope they are wrong about that, and when they’ve finished getting everyone who might want to vote Democratic convinced that the GOP really IS their worst nightmare, not even the crippled VRA will be able to stop the groundswell of anti-GOP voting.
I believe I speak for many women when I say that nothing pisses us off more than a man lecturing us about what we should think based on his notions of who we are.
That is literally exactly what I was thinking
That link to Ann Freidman’s article is a must read. She does an excellent job of articulating the oppressiveness of Patriarchy. And when I read what she wrote in the light of Perry’s jubilant arrogance by his delighting in the screams of protest, it fills me with a sense of what a fucking scumbag this guy is.
Goober-nor Good Hair, how ironic will it be that between you and your Republican Good Ol’ Boys ‘n Gal’s in your State Legislature, and all y’all’s recent words and actions, all y’all ‘v just sown the seeds of your own downfall and eventual destruction?
Goober-nor, you may need to remember – if you can – that Texas has already had two women Governor’s.
And after two, comes three – not exactly the Goober-nor’s luck number.
And one of them, Ann Richards served fairly recently, and only lost to W after Karl Rove ran one of the dirtiest campaigns in Texas history – which is saying a mouthful.
From what little I’ve seen of her, Wendy Davis reminds me a bit of Governor Richards.
And I think she’s going to take Perry on, in the Governor’s race.
And he and his party need to realize that Karma is a nasty creature, eternally looking to turn things upside down.
How delicious would it be if Wendy Davis ran against Perry, and defeated him? And her coattails either turned the State Legislature Democratic, or close to it?
If Ms. Davis runs against Goober-nor Perry, and I’ll bet she will, you can bet that the national Republican Party will gather as many resources as it can, and throw them into the Texas elections next year, and run possibly the dirtiest campaign in American history.
They know how epically feckin’ stupid Goober-nor Perry is, and how much help he’ll need – and how critically important Texas is.
And they know that they will desperately need to create a firewall that stops the progress of Democrats in Texas, lest that success spill over into other Red States.
Because, if they lose Texas, the Republican Party – as presently comprised, and with its current racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic, belief system – is toast.
Texas, is Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Richmond, all rolled into one, for the New Confederate Party.
And the other beauty of this is that the best political “talent” that the New Confederate Party has, and whatever money will be needed, will be desperately thrown into holding on to Texas – and that can only help the Democratic Party all around the rest of the country.
I don’t think that Goober-nor Good Hair, and the entire Republican party, realize that they won’t just be taking on one woman and the opposition party – Karma is waiting. And so are the spirits of Ann Richards and Molly Ivins.
Oh, what sharp tongue’s and keen wits, those two had. And if Wendy Davis can channel any of those two’s spirits, she will be a most formidable candidate, and can win.
And if she can’t win, well… Goober-nor Perry can still lose.
He’s an idiot, given to saying stupid, ignorant, and insulting things.
It’ll be tough for him to debate. The New Confederate Party can’t put a muzzle on him. All they’ll be able to do, is pray that he doesn’t try to name more than two things at one time – because that’s beyond him.
C’mon Karma! And Ms. Davis, and Ms. Richards, and Ms. Ivins!!!
The eyes of Texas, will soon be upon you.
And even better than that, not only the eyes of Texas, but the eyes of the whole nation, will be upon Goober-nor Perry.
“Don’ let the pressure of havin’ the entire future o’ the New Confederate Party in your hands, affectcha Son.”
Ann Richards, please haunt this guy.
I like how he says she “managed” to get through Law School, this coming from Mr. “third… I forgot…Ooopps”. How is that the GOP always manages to find the biggest ASSHOLES?
In other words, would it have been any better if he had been openly adversarial rather than fake-helpful? Speaking explicitly for his own good, rather than ostensibly for hers? It would have been no more respectful, but at least it would have been slightly less hypocritical. Are honest sexists any better than mealy-mouthed ones?
Re: Perry… I saw this marvelous football game. Really, just part of it, but it was astounding. There were like, four minutes to play, and the one team was down by a lot. Say, more than 10 points. They needed two full touchdowns to win.
They drove, got the first, and some how (but it was awe-inspiring) forced a turnover and scored again.
But even that wasn’t the amazing thing. They never stopped. They moved the ball and instantly formed back up, fully aware they had no time to win if they stopped even to shout out a signal. They all had to be coordinated, they all had to have a decent ability to fly by the seat of their pants, and they all needed to have the same idea – that this is possible, if they drive as hard as they can. In that moment, I got why some people loved football so much. (NB: I’m not a football fan, but I know the game enough to recognize artistry.)
I saw someone saying “what happened to the (game)?” and I reported who won, and his eyes widened and I said something like “you can be upset – but you can’t be mad. They earned it like no team I’ve ever seen.”
Rick Perry? Reminds me of someone saying “they stole the victory! They may have technically been within the rules, but they cheated against the spirit of the game! And as governor, I’m forcing a rematch, and erasing the win!”
I hope Texas sees him that way too. (Because I choose football, and being a good sport or sore loser, quite deliberately for this example.)
My feeling is that the tide has turned, but it’s going to take a few more electoral cycles to flush out the system. I’m sometimes amazed at how accustomed we’ve grown to the fact that the president of the United States is a black man named Barack Hussein Obama. I see some people despairing over the continued influence of the Tea Party, to the point of being I think a little myopic. It’s easy enough to look at things like mandatory unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds, and John Roberts’s sequel to the Dred Scott decision, and feel like we’re going backwards. But it’s worth keeping in mind that these things are happening in a country where the president is black and gays are serving openly int he armed forces.
But I think biggerbox is right, the Republicans do seem to be following an all-white people strategy. Even if not by design, they aren’t giving anyone who isn’t white any reason to vote for them. But then they keep forgetting about the 19th Amendment, so they also aren’t giving women any reason to vote for them. And even then, you can’t shit on women and minorities without alienating non-sexist and non-racist white men. And racist and sexist white men are, thank God, a shrinking demographic.
It’s just unfortunate that Rick Perry hasn’t learned from his own example. (/snark)
The problem for the Republican Party unlike Blacks in the South, Hispanics are growing fast in Texas and a lot of foreign born people are coming to the big areas of Texas like Houston. Believe me in 20 years Texas politics will be a lot different. The US Census stated Texas down to only 31 percent of 2 year olds as white. Latins have voted for Democratic 55 to 75 for the past 30 years and even so in Texas.
Perry truly needs a rectal probe to find out where is brain is!