Some Final Thoughts on the RNC

To witness the Republican National Convention in St. Paul is to witness the bludgeoning of the brain, the twisting of the knife, the boot in the face.

It's watching -- incredulously -- the hailing of the mediocre and the deriding of the meek. It's seeing the darkest part of the human animal take hold, the madness that's spilled onto the hands and feet of people for centuries, fumbling and clutching for meaning and who, desperate, will accept anything.

It's the apotheosis of The Big Lie dressed as a carpenter, a soldier, a mother.

And the people only want what's best for themselves. They want safety, pleasure. They relish their minimal participation in society; they trust in those who would shrilly proclaim themselves leaders and heroes. They want to be nestled in a warm bosom, thrilled by a clenched fist.

They want to be protected by Mommy and Daddy.

Except Mommy and Daddy are drunk. They're confused. They lash out at anything that threatens their fragile understanding of reality. And they hate their mortality and try like hell to ignore it. They distrust the known and demonize the unknown and try to fill the murk with violent thrusts and feints, seeing enemies everywhere. The love they may have once had is, sadly, doomed to fail.

And saddest of all: they hate you. And every living being outside their own personal universes. Their very existence seems predicated on this immutable distrust of inevitable change. And this is where the entire construct so inelegantly embodied by Bush and Cheney these last eight years comes crashing down on itself. It simply cannot sustain without falling to rubble.

This is what lies behind the cant and spew in St. Paul. It is what lies beneath the fear and the suspicion scattered like handfuls of seed in the fertile fields of the desperate and the terrorized. And it is become the very heart of the scarcely encrypted Republican message.

Watching the convention one thinks of Lincoln and Eisenhower but sees only McCain and Palin. How far the party's come.

Comments

[Molarity1983]

Let me get this straight- the Republicans don't want to provide government spending to help people who should help themselves, but when these said people do try to organize and help themselves, they are mocked. Hmm. I never hated Rudy Gulliani as much as I did when I read (not heard as I didn't want to explode watching the RNC) his statements. I really hope more moderates realize the absurdity of the Republican platform of mockery, hatred, and self-serving.

[isadora]

A man that I saw in a restaurant this morning, seeing my Obama button and my "You bet your sweet a--I'm a Democrat" button, remarked to me that it was going to be a tough fight,. I allowed that it likely was, but that we would win. Then I went to deliver voter registration forms in both English and Spanish to the Obama/Biden office. It is of vital importance that we react to the falsehoods cheered by repubs and the ugly behaviors fueled by hateful attitudes in that party by going out and doing. Hillary Clinton is setting a fine example of moving beyond the differences of the past and emphasizing the necessity of unity. Remember the early American drawing with the caption "Join or die."? Well this is the time to take our cue from those in our country's history who sacrificed much and exhibited great bravery. Go out and get it done. Everything depends on us pulling together against monied and egotistical interests who cloak their evil in religious platatudes. Move!

[Truth2Dour]

Those who enjoy their own emotionally bad health and who habitually fill their own minds with the rank poisons of suspicion, jealousy and hatred, as a rule take umbrage at those who refuse to do likewise, and they find a perverted relief in trying to denigrate them.
--Johannes Brahms

[PaxChristi]

Psalm 22: 12-18
12- Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13- they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14- I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15- my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16- For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet.
17- I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18- they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

[jenweb]

Eliza W........D­arling where are you? I want to hear more of the ridiculously ironic things you have to say. I mean you've already stating that we americans(democrats i'm assuming) can't take responsibility and be accountable. But no one at the RNC mentioned the disaster of the last 8 years. An 8 years of which Mccain voted with Bush 90% of the time. He himself and everyone else there had the audacity to blame liberals and specificly Sen Obama himself. UNF**KING BELIEVABLE! Your right about one thing, I do want my mommy and daddy because Ms Sarah Palin and her ideals on EVERYTHING give me nightmares!!!!!!!!

[PaxChristi]

Psalm 22: 12-18

12- Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13- they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14- I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15- my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16- For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet.
17- I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18- they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

[c3pachman]

OHMYGOD. WE GET IT!! Thank you, Mr. Weber, for the amazing blog and thank the 90 plus percent of you who left such amazing comments. I'm going to sleep a lot better tonight. Let's get to work!!

[antaeus]

I meant to comment on your last piece--much tighter writing, metaphor reined in, sufficient concrete examples--and say how much I enjoyed it.

[jeersforfears]

How dare you talk about those people like that? All the hatred and bully tactics you accuse conservatives of having are on display in your post. You have nothing to offer but abuse.

[House]

Steven has only said what needs to be said. You repugs are just scared and hateful little humans who hold your money closer to your heart than any loving person.
Please stand at the edge of the cliff and gaze out over all the beauty of life that cannot be bought.
Then do us all a favor, and take one step forward.

[elizaW]

House

If Steven's ugly thoughts and feelings are your idea of "the beauty of life" you've set the bar exceedingly low. How ironic that the most twisted hate-filled comments keep coming from those who try to elevate themselves by claiming to have a purer soul than, as you put it, "the repugs". If you're standing at the edge of a cliff and gazing out over all that is so beautiful why aren't you filled with a generosity of spirit? Obviously you're not. But I know plenty of people who are and some of them are rich Republicans and none of them are vomiting ugly comments on this or any other blog.

[Owlygirl]

Sing it loud and proud house! I'm right there with you!!

Obama/Biden 2008!! Whoo-hoo, baby!!

[zurcl]

jeers, dream on. he is calling it exactly as he sees it, and i and many many many people of good will agree. their rhetoric is hateful, devisive, un-american, destructive. we let them get away with it for too long. THEY will crumble, God willing, under the weight of their own dishonesty. when one confronts a bully the first thing they do is accuse you of bullying, bullsh-t. enough is enough. we need REAL leaders. not the crap the repugs are trying to push off on us AGAIN.

[elizaW]

You got it all wrong. The Democrats are the ones who want to keep mommy and daddy around, paying their bills and holding their hand. The Republicans want people to take responsibility and be accountable. The Democrats are the ones who need a lullaby to go to sleep. The Republicans prefer to hear the facts. McCain was extraordinary last night. Palin rocked the house on wednesday. You can keep telling yourself that McCain is a continuation of Bush but he's not and somewhere deep down inside I think you know that. There's nothing about McCain's history that doesn't point to an honorable man. The point being he has history. Obama is an unknown factor. For all the hate that you talk about, the only hate I've witnessed is the hatred on this blog coming from those who claim they care about peace.

[JRsNana]

You poor poor thing. You actually believe the drivel they pour into your brains. The Republicans have EARNED the hatred of every single American. Deep down I know that. Deep down I know that John McCain has sold his soul to the rabid Christian Right. Deep down I know that Sarah Palin is an opportunistic hate monger. Deep down I know that our country will be lost if John McCain is elected. THAT is what I know deep down.

[zurcl]

hear hear!

[SusanK1951]

Eliza -- Palin rocked the house because she venomously attacked and lied about the opposing candidate. She read a prepared speech and has not had to answer a single valid question about her views or conflicts in her record. If Obama is an unknown factor to you, it's because you rejected him outright and didn't bother to listen or look. He has been vetted for months -- by the media and by the electorate. I would never hate John McCain, but I hate the way he disrespected his country and did not put it first in his VP pick. McCain is an honorable man for having served his country. But do you realize those were other war veterans dragged out during his speech --protesting his record regarding veteran care? And again the Republicans are shamelessly exploiting the grief and fear of 9/11 and accusing Democrats of forgetting it -- as though anyone could. As though no Democrats were lost that day and no Democrats are sending their children off to war. And to imply we are not self reliant is mean spirited -- in fact, Obama calls for community service as part of his plan to help put college students through class rather than receiving handouts. There is a great deal I think you tune out or you would not say the man is an unknown factor.

[elizaW]

Community service has nothing to do with being self-reliant. The government giving you a job is not about self-reliance. Americans have a long tradition of not wanting programs and handouts from the government. They just want the freedom to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Obama wants you to work hard so the government can enjoy the fruits of your labor. And you wonder why people in the Red States (states where people believe in self-reliance) aren't buying Obama's vision? And Palin's success at the convention had less to do with what she said than the way she said it. Like it or not, people relate to her. She's one of them. John McCain's agenda (just like Obama's) is to win. He chose someone who will help him with that agenda. You might not like his choice but it was a brilliant move.

[Steven Weber - Huffpost Blogger]

Once again, you speak, oh Eliza with an E, as though the past 8 years never happened. But everyone and their mother knows they have. And after nearly a decade of abusive spew coming from your right wing attack dogs, some anger is warranted.
I actually heard on C-Span today a Republican caller similarly praising the Rep nominee and saying something like "Government doesn't work. Let the people do it" and I thought "Huh?" The Reps, it seems, have broken the government and need to keep it broken in order to do the only thing they have proven they really care about: making money. So don't, as an American citizen, buy it, E. We have to stop meeting like this.

[elizaW]

McCain is not Bush. Talk to your friends in Hollywood who know him. Liberals in Hollywood who really like him. Once you disconnect McCain from Bush then the dark cloud over your head will start to drift away.

[ktthecarguy]

Steven, If you think Eliza is bad, you should read some of the other blogs I read. Many of these people are DEEP in bubble country, where black is white, up is down, and Dubya is doin' a "heckuvajob".


It is absolutely mind boggling.

[BlueStateGoddess]

"nothing but an honorable man?" How is it honorable to allow your POW story to be used in all its gory, endless detail (I was still left wondering when Fred Thompson was going to bring out the x-rays in his speech.) for political expediency? Yes, I watched it all, forcing my mind open, before I got online and read the blogs and news. I wanted to see it for myself.

People forget that John McCain's mother lived a hell that many mothers know: watching their children suffer unbelievable pain. This week she had to watch it all over and over and over again, and for what? As if seeing her SON's beaten, broken body everyday since he returned from Hanoi isn't enough?!?!

I'm the mother of a draft-age son. If the Congress were to reinstitute the draft, what I'm understanding now is that if he were to be drafted, captured and, God forbid, killed, that would not be enough sacrifice for the GOP's country. It would then be my duty to be paraded around as a Gold Star parent? Hypothetical now, but I'm reading the tea leaves of the RNC convention.

I had much more respect for McSame when he was a quiet hero. Now he's allowed it all to be shoved down our throats as if it is his ENTIRE resume. I'm sick of it and now I'm saying, yeah, he's more of the same, plus he's willing to sacrifice his personal honor.

[TomR]

----
It's watching -- incredulously -- the hailing of the mediocre and the deriding of the meek.
----

Well, it's more false framing, since they have a stake in putting down those who demonstrate leadership through community organizing. When they attempt to shame the meek and those serving them, we witness Republicans demonstrating the Elitism they try to assign onto Obama.

In the authoritarian model, you've got followers and leaders. If Eliza is a follower, she may simply be projecting and/or regurgitating the talking points she's told to believe and obey, regardless of the truth. The purpose of hailing mediocrity is to praise followers for their blind obedience and loyalty. As a manipulation tactic, this is called seduction. Desperate people hang onto their delusions, because it's all they've got. Their whole world view would come crashing down otherwise, which is why this always comes down to emotion, not logic, truth or facts. Authoritarian followers would fit well in an Orwellian 1984-like existence, relishing the Two Minutes Hate as a way to channel their misdirected anger, like 58-year old Jim D. Adkisson's did with his gun this summer at a Tennessee Unitarian church.

If Eliza is a Neocon leader, then she's just engaging in more purposeful Neocon false framing. By definition, Neocons are an elitist group mandated by their core principles to tell noble lies to the American people in service of their Neocon agenda.

- Tom

[blust8r]

I'm always amazed at the lack of knowledge of the Reconstruction that allows the Rethugnicans to embrace Abraham Lincoln as a Republican of their ilk. It is in name ONLY! The Republican party, as it was known prior to 1866, morphed into a group of outcasts that were eventually eliminated from party administration. Hence they steal Abe's name and put him in the mantel of their lies and bigotries.
The Reconstruction, after the Civil War and Lincoln's death, sought to re-establish the Republican Party with the values and mores of the 1820's (Whigs... rich, white landowners). In order to draw people back into the party, after the strife and division the war created, they went back to numerous ideological embraces that would have made Abraham Lincoln spew chunks! They, for a number of years, were not called "Republicans", but The Grand Old Party... GOP! The abominations they committed were eventually accepted as daily events and the TWO names, GOP and Republican became synonymous once more. They are NOT the idealogical partners of Lincoln... never were... never will be!
Besides, Abe Lincoln could probably tell you how many LOG CABINS he owned!

[iamamultitasker]

The Republican party has become a refuge for the dumb and gullible. Spoon feed them pap and they are happy. Tell them lies that make them feel good and they are satisfied. Give them an unqualified, no-experience, small potatoes VP candidate to go along with their opportunistic, phony Pres candidate and they just gush.

My only problem with these idiots is that dumb people usually make dumb decisions and that's what we've had over the last 8 years. 8 more years of dumb will put the country on its back. No mas!

[mnkors]

Education in the key word.
Put religion first to eliminate the enlightened opposition, and then name all your malfeasances the "work of God." This GOP’s concoction has been fed to the lazy brains of the willing Americans for the last 8 years. And this worked indeed in creating the dumb and dumber crowd that is cheering the barracuda and Bush-hugger McCain
Palin simply represents the GOP in a nutshell, as a shining symbol. She is poorly educated, aggressive, unprincipled (she puts her ambitions above the duties of motherhood to a disgusting extreme), and shameless (see all the above plus the ongoing investigations).
This McCain's choice can be explained either as an irresponsible cynicism or as a sign of senility. To offer the proverbial "red button" to a woman with no solid credentials and with the quisi-psychotic behavior could be deadly for this country - and other countries. This is a point in the campaign when we must see the GOP nominees’ medical records, particularly psychological assessment of these two ‘mavericks”.

[manndan]

If the GOP was still the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower the world would be a better place. It is now the party of the hateful and the fearful.

[magicmary]

Take heart everyone. Obama raised 10 mill after her speech and the Republicans raised 1 million. There are more of us than there are - and I hate that we still live within this dichotomy - of them. United we stand! Those guys aren't interested in ANY kind of unity AT ALL. And so they will fall like a moose shot by Palin and hitting the ground with a final thud.

(Steven, you make me want to write more...)

By the way, I thought their convention was just snotty.

[lovethesinner]

The reason why Republicans ritually abuse the weak, is because they come from abusive homes, abusive cultures, and abusive religious commitments. Had the party been around at the beginning of our country, there wouldn't be an "our country".

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20061222-000001&page=1

Love your writing, Steven, even when it's serious.