Can I share with you how tired I am of hearing how so called "Independents" are going to decide the upcoming presidential contest? I am even more tired of hearing people talk about these dorks as if they are freethinkers who epitomize the spirit of America. If that is true then we are well and truly fucked.
I have no respect for "independents." At best they are disloyal. At worst they are politically rudderless people, lacking any coherent philsophy and the guts to make a stand.
Obama is said to have owed his first election to independents. Then those same people turned against him because he had not fixed the deepest recession since the depression, two wars and broken health care system in the 11 months since he was elected, not to mention his failure to resolve the issue of entitlements and ensuring the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund. Then, a year after that, these same independents were responsible for seating a group of right wing radical wing nuts who made it impossible for Obama to accomplish what they had purported to have elected him for in the first place and abandoned him for failing to accomplish in the first year of his administration.
It is impossible that Obama and Teabaggers could be remotely representative of even segments of a coherent political philosophy. The idea that the future of our country is in the hands of a bunch of fickle, weak minded people who have the loyalty of your basic crack whore tells me in large part what it wrong with it.
And while I am at it I might as tell you how I feel about another group of puported "deciders": the undecided. The idea that someone could be "undecided" up until the day of a presidential election completely eludes me. 18 months of primaries, two televised conventions consisting of 4 days of policy statements (and, admittedly, the droning on of innumerable talking heads who have the personalities of an unpainted baseboard,) followed by 6 weeks of campaigning during which they receive 400 pieces of literature and view a full 24 hours of televised presentations, not to mention hundreds of newspaper editorial endorsements, and these folks can't make up their minds!? I think that they should be stripped of their voting credentials due to a deficit of the cognitive skills necessary to be trusted holding a concealed, loaded vote.
So, pick a freaking side, would ya? Like it or not the US has a two party system and the way to have influence over policy is not to vote for some 3rd party rhetorical sexpot who gets you all excited but has neither the means or the equipment to deliver the goods when that moment of climax comes, leaving you with nothing but an a couple of lawn signs and a wet spot on the sheet.
The way you influence policy is to get involved. Early. Fact is that it is the small town or county level party committees that vet and select the people who end up eventually on the presidential ballot. If the rank and file party members do not support a candidate - or actively disavow her - you will never see her on a ballot. The days of bosses in cigar smoke laden back rooms picking canidates are over.
Tired of the influence of PACs - or Supreme Court enabled corporate organs? I promise you, if every eligible voter in the US sent $25 to the Presidential candidate of their choice, it would obviate the need for the PACS and end their influence. They have got to get the money to run a campaign from somewhere, if we don't provide it, they are forced into the arms of those who will.
So, pick a side. Let go of the fantasy that anyone, no matter how charismatic, is going to balance the budget, expand Social Security, give every American access to health care, bring abiding peace and prosperity and bring all those lost jobs back to these shores. Pick a party whose platform best approximates your general perspective on how the country should be run and who has something more than a snowball's chance in hell of actually winning the damned race. Then you have to support them with your money, your influence and your vote.
Oh and don't expect the candidate to implement all of their campaign promises by the 20th of June.
Have a little patience. And a little gumption. Pick a side.
I have no respect for "independents." At best they are disloyal. At worst they are politically rudderless people, lacking any coherent philsophy and the guts to make a stand.
Obama is said to have owed his first election to independents. Then those same people turned against him because he had not fixed the deepest recession since the depression, two wars and broken health care system in the 11 months since he was elected, not to mention his failure to resolve the issue of entitlements and ensuring the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund. Then, a year after that, these same independents were responsible for seating a group of right wing radical wing nuts who made it impossible for Obama to accomplish what they had purported to have elected him for in the first place and abandoned him for failing to accomplish in the first year of his administration.
It is impossible that Obama and Teabaggers could be remotely representative of even segments of a coherent political philosophy. The idea that the future of our country is in the hands of a bunch of fickle, weak minded people who have the loyalty of your basic crack whore tells me in large part what it wrong with it.
And while I am at it I might as tell you how I feel about another group of puported "deciders": the undecided. The idea that someone could be "undecided" up until the day of a presidential election completely eludes me. 18 months of primaries, two televised conventions consisting of 4 days of policy statements (and, admittedly, the droning on of innumerable talking heads who have the personalities of an unpainted baseboard,) followed by 6 weeks of campaigning during which they receive 400 pieces of literature and view a full 24 hours of televised presentations, not to mention hundreds of newspaper editorial endorsements, and these folks can't make up their minds!? I think that they should be stripped of their voting credentials due to a deficit of the cognitive skills necessary to be trusted holding a concealed, loaded vote.
So, pick a freaking side, would ya? Like it or not the US has a two party system and the way to have influence over policy is not to vote for some 3rd party rhetorical sexpot who gets you all excited but has neither the means or the equipment to deliver the goods when that moment of climax comes, leaving you with nothing but an a couple of lawn signs and a wet spot on the sheet.
The way you influence policy is to get involved. Early. Fact is that it is the small town or county level party committees that vet and select the people who end up eventually on the presidential ballot. If the rank and file party members do not support a candidate - or actively disavow her - you will never see her on a ballot. The days of bosses in cigar smoke laden back rooms picking canidates are over.
Tired of the influence of PACs - or Supreme Court enabled corporate organs? I promise you, if every eligible voter in the US sent $25 to the Presidential candidate of their choice, it would obviate the need for the PACS and end their influence. They have got to get the money to run a campaign from somewhere, if we don't provide it, they are forced into the arms of those who will.
So, pick a side. Let go of the fantasy that anyone, no matter how charismatic, is going to balance the budget, expand Social Security, give every American access to health care, bring abiding peace and prosperity and bring all those lost jobs back to these shores. Pick a party whose platform best approximates your general perspective on how the country should be run and who has something more than a snowball's chance in hell of actually winning the damned race. Then you have to support them with your money, your influence and your vote.
Oh and don't expect the candidate to implement all of their campaign promises by the 20th of June.
Have a little patience. And a little gumption. Pick a side.
YESSSSS!she shouts from the rooftop. YESSSS! Very well said. And so, so true.
ReplyDeleteNow, if only they'd listen.....
Reality may suck but it is reality--living in it means picking a side. Living outside of it means getting the same results. Want more of that? Keeping wishing-and-washing.
ReplyDelete