Hyperreal Film Club
Blowin' in the Wind(bag)
RECEIVED Tue., Aug. 2, 2016
Dear Editor,
Louis Black's column "Page Two: Darkness on the Edge of Town" [July 29] asserts that if voters scrutinized the Green and Libertarian candidates for president, they would be disillusioned and find that they were mistaken in the "feeling that they somehow represent a fully fresh wind." And then Black buries the lede by not giving examples of how these two candidates are allegedly not all that different than the two majority party candidates.
To correct that curious omission, here's a somewhat tongue-in-cheek comparison of the four candidates:
Trump: does not appear to have read the Constitution, or if so, comprehended it. Panders to the views of whatever audience is before him at the moment, with no concern if those purported beliefs violently contradict what he has said earlier in the day, or even earlier in the same sentence. A right-wing statist authoritarian whose political philosophy boils down to "I deserve to be president."
Clinton: appears to have read the Constitution, and thinks it needs a great deal of editing to be relevant today, or perhaps just get fed into a wood chipper. Carefully panders to the views of whatever her consultants say focus groups composed of wavering voters in swing states say they would like to hear. A left-wing statist authoritarian whose political philosophy boils down to "I deserve to be president."
Stein (Green Party): A more environmentally radical version of Bernie Sanders anti-capitalism who says on her website that reform is "being blocked by political parties that serve the corporate elite, not the people." Appears, like Bernie Sanders, to actually believe the words coming out of her mouth.
Johnson (Libertarian Party): A gay, barely in the closet, pot-smoking small-l libertarian who was the former governor of New Mexico. Appears to be a genuinely nice person who refuses to go negative on the campaign trail. Appears to actually believe the words coming out of his mouth. Favors free markets, free minds, tolerance of diverse lifestyles.
You can argue whether the latter two choices are a "fully fresh wind" – hell, part of the appeal of Trump to his supporters is that he is a fully fresh windbag – but they both seem to actually believe what they say.
Louis Black's column "Page Two: Darkness on the Edge of Town" [July 29] asserts that if voters scrutinized the Green and Libertarian candidates for president, they would be disillusioned and find that they were mistaken in the "feeling that they somehow represent a fully fresh wind." And then Black buries the lede by not giving examples of how these two candidates are allegedly not all that different than the two majority party candidates.
To correct that curious omission, here's a somewhat tongue-in-cheek comparison of the four candidates:
Trump: does not appear to have read the Constitution, or if so, comprehended it. Panders to the views of whatever audience is before him at the moment, with no concern if those purported beliefs violently contradict what he has said earlier in the day, or even earlier in the same sentence. A right-wing statist authoritarian whose political philosophy boils down to "I deserve to be president."
Clinton: appears to have read the Constitution, and thinks it needs a great deal of editing to be relevant today, or perhaps just get fed into a wood chipper. Carefully panders to the views of whatever her consultants say focus groups composed of wavering voters in swing states say they would like to hear. A left-wing statist authoritarian whose political philosophy boils down to "I deserve to be president."
Stein (Green Party): A more environmentally radical version of Bernie Sanders anti-capitalism who says on her website that reform is "being blocked by political parties that serve the corporate elite, not the people." Appears, like Bernie Sanders, to actually believe the words coming out of her mouth.
Johnson (Libertarian Party): A gay, barely in the closet, pot-smoking small-l libertarian who was the former governor of New Mexico. Appears to be a genuinely nice person who refuses to go negative on the campaign trail. Appears to actually believe the words coming out of his mouth. Favors free markets, free minds, tolerance of diverse lifestyles.
You can argue whether the latter two choices are a "fully fresh wind" – hell, part of the appeal of Trump to his supporters is that he is a fully fresh windbag – but they both seem to actually believe what they say.
Jim Henshaw