But those of us on the left don't value the troops, right?
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The most troubling thing about Hillary's campaign has been her willingness to use the very same right wing tactics used against her husband, Al Gore and John Kerry. We are Democrats, dammit. We should not model after Karl Freaking Rove. The mildest example is her gas tax holiday pander that she took from John McCain. Every economist says this is a horrible idea. It will increase demand for gas (which will raise prices, not lower them), will provide more funding for extremists, and do nothing to fundamentally examine the problem. (Sam Stein finds absolutely no experts who think this idea is a good one.) But Hillary here models after the religious right's response to critics of, well, any of their programs or approaches to science (cough, evolution, cough), and says:
"STEPHANOPOULOS: 'But can you name an economist who thinks this makes sense?'
CLINTON: 'Well, I'll tell you what, I'm not going to put my lot in with economists.'"
Sigh. That is the Republican response to experts showing that abstinence only doesn't work. That is the right wing response to climate change, and evolution and the death penalty. This is not the rational response of someone who certainly knows better.
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H/t to Oklahoma Lefty for this list of TV's 50 Best Comedies of All Time. OL has some reservations about the list, but I have some serious ones. Glad to see Get Smart so well respected, but Roseanne in the top 10? And Arrested Development at 37? No NewsRadio at all? And while Family Guy makes the list, no King of the Hill?
Boo, I say. Boo.
12 comments:
We are Democrats, dammit. We should not model after Karl Freaking Rove.
C'mon?!?! I agree that no one should aspire to Rovian tactics, but politics was nasty and dishonest long before he came along. Democrats certainly can't claim the high road. One thing that I do find annoying is Hillary's willingness to use nasty tactics against someone from her own party. That kind of infighting is counterproductive.
My point was that Democrats, after being victimized by the horrible tactics of Karl Rove, should not become Karl Rove. And I think that is still true. Right wingers are starting to admire the type of campaign Hillary is running. That isn't good.
It seems like Rove's contribution was more the coordination and the expansion of scope of political nastiness, rather than the nastiness itself. I'm not sure how much this was specifically Rove's doing; I've also heard that Newt Gingrich made a big contribution toward Republican lawmakers thinking of themselves as Republicans first and Congresspeople/Senators second, without which Rove wouldn't have been able to do nearly as much as he did.
Excellent point, Leighton. I have often forgotten just how awful Newt was to our political discourse. Watching him on the Daily Show the other night made me feel a little ill.
We shouldn't lower gas prices because that will cause more demand for gas which will lead to higher gas prices?? Please explain.
This proposed reduction is temporary and artificial. One of the big problems with gas prices right now is increased demand (here and over seas). An artificial reduction might increase demand here, but will do nothing to address supply issues.
. . . and increased demand with a static supply will increase prices. Note that this assumes that wholesalers and retailers will drop the price to begin with and not simply take the extra amount as additional profit.
If you are correct about a reduction in prices leading to an increase in prices, wouldn't the reverse be true: An increase in gas prices will lead to less demand and thereby lower gas prices? How much would gas prices have to increase in order to lower them to $2.00 per gallon again?
This is basic economics -- supply and demand. Those willing to throw in with "elite opinion" and learn from those who study such things, might check sites like http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp
Curtis/Gary, it's getting old. Pick one pseudonym and stick with it.
Here's a strategy --
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080505/lf_afp/usreligionpovertyenergyoil
Regarding the tax holiday, I think it bears repeating that this a FEDERAL tax holiday. Currently, the federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel. With the current averages that's about a 5% reduction. We can probably assume that given the usual summer increase it will actually be a lower percentage. I'm not sure how much that will actually affect consumption when compared to the overall pricing. I think it's another pre-election red herring when compared to what the war is costing us minute by minute. These politicians are putting alot of debt repayment on my kids, if you ask me.
Later
BB
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