Freak Shows for Dean

The Club for Growth has been airing a second ad in Iowa attacking Dean. According to the Washington Times:

In the ad, a farmer says he thinks that "Howard Dean should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading ..." before the farmer's wife then finishes the sentence: "... Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont, where it belongs."

So what is that ad saying? Is it trying to imply that people who do these things aren't welcome in Iowa? Is this directed at Dean or his supporters, or both? And since when are balancing budgets and getting perfect ratings from the NRA "left-wing"?

Whatever the ad's trying to say, it's brilliant. I mean, they got me. Ok, they didn't get it perfect, but close enough for horseshoes or hand grenades. I don't want to hike taxes, but I do want to redistrbute the tax burden. I don't want to expand government, but would like it to work better (more efficiently, to use the language neocons can understand), and for the benefit of citizens rather than for the benefit of corporations. I drink lattes occasionally, but mostly I'm just a coffee w/a bit of milk kind of person. Sushi's great, but I eat it rarely. I've never driven a Volvo, but I do think the new Cross Country is an awesome vehicle. Volvos are also infamous for being among the safest cars on the road, so is the Club for Growth trying to say that wanting to be safe is some kind of freak-show thing? I used to read the New York Times online fairly regularly, but have tried to avoid it since it started charging for access to articles older than a few days. I don't love Hollywood—but I do enjoy watching movies (who doesn't)? And left-wing? Yeah, sure. Freak show? You got me.

Freak Shows for Dean!

Now, will someone please make a t-shirt of this? (The URL is available, too!)

You could probably also sell a few of these shirts to the folks at Wyoming for Dean, too. Not a lot of sushi in Wyoming, they're not much into tax hikes or big government, nor do many people I know there read the New York Times. But one thing Wyoming-ites love to do is to give the "Eastern establishment" the finger, and what better way to do that than to support the candidate the establishment seems intent on discrediting?

In other election news, the first "primary" in the nation is this Tuesday, right here in DC. No, it's not binding, but it's still worth the effort to vote for your candidate just to give him/her that extra little boost to take into Iowa and New Hampshire. Besides, a bigger turnout will help D.C.'s cause, and all D.C. wants is equality. Meanwhile, thousands of volunteers are descending on Iowa in preparation for the Jan. 19th caucus, and Clark is supposedly surging in New Hampshire.

It should all be very interesting, but you know, I'm ready for a decision. Time's a-wasting kids. It's time to get a Democratic nominee chosen so the Democrats can start fighting the real battle—against the Bush Republicans.

Posted January 11, 2004 09:24 AM | election 2004