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bear's comments strike me, as they almost always do, as dispatches no-one asked for ripped from the script of the right media apparatus. the characterization of the opposition he trots out only even makes sense from a viewpoint wholly beholden to the all too ubiquitous trove of conservative cliches. sometimes it seems that the main thing holding together a conservative constituency is fear generated by that same ideology's lunatic characterizations of those who oppose it.
what is funny in bear's description of the democrats is the fact that is is wholly unhinged from any empirical mooring: it does not take a rocket scientist to see the effects of dlc domination of the democratic party--the thing that drove conservatives nuts most about clinton was that he kept co-opting their issues, via the famous "triangulation" procedure--a procedure that only makes sense in the context of a significant shift to the right-center in democratic party ideology. i am still not sure of what the thinking within the dlc was--that is, what good they thought would come of driving the republicans further to the right--but i guess they underestimated the scale and efficiency of the right media apparatus the outlines of which were developed in a serious manner during the right's 8 years in opposition. that and the scale and efficiency of the christian right's grassroots voter mobilization campaign. maybe they understood far right politics as so bankrupt and so marginal that any convergence of the republican part with it would spell instant doom--apparently, in this they were not adequately p.t. barnum about it--you know, you will never go broke overestimating the stupidity of the american people.
at any rate, one thing i would agree with ratbastid about above is that the right has been characterized by a relatively homogenous front. i still am not sure that i have the best chronology/explanation for explaining/thinking about the breakdown of that homogeneity, but it clearly has taken place. there is the possibility that this is temporary (i suppose we'll have to wait and see) but i think it might well not be. for example, i think it was a huge tactical mistake on bush's part not to throw the far right an adequately public bone with the meiers nomination--but while we were all distracted by that fiasco, bush got to appoint yet noather reactionary to head the fed and there was little or nothing said about it. who knows what kind of relation there is between these?
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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