Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Monday, May 14, 2012

Tampa: America's Strip Club Capitol

Admittedly, it's self-love, but love all the same.




The political season has entered its dull period.  Meta-outrages and silly puff pieces will dominate our discourse until something happens to re-boot the campaign.  Romney will be furiously shaking his Etch-A-Sketch.

The nominating convention in Tampa could be our next big freak show.

First off, this year has been unlike any other nominating year that I can recall for the GOP.  Maybe '76?  '64?

R-Money will come in with the delegates he needs to be nominated.  But Santorum and Paul will have a sizable chunk of delegates, too.  Do you let Santorum loose his frothy philosophy in a prime time address?  How do you deny the evangelicals their moment in the spotlight?  Surely Romney's people can remember the effect Pat Buchanan's speech ("better in the original German") had on the GOP in the last "Year of the Woman".

But Santorum is ultimately a pol, and as a pol he will probably play nice to insure his seat on the wingnut gravy train.

No, the real wild card are the Paulistas. 

TPM reports that they are planning on forcing the issues near and dear to the 20 something tech people who seem to populate his movement.  They have skillfully exploited the stupid rules of the GOP nominating process to get far more delegates than they "deserve".  They are also fundamentally at odds with reality.  They think Paul is a prophet (not a racist old crank) and they subscribed to the muddled melange of narcissism that constitutes Libertarianism.  They also - as primarily tech savvy Libertarians - lack that fundamental empathy gene that allows them to see things from other people's perspectives.

These crazy bastards could do anything.

The speculation is that Ron is building leverage for Rand.  But that's "DC thinking".  It's just as plausible that Ron really believes in his "revolution" and will go down fighting.

So, to sum up: we have a fractured Republican party, with evangelicals and libertarians unhappy with the Romneybot.  They will meet in a hot, sticky town known mostly for strip clubs and pawn shops where you can carry a concealed weapon pretty much anywhere.  And it is populated by cranky old people.

With any luck a mutant, sentient tar ball will wash up on the beach from the Deepwater Horizon and eat Chris Christie.

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