Dear Friend and Reader,
If you want to find an equivalent political animal inВ modern politicsВ who could match Obama’s new Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s intensity,В it would probably beВ former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land, TX). Yes, THAT Tom Delay. That ruthless, backdoor-dealing, trouble-making Congressman who single-handedly wielded control over House Republicans and brought new meaning to the words “party discipline.”
DeLay helpedВ commandeer the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 and cheerlead President George W. Bush throughout his term until indicted for corruption in 2005, resigning from his House seat in 2006. In his heyday during the 104th Congress (1995–1997), DeLay described the Republican leadership as a “triumvirate” of Newt Gingrich, “the visionary;” Dick Armey, “the “Policy wonk;” and himself, “the ditch digger who makes it all happen.”
Known for usingВ heavy-handed measures to insure party loyalty to the President by his house peers, DeLay’s was the hand from whom other Republicans fed. First, by helping them raise money for their election campaigns, and second by wielding, through the power of tit-for-tat, bonuses for their cooperation to get legislation through for the party and the White House — which was one and the same during W’s term.
Help in fundraising is the key to any modern-day politician’s heart. How else are you going to pay for all that air time, staff time and postage to get you elected in your district? Delay was mighty successful in getting big-check donors to support the small district candidates needed to make a “permanent Republican majority” in the House and Senate. No wonder House Republicans heeled at his beck and call. If they didn’t, they’d have to be running bake sales to finance their campaigns. If you buckled and didn’t go Delay’s way in the House, your upstairs office with a view would be boxed up and your desk moved downstairs to the darkest part of the basement of the Capitol Building. Next to the janitor’s closet.
In terms of intensity and ruthlessness, we’ve been told from our sources under condition of anonymityВ (they didn’t want their house burned down) that Delay wishes he could be Emanuel. It seems that Rahm is very comfortable, as my anonymous source said, “in fitting an enemy for their concrete shoes.”
As fundraiser, few could match Emanuel’s capacity for audacity: Just ask any big-ticket donor on the other end of the phone when the Jennifer Flowers scandal first threatened to drown the nascent but popular Clinton campaign in 1992. It was Rahm Emanuel raising money for his candidate when all but the Clinton inner circle thought Bill’s campaign was dead in the water. Emanuel’s work gathering money helped vault Bill and Hillary safely through that rough patch, and on to the nomination.
From the time of his election as Congressman for Illionois 5th District (North Chicago), Emanuel made himself indispensible to fellow Democrats, helping to raise millions of dollars for the DCCC, (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, alsoВ called “D-Trip” by insiders), which provided the central source for campaign funds for congressional Democrats. You could see Emanuel’s career trajectory in the House — if he stayed on and fundraised as chair of D-Trip, he could have eventually made himself Speaker of the House, with the eager support of all those Congresspeople whose careersВ made through his fundraising.
So what could have been going on in Emanuel’s head when Obama tapped him in the end of October, a time considered to be a bit earlyВ to be announcing a WH COS pick? What went on in Emanuel’s mind, after the election results for those 18 hours before announcing he would accept? More importantly — what was Obama thinking? During the campaign, Emanuel had a win-win situation on his hands. During the primaries he could bank on either his former relationship with the Clintons and work in Congress on his Speakership trajectory if Hillary were the nominee.
Representing Illinois, he is already hoveringВ near the edges of the first rung of Obama’s power circle: Michelle, David Axelrod, David Plouffe. So an Obama win would position him perfectly in any direction. Rahm’s choice to come on board may be a good bellweather of what floats his boat, and having the ear and being the gatekeeper to the leader of the Free World probably suits Rahm just fine.
But what’s more important is the situation and the placement of Rahm Emanuel in the machinery under construction by Obama and his team. Even as Obama’s gatekeeper, Rahm will still be UNDER Obama, and taking his lead. Axelrod will be a few doors down to manage and keep his finger held high for the political winds at Obama’s back or in his face. Robert Gibbs as White House Communications Director is already prize real estate by the Democrats for his deft handling of wingnut pundits (remember his drubbing of Sean Hannity during the William Ayers flak in October?).
Obama isn’t playing around with the serious issues the country faces, nor with the hackneyed media, or recalcitrant Congresspeople. There’s years, decades of corruption, cynicism, and addiction to old ways of doing things in Washington, and this unlikely group of players, already coming close in team temperment to Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” for Abraham Lincoln, is this time,В poised to act as homeopathy on the gangrenous patient, which is Washington and America. It could very well be that Obama is using the very tactics and tacticians nurtured on the toxicity of Washington itself to clean it up.
Yours & truly,
Fe Bongolan from San Francisco
V –
It’s exactly what it sounds like: 200% of all registered voters in a given district/borough voted on election day. It wasn’t just one district affected, it was a large number that came up this way, or even some with 100% participation, statistical impossibilities both. This very coincidental outcome actually first happened in 2004, not just this year. Nothing was done about it then, this time around it may blow up the entire electoral process in Alaska. Another mystery that happened was that the reported percentages over the course of the evening last Tuesday almost never varied, 61 to 35% (and change) over hours of released tallies. No variations beyond 100ths of a percent up and down. Not to mention Diebold voting machines malfunctioning… Funny, apparently 2004 went exactly the same way, with the same percentages then as now.
Fe told us about this blog some time ago, and I’ve found it very educational about Alaskan politics over the last few weeks:
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/
The blue Alaskans there have been quite happy to have some lower 48 scrutiny of their politics, as far too much has gone rotten with no help from elsewhere. With one senator convicted of corruption now, the only state rep under investigation in the past (and probably is now), and Sarah Palin topping it all off, they need all the help they can muster. Too many people have been feeding at the trough of tax dollars for too long and it has become “business as normal” unfortunately. SP is no different in reality, and has been taking her ‘expense’ privileges all the way to the bank.
Brendan, Fe,
Thanks. Just needed a levelling out of the nightmare. It’s all possiblilites. Some can be terrifying. If only she would go away. Maybe we could launch her on the next “shuttle” to nowhere.
What is a 200% turnout? How can that be resolved?
Victoria –
The good news is that Sara Palin cannot be appointed to the Senate by any type of “arrangement” with her lieutenant governor upon her resignation as governor. She would have to run in a special election against whoever else would choose to run. The governor can’t appoint anyone at all: there is no exception.
Alaska changed their state constitution following a rather dramatic case of the then new governor (Frank Murkowski) appointing his own daughter (Lisa Murkowski) to the interim post to fill the vacancy he had just created. This was just in 2002, and by 2006, in the very same election that saw SP elected governor, the amendment was approved by the voters. Lisa Murkowski went on to win her own race the next time it came up, 2004 I believe, thus confusing everyone in Alaska.
Of course, if Ted loses the election anyway, this is all moot. Given that there are apparently quite a few discrepancies in the Alaska vote (200% turnout in some districts, turnout down by 12.5% {less than the primary or national levels}, slow vote counting with thousands of ‘questionable’ ballots), we may see some very interesting news from up north. She was also dragging her personal assistant (an old friend) along the campaign trail at state expense: full state salary and $1000/day in “expenses,” all of which don’t look good for someone who claims to be prudent with other people’s money.
I, too, am optimistic.
“Tell me I am wrong. An optomist does not survive without scars.”
Ahh victoria:
But an optimist does SURVIVE. The scars are part of the tempering process.
Palin becoming Senator may be unlikely given the count is looking better for Begich. I continue to be optimistic.
None of this will come easy, I am certain, but it will come.
The optimism for future and faith in the man is overwelmingly nice. The idealism is intoxicating. Being an optimist by nature the talk, the vision, the mission is more than palatable. It is something to dream on. But we are not quite sure yet where we are going to wake up, are we? And we do not dream for ourselves at this point, but for the collective balance in peace.
Meanwhile back at the ranch . . . the money supply is being centralized into the hands of the few. We have civil unrest in the pro and anti gay marriage and pro and anti choice groups. 50% of ca black voters voted for 8 because it’s what their church teaches? Our media pundits keep pressing the palin who by nature demands loyalty. Stevens is on the way out and palin may be headed to the senate. She has a rabid base. The culture war she can stir up can take us all down. These cultural issues will keep us all distracted while the rove underground continues their mission (old republican trick: talk abortion, do nothing). Our man obama is forced to make compromises that aren’t so palatable. And it is business as usual in Washington?
Tell me I am wrong. An optomist does not survive without scars.
Brendan:
I’m wondering the same thing. The thought is making me abit nauseous.
Fe –
Like the sleeping giants in the mountains, perhaps the corpse is so big we cannot see it yet. When we begin to see and hear of what was done in our name, it will be sorrowful indeed.
Brendan:
Not only Milosovic, but Ken Lay, who died before serving time.
Come to think about it, the right questions could begin with, “Who knew what and when?”. That would ring for 9-11, Iraq, Iran. Rendition. Geez–what else?
I feel as though we’re sniffing around and can smell a corpse nearby but can’t find it yet. We know there’s a dead body out there to provide evidence of the wrong doing, but just can’t place or e willing to tell where that evidence is.
I know certainly, just reading the papers, folks aren’t into sweeping things under the rug anymore. They want to be told the truth. How much of the truth we can stand is anyone’s guess. I sense its going to be hard to hear.
mystes:
I liken Obama’s Presidency to a train making a change in direction. Can’t be done precipitously. He’s a conductor taking the engine of the country through a wide arc to the other side. It may even be a hairpin turn. You can’t rush it, nor would you want to.
What I hope he aims for is a movement of the people that won’t rely on war as a means to finally mobilize. The last half of the 20th century was about creating the environment of war to stimulate economy.
This next half of the 21st century has to have a spiritual driver. The economic collapse as the universe’s way of saying, “leave everything behind and come with Me…”
Fe:
“It’s a fascinating city (Washington DC) – all built by slaves.”
The HBO (bless them) series “John Adams” depicted the rebuilding of the White House by slaves; something rarely shown (on TV anyway) via entertainment means. It is overpowering to imagine President-elect Obama and his family calling it home and justly so. I have a fantasy that Barack is Abe Lincoln reincarnated . . I mean, the ears!
Fe & others fallen ill after the election:
“I feel like I’m processing the election through my immune system.”
Think I’m processing the election through my lower intestinal tract, or maybe it’s that darn NN in Scorpio. . . whatever!
Mystes:
“The country needs the equivalent of a T & R commission. . . .”
I agree it is needed and am personally willing to wait 10 years or how ever long it takes to see it happen. Could come when Pluto opposes U.S. Sun (& Bush & “yikes” me!) or would it be more likely when it conjoins U.S. Pluto?
Fe –
I’ve been feeling much along the same lines. While certainly nowhere near the scope of the Holocaust, certainly I feel something should be done. Cheney in the dock at the Hague? Hee hee, that would be interesting. Probably pull a Milosevic on us all and die before any trial could even begin. After all, if they’ve trashed files and drives at his house at the Naval Observatory, he might be the only one who knows it all, and that would be the loyal servant thing to do: die before talking.
I fear Bush would and will feel no heat, as no one seems interested in another Presidential scandal, albeit this is far, far worse than what was inflicted on Clinton. These years have seen true ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ yet no one seems willing to impeach. All too willing to do it over a sex scandal (which was trivial) and not the false commission of a war against a sovereign nation. A sad comment on the situation that exists in D.C.
Certainly you’re right: we need to know the right questions before anything can be done, and the reconciliation begins.
Brendan:
There are probably too many bloody hands in high places for the prosecution over the wars. That would mean that current members in high places of corporations would also have to testify. And they let others get their hands bloody for them.
Where we could see some possible justice is in prosecuting for the crimes against the Geneva Convention at Guantanamo, I think there’s probably some interest there. It would be my pleasure to see Cheney before the Hague.
By the way, I wonder why he’s suddenly so quiet? There must be alot of doc shredding and hard drive memory trashing going on at the Naval Academy.
I don’t know where to begin, how to see justice happen for Iraqis who’ve had their lives shattered. Is there a means by which we can begin the repair? I had a rueful laugh the other night watching Bill Maher.
He has this regular skit in the show called “Exit Strategy”, discussing the comic pros and cons of Americans living abroad in the event the election did not go as planned.
Last night, he recommended a new country for Republicans after the Obama victory: Iraq – lots of big gas guzzling Hummers to drive around in, plenty of oil and let’s face it: You broke it, you bought it.
Actually, Brendan, I have no idea how we can begin to address the war crimes and the crimes against humanity that have been committed, since there have been too many original sins that led to more original sins as time has gone on. The only thing we’ve got is the world court.
If we can just get to the truth, un-redact those documents, and begin to understand what was done in our name, maybe we can begin to come to the table and know what we’re asking for from our government this time around. Right now, I feel we aren’t asking the right questions to get the truth we really need.
Hi everyone,
Another excellent thread here.
Fe, the more I think about your T & R commission idea, the more I like it. A good place to start would be with the entire ‘war on terror’ fiasco. There are a lot of hidden truths out about all the events since ’01, and only immunity is likely to bring out the truthtellers. It would also serve to show the light on those dark shadows we do not yet know about.
But a worry: if, without a doubt, senior Bushies are shown to have committed war or other crimes, how do we prosecute them under a system like this? What I recall of South Africa’s commission was that no matter who they were or what they did, they got off. Are we all ready to be that forgiving towards those who started these wars? Apartheid was cruel and merciless, but this war has hurt entire nations and killed untold thousands or hundreds of thousands.
Does the scale matter?
mystes
Let rachel and eric know that name was at my request so they can forward it to me.
Fe writes:
Could you provide the name of the professor? We can wiki from there.
You betcha. Will send it over to editorial@PW
(Happy birthmonth, WU)
M
Gardener:
I get that as well. Obama needs to shore up his party to do what he needs them to do. I mentioned in the article co-written with Genevieve and Rachel that Emanuel in the WH as Chief of Staff gives Barney Frank of Massachusetts some room to do some bi-partisan maneuvering. The more they can keep working and roll on the Republicans to show that they are being obstructionists, the more Obama can succeed in getting things done. They’re going to need a long handle from the White House into Congress to do it.
There are blue-dog Democrats to deal with, who are almost right-wingers. And the Republicans are wounded animals, looking to “Clintonize” Obama by trying to destroy him personally. Yep, the same old shit that’s pissed us off before.
And if you notice the take out there by the media trial ballooners is that Obama did not have a mandate. This is going to play out for awhile until Obama takes office. The work to de-legitimize his election is there. We need to respond to it in force.
Fe I just now read this article. You are spot on. My husband and I discussed this just this morning, that the problems during the next 8 years will be with congress, not Obama.
On another note about post-election recovery, I found myself resonating with the Bach Flower remedy of “Oak”, which gives strong people the allowance to let themselves rest.
That is probably why my body is going through its own kind of purge right now. I needed to set the tools aside and sit my ass down.
mystes:
Could you provide the name of the professor? We can wiki from there.
“I’m going to harp on this again. The country needs the equivalent of a truth and reconciliation commission to air out what has happened the last eight years and then some.”
Fe, this is a very important point, one that may well prevent us from the wild national mood swings in the next two years (Saturn/Uranus, whoops, here it comes again, I say SATURN|URaNuS; yep, here it comes again, now SaTURn||URaNUs…etc.). I am under the impression there will be a national Suggestion Box.
I have someone in mind for the philosopher chair in a Reconciliation initiative; he’s a modest academic in Colorado right now, but one of those Scorpios who has it TOTALLY going on. He brought to my attention Jack Derrida’s last works on forgivenness; damn if the brilliant old Cancerian didn’t look to give a practical application to his 4 decades of theory! Unfortunately, he died just as it was starting to roll in South Africa.
Well, the person I am thinking of can carry it here. And is Mayflower enough to manage it karmically. (Eric, he’s kind of a decade more of you.)
Pandora’s wood:
Funny you should mention that.
In meeting up with my friends this last week, one thing we’re all noticing is the sense of shell shock we’re all going through.
Literally, I am so with you on watching a real press conference where a head of state first of all was:
1) answering questions with complete sentences
2) answering the questions, period
3) taking questions openly from the press
4) speaking of himself as a human (the ‘mutt’ comment)
Howie Klein, columnist for Time was a one-time McCain supporter and was duly impressed with Obama’s skill in handling the WH Press corps. Obama has a real straight-ahead style that was refreshing to everyone watching.
As to what are we going to do to process all that fury and rage we’ve been coping with these last eight years? I don’t know. All I know is right now, I’m in bed with my laptop, talking to the PW bloggers and nursing myself through some fllu symptoms. I feel like I’m processing the election through my immune system. Probably right about where it should be.
Thanks for the discussion and the column, Fe & everyone. It’s true what you say about being battered and about needing to be taken care of for awhile. I realize that part of my euphoria & excitement about Obama, which will continue on, is noticing what it feels like now to actually want to watch a press conference. To react with anticipation instead of what has been normal for 8 years– a difficult endurance of the Bush regime, including disgust and disbelief, and even more, sadness. Quite an emotional shift for the collective, don’t you think?
bkoehler:
The trick is: all these people are quite human.
Its just that they choose to serve in ohe of the most fascinating and psychically loaded places in the country.
I’m trying to get Rahmana to write more about DC–she used to live there. Its a fascinating city-all built by slaves.
Having Obama be president in that city is a pretty amazing feat. Just got off the chat page with my friends in DC. The city is totally wired about a black President moving into town.
Wow Fe. . this is fascinating stuff. . . .I knew nothing of Rahm Emanuel apparently. The one clip (TV) of him after the rumor got out, but before he had told his family, made him seem demure. Only the innuendos from pundits and his colleagues gave clues to his much tougher side. Thanks for raising my awareness!
Wish you’d write a book on all this political stuff. It would be hard to put down (as in bedtime; lights out). Tell us more!
We have a long road ahead CHANGING things – and that agenda will not end in 8 years when Obama can no longer be reelected. What path will we BEGIN to carve for ourselves – with Obama and his staff at the helm – over the next 8 years?
That’s a seriously right question to ask. And another is, what is it about ourselves that we see reflected in our society that we need to change?
I’m going to harp on this again. The country needs the equivalent of a truth and reconciliation commission to air out what has happened the last eight years and then some. You get used to being lied to, you don’t now who to trust. You become cynical and the powers that be use that cycnism to ENTERTAIN YOU.
I can’t tell you what kind of horror that has unleashed. We become used to violence in our policy and in our culture and in our words. There’s no civil discourse, only polarization, the enemy, and the other.
America is a Battered Wife. What she needs is to feel safe and trusting of her environment and her community. After that, she needs to feel that the country is doing the right thing, that it obeys laws, and laws protect people. And that laws protect he rights of citizens to vote unimpeded.
This is just the start. That we seem to be re-taping the Constitution together seems tragic, but maybe its good for us to go through this exercise of cleaning it up so that we can appreciate it when its restored.
Key words, “clean it up”.
We elected Obama because we believe that he will re-create a Middle Class in America.
I do believe he will do what he has set out to do (health care planning, shuffling tax responsibilities etc) because follow-through is his nature (No wonder he’s “hot”. What woman doesn’t want “follow-through more than anything else LOL!)
And so we are anticipating “clean up” – but what does that MEAN? The American People – or at least the ones Awake and Watching – need to keep an eye on things. Not a suspicious eye. A watchful eye. Because clean up suggests removing dirt and debris in order to return things to their original state. This is NOT what needs doing.
We have a long road ahead CHANGING things – and that agenda will not end in 8 years when Obama can no longer be reelected. What path will we BEGIN to carve for ourselves – with Obama and his staff at the helm – over the next 8 years?
mystes:
Emanuel is quite a piece of work. Now when I say someone is a piece of work I usually mean they have a chutzpah that’s rare in polite circles. They like licking the blood of their opponent off their lips.
Put it to you this way, I was toying with another, even darker in intensity role model for Rahm, and that put him in the company of Roy Cohn. But I don’t think Rahm is that conflicted culturally nor sexually. And supposedly, he’s much edgier than DeLay.
But maybe, we’re dealing with a new paradigm in what this kind of political leopard which is what these three men–Cohn, DeLay and Emanuel, are.
In any case, it won’t be the Republicans who are as scared as it will be the Democrats who stray from the reservation. If Obama needs party discipline, he’s going to get it with Rahm.
Now if he can start with Lieberman, that would be a nice new beginning.
And I quote: “It could very well be that Obama is using the very tactics and tacticians nurtured on the toxicity of Washington itself to clean it up.”
Well that’d’be a good Tantric move, as long as he’s skillful enough to know when to let the toxins deliquese into compassion… and Rahm, if he isn’t a Wrathful Guardian, I don’t know who is.