Libya, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen stories and the Iowa Caucuses have something in common. They both need to die a miserable death and be ignored forever.

I will not cover any drugged out, whored out screwups working in Hollywood. I am not wishing death on Mr. Sheen. I am absolutely wishing death on news coverage of him. He was great in “Hot Shots,” part one and deux. The movie with Emilio Estevez where they played garbagemen was so bad it was good. It was hilariously stupid. I have seen Two and a Half Men approximately two and a half times and it was fine.

If shows like Access Hollywood and Inside Edition want to discuss him, fine. If TMZ wants to cover him, great. Why is Fox News discussing this man? He will either live or die. That’s it.

What Fox News got right was its refusal to cover the first of what will be eight billion events about Election 2012. I turned to C-Span, which radio host Hugh Hewitt rightly calls the television equivalent of waterboarding.

I have been very harsh on people that I feel don’t matter, be they leftists, Ron Paul supporters, and Hollywood celebrities. These people bother me because the suck the oxygen out of the room and crowd out real news.

With politics, every four years we have tons of candidates with zero chance of winning the presidential nomination who insist in standing on the stage and taking precious minutes from the real candidates. Until the lower tier candidates drop out or are locked out of the building, debates are meaningless.

The Iowa Caucus is useless, but it is less useless than the Iowa Straw Poll. Yet even the Iowa Straw Poll is less mind numbingly worthless than the events where the lower tier candidates show up and the top tier candidates ignore it, with occasional exceptions.

In 2008 there were four major candidates. They were Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney. Some will argue for Mike Huckabee, and they will be wrong. For those pointing out that he won the Iowa Caucus, that is my entire point. He became King of Iowa. As Iowa goes, so goes Iowa.

In 1980 George HW Bush won Iowa. Ronald Reagan then easily won the nomination.

In 1988 Pat Robertson won Iowa. Bob Dole at least came in second. Bush Sr. easily won the nomination.

In 1996 Bob Dole did win with 26%, but let’s not forget that Pat Buchanan won 23%. Buchanan then won New Hampshire and nothing else.

In 2000 George W. Bush did win Iowa with 41%, but Alan Keyes…yes Alan Keyes…had a strong showing with 14%. If he won 1% of the overall vote I did not see it.

In 2008 it was Mike Huckabee winning Iowa, leading to absolutely nothing.

In 2011 an event was held without Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Rudy Giuliani, Haley Barbour, and many other serious candidates.

While Newt Gingrich is a serious candidate and Tim Pawlenty has potential, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum have a ton of gorund to make up to break through.

Cain is a phenomenal orator. That may or may not translate into votes.

Gingrich is a brilliant policy wonk. Are Americans ready for an adult conversation?

Pawlenty is tall with good hair. Yet his near screaming at the end of his speech seemed like he was trying to get people to ignore that he is a white Midwestern Governor. By white Midwestern Governor standards he is actually not boring. Yet he will not out-preach Cain or out-wonk Gingrich.

Rick Santorum gave a phenomenal and meaningful speech. Yet outside of social conservatives, what happens with him next?

Every event has to have at least one candidate where people question why they were there. This time it was former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, who lost his rematch with felon Edwin Edwards but finished ahead of David Duke. Roemer used to be a Democrat, and his insistence that he would not accept donations more than $100 meant he would lose. Unilateral disarmament means defeat. Romney and others will drown him in their money.

I watched this event only to reinforce my belief that presidential elections start way too early and have too much fluff. I began blogging almost four years ago and covered the major candidates only. When my four year anniversary hits on March 11th, I will devote time again only to the serious candidates. With all due respect to Buddy Roemer, he needs to show why he belongs on the stage. Being a good guy is not enough.

The speakers were good, especially Santorum. The event was useless. It was better than covering Charlie Sheen, but barely.

There are only two issues that matter. The domestic issue is Wisconsin and the foreign policy issue is Libya.

The news should consist of these issues and nothing else until they are resolved.

It is time for hard news to reign supreme. I always complain that there are not enough adults in politics. There are even fewer adults in news broadcasts.

There is not a single reason to discuss a single thing being uttered by somebody just because they are on a television situation comedy or drama. People who make movies should be given the news equivalent of ductaping.

They have a right to speak. We should do our part by ignoring them.

If Iowa wants to be ranked higher on the significance scale, they should get even half of the major candidates to show up. I could declare a debate forum in my home and Buddy Roemer might show up.

For those who care, Colonel Khadafi is still shooting his own people and Governor Scott Walker is still playing hardball with the missing Wisconsin Democratic legislators.

Khadafi and the rebels against him are both fighting hard, and it seems to early to know who is winning. As for Walker, the left is about to fold as the protesters have been dwindling in numbers.

Whatever people feel about these two news stories, they matter.

Enough with the nonsense. There is real news to cover while uneventful “events” get magnified and insignificant “stars” get glorified by people who contribute to the dumbing down of America.

eric

5 Responses to “Libya, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Charlie Sheen”

  1. Micky 2 says:

    America likes its clowns.
    Using Sheen as a form of entertainment is as sick as watching the special olympics hoping one of them falls down in 100 yard dash.
    Then when he dies we’ll bust out our morality and cry about the signs and crys for help that no one noticed.
    There should be no knews on this man until he finally bottoms out, which is hard to do with buku millions, or kicks the sht out of Sean Penn.

  2. Tygrrrr is absolutetly correct about Iowa; it just doesn’t have the demos to produce serious primary results for the GOP. Gingrich, Cain, Santorum, these guys are not serious candidates. They can not raise the money to win, on top of the fact that they can not win the votes anyway.

    Romney is in front right now. But he has a serious nomination problem on two fronts – the Religious Right and the Tea Party, each for some different and some similar reasons.

    Pawlenty is not moving up at any significant pace.

    Barbour has a national electability problem.

    It’s still too early, apparently, to even speculate on who will emerge.

    JMJ

  3. Dav Lev says:

    Charlie Sheens TV show is one of the most entertaining on TV
    no matter what some people think. He makes over 1.5m an episode.

    His lunatic antics makes good news and sells.
    I say, so what. How much different is he than lets say
    Sarah Palin, or other politicians? I man Ron Paul, give me a break.

    Sheen’s writers and producers tell it like it is, behind close doors and
    swept beneath the rug. True they exaggerate. But much of the dialogue
    is what people are thinking, ifnot saying out loud.

    This will pass.

    Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, etc., do not portend good things to come.
    They were all as of late, pro-American (thus anti-Russian).
    They were considered moderates. Unlike Iran, Libya ended its
    nuke program and we boasted about it (US/Britian).

    We are losing in Afghanistan and Ifaq, and by talking to the Iranians
    are losing there.

    Obama is playing it cute, with no definite policy..waxing and waning
    which is his style. He cannot commit to anything.

    I am not for per se, or against unions. But his lukewarm responses
    to Wisconsin say something him. Andhe was a community organizedr
    who shared the mike with ACORN?

    The Wisconsin gov is lucky this is not Egypt..or there would be
    blood in the streets. When millions of Americans take the oath
    they are guaranteed certain wages, increases, COLS, and benefits.

    Walker should take a hike..like off a short pier. He is despicable.
    In Tunisia, the city would have been burned to the ground.
    (See riots in Europe and Greece).

    Federal employees dont have collective bargaining rights, but
    they do negotiate and can influence legislators (all legal).
    But Obama denied employees two years of COLS, the same
    people who put him into office.

    Obama is failing everywhere, from economics to foreign policy.

    But, the Republicans and Independents will have to get their act together
    before too much longer. They must widen the umbrella to include
    minorities, w/o which winning is problematic.

    Or as Charlie Sheen repeats, “its all about winning, roaches”.
    Hes right.

  4. Micky 2 says:

    “His lunatic antics makes good news and sells.
    I say, so what. How much different is he than lets say
    Sarah Palin, or other politicians? I man Ron Paul, give me a break. ”

    Hes mentally ill and an addict. One if not both diseases have manifested themselves over time individually or as a result of each other.

    No breaks for your ignorance

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