OT: John Mellencamp for Senate

[sandnsea]

I am sorry but that just gives me a headache. How can people demand to be taken seriously when they come up with harebrained ideas like that one.

And I love Little Johnny Cougar, one of my favorites, but good lord there's a lot to know to sit on a local school board let alone the US Senate.

Just venting.

[wisteria]

1. It is like Kerry said, the introduction of entertainment into politics.

And, I agree, our country is screwed up enough, the last thing we need are truck drivers and celebrities who do not have a clue what it is they are getting into and how our government really works.
Also, I am beginning to think some of our Progressives are as bad as Tea Party'ers.

[MBS]

2. Steve Pagliuca cluttered up Dem primary in MA

A celtics owner, seems like a nice-enough guy, but his was essentially a vanity campaign. I know that "what ifs" get you nowhere, especially long after the fact.. but I can't help thinking that MA voters might have had a better chance to get to know the other 3 Dem Senate candidates in m ore depth before the primary election if he hadn't decided to run.
The very fact that he got about 20% of the vote tells you a lot about how seriously MA voters were paying attention (or not) to the primary race. . .sigh

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. Agree with you and Sandsea

100%

[sandnsea]

6. Plus the irony of saying winning is all that matters

Without contemplating that if the winning is a Dem with a different point of view, you might have to tolerate that if winning really is all that matters. The lack of objectivity is fascinating.

[JI7]

4. yeah, also the suggestions that Bayh is going to run against Obama

it's just stupid and seems too conspiracy theory .

i personally wont miss Bayh. but we need to figure out a way to keep this seat. and i think it will be difficult to do.

[sandnsea]

5. Nearly impossible to keep I think

I don't see many elected Dems in that state. I don't think he's going to run against Obama either. I think he's figured out the Democratic Party isn't as far right as he is and he'll never be President. I bet he's just on to greener pastures. Or maybe a scandal brewing, hard to say. We'll see I suppose.

[Inuca]

7. Scandal? Bayh?

Doubt it. My personal silly theory is that evr since he was not picked as VP he has been royaly pissed and pissing on everybody's parade as well. I won't miss him, but God will I miss Reid if McConell takes his place!

[karynnj]

8. I'm with you

I would guess that he really thought he had Clinton/Bayh sewn up - even though I assume that had Clinton won, there would have been huge pressure to take Obama. However, had Kerry/Kennedy not gotten involved and Clinton won on SuperTuesday, I suspect that Clinton/Bayh could easily have been the ticket.

I suspect that he did see that after being mentioned often, he really will not get the VP slot and he really has no shot at getting the Presidential nomination directly.

He was on CNN this morning and even their news anchor was questioning his reason - that there are too many ideologues in the Senate.

[MBS]

9. " " " " "what you said (both things) n/t

[sandnsea]

11. I know, but it seems so fishy

I just have a hard time believing this is just a belated temper tantrum. It just seems like he must be moving towards money or away from some kind of pain. People are usually motivated somewhere along those lines.

[Inuca]

14. Not a temper tantrum

but a deep resentment, the depths of which he himself may not be completely aware of hence he may be (partially) honest in his attempts at rationalizing his reactions and attitudes and putting them in a "nobler" light. OK Evan, off the couch you go, the virtual non-professional psychoanalysis session is over!

My point is that I NEVER heard so much from and of him as in the last year. And most (all?) of it was stuff that I would have been much happier not to hear. He used to be in the background, kind of conservative (which is fine, especially when from IN), bland and boring. And AFAIK (and I may be completely wrong on this) his vote was quite reliable, wasn't it? Not so for the last year. What he said yesterday on CNN I think (did not see it myself) about not a single job being created in the last 6 months and that he would be more useful he would be able to create one in private life was really.... REALLY... at a loss for words.

[sandnsea]

16. Well he was reliably conservative

And voted happily for whatever Republicans put forward, or what Bush wouldn't veto. I really don't know what motivates him or any other Democrat who thinks the free market and capitalism means you have to turn your back on the worker. It sure seems like that's what they think to me. I don't see how they could possibly say no jobs were created otherwise. I don't understand how a job at a bomb factory is a job, but a job at a hospital is socialism. I just don't get how people like him think.

[Mass]

10. The political world gives me a headache.

Sure this seems ridiculous, but given the maelstrom the US Senate is and has been through for the last few years, why not? I cant blame Dorgan and Bayh for quitting (certainly there is a lot to say on how it was done when it comes to Bayh and he is not my cup of tea when it comes to policies, but why would anybody sane stay in a body that is clearly so dysfunctional, particularly without any serious hope of changing it).

I have been listening to the news coming from the Senate last week and this week, and you want to scratch your head when it comes to the Democrats. For all their hypocrisy, the Republicans have a message that is consistent for the most part. The Democrats seems like a yard full of chicken fighting for some grain. I scratched my head with Reid's move. I dont like Baucus's bill, but I cant figure out Reid's rational for letting Baucus work with Grassley, then say "no thank you". It is not as if he could expect that Baucus and Grassley would get anything satisfactory. Then, today, you get McCaskill saying to the Times she avoids Kerry because she is not interested in "cap and trade", and some unnamed aide from Cantwell or Collins saying they are not thinking of merging their bill with a global bill on clean energy (or whatever you want to call that. I just hope other countries will get their act together, because I doubt this country will get the issue. I snows in DC, therefore global climate change is a hoax. Idiots!!).

And healthcare is in a total state of oblivion, where nobody knows anymore what is happening, while Reid decides it is a good think to promote a meager $15 M for a job bill (really, this will help?) Not to think about the hope of a decent finance regulation bill.

So, why not Mellencamp for Senate. Can he actually do worse than the jokers in place. And no big surprise that Senator Kerry seems more like a vice secretary of state than a MA legislator these days (no offense to Secretary Clinton who is doing well). It really does not seem that anything can be done in the Senate, so why bother!

[sandnsea]

12. Whew, that was a load off!

But I don't see how Mellencamp helps, even if you give him credit for in-depth knowledge of all the problems facing the country, because it seems to me the problem lies in the conflict between the "heartland" and the coasts. So all these people who want him to run are going to be sadly disappointed when he represents his constituents and opposes, well, things like cap and trade.

In any event, my gripe is to the shallowness of our culture that when confronted with a dilemma people immediately look for a celebrity to solve the problem. Sorry, it's just as absurd as saying you want someone you can drink a beer with.

[wisteria]

13. I agree that nothing is getting done. And, our Democrats seem all over the place.

I am mad at McCaskill for her comments. But, it seems many Democrats do not want to lead and do not want to get anything accomplished because this is an election year and what they do may be used against them later.

[Inuca]

15. How I wish

I could disagree :-(.

Did not know about McCaskill, disappointing.

[MH1]

17. so apt - "yard full of chicken fighting for some grain"

I LOL'd on that because it is a perfect fit.

[beachmom]

18. Hi guys! I am assuming that this is more of a reaction to progressives

on the internet than to John Mellencamp himself. I haven't read any blogs for a month, so I am only reacting to the concept of John Mellencamp becoming a Senator -- I think it's a great idea, although I doubt he would do it. I have been listening to his music a lot lately, including his most recent album, and I think he is a great American poet and a populist. He also has said many insightful things about what has happened to the music industry. I think we need more people like John Mellencamp in the Senate and less lawyers and businessmen. Somebody needs to fight the corporations, and John Mellencamp is someone who actually has been repeatedly screwed by corporations (he said his that when he did an ad for Ford he was treated so much better than by his label, Columbia Records, who repeatedly lied and didn't keep its word. Major labels are known for stealing from artists, by pocketing money for royalties using clever accounting schemes to cover it up). I also think John Mellencamp would come to the table with a bigger picture concept of America. Washington DC thinking is so small, only interested in their petty fights nobody outside the beltway and the bases of both parties care about.

Anyway, JMHO. But really: why is having a rock star in the Senate a bad idea when the Senate has collapsed as an institution under current leadership?