No
one with a functioning brain believes that a dime's worth of difference
separates the super PACs that support Barack Obama from those that support Mitt
Romney or Newt Gingrich or any other Republican presidential candidate. Nor
does anyone with a functioning brain believe that politicians do not lie
unconscionably to anyone with ears and line their own pockets with filthy lucre
every chance they get. Venality is not the question since it is a given in the
human condition, would that it were different. I have no illusions about
politicians on either side of the aisle. The American political system has
guaranteed that all, or almost all, politicians are untrustworthy, corrupt bastards
of the first rank. I added the qualifier “almost all” to the above sentence only
because of the respect I have for the truly few and extraordinarily exceptional
politicians like Gabby Giffords, a woman of astounding character and courage.
On
the other side of the political coin are lazy and greedy voters/citizens who will
scam the system at every opportunity, whether the “system” we’re talking about is
unemployment, food stamps, Medicare, bundled mortgages, credit default swaps, or
derivatives. The sad truth is thieves and charlatans can be found in every
class, every income group, every race, every religion. Hello Bernie Madoff and countless
pederast Catholic priests. The way I see it, one of the most important functions
of government is to keep evil doers from dominating or controlling our society.
How the public ensures that happens is what’s up for grabs today.
The
critical questions that occupy me lately are what kind of country this is, what
kind of country do we want it to be, and which party is more likely to lead us
in that direction. For me, Republicans are fighting to push this country in the
opposite direction I think it should take, no matter if we’re talking about political,
socioeconomic, environmental, or international issues. Democrats, as weak and
ineffectual and blindly stupid as they can be, are the only horse left in the
race. So, it’s support them or drop out entirely and I’m not ready to do that,
at least not yet.
Therefore,
I support candidates and non-governmental organizations (like the Sierra Club
and the NRDC) that are working to move the country in the “right” direction,
which, in this case, is to the left. To my eternal sorrow, one of those
candidates has proved to be the greatest disappointment of my life, and that is
the silver-tongued Barack Obama. Yet, despite the anger, outrage, and contempt
I feel for him and his inept leadership and disastrous politics, I will hold my
nose to try to keep from vomiting and vote for him because the alternative,
voting for a conservative shamelessly pandering to Tea Party supporters, is absolute,
unthinkable madness.
Never
before in my lifetime have the political choices at the national level been so
laden with critical consequences. The coming national election is about much
more than about Republican or Democrat, left or right. Make no mistake, the
coming election is about the future of this nation and what is will become in
our eyes and those of the world. I for one do not want the United States
To
prevent that dreadful scenario, my intention is to vote Democratic across the
board in 2012. No more split tickets for me, it’s a fight to protect everything
I value in this country, including prohibiting torture like water boarding, acknowledging
the equal rights of gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender Americans, reforming U.S.
immigration policies, strengthening Medicare and Social Security as required by
fiscal prudence but preventing the privatization or gutting of those programs,
and working toward a single-payer healthcare system among many, many others.
I
hope all those who read this message will take it to heart and reflect on what
kind of country they want America
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