Fuck, “Respectful Disagreement,” and “Great Admiration.”
Ok, listened to the NPR/Iowa Public Radio Democratic Debate, and I have to say that as far as the two parties (a flawed system at best) go, the Dem’s are on the best track. But honestly will it be any different with anyone in office come 2008. Listening to a lot of the comment coming out of some of the canidates, I just can’t help but think that it would just be “business as usual.”
For example when asked about how people will be discussed after they have left office, Clinton said she will leave a doctrine of bringing back America’s “Leadership and moral authority.” Just because we are a wealthy nation, it doesn’t mean that we have any right to some kind of “moral authority.” Is this concept really any different than Bush talking to Jesus. While we as a nation (or at least a majority of a nation) are telling the world about our moral high ground we have the one of the highest rates of gun related death in the world, we have 35.5 million people in “food insecure homes,” oh yeah, and we are still fighting an unjustified war in Iraq.
And amidst all of this they talk about the finer points of how to deal with Iran, the clout of China, and these issues that are important and need to be dealt with. But honestly at this point, that isn’t what I’m interested in. What I’m interested in is this. I work full time in the same job that my father worked full time in when I was a kid. When I was a kid he could aford to work, go to school and support my mom, on the same ammount of pay (adjusted for inflation of course). Right now, with food stamps, LEAP, aid with daycare, and health insurance, I work full time, and my wife works part time while she goes to school, and we struggle from week to week to not have the power turned off, or to get evicted from our house. Meanwhile the upper 1% of America’s wealthy own roughly 1/3 of America’s assets, and earn over 20% of America’s personal income. So where is the trickle down, the wealthy are getting richer, and so should we according to Regan. But we aren’t the divide is getting larger. The purchasing power of my income slowly dwindles. So which of these politicians is going to bring something up.
Basically the only people that bring it up are Mike Gravel, and Dennis Kucinich. Both of whom are such longshots that it is stupid. Why is it that when people hear them talk it resounds with them, but we just assume that they are unelectable. A sad state that we are in where the people that are really speaking for the people are considered crazy, or just plain to “radical.”
Finally I want to say one thing no the terms, “Respectful Disagreement,” and “Greatly Admire.” Pull off the gloves already. Gravel and Kucinich have done it, why can Obama and Edwards. If you disagree, don’t do it “respectfully” take them to task. Let them know why they are wrong, so we don’t get the feeling that no matter who we vote for, we will be getting the same person.
