RJ Eskow: Altamont on the Potomac

[laststeamtrain]

<snip>

So, for anybody old enough to remember the sixties, let me break it down for you old-school style: Washington under the GOP has been one long extended mugging, going back to the "Gingrich revolution" of 1994. It's been Altamont all over again, a crowd of bystanders beaten mercilessly by a gang of thugs with more authority than they can handle.

Anyone who has seen "Gimme Shelter" can remember how differently Mick Jagger and Keith Richards handled that situation. As unprovoked Hell's Angels mercilessly pummeled audience members with pool cues, Mick avoided confrontation and sprinkled pious platitudes like pixie dust over the wounded and terrified crowd. "Oh, babies," he cooed. "Can't we stop fighting one another," he said - as if it were a two-sided brawl and not a gang attack gone amok.

Keith, on the other hand, showed guts by taking the matter firmly in hand. "Cool it," he said to the bikers, "or we stop playing. That guy," he said as he pointed to one assailant, "that guy has to cut it out." Meanwhile Mick kept crooning nonsense words. "Oh, babies, can't we love one another?" Keith finally pointed to the head of the gang and said "Hey, you: F**k off!"

By then, unfortunately, it was too late. A mentally ill man had brandished a gun and been beaten to death. A court found that responsible guardians could have disarmed him without going to such violent extremes or hurting so many innocents. (War On Terror metaphors, anyone?)

<snip>

But could a "Mick Jagger" ticket of Bloomberg and Hagel harm the Dems in 2008? That depends. If the Democratic candidate adopts a "Mick" tone, too - especially if she or he is seen as just another Washington insider - then Bloomberg/Hagel could cut into their voter share significantly, even if they're carrying the past-their-sell-by-date insiders who formed Unity 08. And civil liberties aside, Bloomberg and Hagel might actually run a fairly decent Administration. They would be competent technocrats, and their policies might be indistinguishable from those of a triangulating Democrat.

John Edwards has been auditioning for the Keith Richards role, and doing a pretty good job of it. Barack Obama's trying something different, articulating some Keith-like goals with Mick-like eloquence. Either of them would fare better against a GOP-plus-Bloomberg field than Hillary Clinton would - that is, unless she changes her tack more than she's been willing to do so far.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/its-altamont-on-the-poto_b_79107.html

[babylonsister]

1. Bookmarked-thanks! So this writer thinks Clinton would suffer

most should Bloomberg run. Interesting.