Well, I admit that I’m depressed. I’m disappointed, of course, that Our Only President will remain in office, and that his cronies will continue running a secretive, dishonest and incompetent administration. What’s more disappointing, though, is that I thought the challenger ran a good campaign, and that the incumbent ran a bad one, and still more people voted for the incumbent. We pretty much failed to persuade.
What that means, I think, is that much—most—of the country perceives a universe so different from the one I do that the difference can’t merely be one of perspective. Some of it, certainly, is the filter of our own priorities, our own backgrounds, and our own insecurities. But I can’t see how this result comes out of that. I can’t believe that 57 million people, or even 5 million people, see that Our Only President has handed over the reins of government to a cabal of incompetents and crooks, but still think he’s a better choice than the Massachusetts Senator.
So, what I’m really depressed about is that I don’t see any way to improve the national dialogue in the near future. If what I perceive is closer to what actually is happening (and I think it is), how do I discuss policies with people who see an entirely different set of circumstances?
Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps it really is a different sense of priorities and values. Perhaps, in fact, fifty million people think that a constitutional amendment preventing gay couples from enjoying marriage benefits is more important than failure in Iraq. Perhaps fifty million people think that employer-based health care is worth saving, even if we can’t then pay for bridges and libraries. Perhaps fifty million people find disagreement over progressive taxation is more important than a national disgrace in the eyes of the world. That would be the bright side.
,
-Vardibidian.
It is depressing, the more so because the cabal of incompetents and crooks appears to have a majority of Americans so in their thrall as to win poplular approval for their incompetence and their crimes.
We can be allowed a brief period of mourning for the lost promise of a Kerry presidency, and for the suffering in The United States and the world that those of us with our eyes open can see coming as a result of the reelection of the front man for the cabal.
We must expect four bad years, with a good possibility of eight more after that, and legal damage that may last for the rest of our active lives.
We must not, however, concede, nor give up on the American people and democracy. They are, in a political sense, all that we have, and we are still better off than most people in the world in the state of their fellow citizens and their government.
But what to do? I don’t have answers, but I want to help find them and look for them, so a few more thoughts.
There is a “perception of the universe” problem here, but it’s a problem that is greatly exacerbated by ignorance, selfishness, and fear that characterize the perspectives of too many Americans now. These conditions are difficult to directly change, but addressing them is the precondition to changing worldviews. To change them, we must be knowledgeable and clear in our expressions of what we know, unselfish in our work, and fearless in our approach to problems and our commitment to truth. We must also be deeply compassionate and active in compassion. There will be a great deal of suffering that might otherwise have been avoided in this country and around the world as a result of this election. We must address that suffering and challenge people to work compassionately to end it.
I hope that doesn’t sound too empty or too pompous. I write it thinking back on being part of the leadership of a union whose strike was broken, and being a part of the leadership that revived the union after the strike.
Also, indications of fraud in Ohio and Florida need to be carefully examined. I’m not jumping to any conclusions, and the studies need to be done, but I’d encourage readers here to go over to dailykos and keep an eye on the posts there on this subject.
I am not finding the arguments over at Kos about possible irregularities at all convincing. The only exit polls I’ve found are the ones at CNN, but those show a small Bush victory in both Florida and Ohio. Furthermore, given how insanely similar to 2000 the results are and the fact that areas where Bush gained the most are southern areas, the results in Florida and Ohio seem plausible. And given the margins in those states, it would have to be widescale fraud to make a difference.
I think we can thank Hurricane Ivan for Florida. In a way, this is nice, since Hurricane Ivan isn’t a person, so we can be as pissed off at it as we want without worrying that it might come beat us up after class.
Ohio. Sigh. Where does the Democratic Party go from here? The less cynical part of my brain says, clearly, religion is a big factor. The Dems need someone who is religious in a way that will resonate with people, and who ties his religion to the core values of the Democratic Party (which i see as being related to the idea that we are all in this together ™, for various values of “this”).
The more cynical part of my brain says that it’s fun to be judgmental, and what can the Dems offer that’s nearly that much fun? But i am not yet ready to listen to that part of my brain.
for a more nuts-and-bolts perspective, we go now to The Dude.
from AP, via the san francisco chronicle
[Former President] Clinton attributed Kerry’s loss to the Democrats’ failure to counter how Republicans portrayed them to rural and small-town voters.
“If we let people believe that our party doesn’t believe in faith and family, doesn’t believe in work and freedom, that’s our fault,” he said.
Democrats “need a clear national message and they have to do this without one big advantage the Republicans have, which is they won’t have a theological message that basically paints the other guy as evil.”
Clinton gave Bush and the Republicans credit for the election victory.
“The Republicans had a clear message, a good messenger, great organization and great strategy,” he said. “The Republicans did a better job of turning out those who were already registered who hadn’t voted” as well as bringing out their base.
The Dude, retired and back from the dead, has relaxed. his mantra: “don’t overthink – nobody else wants to work that hard. stick to the program.” that’s why he’s The Dude.