I normally don't do this sort of thing, but today I have to begin this column with a criticism of a single media voice, because the writing was just so offensive. I mean... bad puns? In today's polite society?
The boundaries between politics and show business have become murky ever since Ronald Reagan became president. The lines between the media and politics are equally as blurred. But the line between certain types of comedy and the political/media world should be brighter than ever. This is a lesson Dana Milbank of the Washington Post apparently has yet to learn.
Using ethnic or racial stereotypes as comedy is dangerous ground, even for a professional comedian. Remarks from stand-up comedy have caused outcries in the past few years, leading to (in some cases) ruined careers. Using such stereotypes -- or even outright mockery -- has become all-but-unacceptable for people outside of the ethnic target group.
Those are just the boundaries for comedians. Journalists and politicians -- in the year 2012 -- should realize that whenever the impulse hits to use such imagery or phrases that they should follow one single rule: Don't go there.
Milbank, however, didn't just go there, he then doubled down in an attempt to be funny. You be the judge. Here's the intro to his new article, explaining the flap which occurred after his last article appeared:
When I set out to cover the confirmation of an obscure Hispanic jurist, I had no idea I would spark the Great Tex-Mex Takedown of the 2012 presidential race.
"Line of the day from WAPO's Dana Milbank," President Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina tweeted when the column appeared in the newspaper on Wednesday. " 'The chimichanga? It may be the only thing Republicans have left to offer Latinos.' "
Milbank's original article was a serious look at how the Republican Party is alienating Latinos in America. Most of the article makes a very good point, but it ends with the line Messina quoted, which used the word "chimichanga" from John McCain's recent Senate floor speech to make a snarky point.
However, his response to the fracas is nothing short of cringe-worthy. Here's Milbank, attempting to be funny:
To those demanding my apology, I say: That's nacho place. I flauta your demands. In the chimichanga wars, I will taco no prisoners -- and that's for churro.
The phrases "Holy mole sauce!" and "Not so fajitas" appear later in the article, as well.
The theme of the article is to scoff at phony outrage, or "false umbrage" as Milbank puts it. It contains an extensive list of offenses and apology demands from the political world of the past few years. The point Milbank is attempting to make, though, gets overshadowed by his mockery of his critics, and his doubling down on the whole "Tex-Mex food theme" in puns that even a fourth-grader wouldn't find amusing.
Milbank's first column made a very serious point, and ended with an attempt at snarky humor. Milbank's second column was nothing more than a sophomoric attempt at humor, which (at least for this reader) failed miserably. My guess is that whichever editor gave the green light for the second article is going to hear from a few others who were also not very amused.
OK, enough of my own umbrage at bad puns, let's get on with the meat and potatoes of the column.
The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, was just named chairman of the upcoming Democratic National Convention, which is certainly impressive, but he'll have to wait for an award until after we see how the convention is run.
President Barack Obama certainly had an impressive week, getting from Congress exactly what he demanded in the State Of The Union message -- a payroll tax holiday extension for the rest of the year... with "no drama." Speaker of the House John Boehner decided that next week's week-long vacation for Congress was much more important than staging the gigantic battle the Tea Partiers wanted him to wage, and so he caved before the fight even began. By doing so, we just saw how Congress used to work: one side realizes it is on the wrong side of an issue, and quickly retreats because it is holding a very weak political hand.
Republicans were in a lose-lose situation. Either they handed Obama a legislative victory, or they engaged in a "let's shut everything down" fight which would result in everyone's paychecks getting smaller the first of next month.
So they gave Obama his victory, and are assumably now slinking out of the D.C. swamp to jet their way back home or to some sunny locale for some relaxation.
We've got to pass out some Honorable Mentions this week for Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Mike Quigley, for walking out of a hearing on women's birth control held by the Republican House committee chair -- which featured a panel of five men. The walkout was featured heavily in the news reporting, as well as the "no women" aspect. These three Democrats won the game of spin the Republicans were attempting to play, hands down.
But our real Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week is the governor of Washington state, Chris Gregoire, for signing a bill which legalizes gay marriage in her state. On the other side of the continent, New Jersey governor Chris Christie vetoed gay marriage. [Aside: What is with all the Chrises in the news this week? Can't say I mind, it's easy for me to type, personally... ahem.]
Gay marriage is an issue which the Democratic Party should fully endorse. This culture war is almost over, and the pro-gay-marriage team is going to win in the end. Republicans like Christie are going to be seen by history as being on the wrong side of the issue. Democrats like Gregoire are going to be the impressive ones, seen later.
Which is why we see her right now as the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week. Well done, Governor Gregoire!
[Congratulate Washington Governor Chris Gregoire on her official state contact page, to let her know you appreciate her efforts.]
This one's pretty easy. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina, after getting caught in the Milbank article fray, at least had the smarts to try and walk it back a little. His followup tweet when the storm clouds broke: "Tweeting someone else's words caused a stir, but the GOP is on the wrong side of every Hispanic voter priority."
He tried to reframe the issue back to the original message of the first Milbank article, in other words.
But for sticking his foot in it in the first place, Messina is still our Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week. Campaign managers aren't supposed to be a distraction in the news cycle. Messina needs to think twice about snarky tweets, the next time he feels the urge to quote someone in such a fashion.
[Contact Jim Messina via (naturally) his Twitter account, to let him know what you think of his actions.]
Volume 198 (2/17/12)
OK, onwards and upwards to the talking points. Two weeks from today, we will roll over the odometer here at this column, with our 200th offering. I'm not sure how we'll mark this occasion, so any suggestions are appreciated in the comments.
For now, here's a grab bag of talking points all Democrats (especially those interviewed on national television) can use in the upcoming week. Enjoy!
GOP doesn't count
What is it with these caucus states? In most primary elections, the job of counting the votes falls on the state elected official who runs the general election. In caucus states, the party itself counts the votes. That's the theory, in any case...
"I see that the Republican Party of Maine apparently is having problems counting. Their caucus only drew one-half of one percent of the people -- less than 6,000 votes -- and the Maine GOP couldn't even count that high. This is after Iowa attempted a recount, and announced that they could not come up with an accurate number since they had lost a few counties' votes. That's two states out of only nine which have voted so far. Maybe the Republican slogan this year for their primary voters should be: Vote GOP, where your vote doesn't count!"
Boehner's dizziness
This one was just hilarious. John Boehner made a statement upon completion of the tax cut bill. The Huffington Post reported on it, and found one part of it amusing. I found a separate part amusing, myself.
"Did you hear the spin from John Boehner this week, on the payroll tax bill he agreed to? He said, and I quote:
Last fall, I said that the only reason we're even talking about a payroll tax break or an extension of unemployment benefits is because the president's economic policies have failed. I still believe that to be the case today. The agreement that's been reached to stop a tax hike on middle class Americans is a fair agreement and one that I support.
So, let's get this straight. The Speaker says Obama's economic policies have failed, while at the same time he is offering his support for an Obama economic policy. Somebody better stop the Speaker's spinning, because I think he's getting dizzy."
Aspirin? Really?
This one is just too easy.
"I see a prominent backer of Rick Santorum just said that the answer to women's health needs was for them to hold an aspirin between their legs. Wow. That's just... wow. Somebody needs to send the Republicans a calendar, because I don't think they're aware of what decade it is. I mean... aspirin? Really?"
Getting Orwellian
There's a wider picture that Democrats really need to be drawing right now. Nancy Pelosi's doing a pretty good job, but other Democrats need to start framing the issue more bluntly.
"Republicans, back in 2010, told the voters to put them in power and they'd fix all of America's economic problems. Instead, once they got into office, they have launched a full-scale attack on women's rights. Mitt Romney, in a televised debate, was asked about contraception and he responded that he didn't think any states were trying to ban contraception. But that is just what the so-called 'personhood amendments' would do in every state the Republicans have been pushing them -- outlaw certain forms of birth control. This is an attack on women, on women's rights, and on women's health. The Republicans should be more upfront to the voters about their goals, and campaign wearing the red sash of Orwell's 'Junior Anti-Sex League.' At least it'd be more honest."
Remember Terri Schiavo? Rick can't seem to.
Barbara Coombs Lee recently wrote an excellent article which really should be getting some attention, especially by upcoming debate moderators. Because I'd love to see Rick Santorum answer a few more questions about the issue.
"Rick Santorum, like most Republicans, loves to rail against the government interfering in medical decisions -- at least, when Obama is the target. Seven years ago, Santorum was part of the effort to get Congress to federally intervene in the tragic case of Terri Schiavo. News reports at the time had Santorum actively pushing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to take federal action in a private medical decision. I guess the federal government telling patients and their families what to do is OK with Santorum, at least when it is Republicans in the federal government doing so. Someone should ask him about his blatant hypocrisy on the matter."
Just send Congress home
Here's an idea everyone should be able to get behind.
"The consensus in Washington is that now that Congress has passed the payroll tax extension, that absolutely nothing is going to get done for the rest of the year. I've even heard people discussing what Congress will be doing in December, in the lame-duck session. Since we're all agreed that with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate -- in an election year -- nothing whatsoever will get done for the next nine months, why not just send them all home until after the election's over? Of course, we'd have to cut their pay, too. Imagine the budget savings!"
Deploy the FLOTUS
OK, I admit I wrote this one just for that title. Because I can just see someone in the political office of the White House barking out "Deploy the FLOTUS!" to the strategy team.
"Has anyone noticed that the First Lady seems to be everywhere in the past few weeks? She's greeting people on the White House tour, she's on late night television, she seems to be all over the place. I, for one, am glad that Michelle Obama is getting herself out there, because she is the best and biggest supporter her husband has, and she's also the best ambassador the White House has to the American public -- who seem to love her."
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Leo W. Gerard: Republicans: Against It Before They Were for It
Hmmm. That's an idea. Let me think about that one....
-CW
I have to admit, I'd heard the "joke" before plenty of times (it's an old and hoary one), with all sorts of objects for the knee-grasping, such as an apple. Hadn't heard it with aspirin before, but that didn't make the joke any fresher, I'll agree with you on that.
-CW
But thank you for the clarification.
Regarding #2, in fairness, Boehner is saying that he disagrees with the older policies of the president (unspecified) that he believes have failed. That does not obligate him to disagree with EVERY policy of the president (even though that has been the general strategy to this point).
So he found one he likes - the payroll tax cut extension. That doesn't make him a hypocrite.
We need to stop viewing politics as logic. This isn't like saying "This statement is false" and then dividing by zero.
Now, if Boehner ever ties himself into a logic knot with a statement like, "Everything Obama has done, is doing or ever will do is wrong, but I support him on this policy", then have at him.
You might have a point, if this were a poly sci class in academia.
It's not. It's a column I do every Friday which explores possibilities for talking points to use against Republicans. It is (quite admittedly) a partisan column, and it is also (quite admittedly) crass and base and nothing more than the sheerest spin. I've outlined my positions on all of that previously, and will do so again, if you request it.
In a nutshell: Political spin is a tool. It is (in my opinion) not intrinsically "good" or "bad" it is just a tool. Is a hammer good? Well, depends on how it is used, you might say.
Boehner's spin, to my taste, was not just bad, but actually downright hilarious. I did indeed "laugh out loud" when I heard him utter it on the teevee. It amused me, and I gave my reason why. Sure, you can quibble with such reasoning, which is admittedly somewhat sophomoric, but I still maintain it's a pretty good "gotcha" talking point.
It's also not even close to being dishonest. Boehner said (which is why I directly quoted him, rather than paraphrasing him) that Obama's economic policies have failed, which he still agrees with. And then he supports Obama's current economic policy in the next sentence. The disconnect is there, and it's easy to point out.
But thank you for the introductory kind words, and don't feel bad, it is indeed the exception which proves the rule.
:-)
-CW
One more thing (ran out of words there...), I got a laugh out of your bio line. Haven't heard that one before, but I will indeed remember it.
:-)
-CW
So I accept the mantle of "bleeding heart". At least it's beating.
Two questions:
(1) Are you Latino? If not, and a Latino said he objected to it, what would you say?
(2) If the words used were "watermelon and fried chicken" would you feel exactly the same way, or would you see it differently? This is a germane question, because such comments have been made about our president. Were these comments allowable and defensible, or offensive?
Just wondering...
-CW
Though I typically find Milbank off the mark and a bit awkward, your reaction to this seems to have a personal disflavor not in the broader public taste.
Well, thank you for the kind words!
I'm thinking of a retrospective, of "past talking points which are still (sadly) valid, because nothing has changed." The only question is how far back I should go... the last 50 articles (roughly the last year) or all 200... the last 50 would be easier, for me...
:-)
-CW
You are WRONG WRONG WONG TACO.
I think the GOP's war on women could be the story of the year, yet the media are totally dropping ball on coverage and the Democrats are not really doing much of a job getting any kind of coherent message out. Why is timidity always the rule of the day on the left when it should be outrage?
Someone pointed out that the GOP is just doing this to get its base all worked up to get the voter turn-out up. That could be. Nonetheless, when you have states like Virginia and Oklahoma passing retrogressive laws that turn the clock back on women's rights, it high time for people who oppose that to stand up and be counted. Pelosi is right too about the pernicious Orwellian propaganda machine of the far right wing. This is a good issue to hammer on that too.
Wow. The moderators must be really strict when they remove their own reporters' comments. And, hey, Chris Weigant, I'm really sorry if I said something that got you so upset that you had to hurl some offensive insult at me that had to be removed in the interest of good taste and fundamental decency. That just doesn't seem like you. I really like your articles and was trying to give you a compliment. Sorry it backfired.
'Tis a puzzlement. I responded to your comment with a supportive comment. I don't recall using any bad language, but the "ess-eee-ecks" word might have triggered some auto-delete or something. Anyway, I'm going to try to answer you back again, but wanted to post a separate comment before I did, just in case it gets removed again.
-CW
Pelosi's been doing a pretty good job on this front, but more Democrats need to back her up. The JASL label is, I think, a good one for Democrats to use, because as far as I know "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is still pretty much required reading for most American high schoolers, so the reference would be widely understood.
Hope this comment makes it through... (see my other comment...)
-CW
I had successfully blocked that from my memory. Until now. I had forgotten that Milbank was one of those in the Washington Post's bizarre attempt at humor videos....
-CW
I encourage everyone to read the linked article for the Schiavo details. It's an excellent piece of writing, and it makes a point that the MSM has so far failed to notice.
-CW
Don't recall that one. Anyone got a link?
-CW
or Chris Weigant.
Have it your own way. Poor writing is poor writing, and poor thinking is poor thinking. I see nothing wrong with publicly identifying those "service providers" who consistently disappoint the public.
I imagine it's going to get even easier as this (election) year winds forward....
:-)
-CW