Fred "Sincerity" Thompson
I loved this post by Kevin Drum. Now that the right-wing blogs are pitching tents over Fred Thompson's presidential bid ("He's not a RINO like Bush, but the real deal!"), it'll come as no surprise whatsoever to learn that Thompson has a record of pulling 180s on hot-button issues, milking a completely bogus "man of the people" schtick. So.... how is he not like Bush?
Noam Scheiber thinks that before long, everyone will have heard about the phony everyman schtick that Fred Thompson employed during his 1994 Senate campaign:
[I]n fact, the red pickup is even phonier than Scheiber and Somerby make it sound. Not only was the truck rented, but Thompson didn't even deign to drive the thing himself. . .
Basically, he just drove the thing the final few hundred feet before each campaign event, and then ditched it for something nicer as soon as he was out of sight of the yokels.
Wow, the GOP hopeful that kooks are writing love letters to is actually a smarmy prick with contempt for the working class? I can hardly (yawn) believe it.
More at the link-- including the rather sensible reaction from the Daily Howler that we probably won't be hearing any more about this as long as the Democratic candidates do anything more extravagant than live on rice and beans in Quonset huts.
Still, it would be awfully nice if some journalist out there somewhere could point out that while Gore, Kerry and Edwards are all wealthy men, they actually mean to do something for the rest of us-- unlike the wealthy men who've run the show for the last six years and don't give a damn who they fuck over.
Noam Scheiber thinks that before long, everyone will have heard about the phony everyman schtick that Fred Thompson employed during his 1994 Senate campaign:
And the predictable punchline:By the time Fred Thompson decides whether or not to join the presidential fray, you will have heard the story of his red pickup truck at least a dozen times. The truck in question is a 1990 Chevy, which the famed statesman-thespian rented during his maiden Senate campaign in 1994. The idea was that Thompson would dress up in blue jeans and shabby boots and drive himself to campaign events around the state.
[I]n fact, the red pickup is even phonier than Scheiber and Somerby make it sound. Not only was the truck rented, but Thompson didn't even deign to drive the thing himself. . .
Basically, he just drove the thing the final few hundred feet before each campaign event, and then ditched it for something nicer as soon as he was out of sight of the yokels.
Wow, the GOP hopeful that kooks are writing love letters to is actually a smarmy prick with contempt for the working class? I can hardly (yawn) believe it.
More at the link-- including the rather sensible reaction from the Daily Howler that we probably won't be hearing any more about this as long as the Democratic candidates do anything more extravagant than live on rice and beans in Quonset huts.
Still, it would be awfully nice if some journalist out there somewhere could point out that while Gore, Kerry and Edwards are all wealthy men, they actually mean to do something for the rest of us-- unlike the wealthy men who've run the show for the last six years and don't give a damn who they fuck over.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 4:02 PM
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