Saturday, August 15, 2009

TownHall's Matt Lewis: "Arlen Specter as Hulk Hogan"

Former Republican Arlen Specter has been in the news lately for Town Hall anger over Health Care reform and a recent 'Netroots Nation' straw poll showing his defection doesn't promise an easier passage to the Senate.

In the past I've likened politicians to wrestlers, interestingly another blogger has made a similar claim. Matt Lewis of Town Hall made a post on Arlen Specter's defection to the Democrats using a wrestling analogy, likening his switch to the infamous moment when 'Hulk Hogan' became 'Hollywood Hogan' after aligning with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to form the NWO. If you think that is too dense with wrestling jargon for a political article, I present to you Matt Lewis' rundown.
Arlen Specter as Hulk Hogan
... But there was another reason it resonated.

From a conservative perspective, at least, the Specter story was a classic archetype that has been re-played throughout human history -- and retold in the Bible (Judas), American history (Benedict Arnold) movies (Anakin Skywalker) ... and even in the less sophisticated world of ... professional wrestling!

Actually, the wrestling example is especially applicable in this case, inasmuch as Specter's surprise announcement was staged so as to arouse the maximum amount of attention and controversy.
Matt Lewis is one of a host of prominent politicos and pundits who have used the wrestling analogy to describe politics, joining Ann Coulter, Jon Stewart and Marc Ambinder amongst others.

VIDEO: Hulk Hogan turns heel, joins NWO

Like Matt, I've made a similar wrestling analogy for a politician's "turn" also using an NWO reference. The politician in that instance was Republican Governor John Huntsman.

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