Goodnight Denver. Wake Me When It’s Over.

August 25, 2008

Repeat after me: We’re a long, long way from Plato. Or Socrates. Or any other great, Greek thinker on democracy. Because, baby, today it’s all about style, soundbites, sophomoric jabs, mind-boggling contradictions and – oh yeah – one, big spectacle intended to do one and only one thing: Negate substance.

I’m speaking, of course, of the political circus that is now capturing America’s post-Olympic attention: The Democratic National Convention. Quick, before it ends: Feel the nothingness of it all.

Conventions, in case you forgot, used to be about picking a candidate, about ironing out the party’s platform and about hashing and re-hashing the differences between the factions. But that is all sooooo yesterday. Because today’s political conventions are about anything but what they used to be about.

Debates have been replaced with pom-poms. Votes have been replaced with soft-focused documentaries of the long ago “chosen one.” And policy debates have been kicked outside behind 10-foot fences, cops in riot gear and the threat of Guantanamo-like accommodations for anyone who dares to spoil “the show.”

But wait. What about the people? One, two, three: Fuck the people.

Because, you idiot, this is the political playground of the rich and famous who are rich and famous enough to make you think that their rich and famousness are still powerful enough to make you sit in awe as they parade around a stage sponsored by Coke AND Pepsi while still pretending that they care. In other words: Ass, meet face. And enjoy the week.

The biggest irony in the very non-democratic show that is taking place in Denver this week is the way the Democratic Party hierarchy has managed to completely co-opt the liberal blogosphere. Frankly, it’s nothing short of pure genius how the Dean-led DNC held up a cookie for the oh-so-eager liberal blogs, asked them to sit, and then – realizing they had their full attention — offered the most obedient blog from each state a “free blogging pass” to the stinky spectacle that is about as spontaneous as a Wayne Newton concert. Good boys and girls. Now roll over, start drooling, and, better yet, send home posts about the pure spectacle of it all. Yawn.

Here in Vermont, where all things by Vermonters are considered to be next to holiness despite the inanity of most of it (I mean, come on, we still think Rusty DeWees is funny and Bernie Sanders is a socialist), the great anointed blog by the DNC to “cover” its convention is the Green Mountain Daily blog. You know, the folks who do little but steal from the mainstream AND alternative media but then pout until the cows come home for not being recognized for their ability to steal from the same sources they stole from. Oh yeah, I forgot: Have blog, assume you’re a media God.

But this is “their moment,” a chance to have an “official pass” and prove that their coverage is oh-so needed to provide the people with a view of the spectacle that they would otherwise not be getting (did they not know that there was 24/7 coverage on numerous channels?).

Soooo, let’s check in on their coverage. Oh wait, cut, cut, cut. Because it seems like they’re all just “tired.” Odum, J.D, and Avard of GMD, for example, all made the their first posting all about how early they had to get up, how tired they were, and how the travel was exhausting. Avard, however, did manage enough coffee to provide us with this starry-eyed nugget:

…I was sitting outside, going through my Big Tent “goodie bag,” I saw George Stephanopolous. We made eye-contact, nodded to each other, and he went in the bookstore.

Oh please, tell me more. And let the blogging revolution begin!

But, if you want to dig deeper into the Vermont blogging coverage, you can find Philip Baruth of both the Vermont Daily Briefing and the Free Press telling us all about his stepping into cat puke and making damn sure we all knew about his political persuasions by posting his favorite photo of him staring lovingly into the eyes of Obama with a look that says little more than “how many ways can I bend over for you?”

Oh my, I remember when the blogs were supposed to be about the new media revolution. But, I guess, that was so yesterday. Before, for example, the DNC had blogger lapdogs willing to sit and kiss ass for official passes.

What can I say? I miss 1968. You know, back when a protest meant a protest. And when the “alternative media” still meant the alternative media, not a bunch of YouTube and blogging whores who think that if they’re the first to report that Hillary Clinton said “good things” about Obama that they’ll win a chest scratch and – perhaps, depending on their behavior – another invite in 2012.

It’s going to be a long week if you think democracy is happening in Denver. It’s as staged as staged can possibly be. In the end, it will be nothing short of the most massive, unending documentation of nothing other than the coronation of Barack Obama that democracy has seen since – oh – the most massive, unending documentation of nothing other than the coronation of John Kerry. But America loves spectacles as much as it loves suckers. And, together, it makes a convention.

Personally, I’d rather read Plato and weep.

Posted by M. Colby | Filed Under blog

Comments

5 Responses to “Goodnight Denver. Wake Me When It’s Over.”

mentor on August 25th, 2008 7:27 pm

bitter,bitter, bitter. guess you were not given a pass? sell your fucking cooooorn and turn off your t.v. love you, big guy
Jimmers on August 25th, 2008 7:54 pm

Thank you for writing exactly what I’ve been thinking. If any of these schmucks tell me a single interesting thing I couldn’t get elsewhere I think I’ll pass out from shock. Maybe Baruth can give us an exciting account of pretending to be from Illinois when he realizes that Vermont’s “front row seats” are practically behind the stage.
Peter Buknatski on August 26th, 2008 12:19 pm

I ‘hope’ Michelle’s dresses and skirts will get shorter. This is the only true path to change, to healing a fucked-up country, to world peace, and the abolition of nuclear weapons. I also have a dream. In my dream…………………………………………
Jay Vos on August 27th, 2008 11:45 am

Dennis Kucinich’s non-prime time speech was actually more electrifying that Hillary’s and certainly not the yawner of Mark Warner. I’ve been house sitting; since there’s cable, I’ve tuned in out of curiosity. Kucinich says Wake Up America and talked about reasons why I liked him, but then, he says to support Obama-Biden (heh, he’s a Democrat, of course), but their policies are anathema to Kucinich’s.
thomas on August 28th, 2008 2:30 pm

bingo. the three amigos from GMD are just wide eyed bumpkins in the glare of the big time. JD Ryan’s big revelation that it is all staged. The video of his taco was priceless. His broodiness is surpassed by his boorish observations. Odum’s videos remind me of the old adage, only little children are to be photographed for Christmas cards. And Avard, a wannabe Hunter Thompson gonzo journalist. You should be drinking whiskey and snorting ether at the big tent, nor drinking premium ale while examining your swag bag. I bet you are looking forward to the free snack mix on the flight home. I haven’t even seen one of his posts at Huffington Post. Oh well, there is always the Deerfield Valley News.