"I'm Dreaming of a ..." - by Randy Newman

"I'm Dreaming of a White President"

(a political and satirical song)

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by Randy Newman

Excerpts fron Randy Newman's Interview with SLATE
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[on the satirical song]
Slate: You’ve said that one thing that inspired you to write this song is the thought that, “there are a lot of people who don’t want a black person in the White House and they want him out.” To put it bluntly, how do you know?

Newman: Well, I don’t know, partly because no one, and I mean no one, would admit feeling that way. Still, it’s clear that there are lots of people out there who are uncomfortable. The Civil War was a long time ago but there are aspects of it that remain unsettled, I think. Early on in Obama’s term, there was heat generated by issues that you wouldn’t think would cause such passion. Even the term “Obamacare,” the way it’s spit out, like he was some kind of witch doctor. Maybe I’m overly sensitive to the issue, but I don’t think so. There’s an edge to things that normally wouldn’t have an edge. I thought it was a little extra.

Slate: Did you have Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby in mind when you were writing the song?

Newman: Not them specifically, but maybe the America they represent. Oddly enough, I did a version of Faust years ago, and the vision of God I had in my mind was George Romney. He looks like what God would look like to me. That wide-open, beautiful face. That’s what I see when I picture him. The idea was that the devil always worked real hard and the Lord always beat him, and he just couldn’t understand it. And Romney is the guy I had in mind for that. He just looks so great.

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[On race and racism]
Slate: ..., it seems that you and a few of your colleagues are getting pretty fed up. Is this a trend?

Newman: I’m not sure about a trend, but for me it’s a reaction to the Republican Party, which seems to have drifted farther to the right than a major party has drifted in my lifetime in any direction. It seems to have become almost a radical party. The hate and… I don’t think it’ll last. That kind of thing doesn’t seem to last.

Slate: You’re releasing “I’m Dreaming” free of charge, but you’re encouraging listeners to donate to the United Negro College Fund. Why that particular cause?

Newman: I have some concern that kids will hear this and think, “What is he talking about?” If you have a kid and you try irony out on them, they don’t get it at 7, 8 years old. “What do you mean, you’re dreaming of a white president?” It’s a problem. You can’t really hide the Internet from kids. It worries me some particularly because I’ve done Disney and Pixar stuff.  

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The Republican Folly! - by TPO

 

  The Republican Folly!
-----------------------   It is now confirmed.  The Republicans are clearly on an uncompromising path to their own doom.
They are a party of rigid ideologues who have abandoned all notions of political pragmatism or common sense that are necessary for public acceptance.  There is no progressivism in American conservatism any more … it is all reactionary, and it is all negative.

What do republicans worship now?  Answer: “Objectification” ! *

Thomas B. Edsall says in a NY Times opinion piece (“Other people’s Suffering”, March 4, 2012) ...

" For power holders, the world is viewed through an instrumental lens, and approach is directed toward those individuals who populate the useful parts of the landscape. Our results suggest that power not only channels its possessor’s energy toward goal completion but also targets and attempts to harness the energy of useful others. Thus, power appears to be a great facilitator of goal pursuit through a combination of intrapersonal and interpersonal processes. The nature of the power holder’s goals and interpersonal relationships ultimately determine how power is harnessed and what is accomplished in the end.
Republicans recognize the political usefulness of objectification, capitalizing on 'compassion- fatigue,' or the exhaustion of empathy, among large swathes of the electorate who are already stressed by the economic collapse of 2008, high levels of unemployment, an epidemic of foreclosures, stagnant wages and a hyper-competitive business arena."

Emphatically, we can state that Republicans see no irony or hypocrisy in what they are espousing. For example:

-    They abhor and want to do away with all forms of social welfare mechanisms that have been crucial safety nets for many people in this country.  Paul Ryan has famously said that he thinks Social Security has become "a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency". As an avid Ayn Rand fan, it is certain that he is not thinking of reforming Social Security at all but of doing away with it. So, Ryan wants an 82 year old grandma to get off her lazy butt and get a job. But he himself has been "working" (?) for the government his entire life, he's never even had a real job!

-    At the same time, however, corporate welfare in the form of tax cuts, or government loans and bailouts is deemed acceptable.

-    Republicans want Government to get out of people’s lives.

-    But then again … Republicans want Government to have power, for example,  over a woman’s body when it comes to unwanted pregnancies. 

The Republicans’ world is the complete antithesis of what the Democrats have as a vision which is encapsulated in Bill Clinton’s words in Charlotte, NC, on September 5, 2012.  He said …

" We Democrats think the country works better with a strong middle class, real opportunities for poor people to work their way into it and a relentless focus on the future, with business and government working together to promote growth and broadly shared prosperity. We think 'we're all in this together' is a better philosophy than 'you're on your own.'
Who's right? Well since 1961, the Republicans have held the White House 28 years, the Democrats 24. In those 52 years, our economy produced 66 million private sector jobs. What's the jobs score? Republicans 24 million, Democrats 42 million! "
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* Objectification : the ability to view others in instrumental terms has certain advantages in the corporate arena – advantages applicable to politics as well. [definition by Deborah H. Gruenfeld and Stanford School of Business colleagues in: ““Power and the Objectification of Social Targets.”]