Monday, October 30, 2006

Why does the GOP hate writers?

The answer, of course, is that they don't. Not really. But to convince the mouth-breathers in Virginia that James Webb is a sex-obsessed misogynist his opponent, George Allen, says certain passages from Webb's novels give him the vapors.

This from a manly man whose executive experience consists primarily of being a tackling dummy for some football team I'm too lazy to look up on the Google.

Not that Mr. Football has read Jim Webb's books, but he's read enough to know he doesn't like them. He says they demean women. It seems the only fiction Allen embraces is the Bush foreign policy.

If you're not familiar with James Webb, he's a real lefty moonbat. He's an Annapolis grad, a former Marine officer, served as Secretary of the Navy under Reagan and he writes novels based on his combat experience in the Vietnam war. So it's no wonder that Mr. Football and the other chickenhawks of the GOP don't get it.

But we all know that they do get it. They just hope there are enough stupid people in Virginia that don't get it so Mr. Football can return his punk ass to the Senate.

Mr. Football's ally in this appeal to the influential Stupid Wing of the GOP is the deeply closeted fedora fondler, Matt Drudge, a guy whose journalistic integrity makes the National Enquirer look like the Christian Science Monitor.

In hushed tones of feigned outrage, Mr. Football's staff say that the excerpts taken from Webb's novels "reflect poorly on Webb's character and fitness for office."

Pesky people who actually read have had the bad manners to mention a book written by Mr. Football's sister, a woman who described her brother as a physically abusive jerk, and Lynn Cheney's notorious foray into fiction, "Sisters" that reportedly sports graphic scenes of lesbian lust. I haven't read Cheney's book, I admit, but based on that report I'm looking forward to the movie.

In an interview on CNN, Cheney said Webb was "full of baloney." I love that. When was the last time you heard someone say a guy was full of baloney? 1956? She also denied that she wrote anything sexual in "Sisters" because she knew that no one had actually read her book. It's so out of print, not even the Washington Post could find a copy.

Mr. Football added that his sister's book was a "novelization" whatever the hell that means, and that he was sad that the campaign had deteriorated into "...negative personal attacks and baseless allegations ..." He then said that Jim Webb was a baby killer.

One of Webb's people responded to Mr. Football, "Perhaps if you had gone to Vietnam and served as a company commander instead of serving as a driver at a dude ranch, you would temper your feigned indignation."

Even John Grisham chimed in. "This is a clear sign of a desperate campaign if they plow through novels trying to find evidence of character. I seriously doubt George Allen is much of a reader, but if he would read more, maybe he would understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction."

John McCain had praised Webb and his novels before but now that he's kissing as much GOP ass as he can in his bid for the White House, he was, for the first time in memory, unavailable for comment.

So be careful what you write, boys and girls, if you have any aspirations to high office. Myself, I'm burning my book and this blog.

Because I'm happy to announce that I'm forming an exploratory committee to assess the viability of a run for the presidency in 2008.

Donations are encouraged and the ambassador's post to Tahiti is now up for bid.

4 comments:

Stephen Blackmoore said...

The thing that bothers me here is not that he has made the attack on Webb, but rather that there are people who will not vote for him for exactly that reason. To hell with the issues, the man's credentials, his abilities as a leader, or if his views match theirs.

No, instead let's twist his literary honesty, showing sexual themes or having his fictional characters do things that are consistent with their personalities or reactions to time and place, and say that it's about his "character".

Does he have indictments against him for bribery? Does he have a history of graft? I don't know, but if this is what's being used to attack him I'd hazard a guess that the answer is no.

The sin that Allen is trying to illustrate here isn't a sin of action, or ethics, it's a sin of imagination. How dare Webb imagine such things. How dare his mind go into such areas as war and conflict and sex, what it does to people and how they deal with it.

And, pathetically, some people will buy it. Because they're so intellectually stunted and unaware to realize that the writer and the work are not the same thing. God forbid anyone judge me for my writing. Hell, I'm afraid to Google myself. I know what's out there.

But on a different note, what's the budget for that post in Tahiti?

Anonymous said...

I'll assume that when you say the Tahaitian ambassador's post is up for bid, what you're really saying is it's mine and that the bidding process is only a sham to make it seem fair. I look forward to wearing a grass skirt and drowning myself in fruity drinks while representing my country.

Brett Battles said...

Damn you, Shelby!! I want Tahiti!

Stephen Blackmoore said...

Shelby wants Tahiti. Brett wants Tahiti. There's only one way to solve this.

Cage match. Two men in. One man out.

It's a model that I personally believe should replace the Electoral College.