The Merry Pranksters Ride Again...

[erisesoteric]

OK, a while ago, I mentioned an internet group called True Majority (www.truemajority.org) that was started by Ben Cohen, formerly of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, that helps people send faxes and emails to there representatives and congressmen, encouraging a left wing point of view.

They have officially gone crazy. It's beautiful. Today, in my email, I received this:

Dear eris,

It's pretty clear that to accomplish the goals of TrueMajority, our elected officials need to share our vision. So we have formed a new legal entity, TrueMajorityACTION which will educate, lobby, and GET ACTIVE IN THE 2004 ELECTIONS.

TrueMajorityACTION's first project is to brand George Bush as a liar. So we're building a 12' high statue of our president with his pants on fire (using artificial flames) which we will drive all over the country on his very own flatbed trailer.

We'll use ridicule and whimsy to disseminate into the national consciousness what the media and pundits aren't saying - that this president lies about some of the most important issues facing our country.

So here's the idea behind the campaign:

If we are going to cut through the clutter of media, we can't just call Bush a liar. The "Pants On Fire" statue sends the message that the facts are so plain to see that even a child can get it. By making him look silly, we stress how important this really is.

People who see Bush with his pants on fire (and our PantsOnFire.net banner) will think "Liar, Liar." This interactive mental process makes it really sink in.

It'll take $30,000 from our members to get George and his pants on the road. So if you like this idea, we really need your help. Please click here to donate and become a member in good standing with TrueMajorityACTION.

www.pantsonfire.net/donationC.htm

Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Hang them on a telephone wire.
-- children's rhyme

This is going to be a lot of fun. And powerful too.

Ben Cohen

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[RichC]

Dear Eris,

We've gone absolutely loon. Would you like to join us?

[Jelymo]

Dear Mr. Cohen:

Yes. Yes I would.

But only if we can accidentally burn down my hotel first.

-eris

[Ski]

you know, if i thought they could really pull this off, I would donate a little.

[erisesoteric]

I have no doubt at all that they CAN pull it off. I'm betting that even if they fall short of the goal, Mr. Cohen can kick in some of the proceeds he got from B&J's and make the project a reality.

Where I'm dubious is... should they? It all seems a little... childish and meanspirited. And possibly counter productive. So...

Should they do this thing?

[RichC]

If they want to be part of Louis Black's next bit on the Daily Show, sure.

[crazy a]

Maybe if they got a pro wrestler like Steve Austin to have a few words with Bush:

"Mr. President, in case you're not sure, there's 15,000 people here calling you an asshole! *loud cheer* Now Mr. President, I don't know how good your hearing is, but if you don't understand what I'm saying, I always carry around a little sign language, so here's to ya! *flips him off; loud cheer*"

[Dan the Goob]

I'm not convinced this is a good idea. Not because I'm supporting Bush (even I'm not that conservative [img]wink.gif[/img] ) but because I don't see it accomplishing the right things.
My take on it:

The people who already don't like Bush don't need it.

The people who actively support Bush aren't going to change their minds.

That leaves the group in the middle who are basically undecided, and my feeling is that more of them are going to react negatively to this sort of juvenile humor than will suddenly "see the light"

Personally I think intelligent humor is very welcome in politics, Slapstick on the other is not.

[erisesoteric]

I think we're thinking a little more high tone. Like, "How do you lie to us? Let me count the ways..."

Of course, the problem isn't necesarily that Dubya lied... he's a president, that's what they do.

What sticks in my craw is the instantaneous revisionism he tries to give us, ala 1984. Saddam has WMD. Well, he doesn't really, but we all know he's a bad guy, so we all know the real reason we went in there was to help the Iraquis. Well, we're not doing a good job helping the Iraquis, so we're really looking for thos WMD after all. Well, we're not finding them, so the real reason we took out Saddam was because he was tied to Al Quaida. Well, there's really no connection there, so we're just bein' neighborly, helpin' out those Iraquis...

and on and on and on...

[RichC]

And the sad part is that the dork is probably going to get re-elected again.