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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGarrison Keillor: The punk who would be president
http://host.madison.com/ct/opinion/column/garrison-keillor-the-punk-who-would-be-president/article_66066686-6298-56c6-b1e2-cbc474d48885.htmlGarrison Keillor: The punk who would be president
It is the most famous ducktail in America today, the hairdo of wayward youth of a bygone era, and it's astonishing to imagine it under the spotlight in Cleveland, being cheered by Republican dignitaries. The class hood, the bully and braggart, the guy revving his pink Chevy to make the pipes rumble, presiding over the student council. This is the C-minus guy who sat behind you in history and poqed you with his pencil and smirked when you asked him to stop. That smirk is now on every front page in America. It is not what anybody left, right or center looks for in a president. There's no philosophy here, just an attitude.
He is a little old for a ducktail. By the age of 70, most ducks have moved on, but not Donald. He is apparently still fond of the sidewalls and the duck's ass in back and he is proud as can be of his great feat, the first punk candidate to get this close to the White House. He says that the country is run by a bunch of clowns and that he is going to make things great again and beat up on the outsiders who are coming into our neighborhood. His followers don't necessarily believe that what they love about him is what kids loved about Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, the fact that he horrifies the powers that be and when you are pro-duck you are giving the finger to Congress, the press, clergy, lawyers, teachers, cake-eaters, big muckety-mucks, VIPs, all those people who think they're better than you you have the power to scare the pants off them, and that's what this candidate does better than anybody else.
After the worst mass shooting in American history on Sunday, 50 persons dead in Orlando, the bodies still being carted from the building, the faces of horror-stricken cops and EMTs on TV, the gentleman issued a statement on Twitter thanking his followers for their congratulations, that the tragedy showed that he had been "right" in calling for America to get "tough."
Anyone else would have expressed sorrow. The gentleman expressed what was in his heart, which was personal pride.
We had a dozen or so ducktails in my high school class and they were all about looks. The hooded eyes, the sculpted swoop of the hair, the curled lip. They emulated Elvis but only the look, not the talent. Their sole ambition was to make an impression, to slouch gracefully and exhale in an artful manner. In the natural course of things, they struggled after graduation, some tried law enforcement for the prestige of it, others became barflies. If they were drafted, the Army got them shaped up in a month or two. Eventually, they all calmed down, got hitched up to a mortgage, worried about their blood pressure, lost the chippiness, let their hair down. But if your dad was rich and if he was born before you were, then the ducktail could inherit enough wealth to be practically impervious to public opinion. This has happened in New York City. A man who could never be elected city comptroller is running for president.
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Garrison Keillor: The punk who would be president (Original Post)
G_j
Jun 2016
OP
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)1. Another reason to love Keillor
malthaussen
(17,217 posts)2. How can Mr Ryan and Mr McConnell teach Mr Trump basic humanity...
... when they lack it themselves?
-- Mal
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,207 posts)3. A national treasure
Garrison Keillor, that is. Not Trump.
TwilightZone
(25,492 posts)4. "But if your dad was rich and if he was born before you were"
I love that line.
niyad
(113,587 posts)5. k and r for garrison
Hekate
(90,840 posts)6. Outstanding. KnR
LuckyLib
(6,821 posts)7. "He is a thug and he doesn't bother to hide it."
Well said. His take on the "hoods" in high school is spot on.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)8. I'm going to miss him when he quits hosting "A Prairie Home Companion".
Corgigal
(9,291 posts)9. I just wanted to thank you for posting this.
I might have missed it, and I needed this reasoning. I'm feeling like chicken little and I don't know why. I was raised in New York so this whole Trump thing is confusing. However, Orlando is what tipped me over the edge and I didn't know why. This article helped me to understand why my CNS is going crazy.
We should have never allowed Florida to steal an election for GWB. We should have all jumped in our cars and fought for our rights to be counted. To me, this is where we messed up and allowed idiots in and wars to start without cause.
I hope it turns out ok for us all.