September 9, 2008 archive

Muse in the Morning

A Transition through Poetry IV

Art Link Purple Chasm Suspended I was too afraid to release the life I had, feeling like I would surely plunge into the abyss if I did. Eventually I found I had nothing to lose, that maybe the abyss was where I belonged So I disentangled myself from that former existence and found that I was hanging inches from solid ground Ain’t that a bite in the ass. –Robyn Elaine Serven –October 31, 2005

Many people say that talking about Sarah Palin is a waste of time, a distraction.  I strongly deisagree.  The Republicans have used Palin, successfully I might add, to distract the public from 1) the lack of excitement of candidate McCain, 2) the paucity of any new ideas or issues from the Republicans, and 3) the wholesale boiler-plate duplication of Bush-NeoCon failed policies.  

But Palin aspires to be one heartbeat away from becoming the most powerful person on the planet.  A full examination of who she is, what she thinks, believes and does is in no way a distraction.  It is imperative to study, research, discuss and ask hard questions about her qualifications for the position.  We must not be sidetracked from fully vetting Palin in a manner the McCain camp did not.   And we must not be turned away from this pursuit by attacks that our examinations are sexist.  

Reading Randy Cassingham’s blog entry about an irate right-winger who chose to pick a fight with him over the ‘net soon after reading a similarly crybaby comment at the Progressive Blue version of my previous entry, I couldn’t help but recognize a pattern: there is a large segment of American society that goes out of its way to take offense at anything, no matter what.  Even…no…especially when the perceived offense is absolutely true and not necessarily intended to raise hackles, someone, somewhere must make a gymnastic leap in logic.  Why this is so is a matter of speculation, but I like to think my theory is closer to the mark.

You’re blowing it, you corporate-conservative jerk.  On the one hand, you’ve wised up a little in the wake of polls showing your opponents ahead; your attack on Palin’s hypocrisy and dishonesty over earmarks was good, though it could have been a little stronger — call her a liar, Barack.

“Don’t be fooled,” Obama told the crowd surrounding him in a large barn. “John McCain’s party, with the help of John McCain, has been in charge” for nearly eight years.

“I know the governor of Alaska has been saying she’s change, and that’s great,” Obama said. “She’s a skillful politician. But, you know, when you’ve been taking all these earmarks when it’s convenient, and then suddenly you’re the champion anti-earmark person, that’s not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.”

This is some of the kind of campaigning we want to see from you, and on a consistent basis (maybe you read Steve Almond’s Huffington Post piece).  Then, almost as though you suddenly remember you’re supposed to be the ringer candidate, you turn around and do something insipidly stupid — like saying you won’t push to repeal the shrub’s tax giveaways to the super-wealthy if you become president.

WASHINGTON – Democrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush’s tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy.

Those tax cuts for the super-wealthy are a large part of what’s caused the economic recession we’re suffering (the foreign press called it a full-blown depression this Spring) in the first place, and Americans know it.

What about increasing taxes on the wealthy?

“I think we’ve got to take a look and see where the economy is. I mean, the economy is weak right now,” Obama said on “This Week” on ABC. “The news with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, I think, along with the unemployment numbers, indicates that we’re fragile.”

Raising taxes on the wealthy won’t cause things to become worse; there isn’t much else worse that can happen, except perhaps publicly acknowledging what has been common knowledge to many people for years now, and that’s not likely to make a huge impact on the already-failed economy.  Are you so afraid of spooking your corporate masters this close to an election you’ve already decided you don’t want to win that you won’t even allow for even the possibility of making them pay taxes?

You can’t make such flip-flops.  Case in point: what you are quoted saying above, compared to this.

“John McCain likes to talk about fiscal responsibility, but there is no doubt that his proposals blow a hole through the budget,” Obama said.

This is another cause of the recession-depression: the fiscal irresponsibility of the GOP.  Lay blame where it belongs, Barack.  Don’t make taxes out to be the bogeyman; they’re not.  They’re the only way we’re going to begin salvaging this economy.

You’re running a granny campaign just like John Kerry did, and you KNOW how that turned out.  Stop doing it.  This election isn’t about you; it’s about every American whose suffering under the shrub and his gargoyle has to end, and you are not allowed to let us all down.

Are the Democrats willing to bet it all on preemptively striking McCain-Palin?

There is a major difference between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership. Democrats fight the political campaign as if it were an intellectual, academic exercise. The Republicans fight like it is an all out war, a brawl for control of the neighborhood. While the Republicans are willing to risk it all to save their hallowed ground, Democrats prefer to fight in a clean war mode. Republicans fight as if their futures depended on the win. Democrats fight as if they are right and, consequently, for the sake of fairness, deserve to win.

On any disagreement, the Republicans grab their guns and start shooting …it’s war. The Democrats pause to think. What is the problem? What are the facts? Can we negotiate with the potential aggressor? How can we avoid conflict? Should we wait until we are sure that the other party means us harm …wait until the other party throws the punch?