Laura Bush is redecorating the Lincoln Bedroom......with gilded CROWNS

[Proud2BAmurkin]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48972-2004Sep24.html

<snip>

Whatever Election Day holds for her husband, Laura Bush is about to establish her own White House legacy in a bold transformation of the Lincoln Bedroom.

<snip>

The pièce de résistance, both decoratively and symbolically, will be a carved bed canopy in the shape of a crown. It too has been sent for gilding. When affixed to the ceiling, the crown will support yards of regal purple satin over white lace, both trailing to the floor.

<snip>

Gilded crowns and royal colors strike an unusual note in a house carefully stage-managed to symbolize the democracy. Neither element would have been acceptable to George Washington, who was advised to surround himself only with things that were "substantially good and majestically plain." Eagles were fine in "the President's House." Allusions to monarchy would have been anathema

[silverback]

3. "Long live king George!"

(Ducking behind the door to avoid the knife)

[JDPriestly]

7. A crown in the White House! What Decadence

A crown in the White House -- in the Lincoln room of the White House-- the symbol of monarchy, wealth, oppression and exploitation? That the Bushies would dare to do this shows how decadent we have become as a nation.

What an insult to Lincoln who was born poor, cared about poor people and was proud of his origins.

Lincoln grew up in simple log cabins and was a man of the people.

Here is a website on Lincoln's homes. http://www.nps.gov/liho/alhomes.htm

He lived in log cabins then log homes from his birth in 1809 until 1837:
first home: Kentucky, 1809-1811, Type: log cabin
Location: Sinking Spring, near Hodgenville
Description: one-room, sixteen by eighteen feet, dirt floor, no glass windows
(Be sure to see this home before the Bushies tear it down. They disdain the poor, so I wouldn't put it past them.)
. . .
Second home: 1811-1816, Type: log cabin, Location: on Knob Creek Description: one-room, dirt floor, no glass windows
. . .

Third home: Indiana. 1816 - Spring, 1830, Type: log house, Location: Southern Indiana
Description: one-room, sleeping loft reached by pegs in the wall, first dirt floor later wooden floor, no glass windows

Lincoln must be turning over in his grave. Yet another reason why we have to get the Bushies out of the White House.

Sorry I'm so emotional about this. But, my dad was a Lincoln fan. We visited many of Lincoln's homes and Civil War sites as children. I'm just horrified.

[Flammable Materials]

65. Hopefully Theresa will tear this atrocity down immediately. n/t

[billyoc]

8. ROFL!

"...a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was signed in the room in 1863, will still be available for late-night perusal, in a glass case on a polished antique desk..."

Yeah, uh, that's the one that says all the black people get to vote, Your Majesty. You might want to give it a little late night perusal.

Oh, wtf am I saying, perusal would involve reading. nm

[Sannum]

9. As an interior designer....

Vulgar, Vulgar, Vulgar.

[Hog lover]

19. In the South, we call this "tacky"

and then we say, "Bless her heart, she does the best she can."

[billyoc]

1. In New York, we call this "tresspassing"

and then we say "Beat it, I'm calling the cops."

[Hog lover]

49. I just love you Yankees. What a comeback! n/t

[funky_bug]

87. Damn! That's why I LOVE New Yawkers!

I'm a Bronx girl by heart. Great comeback!

[Gold Metal Flake]

102. Excellent!

"Get out of our house!!"

Love the sig, BTW.

[arewenotdemo]

2. lol

[doni_georgia]

66. Yep tacky - something someone with new money would do

Seriously, it totally goes against the history of the White House and the history of this nation. My guess is she's doing it because she knows lil emperor Georgie is going to lose, and it's her passive agressive way to leave Teresa with a mess.

[merh]

93. You know there will never be a "**Bush**" bedroom, she knows

it too - so she is marking her territory before she leaves.

They are trashy, trashy people - prime examples of money not buying love or class!

[madrchsod]

38. well that period was rather vulgar ...

i am also a part time designer (when i get off my butt and advertise)so i immediately thought-oh my god the drapery patterned pants suit queen strikes again but i read the article and this has been reviewed by the white house historians and others. this was what was in this room during this period. much to do about nothing.

[wickerwoman]

43. And Greek and Roman statues used to be painted garish colors.

Does that mean we should head off for the Lincoln Memorial paintbrush in hand?

We should learn from the fashion mistakes of the past. Just because something is "period" doesn't mean that it is appealing or appropriate to modern sensibilities.

[LTR]

59. Guess all it needs is a mirrored ceiling, huh?

At least they didn't do it in Southwest style like the rest of the WH.

[Rich Hunt]

76. sounds like pimp style n/t

[Wols]

82. Good Gaudy Miss Laudy!

Tacky, tacky, tacky.

[spooky3]

85. and a total waste of money, because Teresa will have it all removed.

[Bluebear]

10. Teresa. January 2005: "OK boys, get rid of this shit."

nt

[Proud2BAmurkin]

13. LMAO

.

[demgrrrll]

21. I read about this in the Guardian! Crowns. Good Grief. Words fail me. nt

.

[Road Scholar]

73. Sorry a dupe. laughing too hard.

[Road Scholar]

74. Great quote of the day!!!! LOL GOOD ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Maddy McCall]

11. Will Teresa be allowed to remove that gaudy stuff when John is...

sworn in?

[Sannum]

20. I hope so...

Laura is going to make the Lincon Bedroom look like a Texas Whorehouse. Money certanly does not buy taste.

[jmowreader]

92. Yes, she can redecorate the place as she sees fit

I predict tasteful yet elegant, not "looks like a Texas trailer's living room" from Teresa.

[Lady Effingbroke]

101. I live in a trailer in Texas,

and even I wouldn't "decorate" my living room with tacky crap like this! Just reading about the "Lucky Charms" colors being used - emerald green...golden yellow...deep purple (what an insult to the rock band of the same name!) - gives me a headache!

[Spiffarino]

12. Gawd a-mighty...

I hope Teresa rips it down and puts up bamboo.

Friggin' fascists.

[goclark]

14. Take this tacky idiot back to Crawford

[wellstone_democrat]

15. And monarchical symbols should STILL be anathema

If this doesn't say everything about these people, I don't know what does. Vulgar. Trappings of monarchy in Lincoln's bedroom of all places. Disgusting.

Send that dreadful woman home with her husband.

[onehandle]

16. Tacky, tacky woman. nt

[requiem99]

17. Further proof Bushco thinks of themselves as royalty. Need I say more?

[cynatnite]

18. That sounds disgusting

It reminds me of all those gaudy gowns which used to be worn at the country music awards not long ago.

[LibDemAlways]

22. Sounds like something

you'd see on a cheesy home decorating reality tv show. Now we know how Pickles spends her afternoons.

[Lorien]

23. How unAmerican

:puke:

[Jack Rabbit]

24. Lincoln is spinning in his grave

An symbol of American democracy decorated with a crown?

Well, leave it to the Bushes royal family to do something like that.

[Zorra]

25. Laura must be thinking a lot about Marie Antoinette right now, because

little "King Louis" Bu$h will be going to prison soon.

Poor Laura. She wanted to be queen so badly.

[NightOwwl]

26. "a carved bed canopy in the shape of a crown."

Aaaaargh! :puke: :puke:

Why the hell is she doing this when they are going to be gone in 2 months. Denial, anyone?

[fidgeting wildly]

28. My thoughts exactly.

Why is she doing this now? I guess she just doesn't bother her beautiful mind about silly little things like elections.

[NightOwwl]

36. Welcome to DU fidgeting

:hi:

[fidgeting wildly]

4. Thanks!

I think you're my first welcomer. :) I've been lurking for months (I'm quite shy) but things have reached such a fever pitch that I just couldn't stay quiet. I love this place!

[Ima]

34. stupid

Is she going to use some of the left over fabric from * table cloth shirt?

[goclark]

83. My thoughts exactly!

She should have done this when she first moved in.
That way all her tacky relatives could jump all over the bed.

That's like fixing up a house to sell it and painting the walls purple because you love purple!

What a fool!

[DieboldMustDie]

27. Maybe it's for when Sun Myung Moon stays over.

[havocmom]

30. Moon crossed my mind too

and the cat ran away with the spoon.

My god, Laura, have your old man pardon Martha. You need some help immediately!

[Contrary1]

29. I must say...

I am not surprised to hear this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Reemmber she is married to a man who'd rather be a

dictator... since dictartorship is so much easier

[doubleplusgood]

32. Trinity Broadcasting Network decor ?

Yuck.

[doubleplusgood]

77. something like this, stylewise ?

[wellstone_democrat]

33. Purple. AND shiny

good lord. Beyond the abhorrent symbolism involved. Just try to visualize this horror.

[ClintonTyree]

35. It sounds hideous...............

but with HER fashion sense, or lack thereof, what else could you expect? This woman constantly wears the draperies for dresses. THK can redo it when they kick the Beverly Hillbilly's out in January.

[grasswire]

37. yup....

..."the Bushes' personal decorator from Texas, Ken Blasingame..." is one of the decision makers.

Apparently the bright purple green and yellow were added for "modern" tastes.

Whose taste?

[merh]

96. Mardi gras colors - will they toss doublons to fans when

they leave the WH????

[mellowinman]

39. FUCK THIS SHIT!!!!!

Words simply cannot express how fucking pissed off this makes me! Fucking royalist bitch! Goddamn it, this is TREASON! America is about Freedom, Liberty and Justice for All, and NOT for Royalty.

Kerrys better take this shit down.

[high density]

40. What better thing to do when you have massive deficits

than to redecorate rooms in the White House?

[madrchsod]

45. it`s not paid for by the taxpayers-

[atre]

58. Who pays then?

It's my understanding that the First Ladies get a redecoratoring budget which comes from tax revenue. You say otherwise... If you're right, where does the money come from?

Private donations? The Bushes themselves?

[Virginian]

41. A royal Mardi Gras.

My, my, my, WWGWD (What would George Washington do?)
Flip flop... that's our founding father turning over in his grave.

[secretpoet]

44. Oh bloody hell

That is so not cool.

If I were Teresa, once JK got elected I would tear all that stuff down and either give it to someone who needs yards of purple satin and white lace, or burn it all on the White House lawn in a symbolic cleanzing of the W-House.

[madrchsod]

5. didn`t anyone read the article?

this is what is supposed to be in there...jesus you want ikea? sorry for bitching

[mellowinman]

46. Apparently YOU didn't.

Bring me the text that says there should be a CROWN in there.

You do understand the basic concept of America, right?

Hint: No Royalty.

[Tansy_Gold]

71. I *DID* read the article and the *CROWN* is contemporary

<snip>
Today's Lincoln Bedroom was then Lincoln's Cabinet Room. The bed started out down the hall in a "Prince of Wales" guest room. Lincoln never slept in the bed, but other presidents did. Research into the guest room turned up sketches and photographs and a glowing contemporaneous account of "rich purple satin draperies adorned with lace."
<end snip>

<snip>
The committee of experts includes Allman's predecessor, Betty C. Monkman, whose 2000 book, "The White House: Its Historic Furnishings & First Families," contains period photography of the bed crown; Richard Nylander, senior curator for Historic New England, who researched the wallcovering in the Hillary Clinton redo of the Blue Room; the Bushes' personal decorator from Texas, Ken Blasingame, who recently showed off new decorations in the Cabinet Room in the West Wing; and Leslie Greene Bowman, director of Winterthur Museum and a longtime member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.
<end snip>

As for who will pay for it, which another poster asked,

<snip>
He did not say how much the project would cost. But he noted that the White House Historical Association was providing funding as it would do for conservation of the mansion's museum rooms.
<end snip>


The American Victorian era, which morphed into what we now call "the Gilded Age" (see Kevin Phillips' Wealth and Democracy), was by our standards gawdy, tawdry, and tacky. By its own standards, it was elegant, opulent, and extravagant. Lincoln may have been born in a log cabin, but he married a woman with champagne taste and he had the ambition to seek the presidency.

Read the whole story, folks, and look at the big picture.


Tansy Gold, shaking head in disgust

[spooky3]

89. Is the "bed crown" something different from a king's crown?

Maybe an interior designer can answer that.

[aquart]

54. Sorry, NO CROWN is supposed to be in the White House.

I'm sure we've had other idiot first ladies, but that doesn't mean we have to chain ourselves to their insanity forever.

[fidgeting wildly]

6. "someone who needs yards of purple satin"

A travelling circus, maybe? Or a brothel? Or Celine Dion could incorporate it into her Las Vegas act?

[Ima]

42. barf

"Providing for the comfort of guests was a driving force for change,"


So who is the guest?

[Norquist Nemesis]

47. Who the f&%k cares?

I'll give Laura Bush props for standing by her man and being politically savvy as a 'first lady'...wrong as her husband is on so many levels.

Frankly, I could care less what Laura Bush is redecorating in the White House or anywhere else.

Let's stick to the issues.

[mellowinman]

50. This IS an issue.

America is a country where NO ROYALTY is allowed IN ANY WAY. Monarchaic Symbolism in the Lincoln Bedroom is a little more than simply "bad decorating."

It is TREASONOUS to the concepts this country was founded upon.

It is just another indictment on how arrogant and fucked up the Bush family is. They don't even READ any of our nation's great documents. They just want to be the Royal Family of America.

Well FUCK THAT.

[Norquist Nemesis]

52. Oh, get over it!!!

This is NOT an "issue". In three days they'll be packing their bags and boxes.

If somehow, they are re-installed, they we can debate this. Until then, there are much more important things to take action on...like getting Bush OUT!

[mellowinman]

53. Our forefathers fought and died so that America could be a FREE country

and these fucks are trying to make a tribute to ROYALTY in the Lincoln Bedroom, and you're telling me to GET OVER IT??????

How bout this:

NO!

It's obvious that getting them out is important, however I will NOT overlook something this big. This is a slap in the face to all Americans, and it shames me that anybody doesn't see that.

Why not just put a fucking SWASTIKA in there? Or better yet, put it on the Capital Dome?

For FUCK'S SAKE!!!!!

No WAY do I "get over it."

Seems to me, they told me to "get over" Florida 2000, too.

I don't think I LIKE "getting over" things.

No; I don't think I like it AT ALL.

[harpo]

48. the LUMP should be packing instead of redecorating

:mad: :argh: :grr:

[aquart]

51. This is satire, right?

[Roland99]

55. King George? Pfffft....Court Jester, perhaps

[aquart]

56. Okay, I read the article.

They do everything they can to make it sound like it's okay to have a crown in that room but at the most it's vaguely related to the outrageously bad taste of what was known in America as the Gilded Age, a time when robber barons had no restrictions on their greed or their accumulation of wealth.

Since the Gilded Age is the one Bush is trying to restore, it's fitting that Laura harken to it in her decorating. It is also fitting that we rip out every thread.

[PerfectSage]

57. A GILDED CROWN? A GOD DAMN GILDED CROWN? ROTFLMAO

Since a crown is a phallic symbol worn on the head, why not put a gigantic statue of a golden penis screwing a bald eagle in the Lincoln bedroom? As a symbol of what Bush has done to America.

Don't these people have any shame?
Don't these people have any decency?
Don't these people know anything about American history?
Does Reverend Moon sleep in a bed with a gilded crown canopy and purple curtains?

The Bush's are a pathetic laughingstock.
Good riddance to bad Shrubbish.

B/C No Mo' Years :party::toast:

[Daocrat]

60. Outrageous.

I don't care what excuses they are trying to make, a gilded crown does not belong in Lincoln's bedroom, nor do they have any business getting nostaligic for the "gilded age" when unrestrained capitalism screwed the poor over even worse than it does now. In Lincoln's bedroom especially, avoiding any such references to monarchy and the exploitation of the poor should be a no-brainer.

I mean, really, come on now. A giant crown and regal purple draperies? For shit's sake. What is wrong the with these asshats?

[George W. Dunce]

88. I hear you there

They should look up "conspicuous consumption" while there at it. A very famous phrase from the gilded age. In fact A&E had a show "All the First Ladies" on the other night and they went into this. Just another sign that they are so out of touch with the real world.

[NMDemDist2]

100. welcome to DU Daocrat

:hi:

[thecrow]

61. No, Pickles, that will not attract

the Queen.
You guys were horrible houseguests who insisted on being in her palace.
Unless you are planning on Rev. Moon....?

Tasteless. A crown? Pffffffft!!!!

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[SoCalDem]

62. I'm sure that all the people who sleep on bug-infested cots in shelters

will rest well, knowing that the "royal family" sleeps in a "crowned" bed.:puke:


Vegas hotels redecorate their suites quite often.. they have garish decor for sale cheap in second hand hotel stores in North Vegas..
laura could have save some money:)

You can even buy red/purple/gold carpeting.. (spilled drink removal is on YOU)

[Malva Zebrina]

63. Miss Laura's Whorehouse

http://users.aristotle.net/~russjohn/laura.html

[chaz4jazz]

64. Was Lincoln Gay?

Lavender would better suit the Lincoln Bedroom. From LA Weekly:

"Captain Derickson, in particular, advanced so far in the President’s confidence and esteem that in Mrs. Lincoln’s absence he frequently spent the night at his cottage , sleeping in the same bed with him, and — it is said — making use of his Excellency’s night-shirt! Thus began an intimacy that continued unbroken until the following spring, when Captain Derickson was appointed provost marshal of the Nineteenth Pennsylvania District, with headquarters in Meadville."

From a forgotten volume of Union Army history, an account of The Pennsylvania Volunteers, Second Regiment, Bucktail Brigade, published in 1895 by Derickson’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Chamberlin.

Ironic, isn't it? The founder of the Republican party could turn out to be gay. Hope they choke on it, someday (pun intended).

Whole story: http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/49/news-ireland.php

[AntiCoup2K4]

97. Is that where the name "Log Cabin Republicans" came from?

And his boyfriend was in the military? No, that's ridiculous... everybody knows there were no homosexuals in the military until the Clinton administration.

[npincus]

67. yeech- why not let Ivana Trump decorate the White House

[Comixfan]

68. Sounds awful!

Sounds awful, but the Bush's aren't new money, they are old money. Anyway, what's with the snobbery about money? Lots of people don't have any, and we Democrats don't judge people by their money.

[Wilber_Stool]

69. All right, we'll take out the crown

but the black velvet Elvis stays.

[captain disgruntled]

70. BWAHAH!

[Cooley Hurd]

72. Dear Laura: LEAVE OUR WHITE HOUSE ALONE!!!!

ESPECIALLY the Licoln Bedroom! It's one of the legacies of Jacqueline Kennedy (I'm pretty sure it was Jackie who arranged the Lincoln era bedroom furniture - actually purchased by Mary Todd Lincoln - in President Lincoln's former cabinet room). This classless Texas nitwit has NO RIGHT TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO OUR HOUSE!!!:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:

On edit: I remember pics of the Lincoln Bedroom furniture when in use by Benjamin Harrison in the 1880's, and he had a guilded crown-like canopy over the monstrous headboard - I'm assuming this is where she got the idea. HOWEVER, the entire decor of the WH during that period was HEAVY Victorian. When TR moved in in 1901, Edith Roosevelt remodeled the entire WH back to its original Federal design, which was replicated almost to a tee when the entire WH was gutted and rebuilt during the Truman Administration. The only Victorian-styled room in the WH after that was the Lincoln Bedroom...

[Cooley Hurd]

79. It would be apropos for her to want to replicate the Harrison WH...

...he was another one-term Repug who emptied the Treasury of it's surplus (that grew under the great Grover Cleveland during his first term).

Very appropriate, indeed!!!

[robbedvoter]

75. Paging Dr Freud: she was thinking "gelding" not "gilded" Oh, welll

Should she be redecorating now? There's voters to be intimidated, hard work to be done!

remember the fuss they made about Clinton's guests? Turned out they weren't donors but worse: COMMONERS. It explains much of the hatred of the Clintons (will be less this time)

[bklyncowgirl]

78. Lincoln haunts Lincoln bedroom

Hopefully he'll give Miss Laura a piece of his mind.

[slestak]

80. West Texas trash...

That will go great with her purple track suit and gold lamee tennis shoes.

[robbedvoter]

81. Kick!

[kskiska]

84. The myth persists that this room is a sacred relic

The Lincoln Bedroom, per se, did not exist in Lincoln's day. So there was no option of simply replicating an earlier decor.

"It's a historic room," Allman said, "but not that room."

Today's Lincoln Bedroom was then Lincoln's Cabinet Room. The bed started out down the hall in a "Prince of Wales" guest room. Lincoln never slept in the bed, but other presidents did. …

[funky_bug]

86. Well damn... I guess we know what Teresa will be doing in January

I'm sure she'll be busy redecorating the Lincoln bedroom. I hope they have a wicked sense of humor, as I would LOVE to see the gilded crown auctioned off on eBay with all proceeds going to 9/11 families.

[spooky3]

90. The timing of this is what's tacky...

it is arrogant to redecorate when you are not sure you will be there. If she wanted to leave a "legacy" she should have done this before now.

[Cats Against Frist]

91. It would only be "tacky" if it weren't so symbolic

A crown -- the symbol of monarchy and corrupt church rule, which our founders overthrew during the age of the Englightement.

Republicans -- a symbol of upper class corpo-fascist and sham Mammon-worshipping preacher rule, which seeks to re-write history and destroy our Constitution.

Fitting.

[Mz Pip]

94. Teresa will paint over it. :o)

n/t

[jmowreader]

95. I looked it up. It's not as bad as you think

A "bed crown" is a semicircular thing attached to the wall. It holds up drapes that cover the head area of the bed.

My guess: in the days when lots of people used these things, they were primarily for insect control. Washington may have had one, but his wouldn't have been gilded nor dressed in purple.

The gilding sounds kinda tacky and faux-imperial, as does the mass of purple satin, but the bed crown itself is historically accurate.

[jmoyer8246]

98. Republican Woman

Republican Woman Anti Bush Parody

Inspired by the song American Woman by the Guess Who

Republican woman, stay away from me
Republican woman, mama let me be
Don't come hanging around my door
I don't want to see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time getting shot for you
Now woman, stay away
Republican woman, listen what I say

Republican woman, get away from me
Republican woman, mama let me be
Don't come knocking around my door
I don't want to see no oil whore
Dollar signs can hypnotize
Go tell someone else your lies
Now woman, get away
Republican woman, listen what I say

Republican woman, I said get way
Republican woman, listen what I say
Don't come hanging around my door
Don't want to see your face no more
I don't need your war machines
I don't need your ghetto scenes
Dollar signs can hypnotize
Go tell someone else your lies
Now woman, get away
Republican woman, listen what I say
Republican woman, stay away from me
Republican woman, mama let me be

I gotta go
I gotta getta away
Think I gotta go
I wanna fly away
I'm gonna leave you woman
I'm gonna leave you woman
I'm gonna leave you woman
I'm gonna leave you woman
Bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye
Republican woman
You're no good for me
I'm no good for you
Looking at you right in the eye
Tell you what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna leave you woman
You know I gotta go
I'm gonna leave you woman
I gotta vote
I gotta vote

I gotta vote
Republican woman
Yeah

Inspired by the song American Woman by the Guess Who

Copyright Oct. 2004 J. Moyer

May be used in its entirety without charge if accredited.

[mitchum]

99. "Let them eat pretzels!"

What a tacky and wrong-headed wretch. They deserve one another.