This post gets an epic trio of tags: meat, metaphor, motorcycle.
ADDED: The WaPo headline is: "Scott Walker is the only potential presidential candidate who can go to a biker rally and mean it."
This makes me think about a decisive moment in the debate last fall between Scott Walker and his Democratic opponent Mary Burke. As I observed it:
There was one "fun" question, asking them what they'd do if they had to go a day without campaigning and would surely take to their preferred 2-wheeler, Burke on a Trek bike and Walker on a Harley.Burke's family founded the Trek bicycle company and Burke's campaign relied heavily on her experience as a Trek exec.
Where, exactly, would they go, and who would they go with? Walker gave the precise route, complete with route numbers and turns, and said he'd go with his usual "buddies" who motorcycle with him. Burke seemed nervous and said "um" a few times as she claimed she'd go back to her hometown and spend time with members of her family. Meade was heckling, saying that everyone knows that Mary Burke isn't much of a cyclist. Ah, but what was she supposed to do? The questioner imposed the assumption that if she had time off, of course, she'd bicycle. It would be awkward to refute that! Just because my family is in the bicycle business doesn't mean that when I get some time, what I want to do is bike. If her family were in the dairy business, would they assume that in her spare time, what she likes to do is drink milk?
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Hillary concedes the HD voter segment.
Hillary Clinton must be defeated.
Carthage must be destroyed.
Yeah, but how many tickets does he have?
8 stitches on my leg from a motorcycle. Mom was not amused (I think I was 16 or 17)
When I first started driving, I could see everything else on the roadway, but not motorcycles. Almost killed one of them once, so I took to reminding myself before getting into the car, "Motorcycles. Remember to look for motorcycles. Motorcycles look like so," and got so that I would see them, but no way am I ever going to like them.
Just because the political symbolism is "thick" doesn't mean that people have to buy in on it. It's actually quite easy to say "oh look, he's communicating an image."
I'm imagining Hillary! on a hog.
No, I'm not.
I just can't.
Bill, yes. But he had sex with pigs, so it doesn't count.
He'll be a great nominee in 2020.
I can live with "Meat, Metaphor and Motorcycles". It sounds macho and thoughful at the same time (like Walker)
In the 70s, the GOP tried to tag the Dems with "Acid, Amnesty and Abortion" - but Hunter S Thompson said, " Hey, I'm for all those things"
Other motorcycle riding governors I can recall: Tommy. And Bill Janklow.
Ah, here he is. Tommy Thompson in his leathers. Back when he was HHS secretary.
Walker so far is the most authentic. Rubio is next although he tripped on amnesty and still has to get past it. I still like Jindal but he has to step up his speaking game. Cruz would be a good USSC nominee when Walker has the next appointment to make.
And Mike Pence. You'd think he'd be driving an RV to support the homegrown industry.
And Arnold. Of course. And the crash wasn't his fault.
Somebody tell Kerry..ixnay on the indsurferway....pretend to ride a Harley next time dummy.
I am a 60 yr old female who got a Harley at 48. My kids thought Mom had lost her mind but I love my bike. The people that ride are, for the most part, like everyone else. Not many Obama supporters though.
"This post gets an epic trio of tags: meat, metaphor, motorcycle."
Go ahead and call it the Althouse Triple Crown. I'm guessing you'll use that epic trio about as often as the horses win theirs.
It is amazing how NYTimes writers seem to have to choke when they say anything good about a Republican.
"Mr. Walker, whose early surge in national polls has receded, still enjoys a decisive lead in Iowa, thanks to an unflashy style that resonates with Iowans’ Midwestern sensibilities and to an unusual appeal across a wide ideological swath of Republicans."
Gov. Walker has an "unflashy style" and "unusual appeal" in the Times. Wouldn't it have been as easy (or easier) for the writer to call it a "plain-spoken" rather than "unflashy" style, or to refer to a "clear" appeal across a wide ideological swath of Republicans. Instead, the writer hunts to find words with negative connotations to describe something that he begrudgingly says positive about Gov. Walker.
I remember that bike rally that the Democrats had in 2008. Obama showed up riding a Trek, wearing mom jeans and one of those sissy bicycle helmets that Kerry was wearing when he crashed in France. He looked very flashy.
https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2015/05/american-military-heroes-to-join-rick-perry-for-ride-with-rick-in-iowa/
Walker has some competition in the bike optics with Perry. A quadruple amputee vet GAVE Perry his bike.
The Governor is a very good politician. I wonder how long the media opinion leaders can keep ignoring his leading the pack? The meme ending every story seems to be a version of "Walker's winning only proves Walker's sad inexperience," but we experts have all spotted that.
Mitch Daniels campaigned on his motorcycle quite a bit.
Gahrie said...
Somebody tell Kerry..ixnay on the indsurferway....pretend to ride a Harley next time dummy.
6/6/15, 5:49 PM
No more Harley's for him. Kerry's ready for the mobility scooter.
http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/mobility-scooters
I wonder which Democratic operative phoned in the bomb threat?
No, she wouldn't drink milk, she would milk a cow, scrape the corral riding a John Deere tractor, wear her Carhartt jacket and Duluth undergarments while forking hay into the feed bin. She is a poseur.
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