{"id":1091,"date":"2006-11-10T08:35:40","date_gmt":"2006-11-10T00:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quezon.ph\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2015-11-24T00:32:26","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T16:32:26","slug":"republican-robocalling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quezon.ph\/2006\/11\/10\/republican-robocalling\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican robocalling"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Outright war, parting of ways, or strategic retreat?\u00a0Malaya<\/a> Reports the Firm’s fair share of legal beagles in the administration will be quitting, too. Amando Doronila<\/a> thinks this is a sign of an alliance that’s collapsed. Executive Secretary Ermita suggests the loyalty of “the Firm” is in doubt<\/a>. And loyalty is the only litmus test that now counts.<\/p>\n

Loyalty will count, as government workers are soon going to find out:<\/a> for every layoff, a new position will be opened up for patronage as government gears up for elections.<\/p>\n

The costs of revolutionary taxation<\/a> revealed.<\/p>\n

“Theirs but to do and die…” Singaw slithers to Supreme Court<\/a>. On the other hand, LP leadership resorts to administration-style legalistic maneuvering<\/a> to keep itself in power.
\nIt’s official: Democrats gain the US Senate.<\/a> It didn’t take too long for Filipino politicians to want to ape everything American -most-overused word to come: “bushwhacked<\/a>“. But still, the drum beating has begun<\/a>. Even Jarius Bondoc<\/a>, as loyal a government minion as can be found, suggests it’s too crude to keep pushing for the cancellation of elections as a bribe for the fractious House.
\nLast night a conversation at a dinner party reminded me of\u00a0“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” (Doris Kearns Goodwin)<\/a>. Wasn’t Lincoln’s party the reform-oriented one, I was asked. Sure. And yet today, the Republicans of Lincoln are big money people. What happened? I said it seemed to me, William McKinley (of whom every Filipino should have a non-glowing opinion<\/a>) is what happened to the Republicans and William Jennings Bryan (for whom Filipinos should always bear thankful thoughts) happened to the Democrats. It’s long been said that the McKinley clique (or at least part of his claque), specifically political boss Mark Hannah, was idolized by Carl Rove<\/a>, who wanted to copy the formidable alliance between money and politics and imperial expansion that redefined the Republican party. (See Jonathan Alter’s<\/a> satire).<\/p>\n

David Greenberg<\/a> says that gerrymandering, microtargeting, and polarization<\/a> may end up upsetting hard-and-fast rules on analyzing midterm elections. Also, of course, Republican dirty tricks which keep Democrats in a perpetually shocked condition. Democrat senior congressmen John Dingell and others call for an investigation into robocalling<\/a>. You can see CNN coverage of what robocalling is, through Crooks and Liars<\/a>. See the blog of a Rochester, New York local TV station<\/a> for video and their report on robocalling that took place in their area. See The Daily Politics<\/a> and Talking Points Memo<\/a> for a thorough report on the issue. The Republican tactic (the robocalls were all for Republican purposes) was to have a prerecorded message inform people that they were unregistered or registered elsewhere and that if they showed up at their voting precinct, they could face arrest<\/a>; other calls apparently told voters that only natural-born Americans were entitled to vote. Or sending<\/a> them on a wild goose chase<\/a> on election day. See Stolen Moments<\/a>. And Notes from the Underdog<\/a>. Oh, and cases being reported<\/a> of\u00a0voter intimidation and misleading voter registrations<\/a> sound a bit familiar.<\/p>\n

So perhaps this is the decline and fall of American Conservatism<\/a> after all? Peter Trubowitz<\/a> thinks not. blurry brain<\/a> takes a Yoda-esque look at the election results -and consequences, for the Philippines. Worried, he is.<\/p>\n

Mahathir’s heart flutters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rene Saguisag<\/a> dishes it out to the Firm -a good start, perhaps, he says, but don’t unfurl the welcome banners yet.<\/p>\n

Much as I, too, favor increased attention and resources given to the promotion of English, it’s notions like those peddled by Peter Wallace<\/a> that help discredit the proponents of the language.<\/p>\n

Newsstand<\/a> on incivility in public discourse, on the authoritarian instincts of those who snipe at their conservative elders, etc.<\/p>\n

RG Cruz<\/a> on everything you wanted to know about TV ratings, but might have been afraid to ask.<\/p>\n

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Technorati Tags: Blogging<\/a>, philippines<\/a>, politics<\/a>, president<\/a>, Washington DC<\/a><\/p>\n

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