Monday, December 8, 2008
Congress / Kotz / Politics / Presidential Politics Why Zach Wamp Would Make a Very Scary Governor
Posted by Pete Kotz on Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 2:06 PM
Sunday's Tennessean had an interesting story regarding Tennessee Republicans' defense of President Bush. Over the past few weeks, the White House has launched a major offensive to recast Bush as The President Who Didn't Suck As Bad As You May Think--no easy task when he owns the lowest favorability ratings since such things were recorded.
But one defense stood out. Chattanooga Congressman Zach Wamp, who's eyeing a run for governor, implied that Bush's aides simply didn't provide the proper spin. We'll let Wamp do the talking:
"The way they've communicated what they've done has been miserable," Wamp said. "The way they handled the war with 'Mission Accomplished' was a low point and set them up for failure, taking away a chance to ever have momentum. The way they communicated the response to Hurricane Katrina left everyone puzzled and wondering if they could even respond. What they communicated was much worse, just showing the president flying over the damage. This is a man who would relish getting into the water and getting people out of the water. But the way they handled it made it look like he wasn't engaged. They didn't make him look like the compassionate leader he is. This is a man who loves to cut wood and sweat, and it didn't come through. People lost confidence.
"With the plan for the financial crisis, they set it up for failure. They put more fear in the marketplace and heightened the problem in the way they communicated. Communication is key. I tell young people, you better learn to communicate."
Let's break down this burst of delusion, shall we?
Reality Check #2: It wasn't Bush's fault. It was his aides. Notice how the Wampster keeps using the word "they," as if mysterious henchmen continually forced the president to screw up. In the real world, this is known as blaming one's underlings, a cowardly technique invoked by hate bosses everywhere. Doesn't the president, being the boss of the world and all, have final say over these things?
Reality Check #3: "They didn't make him look like the compassionate leader he is. This is a man who loves to cut wood and sweat, and it didn't come through." Here's where the Wampster really leaves the rails. During Bush's post-9/11 popularity, this was the image that made him popular--the down-home guy reluctantly thrust onto the national stage, when he'd really rather be clearing brush and wearing a manly cowboy hat. Forget that Bush is a third-generation Connecticut blue-blood who's likely never done a day's hard labor in his life, save for brief moments when the cameras are around. And forget that his presidency was devoid of compassionate acts. (Quick, can you name one?) The miracle is that he was able to run the down-home scam for so long before everyone discovered he was a buffoon.
Reality Check #4: The financial crisis was spurred by a lack of communication. The Wampster's clearly got a hold of some very good crack. What is he trying to say here? That if we only talked about bunnies and ice cream, there wouldn't be a global recession from Murfreesboro to China?
It all leads to a pretty clear picture of Zach Wamp's thesis on politics: Substance is way overrated, and bullshit cures all. Do we really want this guy as our governor?
Comments (5)
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He learned about blame and not taking responsibility from his fearless leaders, B&C. "They" must be exhausted though since "they" do so much messing up.
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The people of this fair state would probably elect Sarah Palin tomorrow if it were possible, so I expect Wamp's bullshit will fly very well. (If bullshit is in any way capable of flying, that is.)
Isn't bullshit that dangerous stuff if piled on top of itself eventually explodes?
I thought I would point out that Zach Wamp does not have a college education. Is that not something you would consider necessary for a governor in today's world? (Look at the poorly educated governor of Alaska, for example...lol). He may have attended both UNC-Chapel Hill & UT-Knoxville, but he did not graduate from either. He then started working at Olan Mills Photos and eventually became a realtor. We have just seen over the past 8 years what it is like to have an uneducated president, or one whose father buys his education from a good school. We have also seen in this election that complete idiots can get nominated for the vice presidency (i.e. Sarah Palin, who attended 6 different colleges before graduating with a bachelor's degree). Anyone who is poorly educated would likely make a "very scary Governor" or Senator, much less a Congressional Representative. If we have to elect a Republican governor, would it not be best to elect someone who is educated and a moderate (like State Rep. Beth Harwell, who has a Ph.D. in Psychology and is a former college professor)? Electing a moderate Republican or another moderate Democrat to the Governor's office would surely be better than one of the Evangelical far right-wingers like Zach Wamp, Jason Mumpower, Marsha Blackburn (cringe), Jamie Woodson, Jim Bryson, and the like, who will try to impose their moral views on everyone else through legislation. Perhaps Rosalind Kurita wouldn't be so bad as a Governor either...I actually see her vote for Ramsey as a sign of bipartisanship. Even Bill Frist, as I much as I disagree with his policies, is well-educated and intelligent, and he would probably do a much better job than Zach Wamp.
"What they communicated was much worse, just showing the president flying over the damage. This is a man who would relish getting into the water and getting people out of the water."
The reason the advisors didn't show the president getting into the water and getting them out was because it didn't happen. And who needs advisors to tell them what is right?
Anyways, anyone who has traveled via I-24 towards Chattanooga has probably noticed Wamp's visage on billboards (as recently as Thanksgiving weekend). I was wondering why they were still up, especially after he wasn't even seriously contested to begin with. I guess I now know. He's trying to get better known statewide.
