I just got home from Midnight Hardball -- yes, it keeps the kids off the streets -- and I'm watching Bobby Jindal's "rebuttal" to Barack Obama's stunning faux-SOTU tonight for a second time (I wrote about it all here.)
Still, I think you get a few things upon a second hearing, painful as it is. Mainly, I get that Jindal was the perfect person to deliver this speech. He's a very accurate representation of how bankrupt the GOP is right now, when it comes to ideas as well as leadership. Let's be honest, this is the GOP version of affirmative action: Find someone the right shade of brown to deliver the same old tired message (see also: Michael Steele), don't think about changing the message.
But Jindal is making no sense: He's lying about Obama's plans (there will be no government-run health care) and his Katrina stories are the perfect symbolism for the current GOP: They'll rescue wealthy bankers from oblivion, but leave low-income black people on roofs. Also, Politico caught it first, to my knowledge: The sheriff Jindal lionized in his speech, Harry Lee, is most famous for gruesome racial profiling during his tenure as Jefferson Parish's top cop. His Wikipedia page has all the details. (Note: thanks to lpsrocks for reminding me it's Parish, not County -- I was reading Dave Cullen's awesome "Columbine" and have Jefferson County on the brain!)
First time around, I thought Jindal was an awful choice, but now I think he was a great choice: He's the right figurehead for a party that is refusing to understand the substance of Obama's victory, the mandate for fair, vigorous goverment, and seeing only the symbolism.
Oh, and on symbolism: I still find it thrilling to see Obama in charge, and everything that means, and I loved seeing him embrace Hillary Clinton, she of the dazzling hot pink jacket. All the trolls who insisted Clinton was destroying Obama and the party, where are they now?
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Once again, OS is keeping me up WAY past my bedtime.
nite..
You’re so right about Jindal. I had to turn him off and take my 2-year old out of the room for fear of damaging his newly formed consciousness.
So, in the long run, Great.
Yeah, I'm willing to elect Bobby Jindal King of the GOP right now, too. Oh, wait, I can't vote?
The brilliant LPS of our own Open Salon (and much NO/LA background) commented on Lee's past, too; ugh.
And what Lea said.
I love seeing them together, although he and Joe have some chemistry, too.
We must continue the division or the world will die. Do you want it to die? Of course not! So Republicans, you keep shaking your fist at those kids on your lawn. Uh, wait, you Democrats keep doing the same.
Damn, both parties need some more young blood in their parties. EEK!!
:)
Great summary. I am in Europe so missed Jindal, I guess if I was a masochist I would go find it on Youtube. Loved your comments on
the trolls saying she destroys the party.
What stuns me is that their absolute denial that their policies of the last 12 years added to the years of "free marketeering" brought this catastrophe. They are like the Stalinists still trying to claim that their ideology works.
but i have to ask - are rebuttals to president's faux SOTUs standard? bc i dont remember them as being. i have had to give up watching, for fear of having a stroke.
so, i am glad you did and filled us in.
I wish I had a photo of the gaudy, King Cake.
Joan and Mr. Army would feel so sweet if they ate a slice.
You send me to the bungalow? I'll imagine I'm at the village of Dylan Thomas's, Under Milk Wood. O "bugger all" was the name spelled backwards. The town was Llareggub, spelled front-words. i.e. what a bungler?
I need to go back to sleep in my quiet bungalow.
Have you ever read:`Quite Early One Morning.'?
The Welch, Dylan Thomas, wrote that after the politico's bombed Hiroshima. People still need to see the Beauty? Those politicians are nauseating. There is a ballet version to Milk Wood. Maybe I'll catch up on the news? Boogie? I think of what John Keats wrote while the creeps back then in 1940's ... UGH! I'm wondering WHY DC's Capital Hill leeches still insist on creating catastrophe after catastrophe ... 'Um stink. O.
`ODE to a Grecian Urn:
`Beauty is truth, truth is beauty.
`That's all we need to know on earth.
I loved seeing Clinton also, as well as the entrance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Did anyone else notice how Clarence Thomas went past her as she greeted people when she entered? Bad, bad form.)
I was shocked that Jindal told a story about Katrina to explain the badness of gov't. I mean, don't we all remember that Bush was in charge then? And the whole 'Brownie' thing? Does he think we all think Obama was in charge for that?
I LOVED how Obama joked and made them laugh. I don't remember Bush ever making anyone but himself laugh.
I'll go check out the other post now
(Didn't you love that jacket on Hil?)
when the president first started to speak let say the first 10 minutes i thought it sort of lack luster but the speack got better as it went on. do i feel more confident in the economy or government. no. will i be rushing out out to buy an american car. no. and a double hell no to the american car. but that's another story. do i even give a shit anymore. i'm still working on that. will lassie come home? and what of timmy? the call for more education was nice. we all need more educatin' doesn't oui. bold. it reminded me of, "just say no to drugs", and eat your peas and carrots. i guess what i'm trying to say is we're fucked. we'll maybe that's putting it a little crudely. more like we're undressed, but still have our underwear on. i understand gov. palin was going to give the speech, but todd has a big snowmobile race coming up. hey i know, i know. indian food tonight. thanks governor jindal.
Jindal is an immigrant who "made it" and here he is the poster child for the very people who most likely made VERY difficult for his parents to succeed.
Thanks.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was utterly confused by Jindal. Katrina, Katrina, Katrina...(ok, I'm channelling Shakira now...oh baby, when you talk like that...sorry)
Hurricane Katrina represents a failure of government at many levels - from the poor engineering of the levees, the unintended consequences of the MR-GO channel project (which I've blogged about previously) , to the now infamous delayed response.
But, what is stunning is that Jindal (or anyone else for that matter) has offered no alternatives that make any sense. Somehow we're expected to trust the private sector to make these things work (can you say Blackwater, Halliburton?)
And, Louisiana continues to ask for (& NEED) billions of dollars in federal funds for recovery and rebuilding of its infrastructure as well as the restoration of its wetlands.
Jindal’s response was, among many other things, extremely uncomfortable to watch. It’s unsettling to observe a person morphing into a caricature of themselves. In that sense the Governor was a perfect representative of the GOP. Whatever they once sincerely held dear they have, in large part, allowed themselves to become a mere facade of - trading substance for slogans and actual ideology for deceptive bumper sticker rhetoric.
It’s nothing short of delightful to have a President who communicates with passion, conviction and empathy - instilling a sense of what we still can achieve as individuals and as a country if we are willing to work for it.
The contrast between substance and shadow is rarely more clear (or creepy) than it was last night.
It’s always good to see you on “Hardball.”
America is awesome. And we can solve our fiscal problems. We are good for the money. That is why its ok.
This way of thinking shouldn't readily make sense to sane people, born of loving homes, for it will feel alien to them. But it makes a whole lot of sense to those prone to see wealthy/leaders as neglectful "parents," whose love and attention they imagine they'll finally get once they've given them EVERYTHING, and who imagine the poor as a child's needyness personified--the embodyment of the Original Sin, the reaching for more, the reason for being/feeling cast out.
It's what the Republicans are all about--not money, but what money represents. Unfortunately, it's what a lot of people who voted for Obama are about, too. Hillary's better: Hope Obama's embrace doesn't smother.
When I saw President Obama walk up, quite purposely, to Justice Ginsburg I saw something quite personal and symbolic. I saw him symbolically signaling a return to the rule of law, embracing respect and honor, concern and the kind of government that cares collectively about the well being and the rights of each citizen. I saw this because that is what you have to see when you look at Justice Ginsburg. I also saw that he will replace her one day with a Justice who is her equal intellectually and judicially. He telegraphed the future of the Supreme Court.
I "wik"ed Mr. Jindal and was interested to see that "Bobby" is a nickname he adopted for himself at 4,
watching "The Brady Brunch". Apparently he's
kept that association in his mind for 35 years...
Good metaphor for the Republicans:
Lost in the Flood.
Dylan's "High Water" from "Love and Theft" came to mind:
"coffins droppin in the street/like baloons made out of lead...
They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway Five/
Judge says to the High Sheriff/
I want him dead or alive/
either one, i don't care"...
Time to get beyond all this tiresome black/white/brown stuff,
I daresay. Everyone's a television or movie or music
self-production these days.
"Black" or "brown" is too big a generization.
Doesn't tell me anything about the man,
or woman... now, to know who were your tv idols:
that tells me something....
we're all products of popular culture, but so what?
That's what art is for...
Picture Bobby Brady on the Brady ranch's roof,
as the waters rise...
picture the rescue ship, the new Pequod:
the new captain,
throwing ropes & lifejackets, even steel hooks,
to bring the little brat onboard...
Good thoughts. You know, what I do not understand at all ... are there no honest and good people who are Republicans? I don't mean to ask such a ridiculous generalization, but they certainly don't seem to be able to find anyone to speak for them who isn't already highly morally bankrupt. Crazy. I know that they must have some good people out there somewhere. Right?
OTOH. Midnight Hard Ball! Yikes! That has to be exhausting after a long day of following the "developing news." Too bad Obama didn't emerge when some of us were a lot younger---keeping up with him is exhausting.
The Republican thing baffles me still. My brother in law is a Republican, for reasons that still utterly mystify me. He's well-educated, he's a great guy with a good sense of humour and as someone who works for the Oregon Highways department he should be in the perfect position to see the damage that the Bush Administration did to the infrastructure of the USA. But he was a strong McCain supporter.
Maybe my wife, who of course has known him for longer than I have, is right: "He's a great guy, but when it comes to politics he's an asshole."
But I'd like to give a shout out to an OS treasure. I'm continually pleased with the content, analysis and writing of Saturn Smith. She consistently puts out the highest quality journalism--she also is fair in her parsings, calling both sides of the aisle on the carpet. Really--she's one of the best here. It's nice to see her getting consistent promotion from the editors here too.
(They also talked about how while it's considered a "launching pad" in national politics, this rebuttal speech never helps anyone's career and should be avoided like the plague.)
The Repubs are hilariously literal these days. Hillary did well? Let's put a woman on the VP ticket! Black guy elected Prez? Let's put a black guy as party Chairman! Ditto Jindal - Think we're a party of old white guys? We'll show you diversity!
Never has their devotion to surface vs. substance been more apparent for the bankrupt philosophy that it is. (Of course, W. was all surface - right name, right face, nothing behind it.)
But I agree with Sandra: Watch out. They'll find their next Reagan eventually. And if the economy's still a mess in 4 years, that person has a good chance of getting elected.
I wonder if Republicans realize that they're being insulted by the choice of Jindal to "rebut" Obama's talking points... such an obvious calculation (Jindal =/= old white guy) would bug the crap out of me.
The overwhelming impression I got from Jindal's speech was how condescending it was. The substance was insane, but what got me was that sing/song way he talked DOWN to us. I swear to God I was supposed to think I was back in second grade. That is a Republican trait that we don't acknowledge enough. They actually believe that they are a superior species. I expected to substantive crap, and he delivered the obvious. But the condescension. Whoa. That was too much.
Monte
Then move to J - comes all by himself out down the hallway, looking like a boy, and gives a silly speech in an uninspiring way.
And I just don't get the tax cut mantra. Doesn't the government need money even in good times? There's highways and air traffic controllers and courts and ... and ... And how does cutting taxes on high-income people make jobs? They'll hire an extra maid?
Please, Bobbie, run for president!!
BTW, did you get my email?
Jindal has a brilliant and incisive mind, and that is why his decision to give this speech confounds me. Jindal had nothing to do with the Bush era and nothing to do with the Katrina rescue effort. There was no reason for him to apologize for the GOP or to carry water for it.
Jindal ran for governor in LA as, in his words, "a problem solver." His schtick was never populism, it was pragmatism. By sticking with the party he gets some points inside the Beltway with loyal Republicans, but outside nobody cares. He needs to abandon this nonsense and go back to his "whatever works" approach. That's the way to rebuild the GOP.
I'm really embarrassed for him. Somebody needs to slap him and explain to him that Reaganomics was a function of its time. It worked because the Cold War was on and the computer age was dawning. Today none of that is happening and there is no chance that the old ways of the GOP will work in the 21st century.
I know a lot of people say who cares, but Jindal is a very gifted politician and I hate to see talent like that go to waste. America needs intellects like Jindal, but if he won't get off the Republican right rail, he's done.
As for Jindal, anyone interested in a look at the man behind the mask should take a look at this:
http://cenlamar.com/about-cenlamar/lamediawatch/bobby-jindal-the-story-they-dont-want-you-to-read/
While Jindal is a lot more intelligent than Palin, he's also a lot more of a funadmentalist -- though both of them seem perfectly willing to fudge on their dogma when it suits their politically purposes.
Jindal had better watch his six because the Rs will use him, as they are using Steele, and discard him when it gets down to the nitty-gritty because the base is not going to embrace a "high-yeller" ex-Hindu with a funny-sounding name.
As for the painfully obvious affirmative action move, maybe they also chose Jindal to capitalize on Slum Dog Millionaire...
On the other hand I get the feeling that the more seasoned Repugs know that Obama is untouchable for now and that who ever leads this obstructionist campaign will only annoy people. So Steele, Jindal, and Cohen have been elevated to prominence as sacrificial lambs to Obamas charisma allowing the true leaders of the party to lie in the dugout waiting for opinion to turn. this tokenism in the most literal sense.
Rove has not gone away, you know. He's still out there somewhere, waiting for the next one to manage. Worst thing Dems. and progressives can do is get complacent and cocky! En garde.
There was Jindal/Butthead, mocking disaster prevention systems even after Katrina flattened half his state. There was Butthead/Jindal refusing unemployment assistance to the needy in his state - allegedly over some moronic GOP principle, but actually because helping the needy would make his opposition look good. And there was Butthead/Jindal/Butthead talking about reviving the GOP when he should have been talking about saving America.
You know how sometimes you have to finish reading a terrible book to be done with it? Jindal's performance was so unspeakably disgusting that my TV is alive today only because I don't keep weapons in the house. But thank heavens, now I'm done with waiting for the GOP to have something worthwhile to say. Buttheads.
changed his name and religion) one might actually feel sorry for him. Okay, that's going too far; how about a Palin/Jindal ticket? Lots of laughs, lots of lip gloss, more plumbers who aren't... But the president seems stuck in reality; thank God.
Did you also notice the pinkness? I thought I was the only one!
You'll notice that when he's able to prepare he appears much more spontaneous and natural - so , is this what happens when he's not coached by a team of PR professionals? In this situation there was no chance for coaching or preparation - once Obama was finished he had to go - immediately - with what he was given without any chance for review.
The sub-current, undertow if you will, of the republican party is totally racist, classist and a lie.
There was a reason that southern democrats gave up racism. And why republicans took it up... Hatred sells and hate politics sadly still work very effectively in this 'civilized society'.
This time they're just doing it with a "brown person".
Silly rabbits.
Great post as usual....!
ds
Even THEY know they ain't got nuthin' if they can read the polls.
And I still like Obama about as well as I did when I voted for him ... which is to say, he's already disappointed me on some things, even pissed me off ... but it's sure nice not to be embarrassed to be "murrican quite so much.
But what a great commercial the Jindal speech would be for whatever he was on that deprived him of affect and left him in a dreamy stupor.
One can only hope whores like Joan are the first to be ripped to bits in the food riots she will share some culpability for. I know I am going to make sure people know where you live so they can demand you open your pantry.
- odetteroulette
There is one I can think of, his name is Barney.
http://columbinefamilyrequest.org/