Watching the Republican Freak Show

(I tried, really I did.  I felt it my duty to watch at least some of the Republican Convention, if for no other reason than to get a few laughs.  But every time I tuned in what I saw was such a bizarre spectacle, that I honestly became alarmed.  First there was the wife, Ann, standing in the harsh glare of the lights telling us all "you can trust Mitt," and little else. Sweet, I suppose, in an oddly strange way.  And then there was Clint Eastwood(!), talking trash to an empty chair.  And the audience, reacting to every empty slogan as though they were watching the biggest train wreck in the history of politics.  I had to turn it all off.  I was beginning to feel sorry for them.  But I digress ...)

• About that Eastwood speech.  Years from now, that little performance will be played back and cited as one of the most bizarrely awkward moments in convention history.  Even Mitt Romney was wincing backstage as Clint did his "Harvey" routine talking to an invisible Obama.  Yowee.
• And we can't get away from this without mentioning Paul Ryan's little speech.  Some people say Mr. Ryan uttered a record number of outright lies for a convention speech in history.  Somewhere in the back of my mind is an admonishment from a parental unit of mine that goes something like this:  If you feel you have to lie about something, you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.  At this pathetic convention, Republicans made very few points, and most of the points they did make were outright lies.  There's a quiet desperation here.  Sad.
• Here's a must-read from a Rolling Stone article by Matt Tabbai.  "The Republican convention in general has been a strange affair. The vibe around Republican politics in general was much happier in the days before the Bush presidency cratered. Republican politics before Bush imploded was a confident brew of guns, Jesus, and Freedom."  Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Speeches Make Me Miss George Bush.
• You gotta love the RNC delegates.  Most of them are nice enough people I suppose, but quite a few of them are racists.  There I said it.  From throwing peanuts at a black CNN camerawoman and calling her an "animal," to complaining about a Mexican worker at Epcot, the Right Wing intolerance marches on.
• Apparently Mitt Romney is a huge fan of Barack Obama.  When he spoke of Obama's 2008 campaign during his speech the other night he said  “Every family in America wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who’s living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity.… This was the hope and change America voted for.”  All well and good.  But because of the Republicans in Congress (and Rush Limbaugh who famously stated "I hope Obama fails.") many of Obama's "hope and change" never came about.  Something is rotten in the Republican Party.  Whether it's the influence of the "tea party," or the ignorance of racists, we progressives hope that when they lose this election perhaps they can take a good long and hard look at themselves, and start anew in 2016.