Happy Hour Discurso

Today's opining on the public discourse.

Republicons party while Gulf Coast gets soaked:

John Dickerson had an item last night about the curtailed Republican National Convention, and the party's efforts to scale back what was supposed to be quite a soiree. "The vast roster of fundraisers in town has been put to work raising money for the relief effort," Slate's Dickerson wrote. "The party atmosphere has been redirected.
The Distilled Spirits Council, aka the booze lobby, has turned its Monday party into a fundraiser for the Red Cross."

It all sounds rather gracious, but to think Republicans have taken a completely sober attitude about events along the Gulf Coast seems to be a wild exaggeration.

As residents of New Orleans were fleeing Hurricane Gustav, top Republican party officials donned pink boas and swigged vodka shots at a wild whirl of corporate and lobbyist-paid parties this weekend in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Many corporate sponsors and their lobbyists carried through with plans for lavish entertainment of GOP lawmakers and others despite calls from the campaign of Sen. John McCain that Republicans should tone down the convention festivities. [...]

[L]ast night lobbyists for the National Rifle Association, Lockheed Martin and the American Trucking Association put on a raucus six-hour party at a downtown bar featuring music by the band "Hookers and Blow." There was no evidence of any actual prostitutes or cocaine.

What a relief.

House Deputy Whip Bill Shuster (R-Penn.) said he was praying for the people of the Gulf coast, but saw no need to curtail corporate parties. Wisconsin delegate Jeff Larson agreed, telling ABC News, "Everyone goes through hard times."

Lamest excuse to keep partying evah.

Speaking of lame, Karl Rove apparently didn't get the cease-fire memo:

MINNEAPOLIS -- Maine's Republican delegation got a surprise visit from former White House political operative Karl Rove at its convention breakfast this morning.

During his speech, he talked up John McCain's Republican presidential bid and criticized Democratic nominee Barack Obama for his inexperience.

When the topic of running mates came up, he referred to U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) as a "big, blowhard doofus."

Everybody was supposed to lay off parties and personal attacks on the campaign trail today in light of Gustav. Once again, Dems play by the rules, Cons just play. Is anyone shocked? I'm having palpitations.

Speaking of palpitations, the media's having some over Palin's 17 year old daughter's freshly-revealed pregnancy. There's only one reason why this counts at all:

Now, there are different schools of thought on this, but I'm very much inclined to think a politician's kids are entirely off-limits for public scrutiny. Bristol Palin's pregnancy has no political relevance whatsoever.

I can't help but notice, though, that the McCain campaign emphasized the fact that she "made the decision on her own to keep the baby."

That's nice, but if McCain has his way in office, the choice wouldn't be up to her at all. Roe would be overturned, and reproductive rights would be dramatically curtailed for every woman in America. Indeed, it's not just McCain -- Sarah Palin told Alaskans during her gubernatorial campaign that she wouldn't support abortion rights even if her own daughter had been raped. (Palin is also a staunch advocate of abstinence-only education.)

Excellent, and very valid, point. So, while I'll run Mommy into the ground for being a lying, two-faced, creationist, dominionist sack of shit, best wishes and congratulations go out to her daughter, who's going to discover very soon just what it means to be savaged by the media. Her pregnancy doesn't matter. Her mother's positions on social issues most certainly do.

And then there's that corruption et all. You wait until I have time to give y'all an earful later tonight...

For now, must go back to celebrating Labor Day by laboring.