Having complained that I am tired of the "endless cycles of presumptive illegitimacy," which "means staying in the kitchen and complaining about the heat," perhaps I should explain what I meant by "the kitchen."
What I mean is that assuming someone has a clear win tonight, beginning tomorrow, I am going to be treated to endless shrill lectures about how the election was not won by whoever won it.
If Obama wins, not only will he have not only not won legitimately, but he is ineligible to serve, because he wasn't born in Hawaii. (Even though Hawaii state records show he was born there, various cranks have decided that completely unverifiable Internet rumors dictate that the state records must be lying.)
And of course, if McCain wins, such a "victory" will be said to have been impossible, and the election will have been obviously stolen by Republican racists.
It is so predictable that I am sick of having to write it. But write it I must, because I'll be unable to ignore it, and I do have this blog.
That's what I mean by the kitchen. Whether I can stand the heat or not, there's no escaping the kitchen.
But what is meant by the phrase standing the heat? That complaining is not allowed? Says who? Those who are responsible for creating the heat? It strikes me that the levels of heat are constantly rising. Not only too high for comfort, but maybe to the point where they're a tad high for democracy to flourish.
What the hell do they want, anyway? Where does it end? Another Civil War? At the rate the heat keeps getting ratcheted up, I must ask whether that is what some people want. As we all know, Obama supporters have promised rioting in the streets if McCain is elected. And just today, there was this:
But I don't mean to leave out certain elements on the right. While the author does not threaten violence or advocate intimidating voters, here's an example I found completely by accident while looking for something else:
Christians founded this nation, and they will either save it or let fall into the hands of a Socialist-Marxist and his minions. By refusing to vote for Sen. John McCain, Christians will bear a huge portion of responsibility for abandoning their nation in its time of greatest need.
Only a massive turnout of every devout believer in Christ can turn this election around. We most certainly have the numbers to do the job. God fearing Christians who are willing to vote their faith can overturn the attempted theft of this election by the enemy.
The Democrats have let it be known that if and when they gain control of all three branches of government, they will do so for generations to come, by force if necessary.
Unless I am reading her wrong, "attempted theft of this election by the enemy" means running for office. (The piece details no allegations of election theft; only a harangue about the "compromise of Christian beliefs.")
I can stand the heat, or I wouldn't be writing about it. But that doesn't mean I have to remain silent and watch the kitchen catch fire.
It might be time to change the slogan to "If you can't stand the heat, use a fire extinguisher."
With a culture war fire extinguisher like this, you can chill out and be hot at the same time!
posted by Eric on 11.04.08 at 03:11 PM
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Comments
What the hell do they want, anyway? Where does it end?
Means are ends.
guy on internet · November 4, 2008 03:21 PM
I don't think it matters whether Hawaii is lying. Somebody has to be the final authority and on the question of who is born in Hawaii, it seems to me that the State of Hawaii is it.
Defense of McCain ballot theft is not so cut and dry. I'm still hearing about how the Republicans stole the elctions in 2000 and 2004. At least for 2000, there was a meaningful dispute. Never mind that it was resovled in favor of the Republicans (not just by the Supreme Court, but by the Newspaper consortium that did a series of recounts and came to the same conclusion), at least it was a dispute. The argument for 2004 seems to simply boil down to if the Republicans won, it must have been by fraud. Period.
But you're right, there will be complaints either way. I mostly blame the media for creating an atmosphere where a few fringe groups can get a public hearing on par with the people who actually know what they're talking about, thus giving their ravings legitamacy.
tim maguire · November 4, 2008 04:37 PM
All this talk about heat and kitchens reminds me of the wise words of Eric Cartman, from the first season of South Park, who once sagely stated: "Get your bitch ass in the kitchen and make me some pie."
Which had me thinking: dessert.
People just need to stop, chill, and eat dessert. We've lost the art of dessert in this country and maybe that's why everyone is so cranky-spanky. People need real dessert, made by hand in a real kitchen, maybe even through the judicious use of heat. Opening up a box of store-bought cookies -- which taste like an over-sugared version of the box they came in -- isn't dessert. Restaurant dessert -- which looks great, is served in a portion big enough to serve 10, but has no flavor because it was made 10 months ago in a central kitchen just off the interstate in Stockton, CA, or Camden, NJ -- that isn't dessert. Dessert requires flour, real sugar, gobs and gobs of high fat content butter, and an oven (and more often than not, a drop or two or real, not imitation, vanilla extract). Topped off with whipped cream that involves cream + whipping.
If America would just relax and have real dessert, whatever crises we allegedly are facing would just not matter so much. So whether your candidate wins or loses, eat some dessert. You won't be so upset about backing a loser; you won't be so smug about choosing the winner.
So if you can't stand the heat, get into the kitchen and make some dessert.
Rhodium Heart · November 4, 2008 04:40 PM
Rhodium, that kind of "kick back and smoke some weed" attitude is the problem. Obama and the Democrats really are dangerous, because they really are trying to stifle American democracy.
What do you think they mean when they boast of making Republicans a "permanent minority?" It means they want to use government power to affect elections. They're going to muzzle conservative media via the Orwellian "Fairness Doctrine" (because only conservative media can be biased in Democratland). They're going to funnel Defense Department scale money -- literally hundreds of billions -- to outfits like ACORN. If Obama's new "Civilian security force" isn't ACORN writ large with a massive budget . . . then maybe it really is his attempt to create a personal army.
Eat dessert when we've won. FIGHT!
Trimegistus · November 4, 2008 07:06 PM
No party is a permanent minority, Trimegistus, unless it wants to be. Times have changed. The Reagan coalition doesn't have 270 electoral votes in it anymore. The pendulum swings both ways and, right now, it's swung to the left.
The Republican Party can do one of two things: wait for Obama and the Congressional Dems to fail, or come up with a new game plan. Important choice. And we need to take that choice seriously. We need to give it serious thought.
Over dessert.
Have a nice slice of pie. Or some home-baked cookies. Flan. A cake with homade frosting. Get out the ice cream maker and churn your own.
Think of it as John Galt meets Paula Deen.
Rhodium Heart · November 5, 2008 01:30 AM
I passed a little Christian church today, sporting a different message than yesterday. It read, "God is coming for us. Is today the day?"
That message took some heat out of my personal kitchen, and not in any unpleasant way. It made me realize how, at least to some, this election goes way beyond politics and way beyond religion to a place that can make dreams come true, one day at a time.
If Obama wins, it may not be my dream come true, but that matters much less to me when I see so many others daring to imagine their own possibilities...maybe for the first time.
This is America! We are not, and may we never be, a "one God, one pie, one dream" kind of nation.
None of us is made less by another's triumph or made more by another's defeat.
Share the joy, divide the sorrow and NEVER go to bed without giving a nod to those few patriots whose shoulders we count on every day to "speak" for us when we lose our own voice.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
What the hell do they want, anyway? Where does it end?
Means are ends.