( – promoted by buhdydharma )
. . . all I got left is cynicism, snark and recycled outrage.
See, it was easy back in ’06 – when things were soooo bad. I mean, outrage was running, what – buck-and-a-quarter, maybe six bits a gallon back then, right? I was livin’ large, drivin’ the Escalade of outrage – we all were. And it was easy back then to figure out who our collective outrage should be aimed at:
Those filthy, nasty Republicans
– who, after all, were actually running things, so blaming everything on them was totally legitimate.
And I was committed to taking Congress away from those cretinous bastards so we could put a stop to the occupation of Iraq, and to warrantless wiretapping of Americans, and to the whole idea of the President as king. You know, like we did 230 years ago, right?
So like a lot of people here, I wrote and I phone banked and I gave money. And – whaddaya know? – the Democrats took both houses of Congress. Happy days. I knew then that I could rest easy, that the future of our grand republic was in good hands, that I could refocus on more weighty matters – like, exactly which counts should the articles of impeachment include and which could we leave off, in the interest of saving all that paper?
But, aw, shoot, Nancy Pelosi said she was taking impeachment off the table – and she meant it, darn her. And Henry Waxman and John Conyers decided that congressional oversight stopped at the White House door. And some great strategist in the Democratic Party with his head so far up his ass that he was navel-gazing from the inside out brilliantly deduced that the American people would turn like ravenous wolves on any Democrat who either: (a) voted to end an illegal occupation that 2 out of 3 those very same Americans opposed, an occupation that was subsidizing Halliburton and Exxon to the tune of $2 trillion, or (b) wanted to stop torturing children; (c) thought that maybe the Constitution of the United States should be preserved, protected and defended, just like their oath of office said it should; or, worst of all, (d) was guilty of all three.
So the Democrats decided that rather than risk earning a single-digit approval rating by taking those horrifyingly risky yet oddly right-sounding steps, they would play it safe and just keep acting like there hadn’t been an election in November 2006, and that way the American people would love them and would vote for them and everything would be perfect.
And then they went and voted on FISA. And I went to the outrage well, and it was dry. Maybe it’s my age, but I’m finding it difficult anymore to get my outrage on.
I think the problem is I used up all my outrage in 2006. Recognizing then that I was a lightweight when it came to outrage, I calculated my burn rate to juuust make it to the last day of the 2006 campaign before my outrage ran dry. November 7, 2006: Last call for Outrage! November 8? Forget it; the Outrage Bar is closed.
And I hadn’t restocked it after the election, either; I figured I wouldn’t need to for awhile, what with Democrats running Congress and all. I figured I could get by with mockery, contempt, ridicule and sarcasm, mostly aimed at the criminal simians destroying the White House.
And, god bless ’em, the Republican Party is still a target-rich environment for my outrage, if I could muster it. I mean, just in the last 48 hours, besides Bush’s turd in the G-8 punchbowl, McCain’s been pretty busy himself, gushing genocidal wet dreams about Iranians, spewing contempt for Social Security, and telling transparently pandering lies about the Pittsburgh Friggin’ Steelers – so, outrage definitely called for, right? Right, but I ain’t got any more, I think.
Which brings me to the FISA vote. And, more specifically, to Barack Obama’s FISA vote.
How could he? the Outraged Left has been wailing, with much rending of garments and gnashing of teeth.
How? Bubula, I’ll tell you how: I know this might come as a shock to you, but –
NEWS FLASH:Barack Obama is a politician!
Did he let me down? Yes. Did I feel betrayed? Yes. Am I going to work any less hard to get him elected? Uhh –
HELL to the no! Are you CRAZY??!!
Look, I’m not gonna sit around like some old spinster waiting for Mr. Right for the rest of my life. I’m happy to settle for Mr. Right Now, as long he can wake me from our long national nightmare. And once that nightmare is over, while Mr. Right Now might not give me the deep, invigorating sleep that I need, I’ll be ecstatic to only have to get up twice to pee – I mean, it beats the crap outta waking up screaming in a cold sweat at 3 a.m. every goddam night, right?
Ya wanna know what I could still get outraged about? I’ll tell ya:
People on this blog who won’t support Obama for president.
Don’t make me go all 2006 on your ass . . .
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Look, everyone who reads this blog already knows that:
None of that is any reason to be so stupid as to do anything that would jeopardize our chances to put a Democrat in the White House.
That is all.
… I hates to have to say it, because I agree with you and have no problem voting for Obama — I’m not disappointed in him because I never had any hopes for him to begin with.
But this is not a blog dedicated to either electing Democrats or even politics as usual.
Of course you can try to persuade and make a case for anything you wish.
But this isn’t Daily Kos. And I’m glad of it.
Whether I agree with others here or not, I’m glad they can state their case, even when I think that case is ridiculous. I don’t think anyone who feels as you do is going to be persuaded to vote third party, etc., and I don’t think anyone who is determined to refrain from voting for Obama is going to be persuaded by this essay.
So yeah, I agree with you, and yeah, others will not. And that’s fine with me.
on my outrage being all used up.
For me, that happened when they passed the first FISA extension and I could see that effectively took impeachment off the table. They were complicit.
I knew it was up to us at that point – no elected officials to bail us out of this mess.
But I don’t think I’m ready to go all 2006 on anybody’s ass. LOL
I got my first real fresh, unrecycled outrage when we were supporting torture in Latin America under Sunshine In America Reagan in the 1980’s.
I’d rather have Obama in the White House as an opponent to progressive change than McCain, but if someone wants to make the opposite argument, I’d rather talk it through.
Of course, that’s what the Yijing told me to do, so I’m just following the instructions of one shiny and three tarnished pennies.
then when do we risk a real change? if i vote for obama and all he does is make me feel better about being used and abused, what the fuck good is he?
what makes you think he’s going to work for this country and its citizens?
and he surely must know that the most vocal support and the beginning of the ground swell came from people like us… who know what it means when you vote to approve FISA.
so when we cave, because he has a big D on his forehead, what does it mean?
i didn’t go through this for a Democratic President. does anybody get this? I went through all of this shit for an American President.
i’d rather have things fall apart than waste anymore time diddling around with the democratic power structure. the more time we waste, the harder we work to make things right.
nancy pelosi must be ousted in 2008. and maybe go for Steny Hoyer too. we need to start some other thing. because Sen. Obama is in line with Mr. Bush and our very own former President Clinton.
no heros in that group. up until yesterday, i held out some hope. but i’m not voting for any person to be president who fucks around with our bill of rights.
and you know why? i’ve thought about this. and i’m in it for the freedom. that’s what i want protected. i’m not in it for safety.
but where are the terrorists, anyway? i haven’t heard about them over running say Spain or Poland or other countries that don’t have FISA. or maybe the terrorists are where all the red bogey men are…
i’m tired of this shit. and because obama panders to it, he should not be president. it’s time to stop this crap.
btw… i don’t think my outrage has been used up. just yet.
when do we risk real change???
It was the liberals. There’s a difference.
The left predicted this some time ago.
“Well, he’s a politician,” as if that is an explanation of the situation and a justification of the lemming-like devotion of the Democratic rank and file.
If sellouts are what we can expect from politicians as a class, then it is nonsensical to vote for them.
the war is still dragging on, there still is no universal single-payer health care, and the new FISA law is still in place, will you still say, “Let’s elect more Democrats?”
You know, I bet you will.
Sorry, I personally can’t be rational and logical. I have a son in the military who has to re-enlist because he can’t find a civilian job that will provide health benefits for his kids. So, I will be voting for Obama, simply because I know McCain will stay in Iraq for years, and that he’d love to bomb Iran.
Despite McCain’s stupid ad saying he “hates war”, he’s been quoted as saying he was “excited as hell” about the prospect of going into battle…
Now, I have some outrage left, but my main priority is preventing McCain from becoming commander in chief. Do I have a lot of confidence in Obama as commander in chief, or as President? Not much, but more than McCain.
So, we all have our priorities. I know it’s selfish of me, but that’s the way it is. I guess we’re all selfish in our priorities, when it comes down to it, whether we will admit it or not, in exactly what we’re willing to sacrifice.
Now, I’ll have to ask every one to excuse me from the debate, because frankly, I just physically can’t take anymore. I’m not only burned out, I’m tired, I’m worried–hell yes, I’m worried. Afraid, not really, just damn discouraged…
…It is grist for us all to examine our feelings, thoughts and decisions on this crucial issue. Love your writing and sardonic humor!
I’m not inspired by Bipartisan Compromise. I’m not inspired by Democratic Capitulation. I’m not inspired by Senator Obama.
I’ve said it before, I know. I voted for Clinton Triangulation in the 90s. For 8 years DLC triangulated leadership did not bring the changes needed. Looks like BO will follow the Clinton path and wont bring the change needed either.
Will probably hold my nose and still vote for BO. I live in a blue state though so it wont matter much either way.
It amazes me that our Democratic Leadership thinks they will get more votes by acting like Republican Light than FDR.
The fact that most of my so-called progressive friends/acquaintances keep resetting to this tired old line: We just have to elect more/better Democrats; let’s give them another chance. Isn’t that what they said in 2004, 2006 ? Just like the Bushies, they keep moving the bar lower. The constitution doesn’t matter, torture doesn’t matter, hell the war’s ok too ’cause Obama’s going to ‘withdraw responsibly’
I keep asking myself, have I moved further to the left? No, I realize; it’s these people who have now made this current state the new normal. Sheep.
Maybe they deserve what’s coming; but I don’t
to critical thinkers .. ‘Must … elect .. Democrats’; wake up people.
Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded 🙂
I’m just tired, oc.
I’m angry at people I don’t even know. I’ve started five diaries, at least, and cannot finish one of ’em.
On to Austin.
The Pbama path leads nowhere. He’s been pwned by the masters. They make the rules for the wise men and the fools, as Dylan said. So true. We need to find our own path.
More Democrats are obviously not the answer. I don’t know how many cycles it will take for people to figure that out. Better Democrats aren’t the answer, either. That’s just more gradualism.
The Framers came up with the best way yet devised for a free people to govern themselves. What needs to be done is to enforce that framework aka the Constitution.
There are people out there who are painted as red or blue, left or right, liberal or conservative. That’s all media crap – propaganda pure and simple. They make it easy to tag someone and pigeon-ole them.
The real dividing line in this country is those who are for freedom at any price and those who are willing to give up their freedom for some promised security.
Democrat or Republican – it’s bullshit either way. Pbama is not the answer. There is a major infection in the American body politic. Sometimes the best thing to do for an infection is to let it come to a head and then lance it. Clean the site and let the body heal itself.
I don’t know the answer. But I do know that it’s not McCain and it’s not Pbama.