Politics in the American Midwest

Ari Kelman reports from the Heartland:

Straight talk. My friends: Having just spent more than a month in Northeast Ohio, I can tell you anecdatally that the economy is THE story there. In my parents’ reasonably nice, middle-class suburb, every third house is on the block (4 bdr/2.5 bath — $159,000!). And the local paper, The Plain Dealer, in addition to running front-page articles about rising food prices, is filled with heartrending human-interest stories about struggling Clevelanders facing hard times. All of that said, I’m not sure that I’d describe the people with whom I spent time as “bitter.” But they’re pretty anxious. Which is likely the right context in which to run an ad like [this].... To be honest, I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a more devastating political attack that’s also true. “Ma, ma, where’s my pa?” is probably also a contender:

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Comments

[Lee A. Arnold]

Just like Bush straight talk!

[Lee A. Arnold]

A campaign spot that will ever happen, because McCain is taking millions in Wall Street money too. The NY Daily News reported on July 1 that Wall Street has donated $9.5 million to Obama and $5.3 million to McCain. Why more to Obama, even though he vows to raise capital gains taxes, corporate taxes, and income taxes on people making over $200,000 a year? Because Wall Street wants a functioning economy, and they think Obama can win.

"McCain: Straight-talking with lobbyists since 1989."

[nemo]

Just this morning I heard the following:

Question: Which of the following is out of place in this list?

1. Herpes.
2. Gonorrhea.
3. Real estate in Cleveland.

Answer: 2, because you can get rid of gonorrhea.

[Neil B ☼]

OK, let's talk about an aspect of the economy: Energy. McCain has shown he is desperately dishonest, not just by hiring a Rove-ite but through his recent energy price ad smears against Barack Obama. McShame is dishonest enough to put out an ad implying that people like BHO were responsible for the high gas prices today. Well, first that's hypocrisy because McCain opposed OSD for years until recently too. Mr. Fake Talk Express has implied that he, McCain, was always for off-shore drilling - But McCain just changed his mind several weeks ago, only a few weeks before Obama.

Second, it's a lie because the core reason for the recent oil price rise is rising consumption - we and citizens of other countries are responsible for our own gluttonous appetites, not environmentalists. If we'd followed the advice of the latter, such as strict CAFE standards opposed by Repiglicans, the price of gas would be maybe a dollar lower not the few cents someday from OSD. Furthermore, it was agribusiness giants like ADM that lobbied Congress into the ethanol boondoggle, not environmentalists (who prefer waste oil, compost, solar, wind, etc. and above all reducing demand by energetic population control. But business interests want population to grow, since it increases labor supply and depresses wages, and for development and just the whole pyramiding of credit/housing etc.)

(BTW - let's do allow some off-shore drilling, but only *on condition* that the oil from such wells *must* be used directly in the USA! - See how they like them apples ...)

But here's the clincher: I found out from a piece in .The New Yorker that McCain used to be called "punk" in his youth. Then he marries the narcotics-stealing woman he had an affair with - see, Republican family values as the icing for his partisan hackery. The S**t-talk Express.

[save_the_rustbelt]

Well, the writer's stunning dicovery is only about 10 years late, but at least he discovered the obvious.

Neither candidate will remember the rustbelt 24 hours after the polls close, we haven't bought them like Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

[Neil B ☼]

OK Peter the Sierra club needs to act cowed because of the way the Right reframed the issue of population "control." Remember that, except in fascist nations not relevant to the Western program, such population "control" just meant encouraging and making sure that birth control was available to everyone without impediment like laws and religious pressure, not to pressure or force people to use it. I suppose that's something you can support. (Remember Griswold v. Connecticut? - so many "conservatives" ironically support such fascism of suppressing birth control despite the Ninth Amendment being a perfect cover for extended rights like privacy.) In any case, fewer people mean less demand, and less labor supply as well which is the real reason the Right doesn't like ZPG.

[Brian]

Politically, this ad seems brilliant. By simply dealing with the facts, it puts McCain and his campaign between a rock and a hard place. I don't know how he's going to respond in a way that, true or not, shifts the discussion in his favor.

But economically speaking, is this a good ad? I have nothing but sympathy for the people whose jobs might be lost, but I am not sure how to respond to those who claim that trade is bad, when I've thought that it's good.

[Blissex]

«Neither candidate will remember the rustbelt 24 hours after the polls close, we haven't bought them like Wall Street and Silicon Valley.» You get what you pay for. If the voters of the rustbelt don't realize that USA politics is pay-per-play, too bad for them. Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Big Box Business, Big Oil, Big Phone, have all understood very well that you don't get anything for nothing, and have built well funded, effective sponsoring and lobbying machines, as you say. To the clever and ruthless go the spoils. Of course the rustbelt was mostly created by a turn in the fundamentals, but how hard or soft the landing did depend a lot on sponsoring and lobbying investments.

[kaleidescope]

Well, once Cleveland took office, his response to the, "Mama where's papa" line was, "Gone to Washington, ha ha ha ha."

[kaleidescope]

Well, once Cleveland took office, his response to the, "Mama where's papa" line was, "Gone to Washington, ha ha ha ha."

[kaleidescope]

Well, once Cleveland took office, his response to the, "Mama where's papa" line was, "Gone to Washington, ha ha ha ha."