greatest american hero
Harry Taylor: maybe not the greatest American hero, but definitely my hero — especially on tax time weekend. Did you know that we pay these jerks?
Video (QuickTime).
~jeff
Harry Taylor: maybe not the greatest American hero, but definitely my hero — especially on tax time weekend. Did you know that we pay these jerks?
April 8th, 2006 at 11:48 am
A) It’s good to see someone express themselves in opposition of the administration and not shriek slogans or dress up as the Constitution. Unfortunately, things are so partisan now that he’s going to immediately be labled a traitor. Why, oh, why couldn’t he have a little twang in his voice? Or be wearing a T-shirt?
B) That guy is going to have to leave his home and roam America from town to town, standing up against injustice anywhere he finds it.
C) He’ll have to leave his home because he’s in for a shitstorm from crazies in his locale AND he’s got to worry about the government too. And I’m only half-kidding on that last one.
April 8th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
In several disparate places people have commented on the similarity to the visual on Harry Taylor in this video and an old Normal Rockwell painting which honors freedom of speech (including http://www.dailykos.com/tag/Harry%20Taylor)
April 8th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
Exactly. Taylor says one thing and Bush just piles on more rhetoric. Also, once again Bush proves that he is clearly unable to apologize for any of his actions. Now with the Plame-gate issue hanging around his neck, I expect the BS meter to peg at an all time high!
I linked from my blog to your post.
April 8th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
[...] You can only obfuscate so much before the weight of your rhetoric collapses on itself. Bush’s response to Harry Taylor’s statement is more proof of that. America heard Taylor say one thing, while Bush went off the deep end without ever addressing Taylor’s remarks. permalink [...]
April 8th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
The best part of that picture is the expression on the faces around him!
April 8th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I always like to imagine the guy in that Rockwell painting is doing exactly what most people do at small town meetings: arguing crazily against raising taxes that benefit the school system, calling for a dissolution of the Select Board, or just rambling on about how his street isn’t plowed with the same frequency others on the rich side of town are (as he gives a sidelong glance at the guy looking back at him).
April 8th, 2006 at 6:53 pm
OK, clearly I’m alone in my fermenting paranoia, but:
Greatest American Hero or unwitting Republican puppet?
They let him speak to show that Bush could respond to critics. They gave Bush lines that he could use generically in advance, and they made sure that the guy would speak before a hostile audience, which makes Bush look genial and in control. They had opportunity to meet the guy and vet him in advance — they knew he’d be an articulate and thorough speaker. I can’t actually watch the video because that sort of thing has a visceral effect on me that makes me want to dive out the nearest window, but does Bush even look surprised?
This is how low I’ve sunk. What have you done to me, Bush administration? See how you’ve made me think? See what you’ve turned me into?
April 9th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
jennifer-
i agree and would even take it a step or two further, but suffice to say, you are not alone. there are many who will never be able to shake the haunting that was their first glimpse of the man behind the curtain.
April 11th, 2006 at 6:01 pm