President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

One silver lining, and I’ll call this the Dale Earnhardt Philosophy, is once Trump dies, all this shit is over.

These rubes are wildly loyal and they don’t jump from person to person.

Dale Sr. Is the only person I’ve ever seen this popular with the masses. If you think they love Trump, it’s nothing compared to the Dale Sr. years.

But once Dale Sr. left NASCAR, he’s never been replaced. Not even close.

Once Trump is gone, there is no replacement.

 

Nothing says America First like kidnapping a baby.

 

It won't in Florida. He better be careful with the judge in D.C. though. She's been one of the toughest judges on the 1/6 foot soldiers. I doubt she has a deep well of patience with Trump's usual nonsense.

 

The judge can rule to allow it, I think, but that decision is going to be made by Mr. Chief Justice Roberts. It by God *should* be on TV live and unfiltered, but it's really hard to trust Roberts at this point.

 

That's why Trump's attorneys need Roberts to shut it down. OTOH, he might have a big enough bellyfull of today's R's and let it be broadcasted out of spite and to clear the decks a bit.

 

Teachers and professors are leaving in droves because of it. I hope DeSantis gets bitch slapped in the Presidential primaries, then loses his next governor's race. What a twat that guy is.

 

Not a good day for the GQP at all.

 

That's a fascinating topic for debate, although I see a few points with which I might disagree. Earnhardt's legacy has perhaps grown larger in death (or at least the positive aspects of it) whereas no one but Trump's fanatical minority will give a shrug when he finally disappears into the abyss.

The "NASCAR as a metaphor for a Southern morality play" is worthy of a PhD thesis study, and I could fill several posts with my thoughts on the subject. The whole idea of "rebirth through fire" where drivers atone for their sins to become great heroes goes back to at least Junior Johnson, and I would say even Raymond Parks, who ran one of the first successful teams from his Atlanta liquor store, all the while profiting from bootlegging and numbers running behind his office door.

Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace and Ernie Irvan are among those who could be considered brash upstarts who had a moment of epiphany at some point during their careers, went from heels to faces, mellowed and became revered elder statesmen. The Busch brothers are seemingly on that same path.

And then there was Earnhardt.

Ironhead was a special case right from the get go. The son of the short-track legend who died never having his chance at the big time, the boy from blue-collar Kannapolis who wasn't handed a ride (like that damn Jeff Gordan!) but pulled himself up from his bootstraps, the man who could "see" the draft like no other driver before or since. However, he had at least as many detractors as fans for many years -- he didn't get The Intimidator handle for nothing --and "rattling the cage" of Terry Labonte at Bristol hasn't been forgotten among a number of other sins and transgressions.

But for all his successes, the one prize that eluded him was the Daytona 500. Year after year, Dale was the odds-on favorite to win, and year after year, something or somebody would conspire to keep him from the ultimate achievement. He frankly wandered in the wilderness for 20 years until winning it in 1998. And three years later, he died trying to help his team do the same thing, giving his life in sacrifice. (Are you seeing the Biblical parallels here?)

Dale Earnhardt literally was DEI-fied from that moment. And more than 20 years later, fans -- most of whom never saw him race -- still hold up three fingers at Daytona. And I can't tell you how many sentences I've heard start with "If Dale were still here ..."