Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Guess it's time to speak!
Well, that's that. A few serious thoughts in this post, with a lighter response to follow.
* America turned out and this time Bush actually got more votes than his opponent. No problem. But I find it patronizing and unspeakably obnoxious that he has the nerve to say again that he's going to try to bring the country together. You can't bring the country together by saying the words. You bring it together by not being what he is: the most conservative President in American history. He's starting the second term the way he started the first -- by pretending to be one thing when he's really another. Only this time it's even more idiotic since we know who he really is this time. With this guy in charge, we might as well just do what we almost did once before -- divide the country into the red and the blue. We'll follow our path and they'll follow theirs, and we'll see which half prospers!
* Speaking of modern-day civil war comparisons, The Hammer Blog has an interesting take on the election. He says some of the things I'd say if I had the strength to write a comprehensive column at the moment. However, I will disagree with his fear that nothing good can come of this. I think we'll eventually hit rock bottom on a number of issues, and that will undoubtedly wake people up. For instance, let's see Bush go after Roe v. Wade and see how all those "socially-liberal-but-scared-for-their-kids" women react.
* I don't really subscribe to any conspiracy theories about the electronic voting machines. But I get a good chuckle when I try to imagine this election having gone forward if the President of the company that made the machines in Ohio had promised to deliver the election for Kerry. You might recall that's what the president of Diebold said about Bush.
* If you wonder why neocons have been so successful in shifting the center so far to the right, just listen to them on the radio or read the blogs today. I have never seen a group of people who controls so much be so angry and indignant. They've got the White House, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Supreme Court, the state legislatures, the Governors, radio, the internet, the powerful TV punditry, TV station owners, the FCC -- and on and on. Yet they suffer so.
* Looking at it from a historical perspective, it's actually amazing that Kerry did so well. To even come close to unseating an incumbent, it usually takes a Reagan or a Clinton -- in other words, a particularly strong candidate. And I've said on these pages, Kerry wasn't necessarily the party's top choice -- he was simply Iowa's choice, and the media took it from there. That he got over 48% of the vote is a loud warning bell that this country is deeply divided and will only become moreso if there's no reaching out to other side. Which there won't be.
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* America turned out and this time Bush actually got more votes than his opponent. No problem. But I find it patronizing and unspeakably obnoxious that he has the nerve to say again that he's going to try to bring the country together. You can't bring the country together by saying the words. You bring it together by not being what he is: the most conservative President in American history. He's starting the second term the way he started the first -- by pretending to be one thing when he's really another. Only this time it's even more idiotic since we know who he really is this time. With this guy in charge, we might as well just do what we almost did once before -- divide the country into the red and the blue. We'll follow our path and they'll follow theirs, and we'll see which half prospers!
* Speaking of modern-day civil war comparisons, The Hammer Blog has an interesting take on the election. He says some of the things I'd say if I had the strength to write a comprehensive column at the moment. However, I will disagree with his fear that nothing good can come of this. I think we'll eventually hit rock bottom on a number of issues, and that will undoubtedly wake people up. For instance, let's see Bush go after Roe v. Wade and see how all those "socially-liberal-but-scared-for-their-kids" women react.
* I don't really subscribe to any conspiracy theories about the electronic voting machines. But I get a good chuckle when I try to imagine this election having gone forward if the President of the company that made the machines in Ohio had promised to deliver the election for Kerry. You might recall that's what the president of Diebold said about Bush.
* If you wonder why neocons have been so successful in shifting the center so far to the right, just listen to them on the radio or read the blogs today. I have never seen a group of people who controls so much be so angry and indignant. They've got the White House, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Supreme Court, the state legislatures, the Governors, radio, the internet, the powerful TV punditry, TV station owners, the FCC -- and on and on. Yet they suffer so.
* Looking at it from a historical perspective, it's actually amazing that Kerry did so well. To even come close to unseating an incumbent, it usually takes a Reagan or a Clinton -- in other words, a particularly strong candidate. And I've said on these pages, Kerry wasn't necessarily the party's top choice -- he was simply Iowa's choice, and the media took it from there. That he got over 48% of the vote is a loud warning bell that this country is deeply divided and will only become moreso if there's no reaching out to other side. Which there won't be.
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