Booman Tribune

Horse-Farm Republicans

by BooMan
Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 01:52:55 AM EST

I grew up in central New Jersey. Mercer County isn't horse-farm country exactly, but you don't have to go far to get there. You can drive north up Rte. 206 an hour or so and be right in the heart of Christie Todd Whitman's turf. Or you can drive east on Rte. 33 toward the Shore and really get a taste for the high-life. There really are people who play polo in their spare time. They're called Republicans. They're totally isolated from what ordinary people call 'hardship,' and they pretty nearly resemble the assholes at Caddyshack's Bushwood Country Club. They don't listen to Rush Limbaugh or watch Glenn Beck, and they have almost exactly nothing in common with Tom DeLay. For the most part, the money these people have was earned by a father or grandfather or great-grandfather, but they do alright letting the magic of compound interest keep them in luxury. Most of them mean no harm.

To answer Josh Marshall's question, yeah, a lot of these people probably have absorbed some pretty socially conservative views by osmosis. That happens when you attend the Republican National Convention as a delegate and everyone you meet is a redneck. But most of them are too concerned about getting grass-stains to mix with the Hoi Polloi that make up the Republican Party's base. If their child developed a taste for NASCAR they'd send him to a psychiatrist faster than a Southern Baptist would his gay son.

The more sophisticated of these people...the ones that actually are still conducting international business transactions...got worried enough about our deteriorating status in the world that they actually voted for Obama-Biden over the erratic and bizarre campaign of McCain-Palin. They may not want to pay taxes, but they're not giving up their European vacations, and they hear from their European clients.

The Republican Party doesn't seem to want anything to do with these country club Republicans. And I'll admit that they're not an attractive lot, and never were. But these elites ran the opposition to the New Deal and Great Society a far sight better than the teabaggers. Don't you think?



Display:
I think that many of those people will become independents.  It's getting to be to embarrassing to admit that you're a Republican.
by eagleye on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 02:38:23 AM EST
Great post. Never knew there was polo in NJ, though I've seen the horse territory in the western part of the state and had a few brushes with the horse crowd there. It was their CT counterpart, iirc, who insulted Roosevelt with their worst insult - "class traitor"

Viva Obama
by Errol on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 09:40:14 AM EST
Oh yeah, you can play some Polo in the Garden State.
by BooMan on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 12:17:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
what a great website! and pics of horses for sale, some great looking horses. maybe I should think about something more classy than the Old Paint I aspire to.

Viva Obama
by Errol on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 09:57:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
These people are busy taking over (i.e. buying) the Democratic Party. In a decade or so, the Democrats will be the party of money and the Republicans will be the party of crazies. Perhaps a Progressive or Liberal Party (the Greens?) will emerge to give some Leftward balance.

The Achilles Heel of the Democratic Party has always been their identification with corrupt big city machines. Once you are used to being on the take for little things, it makes the big sellout of your constituents that much easier.

by The Voice In The Wilderness on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 01:05:30 PM EST
A nation with any claim to civilization has a tax system that prevents this kind of unearned wealth. They may mean no harm, but they are doing enormous damage to the social fabric nonetheless. They are also a major reason the US has no good political choices.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."
by DaveW on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 at 01:24:16 PM EST


Display:
Go to: [ Booman Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]
Menu
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password





Find textbooks at Alibris!

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES

Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos
by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.


Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")



Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)


Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)


"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen


The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review


BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual

$79.95 * Sale: $59.95


Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)


The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!


The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan


Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----


Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review


Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey


1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus



Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"


Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)


The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

by Madeline Levine


Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com

:





We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Alibris - Books You Thought You'd Never Find
Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:
www.Patagonia.com


Listed on BlogShares

© 2009 Booman Tribune