Kevin Frisch, who I think writes for the Messenger-Post, has a long riff comparing Kuhl's Fix Washington program to American Idol. A taste:
MANDEL: “Next contestant: Chester Drawers from Dry Heaves, Fla.”
CHESTER: “Let’s outlaw taxes!”
JACKSON: “Dawg! You’re crazy! You’ve heard the phrase ‘death and taxes.’ You wanna live in a world where it’s just ‘death’?”
ABDUL: “Outlaw taxes? Wouldn’t that be, like, against the law?”
COWELL: “Did I say the last idea was stupid? It’s as if you ate that whole pot of cooked stupid and then washed it down with a pitcher of stupid.”
In more serious news, Jane Flasch at the 13WHAM blog has crunched the money numbers and found that Eric Massa is the top fundraiser in Rochester.
Comments
You are correct, sir. Mr Frisch is the managing editor of the Daily Mess[enger]. I suspect this piece will appear in his Funny Thing column in Sunday's edition.
Looks like it got syndicated before it was run in the Messenger.
Thanks for the info.
Funny how people mock attempts to hear from and reach out to regular old Americans. I guess in Frisch’s estimation, no good can come from actually speaking to the people you represent. In fact, if we all took a page from Frisch’s banal, entirely fictional reality TV script, we’d embark on a page long asinine monologue as a tribute to over inflated ego.
Kevin Frisch needs to watch a few more episodes of American Idol to really nail the witticisms conveyed by the hosts. His impersonation leaves a lot to be desired.
Maybe he should quit his day job.
Here's another painful truth, Cap'n: The whole "Fix Washington" program is a PR stunt. It's an attempt by Kuhl to appear responsive, yet he knows well that the bill he will introduces has no chance of passage.
I'll go a bit further -- he's giving his constituents a bad civics lesson. Little ideas like the ones he's posted are incorporated into laws governing federal agencies as part of committee action. Congress just doesn't work the way Kuhl is implicitly suggesting, and to raise a false hope in some of his constituents so his little stunt can make the paper isn't part of the "fix", it's part of the problem.
God, this is an awful comment. I thought I was at the D&C blogs for a second.
That really burns.
Rotten - "Congress just doesn't work the way Kuhl is implicitly suggesting, and to raise a false hope in some of his constituents so his little stunt can make the paper isn't part of the "fix", it's part of the problem."
Such little faith in the voting public. - Perhaps we should go back to where only male landowners vote. They won't be fooled by those crafty politicians.
"Male Landowners" -- I like the cut of your jib, sir. Like me, I'll bet you enjoy a pinch of snuff with your tankard of mead at the end of a long day.
Voter Registration has always been a big problem with me.
1. If someone doesn't have the initiative to get off their butt and register to vote, and then actually vote why should we recruit these types of people to help us set the direction of our country?
2. If people aren't smart or engaged enough to vote, they shouldn't. I would like to see a basic civics and current events test given and have people pass before they are allowed to vote. With our wonderful public school system, everyone should answer all the questions correctly.
3. People who pay no taxes, and benefit directly from a government welfare type of check each month should not be allowed to vote. I see this as a big conflict of interest.
Thanks for the offer, but I'd much prefer bourbon to wine.
1: Why even have voter registration? Here's a radical idea: come to the polls with a drivers' license or some other valid id, and, assuming you're in the right place, you get to vote.
Voter registration is a throwback to times when there was no other way to track voters. The registration system is costly to maintain, and some states (not NY) make it difficult just to discourage people from registering. Here's an example of "difficult" that I'm personally acquainted with: back in the 80's, my home state required a sworn oath in front of a notary to get registered. That requirement was just to make it hard for hard-working people to get registered to vote.
And voter fraud? All the money we save from registration rolls can be put into technology that gathers biometrics at the polling place to prevent double-voting.
2: Any test for registration or voting is going to be gamed by one or the other party in power to favor those who they think are their core constituency. Why give majority parties another advantage? They've got plenty already.
3: C'mon, you're better than this one. By the same reasoning, a disabled vet who won a silver star in combat shouldn't be able to vote. After all, he or she is getting along in life because of a check from the gov't, and that's a conflict of interest.
I just can't get too excited about welfare in general. I agree that some people cheat the system. Most of them are just down on their luck or in bad circumstances because life dealt them a tough hand. I'm all for smart, tough welfare reform, but a welfare recipient is a citizen like anyone else and should be able to vote.
Finally, something we can agree on: bourbon is good.
People who pay no taxes, and benefit directly from a government welfare type of check each month should not be allowed to vote.
Are you referring to the oil companies? ;)
Elmer, why try to get more people involved in voting, you ask? I agree that some people just aren't going to get involved in the democratic process but sometimes people just need a wake-up call and for someone to motivate them to action. At least there are people out there who are trying to engage the citizens instead of writing them off.
Elmer, I should also add that your plan sounds elitist. I know they grow a lot of arugula down there and I'm afraid it's affected your thinking.
All kidding aside, I think that while people who follow politics closely are frustrated by the fact that those who don't have votes that count the same, in the end, we'd all be better off with a more politically engaged public.