Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Criminal Enterprise

Dean Keaton: McManus. What the fuck is going on?
McManus: The strangest thing...
 

Polysemy.

From the Greek for “many senses.”

That’s what linguists call it when the same word or phrase can be used in more than one sense.

A single word might have a number of senses. Take English writer and theologian G. K. Chesterton’s description in his classic 1909 Orthodoxy, “The word good has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man."

Note the italics.

A entire phrase can also be a polyseme. Take this one: The sole survivor of a horrific slaughter, who may not be what he seems, describes a conspiracy of bizarre events orchestrated by a mythical mastermind which begins when a group of criminals meet at a seemingly random police lineup.

You saw it right away, didn’t you?

Of course that’s the 1995 Kevin Spacey movie The Usual Suspects.

Give it eighteen months, and very likely that exact phrase can be used to accurately describe the 2016 US presidential election season…

Oh what?

Is this your first day? How did you not see that one coming?

There's no way they'd line up five felons in the same room, no way!
- Dean Keaton, The Usual Suspects, 1995

And it is the usual suspects, isn’t it?

The same old shady characters, partners in crime, all after the big score. And in the end? Well, you’ll have to see the movie, but let’s just say it doesn’t end well.

This week Lindsey Graham announced his candidacy for president, bringing the officially declared (filed with the Federal Election Commission) field of Republicans to nine – or ten, or a hundred, depending on how you define the polyseme “ridiculous” and whether or not Graham understands he’s running for the President of the United States and not the Confederacy.

Now, in all honesty, I think Graham’s candidacy adds a certain … symmetry to the election. 

That’s right, symmetry. See, on the Democrat side, we’ve got a career politician who’s the spouse of a former president, so it makes sense for the Republicans to nominate their own career politician who is married to … what? What now? It’s too soon for a John McCain/Lindsey Graham gay marriage joke?

Okay. Fine. I’ll stop.

But, really, come on, Lindsey Graham? Lindsey. Graham?

Because what? The Republicans didn’t already have enough fanatical narrow-eyed warmongering Christian Jihadists who hate government, science, and gay people? Is that right?

I'm telling you this guy is protected from up on high by the Prince of Darkness.
- Jeff Rabin

Lindsey Graham, this guy is the rest of the GOP lineup, combined and distilled.

Let’s see there’s Ben Carson who thinks sexual orientation is something you learn in a prison shower and dead veterans are God weighing in on the Affordable Healthcare Act.  Carson’s primary utility is that Republicans can hold him up and say, See? We’re not racists. But the same people who’ve been calling Barack Obama “nigger” for the last six years, well, see, they’re never going to let Ben Carson marry their daughters. Ever.

We’ve got Ted “The Chosen One” Cruz, who hates the US Government to a degree that makes any random Iranian Ayatollah’s rhetoric sound like a round of Kumbaya at a hippy love-in.  Cruz prides himself on being a loose cannon or in Tea Party vernacular “going rogue.” As such Cruz’s most noteworthy accomplishment is that he’s elevated paranoia from mental illness to a comic book superpower and managed to convince both Republicans and Democrats that he’s a rampaging elephant. And while watching a blood maddened pachyderm trumpeting wildly and trampling the villagers can be amusing under the right conditions, a guy who can’t even get along with the people on his own team ain’t never going to be President.

A man can convince anyone he's somebody else, but never himself.
- Verbal Kint

Carly Fiorina, the Republican business “expert” who nearly destroyed one of largest and most respected companies in the world and now wants to try the same thing on an international scale. With nuclear weapons.

Mike “Jesus Take the Wheel” Huckabee, who in a staggering abuse of the word “irony” believes if Christians are not allowed to criminalize any belief or act they disagree with, then they themselves are somehow being thrown to the lions. Huckabee, he jokes that he wants to be transgendered so he can “shower with the girls.” Because that’s why people are transgendered, you know, so they can sneak a peek in the locker room. This guy, he seems like a nice respectable fellow, charming and a little daffy, the kindly uncle, but in Stephen King novels all those mysteriously missing women? They’re chained up in Father Huckabee’s basement dungeon.

 He's here! I know he's here! That's him! I'm telling you that's him! You hear me? I'm telling you it's Keyser Soze!
- Marquez

George Pataki whose only real claim to fame is that his name sort of sounds like the Mirror Universe version of George Takei. Pataki is this season’s Jon Huntsman, an old fashioned Republican who has almost nothing in common with the modern GOP. Like Huntsman before him, Pataki has the potential to appeal to moderates on both sides of aisle and he could actually win the general election and the White House.  And like Huntsman, George Pataki will be the first one out, he’ll never make it to the primaries.

Rand Paul, this guy right here is why you’ll never see a libertarian president.  This week he’s managed to piss off every single Republican in Congress and nearly every Democrat. Republicans literally ended up with Barack Obama, squared off against Paul. Think about that for a minute, won’t you? Stand with Rand is his campaign slogan, but he won’t stand with his own party, what makes you think he’s going to stand with you when the chips are down? He’s got the feral cat vote sewn up, but there’s not a chance in hell he’s going to get the Republican nomination. Frankly the GOP has more in common with Hillary Clinton than they do with Rand Paul.

One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.
- Kobayashi

Marco Rubio, seriously, why is this guy in the race?

And then, well, then there’s Rick Santorum. You know, I had a snarky bit all worked up for Rick Santorum, then I realized I couldn’t do any better than Charlie Pierce:  “He remains the perfect blend of smug sanctimony and greasy smarm. He's the only guy who can talk to you about God and make you think he's talking about the guy from HR. Rick Santorum remains a colossal dick.”

Fenster: Man, I had a finger up my asshole tonight.
Hockney: Is it Friday already?

And of course, there’s always Donald Trump leading the lunatic fringe – and when you’re on the fringe of this crowd, well, that’s saying something. Trump’s a showman, a carnival barker, the flimflam man who’s more interested in fleecing the marks than he is in being President – not that he’d turn down the job, but to him it’s all a big joke and he’s yucking it up as only Donald Trump can.

Keaton: I'm a businessman now.
Cop: Yeah? What's that, the restaurant business? No. From now on, you're in the gettin'-fucked-by-us business.

Of the as yet undeclared Republican Governors, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker, Chris Christie…

(You’re waiting for the “big fat guy, I mean, like, orca fat” quote, aren’t you? This is a classy blog, folks, I’m not gonna do it)

… and John Kasich,  Jeb Bush is the only serious contender.

Jeb Bush, his very name is a polyseme.

Bush is the devil you think you know. His primary strength is that he’s not any of the other Republican candidates. He loves puppies and babies and war, he hates abortion and Muslims and gay marriage. He’s got all the right connections and he even speaks Spanish so he can order the help around himself.  And best of all, at least for political writers like me, he’s got the patented Bush double-take gimmick down pat as he so aptly demonstrated last week by first declaring he would have invaded Iraq, then he wouldn’t have invaded Iraq, then he appointed his brother who did invade Iraq using the logic of “Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know” as his foreign policy advisor.

If I had to put money on it, I’d say Bush will be the 2016 GOP nominee.

If only because he’s not Lindsey Graham.

You know how this ends, right?

Of course you do

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that ... he’s gone.

76 comments:

  1. I love you Jim, Nuff said.
    I can't help thinking these slimey SOB's are playing us. Watching us have fun with their little circus of fools. Then, wait for it.... wait... BOOM! at the last minute they throw in their "safe" candidate Paul Ryan.

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  2. Maybe the job of presiding over this country is so tough that no sane person would apply for it.

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  3. I am glad I remembered to swallow my coffee before I started reading. Excellent analysis!

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  4. Good points. It does seem at this point that this election is about throwing so many candidates into the fray just to see what sticks in the minds of those who would vote for them. Any one of the candidates could use this to manipulate events so they end up sticking out enough to be voted upon. Certainly Jeb could be the one to get ahead of the pack.
    However, it's not helping his cause to push forward men who are seen more and more as war criminals that deserve trials rather than mere retirement. That will come against him as time moves on toward the next election.

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  5. Lindsey is so closeted her closet is in the closet.

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  6. True story - I went to high school with Christopher McQuarrie. He lived a couple of blocks away from me. We managed to avoid any serious legal trouble despite our best efforts.
    As far as your analysis on the GOP candidates, pretty much dead on.
    It's interesting how hypocritical they are.
    They whined about the President not having enough experience even though he's a lawyer who was a state and US senator. I keep forgetting which public office Carson, Fiorina, and Trump have been elected to.
    They hold Fiorina up as the "smart business person who knows how to run a company" despite the way she fucked up HP and walked away with a huge golden parachute.
    Huckabee puts his arm around Josh Dugger while his own son is out somewhere torturing a dog.
    Graham is the closeted kid on the playground who's with the other bullies as they pick on the more obviously gay kid.
    Cruz voted against aid for Hurricane Sandy victims and now is looking for money for his own state.
    Santorum says the pope should shut up and leave the science to the scientists - oh the irony!
    Paul is the biggest hypocrite of them all - he wants no foreign entanglements but has no problem giving money to Israel. He has said that he's all for drones taking out people inside our borders.
    I would almost vote for any of these morons over Bush. His handling of Terri Schiavo was beyond the pale. For that alone he should be banned from seeking public office.
    The only one I hate more than Jeb is Trump. When that thing on top of his head wakes up, there will be blood.

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    1. Damn, that's pretty well written stuff.

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    2. Then there's the one long shot that about .000000000001 % of the US population are pining for, and they somehow believe that person is Sarah Palin.

      Yep, that's right, there are about 400 people in the USA who still think that the lunatic from Wasilla, Caribou Barbie herself, will wait til all the others are in the race, and come in to save 'Murica, and "take back our country"

      I've been a conservative in every respect for a long time, but the entire crowd of pandering idiots running for the GOP right now sound more like they want to be Reverend in Chief than President.

      Barry Goldwater in his declining years had a perspective on these Christo-fascists that is perfectly accurate.

      Quote:
      Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.”

      Few things in history have proven more dangerous to democracy than leaders who believe that only their cult, church, clan, or group are chosen by some god to fulfill a "divine" mission.

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  7. It's beginning to sound like a rerun of the 2008 McCain-Palin ticket. A "moderate" hawk at the top of the heap, with a Tea Party whack-a-doodle for the VP position. I agree that Bush will be the presidential candidate, but the fun will be trying to figure out who the #2 candidate will be. We can forget Paul, Huckabee and Santorum might bring in the Evangelicals, but no one else. Carson is crazier than Palin (if that's possible). Cruz and Rubio aren't going to settle for second best. Maybe Scott Walker? Who knows.

    Pass the popcorn, please.

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  8. If only Pataki could actually pull a Kint / Soze, and off the rest of the field in a brilliantly planned and executed political firefight / explosion, from which none would emerge with anything other than the desire to slink off to the shadows and lick their wounds like whipped curs. Maybe then we could have an election that is not driven by extreme ideologies.

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  9. Let me make popcorn. The slide into the 2016 election season is going to be like watching back-to-back 1950s monster movies, only with everyone else in the living room treating them like educational and historically accurate documentaries.

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    1. Louis, that's one of the most clever analogies I've ever heard. Bravo.

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    2. The Blob?
      Them?
      Monster from the Black Lagoon?
      Abbott and Constello Meet Frankenstein? (if only these clowns could be THAT funny)

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    3. ...which they are, according to someone's Bible.

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    4. The Attack of the Killer (GMO) Tomatoes!

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  10. Now that Lindsey Graham has announced his bid for POUTS it struck me , that since candidates usually vote for them selves, if we can get a few more GOP folks to run for POTUS, they will never get the majority needed to win...Just sayin ( Anonymous, because I don't have any of those credentials....) Mike Webb on FB

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  11. I dunno, the dark little voices in my head say there's something/someone still out there we haven't heard of, haven't accounted for, and that one's the dangerous one. I'll grant you the possibility of my own festering paranoia and unholy imagination (considering my job, that's only to be expected), but I think these guys are all smoke and mirrors, even Bush. He's fumbling already.

    No, I'm wondering who we're not seeing. It's still early days yet. I can't help but think there's someone lurking in the shadows on whom the Evil Would-Be Overlords are grooming in secret.

    And man, I hope I'm wrong! Maybe it's time to take a break from the international thriller genre and delve back into some good old-fashioned high epic fantasy for a while!

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    1. ^This is what scares me. Scott Walker is scary too, but I think he has f'd up too much, not that has stopped the others.

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  12. YYour writing is right up there with Charles Pierce! Kudo! I enjoy reading you. Thank you!

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  13. Nice comparison, Jim, and with one of my favorite films.

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  14. I have one of those names that on paper reads "ohmygawd, she's one of them," so these macaroons do make me nervous! I'll just have to keep reminding myself that there really are more intelligent, good, and thoughtful people who will vote in the next election. *chanting softly, The Usual Suspects is just a movie and Jim is really good with metaphors*

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  15. "Because what? The Republicans didn’t already have enough fanatical narrow-eyed warmongering Christian Jihadists who hate government, science, and gay people? Is that right?"

    You left "pants-wettingly a-skeered all the time" off your list, because lordy if all the "things that 'are a comin tah GIT us" they're warning us about were true we'd have been wiped out or drowned in a giant yellow flood long ago.

    I don't think I've ever seen such a panicky bunch of folks outside of a cat in fire cracker test lab.

    At least he helps keep the Depends folks in business.

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  16. Verbal: I just can't believe we're going to walk into certain death.

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  17. I know there is very little evidence to back up this assertion, but there do exist sane, smart, and patriotic Republican politicians whose presence in the clown car should be welcome.

    But, right now the primary process is won not by sanity, wisdom, or competence. It's won by being the best at persuading the Koch brothers to part with their money. And the Kochs are perfectly fine with backing overgrown man children so long as the children take their orders.

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    1. Please name one -- just one -- "sane, smart and patriotic Republican politician" -- Just ONE.....

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    2. Lincoln Chafee of RI.

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    3. Chafee is now running for Pres as a Democrat....

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  18. Polysemy. The very word had me scratching my head. Thanks for the linguistics lesson, and forcing me to the dictionary - again. I love it. I would have loved to read your take on Frothy Santorum.

    I must agree with your basic conclusions, while waiting for Jebby (it's difficult for me to trust a man whose very first name is an acronym) to do the old golf shoe on his crank routine. Don't know what it will be, but I'm willing to wager money, marbles or chalk that it will happen. Again.

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  19. I'm not sure that even the Republican party likes the idea of another Bush. But then the alternatives are such a bunch of pathetic losers and at least Bush is a name they're familiar with and we all know they have short memories so the fact that Bush 41 and Bush 43 were both failures was forgotten 2 or 3 years ago and replaced with bitching about Obama.

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    1. Only 2 or 3 years ago? It seems to me the moment President Obama was elected, Bush 41, Bush 43, and Cheney were all forgotten in the plan to get Obama and lynch him. Yes, I went there, but it seems a valid metaphor, at least, to use.

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  20. The usual excellent Stonekettle essay: spot-on in every respect: but still doesn't make up for the depressing notion (prospect, actually) that a Presidential ticket made of of even the two worst clowns in the Republican buffoon-circus would still garner 40+% of the popular vote, and probably 200 EVs. At worst.

    American Exceptinalism... ain't it grand?

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  21. Another home run. The only thing that is going to get me through the next 17 months is having your columns to keep me sane. Keep hitting 'em out of the ball park, Jim.

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  22. Finally Jim mentions a movie I've seen and I remember the plot! Also there is a closeted gay Republican in the Senate leadership that is not Lindsey Graham. ;-)

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  23. The hypocrisy of these pub candidates is that they rant about an out-of-control, leading-from-behind, unconstitutional president and also believe that if they are elected president they can control 535 members of Congress in to following their dreams of American grandeur. One king can change it all? I don't think so.

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  24. I had to sit and listen to my parents say Graham was the only serious contender. I nearly bit my tongue in half.

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    1. Ha ha! I thank my stars every day that both my parents are liberals!

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  25. If only I could check both "You are my God" ... and "I cried." You are ... and I did.

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  26. As I posted elsewhere, I'm making *FRACTAL* irony meters available, for a price...with effectively infinite perimeter, they should be able to disspate *any* charge

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  27. Re: dizzy Ms. Lindsey, the category is: butch queen--first time in drags--at a brawl.

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  28. Please, Jim, tell me that your use of the word "Democrat" as an adjective was just an oversight... Right? Please tell me it was! [It's when you first mention Lindsay Graham.]

    Other than that, you've hit the nail(s) on the head, per usual, as sad as this is going to be...

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  29. Now I have to go watch The Usual Suspects.

    My husband wonders why you weren't on the Nimitz when he was.

    Splendiferous writing, Mr Wright. We both enjoyed it tremendously!

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  30. mark.smeraldi@verizon.netJune 3, 2015 at 8:10 PM

    Inspired choice of movie analogies.Hope we can change the ending, though.

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  31. I thought the last lot were frightening, but these are people trying to be POTUS, who really shouldn't be allowed to have access to anything sharper than a tooth pick

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  32. I can't see why anyone with any sense would vote another Bush to The White House, that whole family don't pass the smell test. I'll never forget what The Grand Father got up too, while my Dad made and survived three opposed landings. George Bush The Elder was neck deep in Iran /Contra. If one of them told me that it was raining, I'd stick my head out the window to make sure. Rant over.

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  33. Yet another post that brings roses to my cheeks and warms the cockles of my heart. (I just hope that cockles are nice things.) I especially enjoyed your remarks about Ted Cruz, since I suspect he's the one who left elephant dung in my living room.

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  34. You said, sir: "Republicans literally ended up with Barack Obama, squared off against Paul."

    I think you must be referring to the current hottest topic, the "fast-tracking" through the Legislature of any and all international so-called "trade agreements" for the next six year period, starting with the as yet unfinished Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. It is unfinished because negotiators from other countries want to see whether or not the President can put it over on the American people before they, the other countries' negotiators, want to commit their countries to it. Interestingly masses of Republicans oppose that totally anti-American procedure, even if the the President and the Republican leadership do seem happy to give up national, state, and local jurisdictions the United States as well as in all the party countries, in favor of a new global court, located in Belgium or Tokyo or someplace that wealthy people are happy visiting on business occasions. So I give those other Republican opponents, as well as Rand Paul, credit where credit is due, as it is in this case.

    Thank you for another great analysis, sir.

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    1. I was referring to the Freedom Act, the update to the now lapsed Patriot Act

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    2. Oh, that. Well that was probably a lost cause, while the fast-tracking of the next six years of trade agreements might not be a lost cause despite what the biggest campaign contributors believe in their best business interests. I think Rand Paul might be one Republican who is against the fast tracking thing also.

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  35. I do not wish to impose, sir. If it is not an imposition at this time and place, this link goes to is a huge authority on the TPP, as a followup to my just previous post. It is introduced by Catherine Austin Fitts, whom I have been following for years and who seems to get things right.
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1505/S00147/tpp-101-a-trans-pacific-partnership-agreement-primer-for-an-american-audience.htm

    Thank you sir, if you should decide to do everyone a service and approve this.

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    1. This post isn't about TPP.

      And as I said in reply to your previous post, I wasn't talking about TPP.

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    2. I understand what you said in reply to my previous post, sir. I added that link while you were replying to my first post, just so you know what happened, and thank you for clearing it nonetheless. It won't cause me pain if you don't bother clearing *this one.* :-)

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  36. Am I wrong to say that with such a collection of weasels, idiots, zealots, and a few just plain insane individuals running for POTUS that I wish I could move to some island far away from civilization? It's like National Lampoon had a casting call for some end of the world movie.

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  37. Is Jeb Bush now channeling Rumsfeld? Or is he just plagiarising him? Does he not know that Rummy has a whole movie out of him doing the "know" schtick haiku.

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  38. I'm dreading the 2016 election. I'm not thrilled about Hilary Clinton, but compared to the GOP, I'll take her. What worries me is that in the 2008 primaries, she almost always underperformed. By that I mean whenever there was a couple of weeks between primaries her turnout was less than the polls would have suggested. I remember PA in particular. a month before that primary, she was ahead of Barack Obama by twenty points, but ultimately won by 9. I think that was typical of the campaign.

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  39. Thanks for another great piece, Chief. Always a pleasure, and often an intellectual challenge.
    One small nit for picking, and only because I know that you appreciate the editorial feedback: Gov. Huntsman's first name is "Jon", not "John". And having lived under his Governorship, I'll say that I sure wish there was some way this wackaloon system of ours would have given him a better shot at the title, but that just ain't how it works. Just too moderate and reasonable for either set of wingnuts.
    Craig in No Fla (formerly Craig in Utah)

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  40. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/06/03/rick-santorum-tells-pope-to-leave-science-to-scientists-forgets-pope-has-masters-in-chemistry/

    Beyond satire!

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    1. And, once again, if we wrote this stuff down as fiction, no one would buy it because it's too "unbelievable".

      It also falls under the umbrella that is my question of "Do these people even LISTEN to themselves?!" - the answer is, of course, no, seeing as if they did I think they'd realize exactly how stupid they sound.

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  41. ....... and they're all united under the banner reading: "E Pluribus Feces."

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  42. I think I've mentioned this before, but I went to high school with Rand Paul. (He's a year younger than me.) We called him Randy back then. He and his father are deeply admired by most people in my old home town. Ron Paul delivered hundreds of babies. I can't actually say that I knew Randy very well or that he seemed extreme in some way. I can say that for high school kids Ayn Randian libertarianism is often their first exposure to "philosophy." Also, the kids our age grew up in the full-bore Cold War, so anything smacking of communism or socialism is bad, bad, bad. Why? America! Freedom! God!

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  43. It's going to take a whole lot of chocolate mint chip and a Costco sized bottle of Advil to get me through to the election next year. And if one of these idiots is elected, it's going to take even more Nexium.

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  44. BZ for intermingling the Clown Bus with one of my favorite movies.

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  45. Loved your analysis that I'm bookmarking your site for regular reading, then I read your jade helm post and going to make sure I check up every day cause it was fantastic. Then I got sad cause, well, a governor and senator...
    But your writing is great.
    H/t to MBRU @ crooks and liars for directing me here.

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  46. So, I'm slow in getting around to reading this one - to my loss. You are so good, Jim! I have read all the replies and I don't see this addressed by you, Jim, or by anyone else. Am I missing something? How does Cruz get to run at all? He was born in Canada?

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    1. Cruz was born in Canada to American parents.

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    2. Thanks for the clarification. I have been keeping my head down and this is how it shows.

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    3. Only Cruz's mother was American. His Cuban-born father only took out American citizenship about 9 years ago. Still, according to the law, Cruz the younger is eligible. So glad the Canadian government agreed to his denouncing his Cdn citizenship -- we were ashamed of him; now we don't have to be.

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  47. 3/4 th's of the Republican presidential candidate clown car is filled with people who have no real wish to become President. No, its lucrative to "run" and have a few PACs, make a few TV ads, get on some talk shows and bloviate.... All very good for one's income. Running for President, or higher office, has become a job for many of these career "politicians". Its about entertainment, not about taking care of our country and its citizens. They know no shame. And we, as American's, let them do it. We should be ashamed as well.

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    1. To paraphrase John Fugelsang: "Most of these people aren't running for President. They're running for jobs on FoxNews and/or higher public speaking fees."

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  48. The 2016 GOP field is beginning to resemble Wrestle Mania LXIX - only dumber.

    Peace
    Chris in S. Jersey

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  49. A thoroughly entertaining and informative piece, as usual.

    May I politely request, in order to preserve whatever small bits of sanity that might still be kicking around in my brain, that the word "Democrat" be changed to "Democratic" in what I count as the 17th paragraph? I'm sorry to complain but that is one thing that causes steam to erupt from my ears and highly intemperate language to stream fire-hose fashion from my mouth.

    I promise that I will foreswear pedantry aimed in your direction for a period of not less than six months if you'll make this one small contribution to my not requiring a tranquilizer dart. As it is, merely reading about the Republican candidates causes me to quake, gnash my teeth and mutter things such as "Those damned scorpions took the battery out of my car again".

    All the best to you.

    BTW, my money is on Bush the Even Lesser to win the nomination. It's all about the money, folks and he's got most of it locked up.

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  50. Dear God, Jim, I wish you'd be wrong once in a while. All those GOPers running for President--and the clown car isn't even full yet--and not one of them fit for office. I remember--because I am old--when Republicans (most of them, anyway) were intelligent, reasonable people, who, although their ideas of proper government of the country may have differed from the Democrats, still regarded them as colleagues, and were capable of compromise in the best interests of the country. Where did all that go, and how do we get it back while there is still a country to govern?

    That Other Jean

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  51. Of course in modern governments worldwide it doesn't matter who you vote for

    http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/10/obscure-legal-system-lets-corportations-sue-states-ttip-icsid

    (except in Brazil!)

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  52. Lindsey Graham was the only elected member of the federal government to visit Afghanistan when I was deployed there. I don't like his politics, but he did help to counter the widespread belief that we had been abandoned by our national leadership. I can't bring myself to vote for the guy, but I can't bring myself to dislike him either.

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  53. Jim, my apologies if I'm just not current with the blog ... are you maybe going to update this lovely piece in time for the big Fox Network Republican Showcase ....ahem, excuse me, ... "Debate"? Could be handy to have a scorecard with the full roster! --debbie in G.R.

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