Thursday, May 31, 2007

Casting Call: Tough (Acting) Guys Only

We've talked previously about the right's fixation with candidates who sell the best package of tough guy and folksy. Often, the only thing ballsy about these folks is how shamelessly they work to create an illusion that bears no relation to reality - waspy, ivy league, draft dodging son of privilege becomes a brush clearing, pick up driving, man's man. And so on.

The latest to join the fray is actor and former Senator, Fred Thompson. As Glenn Greenwald notes, it's not enough to project these phony characteristics, for them to take hold you need enablers in the media falling over themselves in a rush to proclaim it true. Newsweek's Howard Fineman said of Thompson: Thompson not only is "tough on defense," but he himself is "a tough guy." Greenwald's review of Thompson's official bio shows that:
This folksy, down-home, regular guy has spent his entire adult life as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, except when he was an actor in Hollywood. ... And -- like the vast, vast majority of Republican "tough guys" who play-act the role so arousingly for our media stars, from Rudy Giuliani to Newt Gingrich -- Thompson has no military service despite having been of prime fighting age during the Vietnam War (Thompson turned 20 in 1962, Gingrich in 1963, Giuliani in 1964). He was active in Republican politics as early as the mid-1960s, which means he almost certainly supported the war in which he did not fight.
Toughness does not only come from military service, but avoiding service when it's "your turn" is helpful in illuminating the difference between fantasy and reality particularly in times like these when terrorism and other global conflicts mean that future presidents will be required to make critical military decisions with increasing frequency.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In a recent GOP debate no candidate supported a new rule to let gays serve openly in the military...

so if any GOP ever says support the troops, keep in mind that it does not apply to the brave gay and lesbians serving....they can go fuck themselves as far as the GOPs are concerned.