Ken SchreinerUtah Safe Haven for Bush Flunkees; Are the Doormats Wearing Thin?
Alberto Gonzales might not make it to Utah- or out of Washington alive. But the list of Bush administration flunkees running to Utah to look busy is obvious and somewhat frightening. The Bush “Mod Squad” of Gonzales, Education Secretary Spellings and HHS head and former Utah governor Mike Leavitt, is due to come here Friday to investigate(?) the Trolley Square shootings. Vice-Doofus Cheney of Fools is here today to fertilize the young, growing minds of BYU’s class of 2007 with his patented right-wing drivel. And first bimbo Laura Bush visits Zion National Park to get back to Nature and dedicate the new historic center there. Utah appears to be the last, safe place administration officials feel they can go and not get bombarded with criticism or negative images of local protestations against Iraq, abortion, stem cell research, the environment, Rocky, you name it. But as the linked articles show, even Utah is getting wise to the dog-and-pony shows the Bush Circus is staging. Polls show that, despite the regime’s enduring popularity here, even Utahns are growing skeptical of their competence. If moral values are the reason they’re popular, then the administration has failed their loyal constituents here. All of the big shots scheduled to visit Utah- Gonzales, Cheney, Spellings, Leavitt- except Laura, are connected to some ongoing corruption investigation. It’s clear Utah is important to the administration but what have they done for Utah in return? What is the benefit of Utah’s loyalty? Gas prices keep going up, federal support of Utah’s vast public lands is disintegrating. The ICE stormtroopers have chosen Utah to execute their illegal immigration crackdown where we already have problems filling jobs. The truth is rising through the cracking crust of Bush propaganda. The good news is they’ve only got a couple of years left. The question is whether Utah will hang on long enough to throw them a farewell parade.
April 26th, 2007 at 10:21 am
“Vice-doofus” ? “First bimbo?” Come on Ken, you can make your arguments without resorting to ad-hominem attacks. It is otherwise ok, but please do not stoop to these words. I expect more from this forum.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
61% of Utahns approve of Bush job performance? That’s just depressing. I wonder how these questions are being framed.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Davis Didjeridu:
Look what famous CEO Lee Iacocca has to say about things.
April 26th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Davis: three words. Ann Coulter. Faggot. The Ruling Class made the rules. I expected better too. Gloves are off. Live with it.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:32 am
I saw the BYU commencement with Cheney and went to the “Alternate Commencement” with Ralph Nader. No comparison, the Alternate commencement was over two hours, and very moving!
The Cheney event was like sitting through sacrament meeting. My nephew, as a five year old once asked, “Mom, do we have to go to sacrifice meeting?”
April 27th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Smart nephew. At least he can recognize and call something what it is. Cheney can’t even bring himself to call Iraq and his other uncountable blunders mistakes while devoting a large part of his lecture to the students to making mistakes and learning from them. The irony and hypocrisy never ends with these guys.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Cheney personifies the “banality of evil.” He looks so grandfatherly and never raises his voice and tips his head to the side like a dog to persuade you that he is intently listening to your concerns…
Then he goes in the other room and chews the legs off your couch.
Or, of course, blows the legs off your son or daugter, and projects his violence onto the weak and defenseless of the world. Then he comes after YOU.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
…and believe me, he was altogether tooo close Thursday for my comfort. The Dark Lord.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
He’s quite the political gamesman. The type of guy you want on your side but not publicly. The problem is, ideologically, he’s just right of Franco and exudes so much arrogance and impunity that you want to see him led off in handcuffs- to Guantanamo. Some day perhaps. It’s a dream.
April 27th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Somehow it seems to me the polls show that about one third of Utahns are not just against the grain of America they might be a little daffy.
And the Y to have Cheney (vice doofus) speak is like an oxymoron to higher education.
It is incredible!
Yes, Rocky in my mind is the best thing going for Utah especially when you consider that the only democrat in congress from Utah votes exactly like a republican from Utah, maybe only 90%.
Bob in Petaluma
April 27th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
I’m still a skeptic of the Rocky phenomenon. I’m not sure what he’s up to. Ambitious people do things to get them where they want to be. We don’t know where Rocky’s going with all this but it seems to have something to do with international stardom. Reaction?
April 27th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Ken; It explains why he submitted to the oreilly factor. He wants to be nationally prominent. Basic sociopath, despite the camo.
April 27th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Reaction? When the primary shake-out leaves Hilary in the top spot, the Dem powers will be staring defeat in the face due to Hils connection to Bill the sex-fiend, and support for the war. They will then turn precipitously to our star, Rocky (who, with the help of Dennis Kucinich and millions upon millions of patriotic Americans successfully impeach not only Bush but the entire administration). In the end, it will be a face-off between Rocky and Mitt with ALL proceeds coming to Salt Lake City. Yea.
You can call me a dreamer, but Im’ not the only one…J.L.
April 27th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Caveat:
The fact that Rocky is allowing the producers of “Fahrenhype 9/11,” to produce a documentary about him, seems to clear him of any fears that he may expose himself to being taken, (however expertly), out of context to the extent that he may incriminate himself.
Wouldn’t you say?
April 27th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Absolutely. I resonate to Rocky but he seems to have a hayseed streak (much like my own) that might not be easily swallowed by the really big muckedy-mucks. It’s just another challenge however. I’m sure he’ll do well.
April 28th, 2007 at 10:56 am
The “Rocky Goes to Washington” scenario is the stuff Hollywood dreams are made of.
“An Inconvenient Truth” made a front-runner out of a guy who’s not running- yet. Who’s to say it couldn’t work for Rocky. I like the Mitt vs. Rocky-Loser Leaves Town Showdown scenario even more. Utah takes the pot and Orrin becomes Secretary of Whatever no matter who wins. This is getting better and better.
April 28th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I had to go through the worst internet buying experience of my life, but managed to get a ticket to see the Hannity and Rocky SMACKDOWN!
I’d surely like to see the loser Hannity leave town and take his cheap-shot radio program with him, clearing up Utah’s airwaves of harmful particulates. I’m thinking that since this is going to be the first time Hannity’s ever been on a level playing field, he’s being advised to be on his best behavior. We’ll see if force of habit wins the day.
April 30th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I want to see Vince McMahon moderate. “Hey- no chair throwing! And that means you too, Rocky and Sean!”
April 30th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Some people do everything in their power to earn derogatory nicknames (Vice-Doofus) but it sounds petty to be calling Laura Bush the first bimbo - I’m sure that name belongs to someone from the Clinton years (and I’m not talking about Hillary).
April 30th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
It’s always been my belief that Monica L. was a Republican plant.