Who The Hell, Indeed?

Posted on by under Election 2024, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Want to be president?  You don’t have to be smart, or even honest … you just have to be loud and obnoxious – and willing to lock away your values and integrity and run on the Republican ticket.  When a politician is speaking in public, you can tell without looking, without hearing a name, whether he/she is a Democrat or a Republican.  If they are so loud that they set your teeth on edge, they are a Republican.  If they speak in moderate tones such that you actually find yourself cupping your ear with your hand in order to hear better, then they are almost certainly a Democrat.  If their hands and arms are thrashing about and their facial contortions remind you of a clown or a mime, they are a Republican.  If you leave the venue feeling a desperate need for a shower, then it’s almost guaranteed that you’ve been listening to one or more Republicans, else you were out late last night and didn’t have time to shower this morning.  One such, apart from the obvious one who shall remain nameless for the moment, is Vivek Ramaswamy, the climate change denier, mini-Trump who hogged the stage in the GOP Primary debate a week-and-a-half ago.

Our friend Robert Reich asks the question that many of us are asking:  Who the hell IS this guy???

Who the hell is Vivek Ramaswamy, and why is he surging in the polls?

The latest illustration of how the American media has followed Trump into mindless political entertainment

By Robert Reich

30 August 2023

One way to become a brand name in contemporary America is to run for president with so much bravado, bombast, and baloney that you gain lots of attention, which drives press coverage, which gets you more name recognition, which boosts your polls, which then — even if you don’t get elected — lets you do whatever brand names do in contemporary America (host a TV show? license your name? run for president again?).

Think of Vivek Ramaswamy or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Since their campaign launches, both have been hyped across the media landscape. And much of the reporting about them is about the hype they’ve generated, which generates more hype.

It’s a perfect loop of nothingness. No critical assessment of what they stand for. No analysis of what they seek to do. No in-depth reporting of their qualifications. Just contentless sensationalism.

They’re the latest illustrations of how the media has followed the profitable path carved out by Trump toward mindless politics-as-entertainment.

The media sensationalizes “oh the wonder of it” stories about anything new, shiny, and exciting. Ramaswamy’s wonder is that he says outrageous things — such as his debate quip last week that climate change is a “hoax” — and then denies or backtracks and changes the subject to another outrageous thing. Exactly like Trump.

And he speaks in bumper-sticker bursts of reactionary bromides — “there are two genders,” “reverse racism is racism,” “an open border is no border,” “the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind,” “capitalism lifts people up from poverty” — without pausing to acknowledge any subtlety or alternative points of view.

It seems to be working. Ramaswamy is now about tied with DeSantis for the number 2 slot in the Republican primary sweepstakes — far behind Trump but good enough to give him a crack at running again in 2028.

Since February, Ramaswamy has been on more than 150 podcasts and at one point was doing 30 interviews a day. Last Sunday, he appeared on NBC’s and CNN’s Sunday shows, where he continued his contentless provocation. Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about whether he stood by his remarks likening Ayanna Pressley, a Black Democratic congresswoman, to the “grand wizards of the KKK,” Ramaswamy said, “I stand by what I said to provoke an open and honest discussion in this country.”

To provoke? Exactly.

Ramaswamy grabs attention because, like Trump, he hurls insults and vacuous provocations. Also like Trump, he’s devoid of deeply held conviction. He is the product of a broken media culture that caters to attention spans of fruit flies flitting from one provocation to the next without any intervening thought.

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28 thoughts on “Who The Hell, Indeed?”

  3. Vivek is just infuriating and I found out about his anti-Juneteenth comments and that Grand Wizard comment about Ayanna Pressley which is beyond offensive. There are white politicians who wouldn’t go that far in attacking someone like that, and he’s being a willing meat shield for the GOP.

    Liked by 4 people

  4. Jill, speaking loudly at events is not as offputting as what they speak loudly about. Pandering to an audience with name calling of opponents or repeating bumper sticker slogans is offputting. Too many Republicans follow Donald Trump’s lead not realizing his repetition of these slogans and name calling is by choice as he is not too conversant on issues. One of his attorneys said back in 2015 Trump does like doing the homework needed to do the job.

    A good counter example is Bernie Sanders who will get up in front of adverse or mixed audiences and say hard truths. He is the only candidate who stood up in front of a group of coal miners and said your jobs are going away, but here is what I plan to do about it with job retraining and transition compensation. Also, this Jewish man had a Christian Liberty University crowd rapt with his speech about outreach and religious ethics.

    Keith

    Liked by 3 people

        • Yes, I figured that out. One of the great things about understanding context and the person’s normal comment views. I can not count how many times after I hit send or publish I notice horribly simply mistakes that if others took as my real feelings it would change how I viewed something. Typing mistakes are a thing we all face. My view is forgive others as you hope they will forgive you. Hugs

          Liked by 2 people

          • Exactly! I find that I often read what I expect to see, which is why I don’t even notice typos in comments from those I know and consider friends … at least minor ones like this. Now sometimes a comment may be completely above my head, but just a misplaced or missing word is rarely even noticed.

            Liked by 1 person

    • So true … but they think that the louder they speak their lies, the more likely they are to be remembered by the masses. No, Trump doesn’t come prepared with facts, he just generalizes that he alone can fix everything and that he is a stable genius and that he’s done nothing wrong. And without a bit of evidence, the masses believe him. Sigh.

      I’ve long been a fan of Bernie Sanders and personally think he would have made a good president. But alas … he’s too ‘socialist’ and too ‘Jewish’ for many.

      Liked by 2 people

        • Hello Nan. Yes. But age itself is just a marker of how long you have lived. In my 20s I was working as an armed private investigator / armed security company own and trained by the local sheriff, My immediate supervisor was in his 40s. He kept looking worse, suddenly having to leave work, having issues of days not at work. Then we learned his wife who was his age had dementia / Alzheimer. She was his age. Eventually, in a few months, he had to put her in a home. This was in the 1990s in Vermont, not a lot was known about these things at that time.

          My point is, age is not really the determining factor or issue, it is how a person is at that age. I am a fan of Bernie, who I think is even sharper mentally than Biden. I am a supporter of Biden because despite his age I think he is the right person for the next election to be president, even though I can see him slowing down and having issues. Again I am 60 and my physical health is much worse than either Biden’s or Bernie’s. I know I couldn’t do the job each of them do even with staff for more than a few days before total collapse of my body. Just being honest. As for TFG known as tRump, well he already has shown massive mental ability disability before office, and during the time in office he showed massive decline while in office. His vocabulary and ways of talking was never without an issue, but now it is seriously messed up. All anyone has to do is compare videos of him talking in 2015 /2016 to 202o. His vocabulary, which was very small to begin with shrank by 2020. His repetition increased massively, his generation of new ideas simply regressed to one or two points. Just mentioning it. Hugs

          Liked by 1 person

          • My point is, age is not really the determining factor or issue, it is how a person is at that age.

            While I agree, in part, that it’s “how a person is at that age,” there’s so much more to age than what most “younger” folk realize. It isn’t just about bodily health … OR mental acuity. It’s about the simple and very real fact that your body –AND your brain– no longer have the stamina/energy/alertness that you once had.

            Biden and Bernie are two great examples of optimal aging … but each year takes its toll. And the older a person becomes, the more the body –and mind– begin to slow down. Trust me.

            Liked by 3 people

  5. Thank you for sharing!!.. as I have said many times, the problem lies with the people, the voter… like every politician, etc. he is trying to gather votes (or perhaps gain notoriety, fame for some other purpose) so he is telling a element of today’s society what THEY wish to hear.. one doesn’t send a Rabbi to preach before a church filled with Southern Baptists… “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom”.(Isaac Asimov).. 🙂

    Hope all is well in your part of the universe and until we meet again..

    May the sun shine all day long
    Everything go right, nothing go wrong
    May those you love bring love back to you
    And may all the wishes you wish come true
    May your troubles be less
    Your blessings be more
    And nothing but happiness
    Come through your door
    (Irish Saying)

    Liked by 2 people

    • Yes, at the end of the day, it comes down to the ignorance of the people who are narrow-minded and self-focused, but if all candidates for office were honest, were at the very least forced to tell the truth rather than what they think people would like to hear, we could do so much better. Yes, that Asimov quote is one we all say often these days! I hope you are well and happy, my friend. Thank you for the uplifting Irish Saying! Have a good week ahead!

      Liked by 1 person

      • To quote a line from a movie; “they can’t handle the truth”… there are those who will deny the truth out of greed and the desire for wealth and power… there are those who will deny the truth because of the impact it may have on their chosen lifestyle..and there are those who will deny the truth out of fear of what they wish to believe in, especially in the world of religion/faith based ideologies… 🙂
        No doubt there are a percentage of politicians, etc. that may believe in what they preach, then there people like Trump who simply follow their ego and personal agenda and try to create their own little kingdom and tell the people what they wish to hear in order to gather their support, in short use the system for personal gain.. 🙂
        It is not going to happen overnight, “A home that is built with patience, understanding and love will withstand the strongest winds of difficulties and conflict , a home built with a closed mind, insincerity or haste will collapse in a mere breeze of discontent.” (Larry “Dutch” Woller ) but “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.” (Emily Dickinson) and with folks like you letting your fingers do the walking and heart doing the talking, that home filled with love and happiness for everyone will come to be… 🙂

        Hope all is well in your home, life is all that you wish for it to be and until we meet again…
        May the dreams you hold dearest
        Be those which come true
        May the kindness you spread
        Keep returning to you
        May your day be touched
        by a bit of Irish luck,
        Brightened by a song
        in your heart,
        And warmed by the smiles
        of people you love.
        (Irish Saying)

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: Who The Hell, Indeed? | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  7. ““there are two genders,” “reverse racism is racism,” “an open border is no border,””

    Those 3 thruthinesses every straight thinking person can subscribe to. Without being progressive or reactionary. Me, as a €uro/Afro democratic socialist know they are true, American neo-conservatives know they are true as well.

    So what even was Ramaswamy trying to tell you? “The sky is blue, and if you make me president I will make sure it stays blue!” Something like that?

    In Germany we call such wafflers ‘Schaumschläger’, foam beaters. People of many words but no conceivable message.

    Like

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