Tag Archives: men

The “New” Face of the GOP

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
White Male House GOP Committee Chairs

From the DailyKos story, the 19 House Committee chairs named by Republicans this week. Hmmm...what do these 19 folks all have in common? Is the face of the "new" Republican Party, the one that supposedly learned a lesson from the 2012 elections?

Three weeks after the election, and it’s quite obvious that Republicans have already forgotten the lessons learned about the electorate, about diversity, and about moderating stances.  As these stories from Slate and the DailyKos note, EVERY House GOP Committee chair that’s been named so far is a white male.  Shocking!!!  As my wife would state, the “Hairy Old White Men” still rule the roost in the GOP house. 

After two straight presidential elections that have proven Republicans can’t rely on the “White Vote” strategy any longer, there were immediate calls from many on the right to become more inclusive.  Boehner and the GOP leadership in the House missed that memo.  As I’ve stated before, I GLADLY support the status quo in the Republican Party leadership.  As long as the status quo holds, as long as Republicans cling to policies and behavior from the past, they’re destined to lose many more elections.

There were also many after the election who claimed it was the death knell of the Tea Party, that Tea Party conservatism was too extreme for the American public.  There’s little doubt that the Tea Party backed candidates performed miserably in Congressional races, and helped contribute to the stunning Democratic gains in the Senate, when by every historical standard, Republicans should have gained Senate seats this cycle.  So have Republicans begun to move towards more moderate candidates?

Virginia Republicans certainly haven’t learned their lesson.  In a state Romney was sure he’d win, in a traditionally “safe” Republican state that’s now shifted to blue the last 2 elections, Virginia Republicans have rallied around conservative lightning rod Ken Cuccinelli for governor in 2013. Among Cuccinelli’s MANY claims to fame?  Trying to sue a Virginia climate-change scientist to release his emails…opposing ObamaCare…opposing limits on carrying guns…opposing rights or assistance for illegal immigrants…and the hits keep on a comin’. 

Bravo, Repubs.  Don’t give in!  Don’t go against what you believe in!!  Don’t deviate from your current single-minded focus on turning the U.S. into a conservative Nirvana!! 

As long as you continue to act as if the 2012 election never happened…Democrats like myself will be fat and happy for a VERY long time.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

End of an Era – Republican Election Based on Winning Whites

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments

Tom Scocca at Slate.com has a scathing indictment of Republican campaign strategy over the last 40 years…a strategy based simply on winning the white vote. A strategy based on exploiting racism and fear. A strategy based on hate.  As the Scocca piece notes, Romney’s campaign strategy is based solely on one demographic…trying to win at least 60% of the white vote, with an emphasis on winning the vote of white men.  That part of his strategy certainly seems to be working, given that a recent poll shows Romney winning white men by a whopping 65% to 32%.

The story also notes that this may be the last election where Republicans can hope to use this strategy, at least at a national scale.  The changing demographics of America simply won’t allow for such a strategy to have a chance in hell as America becomes ever more diverse.  One more “old school” election, where the Hairy Old White Men in charge of the Republican Party try to eke out a win using old school tactics.

Great, brutally honest, and sadly, brutally true piece by Scocca.  Give it a read if you get a chance.  Makes me ashamed to be one of those Hairy (getting) Old White Men.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hairy Old White Men Strike Again

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments
Hairy Old White Men

Hairy old white men strike again, voting against a bill that would improve women's pay equality in comparison to men.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  In this picture, Senate Republicans are explaining why they refused to vote for a bill aimed to improve pay equality between men and women.

And what is it you note about this picture?  Ah yes, that’s right…THEY’RE ALL HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN!!! (Again…a phrase coined by my wife).  In another example of how COMPLETELY out of touch Republicans are, not only did every single Republican vote against this bill, but the cadre of Senators they chose to come out and speak to the press about it are all HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN. 

The not quite as “old” Hairy White Man in the back is our own beloved Senator John Thune from South Dakota.  Or, as I like to refer to him….”Worthless Piece of Shit Thune“.  This is the same bold, independent thinker who responded with “I can’t vote for that!  I’m a Republican!!” when my wife and I met with him to talk about a stem cell research bill up before the Senate (research that could help my son with Type 1 diabetes).   PERFECT photo of what Thune is ALL about…standing in the background, hanging on every word that his older HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN colleagues are saying, so he can repeat the same exact words later.  I laugh whenever I hear the man mentioned as a possible VP candidate.  My GOD, has America become SO pathetic that a man like him is even MENTIONED for something like that?

Thune may not be “old”, but he definitely qualifies as a HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN nonetheless.  To qualify, you must:

1) Lack any kind of independent thought, always blindly voting the Republican party line.

2) ALWAYS vote against ANY bill that attempts to improve rights or living standards for any one who is NOT 1) white 2) a man, or 3) in the richest 1% of all Americans.

3) Be a rather repugnant human being overall, someone you’d hope to god your daughters wouldn’t ever marry.

In other words…you just have to simply be like seemingly 99% of Republican men nowadays.  I HEAR there are supposedly a few Republican men who aren’t HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, but I have yet to find one.  As a birder, I’m still hopeful that birds such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Bachmann’s Warbler, or Eskimo Curlew may be hanging on somewhere and aren’t extinct. 

I’m starting to feel the same way about Republicans.  Are there ANY of the supposed “Compassionate Conservatives” (HAH!!!) that Bush talked about? Or have ALL Republicans gone off the deep end?  Have they all gone the way of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker or Eskimo Curlew??

I take heart that given the Republican’s love of rich people and HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, pretty soon those few Republicans who AREN’T HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN will realize they’re supporting the wrong party.  GET A CLUE, REPUBS!!  There are one HELL of a lot more of us out here than just HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN.  Continue to make the HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN political platform the platform of the Republican Party, and your party is doomed.

Posted in Culture Wars, Equality, Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Take the keys away” from men

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Terry| 7 Comments
Hand over the keys, guys

OK guys, we've had our chance, and we've been a complete and utter disaster. We've had our 5,000 year run. Time to hand the keys over to women.

CNN has a story tonight about the Secret Service scandal involving prostitutes, and notes that one issue is that there simply aren’t enough women in the Secret Service (it’s about 3 men for every 1 woman).  The story just simply states that “Women don’t get into trouble the way men do”, and that having a male-dominated culture at the Secret Service is a BIG part of the problem.

Even as a man, I couldn’t agree more!  I think the world would be a MUCH more pleasant place if men were taken out of ANY position of real responsibility, and women were solely in charge.  What I propose…a proverbial “taking the keys away” from men, from the very moment they’re born.  Might as well start early, and remove ANY chance that men are ever put in charge of ANYTHING.  Want your little boy to run for president of the 5th grade class?  TOO BAD!! Girls only!!  The football coach of the local high school team?  MUST be a woman!  I think you could make it kind of “unofficial” rule for kids under 18, but the moment a man turns 18 or enters the work force, it should be a rule that no man can EVER be placed in a position of power over any woman.  No, even simpler, make it so no man can ever be placed in ANY position of power, ever.

I’m convinced such a system would eliminate 99% of the world’s problems.  As it is now, it seems that most of the world’s problems are caused by an excess of testosterone.  As a man, I confess that as a sex, we are selfish, egotistical pigs who seem to be ONLY driven by the need to compete and “beat” our fellow-man at, well, whatever life throws at us.   The macho bravado that typifies men playing any kind of sport?  It really isn’t ANY different in everyday life for 99% of men.

We all see it every day, from the moment we leave the house in the morning.  You’re driving to work, and inevitably some guy who simply MUST be ahead of you will drive like a complete jackass, either cutting you off, passing you, or just giving you the ol’ one-finger salute for daring to be on the same road as him.  You get to work, and the macho bravado continues, with a large proportion of men treating work less as a cooperative venture and more like a sporting competition, where the only real goal is to gain personal glory, no matter who gets stepped on along the way, or how it may hurt the company or group you’re working for.  Certainly my LEAST favorite aspect of work, by far, is dealing with people who only seem to care about ‘credit’ and putting themselves up on a pedestal.  And…the vast majority of those people are men.

Take that line of thinking up to positions of REAL power, and it only gets worse.  Give a guy an army to play with, and you’re just ASKING for bombs to be falling somewhere in the world, for a war to be happening somewhere, no matter whether it’s actually necessary.  As men, it seems like we can’t help ourselves.  We’re just not happy unless we’re trying to beat the hell out of another human being, either literally or figuratively.   I dare ANYONE to dispute that the world would be a much nicer place if we immediately removed all male world leaders, and replaced them with women.

No, given the machismo that permeates all men to some degree, I wouldn’t expect men to take such a drastic change without putting up a fight.  But think about it, men. No more dealing with the stress of competition.  No more stressing out about work, and trying to climb to the top.  Hell, it could even mean the end of neighborhood “lawn wars”, where men can’t help but fertilize and treat the hell out of their lawns in order to make their yard one-quarter shade greener than your neighbors.  Think how much more free time we would have, since right now, I think we each spend, on average, about 10 hours a day in some weird form of manly “competition”, be it at home, work, on the road, etc.

As my son would say…just “chill-ax”, guys.  Stop $ucking things up around the world.  We’ve be dominating the human race for, oh, 5,000 years or so.  It’s time to admit we’ve failed, and hand over the keys to what is UNDOUBTEDLY the “better half” of the human race.

Posted in Culture Wars, Deep Thoughts

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GOP Response to Obama/Contraceptive issue? An all-male congressional hearing

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments
White Congressmen!

DO NOT FEAR, woman citizen of the United States!! These "hairy old white men" (my wife's phrase) have your back!! The GOP holds a committee hearing on Obama's contraceptives decree, and somehow forgets to invite women to the discussion.

God it’s good to be a liberal right now, and watch the increasingly radicalized GOP self-destruct.  After vehement (and largely phony) outrage over the last week regarding Obama’s decision to force coverage of contraception for certain groups, Republicans have certainly TRIED to make it an issue to focus on for the campaign.  Somehow, having the insurance companies themselves pay for contraceptives coverage is Obama trying to “destroy Catholicism” (something Gingrich says Obama will start doing as soon as he’s re-elected)?  Given how all of the GOP issues they were banking on for the fall election are melting away (economy, Obama’s ratings, foreign policy, etc.), this is what they’re left with.

It’s been wonderful watching how incredibly inept the GOP has been though, in trying to make this a major campaign issue.  Just hearing Santorum or any Santorum backer speak on the issue is enough to warm the heart of any liberal hoping for an Obama re-election.  Thursday, the GOP-led House ratcheted it up a notch, holding a Congressional hearing on the Obama contraceptive issue.

The problem?  The five panelists invited to participate in the hearing?  ALL MEN.   The House Committee driving the panel?  Very heavily male.   This fiasco of a Committee hearing has certainly been getting a lot of play in the media and in the blogosphere, particularly from groups that support women’s rights.

I thought it was a very gutsy move for Obama to make last week, knowing he was up for re-election, yet following his heart and pushing for fair coverage for contraceptives.  I shuddered when I first saw the (fake) outrage from the right, knowing immediately they were going to try to make it a major campaign issue.

I should have known better. As inept as the GOP is right now, I should have KNOWN they would take a potential campaign theme, a potential strength, and screw it up and turn it into a major liability for them come November.  Did any of these “Hairy old white men” (my wife’s phrase when hearing about this) REALLY think it was a good idea to hold a congressional committee hearing on the issue, but largely leave women out of the discussion???

Well-played, GOP!!   Once again, you’ve got Obama’s re-election team laughing at your bumbling.

Posted in Hairy Old White Men, Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Boys will be Boys…to our own detriment

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Terry| Leave a comment
Men and Women

Boys will be boys, no matter the consequences. You don't see women killing themselves in the name of "competition". Maybe there's a lesson there.

I think the theme of the weekend is “boys will be boys”.  I’m a sports fan.  I’m Nebraska born, and like 99% of Nebraskans, I’m a huge Nebraska Cornhusker fan.   I also am sitting here watching my St. Louis Cardinals as I type this, as they are on the verge of winning the National League pennant and making the World Series.   I also admit that I am about as competitive as anyone, and take things like my fantasy baseball league or the cribbage tournament at work WAY too seriously.   I’m male!  I’m competitive!  

Many times my wife has told me the world would be a much safer, much less violent place, if only women were in charge.  I must say I have to agree with her!  When I’m sitting on the couch (or more often, pacing nervously) when my Cornhuskers are on TV, I sometimes think to myself that I’m taking this WAY too seriously.   I’m AWARE of my own competitiveness, even when it comes to the “competitiveness” of rooting for my favorite sports team…but yet I can’t seem to help myself.   What is it about men?  Why is EVERYTHING a competition for us?   Why do we feel the need to WIN, to conquer, to prove our “maleness”? 

Perusing the headlines from the weekend, a top story is the death of Dan Wheldon in a horrific crash in an IndyCar race.   Men in cars, racing at speeds of 200 mph, with razor-thin margins of error literally standing between life and death…but yet men continue to compete despite the danger.  And people continue to cheer, even when they know their heroes are risking their life for the sake of “entertainment”.   From New York, a 16-year old high school football player died this weekend after a seemingly routine defensive play.   The player had supposedly the latest and safest helmet, but it wasn’t enough to help him. 

Just an ordinary fall weekend, with men out trying to prove themselves, and some of them being severely injured or even dying for nothing of any real importance.   At least with sports, these kinds of events are relatively rare.  But unfortunately, we also have men who are in most positions of political and military power around the world, and this same competitive nature oftentimes seems to carry over into world affairs of MUCH more importance than who wins a football game or an IndyCar race. 

In a marriage, the woman is often referred to as “the better half”.   I agree!  Perhaps before an Obama, a Vladimir Putin (Mr. Testosterone himself), a Hugo Chavez, a Kim Jong-il, or ANY other national leader makes a decision of ANY importance, they should do themselves a favor, and do one simple thing.   Just go ask their wife what she thinks of the decision, and take her advice into account.

Posted in Deep Thoughts

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,