That's Aristides The Just, shown above, obligingly assisting in his own ostracism. He probably deserved it -- anybody praised by Plato's fictional Socrates was almost certainly a very nasty brutish reactionary -- but still, the guy seems to have had a sense of humor, and a certain aristo insouciance which deserves admiration, up to a point.
Though I'm not usually a big friend to the ballot box, I love ostracisms, plebescites, recalls, ballot initiatives, all that stuff. The very least you can say about them is that they gum up the works. They subvert the orderly processes of "representative" "democracy" -- both terms really ought to have more than one set of scare quotes apiece, and the phrase, taken as a whole, may well be a contradiction in terms.
This is why liberals generally hate such channels for the expression of the fickle public's bloody-mindedness, of course.
Still, the liberals seem to be pretty happy with the progress of the recall campaign against Scott Walker, and for once, I'm with the liberals. There's a certain purity to an election with no Lesser Evil. Throw the bum out, or not? That's the kind of election I like. I'd pull the yes lever every time. I'd pull it for Walker, and I'd pull it for Obie. Impeachment should follow inauguration as dinner follows the cocktail hour.
Speaking of which, I do believe the sun is over the yardarm.
Comments (8)
I'm out here California way and my first experience with a recall was Arnie's electoral putsch of Gray Davis. I worked in a copy shop in Sacramento and a guy working for Arnie's campaign would come in to get stuff printed up. I remember not particularly caring for the guy or his perspective but I thought it was wonderful that someone was forcing the governor to have to reprove himself to 'his people' and I wondered why it didn't occur more often. I know why they don't, but they sure seem like the perfect weapon to keep dangling over every politician's head.
Posted by Paul Alexander | January 17, 2012 6:30 PM
Posted on January 17, 2012 18:30
Alas wisconsin recall requires a choice of relacement on the ballot
Posted by op | January 17, 2012 7:08 PM
Posted on January 17, 2012 19:08
So you can't just vote against Hitler OP? You actually have to pick a new one in the process?
http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2012/01/ordinary-evil-i-just-admit-that-youre.html
That sucks.
Posted by Drunk Pundit | January 17, 2012 7:20 PM
Posted on January 17, 2012 19:20
Ugh. A choice of replacement? I had no idea. What a Progressive state!
Posted by MJS | January 17, 2012 7:31 PM
Posted on January 17, 2012 19:31
hey
but i completely beieve in this recall regardless as father S sez
it is disruptive and uppity regardless if its been co opted by dembots and pie cards
it encourages a sense of popular power
only if the succeed however
Posted by op | January 17, 2012 10:02 PM
Posted on January 17, 2012 22:02
As grassroots as a tea party.
Posted by High Arka | January 18, 2012 12:48 AM
Posted on January 18, 2012 00:48
ass hole former US senator russ feingold
once a pwog darling nationally
now office less
won't consider leading the challenge
as the candidate for gub of the recallers
imagine fightin' bob lafollette
taking such a pusillanimous posture
btw the recallers need a ballt initiative to tax the rich to plug the budget gap
that prempts
the budget buster shreiks of the GOPer freaks
unlike uncle poitics
state politics needs to be
scrupulously budget minded
class war over taxes opens up another winning front for the recall forces
Posted by op | January 18, 2012 8:36 AM
Posted on January 18, 2012 08:36
I wouldn't care about the justification behind a recall campaign. I'd support it for the sole reason of doing my part to gum up the works.
And in the highly probable event that someone I don't like takes over, then I'd support the recall campaign to get rid of that SOB as well.
And so on.
Posted by Pied Cow | January 19, 2012 8:27 AM
Posted on January 19, 2012 08:27