General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGarrison Keillor: And now we sit and watch in disbelief
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4679952-155/garrison-keillor-and-now-we-sitGarrison Keillor: And now we sit and watch in disbelief
By Garrison Keillor Special to The Washington Post
First Published Dec 06 2016 01:42PM Updated 1 hour ago
It's a wonderful satire right out of Twain or Thurber, a minority of the electorate goes for the loosest and least knowledgeable candidate, certain that he will lose and their votes will only be harmless protest, a middle finger to Washington, and then Whoa. The joke comes true. You put a whoopee cushion on your father's chair and he sits down and it barks and he has a massive coronary. You wanted to get a rise out of him and instead he falls down dead. Very funny.
Thank you, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania for this wonderful joke. Voters in high dudgeon against Wall Street manipulators and the Washington aristocracy vote for the billionaire populist who puts tycoons in power and the Republican hierarchy who owned the logjam that the voters voted against. If Billy the Kid had been smart, he'd've run for sheriff.
And now we sit and watch in disbelief as the victor drops one piece of china after another, spits in the soup, sticks his fist through a painting, and gobbles up the chocolates. Not satisfied with the usual election-night victory speech, he stages a post-election victory tour and gloatfest, a series of rallies in arenas where he can waggle his thumbs and smirk and holler and point out the journalists in their pen for the mob to boo and shake their fists at. He puts the Secret Service through their paces, highways are closed, planes diverted, cities disrupted, just so the man can say how much fun it was to defeat Hillary Clinton and confound the experts.
I stood in an airport last Thursday and watched live cable news coverage of his first stop in Indiana where he toured a factory whose owner had been promised a $7 million tax break in return for not laying off 800 workers. In November, 178,000 new jobs were created and unemployment fell, and here was a platoon of journalists in Indiana trailing a big galoot with a red tie who offered a corporation $7 million not to lose 800 workers. No gain, simply a non-loss. It was a classic TV moment, extensive live coverage of essentially nothing whatsoever and we all stood in a stupor and watched, like people mesmerized by drops of rain sliding down a windowpane.
Eighty-thousand Trump voters in three states gave us this man, which goes to show you how much damage a few people can do. It takes 12 million to provide health care, 3 million to run the public schools, but 19 men with box cutters can turn the country upside down and empower the paranoid right and create the pretense for wars that will cost billions and kill a million people and give us a permanent army of blue uniforms yelling at us to take off our shoes and put our laptops into plastic trays.
He is a showman and oddity has paid off for him, as it did for Lady Gaga and Gorgeous George and Liberace. But the public demands new tricks. Today, railing at the journalists who slavishly cover him is, like bear baiting or lion taming, entertainment enough, but by next fall he will need to pull canaries out of his ears, and by 2018 he'll be diving on horseback from a high tower into a pool of water while playing "Malaguena" on a trumpet.
Meanwhile, the Democrats wander in the woods, walking into trees. A wealthy San Francisco liberal is re-elected as minority leader in the House, having flung millions into the wind and gotten skunked in 2014 and drubbed this fall, and a lackluster black Muslim congressman from Minneapolis is a leading candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee, the person who will need to connect with disaffected workers in Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Why not a ballet dancer or a Buddhist monk?
Meanwhile, the emperor-elect parades in the nude while his congressional courtiers admire him and the nation drifts toward the rapids. The one bright spot is the old draft-dodger's new-found fondness for generals, including the one who talked him out of the idea of torturing prisoners of war. Military experience does encourage a certain respect for reality. There is hope that if the showman should decide late one night to incinerate Iran or North Korea and get it over with, someone might say, "Hold on. Let's think this through."
underpants
(182,860 posts)Rec'd
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,668 posts)This is beautifully written, and every goddamn word is True.
Thank you, my dear babylonsister.
The orange twit has all of us by the p***y.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,668 posts)GWC58
(2,678 posts)Limp Bisquit!!😧😱
dhill926
(16,351 posts)for the peerless writing of Keillor. Too bad that none of those 80,000 trump voters will read this, or even if they did....comprehend it....
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)From Time Magazine -
October 11, 1999
Ordinarily a governor is elected with 51 or 55 or (if he is young and has luminous children and his opponent is a pencil-necked geek) 60 percent of the vote, and two months after his inauguration, he starts to brown around the edges and disillusionment sets in, starting with the people who once worshipped the ground he trod on and now see that, alas, he is a dumb cluck like everyone else and has no solutions for problems such as ignorance and cruelty and the aging process.
In Minnesota, our emperor started out with no clothes at all. He came to us from a branch of the performing arts in which large men who resemble comic-book characters pretend to fight each other, so when he was sworn into office and did not appoint barflies and dope dealers to office but donned a suit and white shirt and horn-rimmed glasses and managed to sound half-smart about a third of the time, his approval ratings turned three sheets to the wind and have stayed that way ever since.
...
This summer, Ventura told farmers that he doesn't like to use the term "farm crisis" (the state estimates that one-eighth of the state's 75,000 full-time farmers will get out of farming this year) because it is too negative. A few weeks later, for a fee of a million dollars or so (he was oddly coy about the amount) Ventura climbed back in the pro wrestling ring as a referee, to be amongst men strutting around the ring pointing at their butts and yelling butt-related words for the audience to yell back at them. It wasn't a proud moment for Minnesotans. Then, in September, Ventura touted Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. Let's be clear about this: anyone who imagines Donald Trump in the White House has the brains of a stale bagel. Donald Trump makes Ross Perot look like a giant. Jesse Ventura was the first man, aside from those in Mr. Trump's employ, to ever make this imaginative leap.
...
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/features/deskofgk/991011_time.shtml
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)He announced an exploratory committee on October 7, 1999.
Ventura wasn't prescient - everyone knew Trump was considering it.
RedWedge
(618 posts)Lots of fancy, funny words and not a lot of substance, beyond mocking the idea of a popular, charismatic congressman dedicating himself full time to running the DNC. Excuse me, mocking the idea of a popular, charismatic, "black Muslim congressman from Minneapolis."
RedWedge
(618 posts)It's literary Doritos -- fun to consume, otherwise useless.
SticksnStones
(2,108 posts)Sometimes great writing holds its place in history by being just that, great writing.
Keillor chronicles this moment in time precisely.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)It's truly great writing. A joy to read and says a whole lot about this country.
RedWedge
(618 posts)But then, people like GK can afford to shrug and sit back as things fall apart. I do realize I'm a voice in the wilderness when it comes to GK, though. People tend to like clever writing that they agree with, no doubt.
Hekate
(90,763 posts)"You might recognize me; I've been here before. Great day for hay, eh boys?"
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)There's nothing like local exposure to better understand politicians. He probably has more knowledge - and, certainly, more local exposure - of Keith Ellison than the vast majority of armchair political analysts on DU who are clamoring for Ellison mostly because Bernie Sanders is.
I like Ellison. I think he'd be good in the job. But I also respect Keillor's knowledge and experience. And, locals almost always know their politicians better than outsiders.
Just ask DU Ohioans about John Kasich.
RedWedge
(618 posts)What, exactly, do you see as Keillor's knowledge and experience?
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)I'm not being sarcastic. Honest question.
Author of a couple dozen books; spent decades doing public radio, political humor, and political satire; won a few awards, including a Grammy and a Peabody; member of the Radio Hall of Fame. Fixture of Minnesota (and national) politics and culture for the last 45 years or so.
If you're questioning his knowledge and experience, I suspect you might not know much about him.
RedWedge
(618 posts)Here's what I see: He's a writer who made a name uncovering the bittersweet nostalgia of small-town middle America and sharing it with others, and then made money parodying it. He's done nice work. He's a reliable party fundraiser who can also be an asshole. But his newspaper articles rarely illuminate. They say what most already know, to those who already know it. He's also a well-spoken and reasonable bigot, and many are willing to give him a pass because he hits the targets many of us like to see hit. He's very good at patronizingly and eloquently putting down what's before him in his writing, without offering any alternatives -- as he did with the dig at Ellison in this article. If he does offer alternatives, they tend to be airy, "lift up mine eyes to the hills" type stuff -- which is not how political work gets done.
Some may find it helpful or inspiring. I don't.
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)Sure, whatever.
Have a nice evening.
RedWedge
(618 posts)The only thing I can guess is that you thought my question
What, exactly, do you see as Keillor's knowledge and experience?
Enjoy your evening. It's almost the weekend.
Scruffy1
(3,256 posts)I have always liked him, but rarely listen to his show, but then I rarely listen t radio. He has volunteered to help in elections with keynote speeches and has been a party stalwart for years. The funny thing about Mr. Keiller is that despite this my great aunt in Denver was shocked when I told her he was a Republican. She's a huge fan. I think his criticism of Keith is wrong, but I can see his point. But in my opinion he really doesn't get how this country has changed in our lifetime. It's just like my great aunt who still sees the Republican party as it was under the old family friend from Abilene.
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)Keillor would be shocked, too. He's a member of the DemocraticFarmerLabor Party.
He wrote a book called "Homegrown Democrat: A Few Plain Thoughts from the Heart of America"
He's...not a Republican.
Justice
(7,188 posts)madokie
(51,076 posts)there is no one there to tell him to 'hold on, lets think this through.'
We're f.u.c.k.e.d. Simple as that.
maybe the third eye blind asshole will succumb to his greatness and finally we can have peace. Hold your breath NOT.
kentuck
(111,106 posts)at the NSA, at the Defense Department, and at Homeland Security. He can snap his fingers and declare martial law in an instant. And all the generals would go along.
madokie
(51,076 posts)for a while there it looked like mankind would start getting its shit together then tRump came along.
4 years is an eternity when it comes to tearing down all we've worked so hard for so many years building
mdbl
(4,973 posts)The downhill slide accelerated there and hasn't stopped since.
madokie
(51,076 posts)ETA: tRump is the here and now and he is what I'm scared shitless of at the moment. He is, to me, a much more dangerous person that raygun ever was.
well its the people these republiCONs surround themselves with that are the powers. Raygun was only a front man same as what tRump will be/is
Right now it appears tRump is in charge of his domain but thats a facade and it will crumble soon
CrispyQ
(36,492 posts)Reagan poked fun at the word liberal & the dems ran from it. Soon after, they were oinking at the same trough as the repubs. Sure, the dems throw us bigger crumbs, but they are on the same corporate gravy train as the repubs & they've made no effort to change direction. Maybe if they'd been a true opposition party the past 35 years, instead of shifting right every time someone whispers the word liberal, we wouldn't have PEOTUS Trump.
Obama is just an icon for the entire party in this cartoon below & it's been going on for almost four decades.
immoderate
(20,885 posts)All presidents since late 70s have been Reaganites. Reagan successfully shifted the burden of maintaining the country from the rich to the poor.
--imm
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)If you are looking for folks to do your bidding as you go off and do wrong, these are not the guys with whom to surround yourself.
There is a reason Reagan went and got himself a Lt. Colonel.
kentuck
(111,106 posts)I think he is putting generals into these positions for a reason, and it is not because he likes generals. The Homeland Security general is a very dangerous position, in my opinion. Trump studies character very closely. He seldom will associate with anyone that does not see him as their superior and will be loyal to the Donald.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)On April 30, 2014, Flynn announced his retirement effective later in 2014, about a year earlier than he had been scheduled to leave his position. He was reportedly effectively forced out of the DIA after clashing with superiors over his allegedly chaotic management style and vision for the agency.[21][22][23][24] In a private email which was leaked online, Colin Powell said that he had heard in the DIA (apparently from later DIA director Vincent R. Stewart) that Flynn got fired because he was "Abusive with staff, didnt listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc."[23] According to the New York Times, Flynn exhibited a loose relationship with facts, leading his subordinates to refer to Flynn's repeated dubious assertions as "Flynn facts".[25]
2naSalit
(86,724 posts)TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)SunSeeker
(51,619 posts)GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)I haven't had this much fun since the pigs ate my sister!
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I love Garrison Keillor when he write like this!
Flatpicker
(894 posts)But that's all it is.
We need more than writers, and comedians, and critics of our culture.
More Al Franken's and less Keillor's would make the world better. What's the point of calling out something as wrong, if that's all you do.
We need more. And I'm saying that being a fan of GK's work.
Social Commentary without social action is worthless.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)We need intellectuals and artists. We need philosophers and politicians.
You are wrong to say that social commentary is worthless without social action. Social Commentary is the VERY THING that propels social action.
The arts-- be it visual, written, or musical -- have always propelled social action.
Keller is doing his job, and he is doing it well.
Flatpicker
(894 posts)But I'm not seeing it now.
The ease of digital media made us lose sight of the end game. Everyone can criticize now. In the past, the arts mattered because only a few had the ability to create and publish. Now everybody can talk, and, talking has replaced making a difference.
Now, the arts propel social discussion. TPTB like that. Better we talk while they take advantage of us instead of doing.
We talk, they strip our land. We talk, they poison our air. We talk, they incite violence.
We talk.
We've spent too much time pointing and laughing at society and not enough interacting with it.
The balance shifted too far from action. Now, it's hurt us badly.
We can't, in good conscience, continue to look, laugh and not participate.
We stand and they stop. Look at DAPL. Talking didn't stop them. Laughing didn't.
I'm as guilty as others, but I want to change.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Everyone else has their own way of being activists.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,018 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,377 posts)Please keep writing, Garrison.
elleng
(131,032 posts)'The one bright spot is the old draft-dodger's new-found fondness for generals, including the one who talked him out of the idea of torturing prisoners of war. Military experience does encourage a certain respect for reality. There is hope that if the showman should decide late one night to incinerate Iran or North Korea and get it over with, someone might say, "Hold on. Let's think this through."'
babylonsister
(171,079 posts)Flynn was once opposed to waterboarding and other extreme interrogation techniques that have now been banned; however, according to an August 2016 Washington Post article, he said at one point, in the context of Trump's apparent openness to reinstating such techniques, that "he would be reluctant to take options off the table."
Flynn has been a board member of ACT! for America,[55] and sees the Muslim faith as one of the root causes of Islamist terrorism.[25] He has described Islam as a political ideology and a cancer.[25][59] He stated in a Twitter post that "fear of Muslims is RATIONAL"[55] and included a video link claiming that Islam wants 80% of people enslaved or exterminated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_T._Flynn
elleng
(131,032 posts)babylonsister
(171,079 posts)Hekate
(90,763 posts)Satire comes with sharp edges, sometimes with tears.
Funny/odd that one person here doesn't get it at all.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Is there a feedback loop in our social circuitry that's sending us down a path of self-destruction? No, there are just propaganda loops playing over and over again, and money controls what people think, see, hear, do, and apparently how they vote, or at least how the apparently voted.
We must take back the vote, regain transparent elections and not trust unknown persons to count the vote.
DemoTex
(25,400 posts)All those general officers (once a general, always a general, I always say). All those generals with experience. All those generals with ways & means. All those generals with grudges, prejudices, and paranoia. No self-respecting banana republic dictator would ever be caught surrounded by so many generals, ESPECIALLY after dissing the general officer corps so badly during the campaign.
Trump, check six. Always check six.
roamer65
(36,745 posts)Jacob Boehme
(789 posts)So it would appear now that the only meaningful measure of what might be termed a successful Trump presidency will be if he leaves office without getting us all killed.
MrModerate
(9,753 posts)Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)MrModerate
(9,753 posts)lindysalsagal
(20,718 posts)I wonder if anyone can ever bring it back to the respectability that we used to enjoy.
Flatpicker
(894 posts)Sideshow workers have more talent than this assclown.
lindysalsagal
(20,718 posts)Cha
(297,458 posts)Mahalo, babylonsister!
colsohlibgal
(5,275 posts)What gave us this creep, more than anything, was the criminal crosscheck program that illegally strips people's voting registration because they had a similar name to people in another state. They go after names common to people who vote democratic. This was debuted by Dragon Lady Katherine Harris in Florida 2000. People who have voted for years find out that they are no longer registered.
This was in place in all the critical states this year.
Gore won in 2000. Kerry won in 2004. Max Cleland won the race that bounced him out of the Senate. And on and on, the right is rigging race after race. The exit polls in these races were right, the final numbers dirty as Hell.
If democrats do not fight back hard starting now for 2018 many may flee to a sane country. We are so close to a reactionary white nationalist takeover.
Flatpicker
(894 posts)Every R election from POTUS to Local Dog catcher has lead to this.
Disenfranchisement exists, but we let it happen for years already by not voting.
Dems have a problem. The youth only come out for Presidential Elections, if at all, and were ceding the future by giving away the local offices.
The problem right now is systematic. They were able to cull the voters and gerrymander the districts because the day to day running of government is something no-one cares about. It's boring.
You could almost say that Trump is the product of 30 years of local neglect by the voters.
We have to go back to basics and get our houses in order locally.
Flatpicker
(894 posts)That someone gifts him a fiddle on inauguration day.
It would be so fitting.
cer7711
(502 posts)Garrison Keillor is a national treasure.
:::applause-applause:::
McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)Perseus
(4,341 posts)I am not sure that is a "bright spot", I have seen this before, enhance the military's reach and you are in for a dictatorship. See countries like Venezuela, the only thing keeping the corrupt regime is the military.
Beware of too much coddling with the military, tunnel vision people, once corrupted tend to do bad things, case is Petreus, seduced by a p.ssy, did some bad things, and still got away with it.
CrispyQ
(36,492 posts)This is a party that has not demonstrated much fight for 35 years & we think they are going to stand up to Trump & his nightmare cabinet? We are so fucked. I'm trying to operate like everything is normal & going to be okay, but there is an undercurrent of terror running through me that has been constant since election day. I wish we had W back, that's how bad it is. W with Cheney.