A Brief Essay On How Political Power Functions In The United States (With Bonus Campaign Updates!)
By When I started blogging about the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, I expected the effect to be what most of you did: that Obama would withdraw the nomination, announce that it had been a belated April Fool’s Day joke, and immediately announce the nomination of Zombie Thurgood Marshall as Associate Justice. Strangely, this has not occurred. Some calls to my many well-placed sources within the administration have confirmed the most logical explanation for why Kagan remains the nominee. Obama, Senator Leahy, and their top advisers read and carefully considered my blog posts, agreed that I was correct, and began to prepare the appropriate press release. Unfortunately, the re-animation of former Justice Marshall had not been fully completed — Glenn Reynolds decided to join up with Jeff Sessions’ Restore James McReynolds project instead. It being too late in the day to begin the thawing of Jim Nabors William O. Douglas, the administration reluctantly concluded that Kagan’s nomination had to go forward.
This will all be obvious to most of LGM’s politically sophisticated readership. Some commenters, however, have advanced the radical thesis that my blog posts have not had a direct effect on the nomination and confirmation process. Now, it’s one thing if people get the bizarre idea that nobody in America’s political and economic elite knows who I am or cares what I think about anything. I can take the slings and arrows! But what if some gullible readers — despite all of the authoritative pronouncements of Roger L. Simon and Jeff Jarvis — get the idea that C-list political blogs are not at the apex of political power in the United States? I find it highly distressing that anyone could deny this obvious truth.
However! Lest you get the idea that I’m not a hugely influential muckety-muck, I have been made part of the highly exclusive mass campaign email list of Mickey Kaus, who at least in some formal sense is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Senator. Why, that position entails almost as much power as writing blog posts! So allow me to share the latest campaign news:
He has appeared on a radio call in-show neither you nor I have ever heard of, but that probably has an influence among Democratic primary voters almost equal to that of Smooth Billy Bennett!
An op-ed about the influence of unions “will be unveiled somewhere soon.” About time — I’m sick of Kaus’s position on this issue remaining a secret!
The LA Times will be remaining neutral!
A lot of other unspecified things will be happening soon!
Hey, when he’s the nominee, don’t forget who made it happen…
[Picture stolen from FMK.]