I’ve always liked Garrison Keillor, even if his radio show can be a little sleepy at times. But I like him even more after seeing his latest syndicated column. He discusses one of the Republicans’ tactics when it comes to the upcoming election better than anyone I’ve seen so far:
I see by the papers that the Republicans want to make an issue of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the congressional races this fall: Would you want a San Francisco woman to be speaker of the House? Will the lectern be repainted in lavender stripes with a disco ball overhead? Will she be borne into the chamber by male dancers with glistening torsos and wearing pink tutus? After all, in the unique worldview of old elephants, San Francisco is a code word for g-a-y, and after assembling a record of government lies, incompetence and disaster, the party in power hopes that the fear of g-a-y-s will pull it through in November.
Check out this short syndicated column; it’s worth your time, even if you do have to register (for free) with the Chicago Tribune.
This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2006.
I was never a fan of Keillor’s “comedy,” but I’ve been very impressed by his writings. He regularly writes for Salon, and he used to have an amazing advice column there. Sadly, he retired it and it was taken over by an unhelpful windbag, but it was clear that Keillor’s a man of wisdom, even if he thinks talking about an imaginary small town is “funny.”
I guess “funny” depends on who is talking about what imaginary town. Granted, Lake Wobegon ain’t knee-slapping or pie-in-the-face funny (nor, necessarily, are slapped knees or pied faces), but there is whimsy to be accounted for. Not to mention the gentle chuckle of recognition. My southern, Presbyterian family of origin sees a lot of mirror images in those Minnesotan Lutherans.
Having lived in Mpls for five years, I’ve gotta tell you that GK is hilarious. He’s so popular there and elsewhere because he can make fun of people while making fun of himself as well. And, what a sexy voice!