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Absolute Power Erupts (Maureen Dowd Alert!)
New York Times ^ | 11/21/04 | Maureen Dowd

Posted on 11/20/2004 5:07:39 PM PST by wagglebee

They're fragile and frazzled, depressed and self-doubting.

Trapped in their blue bell jar, drowning in unfulfilled dreams, Democrats are the "Desperate Housewives" of politics.

The image of Republicans as the Daddy party and Democrats as the Mommy party came roaring back in 2004, with a chesty President Bush and Dick Cheney prevailing by making the case that they could protect America from vicious terrorists and uxorious gays better than the Brahmin they painted as a sissy. In politics, as on TV, political correctness is out and retro is in. Hillary's bid to be president suddenly appears more wobbly, and the class of new senators looks like a throwback - with half a dozen white male conservative Republicans front and center.

At the Republican governors' conference in New Orleans, Ken Mehlman, the Bush campaign manager, answered the question, Who's your daddy party? "If you drive a Volvo and you do yoga, you are pretty much a Democrat," he said. "If you drive a Lincoln or a BMW and you own a gun, you're voting for George Bush."

Of course, W. was swaddled by three strong women - Laura Bush, Karen Hughes and Condi Rice - who cleaned up after his political messes.

Yet Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney boldly projected the image of confident - if overbearing - husbands who would guard the family home from intruders, while casting John Kerry as the feminized guy who couldn't get his sports references straight, the sort who would sashay about in Yves St. Laurent pajamas, dithering, whither-ing, and fetching bottled water for Teresa while the burglar alarm rang.

Democrats were furious to learn last week that Mr. Kerry had squirreled away $15 million in primary donations that he could have spent turning out the vote in Florida and Ohio. Once more trying to have it both ways, Mr. Kerry wanted a nest egg in case of a recount or legal challenges - not exactly the killer mentality that Democrats need.

Having gutted their opponents, Republicans are pretending to patch up divisions as they ruthlessly consolidate their gains. Democrats are turning the other cheek. At the opening of his presidential library, Bill Clinton assured the audience that Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry were "good people" who "just see the world differently."

The Republican Visigoths are crushing checks and balances and driving Democrats (and moderate Republicans) into subservient, obedient roles, sticking antiabortion provisions into major spending bills. Even the suggestion that Congress has an advise-and-consent role on judges caused the Visigoths to slap Arlen Specter into stocks, until he whimpered he would do their bidding.

The party of moral values deemed that crime pays, shielding Tom DeLay with a rule that someone facing a felony charge can still be a leader.

The ultracreepy Mr. DeLay de-pantsed Democrats on Friday, sneering: "I understand the Democrat Party's adjustment to their national minority status is frustrating, but their crushing defeat ... should show them that the American people are tired of the politics of personal destruction."

Well, yeah. Watching Bush supporters shred a war hero into a war criminal was tiring.

This most secretive administration wants to stop the public from getting any facts that might challenge its story line.

The Department of Homeland Security is making employees and contractors sign pledges barring them from telling the public about sensitive but unclassified information.

Porter Goss has warned C.I.A. employees that they should support the administration and "scrupulously honor our secrecy oath" by letting only the agency's public affairs office and Congressional relations branch talk to the media and Congress.

Senate Republicans have voted to allow Bill Frist, the majority leader, to fill vacancies on powerful committees, rather than abiding by the seniority system - a sword over moderates and mavericks.

The White House says it wants greater harmony, but it's acting like the thought police. Having run into resistance in their bid for global domination, the president and vice president are going for federal domination, pushing out anyone with independent judgment who puts democracy above ideology.

It's a paradoxical game plan: imposing democracy abroad while impeding it here.


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: crazy; democrats; dowd; dowdy; insaneoldliberal; maureendowd; offhermeds; oldnsaggy; republicans; whack; zetajones
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To: wagglebee
Of course, W. was swaddled by three strong women - Laura Bush, Karen Hughes and Condi Rice - who cleaned up after his political messes.

Well, at least she recognized these women as women, unlike many of her ideological compatriots who apparently regard them as doormats and 'house' blacks.

The rest of it was the usual psuedo-intellectual whine and cheese.

81 posted on 11/20/2004 6:18:17 PM PST by spodefly (I've posted nothing but BTTT over 1000 times!!!)
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To: wagglebee
"What is good?"

"To crush your enemy on the field of battle and hear the lamentations of their women(columnists.)"

82 posted on 11/20/2004 6:23:50 PM PST by AlguyA
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To: okie01
Well, Maureen doesn't have Kerry nailed, not if she calls him a war hero, as she did in this tiresome twaddle. I don't mind Maureen's mindless whines, but I do wish she would honestly present the facts.

What she did get right, and I love it... the Desperate Wives analogy. Now that was funny!

83 posted on 11/20/2004 6:28:11 PM PST by YaYa123 (@Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.com)
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To: Max Combined
To the victor belong the spoils.

Well said. And, The one who wins writes the history books. Sorry Ms. Dowd, YOU LOST!!! Your party has no power. Someday they will again. In maybe 40 years. But it won't matter, because you'll be as old as Helen Thomas is today (101?). Get used to it and get over it. The hated hetrosexual males are in charge. The metrosexuals are in therapy. Why don't you learn to knit? Have a Tupperware party? Just try to relax. The Men (and the real women who work with them) are in charge.

84 posted on 11/20/2004 6:31:45 PM PST by ExtremeUnction
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To: AlguyA
"What is good?" "To crush your enemy on the field of battle and hear the lamentations of their women(columnists.)"

And to graphically alter their appearance on the World Wide Web.

Beauty is skin deep, liberal insanity is to the bone.

85 posted on 11/20/2004 6:39:19 PM PST by No Blue States
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To: bushisdamanin04

I'm in awe.......


86 posted on 11/20/2004 6:47:34 PM PST by ken5050
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To: ken5050

It was tough, but ... :)


87 posted on 11/20/2004 6:49:34 PM PST by bushisdamanin04
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To: bushisdamanin04
I love writers who use million dollar words in clever and meaningful ways.

Maureen Dowd is not one of those writers.
88 posted on 11/20/2004 6:56:50 PM PST by finnman69 (cum puella incedit minore medio corpore sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos)
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To: wagglebee
This is NOT Maureen Dowd


89 posted on 11/20/2004 6:59:48 PM PST by finnman69 (cum puella incedit minore medio corpore sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos)
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To: finnman69

Just out of curiosity, how many words in the list in Post 64 did you know? (I knew one).


90 posted on 11/20/2004 6:59:50 PM PST by bushisdamanin04
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To: finnman69
"This is NOT Maureen Dowd"

Now that's what I call an understatement!

91 posted on 11/20/2004 7:01:24 PM PST by bushisdamanin04
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To: bushisdamanin04

That's what I call underwear!


92 posted on 11/20/2004 7:03:40 PM PST by MAWG (KILL THEM , KILL THEM ALL NOW!)
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To: bushisdamanin04

6 out of 9


93 posted on 11/20/2004 7:04:36 PM PST by finnman69 (cum puella incedit minore medio corpore sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos)
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To: MAWG

Oh yes, she is wearing something. I missed that the first one ... okay, two ... okay, okay, the first 20 times I looked!


94 posted on 11/20/2004 7:05:48 PM PST by bushisdamanin04
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To: wagglebee
Site Meter Something tells me Dowd secretly lusts for W.
95 posted on 11/20/2004 7:06:30 PM PST by KMC1
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To: finnman69
Dang good!

I reached a point in Atkinson's book where I stopped looking up the words I didn't know. I found it easier to just guess.

96 posted on 11/20/2004 7:07:30 PM PST by bushisdamanin04
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To: finnman69

BTW, there are 10.


97 posted on 11/20/2004 7:08:19 PM PST by bushisdamanin04
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To: bushisdamanin04

LOL

and I was always better at math...


98 posted on 11/20/2004 7:11:29 PM PST by finnman69 (cum puella incedit minore medio corpore sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos)
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To: wagglebee
"My name is Maureen, and I'm an alcoholic."

Just take that first step, Ms. Dowdy One.

99 posted on 11/20/2004 7:20:59 PM PST by Paul Atreides
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To: bushisdamanin04
Yeah, how she connects it to gays is beyond me.

She's a fag hag, without a man: she connects EVERYTHING to gays.

100 posted on 11/20/2004 7:22:56 PM PST by Paul Atreides
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