Tuesday, September 8, 2009

In Which I Honor A Year Of An Obsession With Politics

Ok, so it's a little more Maddow than politics, but politics are definitely in there.

I was driving out in the boonies today, and I saw a small, carefully painted wooden sign that said, "No Socialism." No context; no tangential explanation. Politics in America have become a huge game of Whack-A-Mole: If a Democrat sticks his or her head out, whack! "Everyone should have health care!" Whack! "Kids, wash your hands often." Whack! This immediate, reflexive response from the right has to be an embarrassment to every sane Republican. Like Mark McKinnon. Or John Henke, the blogger who was on last night. And who dared to attempt a throwdown with Rachel.

(I am not too proud to admit that my bowels loosened a bit when he challenged her. Flight or fight response, I suppose. Not so good at the confrontation thing.)

When I used to play the shooting type video games, I sucked, because I just shot everything. Turns out, there are consequences if you kill everything. There is absolutely nothing Obama can say tonight that will be the right thing. The Republican half of the Capitol will look like Chuck-E-Cheese on a Saturday night.

And, of course, Happy Birthday TRMS! Amazingly, I remembered this anniversary without any reminders. May not impress you, but I am the same person who could never remember my own mother's birthday. One year I called her and asked, "Is your birthday today or tomorrow?" And she answered, "Ask J______. (My ex) She knows." Ow. And ow. She really didn't care, but enjoyed beating me with it anyway. So yay for a year in the life of Rachel Maddow.

4 comments:

  1. Okay, can I just say that I gotta get my hands on a jersey??? SO cool. And hoodies on the way @ the NBC Store? Hooray! Sorry, my fangirl is showing...

    Henke was a pretty straight shooter. I thought Rache handled him well. And you're right. One of my Republican teacher friends came to school in an Obama shirt today, 'cuz she is so embarrassed by her own party right now!

    The Prez did come out strong tonight. Hoping he'll stand firm on the public option, do a little LBJ arm-twisting, and get the job done right and well.

    Happy anniversary to all of us, for finally having someone on the airwaves who sees the world with sanity and snark. Loved the post, Girl.

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  2. Oh, Henke. They were having such an honest talk about the importance of a strong, fact-based two-party debate, and then he had to go and pick a fight with her. Same thing that David Frum did - "Yeah, I criticise my party, but you're just as bad!" I confess it made me nervous for a moment, but Henke's jab was pretty awkward. It felt like he was trying to score a point for his Republican critics so they wouldn't be quite so mad at him for speaking up. At any rate, Rachel was ready for it, and swatted it down easily.

    I can't believe it's been a year already - isn't that crazy? Now I can't imagine American politics without her. I've posted a little celebration of it myself: 10 Things I Love About Rachel.

    Can't wait to hear what she says about Obama's speech tonight. I'm guessing she'll have mixed feelings about it.

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  3. THANK THE GODS FOR RACHEL MADDOW!!

    ahem.

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  4. LOL ..I also remembered that the one year anniversary was coming up, I was actually even waiting for it :P I've never kept up with a tv show as much as Rachel's. Even Countdown-which I've been watching since like 2005 - I took a break from for a few months but I've kept with Rachel all year :D

    I liked her interview with John Henke till he challenged her..errr I didn't like it. He tried to put her down or something - like he didnt want people to think he was totally on her side if he was agreeing with her about the nasty tone of the right these days. Meh...

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