Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Republicans Control Congress

\”The Republicans succeed because they keep it simple, ruthless and mythic.\” – Maureen Dowd

REPUBLICANS CONTROL CONGRESS

The cobra long ago collapsed into a muddle of clichés,
but the above quote would serve us well right now, especially after Coretta
Scott King's funeral, when the conservative
cliterati's lead hag started haranguing. But as for \”simple, ruthless,
and mythic,\” just look at the campaign through Hillary vs. Ken, or McCain
vs. Obama. And you don't have to like any of these characters to see the damage it's doing to Democrats.

We need to keep it simple, not be afraid of being ruthless and
keep our images classic, not exactly a news flash to some of us, but getting through to the top won't be easy. All you have to do is look at the most recent Republican
smear campaigns, all ready and waiting for 2006 and beyond, to know their plan.
Unfortunately, Democrats have gone into their navel-gazing
crouch , evidently ducking action by handing ammunition to our adversaries. Maybe that's why the
cobra keeps reinforcing our stereotypes, because we keep giving them to her.

Dowd is a good writer by many people's standard, but she needs
to get out more often. Over and over and over again with the Republicans – strong,
Democrats – \”dormant\” dogma is enough to convince anyone. But cobra
stopped looking beyond her own boundaries long ago, just take her latest book.
I'm serious, please take it from me, because I simply can't finish it. Women
just want to get married. All right, all right, I give, just don't write another
one of these books, please? I mean, really, are men necessary? This from a woman
who regurgitates sexual stereotypes, with party stereotypes to match, at every
turn, with everything she writes parroting the rulings party's talking point
image strategy all the way.

Hey cobra, the Republicans control Congress, control the White
House, control Washington, they don't need any more help.

\”I don't think the American people, if you look historically, elect angry candidates.\” – Ken Mehlman on \”This Week\” \”Whether it's the comments about the plantation or the worst administration in history, Hillary Clinton seems to have a lot of anger.\” – Ken Mehlman on \”This Week\”

The cobra's take? A \”top psychologist\” told her that women are
\”hormonally more complicated and biologically
more vulnerable.\” Oh, and get this, that \”women
are affected by lunar tides only once a month.\”

If that's not enough, Hillary is the \”Angry
Woman, a she-monster melding images of Medea, the Furies, harpies, a knife-wielding
Glenn Close in 'Fatal Attraction' and a snarling Scarlett Johansson in 'Match
Point.'\”

Oh, but not to worry, my fellow Democrats, Dick Cheney has \”rampaging
hormones every day.\” Unfortunately for us, they're the good
kind of hormones, you know, the testosterone – kill all the terrorist kind,
the type that keep us safe.

But a woman who is in lunar throes and complicated, not to mention
vulnerable because biology is destiny? Don't let her near the nukes! It's the
Geena oh so calm Davis commander in chief syndrome, because God help
the world if a woman goes solar with the United States military under her thumb.

Of course, cobra does say McCain went \”over the
top\” this week in his attack at Senator Obama. But that's only good for
Senator Primadonna. It gives him more validity with the wingnuts, not to
mention opened the field for his I guess I won't make Miss Congeniality
of the Senate again this year quip. Har-har. There he goes, Mr. Independent.

In a pig's eye.

But still, Senator Primadonna gets to look independent, even if
his \”straight talk\” went south ever since he started sucking up to
the boss. Remember that picture of him on Air Force One? Senator Primadonna evidently has forgotten that the angry trick they're laying on Hillary was played on him too. Oh, well, that's so yesterday. Meanwhile, Barack Obama is — fill in your Republican Party talking point
here — just make sure it's about Obama being partisan, duplicitous and untrustworthy.
The Republican message is \”simple, ruthless and mythic.\” Barack Obama
cannot be trusted, look out America. Haven't we been here before?

That they're starting so early shows how deadly they think Senator
Obama's presence on the presidential ticket could be in 2008, never mind that it's just 2006.

As for Hillary, she's always been a target for the Karl Rove team,
because they just can't figure those \”hormonally
more complicated and biologically more vulnerable\” women voters
who \”are affected by lunar tides only once a
month.\” The trouble is that women now outnumber men and if
single women came out to vote for the first woman at the top of the ticket,
which is possible, the Republican shellacking would be politically stupefying. What to do? Make Hillary a shrew!

From Ken Mehlman to Senator Primadonna, they've got the mantra
down. Hillary is \”Angry Woman,\” and Obama can't be trusted. But we're
a long way away from 2008. So the only thing that can defeat us in 2006 is more
naval-gazing from guys at the top.

But if Democrats are looking for cobra's \”simple, ruthless and mythic\” campaign, look no further. We're going in the wrong direction. Republicans control Congress. Throw the bums out.