Wednesday, October 15, 2014

It's Always Happy News To The Newsies When A GOP Candidate Quits

     ...So why not exploit it?  In a very Romney-esque move, the couple took advantage of the media's glee over Ann Romney's anouncement that they are "done, done, done" with making a bid for the Presidency* to announce the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Dideases, which will open in 2016.  Some 200 researchers will work there on multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's Syndrome, Parkinson's Disease and related conditions.

     I was never a huge fan of Mitt -- another Massachusetts pol, no deep friend of gun rights on his own home turf, and there's a reason his state is referred to these days as "the cradle and grave of liberty."   Withal, he seemed pleasant enough and Ann Romney bore the strife of his Presidential runs gallantly.  Good on them both for getting a decent day's work from the running-dog lapdog press!  A little more of that kind of subtlety a few years ago would have helped in the voting booth.

     Now if a few more of the perennial it's-my-turn GOP suits would step down, and their party admit there might be a little more wrong in DC than just the policies of a dislikable El Supremo, they might get somewhere in 2016.  --Don't hold your breath; with the media firmly against them and a general tradition of tone-deafness, I fully expect the Republicans to have me voting Libertarian again in '16, even if they mostly only beat up on the Bill of Rights seven-eighths as much as the current leading brand..  (Some of you will blame me for President Hilary afterwards.  Hey, get your party to run someone I can in conscience vote for or shut the heck up.)
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* As I have explained before, if a description of the working and living conditions were applied to any other position, no sane person would want the job: you have to live over the store, you're on call -- and frequently called on -- 24/7/365, including vacations; you can't travel without a police escort and your #2 guy -- rather than having been selected as someone who could do your job when you are away as you would do it if you were there -- is usually a boob chosen to placate some otherwise-unreachable group of stakeholders and otherwise a fellow people are worried might inherit your office.  You can't invest freely and the pay, for a top-level executive position, is not all that great.  It's a limited-term contract, your prospects for paying work afterwards are dim, and once your stint is done, you'll retain most of the negative aspects (harried by lunatics, unable to travel without security, close scrutiny by media) but none of the positive ones except fame -- or notoriety.  Come to think of it, even if the job is Leader Of The Free World and Big Giant Head Cheese Of America, what normal person would want it?  You may disagree, but I wonder what Ann Romney wrote in her diary.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've reached the conclusion that, as a general rule, people who want positions of authority shouldn't be allowed to have them.

As for the GOP... right there with you in Libertarian land. "Driving America to penury but slower!" isn't an inspiring slogan. I further believe that the average GOP pol has no more regard for the Constitution than SanFran Nan: she's just a bit more open about it.

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of the "a vote for 'x' is a vote for 'y'" crowd do not understand the electoral college and need a remedial civics class.

The assumption that an "x" voter would've shown up at the polls even if "x" wasn't a choice seems optimistic, given a 45+% no-show rate at the polls.

Stuart the Viking said...

I see "a vote for 'x' is a vote for 'y'" as a feature. It is payback for so many years of holding my nose and pulling the lever for the Republican, only to see the Republican party line moving further and further away from the ideals that I hold dear.

I suppose a vote for the Democrat would be a bigger stick, but puking is my least favorite thing in the whole world. I just won't chance that.

s

Sean D Sorrentino said...

So when the Sean for President 2016 campaign (Slogan: "Not the Boss of You") is victorious, can I hire you to sit in on the cabinet and pointedly roll your eyes and say things like "God help us," and "What the hell are you idiots thinking" when people make proposals to use the government power they are now in control of?

Please ask Tam if she'll be my (print only) Press Spokesperson. I'll give her the keys to my Presidential Twitter account. I'll give you a yardstick you are free to use if they don't take the eye rolls and comments as enough of a hint to stop.

Anonymous said...

Living in Florida, I was faced with the choice between the Creep (TPINO) aka Gov. Scott, and the Sleaze (exRINO/D) aka exGov. Crist. But there is actually an LP candidate for governor whom they are letting stay on the ballot, unlike Ohio, so I don't have not vote. (It's a sad commentary on Scott that Crist was actually better at the business of being a governor during his tenure.) But in my local Congresscritter, the GOP is running someone who seems to have wandered in from Pam Geller's blog. So no vote there, even though it would be simply a protest vote against a woman who is guaranteed to win re-election and whom all of us would love to see be driven out of DC. (I'll give you a hint who she is: her first name is Debbie.)

There is, also, an LP candidate for atty-general, so we get two chances at bat this time.

Kishnevi

rickn8or said...

Yep. I myself am going to take an election cycle or two to let the bruises on the side of my nose heal.

And Sean, my recommendation for SecDef would be Kim DuToit.

Roberta X, remotely said...

Well, okay, but if Kim makes catty comments to me, he's gettin' the yardstick.

Sean D Sorrentino said...

I was thinking of Kim as the (Live Action) Press Secretary. Tam gets the print stuff and Kim gets the "stand up and talk to the idiots with cameras and steno pads" job.

It's your stick, you use it however you see fit. The only limit is, don't hit my wife or the First Lady.

My wife doesn't want to be the First Lady, so I'm going to ask my mom to handle the social end of things. She's classy, so I doubt you'd even want to hit her.

Earl said...

Not my party, but I do believe you have read my mind about the DC crew in the government. There are places I tell the young people to avoid, and that mess is one of them. You can figure out all the others.

Democrats seem to sell their party well to the stupid. Even the Republican stupids.

Drang said...

Tom Kratman for SecDef. The rest of the world will either surrender, or unanimously declare war. Not sure which.

Or, since he's an attorney, it might be amusing to make him AG.
Ass-you-me'ing you don't abolish it, Mad Mike Williamson or Larry Corriea for Homeland Security...

Mark Philip Alger said...

Suggested secondary slogan for the Sean campaign: Freedom. What a concept!

M

The Old Man said...

Sign me up for Sean's team. I want the jobs of dismantling the federal EPA and forcing all the SES'ers in the gov to change jobs every 2 years as they can legally be made to do.
And fire all the double-dippers...

Anonymous said...

Why is Sean 'jacking the "Nope!" campaign HQ website? Did RX abdicate her candidacy or what?

Sean D Sorrentino said...

I am not campaigning on a platform of "Nope." I'm campaigning on the platform of "I'm NOT the boss of YOU."

Nope is what YOU say, not what I say.

Jennifer said...

Well the haters can blame me too because I'm done with pulling the lever for the lesser of two evils.