Am I disappointed? Yes. Surprised, no. As Norman Walsh said on the www-tag list and Elliotte Harold quotes him, "Stupid is not illegal." and I add, not unelectable. But I am comfortable that I supported the best man for the right reasons and when one does the right thing, there are no regrets.
This was the result I expected and blogged that in reply to Tim Bray's blog asking that we fire George Bush. The American electorate will only make big changes when they are comfortable and thanks to the last four years of intense mismanagement, they are very uncomfortable. So they stuck with the evil they know and avoided risking more discomfort even if it is a chance for improvement. Again, that is totally unsurprising.
As to the future, well, the people who have made the mess now have to clean up the mess. You see, elections are not about what is right, but about choosing who wins. Whoever wins has to make things right. Today, there are a lot of things that are not right in America.
Here in Alabama, an ammendment was proposed to remove a law from the Alabama constituion that preserves racism. Quoting the description and results from www.waaytv.com, a local TV station web site, "...this amendment will get rid of three elements from the [Alabama] 1901 constitution... a requirement for segregated schools, a requirement for a poll tax, and language that says publicly funded education is not a right of citizenship."
Results?
Statewide Amendment 2
No 690,247 50%
Yes 687,594 50%
You'd think we'd voted for that if for no other reason than to appear as if we were living in this century, but we failed to pass it. From a state that tried to outlaw diminished 5th intervals in music, this shouldn't surprise you or that we voted 63% for Bush. The sort of unthinking Alabamians do every day has now swept the nation. It also shouldn't surprise you that former Chief Justice Roy Moore, famous for his battle to keep the Ten Commandments on display in defiance of Federal court orders that forced his removal from office, is the main opponent of the Ammendment to remove these provisions. The Alabama Constitution can only be changed by Ammendments, is in desperate need of being replaced, but won't be because both sides fear the other will commit Draconian acts in the revision. They're both right, too.
The economy is sputtering, the death toll continues to climb in Iraq, health care is so expensive even companies cannot afford it so both our premiums and our contributions are going up even as we are laying off high skilled workforces and paying taxes to send their jobs overseas, the price of gas is at an all time high, we are losing our technical edge to the Pacific Rim, and most of our allies are ready to dismiss us from world affairs for having bungled the war on terrorism so badly. Note that while returning Bubba to office, they also soundly rejected gay marriage.
That's a lot of minds to have to change, fences to mend, and laws to pass or remove, or people to screw. The Republicans now have unlimited power with Bush in his second term. I've said before, it is a tough problem to be on the wrong side of history but that is where America is today, not because it doesn't have values, but because it cannot afford its values so it chooses instead to focus on taking more from those who have less to give to those who have more to do less for those who gave so much so that those who have more will keep what they have and get more.
It's a class war. Like it or not. Osama Bin Ladin made it plain that he intends to bankrupt the country, and the Republicans are busy helping him. It would be funny if it weren't so obviously true.
That's a heckuva a mess to clean up. I'm glad it's not my job. It is time for the Democrats to go fishin', ride a bike, take walks, and play with their kids and watch. Do get out of the way of the Republicans. They are going to be very busy. Given the last four years of majority rule in both houses and the executive branch without a single accomplishment beyond death, high prices and creating the most divided electorate in my lifetime, they will have to move very fast. And they don't know how.
That's a train wreck at full steam. Step away from the platform.
2 comments:
How do you think those from outside the states feel Len?
'Are you guys nuts' seems appropriate
Folks inside the states are asking the same question, Anonymous. At least, 48% are. Again, Richard Nixon was reelected in a 62% landslide, so maybe the nutsiness is actually getting better.
There is much to be done. We have a talk radio network that legally and vociferously fills the ears of those addicted to it with hate, lies, innuendo and the kind of propaganda that makes people come out from behind their desks calling anyone they disagree with 's.o.b. liberals'. Here in the heart of the red states, it's as bad as I've seen and I've seen a lot. So we have to start firing these people because they are a real danger at work. Otherwise, the election is over, the banty rooster is still in power, and there is a very big mess economically, socially, and fiscally to clean up. Can they do it while still misleading, lieing, stealing and punishing? I doubt it. So four more years of madness.
Truthfully, I'm trying to work out how to protect my family from them. The best comment I've seen on the Internet is Tim Bray's blog on a new reconfiguration of North America. The America that voted against the madness needs to take Ayn Rand's tact and do a John Galt on the administration. If they don't like intellect, let them try to do global business without it because once you step outside the borders of the red states, you need more than a red tie and loud voice to be heard. You need the best ideas.
Anyway, I have to bury a relative today, go read with daughter for parts in "The Wizard of Oz", and work on my C# chops. My new version of "Sam" is finally posted at www.bewitched.net (YEAA!). I'm an artist and that isn't a political pursuit. Life among the mammals goes on.
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