Getting Whupped

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Know how you can tell Senate Democrats are really getting whupped?

It's when the Republican minority leader -- illustrating an article on Senate muscle flexing -- gets his picture in the paper stretching four columns in the print edition, anchoring his oversized office with such fine touches as....

1.)  that "working the phones" pose, the spread fingers emphasizing, perhaps, the difference between a 51 vote Democratic majority and a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority.

2.)  A remote-control device (reinforcing who's really in control).

3.)  The script for making Dems do what Repubs want ... and below that, the sports page, suggesting what a great game it is to play from behind.

4.)  A tri-cornered flag, not just honoring the military, the troops, the fallen and the Iraq war overall, but also driving home the point that Repubs still maintain leverage over war funding, and drive the security agenda too.

Any further whupping evidence that you see?

(image: Doug Mills/The New York Times.  December 2004.  via nytimes.com)

Comments

[lytom]

Euphoria gone.
Uncovered are the collaborators...
I would not call it "getting whupped"...
Nice red tie!

[zatopa]

Any further whupping evidence that you see?

Just the things that are so obvious that they might not be worth mentioning -- the way the papers are stacked on his desk (orderly stacks, neither unnecessarily tidy nor a mess: this is someone who is getting work done, and lots of it) and the row of family photographs on the desk (closing off the desk zone in a regular straight row, rather than angled to visually unite the desk with the room: personal touches are important, but his boundaries are not negotiable).

[Stella]

Harry should feel whupped when his own people call him the "MINORITY leader." Maybe it was the tie.

[Lindata]

The full and well-worn breifcase in the foreground, indicating long days and nights of work (in the saddle?) as well as any leather fetishes that may be aroused.

[gasho]

Did Senator Reid loose a family member in the war? Why does he have a folded flag in his office? Is there a copy of the Constitution folded up in there, ready to be buried?

[arty]

Naw, Mitch just picked it up at Arlington. It didn't have anyone's name on it so he thought it was up for grabs.
First come, first served, and some folks just happen to always be at the head of the line.

[arty]

Just noticed that at least two readers/posters seem to think that it's Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader in the photograph.
It's Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader.

It sort of makes a difference.

[MonsieurGonzo]

As a processor he is analog, his inputs and outputs consisting of text (no graphics apparent) on paper media, wired telephonic and (presumably) television channels. Though this image broadcasts him on MainMedia to us ~ the processor narrowcasts himself to a select few by hardwired push-buttons.

He is never anonymous to them, thus ~ as we are, to him.

We're not there; there is no presenation of us, a constituency WE there in our, the people's representative's HIS office: his conceit implicit is that he possesses the rôle of the peoples' processor.

His family is a wall, fixed on the plane extent of his personal reach; a limit, a boundary layer, a container. A barrier, a distinction : They remind him of someone else, he reflects on them; but they are a blank back to anyone else, and remind no one of anything other than his place.

As a processor he seems an anachronism; i mean ~ there are few artifacts within this image that could or did not exist a half century ago: some other war, folded flags from other places; other people such as he / and we, not there; and (probably the same buttons for) them, that matter most... there is nothing new, in this news, other than that it is all so old ~ that all this, persists.

[The BAG]

Yeah, when I was putting this together, I briefly wondered about this, too. At least I wondered about the absence of a computer. Your comment, Gonz, makes me wonder how many congress people (especially in leadership) are more analog versus 2.0, and how much disconnect (if just, in relating to peers) results from simply being "less wired in."

[dancinfool]

Squares. All I see are squares. Perfect 90 degree angles - nothing obtuse about Mitch, is there?

And where's the computer????

[Senator Mitch McConnell]

Computer? I don't got no computer...I DON'T NEED NO STEENKIN' COMPUTER!

[Steve]

If he had a computer he wouldn't be able to straddle Larry Craig on his desk.

[Steve]

Btw ... check the photo used here, looks like a gesture he uses often.

[gasho]

Gonzo - Your are so right. I did mistake this for Reid. It does make a difference, for sure, but sometimes it's hard to tell these politicians apart. The Dems are de facto supporting the thugs by not taking them to the mat, no holds barred.

I did, however, just hear that Reid is thinking of holding Congressional sessions over the holidays to block Bush's notorious recess appointments, so I have to give him a little credit.

[bartcopfan]

What struck me was the self-confidence NOT to worry about presenting an uncluttered, tidy space--no need to be "on one's best behavior" or "putting a best appearance forward".

He doesn't give a damn what you think (he looks like).

[James, Los Angeles]

Man, that is one helluva telephone he's got there, though. It would probably be a lot easier to master "The Google" than to figure out how to forward a message on that damn thing.

[Mad_nVT]

Where are the Closets?

The Skeleton Closet? Those DC guys all got them.

The Rove Closet, loaded with bags of dirty tricks.

The Cojones Closet, where the Democrats have placed their gonads. Must be a Closet somewhere, since the Dems are such woeful castrati.

The Lobbyists' Closet, stuffed with goodies from the guys that have brought you your war, your energy policy, your health care system, your future.

[weisseharre]

"...sockos: we're hung by..."

[blueinky]

mitch-u-bitchi

[Chris]

And now the US Senate has passed a bill of funds for the Iraq war without tying it to a timetable for withdrawal by a vote of 90-3.
We're all going to pay the price for their unwillingness to end this atrocity.

[apsyhn]

I'm curious as to who the bust is of. I won't guess George or Junior. Maybe Reagan.

I also like the luggage. It makes him look like he's ready to head somewhere important at a moment's notice.

The circle of chairs is a nice touch. Important meeting, no doubt.

But the jackass still has a phone with a cord. What on Earth are we paying taxes for? Oh yeah, that gold framed mirror above the marble fireplace and a suit that is tailored too short.