He did it again when it comes to the 2012 Republican field - this time back in April 2010.
While the Paultards and the Mittsters quarrel over which team is trying to stack tomorrow’s GOP presidential straw poll (both!) at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Sarah Palin gives the crowd caribou jerky to munch on (labeled “Teriyaki Sticks” because she can see Japan from her house) while she reaches to establish foreign policy cred, and Mike Huckabee rolls out his “fair tax” plan (tastes like Jerry Brown's of 1992 and Steve Forbes of 1996 and 2000!), it’s Newt Gingrich that so far is milking the gathering most effectively to position his own presidential run...
The media declared frontrunners – Romney, Palin and Huckabee – are in for some turbulence ahead. Gingrich is out of the freeze tank and offering the party base to shag. Oh, baby!
Unfortunately, Al isn't writing much about U.S. politics much these days. That's our loss.
But perhaps we can take a moment to pause and think about why he's likely the best political prognosticator out there. Maybe we could learn something.
I'd suggest that its primarily because Al has successfully isolated himself from the D.C. village pundit class and their groupthink bubble mentality. In other words, he pays them no mind. Instead, he's tuned into the people...who they react to and why. That's what effective community organizers do. Its not only the best way to build for real change, turns out its also a pretty fine position from which to prognosticate.
Yeah, don't mess with Al. He has forgotten more about politics than most of us will ever know in our lifetimes. You're no slouch either, Smartypants. You and Deaniac and rootless_e have your hands on the pulse of reality and are a joy to read.
ReplyDeleteAl kept many of us sane during the 2008 campaign. I hope he'll come back to us for the 2012 presidential campaign season. He also pegged many of the faux Left, such as Glen Greenwald, early on. He relentlessly exposed their snide tactics, shoddy research and shallow thinking. Although I was caught-up in his excellent Honduran reportage, and I know his love of grassroots politics is south of the border, I could certainly use his anti-Chicken Little vaccine now!
ReplyDeleteThank you (Mr. or Ms.) Smartypants for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add that we're offering 40 scholarships to study Strategic Journalism and Civil Resistance next March, in Mexico, for a ten-day intensive training. You can read more about that at this link:
http://narconews.com/Issue67/article4534.html
Completed applications are due December 28 and may be obtained by writing to 2012application@narconews.com
warmest regards,
Al Giordano
narconews@gmail.com