HELLO FIRST AMENDMENT CLUEPHONE FOR YOU

[rone]

Via modrnwrld_blog, Josh Marshall writes:

This week RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie sent [Rock The Vote] a 'cease and desist' letter threatening legal action against the group and raising the possibility of seeking the revocation of the group's status as a tax-exempt 501c3 organization if the group did not cease discussing the draft issue.

Claims that a draft is possible, Gillespie argued, are so ridiculous on their face that the the group could only be acting from 'malicious intent and a reckless disregard for the truth.'

This isn't some dinky state GOP outfit, like the one in New Mexico that wanted loyalty oaths.  This is the freakin' national chairman.

Comments

I suppose he has a tiny point, even if it is on top of his head.

[palecur.livejournal.com]

The malicious intent I think we can pretty much take for granted, and the reckless disregard for truth is more or less facially obvious. Nonetheless, yeesh. Not realizing that (a) revocation will never happen and (b) trying will make you look like a titanic jackass in front of the nation is pretty much grounds for firing for reasons of terminal cluelessness. Goddamn, people.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

The malicious intent I think we can pretty much take for granted

I'M IN LOVE WITH THIS MALICIOUS INTENT

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

I think there's a sanity litmus test to achieve top posts in political parties. Terry McAuliffe (head of the DNC) is an outrageous loon almost worthy of third-party lunatic status. Almost, not quite -- he's smooth on camera and can effectively shout down those whom he needs to shout down. And, as far as I know, he has not advocated blowing up the UN ... Fine, I'll be fair to Badnarik. He did say that he'd give seven days notice first so that everyone could get their pencils out. He was mum on whether those would be seven business days or seven straight periods of 24 hours.

I'm sure that as a Repub, Gillespie must've written numerous threatening comments to the UN. It's in the script.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

You know, i was wondering about that; how did Terry McAuliffe end up heading the DNC when i've never heard of this clown in my life except as Head of DNC? Can't we just nuke DC and start over? Pretty please?

[lots42.livejournal.com]

But you'd hurt the Smithsonian museums of you nuke DC!

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

You've got to break a few eggs to make an omelette, sonny boy.

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

Seriously? I think it's True Believer syndrome. It's the same thing that makes third party politics so full of loons.

It's one thing to have partisan politics. Most people do. It's not a bad thing -- we have more important things to do with our lives than worry about every little political issue. By roughly or even strongly aligning ourselves with a particular party, we allow the party to represent us except in areas where it matters to us. If we worried about every political issue, we'd never get anything done. How can we possibly read a novel when there's abortion to think about again?

But the people who run the political parties, these are the true believers. Political positions and influences are all these guys think about. You may spend 30-60 hours per week maintaining a data center and wondering if foregoing the Windows server altogether will make thngs better. These guys spend practically all the hours in their weeks wondering how to spin farm subsidies. And, of course, if you add third party fringe philosophy to the mix, then you've got a true believer who is always in the minority.

I don't think you can be a normal person and run a political party.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

You make me weep with your words.

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

You make me laugh with your tears. Yummy yummy tears of salty sadness.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Don't show that guy the Avengers issue where the UN did explode. (There were no deaths because that was how the supervillian planned it)

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

What kind of supervillian has a plan to blow something up that specifically avoids deaths? I reject his supervillian status! REJECT, I say!

[lots42.livejournal.com]

He wanted people to surrender to him. You can't surrender if you're a smoking pile of ash.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

They do have a point. Draft claims are ridiculous. And seeing as how it causes such a negative impression, I imagine it gets pretty close to slander or libel. But I'm not a lawyer.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Oh boy! If we're going to start calling things that cause a negative impression "slander or libel", i've got one hell of a laundry list for the GOP!

[lots42.livejournal.com]

I meant to convey that if you accuse an orginization of trying to start a draft, that's much much worse, in the public eye, then if you accuse an orginization of say, littering.

"These guys want to enslave your children and send them off to die" can cause a much worse impression then "They litter!" if the general public starts to believe you

[erikred.livejournal.com]

The odds of anyone successfully bringing back the draft AND getting re-elected are as close to none as makes no odds.

More likely, but still remote, is a Skills Draft (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/13/MNG905K1BC1.DTL), with the government amending Selective Service to require males and females aged 18 to 34 to register and indicate their current occupational skills.  Apparently, the adminstration needs more truck drivers, doctors, foreign language speakers, and computer operators.

Again, this is remote, and all that's happening now are the preliminary stages (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/164693_draft13.html) (i.e., writing up the rules and procedures on the slim chance that someone calls for it later on).

A leading conscientious objector organization has this to say about the whole issue. (http://www.nisbco.org/UAA/03152004.html)

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Skills draft? Hell, half the people chosen will just say 'I'm gay!' and the goverment will run screaming in fear

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I always liked the line Jesse Taylor of Pandagon (http://www.pandagon.net/) used once on an Army recruiter: "Sorry, I'm super gay." I suppose he figured he make it super gay to be on the safe side.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

"Not just a little gay — full-blown Liberace gay!"

[erikred.livejournal.com]

How about a whisper campaign mischaracterizing a man's adopted child (http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/aug/081904.htm)?

The idea of the RNC assuming the moral high ground in a game of dirty politics defies belief and redefines chutzpah.

Pot and kettle.

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Heh. Spot on. Should have read your comment before writing mine.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Dirty pool by one side doesn't not (what's the word) mean it's okay for the other side to do crap

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Absolutely true. It does, however, weaken the moral position of the egregious offender in crying foul.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I didn't think a draft was actually very likely until this moment.

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

A nasty cynical person might suspect that he simply wanted to tie them up with litigation and lawyers until the elections had passed, or that the RNC Chairman reckoned the threat of hefty legal fees would scare 'em off...