Things I Am Tired Of Hearing This Political Season
Of the myriad of things that have been said (and re-said) during the race to the White House, there are a few that are grating on my eardrums and I hope never to hear again! It's a shortish list, but I'm sure that for many of these, you might feel the same.
- Drop the whole "Reagan Revolution" nonsense - Ronald Reagan was a curse. His revolution was disasterous for the long-term health of our system of government, introducing the nation to the term "structural deficit." Did you know that the US Government, during the Reagan years, created a larger deficit than had been accrued throughout the preceding 200 years? And that for the most part of the 8 years he was president, the poor actually did worse than they had during the recession-plagued Carter administration? Hell, his vice president George H.W. Bush didn't even like the man!
- Please stop talking about Obama supporters being cultist or groupies - I guess three governors, a handful of sitting U.S. senators, Toni Morrison, Garrison Keilor, Maria Shirver, and a ton of other supporters are groupies too, huh? The man has a legitimate following of thinking individuals who find his campaign to be worthwhile. And for goodness sake, he draws crowds of 20,000 or more whereever he goes, and they represent a nice cross-section of the electorate. Plus, one doesn't raise $32 million in three months being some fly-by-night hack.
- Please stop talking about Hillary Clinton's "experience." - She's had exactly the same presidential experience as Obama: Zero. And their elected experience consists of being a US Senator and that's it. Mrs. Clinton is 14 years older, but does that make her a better candidate? No. Is the fact that Bill Clinton being her hubby enough to support her? No. He was Bill. She is not. And times are way different than they were 16 years ago. Damn, it's been that long?...
- Please quit with the "glass ceiling" thing for women in politics - While Hill may not be my choice for the White House, she is proving that if you're smart, and tough, and connected, you can be a woman and be president of this nation. And one doesn't have to be "bitchy" to do it. I got into a discussion about this with a friend of mine, and her point was that Hillary was being punished and picked on because she's a woman. No, she's being picked on because she's a Clinton. Bottom line is, despite all that Clinton baggage and despite her persistent 36% negativity rating, she can and just might be the next President of the United States of America.
- Mitt Romney is not a Conservative - Please. Dude is from Massachusetts for goodness sake. He was pro-abortion and pro-government-sponsored healthcare. He sounds pretty liberal, on its face, to me. He's a chameleon. Today he's conservative, tomorrow he'll be a liberal again. He might be a Mormon, but that's about all we know about him to be unchanging and true.
- Rudy Guiliani is America's Mayor and a hero - No, he was just New York City's mayor, and the jury is still out on whether he was a good mayor then. Let's be real, he looked mayoral when he donned the "FDNYPD" hat at Ground Zero, but to hear firefighters tell it, it was his fault they had shoddy communications gear, costing lives. Plus, he has horrible people-skills. He hired Bernie Kerik to be his Police commissioner in NYC, after firing his predecessor because he was stealing Rudy's flash. Couple of issues though: Kerik was mobbed up, and wasn't even qualified under New York City rules to hold a rank above captain. The accusation, among others, was that Kerik's chief qualification appeared to be that he had served as Giuliani’s driver and bodyguard.
- John McCain is a "maverick" - This guy is all establishment. True, he is a real-life American Hero but he's no choirboy. He followed Barry Goldwater into the U.S. Senate from Arizona, and he's as tied-in as they come. And, he was wrapped up in the largest bank fraud in the history of the country, the Savings and Loan scandal of the 1980s. McCain survived the political scandal by, in part, becoming friendly with the political press, and remains so, today. Wait, maybe he is a Reaganite.
- Tom Brady is the greatest QB Ever - No, that's still Johnny Unitas. And it seems the New York Giants had a trick bag for Mr. Model himself in last night's big game. Brady can now go home to cry in the arms of whatever supermodel he's dating today. He's snide, arrogant and off the football field, quite an ass apparently. Good riddance. Wait, that wasn't political. But nonetheless, I'm tired of hearing it.
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Thanks for the post...what a great way to cap off another interesting Monday in the office.
gee i wonder who you voted for today... maybe i should put up my "i'm tired of" list
I think that with our near tie, we will hear a lot more about all of this. At least the democratic side. Now, I predict, the word you are gonna get completlely sick and tired of...Superdelegate!
Talk about undermining the democratic process. One, to remain unnamed black female congressperson who is a superdelegate, was asked the question- "If your constituency overwhelming supported one candidate (Obama by the way), and you have personally supported the other (you can figure out who), when it comes time for you to cast your superdelegate ballot, who will you select?" The response- "I can't say." These are the elements of democracy that really make folks wonder what is the point? Where, when all the votes are counted, it still may come down to the personal preference of an individual over the will of the people." Election reform anyone?
Excellent post, well written points . . .
I also wonder what experience readies one for leading this nation. Is there a class? It isn't a question of experience for me, it is all about the issues that matter most and the candidate that I believe will make the best changes, the best reforms, institute the best policies, protect civil liberties and leave the country in a better state than they found it.
I'll state for the record my inability to vote in the Primary has left me in a state of 60/40 between the two Democratic candidates. There are days when the promise of hope is not enough and there are just as many days where the promise of a sweeping health care reform is not enough.
I suppose a little also comes down to whom you believe, which of these intelligent people makes me believe in their message and vision - more and more that is one over the other.
I am still swimming in a sea of happy over the Giants Superbowl win and about 25% of that was knowing Tom Brady cried himself to sleep that night, Gisele be damned. The other 75% was being a Giants fan for life.