Tale of Two Heads Less than One.
In Washington, a surprisingly youthful and bold politician, POTUS, introduces a healthcare agenda that will bring on civil war on the Hill on the same day that in California a surprisingly aged and obtuse Jerry Brown, Attorney General of California, introduced himself as a grown-up who has reinvented himself. The contrast is stunning. Can this be the same party? Sure. Jerry Brown is running a non-race right now, heaving out generalities and avoid the details of what has to be done in Sacramento. Speaking Wednesday to Hotel California panel of Jeff Bliss at KSFO and the SF Chronicle political team of Joe Garofoli and Carla Marinucci, re the return of Governor Moonbeam. Last time Jerry made news was his quixotic run for the presidential nomination for the Democrats in 1992. Now the Democrats who control the California legislature in Sacramento have decided that Jerry Brown is the last best hope to lead an exhausted, dispirited pauper of a state. Not the theme on Jerry Brown's campaign of 1992: "Take Back America." We can guess that the new theme will be "Take Back California" to the Moonbeam past. But if Jerry Brown is a recycled pol, a green maneuver, POTUS is a fresh pol who is going for a win against the polls, the GOP and perhaps his own House. Spoke David Drucker, Roll Call, and confirmed that POTUS will go on the road over the next weeks to restate what he has said before in the states where Democratic members are dubious to negative on the vote. Will POTUS change the minds of the "Nos"? Shrug. POTUS Moonbeam is not listening to his own party. A solitary campaign. Jerry Brown doesn't listen. POTUS doesn't listen. Two heads are less than one. Crack-up under way. Jerry Brown told Clara Marinucci and Joe Garafoli that he will invite in the Tea Party. Jerry will say and do anything to win. Deaf and aimless. POTUS will say and do anything to win. Naive?
At least Jerry was entertaining in 1992. He's moribund and out of his mind now, and potus is an elitist fabian pol driving the progressive multicultural and multicolored school bus white knuckled over the cliff. Why? Because he knows that no social program has ever been overturned. Like I said, he's a fabian socialist. He knows if he pushes it through, in the end, he's won, even if he loses in 2010 and 2012. His agenda is everything I guess.
"POTUS is a fresh pol who is going for a win against the polls, the GOP and perhaps his own House."
I ain't believin' THAT till ah sees the votes, and maybe not then!
"Spoke David Drucker, Roll Call,and confirmed that POTUS will go on the road over the next weeks to restate what he has said before in the states where Democrat members are dubious to negative on the vote."
That is indeed heartening news. It is why I don't believe he's going to win. The only reason the opposition to Obamacare went down slightly in Feb is because it was swamped by the Olympics and other assorted circuses. The story was off the front pages. One of the many things he seems incapable of learning is that every time he speaks on health care, his numbers and those of the policies go down. Is there an adult at the White House to tell the 40+ teenager that the image in mirror is not the image in others' minds?
I used to admire Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown and Muammar al-Gaddafi. This was before I ever held a job or raised a family. I remember voting for Jesse Jackson in the primaries. The Beatles' 'Revolution' and the Stones' 'Street Fighting Man' were favorite anthems. I don't quite know when the change occurred. For a long time I didn't pay much attention to what was happening in Washington or in the world. Once I came back to it, the fight was already on.
There was a certain romance to those early days. America was our straw man that we could set a match to any time we wanted - to warm ourselves; to celebrate fire - without really changing anything fundamental. America was America, rock solid, leader of the free world. We fed our own egos by tearing pieces off of her, sitting around a campfire on some far-off tropical beach with the blue moon rising over the water, smoking splits.
There's no romance now - only the hard work of getting Sisyphus' stone back up to the summit. Thank God that so many of us have awakened from the stupor and are willing to roll up their sleeves. What's amazing is that so many others are still stuck back there in the 60's and 70’s; that their views haven't changed even in light of all that's happened. It speaks of a Peter Pan syndrome; a kind of pathology that resulted in stunted development of a sort.
I can’t believe that Jerry doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing. He’s a pol first and foremost – and a smart one at that. He thinks he can rekindle that old Haight Asbury illusion in enough others, if not himself. Maybe in California the smoke is still rising from that ‘Summer of Love’ (’67) disaster as to give the impression that there’s still somebody out there who gives a s**t. And Jackson surely found his niche: extortion. And Gaddafi found his: oppression. I can’t really blame them. Not everybody can afford the luxury of idealism. People get it where they can. The afore mentioned wing nuts have done rather well for themselves - even if they did it at our expense.
But what’s Obama’s excuse. Surely he sees not much profit in standing with the old guard of commie losers. Maybe he’s just plain stupid – but that’s a stretch. Maybe he’s so twisted by hatred, he can’t think straight. Maybe he’s always been carrying that cross of race. Maybe he now sees the opportunity of ditching it for once and for all. But in order to do so, he’s got to put white people in their place. That’s not as easy as he thought – even for the most powerful man in the free world.
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com/