OH NO! We Don't Have A Slogan!

Republican National Committee head Ken Mehlman gave a speech today to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Tennessee, and made a point to show what a horrible party the Democratic party is.

"Not only can they not settle on an agenda, they can't even agree on a slogan," Mehlman said in remarks prepared for delivery. He then offered some suggestions, albeit critical ones.

"If they really want the American people to know what they are going to do, then how about, 'Together, Americans can pay more in taxes,' " he said. "Or, 'Together, we can retreat from the central front in the war on terror.' "

Hur! Hur! Hur! That's hilarious, Ken! Tell me... Does it hurt much?

Of course, numerous news sites have made much of this, including Netscape News with CNN, who posted this fascinating headline:

Indicted? By whom? Mehlman? CNN? To my knowledge, neither of those entities has the power to indict anyone. To bring an indictment against someone, you need to be some kind of lawyer, like, say, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald, who has indicted I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (and, if God is paying attention, will be doing the same to Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove), or DA Ronnie Earle, who has indicted Tom DeLay, don't you?

No, in this case, it was CNN taking a bit of liberty - and a really sleazy grab for readers - by posting a flat-out bogus headline about Mehlman's speech. Nice.

Getting back to Mehlman's speech; as I said, he suggested that the Democrats can't even come up with a slogan for their 2008 convention. Apparently, this is supposed to show just how disorganized we are, running around without a clear agenda or message. However, with just a quick click, you can go to the Democratic National Committee's website and have a look at the agenda the party has laid out.

Now, if you're taking about the Republican party... Well, then you can have a ton of slogans, such as the ones listed on Daily Kos:

• "The world changed on September the 11th."
  
• "We fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here."
  
• "Freedom is on the march."
  
• "Up or down vote, up or down vote, up or down vote (deep breath...) up or down vote, up or down vote, up or down vote."

As for a legitimate agenda, the RNC appears to be recycling their points from the last two election cycles: "Stay the course!" Admittedly, it is kind of catchy, and you can dance to it. However, it doesn't exactly address the ongoing issues that it should, such as the rising insurgency in Iraq, which teeters on the edge of civil war as I write this. (Although there are some GOP spokesmonkeys who are spouting the old Katrina-inspired White House nugget about how we "dodged a bullet" on that one.)

One of the growing number of people who are not buying the Republican finger-pointing is MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who had this to say today:

"The lack of leadership in Washington, D.C., is sickening. If you look at what Republicans did-promised to do in 1994, when they took control of Congress, and see how they've been acting over the past three or four years, the biggest debt and deficit ever. They are irresponsible and reckless on so many levels. I'm embarrassed right now to be a Republican. It's a disgrace because of the lack of leadership."

Wait a minute, Joe... I thought that was supposed to be us Democrats...

Another MSNBC host, Hardball host Chris "Tweety" Matthews, however, is standing side-by-side with the Republicans, just so long as they're willing to pay him to do it.

But that's all beside the point, which is that the Democrats do have an agenda. And no, they do not currently have a slogan for their 2008 convention. That's because they're busy trying to actually help their constituents by attempting to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. (Although this is somewhat hampered by the Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, who seem intent on making sure nothing the Dems try will get through, just to show 'em who's boss - with the exception of the Dubai Ports Worls deal; credit where it's due, and kudos to those Repubs who stood by and supported the Dems.)

I guess that explains why Dubya's numbers are back down to 37%.

That about wraps it up for now, except for one little item for my own entertainment:

Van Halen guitarist Edward Van Halen came out of his cave (the guy's more elusive than Dick Cheney!) to attend an Oscar Night after-party hosted by Sir Elton John. Paparazzi managed to get a few shots of him, including this not-so-good one:

What is up with that facial expression?

Anyway, BDillon, one of the members over at EddieVanHalen.com, is sponsoring a contest for members, ending tonight, to Photoshop the picture any way we want to. I've done quite a few - you can enter multiple images - and thought I'd post a few of my favorites here. Enjoy.

And this last one:


Have a great weekend!

All the best,
Derek
(DCF)