Suitably Flip

Have We Checked the Jalalabad Big and Tall?

It sounds like the left is finally converging on a unified message.

Whether to liberate Iraq, whether to support the troops, whether to extend the Patriot Act, whether to support pro-growth tax policy, and other pesky matters requiring conviction, consistency, and principled decision-making have proven tricky areas for the minority party, a growing problem in its increasing desperation to find internally shared ground from which to mount a collective (re-)election bid this fall.

The old standby alternative to proposing *actual* ideas has long been the intermittently effective policy of simple obstruction (see Justice Alito, Patriot Act, Social Security reform, etc.).  Recently though, the American people have not surprisingly grown a bit weary of the emptiness of a vague and unsupported "better way", and liberals finally seem to be taking notice, now intent on buckling down and finding points on which they can agree.

The most notable success in this effort seems to be their argument for the overwhelming height of Osama bin Laden.  Recently hyperbolized in grand fashion by Chris Matthews, Hillary Clinton has now added her voice to the chorus, making great political hay of the "bin Laden is tall" talking point in an otherwise unfocused tantrum yesterday.

"You cannot explain to me why we have not captured or killed the tallest man in Afghanistan," referring to Al Qaeda's leader at large, Osama bin Laden.

Zing!

If Al Gore or John Kerry had been in the White House, you see, we would've simply dispatched a very tall commando to the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan and told him to (I hope I'm not giving away any classified military tactics here) stand on his tip toes.  Osama bin Laden is just so darn tall that he would've been embarrassingly easy to pick out, ripe for the nabbing.  Cue the ticker tape and bring our boys home.  War's over.

Republicans should take heed.  This little tirade of Clinton's was seen largely as a trial balloon for possible 2006 Democratic themes, and the "Osama's tall" refrain seems to have (pardon the pun) legs.

Another highly effective, not assailable in any way, message being primed is the "Socialism is good for you" motif.  Clinton made clear her appetite for this flavor of krazy (well, I guess she first did that in 1993) in the same speech yesterday, in her support for Vermont's resident Socialist and Senatorial hopeful Bernie Sanders.

Mrs. Clinton yesterday threw her weight behind the Socialist's bid to become her Senate colleague, praising Mr. Sanders as a "good friend," and asking the audience: "Won't he be a great addition to the United States Senate? We need to make sure Bernie is elected."

By all means, Mrs. Clinton, please encourage all of your colleagues to join you in such support.  It's that unity of message that your base has been yearning for and that will carry you back into the majority.

Congratulations, American left, for finding your voice.

Previously:  Osama bin Laden is 8 Feet Tall!

Elsewhere:  Blogs for Bush, Tales of the Stupid

Comments

Have We Checked the Jalalabad Big and Tall?

It sounds like the left is finally converging on a unified message.

Whether to liberate Iraq, whether to support the troops, whether to extend the Patriot Act, whether to support pro-growth tax policy, and other pesky matters requiring conviction, consistency, and principled decision-making have proven tricky areas for the minority party, a growing problem in its increasing desperation to find internally shared ground from which to mount a collective (re-)election bid this fall.

The old standby alternative to proposing *actual* ideas has long been the intermittently effective policy of simple obstruction (see Justice Alito, Patriot Act, Social Security reform, etc.).  Recently though, the American people have not surprisingly grown a bit weary of the emptiness of a vague and unsupported "better way", and liberals finally seem to be taking notice, now intent on buckling down and finding points on which they can agree.

The most notable success in this effort seems to be their argument for the overwhelming height of Osama bin Laden.  Recently hyperbolized in grand fashion by Chris Matthews, Hillary Clinton has now added her voice to the chorus, making great political hay of the "bin Laden is tall" talking point in an otherwise unfocused tantrum yesterday.

"You cannot explain to me why we have not captured or killed the tallest man in Afghanistan," referring to Al Qaeda's leader at large, Osama bin Laden.

Zing!

If Al Gore or John Kerry had been in the White House, you see, we would've simply dispatched a very tall commando to the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan and told him to (I hope I'm not giving away any classified military tactics here) stand on his tip toes.  Osama bin Laden is just so darn tall that he would've been embarrassingly easy to pick out, ripe for the nabbing.  Cue the ticker tape and bring our boys home.  War's over.

Republicans should take heed.  This little tirade of Clinton's was seen largely as a trial balloon for possible 2006 Democratic themes, and the "Osama's tall" refrain seems to have (pardon the pun) legs.

Another highly effective, not assailable in any way, message being primed is the "Socialism is good for you" motif.  Clinton made clear her appetite for this flavor of krazy (well, I guess she first did that in 1993) in the same speech yesterday, in her support for Vermont's resident Socialist and Senatorial hopeful Bernie Sanders.

Mrs. Clinton yesterday threw her weight behind the Socialist's bid to become her Senate colleague, praising Mr. Sanders as a "good friend," and asking the audience: "Won't he be a great addition to the United States Senate? We need to make sure Bernie is elected."

By all means, Mrs. Clinton, please encourage all of your colleagues to join you in such support.  It's that unity of message that your base has been yearning for and that will carry you back into the majority.

Congratulations, American left, for finding your voice.

Previously:  Osama bin Laden is 8 Feet Tall!

Elsewhere:  Blogs for Bush, Tales of the Stupid