You need to be reading Ace of Spades HQ. There are funny sites,and there are thoughtful sites, but few manage to synthesize the two.
As most of you probably know, Kerry decided to shed any residual dignity he had left after cursing his own Secret Service agent. When in company with Sharpton or Howard Dean, dignity is a useless encumberance. So Kerry went into hyper-kinetic pander-mode, and told reporters that,
"I'm fascinated by rap and by hip-hop. I think there's a lot of poetry in it. There's a lot of anger, a lot of social energy in it. And I think you'd better listen to it pretty carefully, 'cause it's important."I'm still listening because I know that it's a reflection of the street and a reflection of life, and I understand all that."
Here are Ace of Spade's Top Ten influences of hip-hop on Kerry, which are too good to excerpt:
"10. Is on record as a staunch opponent of "frontin'" oil corporations, but supports small family-owned businesses which are "just tryin' to represent"9. Frequently concludes anti-Bush speeches by dropping microphone and striking "down" pose while exposing his "Senator Thug" belly-tatoo
8. Never once worked for the man; got himself some high-payin' b-- and has just been pimpin' and chillin' with the bling-bling ever since
7. Pro-"jimmies," but favors controlling "nines"
6. Developed his own martial arts style combining elements of Korean Hapkiddo and pop n' lock "robot" stylings of the Boogaloo Shrimp from Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
5. Has dedicated his public life to helping working American families get the tools and help they need for raising their "shorties"
4. Starred in late-eighties "rap-com," The Fresh Brahmin of Beacon Hill; series featured frequent cameos by senior Senator from Massachusetts, DJ Pantless Ted
3. Wrote and co-sponsored SR 371, nicknamed the "Truth and Quality in Dropping Rhymes Bill;" bill had laudable goal of finally outlawing "suckah MC's who gots no skills," but was defeated by a posse of playah-hatin' Southern Republicans on a voice-vote
2. Known for always "keeping his pimp-hand strong" when negotiating in conference
...and the Number One Influence Hip-Hop Has Had on John Kerry...
1. At his acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention, Kerry plans to give much love to the Creator, all peace to JC, props to his producers No-Bonze and Jellything from Bad Boy Entertainment, and a special "shout-out" to his agent Myron G. Herskovitz"
Perhaps you'd care to offer some evidence for your argument that Kerry's being insincere when saying things that on their face are entirely reasonable?
All he said was that he's listening, and he used dignified terms to express that. And most of rap - though not what you hear on the radio - is indeed worth listening to if you want to know what the underclass is up to.
Posted by: The Liberal Media at avril 2, 2004 11:30 AMTo clarify: I'm disturbed when Bush-haters take every slip of the tongue as yet more evidence proving their pet theory that he's dumb. (I personally do believe he's dumb, but I don't believe slips of the tongue are in themselves evidence of that.) You seem to be arguing that since you believe Kerry is insincere, this is yet more evidence of his incincerity.
Posted by: The Liberal Media at avril 2, 2004 04:58 PMOh man, what a typo - inSincerity. What a week it's been.
Posted by: The Liberal Media at avril 2, 2004 04:59 PMDJ Pantless Ted. ROFL and breathless.
Posted by: pentamom at avril 2, 2004 07:14 PMAm I permitted to snicker at the unintentional mental picture pentamom just painted? A kind word of advice: never use "Pantless Ted" and "breathless" in the same sentence! ;-)
Posted by: Eric at avril 2, 2004 11:53 PMEric-
You do so at your own peril. Pentamom is so tough she bites the heads off animal crackers...
Lib!
I'mj going to have to stick to my guns on this one. But I'm happy to explain why I find it pandering. I'm also happy to admit that, read in a vacuum, there's nothing inherently stupid or pandering about the statement. If said by the right person at the right time, it'd be reasonable.
Coming right after his snowboarding photo ops, it just comes across to me as trying really, really, really hard. We're talking about an over-60 white guy. You honestly think he's got Snoop Dog playing in his Cadillac Escalade?
Part of my reaction stems from disappointment. I /hate/ Kerry's politics, but I've always seen him as a sober-minded sort of pol. The type I could respect as a president even if I didn't like him. Like Gephardt or Lieberman. But this statement just sounds so Clintonian. Especially on the heels of saying he wants to be America's "second black president." I mean, how gross, he's cribbing Clinton's lines. . . And while Clinton was many things, sincere isn't the first adjective that springs to my typing fingers.
One reason I love George Bush is because I cannot imagine him actually telling some yute on MTV what sort of underwear he's wearing, as Clinton did. I'd honestly thought Kerry cut from the same mold. And things like this make me doubt it. This is distressing to me, because there's certainly a chance he'll be running our country.
Lastly, it's rap. You might be thinking of the totally deep Free Mumia rhymes you heard at 3 am on NPR, but for the vast majority of people, that's not what they're thinking of. I'd say 50 Cent sells about 14 trillion times more records than the people you're speaking of when you say, "most of rap." It's about pimping, not politics. I want a grown up president, not one still "fascinated" by hip-hop in his golden years.
I would have rolled my eyes just as annoyedly if back in the 80's the Gipper had said, "Well, I'm just fascinated by punk, because it has such positive energy, and really speaks about the concerns of those youngsters." It would have been comical and disappointing. Just as with Kerry.
Lastly, it's this paragraph that I find especially risible:
"I'm still listening because I know that it's a reflection of the street and a reflection of life, and I understand all that."
He understands that? He's an old man who's married to the Heinz ketchip heiress, and grew up rich in Boston. How in the world does he know anything about "the street." How in the world does he "understand that." Everytime I read this paragraph I hear Offspring's Pretty Fly for a White Guy playing in my head. Next thing, Kerry'll be getting a '31' tatoo.
This is not the unpardonable sin. Kerry isn't Clinton. But these sorts of things give me the creeps, because I don't want another 4 years of arrested adolescence in the White House. Hence my visceral reaction to his comments.
Posted by: Discoshaman at avril 3, 2004 04:56 AMKetchip=Ketchup=Catsup. . . Sorry for the typos.
Posted by: Discoshaman at avril 3, 2004 05:41 AMOh - my - gosh! I didn't understand hardly a work of that top ten list. Does that make me hopelessly old, or hopelessly white? It's still a hoot.
And I concur that Kerry likely understands nothing about the street... but you have to admire that he's trying.
Autmom-
If I really thought he was trying, I would admire it. :-) My observation is that the inner-city, "the street", only becomes interesting to Democrats around election time. That's not to say Republicans are any more interested. . . If you look at where our federal largesse goes these days, it isn't to welfare moms. It's the middle class subsidizing themselves with borrowed money. Sadly, people on all sides seem to have lost interest in the challenge of poverty.
That said, Republican laissez-faire is infinitely healthier than the old Democratic "war on poverty", which horribly exacerbated extant inner-city problems. I think one of the reasons people have lost interest is because these programs turned out to be so destructive and fruitless, and a sort of disillusionment has unfortunately set in.
Ironically, the true success stories tend to be law-and-order Republicans like Brent Schundler or Rudy. Crime victimizes the poor disproportionately, of course, and it also scares off job-producing businesses. While the government can do little to actually produce jobs, by maintaining order and public safety it can at least eliminate some of the obstacles to prosperity.
Posted by: Discoshaman at avril 3, 2004 01:10 PMCan't argue with you on the laissez-faire bit. (BTW, is it "laissez" or "laisser"? I've seen both.)
As for pandering - come on, "Smoke em out" "Wanted, dead or alive" "Bring em on" - that's not pandering? Quite sincerely, I'd rather hear Bush talk about his underwear. The only difference is that Bush panders to you, while Kerry panders to me. I don't think either one panders more than the norm.
You do have a point about context - the only place I heard about the snowboarding thing was here at good ol Le Sabot, so I have no idea how big it was.
As for the "I understand all that" line - I read it as meaning "I understand the concept that it's about life and the street" not "I understand the street." In any case - yes, I'm about to bring up the chickenhawk issue again - I'd say Kerry had a better chance to learn about the street from his shipmates (though of course he may not have) than Bush did from his fellow frat-daddies in the Texas Guard - when he bothered to show up, that is.
The "Free Mumia" rhymes I heard at 3 a.m. on NPR - ouch, that one stings!
Springtime here in Warsaw...are the chestnuts blooming over there yet?
Posted by: The Liberal Media at avril 4, 2004 05:36 PM