Labels? We Don't Need No Steenkin Labels!

I guess we sorta took a pass on this nonsense the past 24 hours. I think because it's much ado about nothing, and others have already put it into the proper context. Meaningless claptrap from unimportant politicos.

We have our fair share of dustups and disagreements around this joint, because we're dorks, but at least we're informed dorks. It's just amusing to me to see the second pathetic attempt to shape public opinion about an actual grassroot movement with another contrived "movement" (Coffee Party II: The Reasoning).

The problem with this approach, aside from it being so very contrived (and that's no small problem), is the "label" charge doesn't stick like it used to. That was no accident, that upheaval in November, which shook not only the US House of Representatives like you're not supposed to shake a baby, but state houses throughout the country. As recently as this week, Dem state reps are defecting to the Republican "labeled" party. Two in Texas, giving Rs a 101 to 49 seat advantage.

The only politicians who want to shed a label these days are the ones who want to shed the "loser" label.

I mean, come on. Charlie Crist? Mark McKinnon? Really?

"No Labels" is like John Belushi's sweatshirt in Animal House. There's a kind of affinity expressed, "College", but you sorta get the feeling "Mr. Blutarsky, Mister. Blutarsky. Zero-point-zero" really isn't committed to the concept of higher education, except perhaps as it pertains to raising hell and falling off ladders.

It's not so much "shedding 'labels'" as it is trying to pin any label onto the conservative side and calling it "extreme" (extreme, it means "bad" to the "no labels" crowd, if it's conservative). A weak appeal to the middle. But the middle has already been exercised into motion at the ballot box, and oddly enough, they chose a label. Like Vikings they chose a label.

You can call it "Republican" or you can call it "Not this awful shit we've had for 2 years".

It's still a label.

*thanks Andy for the McKinnon link. Why this political whore has any credibility left is someone else's guess. Probably could have reduced this post to Mark McKinnon, No Label.

posted by Dave In Texas at 11:43 PM

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