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P.J. O'Rourke: Welcome Delegates! To Your Democratic National Convention

Politics/Elections Opinion (Published)
Source: Voter.com
Published: 08/13/2000 Author: P.J. O'Rourke
Posted on 08/14/2000 11:23:15 PDT by Pokey78

LOS ANGELES (Voter.com, Aug. 13) -- Welcome, delegates, to the Democratic Party National Convention. There’s a pudgy guy from Arkansas down here at security -- talks a lot, has a pissed- off-looking wife. They say they were invited. I wouldn’t let them in if I were you.

Clinton’s planning the only presidential library in America with a complete set of Sharon Stone videos available for lending. Gore needs to get some distance from this. Al went to a lot of trouble to find a Democratic running mate who had denounced Bill Clinton’s behavior loud and clear. I believe the choice was down to Joseph Lieberman and a city councilman from Dubuque.

 But Senator Lieberman is a great pick -- ethical, decent, universally respected. There has been some foolish speculation that his orthodox religious observance of the Sabbath might hinder his ability to perform the many crucial duties of the American Vice-presidency such as going around the White House turning lights off after weekend dinner parties. Doubtless a work-around can be arranged. And Secretary of State Madeline Albright has already sent out memos asking foreign dignitaries not to die after sundown on Fridays.

 Also, Senator Lieberman shows the diversity of the Democratic Party. Although I suggest that you Democrats in Los Angeles do not try to out-diverse the Republicans in Philadelphia. They had Li’l Kim and Elian Gonzalez’s dad address their convention. Plus the GOP paid the network cameramen to find the eleven people of color among the Republican delegates every time there was a cutaway to the convention floor.

Never mind that Democrats, actually are diverse -- Ed Koch and Jesse Jackson, Tipper Gore and Oliver Stone, soccer moms and Dick Morris. You’re the Cat/Canary Love Association, Dogs and Mailmen United. Those of us who aren’t Democrats are astonished. How do you folks hold this thing together? Is it strict adherence to principle on the issues? For instance, in Earth in the Balance, Al Gore advocates higher gasoline prices. Happy yet, Al? Or is it just that everyone hates middle-aged white men with little whales on their golf pants? Maybe organized labor is the unifying force. Oh-oh, I just heard that Al and Joe had their flights to L.A. booked on United. We’re trying to get through to them now on the Verizon cell phone.

Well, you can always let Shirley McLaine give the acceptance speech. She says she’s been Vice President of the United States several times already --most recently as Schuyler Colfax, 1868-1872. And that’s the wonderful thing about holding your convention in Los Angeles. Hollywood celebrity support is just the thing to give the Democratic Party the intellectual clarity and moral gravitas that it needs to win in November. How’s Robert Downey, Jr., doing in jail?

Maybe the Hollywood types can get Al Gore to loosen up a little bit – that being the other thing you need to win this election. My suggestion is to have one of the White House interns flash Al a glimpse of her SAT scores.

By the way, is Al really that smart? He acts smart, but he acts smart the way the captain of the football team acts when he’s given the lead role in the high school production of The Nutty Professor. However, don’t worry about this. Even though the GOP is, historically, the Dumb Party, it’s possible to over-do the smart thing. If I may say two words to you: Michael Dukaukis.

Anyway, this is a really proud moment for the Democratic Party. Here we are in the middle of the greatest financial boom in American history. And this boom never would have happened without the Democratic Party which has made eight years of economic growth possible by keeping people like Janet Reno, Donna Shalala, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore out of the private sector where they could have done real damage. Yes, trust-busting Bill Gates caused ripples on Wall Street, but compare that to where the NASDAQ would be if Robert Reich were running Microsoft.

And, although I’m not a Democrat myself, I want you to know how glad I am that you Democrats have been in the Oval Office for the past two terms. What if the American people had voted for George Bush and then Bob Dole? We might have bombed Belgrade. We might have sent U.S. troops on pointless forays into Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo. There’d be no healthcare reform. The nation’s welfare system would have been torn asunder. And we’d probably have some sort of half-baked WTO, NAFTA-style free trade policy.

So, please, have a swell time at the fancy movie mogul parties. And don’t worry that, while you were gone, your Republican bosses outsourced your jobs to overseas providers. Don’t think of yourselves as fired. Just think of yourselves as needing to report to work next Monday in Bombay.


1 Posted on 08/14/2000 11:23:15 PDT by Pokey78
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To: Pokey78

By the way, is Al really that smart? He acts smart, but he acts smart the way the captain of the football team acts when he’s given the lead role in the high school production of The Nutty Professor.

Oh. Oh, that is so good. My next life, I wanna be P.J. O'Rourke, or maybe just cohabit with him or something.

2 Posted on 08/14/2000 11:35:18 PDT by cunning
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To: cunning

All the witty commentators are conservative - so are all the good-looking blonde analysts.

3 Posted on 08/14/2000 12:05:13 PDT by Malesherbes
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To: cunning

I couldn't agree more. What a writing style this man has. I wish I could speak with the same eloquence as P.J. and Rush!

4 Posted on 08/14/2000 12:14:05 PDT by Sunshine Sister
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To: Pokey78, Doug Fiedor

Thanks Pokey.

5 Posted on 08/14/2000 12:23:06 PDT by the irate magistrate
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To: cunning

Here we are in the middle of the greatest financial boom in American history. And this boom never would have happened without the Democratic Party which has made eight years of economic growth possible by keeping people like Janet Reno, Donna Shalala, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore out of the private sector where they could have done real damage.

My personal favorite.

6 Posted on 08/14/2000 12:25:31 PDT by Taliesan
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