DeLaVerita Reports: Does Obama Have The Political Viagra To Keep It Up?…And Other Items of Interest
Peter DeLaVerita
On a regular basis I will be providing these brief reports which I have edited for quick consumption. Think of them as intellectual nuggets: small, tasty, bite-sized and (hopefully) satisfying. The full-course intellectual “meal” — i.e., the heavily researched and reflective pieces — will be posted at another time. Those may be based, in part, on some of the nuggets presented here. Please note that some of these items may look familiar since they may have already appeared under my byline in Time Magazine, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and other publications. Anything that is being reprinted is done with the express permission of their respective publishers. As always, I am responsible for any errors of omission or commission.
Buon appetito – Peter DeLaVerità, New York
Obamacare: A Conservative Perspective
I wanted to get a conservative perspective on the recently passed Obama health care bill. I sought out the well-known conservative thinker, Justin Gilmartin, to get his view. He only had a few minutes for this interview (he was heading out to a Tea Bagging rally). The transcript of our brief interview is below. A few things you’ll notice. First is the circular logic. Second is that near-complete absence of self-reflection. It is as if the statements uttered by Justin did not come out of the same brain which is why, well, you read it. You draw your own conclusions. – Peter
Peter: What do you think about Obamacare?
Justin: We should get rid of it.
Peter: So…how will people – especially the 50 million uninsured – get healthcare?
Justin: The answer is simple. You want health care? Pick yourself up by your bootstraps and get working.
Peter: What if they can’t afford bootstraps? How will they pick themselves up?
Justin: They should get a job.
Peter: What if there are no jobs?
Justin: Then we should cut the taxes for the wealthy so they can invest their money and create jobs.
Peter: What if they invest their tax breaks overseas instead of using it domestically to create jobs?
Justin: Then give them bigger tax breaks so they have a greater incentive to create those jobs.
Then lower minimum wage. That will make American labor more competitive so that there’s no need to go overseas for labor.
Peter: What if the minimum wage becomes so low that they cannot afford to buy those bootstraps?
Justin: Look! This is the land opportunity. Can’t even afford to buy those bootstraps? Then get a better job.
Dispatch from the Smartest People on Earth
This Harris Poll seeks…finds that 40% of adults believe he is a socialist. More than 30% think he wants to take away Americans’ right to own guns and that he is a Muslim. More than 25% believe he wants to turn over the sovereignty of the United States to a world government, has done many things that are unconstitutional, that he resents America’s heritage, and that he does what Wall Street tells him to do.
More than 20% believe he was not born in the United States, that he is “the domestic enemy the U.S. Constitution speaks of,” that he is racist and anti-American, and that he “wants to use an economic collapse or terrorist attack as an excuse to take dictatorial powers.” Fully 20% think he is “doing many of the things that Hitler did,” while 14% believe “he may be the anti-Christ” and 13% think “he wants the terrorists to win.”
Source: “Wingnuts” and President Obama
Does Obama Have The Political Viagra To Keep It Up?
I wanted to get Jeff’s perspective on the recent sea change in the Obama administration. Based on “Part Nine: Inside the Mind of JeffsADDMind – A Conversation” (this is still in the transcription/editing process and will be published shortly), I already had a sense of what Jeff’s thoughts might be concerning, not only the recently passed Obamacare, but the explosion of legislation coming out of the Obama White House, such as the earnest push for banking reform, etc.
Recent Issue Featuring Jeff of Jeff's ADD Mind
Peter: Jeff, always good to talk to you. What are your thoughts about the recently passed Obama health plan?
Jeff: Peter, always a pleasure. You know, it’s not often, especially in this country of yahoos, to speak to people who are not only intelligent but aren’t afraid to show it. I’m also sympathetic with the gays. I know what it’s like to be “in the closet.” Obama made it okay for intellectuals to come out of the closet. Of course, this frakkin’ Manichean world means its opposite, the Sarah Palins, have to come out of the closet too.
Sorry…got sidetracked. Anyway, it’s not exactly what I wanted but heck, now that it’s passed, we’ll learn to live with it.
Peter: A lot of people are concerned that, by the mid-term election or by the next presidential election, the whole health care bill will be overturned. Does that worry you?
Jeff: Not at all. Those effed up Republicans were defending Medicare – a god damned socialistic program if I saw one – so, they don’t give a damn about their ideals. They only want power. If gays and lesbians ever became such a political force that they could swing elections, the Republicans would be protecting their rights and promoting them to run for office. They’re just power hungry whores.
Anyway, by the time of the mid-term election or, more likely the presidential election, they’ll be defending some part of Obamacare the way [they] there were defending Medicare. But only if they see some political gain to doing it.
Peter: I don’t want to say too much about your theory of history since we covered that in our most recent in-depth interview [Editor's Note: Peter is referring to Part Nine which has not yet been published.] but what’s your long-term prognosis for this health care bill and the other initiatives coming out of the White House?
Jeff: It’s one thing to get the bill passed, and that was a hell of an accomplishment in itself, but does Obama and, really, the Democratic party, have the political viagra needed to keep it up and keep it intact for the long term? This bill, and anything else that comes out of the Democrats, will be attacked by the Republicans and their Fox News stormtroopers. So the real test is being able to defend the bill and any other bills, again and again. Do they have what it takes to keep up the pressure and the party cohesiveness to make sure it’s not decimated, because you know Newt Gingrich and Dick Cheney will come out of the woodwork and attack this big time when the time is right. That’s the real test. Now that the bill has passed, can they keep it from being torn apart bit by bit.
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