flip-flops
Posted at 10:25am on Jul. 7, 2008 Toward an Understanding of the Obamian Language
A Compendium of Useful Words and Phrases for the Traveler, Student, and Businessman
By blackhedd
Here at RedState, we have more than our share of accomplished linguists, and the appearance of a new language in nature is a matter of great interest to us.
Today in America, we’re witnessing the birth of a language (“Obamian”) which borrows heavily from the grammatical structure of American English, but with a heavy influence in matters of linguistic construction from the writings of George Orwell. Like any truly distinct language, Obamian has been observed to be highly consistent in regard to vocabulary and syntax.
We’ll be watching the development of this new language closely, with the ultimate aim of producing a complete vocabulary and grammar.
For now, here’s an initial set of essential words and phrases for the traveler or businessman (pronunciation generally follows American English):
"Consistently": Whenever this word appears (typically in the formulation "My position on XYZ has consistently been..."), it signifies that a flip-flop will appear in the next sentence.
"Inartful": This term (often appearing as “I expressed myself inartfully”) is used ironically to give a subtle impression that the speaker is acknowledging a flip-flop, while in reality he's blaming journalists for it.
"Puzzling": The speaker uses this word when a mainstream press outlet calls attention to one of his flip-flops. The term signifies that the speaker is not amused, and is intended to convey a vague threat or menace.
"This isn't the person I've known for many years": This phrase signifies that the speaker is about to throw a long-trusted friend or political ally under the bus.
This is the first installment. Feel free to add additional citations or naturally-occurring formulations of actual Obamian speech in the comments.
-Francis Cianfrocca
Posted in Breaking News | flip-flops | Obama — Comments (4)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 5:45pm on Jul. 2, 2008 Yet Another Flip-Flop On Trade
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
Of course, in February of this year, Obama said something entirely different:
One wonders what America's trading partners think about all of this--beyond "America's word will not be trusted" if such double-talk actually finds its way to becoming policy.
Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | flip-flops | Trade — Comments (18)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:04pm on Feb. 4, 2008 The Case of Richard Shelby & Ben Nighthorse Campbell: What If YouTube Existed In 1998?
By Martin A. Knight
In the aftermath of 1994, in fact the day after the Gingrich/Barbour led Republican Party's recapture of the House and Senate after forty years in the wilderness caused Peter Jennings to chide the American people for having a temper tantrum, an eight year veteran Democratic Senator announced his defection to the GOP. Richard Shelby had been a Democratic Congressman for eight years before he defeated Republican Senator Jeremiah Denton (the very first elected Republican Senator from the state of Alabama since Reconstruction) in the elections of 1986.
In contrast to the way the New York Times would greet the defection of James Jeffords from the GOP to the Democrats i.e. "A Profile in Courage" seven years later, the Gray/Blue (i.e. Democratic) Lady's title for the story of Shelby's move across the aisle was "A Profile in Opportunism."
In March of 1995, another long-term Democratic politician, also a Unites States Senator traveled Shelby's path to the other side of the aisle. Ben Nighthorse Campbell had served four years as a Democratic member of the Colorado General Assembly, six years as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and two and a quarter years as a Democratic Senator before becoming a Republican.
Posted in ben nighthorse campbell | flip-flops | Mitt Romney | Republicans | Republicans | richard shelby — Comments (22) / Email this page » / Read More »
