Yakkitty Sax – By Danny Donovan – Mad Science #7 | @MDWorld

February 23, 2012 Danny Donovan 2 Comments

I am in an currently enraptured by the Bill Clinton documentary on PBS and wanted to take a minute to talk about the “Clinton Sax Scandal”.

No, that’s not a typo.

In 1992, Bill Clinton was down in the polls, and it didn’t look as if he’d pull off a win in November, in a last ditch effort he went on a little known late night show, that was primarily geared toward African Americans.

The Arsenio Hall Show.

The infamous sax performance heard around the world, and arguably what helped him get elected. In part with his MTV town hall meetings, he found away to connect with a base that was largely turned off to politics, and voting.

Flash forward to today, the scene with President Obama singing the opening bars of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, at the legendary Apollo Theater no less, has made its rounds on the mainstream news shows as well as YouTube, and even turned into a ringtone by the re-election campaign.

The President one upped himself by singing a duet with B.B. King, and having Mick Jagger hand him a microphone like a roadie.

Compare and contrast that with Mitt Romney’s ballad of America. Whereas the performances of Clinton and Obama were organic and felt natural, Mitt Romney comes across as a cross between Ward Clever and that lame high school guidance councilor who uses out of date slang and sits in his chair backwards to “connect with the kids.”

When you try to force a connection it never really works. In business, in politics, in relationships, it’s all the same. The rigid nature of the GOP has cut itself off from the majority of the country. Clinging tightly to out of date notions lodged deeply in the last century.

And it seems funny, that as society is moving further along, a small sect of people are happy to stay entrenched in racism, sexism, the whole nine yards.

Yet they try to move back to the center and pander to the audience, looking like fools mostly. The thing that stands out mostly in my mind is during the 2008 primaries, when Romneybot 3000 tried to appear human he posed for a picture with a group of black students (probably the closest he’s come to black people in his entire life) and said:

“Who let the dogs out? Who, Who? Who, Who?”

That’s right Mitt, lets relate to an entire group of people to a song that was popular for six months… in the year 2000. Also did you REALLY want to relate yourself to the treatment of dogs?

Between the Baha Men gaffe and his copper throated rendition of the national anthem, Mitt is constantly looking for that Arseino moment, and that is precisely why he’ll never find it. Writing an op/ed about how we should let Detroit fail, then cutting an ad touring around MI saying how much he loves the state, WHILE DRIVING A CANADIAN CAR.

In (one of ) his home state(s) he’s in a statistical dead heat with Rick Santorum.

After running for President for six years isn’t it a bit pathetic that you can’t get over 25%, it seems like the GOP is determined to lose and lose big this year, not that I mind.

The choice in the current GOP struggle is between RomneyBot and The Church Lady. “Hmm… who does the president remind me of? Who could it be? Could it be SATAN?”

Yes, we have gone so far off the reservation that now ‘Ol Scratch is brought into the mix. Like Beelzebub isn’t busy enough keeping Twilight popular, and giving Justin Bieber hit albums apparently, he is very invested in this election. I wonder if he has a Super Pac?

The GOP learned the wrong lesson during the 2010 mid terms. They thought the wave of Tea Party victories gave them a mandate even tho voter turn out was lower than 2008.

The republicans have a problem connecting. And this is going to cost them in November. As the jobs numbers continue to rise and the economy starts to lurch forward, they’re going to need to have more than antiquated ideas and fears of the boogie man bringing about hell on earth if they want to stay relevant.

I wonder if Mitt Romney has time to learn to play the banjo?