Cf: the WSJ’s “Is your Coach Republican“:
…it turns out, that the Great Coach Lou Holtz is running around, trying to be a politician– which is fine, I admit.. & I’m actually interested. His skill at Coaching is legendary, & I have his series of tapes w/ Blanchard…
But then he ‘draws a parallel between the standards and rules that most coaches set for their players -and the- Republican vision of how American society ought to operate‘, saying this:
“”You aren’t entitled to anything. You don’t inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team,” Mr. Holtz said. “You’re treated like everybody else. You’re held accountable for your actions. You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…There’s winners, there’s losers, and there’s competitiveness.”
OH REALLY.
Let’s take this in order:
1) “You aren’t entitled to anything.”
-Funny: Republicans historically are some of the most Entitled Group *ever*; ie, nobody’s ‘entitled’ to anything but THEM. & correspondingly, they are extremely classist, & extremely hostile to worker’s rights, let-alone individual rights. They are as W.Bush labeled them the “Have Mores”, & the Middle Class can basically Fuck Right Off. In fact, their original impetus (from Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”, bearing fruit with “Reagan Democrats”) was to deliberately appeal to White, Well-Off, ex-’Plantation-Owner’ types… & heavy on the extremely ‘Nationalist’ (ie, code for anti-minority) themes.
-Historically, when Republicans are in Power, they’re extremely “Federalist” & you’re a ‘traitor’ if you don’t agree: ie, you’re NOT ‘entitled’ to argue with the Feds. But then when in minority, they’re all “States Rights” & scream for “minority protections” & ARE ‘entitled’ to blow-off Federal regulations (sound familiar?)
2. “You don’t inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team,”
-clearly he hasn’t heard of ESTATE TAX, which the Repubs framed as “Death Tax”… & correspondingly nearly obliterated. Which is probably why all the current statistics (including current Census numbers) show that MOST ppl who are RICH in this country, INHERITED THEIR MONEY… so much for “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”… Well, as long as those ‘bootstraps’ are DADDY’S TRUST FUND.
-plus, w/ the incredible gerrymandering escalated by Delay, less than 2% of any Congressional Seat is -ever- up for grabs!!! Ie, “inherited power” in Congress!!! 98% re-election rate!!! Is it any wonder they call it ‘life-time appointment’??
3. “You’re treated like everybody else. You’re held accountable for your actions.
-really? when Ken Lay, Madoff etc gets Club Fed, & crack dealers (who kill far less ppl) get the chair?
-when Cheney & OJ walk free? Cheney’s crimes have already gotten him subpoenaed to the Hague, & OJ isn’t in jail for murder
…Are these Dem’s, pray tell?
4. “You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…”
-omigosh– is he claiming that Repub’s literally “care about others”? when they’re historically the Party of NO:
-no Social Security
-no MediCare: they just voted LOWERING access to MediCare to 55yo, just last year!!!
-NO UNIVERSAL HEALTH-CARE
-No Food Stamps
-No Welfare
-No Health-Care Reform, AT ALL.
…perhaps he means, “ppl on YOUR team”, ie “other well-off, entitled individuals”… & then he’d be Exactly Right;
-& Finally-
5. “There’s winners, there’s losers, and there’s competitiveness.”
-Exactly: Republicans Win, & Dems Lose. How is that called “Competition”?
-The biggest keyword for “Competitiveness” is always “Innovation”… & look who screams that word the loudest: Bill Gates, who has more marketing & lawyers on staff than Engineers– Ie, “let’s not ‘innovate’ great new Products; let’s ‘innovate’ new License Agreements which force Dell/etc to buy a copy of Vista for computers that have Linux installed” [true!]
-Health Care, Banks, Big Auto, Big Pharma… basically EVERYONE who spends literally BILLIONS on ‘Campaign Contributions’
…you can make a chart, of exactly how much “Campaign Contributions” all these companies have made, -vs- how much $$$$ they saved (taxes, protectionist tariffs, regulation loopholes) or ‘earned’ (tax incentives, national resource giveaways, ‘no-bid contracts’, & the almighty TARP).
Is that “Competitive”? No ‘level playing field’ here, guys… It’s ‘uphill all the way’ if you’re not a Rich Republican, ie in the words of W. Bush, “My Base”.
I truly Respect Lou Holtz, & will forever remember some tapes I listened to of his, when hitchhiking to Alaska…
…but he should really stick to Football, or apply his excellent skills of ‘game’ analysis, to the political boilerplate he’s spewing…
…b/c Every One of his comments is True of Football… but sadly less-than-true of politics, & esp. of Republicans.
I suspect, if he does his research, he’ll turn Libertarian. 