While looking into my piece on the McCainification of the GOP, I came across a speech, "The Steamroller of Socialism," that Republican rising star Paul Broun delivered during the House's stimulus debate. There's a lot to love in this neglected piece of Websterian oratory -- neologisms, metaphors, antithesis -- and one particular section deserves reprinting for your enjoyment:
Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I stand here today because Americans face a fork in the road. One path leads to socialism, and the other path leads to freedom. This non-stimulus bill is the road to socialism. It will give us a journey that includes bureaucratic controls, high taxes, government intervention, Cuba-style medicine, and economic collapse of America.
This steamroller of socialism is being shoved down our throats, and it will strangle our economy. This porkulous bill has a few decent provisions in it, but it's mostly filled with mystery meat. Rancid meat. Like the millions for plug-in government cars and millions for mouse restoration that will ruin the entire meal. The captivating rhetoric about openness and transparency is providing cover for the rancid meat. ... Liberals need to stop pretending that the American people can't tell the difference between SPAM and filet mignon.
Porkulous!
--Eve Fairbanks