And the TRUMPet Sounded

I had an interesting conversation with my son today.  It was really nice to catch up, discuss some of the happenings in our lives and even a little politics.  He asked me what I thought of Donald Trump as a ladder climbing POTUS candidate for the GOP.  My initial thought was that Trump was little more than a blowhard voice screeching in the wind and will get creamed by the Bush money.  But watching some of the news stories and the comics about Trump have made me think a little more seriously at the whole mess.

First, let's consider some irrefutable facts:

• GOP is scandal-ridden.  Just look at Oklahoma and the party pissing contests that have gone on of late.  Former State Senator, former Gubernatorial candidate, former U.S. Senate candidate and present chairman of the state GOP, Randy Brogdon was elected and it wasn't a week before he was stirring the feces and now, the party reeks from the stench of it.  
• The GOP doesn't like its choices.  They wanted a hardcore, line in the sand cat for leadership, and now they are whining about his leadership?  A leopard cannot change his spots and Brogdon is a special breed of leopard who couldn't give a rats ass what anyone thinks of him.  That's what he was elected for, remember?
• Donald Trump is a very wealthy man, and though he has filed bankruptcy more than once, he always lands on his feet.  It's hypocritical for anyone to chastise him for that (particularly in the GOP) because when you think about it, under the GOP leadership, we have spent trillions of dollars on a never-ending war on whatever the hell is over on the other side of the pond.
• Trump is saying out loud what the GOP used to have as a bloody platform.  The GOP used to be the party of legal immigration and hatred of illegal immigration.  Suddenly, the GOP wants to court the ILLEGAL immigrant vote?  Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican. 
• If the GOP puts up another Bush against Hillary Clinton, he will get his ass kicked like a Klansman at a Black Panther rally.  And justifiably so.  With the GOP abandoning its roots of reasoned approaches to issues of immigration (an 80 percentile issue, by the way) and surrendering to big oil and gas producers whose subcontractors hire illegals.  But that's another topic altogether.  

The Trump whom we all wish would run for POTUS.

But Donald Trump is a target.  Stupid, stupid move on the part of the GOP.  It's so ridiculous for the GOP to cut off its nose to spite its face in this manner.  But let me tell you some insider information:  The hits most likely are not coming from the candidates themselves, but rather their slime-slinging consultants who become intoxicated with the nectar of their own vitriol.  It's mess at that level and if you think otherwise, you're a damned fool.  The GOP will eat their wounded faster than any other critter on the planet.  Greed, avarice, and the hunger for power is transcendent at the POTUS level.  Sad, but true.

To truly answer my son's inquiry, my summation is that Trump is good for the GOP.  He is separating the Shiite Republicans from the Neo-Cons and taking advantage of the bump in the poll numbers even though he's under enemy fire.  If he can keep himself in a positive light in the media, maintain a cool head, and get an image consultant, he very well could be the one to take on Hillary.  But then again, none of the choices right now are very appealing.  

They all look like monkeys trying to make love to a football.

This is my opinion and I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

Gorilla

Weekend Musings Around The Cave

The week has been a wild one to be certain, and the hits keep coming - politically, at least.  So, let's review, shall we?

Olbermann Resigns:  On Friday, Keith Olbermann abruptly announced his departure from MSNBC's top-rated show.  Granted, MSNBC lagged far behind the big dog of cable news outlets, Fox News, but Olbermann was their star.  He did not say why he was leaving, MSNBC has simply said that they have agreed to discontinue his contract.  Conservatives hate Olbermann and are celebrating his departure.  I, for one, am not.  As the proverb goes, "iron sharpens iron" and while his political leanings where clearly left of center and his rhetoric often enraged, he was the most intelligent of the left-leaning commentators out there.  Conservatives need someone like Olbermann, we need a challenge once in a while.  Unfortunately, we often participate in media that "tickles our ears" and tells us what we want to hear - never really having our minds challenged.  Talk radio has generally become one big blob of talking points memo utterances and Republican platitudes.  Olbermann challenged the establishment, asked the hard questions and rubbed our noses in it when our Christological political figures failed to do what they promised.  Pretty sad, really.

Judge Smudge:  You're not going to get an argument from this little gray duck that the judicial system is a mess in Oklahoma - nor will you get an argument that political corruption and cronyism is rampant.  But I must admit that even this story shocked me.  A high profile judge has been getting paid fraudulently for children allegedly under her care.  It's like something from a Lifetime movie, but it's true.  This is the same judge who stepped down from the Ersland case after prosecutors accused her of misconduct.  Apparently, they had no idea just how much.  Read the Oklahoman story here.

Deafening Doak Silence:  Former State Senator Randy Brogdon issued a statement about his employment with the new Insurance Commissioner and it has apparently been so powerful as to silence all the critics and even the often conservative-critical Oklahoman.  Fortunately, Representative Richard Morissette is still paying attention and has authored legislation to clarify what many believe to be our founders' intentions - that legislators need a two-year cooling off period before taking a cushy state job...like Brogdon's $100k/year job and former House Representative Mike Thompson's $100k/year job.  Mind you, it's more money than either of these boys have probably made and legislators are frothing at the mouth for such taxpayer income.  Whether the bill goes anywhere or not is really up to us.  We'll keep track of all the "no" votes and maybe someone will show up in those Districts in a couple years and raise a little hell.  It does go to show us all that it really is about money, not political principle. 

At the end of the day, there are those of us to take a step back, look around and wonder whether or not the "system" as we know it can ever be repaired.  We make headway, then we lose ground.  Perhaps it is just the fight itself, the struggle internally and externally that keeps us going, striving and desiring more from our existence.  Politics is a good place to vent because it's "safe" in many ways.  We expect the political process to be flawed and our expectations are often fulfilled with little effort and it feels good to let loose on the political establishment and to be honest, the establishment makes it bloody easy, doesn't it?

Keep checking back...

Irony At The (New) Insurance Commission

Once again, the election cycle of 2010 accountability movement strides ever forward and now, we turn our eyes toward the Insurance Commission.  John Doak defeated incumbent Kim Holland in what some believed to be a surprise.  Holland had the support of some Republican conservatives and even had the legend of Oklahoma talk radio, Mike McCarville, voicing some of her radio spots for her.

But what is truly interesting about this election cycle is not only the election of John Doak, but the rumors that are swirling about some of his potential appointments. 

Sources close to the methane gas filled dome inform your friendly Gorilla that John Doak will be appointing former Representative and congressional candidate Mike Thompson to the post of Assistant Commissioner & Legislative Liaison.  Thompson campaigned as a "business man" who was an arch conservative, a man who wanted smaller government.  If this is true, his continued government payroll is a shocker.

But not quite as shocking as this one...

The same sources from the Oklahoma Capitol have informed me that none other that the epitome of Constitutional Conservatism Randy Brogdon will be appointed as Head of Consumer Affairs and Fraud.  If this is true, there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth within the ranks of the Tea Party.  Former Senator Randy Brogdon campaigned hard on the issue of smaller, more Constitutional government and frankly, this bureaucratic position will fly in the face of such rhetoric.  If you recall, Senator Brogdon shocked his staff and volunteers by endorsing then candidate Mary Fallin for governor without talking to those who championed his causes for so long. 

If these rumors are true, the irony is so thick you need a chainsaw to cut through it. 

Conservative Hotness Wins

Time for some brutal honesty here, my friends.  Conservative candidates are going to be the rage in November and again in 2012 because they are better looking than their opponents.  It doesn't really matter whether or not they can be considered intelligent, able to grasp the real issues facing this country, nor does it matter whether or not they have the ability to complete one or two coherent sentences.  They are hotter and hotness always wins.  The breaks are out, no point in steering.  If we're going down like the Titanic, we might as well have something pretty to look at on the way down...

Lest we forget, John McCain was clearly a more qualified candidate for President, but B-Rock Obama's charm and what some considered to be good looks won the day.  McCain's running mate, Palin, is hotness personified but she wasn't at the top of the ticket and we want the hotness on top in this country.

Even here in Oklahoma, no one would argue that Randy Brogdon was somehow lacking in intellect nor in his grasp of Constitutional issues.  Mary was just hotter.  She wears skirts everywhere she goes, she has a pretty face, a warm and welcoming smile...Randy just looked pissed off.  The hotness quotient overcame Randy and there was no looking back.  It's part of the Oklahoma "vayues."

Now, we look to Delaware where the Tea Party candidate is giving the Republican establishment candidate fits.  Christine O'Donnell is a conservative Tea Party candidate who has championed the cause of hardcore conservatism and a social conservative message that tickles the fancy of the religious community and her smile and attractive features appeal to the rest of the Delaware GOP electorate.  She is much hotter than her opponent - which goes without saying - and he knows it.  The GOP establishment is intensely pissed off about the fact that a candidate with some real experience may be beaten by a hottie who has difficulty putting thoughts together without cue cards.  In Delaware, real experience matters to the GOP.  Not so much in Oklahoma...but I digress.  Christine is adorable, though, and would make a great running mate for Sarah Palin in 2012. 

Speaking of Sarah...she has been endorsing candidates, appearing at $250/per person events with radio/television host Glenn Beck and doing as many Fox News interviews as humanly possible.  Why?  Duh.  She is gearing up for her run for President in 2012 and I, for one, will vote for her in a heartbeat.  I realize that she's not exactly America's brain-trust, but as I mentioned previously, real qualifications for office don't mean squat these days and the electorate are tired of "real issues" anyway.  Never before in the history of this great country have we had a potential candidate for the Oval Office who has legs that could rival Angelina Jolie (yes, I used Palin and Jolie in the same paragraph).  Sarah is approachable, which adds to the hotness factor because in our twisted minds, men tend to relate approachability to opportunity.  She hunts (hot).  She isn't a member of Mensa (hot - see statement on "opportunity").  And she isn't really afraid to speak her mind about what she perceives as evil in the world - red meat for the John Birchers.  And she's from Alaska - the last frontier of the Americas and you know she's rugged and it's cold there, so she probably likes to snuggle.  Who wouldn't want to do some snuggling with Sarah?  I mean, really.  Sarah is, by far, the most attractive person in the Republican Party and it will make her the nominee.  I mean, think about it...Romney is handsome and has a hotness quotient, but he is too polished and that scares us.  Newt is losing his mind and reports are that he doesn't even believe his own hype and Republicans haven't completely checked out intellectually just yet on a national level.  I want Palin/O'Donnell on the ticket in 2012.

Now, we turn to Oklahoma where the hotness factor applies in state races, not Congressional races.  Take the Bold and Beautiful of the statewide races, for example.  Ken Miller and Todd Lamb are polished, handsome and could easily be on the cover of Political GQ Magazine.  They have warm smiles, look good in photographs and have surrounded themselves with hotties in their campaigns as well.  They are the new, the fresh, the young and the attractive of the Oklahoma GOP.  In a debate with his rival Kenneth Corn, Lamb could easily respond to every question with a smile, a wink and say, "Yeah, but I look gooood," and women in the audience would swoon.  Much the same for Ken Miller who has similar charm.  Ken doesn't even really have an opponent - his good looks scared off even Scott Meacham from running for re-election.  Meacham probably came to the realization that the hotness factor would pimp-slap him come November.  It scared him so much that the long time Democrat came out and actually endorsed Miller.  Now that is hotness personified. 

So, that's my take on how the hotness factor comes into play this November and again in 2012.

Enjoy. 

Note:  There was some sarcasm included in the above blog entry...so, don't take it (or yourself) too seriously.