I’ve Got the Mitt Thinks I’m a Moocher, a Taker Not a Maker, Blues I’ve Got the Mitt Thinks I’m a Moocher, a Taker Not a Maker, Blues
(Sung by three members of the 47 percent) Well, I work two jobs, and that makes for a kinda long day. And the boss deducts the payroll tax that I’ve gotta pay. With sales tax too, I kinda thought I was paying my dues. I’ve got the Mitt thinks I’m a moocher, a taker not a maker, blues. Well, the wife and I took retirement some years ago. And Social Security accounts for most of our dough. Though we contributed to that so we’d have it there to use. I’ve got the Mitt thinks I’m a moocher, a taker not a maker, blues. Well, I went to Nam while Mitt went on his mission to France. A buddy needed rescuin’ and I thought, “Well, I’ll take a chance.” A wounded-vet pension’s not the salary that I would choose. I’ve got the Mitt thinks I’m a moocher, a taker not a maker, blues. (All, in chorus) Yes, he thinks we’re bums, and work is something we would refuse. Entitlements, he says, are what we just live to abuse. With his fat-cat friends, what he says about us is J’accuse. So some of us moochers would sure like to see him lose. We’ve got the Mitt thinks that we’re moochers, takers and not makers, blues.
Sep 26, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin
Blasphemy Is Good for You Blasphemy Is Good for You
What if the right to be a jerk is where freedom begins?
Sep 26, 2012 / Column / Katha Pollitt
A Rallying Cry From the Romney Camp A Rallying Cry From the Romney Camp
“Amid Discord, Romney Seeks to Sharpen Message on His Agenda” —The New York Times We’ve got to go now hell for leather. We’ve got to get our act together, ’Cause even right-wing pundits say That this campaign’s in disarray. With our endeavor such a mess We find it difficult to press Our message that this country needs A man who’s proven by his deeds That he can turn a firm around, That he is someone who’s renowned For skills in management writ large. But wait: that’s who we’ve got in charge.
Sep 19, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin
The Problem of Conservative ‘Intellectuals’ The Problem of Conservative ‘Intellectuals’
As Mitt Romney’s campaign descends into increasingly indefensible terrain, a few right-wing stalwarts are still standing by their man.
Sep 19, 2012 / Column / Eric Alterman
Casualties in the Education Reform Wars Casualties in the Education Reform Wars
The stakes are high for students unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire.
Sep 19, 2012 / Column / Melissa Harris-Perry
Convention Bounce Convention Bounce
From Charlotte, Obama had hoped for a bounce. It came in a way unforeseen: When William J. Clinton had spoken his piece, He’d furnished a strong trampoline.
Sep 12, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin
Naomi Wolf’s ‘Vagina’: No Carnations, Please, We’re Goddesses Naomi Wolf’s ‘Vagina’: No Carnations, Please, We’re Goddesses
In her loopy new book, the celebrity feminist acknowledges that every woman is sexually unique, but then she argues that they're all the same—i.e., just like her.
Sep 12, 2012 / Column / Katha Pollitt
The Real Risks of Fake Outrage The Real Risks of Fake Outrage
A manufactured controversy aimed at Elizabeth Warren shows the damaging ways we exploit trivial kerfuffles and pass them off as political stories.
Sep 12, 2012 / Column / Patricia J. Williams
Calling In the Humanizer Man Calling In the Humanizer Man
Analysts say that Romney campaign strategists face the challenge of humanizing their candidate. —News reports They’d like it if this man the folks are seeing Resembled more an actual human being. For that he’d need some warmth and shmaltz and soul; Then he’d appear less plastic and more whole. So in their dreams of triumph they aspire To show that their guy bleeds and may perspire, This can be done at once, without delay: The Humanizer Man is on his way. Yes, any candidate with boardlike stiffness Can be adjusted with surprising swiftness. The Humanizer Man’s done this before. Though he fell short of loosening Al Gore, He’s had a host of triumphs in his day. So if Mitt’s men believe, to their dismay, Their man’s as human as a Charolais. No need to cry “¡Caramba!” or “Oy vey!” For everything is going to be OK. To give him hope you only have to say, “The Humanizer Man is on his way.”
Sep 5, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin
The Washington Post’s Feckless ‘Fact-Check’ The Washington Post’s Feckless ‘Fact-Check’
Afflicted by the elite journalistic disease of “on-the-one-handism,” the MSM’s supposed arbiters of truth—like the Post’s Glenn Kessler—can't ma...
Sep 5, 2012 / Column / Eric Alterman