Notable & Surrealistic: Henry Louis' Performance Art

"[Obama's] position to "negotiate" with leaders of rogue states is not any sort of a positive. Even the act of meeting in the same room with the President of the United States confers legitimacy on a foreign leader. That's why presidents have been very careful about who they confer that legitimacy on. And that's why it was a scandal when President Clinton literally ran into fidel castro and shook his hand. It should be noted that presidents of both parties have refused to have unconditional talks with the head of castro, inc. There's a reason for that. There's nothing to negotiate UNTIL the regime meets certain preconditions. That's the price of poker. Trying to negotiate with the regime without first getting the long sought concessions from it is like continuing to play that game of poker with a confirmed cheater. You have nothing to gain and everything to lose. What magical words is Barack Obama going to utter that will make raul castro understand that he's been mistaken for all these years? That his murderous ways were wrong? To step down from power voluntarily and face the justice he's been evading all these years? What's he going to ask raul castro? Will he ask raul how it felt to give the order to shoot down two unarmed civilian aircraft over international waters and kill 4 Cuban-Americans? Will he reward him for giving a good answer by loosening sanctions. People that think that negotiating with castro inc will bring anything good are out of their fucking minds. Maybe we should sit down and talk with Charles Manson too about giving him weekend furloughs." -- Henry Louis Gómez, "Rant About Obama," Babalú, June 7, 2008

I've quoted a generous chunk of Henry's "Rant About Obama" because it is a rare, if momentary, reappearance of that other Henry who called himself "The Conductor" and preceded the Bourbonish Henry Louis of today. That primal Henry was not the unctuous and insufferable Henry that has replaced him. That other Henry had common sense while this one is full of high speeches and strange stratagems, but, mostly, he is full of himself. We used to like the old Henry who tilted at The Herald's windmills and ocassionally knocked one down; nobody likes Henry Louis. There hasn't been a transformation like this since Latka Gravas became Vic Ferrari.

Henry Louis understands what is at stake but is constitutionally incapable of applying the only available solution. I had expected, however, that his "Rant about Obama" (which was also a rant about McCain) would conclude with a Val-like declaration that he would be voting for the "old foagie" even if he had to "hold his nose" to do it. After all, Henry Louis is proudly supporting three Cuban congressmen from Florida who have lower conservative ratings than does McCain, who is supposedly "a liberal Democrat in Republican clothing." All three, incidentally, endorsed McCain even before the first primary. They must know something that Henry Louis doesn't know. Still, he doesn't trust their judgment and has no compunction about undermining their interests. In fact, Henry Louis doesn't so much support Ileana and the Brothers Díaz-Balart as he loathes Joe García. Would that he could summon as much despite for Obama for then he would have no problem supporting McCain. But no. He would let an arsonist set fire to his house so that 4 years from now his favorite fireman can wet its ashes with his hose. This is not an exaggeration.

Henry Louis wants Obama to win in November so that after he has laid waste to this country and buried all hopes of a free Cuba in our lifetime, a "real conservative" like Newt Gingrich or Fred Thompson can be swept into the Oval Office on a wave of anti-Obama sentiment in 2012. Well, if anything, it will have to be on the crest of an anti-Obama revolution, not an election. It is presupposing a great deal to think that there will be elections in 2012. In fact, it is presupposing a great deal to think that there will be a Newt Gingrich, a Fred Thompson or even a Henry Louis in 2012.

"I don't believe that Barack Obama is a Communist," Henry Louis assures us. That's what a lot of people were still saying about Fidel in 1959. In fact, there are still people who affirm even after 50 years of Communism that Fidel Castro really isn't a communist. Having in effect asserted that there are no Communists anymore (if Obama isn't one, then indeed there are no Communists), Henry Louis then has the effrontery to say that "McCain has made it clear that he [McCain] doesn't understand that the Communists have not gone away!" So, which is it? Have the Communists gone or not? Is there a threat from the Communists that McCain is ignoring or is there no threat posed by Obama and his cohorts? Henry swings one way or the other, but always manages to hit McCain.

To see a man like Henry Louis attacking a man like John McCain as deficient in his knowledge of communism, a turncoat and unworthy to carry forth the legacy of his friend Ronald Reagan, takes surrealism as far as it can go, out-Dalis Dali and out-Picassos Picasso. The clock is melting and Henry Louis thinks that it will strike the hour of our deliverance four years hence.