And, more of the same. Merry Christmas (again) to all those celebrating the day. The question: who in the political world (loosely defined) would you like to buy a gift for? And, if you feel so moved, what would it be? No snark or sarcasm, please; we're trying to keep with the spirit here.
Probably Nancy Pelosi, she deserves something to celebrate quite the comeback during 2011 considering where she was a year ago (disastrous midterms, a challenge for her leadership and general malaise among her caucus etc.) If I could afford it I would want something with that great Mark Twain quote “Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated” on a plaque or something. It would be a funny thing to display in the office. Barring that, some Wire DVDs as I am a huge fan of the show and she and her family are originally from Baltimore (there’s even a shot of old Pelosi campaign signs in the opening montage of season 3 I think.)
ReplyDeleteJust a Christmas card to one person I've never met, one Barak Hussein Obama and his family, thanking him for his service, wishing him intelligence and organization among his supporters, and continued unrealistic perceptions and postulates among his enemies.
ReplyDeleteI've been up and down with the guy politically, yet I do admire his coolness and determination as a person.
And I do believe, that for intelligent and experienced ordinary Americans to do well, individually, in their own struggles, and to do well collectively, in the struggles we will face to ensure our children life & health (stop dreaming of prosperity!) in a healthy sustainable world, that Mr. Obama will also have to do well in his individual and organizational struggles in the coming years ... (even if he exists inside a highly complex civilizational system that needs much reform, and even if he is not able to fulfill our unrealistic expectations for a father figure with perfect policies for every situation).
In lieu of giving him a gift, I would rather do Barack Obama a favor and take away his golf clubs. Golfing tends to put once-well rounded people into a macho, rich man cocoon. By removing his clubs, we'd be taking him outside the circle of jerks that so often corrupt our most promising civic leaders. A regulatory prohibition (here, on golfing) would be an appropriate holiday present from a liberal!
ReplyDeleteThe Democratic Governors who have been vetoing the right-to-work, voter-ID, harass-Hispanics, &c., bills emerging from their newly Tea Partying legislatures, while somehow managing to get budgets and redistricting plans and quotidiana passed. I would get Mark Dayton a selection of Coen brothers movies and Bev Perdue college basketball tickets and my own terrific Governor, John Lynch, a share in a CSA. I imagine John Hickenlooper and Brian Schweitzer have had to deal with similar nonsense that I just haven't heard about; I would get Hickenlooper a snazzy new bike helmet and Schweitzer ... um ... a gift certificate to a hunting store?
ReplyDeleteI'd buy President Obama a copy of Paul Krugman's The Return of Depression Economics. It would hep him understand our current economic problems a lot more than listening to Geithner or Bernanke.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to give Nancy Pelosi the credit she deserves for being one of the great congressional leaders ever; maybe put her on the covers of Time, Newsweek, etc
ReplyDeleteI'd like to give Philadelphia Mayor Mike Nutter a campaign book in the hopes it inspires him to run for statewide office.
I don't think of myself as a liberal, but one person I'd like to buy a Christmas present for is retiring Rep. John Olver (D-MA).
ReplyDeleteHe's not flashy or loud, but he's a pretty darn effective Member and a good example of how you can do things if you work hard and don't care that much about who gets the credit.
He's far too progressive for my personal tastes and probably for most Members of the House, but he learns his issues inside-out and spends his time working those issues among Members, rather than working the public politics.
Now, there's nothing wrong with working the public politics; it's essential to a democracy. But there are plenty of people doing that all the time, and not as many Olvers as there might once have been.
So for Mr. Olver, I'll get a framed topographical map of western Mass, and a new set of cross-country skis. He'll probably have plenty of time on his hands, and global warming hasn't destroyed the Bershire snow yet.
Oddly enough -- Joe Lieberman. without him, no Dem majority in the Senate for long periods since 2006. And more important, without him, no repeal of DADT.
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