This has been a very long election cycle that started almost two years ago. As an outside observer, while cruising alongside this very long and winding road in politics, I have to say I have learned an awful lot about so many things. I have seen inspirational and electrifying candidates and I have witnessed some mighty disingenious and dishonest ones.
The political pundits informed me about their notions of political history and demographics. I did not know another state of Alabama existed between Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. Nor did I know New Hampshire is the Alabama of New England. I think it was Joe Scarborough who informed me about the coastal regions of Alabama, Mississippi and some of northwestern Florida. This area is known as The Redneck Riviera.
I had to scratch my head a few times when Chris Matthews and Pat Buchanan would refer to working class "ethnic whites" in the northeastern U.S. Then my memory took me back to a 1970's sitcom called All in the Family whose central character was Archie Bunker, a bigoted white working class guy who lived in Queens, NY. Archie must be the guy they are talking about, I thought. Archie referred to his fictional Polish-American son-in-law as "Meat Head" and "Pollock." He had other choice names for his daughter and son-in-law's ethnically and/or racially mixed friends as well. The creator of All in the Family had intended for the show to be a comical satire but this was lost on much of the viewing public.
I never knew a place like Wasilla existed nor did I know there is fringe political independent parties scattered across the U.S. from Wasilla, Alaska to Georgia (that would be U.S. Georgia) that want to secede from the U.S.
I learned a lot about narratives, closing the deal, pie, orange juice, coffee, hair styles, make up, gender, age, one's disposition, mavericks, mavericky, SNL, non-mavericks, a family in Texas who are the true Mavericks, Joe Six Pack and Joe the plumber who is worried about the 250K he saved to buy his boss's plumbing company. Since I have a brother-in-law in Ohio who is a plumber I called him to ask if he had socked away 250K in his piggy bank. Karl the real plumber in Ohio asked me if I was on drugs. Next I learned that Joe is not a plumber and Joe's first name is Sam. I also learned that there is a pastor in Alaska who will perform witch exorcisms. I learned the straight talk express alternates between a virtual hate talk express and/or lying express, depending upon on McCain's polling numbers and his and his campaign mangers' mood swings or the media spin cycles.
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I learned about the rocket speed at which digital photos taken at political rallies can be uploaded on Facebook, My Space and other social networking sites as well as to political blogs on the Internets. In my case TXSharon was kind enough to teach me how to upload You Tube clips, though sometimes she may regret her excellent teaching skills. And because of sensitivities in this regard I will not upload video clips in which Palin supporters uttered the unspeakable "kill him" "treason" at one of her numerous potential lynch mob scenes and hate fests.
There is so very much more that I learned about the U.S., our political parties, its candidates, pundits and all of their collective friends and families during this very long campaign season.
But most importantly I have learned how to fully appreciate the complicit and disingenuous media and some of its political spin masters. More significant are the candidates and how they have revealed themselves in terms of honesty, credibility and integrity.
Based on nearly two years of active watching, listening, posting and commenting on blogs, and pretty extensive reading on line and paper, my conclusions are the following.
Whatever comes out of the mouth of a Republican, especially when running for office, is either 1. Not true, 2. Marginally true. Or 3. (And most likely) a downright lie or outright distortion. Republicans want to win at any cost, even if it means taking the entire country straight to hell. Republican candidates will foment potential lynch mob scenes if need be in order to evoke terror and fury. They will pull out all stops to deny citizens their constitutional right to vote by employing tactics such as voter suppression, intimidation, disenfranchisement or by creating fake or illegal means by which thousands of legitimate citizens are purged from official voting lists prior to an election. Or their partisan techie hacks will rig electronic voting machines.
The whole ACORN voter fraud psychodrama is yet another fake fabrication incited by a political Party that obviously despises democracy. Diary after diary could be written about this issue alone.
They will sell our souls to the lowest thief to make a quick buck. They will privatize profit and will socialize losses when the losses are devastating for the really rich, which includes most Republican lawmakers. These same Republican lawmakers will scream about and blame Democrats for socialism at the very same time they vote to socialize the losses.
It is all about them and their wealth.
We know for certain that anything W. tells us is not true. In most cases the exact opposite is true. And when W. makes a public appearance to reassure us about the stock market, it will undoubtedly take a nosedive straight downward. Investors at home and around the globe know W. has sold our financial souls to the devil. Mrs. Bush, I implore you, for the sake of everyone on the planet, to respectfully please keep your husband muzzled and inside the house until January 20. Give him a strong sedative if you have to.
All Republicans have voted with Bush most of the time and now they're trying their best to quit him.
While on the campaign trail McCain tells his supporters Barack Obama will raise the taxes on middle class Americans. The exact opposite is true. 95% of Americans making under $250K will get a tax cut. McCain knows this but he continues to lie about it. Check out Obama's tax calculator for a reality check.
Sarah Palin says Obama pals around with terrorists when the vast majority of us know this is not true. And yet Ayers has become central to the McCain campaign and Palin's hate fests.
Palin, of all people should be careful about her lies because she herself pals around with some rather interesting radical extremist buddies in Alaska. These folks, who make Sean Hannity seem like a right wing lightweight, played no small part in launching Palin's political career in Alaska. And recent investigative reports reveal that Sarah Palin is not who she said she is either.
The list of John McCain's associations with such upstanding fellows and former and/or wannabe terrorists such as Gordon Liddy is extensive and common knowledge.
I have also learned most Republican candidates apparently believe the entire voting public is patently stupid.
John Cornyn assumes such is true. After all the Senator says he supports our veterans and yet he votes against all U.S. Senate bills that would benefit veterans. We are supposed to believe him because Cornyn says it is so? As liberaltexan mentioned in her/his diary posted here Cornyn Does Not Support our Troops. Below is a video clip reminder of one of Cornyn's hypocritical lies.
Cornyn should remember he evaded the Vietnam War draft when he could have stepped up. He did not. Noriega not only stepped up but he walked the walk. He enlisted and served in Afghanistan. Unlike Cornyn, Noriega did not ask his daddy to help him find a way to cut and run from serving his country.
At the Noriega/Cornyn debate last Thursday one of the moderators asked Cornyn to justify his six-year commitment to and support for G.W. Bush's agenda. Cornyn replied he had the interests of 24 million Texans at heart and he spun a few tales about "uncontroversial" legislation passed under W.
The truth: Cornyn voted against SCHIP, veteran's benefits, Medicaid and Medicare all of which would have thrown an economic life line to millions of the twenty-four million Texans. Cornyn turned his back on his middle, working class and economically disadvantaged constituents.
Cornyn voted with W. to deregulate the banking industry and its Wall St. fat cats. His biggest supporters and donors are the other fat cats who work or lobby for big oil, insurance and banking of course.
Cornyn accused Noriega of "cutting and running" from Tom Delay's gerrymandering scheme to create a permanent Republican majority.
Noriega told the truth. He and his Democratic colleagues protested an unconstitutional power grab attempt made by Texas Republicans. Noriega reminded us that such unprecedented power grabs normally occur in banana republics and third world countries.
After eight years of W. and his Republican Party we know all about power and money grabs. Enough is enough.
Like Barack Obama, Rick Noriega holds the keys to our future. W., McCain and Cornyn are old, greedy and dysfunctional blasts from a really awful past.
Former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell certainly believes in the future. He endorsed Senator Barack Obama today.
Powell also said he was "troubled" by Republican personal attacks on Obama, especially false intimations that Obama was Muslim and Republicans' recent focus on Obama's alleged connections to William Ayers, the founder of the radical '60 Weather Underground.
Stressing that Obama was a lifelong Christian, Powell denounced Republican tactics that he said were insulting not only to Obama but also to Muslims.
"The really right answer is what if he is?" Powell said, praising the contributions of millions of Muslim citizens to American society.
"I look at these kind of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me," Powell said. "Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower."
The Houston Chronicle gets the future, too.
For the first time since 1964 the Chronicle supports a Democratic Presidential candidate. Today it endorsed Senator Barack Obama.
After carefully observing the Democratic and Republican nominees in drawn-out primary struggles as well as in the general campaign, including three debates, the Chronicle strongly believes that the ticket of Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden offers the best choice to lead the United States on a new course into the second decade of the 21st century.
Obama appears to possess the tools to confront our myriad and daunting problems. He's thoughtful and analytical. He has met his opponents' attacks with calm and reasoned responses. Viewers of the debates saw a poised, well-prepared plausible president with well-articulated positions on the bread-and-butter issues that poll after poll indicate are the true concerns of voters. While Arizona Sen. John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have struck an increasingly personal and negative tone in their speeches, Obama has continued to talk about issues of substance.
It is true that Obama has served less than a term in the U.S. Senate and that his previous elective experience is confined to the Illinois Legislature. However, during that public service and his previous role as a community organizer on the streets of Chicago, he has developed an appreciation and understanding of the real-life concerns of middle- and low-income Americans.
I am quite frankly both speechless and dizzy with hope and optimism. I cannot wait to vote a straight D ticket tomorrow. Heck, I might even start reading the Houston Chronicle again.
