Truth (plus lies) » politics

Brian Thill dissects the imagery of the candidates

Jefff — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:45:15 +0000

Some excellent reading as Brian Thill takes apart the imagery of the presidential candidates:

In Rick Perry’s oddly dull offering, the color scheme of its central icon is particularly objectionable, the blue bleeding into red, the red into blue, creating a purplish, muddled mess. But here as elsewhere we are dealing with a situation where the images are hamstrung, they have no choice, it seems, but to dabble only in variations in reds and blues. To do otherwise might court disaster in color-blind America. So Perry’s image feels it must embrace those separate shades but has no idea what to do with them. We recognize in Perry’s iconography the pharmaceutical sheen of a throat lozenge, as if Perry held out the hope for us of serving as a blue Pfizer pill against the impotence of secular, post-industrial America.

I myself have been watching these identities pop up with great interest, as the quality of graphic design in a campaign does seem to have some power of prediction in elections. And Rick Perry’s motifs are pretty terrible.

Via The Dish.

But surely they had killed Newt Gingrich off? Think again literati!

Jefff — Wed, 18 May 2011 20:29:30 +0000

But surely they had killed him off. This is the way it always worked. A lesser person could not have survived the first few minutes of the onslaught. But out of the billowing smoke and dust of tweets and trivia emerged Gingrich, once again ready to lead those who won’t be intimated by the political elite and are ready to take on the challenges America faces.

That’s Newt Gingrich’s press secretary on Newt’s week of very bad press. Via Daily Intel.

If you’re going to be a nut, your past as a reasonable person will come back to haunt you

Jefff — Sun, 08 May 2011 17:44:33 +0000

Wake up people! Owning a part of the major banks in America is not a bad thing. We could make a profit while solving a problem.

That’s Herman Cain, firebrand candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, defending TARP a few years ago. Lately, he’s been making a reputation for himself by saying crazy things in a way that makes them sound like common sense. I hope his followers forgive him for once holding a measured and reasonable position.

From David Weigel

God is Michele Bachmann’s talent scout

Jefff — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:23:27 +0000

Michele Bachmann talks about her hiring strategy:

“I am asking your listeners to now please pray for me and my husband and my team,” Bachmann said. “Ask that the Lord will give us a special anointing on how to put our team together, who those team people will be, that he would bring those people to us.”

Mitt Romney’s campaign will be minty fresh

Jefff — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:21:57 +0000

Thank you, Daily Intel! I couldn’t put my finger on what Mitt Romney’s new logo reminded me of:

27% of Congressional communication is straight-up taunting

Jefff — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:53:31 +0000

[A] Harvard University professor has analyzed [Congress]’s behavior, using computers to look for trends in members’ writings. And he’s learned something that might help explain why Congress is having such trouble working out a deal this week.

He learned, to his amazement, that modern members of Congress spend about 27 percent of the time just taunting each other.

Via Gawker.

Filibernie

Jefff — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:36:47 +0000

No related posts.

Eric Cantor and the Repeal Amendment

Jefff — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:14:38 +0000

Bill Howell, the Speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates, wants to amend the US Constitution to give the States more power. His Repeal Amendment would let the States veto any federal law if two-thirds of state legislatures voted for repeal. Evan McMorris-Santoro at Talking Points Memo says this would “blow up the Constitution”, and he calls out Eric Cantor for supporting it.

I don’t know. I’m not against the idea. Maybe for no other reason than I don’t think it would ever actually be used. It would have to be an extreme law to get two-thirds of state governments to agree. And perhaps any such law should be repealed? Honestly, two-thirds of state legislatures is a pretty hefty bill. After the GOP’s very good 2010 election, they control both houses of only 26 states (I’m fudging on Nebraska’s “non-partisan” legislature). So if the goal is to, I don’t know, repeal healthcare reform, I still don’t see how this would accomplish that.

And maybe that’s also the best argument against the amendment: it’s irrelevant. It’s added cruft to our government, a useless check. Redundant too, as the whole point of the US Congress is to represent states.

In the end, this strikes me as part of a general Republican delusion that some unnatural plot has given Democrats control of the Presidency and part of Congress and that if they just find a way to give the American people a REAL voice, everyone will agree with them.

In Brazil, it’s illegal to make fun of candidates

Jefff — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:22:36 +0000

In a Foreign Policy article about the media figures around the world who fill the role Jon Stewart fills in America, there’s this interesting fact: In Brazil, it’s illegal to make fun of political candidates 3 months before an election.

Democrats recruit fake Tea Party candidate

Jefff — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:47:54 +0000

A Democratic consultant in New Jersey recruited Peter DeStefano to run as a spoiler candidate under the party name “NJ Tea Party”. And while this is underhanded and unethical and the people behind it and with prior knowledge of it should be held accountable in some way, I also think this kind of thing is an inevitable and maybe appropriate consequence of the Tea Party phenomenon. Because what else is the Tea Party than a way for Republicans to escape the tarnished Republican brand? The whole thing is a ruse, and it has worked out very well for Republicans so far. But dividing your identity has side effects.

Via The Daily Dish.