This post is shamelessly swiped from Pacific Views (formerly known as The Watch, which itself was formerly known as Mars or Bust).
On the troubled California economy Davis is being blamed for: “The dotcom bubble burst, just as Gray Davis ordered. …We went off to two foreign wars, playing right into Davis’ hands. …Enron ripped the state off for billions. So you can see the problem, Gray Davis.”
“So you can see the solution, a Viennese weight lifter. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Finally, a public official who can explain the administration’s social policies in the original German.”
Sorry, I feel really dense, why would the (U.S.?) administration’s social policies be written in German?
Who knew Davis was responsible for our two foreign wars? I don’t much care for Davis, but I don’t much care for Maher either.
Maher’s an asshole, and a misogynist to boot. Further proof that corporate media is a meritocracy in reverse.
Schwarzenegger is not from Vienna (which would have made him a “Wiener” in the original German, BTW), but another city in Austria, Graz, if I recall correctly. And social policies in Germany have on the whole been rather more “leftish” than American ones since waaay back in ol’ Bismarck’s days (have the Republicans pushed for re-naming the capital of North Dakota yet?). Not certain about the other German-speaking countries (Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein), but can’t really visualize any of them really approaching the current Republicans’ ideas. Unless Maher was thinking of certain German and/or Austrian theorists?
Von Huyek? Doubt it. Maher was implying that the Bush administration’s policies are fascist. In stand up comic logic, German=Nazi. Even now, despite the fact that Germany is a far more social democratic place than our Homeland.
But Maher makes a good point—the Gray Davis is being saddled with problems the whole country is facing. And if anyone should feel the heat for them, we should start where the buck doesn’t seem to stop these days, the White House. I propose a public Singapore caning for both Clinton and Bush.
“the Gray Davis”? As opposed to the White Shadow or the Black Dalia, I suppose…. oops….
It seems like this is about a cult of personality. I do not see any coverage of what any of the candidates would do to spring California out of the crisis. Perhaps a lack of looking at a person’s policies led to the election of Davis in the first place?
I see Darrell Issa replenishing California’s motor pool by going back to his previous pastime…..stealing cars.
Kevin –The Green Hornet, The Blue Beetle, The Red Tornado. If no one’s done a superhero cartoon about The Gray Davis yet, someone’s gonna after your self-correction there.
I don’t see it so much as an equation of the German nationality with Nazism as an assumption that the audience will see the remark as synonymous with “translated from a Hitler speech.” But Maher probably stole the idea from Molly Ivins’s observation that Pat Buchanan’s presentation at the 1992 (?) Republican convention “must have sounded better in the original German.”
Maher was poking fun at the recall, he said that it was a bad idea. Further, that unless a public official gets caught walking off with public funds or reading kiddie porn, you should be stuck with them. After that, he said that only the people who showed up at the polls, not people walking out of Target.
The remarks quoted above were tongue-in-cheek.
Amp – You should have stolen more of the post ;)
“the Gray Davis” would be correct in the original German ;-)
Good point by Natasha.
http://www.pocho.com/
SHOCKING PHOTOS OF CALIFORNIA LIEUT. GOVERNOR CRUZ BUSTAMANTE AS MEMBER OF ‘LATINO HATE GROUP’
by Bill O’Really
NO SPIN ZONE \ Fox News: FAIR AND BALANCED
FRESNO, CA Shocking photographs from Lieut. Governor Cruz Bustamante’s sordid past as a Fresno State University militant Chicano hate group member in the free wheeling 1970s surfaced today on my desk.
Funny people, those Fox acolytes. Funny people.
I was in a mood this morning, so I had a bit to say over at Plundered Democracy about Herr Arnold’s candidacy. I’m afraid I may have been a bit harsh.
Or perhaps not.
You weren’t harsh enough, or at least not expansive enough. ;) I heard whatsisname of Major League Baseball/Enterprise Zones fame delineating HIS big plans for the State last week on KBOO and was almost driven to swap my evening glass of icewater for a pitcher of gin fizz and a handful of qualudes. Gack.
I’m a trainee Canuck; I’m not allowed to be much harsher. Though I will note that any political contest involving both Gary Coleman and Arnold Schwarzenegger is surely a sign of the End Times.
this has nothing to do with the topic but everything to do with Bill Maher.
I wrote a song about him, “Maher’s Planet” and you can hear the whole thing
for free.
go here: http://www.mp3.com/juliarose
click on “Maher’s Planet”
Thanks. and let me know your thoughts :)
You might think he’s a misogynist, but I’m a young
woman who likes him, enough to have written the first
song ever about him! :)