Buerkle: Queen of Manipulation

Blueskygirl attended the Republican Community Forum last evening in Manlius. 

The claque of now-familiar Buerkle supporters sat together. They chattered and gossiped and hugged hellos in anticipation.

Outside before the event and maintaining a presence throughout the meeting were several hardy souls protesting Buerkle's Medicare sellout with signs and silence.

The queen herself missed the beginning of the meeting, the Pledge of Allegiance and introductions, arriving 20 minutes late, unapologetic.

Lateness is a virtue for a manipulator as tension builds for the faithful. Buerkle is a commanding presence. She's here!

The meeting had been interesting right up to the point that Buerkle took over. Town, county and state elected officials reported on the conditions in their respective domains. Mostly these segments were informative, hopeful and honest. It would be a lie for Blueskygirl to say she is a new fan of Don Miller, yet he seemed believable, if shallow, on his take on his role in Albany.

Then, as soon as it became Ann Marie Buerkle's turn, the forum turned into a partisan circus. The tone changed; the important work of local, county, and even state office holders became insignificant.

And Buerkle didn't bother to thank the local officials for their long hours, successes and dedication.

Buerkle, saying nothing, said everything the claque wanted to hear. The now-familiar refrains and buzzwords set them cheering like eighth graders.

That Buerkle allows a public forum to break down, particularly as she continues to claim she wants to find common ground, is unseemly. For her dissenters, the atmosphere becomes intimidating and unpleasant. Blueskygirl knows it is a lie that Buerkle wants to find common ground.

Blueskygirl is fascinated by Buerkle's demeanor. 

She plays her roles to the hilt: wise woman and martyr.

She is the wise woman we sent to Washington, bringing her worldly experience to help our great nation out of its sad situation. 

She is a martyr for the cause of "national security" and "freedom", and "certainty" for small business owners. She holds herself out as a common person with a heart of gold, putting her all behind businesses and corporations so that wealth can trickle down to the masses. (We saw how well that worked during Reagan.) (Never mind that she has two houses and her personal wealth is in the millions.)

She wears a perennially sad expression that plays into her martyrdom. She pleads and begs people to understand that she FEELS. She is TRYING to help. Woe is she. The truth hurts and she is just a messenger with a bleak message. Don't blame her.

Buerkle is a topnotch manipulator. She lies, she distorts, she rouses the crowd around patriotism. Confronted with the presence of the top local AARP officer, right after she asserted that AARP supports her positions, she quickly asked all the veterans in the room to stand so we could applaud their sacrifice [it's the manipulation of emotions, not the real and deeply appreciated sacrifices of veterans, to which we would wish to draw attention here]. Blueskygirl watched in amazement as Buerkle's claque bought it. Boy, did they!

Blueskygirl is giving up going to these meetings. They leave her feeling she is witnessing some of the worst in people, and really, what is the point of self-immolation?

pantaloni in fiamme!