OMG did you hear? DID YOU HEAR? Tom Harkin, liberal senator from Iowa, DID A SEXISM on the next senator from the great state of Iowa, Joni Ernst, by saying you shouldn't vote for someone just because she is "attractive" and "seems nice." OH NOOOOOOOO wait what?
The problem with Bachmann is that big, hairy, impossible-to-ignore wart in the middle of her face called "Batshit Crazy." It completely obscures whatever attractive features she might have.
Harkin is speaking a truth by citing physical appearance as a factor. It does have an effect, whether we like it or not. But in citing the two politicians as examples he is saying that superficial appearances <i>shouldn&#039;t</i> count for so much because they aren&#039;t reliable indicators of anything that really matters in a candidate. In elections decided by an informed and engaged electorate, a candidate&#039;s physical features have rarely made a critical difference.
It&#039;s hard to articulate intelligent positions on important matters when all you can <strike>think</strike> talk about is pig castration, especially if you&#039;re Joni Ernst.
This gets at something that really drives me nuts in every election cycle. Such controversies are media-driven or at least media-facilitated to an unhealthy degree, and despite all of the attention they garner, none of them are ever about anything that is actually important. I see it in the races in my district and in those of the three states that are in my local media&#039;s market. It doesn&#039;t matter if a candidate has ever run a business, has ever served in the military, has ever worked on a farm or in a factory, or is &quot;just like you.&quot; The only thing that matters is how he or she is going to vote on bills in Congress for the next two years and whether those votes will be in the direction that you favor. Especially lately that includes which party caucus -- Republican (conservative) or Democrat (liberal) -- the candidate will align with. The only thing that we send representatives to Washington to do is to craft and vote on legislation. It&#039;s the only thing in their job description and the only thing that we are paying them to do. We aren&#039;t paying them to stroke our egos or to make us feel good. None of the BS that occupies all of the air time and grabs all of the media&#039;s attention during campaigns is ever the slightest bit relevant or important.
Like all good Real Merkins, I don&#039;t see physical attractiveness. Furthermore, I have an ugly friend, so I clearly cant have biases based on beauty. Tom Harkin is the real bigot because he notices!
Well if Braley wasn&#039;t so fucking ugly, Handsome Tom Harkin wouldn&#039;t have to go out there and point out that it&#039;s not a beauty contest. (It&#039;s a beauty contest.)
It didn&#039;t help that her Dem opponent stuck his foot in his mouth and said something disparaging about Grassley being &ldquo;a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school&rdquo;. Because insulting farmers and praising lawyers is definitely a winning ticket in Iowa...
When I saw this on the news this morning I couldn&#039;t believe how everyone was getting their knickers in a wad over this. As Old Handsome Joe can attest- sometimes stating an obvious, but not PC, truth is considered a gaffe.
The problem with Bachmann is that big, hairy, impossible-to-ignore wart in the middle of her face called &quot;Batshit Crazy.&quot; It completely obscures whatever attractive features she might have.
Harkin is speaking a truth by citing physical appearance as a factor. It does have an effect, whether we like it or not. But in citing the two politicians as examples he is saying that superficial appearances <i>shouldn&#039;t</i> count for so much because they aren&#039;t reliable indicators of anything that really matters in a candidate. In elections decided by an informed and engaged electorate, a candidate&#039;s physical features have rarely made a critical difference.
It&#039;s hard to articulate intelligent positions on important matters when all you can <strike>think</strike> talk about is pig castration, especially if you&#039;re Joni Ernst.
Michael Kinsley famously defined &quot;political gaffe&quot; as an occasion when a politician accidentally tells the truth.
Harkin was commenting on people who commented on Ernst&#039;s appearance.
This gets at something that really drives me nuts in every election cycle. Such controversies are media-driven or at least media-facilitated to an unhealthy degree, and despite all of the attention they garner, none of them are ever about anything that is actually important. I see it in the races in my district and in those of the three states that are in my local media&#039;s market. It doesn&#039;t matter if a candidate has ever run a business, has ever served in the military, has ever worked on a farm or in a factory, or is &quot;just like you.&quot; The only thing that matters is how he or she is going to vote on bills in Congress for the next two years and whether those votes will be in the direction that you favor. Especially lately that includes which party caucus -- Republican (conservative) or Democrat (liberal) -- the candidate will align with. The only thing that we send representatives to Washington to do is to craft and vote on legislation. It&#039;s the only thing in their job description and the only thing that we are paying them to do. We aren&#039;t paying them to stroke our egos or to make us feel good. None of the BS that occupies all of the air time and grabs all of the media&#039;s attention during campaigns is ever the slightest bit relevant or important.
Excellent example. All the looks in the world cannot compensate for an ugly voting record.
Like all good Real Merkins, I don&#039;t see physical attractiveness. Furthermore, I have an ugly friend, so I clearly cant have biases based on beauty. Tom Harkin is the real bigot because he notices!
ALL GLORY TO THE <strike>ONE-L</strike> HYPNOTOAD!
So that thudding sound was all the Republican pearl-clutchers falling onto their fainting couches. then?
Well if Braley wasn&#039;t so fucking ugly, Handsome Tom Harkin wouldn&#039;t have to go out there and point out that it&#039;s not a beauty contest. (It&#039;s a beauty contest.)
It didn&#039;t help that her Dem opponent stuck his foot in his mouth and said something disparaging about Grassley being &ldquo;a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school&rdquo;. Because insulting farmers and praising lawyers is definitely a winning ticket in Iowa...
Idiots Out Walking Around
When I saw this on the news this morning I couldn&#039;t believe how everyone was getting their knickers in a wad over this. As Old Handsome Joe can attest- sometimes stating an obvious, but not PC, truth is considered a gaffe.
It&#039;s hard to sing and play guitar when all you can think about is castration, unless you&#039;re Joni Ernst.
Teach the controversy!