Regards, Ivan
Posted on 05/29/2005 5:07:54 AM PDT by MadIvan
Now that the new Star Wars film has been released, there has been a flurry of articles drawing facile comparisons between the Emperor (formerly Chancellor) Palpatine and President Bush, and between the Sith and the Republicans. The preening liberal elite, which has hitherto regarded science fiction as the province of lesser mortals, has seized upon statements such as Darth Vader’s “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy” and gasped with orgiastic delight upon recognising George Lucas as a kindred soul.
This liberal interpretation of what is in the final analysis, a fantasy film, has not confined itself merely to an excessive waste of column inches. It was brought to bear in Democrat advertisements arguing for their right to maintain a blockade on judicial appointments: Senator Frist was portrayed as a latter day version of Palpatine, cackling and wearing a dark robe. However what the judicial appointments episode truly showed is that far from being steeped in the “Dark Side”, the Republican Senators are a weak kneed, milquetoast bunch who need a desperate dose of it.
If fantastical comparisons between the Star Wars galaxy and our present day are the order of the day in liberal publications, it should by no means be considered out of order for the purposes of proving a conservative point. Had the Republicans in the Senate been led by Chancellor Palpatine, it is highly likely that the Democrats would presently a broken mess, reeling from sustained, careful and clever manoeuvres designed to keep them permanently on the back foot.
As Obi Wan Kenobi noted in “Attack of the Clones”, Palpatine was “very clever about following the passions and prejudices of the Senators”. He also understood the power of popular opinion: as The Phantom Menace showed, he traded upon sympathy for his home planet of Naboo, in order to get himself elevated to the position of Chancellor. Eloquent, thoughtful, and well spoken, the likes of Harry Reid would have not stood a chance against him, for three main reasons.
First, it is likely that Palpatine would have used popular opinion much more strongly that the Republicans did. One can almost see Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine, fretting solemnly in dulcet tones on television that Democrat partisanship had destroyed the traditions of the Senate, by not granting an up and down vote for presidential appointments. He would have proclaimed his love for the Senate, its long history and positioned himself as a figure for the restoration of its functioning. He would have successfully portrayed the Democrats as they are: a group of ragtag post-modernists who wished to utilise, distort and pervert its traditions for political gain.
Second, it seems likely that Palpatine would have known the precise combination of threats and incentives to get more Senators on his side. As Count Dooku reveals in “Attack of the Clones”, the number of Senators under Palpatine’s sway (albeit Dooku refers to Palpatine by his Sith name of “Darth Sidious”) is in the hundreds. Palpatine would certainly have threatened the “Red State” Democrats such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Ken Salazar of Colorado by suggesting that their constituencies would not have voted for them if they were going to be in the thrall of the north-eastern liberals. Palpatine would have also guaranteed to remind the electorates in these states of this when the time came. It is also possible that Palpatine would have sweetened the threat with a sufficient bribe to make the pill go down easier – perhaps offering to review the forthcoming base closures which might affect them.
There would be no incentives, however, for the liberal Republicans from New England. For example, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island faces a particular hurdle in getting re-elected: Palpatine could let drop, casually, that he might not be able to recommend any assistance from the Republican Party to his campaign, as there appears to be no value to the Republicans in his continued presence.
Third, Palpatine also knew when to severely strong arm his opponents. There are many conservative Republicans who would appreciate John McCain receiving a visit from Darth Maul, for example, for the purposes of aggressive persuasion. Loyalty and discipline would be the order of the day in a “Dark Side” Republican Caucus.
All in all, while the liberals may sneer and proclaim President Bush and Senator Bill First to be on the “Dark Side” and “Emperor-esque”, the comparison only shows how far from that ideal of aggressive, take no prisoners politics the Republicans presently are. Palpatine, Darth Vader and Count Dooku in the films showed that they knew how to use power and what power’s uses were. The Republicans have power but seem helpless, have a majority but seem a minority, control all the levers of government but don’t know how to use them. Perhaps it’s time for President Bush to invite his Senatorial colleagues around to the White House to watch some Star Wars DVDs to pick up some hints from the Dark Side. And when he’s done with that, perhaps the military can get some further inspiration on how to deal with terrorism from the Empire’s conduct in the Battle of Hoth.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Well said!
Well put. And ping.
ROFL!
Regards, Ivan
:)
you are welcome :)
FULL STORY:
They sure did. IIRC there were 3 flavours offered...vanilla chocolate and peanut butter. The dark side characters were the chocolate flavored ones.
Here's a like-minded editorial. It's three years old, but still good. Have we been rooting for the wrong side since the first movie came out?
The Case For The Empire, by Jonathan Last
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/248ipzbt.asp
LOL
I think I remember those when I was a little kid....
There is but one problem with the liberals view of the film and it is this:
The Sith are against the following:
1. Freedom
2. Elections
3. Opposition
4. Desent
5. A higher power greater than themselves ("The Force")
6. Freedom fighters
Just name a few. And these are also the same values that liberals and Democrats are embracing.
And we all know that you will never hear a devout Liberal/Socialist/Democrat say "And may The Force, (God) be with you".
It is actually considered a weakness by the left to even believe that there is a "Force" greeater than themselves.
As Carl Jung woudl say about someone that doesn't believe in God, they constellate the God complex within themselves, i.e. they become God in their own minds adn are not subject to any higher values than that of their own minds.
Wonderful piece. In my heart, I always knew Darth Vader was right.
LOL! Bump.
And wouldn't it be fun to watch him do his little clenched fist thingie while telling Reid, Boxer, Kennedy, Voinovich, Chaffee et al, "I find your lack of faith disturbing"
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