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Paging Dan Quayle

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Media
Posted on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 10:50:02 AM EST
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(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

Desperation. David Brooks via Althouse:

The first predator, of course, is Mark Foley, the Florida congressman. The second predator is a character in Eve Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues."

Foley is now universally reviled. But the Ensler play, which depicts the secretary's affair with the 13-year-old as a glorious awakening, is revered.

Okaaay. Potatoe:

IF FOR NOTHING ELSE, DAN QUAYLE DESERVES POINTS for audacity. . . . [T]he Vice President dared to argue last week in a San Francisco speech that the Los Angeles riots were caused in part by a "poverty of values" that included the acceptance of unwed motherhood, as celebrated in popular culture by the CBS comedy series Murphy Brown.

Personally, I think Brooks had a Beavis and Butthead moment and wanted to use the word vagina in a column.

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    Paging Dan Quayle | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#1)
    by unbill on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:44:45 AM EST
    I guess that I will stop complaining, but isn't this a single-issue blog? Please don't go too general on us, TL.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:44:45 AM EST
    So, because Quayle was wrong to attack a fictional character, it's okay celebrate a play about child molestation? I think I missed your point.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#3)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:55:24 AM EST
    Michael: You missed my point. Both Quayle and Brooks choose to equate events in fiction with real life. Quayle's opinion on unwed mothers is not the relevant point, as Brooks' opinion on the Vagina Monologues, which I have never seen and have no opinion on, had nothing to do with the topics they attempt to relate it to. To be honest, Quayle makes more sense than Brooks. Who in Gawd's name can Brooks name as endorser of the Vagina Monologues and a critic of Foley and the GOP leadership (not that the positions are hypocriticial, but before we explore whether they are, wouldn't it be nice to know what in the hell Brooks is talking about?) Quayle had more coherence in his argument, Murphy Brown set a bad example - was a bad role model. Dumb argument, but at least coherent. What is Brooks babbling about? Did the Democrats endorse the Vagina Monologues in their platform or something? Seriously, I think Brooks is pretty dim generally, but this one is bizarre off the charts. Why would you bother to defend it?

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#4)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:55:24 AM EST
    Unbill: I believe Jeralyn has responded to you on this but, in any event, not my bailiwick. That said, have you read my post on Dred Scott? Or is the single issue criminal law? Cuz then I have nothing for you.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#5)
    by Sailor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:58:33 AM EST
    The common thread is fiction, not acts. Aheesh! And the play isn't about child molestation. Brooks, like all rethuglicans, is just trying desperately to somehow negate the fact that rethugs knew they had a sexual predator in their midst and looked the other way. BTW, there are crimes and politics involved with foley, a perfect fit for TL.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#9)
    by unbill on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:19:31 PM EST
    I must have missed JM's response. I have always prized TalkLeft for its seriousness about its single-issue character. It would be safe to assume that most people who come here daily (like I do) read a number of blogs. It gets hard to weed through the blogosphere chatter in order to get to meaningful stuff on certain issues. One could read about how terrible Lieberman is or the latest Dan Quayle joke on dozens of blogs. That's why I think that the Sandy Koufax awards are perfect for the site, and I'd rather see it stay that way than drift towards becoming like a lot of other blogs: too non-specific. That being said, I liked your Dred Scott piece.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:19:31 PM EST
    great-the positive healing sexual experience of being molested by an adult. isn't that the point raised in the column-such molestation plays to the rapturous applause of the left?

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:19:31 PM EST
    one might add what political party has members more likely to march in a parade with NAMBLA members? who do you think NAMBLA members contribute to in greater amounts?

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#8)
    by Dadler on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:20:57 PM EST
    All children and adolescents have sexual awakenings, realizations, developments. We are sexual beings. It's what enables our species to continue. It's as ingrained in us as much as eating and sh*tting are. It is the survival instinct. The issue is whether this evolving sexual awareness, and its serious mental and emotional implications, is being exploited by adults to get their dysfunctional rocks off. The VAGINA MONOLOGUES, while not a personal favorite, is still a play that has been seen by many, and which has much to say about sexual politics and violence.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:22:04 PM EST
    Quayle had more coherence in his argument, Murphy Brown set a bad example - was a bad role model. Dumb argument, but at least coherent.
    I never understood why people would think that about Quayle, if they knew anything about the plotline of that show. The "Murphy Brown" character became pregnant by accident, through a liason with a long-time romantic interest. When she told him, and said that maybe it was time for them to settle down together, the father ran off. All of "Murphy's" friends wondered what she would do then, since she was a liberal career woman. She decided to keep the baby. So, to sum up - fictional character becomes pregnant, the father runs off, she decides not to have an abortion - and Dan Quayle is the one who complains. That never made any sense to me.

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:22:04 PM EST
    if a play about sex with a child plays to rapturous applause on college campuses and with the liberal left, doesn't that say something about the attitude of the audience?

    Re: Paging Dan Quayle (none / 0) (#12)
    by aw on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 12:07:06 PM EST
    Sailor, those sound pretty good. I saved the recipe to my food files.

    Paging Dan Quayle | 12 comments (12 topical)