E!! The True Conservative Story™

“Thousands of people, many waving hand-painted signs and American flags, held tax day ‘tea parties’ Wednesday in Las Vegas and Carson City as part of a nationwide movement to protest what they consider excessive government spending.  At Sunset Park (in Las Vegas), an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 people gathered to hear speakers and express their views. Demonstrators along Eastern Avenue and Sunset Road attracted a stream of honks from passing traffic throughout the afternoon.”

 - Las Vegas Review-Journal, 4/16/09

 ”…In Carson City, an angry crowd of 2,000 demanded that legislators not increase taxes…in a protest outside the Legislative Building.  Legislative police and Carson City sheriff’s deputies said the gathering was the largest they had seen in more than 30 years in the state capital.”

 - Las Vegas Review-Journal, 4/16/09

 ”Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks…said (the Carson City tea party) was the largest protest he has seen in his 16 years in Carson City. Estimates ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 people.”

 - Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/16/09

 ”More than 1,500 people waved signs, tea bags and American flags in front of the Legislature (in Carson City) on Wednesday as part of the national Tax Day Tea Party to protest what they said was reckless federal government spending. . . . Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News.”

 - Nevada Appeal, 4/16/09

 ”(P)rotesters who attended a modern-day TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party at Sunset Park on Wednesday afternoon hope their actions in protesting high taxation, increased government spending embodied in the federal stimulus package and all things Obama will carry a similar message.  Metro Police estimated the crowd at between 1,500 and 2,000 people and said there were no problems at the event, which was one of dozens held nationwide.  Clark County Republican Party Executive Director Susane Crawford organized the event at Sunset Park. Speakers included officials of the Libertarian and Independent American Parties.”

 - Las Vegas Sun, 4/16/09

 ”This isn’t a Republican event, this isn’t a Democratic event.  This is an American event.”

 - Las Vegas conservative talk-show host Casey Hendrickson, speaking at the Las Vegas Tea Party

 ”Americans from both (major) political parties turned out on Wednesday. From reports I received, some speakers were booed if they got too partisan. The point? The point is that we’ve seen both Republicans and Democrats turn their back on the American people. Spending, spending, spending, and taxes, taxes, taxes. It is too much, and we’ve all had enough.”

 - Bobby Eberle, editor and publisher of GOPUSA.com, 4/16/09

“The modern-day Paul Reveres have had enough….  People have been venting their frustration since the global economy began its meltdown.  Citizens are angry watching the government spend billions and billions of dollars with no constraints in place, while they must juggle household budgets and income and wonder if they’ll have a job the following day.”

 - Lahontan Valley News editorial, 4/15/09

Pelosi & Pals adjourn, having failed to schedule a vote to allow offshore drilling (11:23 a.m.)  They turn off the lights, kill the mics, and head home.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and other GOPers indignantly opposed the motion to adjourn.  A few GOPers stayed on the floor and continued to debate.  As word spread, the crowd on the floor began to grow.

Dem aides were steamed at the “stunt” and had reporters kicked out of the Lobby.  Capitol PoPo were also busy kicking people out of the press gallery but stopped when Minority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO) went up to talk to reporters.  Blunt’s office sent out a message asking all Republicans still in town to come to the House floor.

The Dems turned out the lights (again).

The Republicans sent out word that they were looking for a bullhorn and also sent aides out to round up members to come to the floor.  Shadegg started typing random codes into the chamber’s PA system and accidentally hit the right code to turn on the microphones (cheers!) but then they subsequently went off again (groans).

Members were pacing the floor, making speeches, standing on chairs.  Visitors were cheering loudly.  At one point Manzullo (R-IL) gave a rousing speech and brought the crowd to its feet.  Applause and cheering echoed in the chamber.

Rep Nunes (R-CA) crowed, “I am a Democrat and here is my energy plan.”  He then paraded around the House floor holding up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it.  (LOL)  More cheering.

At 5:00, Tom Price (R-GA) announced the end of the protest and led the chamber in a round of “God Bless America.”  Assembled visitors, aides, souriest, and members gave a standing ovation.

Question:  Since the C-SPAN cameras were off, didn’t anyone think to try to sneak in a video tape so we could have some fun watching the footage on You Tube and/or FNC?

Well, it seems we are obsessed with Obama here at E!! today - so let us finish it out in grand style.  See this Corner post by Victor Davis Hanson for his thoughts on the Obama Phenomena.  Says Hanson: 

What is fascinating about the tingly-leg press is that they are exhibiting the very symptoms of arrested development and star-struck immaturity that they always accuse American in tot of suffering.  The usual critique of the elite media is that we are a nation of mindless followers, who go from one fad to another, and value looks, youth, and pizzazz over substance.

But the current spectacle suggests something worse – that the press who claims they know better and are more sophisticated are, in fact, far more infantile than most Americans, and essentially Access Hollywood, People Magazine, and the National Enquirer dressed up with network logos and NY-DC bylines. 

Hanson’s post is called “A Somewhat Embarrassing Spectacle” and as I was reading it another title crossed my mind:  “The Society of the Spectacle” by Marxist theorist Guy Debord.  A philosophy and critical theory text that provides a reading and reinterpretation of Marx’s work including examination of the commodity of fetishism and its application to modern mass media, Debord’s book reminds me of this whole Obama phenom in this way:

Commodity fetishism is the belief that commodities (like gold, or private property) have inherent value rather than value added to them by and through labor.  The concept is at the root of Marx’s criticisms of capitalism because (Marx thought) a society that values commodities in and of themselves, absent the effects of labor, is bound to separate the “use-value” from the “exchange-value” of things such that it finds itself over-valuing essentially useless commodities while vastly under-valuing the commodity of human work.

Whatever you think of this theory, it occurs to me that Marx would find the commoditization of Obama himself unique in both society and history.  Here we have not gold or land but a man who possesses great “exchange value” (he may replace our President) because the starry-eyed admirers of his sparkly personage have deemed him precious despite his lack of discernable labor-value (i.e. measurable or tangible achievements upon which we could base his merit).  Obama vacuity matters not a whit; at present he is a national treasure.

Did anyone catch Obama’s pander fest with the Israeli press this morning?

When finished with his inane remarks, Obama informed the crowd that a campaign surrogate – who he elegantly introduced as “This Guy” – was going to step up to the podium and decide which questions to take because (Obama said) “I don’t want to upset anyone”…and because…

“I want you to like me.”

Dear Barry:

This is not a contest for Prom King.  You are competing to be the next commander-in-chief of the United States of America.  You should seek to be respected – and by some, even feared – not LIKED. 

E!!

PS  I have a vision of a blushing, gushing, breathless Obama giving a Sally Fieldesque victory speech on November 4^th:

“You like me…you really LIKE me…!!!”

:-/