3 More Weeks
The next 3 weeks should be very very interesting. We have a grill now, so I'll get to reincorporate red meat into the regular meal cycle. The Steelers look like they're back on track for having a semi-successful defense of their Super Bowl title last year. I've made 2 huge trades in my Fantasy League which will either turn around a dreadful season or just continue to add insult to injury. Jenn and I are going to be going to Washington, DC, for a wedding. Jenn's never been to DC and it's one of my favorite places to visit as a tourist, so it will be interesting to see how she takes to it. Oh, and speaking of DC, it very well might be the last 3 weeks of a Republican Majority in the Senate and/or House.
It's this last bit that is obviously the most interesting. In the lead up to this monumental shift - one that should have happened 2 years ago - it will be very interesting to see what the Republicans pull (or try to pull ) out of their hat in an effort to prevent what right now seems inevitable. They are going to go down kicking and screaming. And given the fact that their stale platitudes and fear/hate mongering have yet to drum up the required support from their once solid base, it would seem whatever they have in store is a real doozy. You can't put anything past them at this point. Not a single thing. I would believe absolutely anything from doctoring pictures to make all Democrats appear to have horns to buying out the non-Fox news sources and turning them all into little Fox outlets. The big question during the next 3 weeks for undecided voters is this: name one event over the past 6 years that would indicate that there is a single competent person in the Republican leadership?
Another thing to keep an eye on is how the Democrats will manage to blow one of the biggest sure things ever. The fact that they're not an overwhelming favorite to have solid majorities in both the House and Senate is startling. Only 35% of the country approves of the President. The Republican led Congress has been the President's BITCH for 6 year. Only 35% of the people in this country should even consider voting for a Republican this year. If you're a Republican, you're voting record is indefensible. And the the Democrats are so wishy-washy that they might not even be able to capitalize on that. They're like white guys going for a dunk: they look awkward doing it and you know there's a good chance that they'll blow it. Take the Foley thing for example: the Republicans would be using this in every single ad, they'd be on every single talk show bashing Democrats values, and they'd use it as a rallying cry to get out the vote. You get the sense that the Democrats are afraid to be labeled as players of dirty politics even if it means securing the win. It's so back asswards that the REPUBLICANS were the ones that went on the offensive saying that Democrats were the only ones that knew the truth all along and they waited until now to reveal the news!!! Well, let's hope the Democrats can pull through in spite of themselves like Woody Harrelson at the end of White Men Can't Jump.
Then, on the actually Voting Day itself, there are bound to be some extremely interesting turns of events throughout the day. Firstly, at least one race, and probably far more, will have a black cloud hovering over it as a result of some sense of election fraud. It will DEFINITLEY benefit a Republican. What is unknown is exactly how much National air time the situation will actually get. If it gets as much as the Ohio voting irregularities, then Republicans will have won back one or both Chambers of Congress and it will be clear that Democracy is dead in America. But if there's a big enough stink, which I hope there will be and there certainly should be, then there is hope. But it will be predicated on Democrats controlling the agenda and thereby the stream of news from Capitol Hill. If they don't do that, then they don't have control and we're all in trouble. On the day of the election, anyone who says they are voting for a Republican should be asked this question: are you voting for him based on what you THINK Republicans stand for and how they SHOULD vote or because of they're track record over the past 6 years? If it's based on perception, they need to face the reality and understand what has happened to the size of the government, it's spending and it's involvement in our day-to-day lives now compared to 6 years ago. They need to understand that there is absolutely NOTHING to indicate the next 2 or 6 years will be any different than the previous 2 or 6 years. The votes will be the same, the government will become more obtrusive and the constant threat of terror will become more real. If they are voting based on actual performance, then odds are pretty good they're part of the Religious Right and they are voting based on how their preacher tells them to vote. They have put as much thought into this decision as every other decision they make in their lives: none.
But what will be most interesting is the 2 years that follow. As much as the vote 2 years ago stood as a turning point where Americans could have taken back our Government and wrestled away the control from a group of people set on rigging the system to keep them in power in perpetuity, this vote stands as a chance to wake up the average American. The one that chugs along with no interest in the system thinking there is no way to change it. This is an opportunity to actually get the system back on track and in the middle of the road where it belongs. They call it the middle of the road for a reason: the road represents a path and a path is always a good thing. It's been swung far too right for far too long and we're stuck in a ditch. This is a chance to remind people how our government should function and that the forces that are currently in charge are nothing but bad news. It could be an exciting and invigorating 2 years. It might also be a scary and depressing 2 years. The people have to decide between having a clear path or being stuck in the ditch.
It's this last bit that is obviously the most interesting. In the lead up to this monumental shift - one that should have happened 2 years ago - it will be very interesting to see what the Republicans pull (or try to pull ) out of their hat in an effort to prevent what right now seems inevitable. They are going to go down kicking and screaming. And given the fact that their stale platitudes and fear/hate mongering have yet to drum up the required support from their once solid base, it would seem whatever they have in store is a real doozy. You can't put anything past them at this point. Not a single thing. I would believe absolutely anything from doctoring pictures to make all Democrats appear to have horns to buying out the non-Fox news sources and turning them all into little Fox outlets. The big question during the next 3 weeks for undecided voters is this: name one event over the past 6 years that would indicate that there is a single competent person in the Republican leadership?
Another thing to keep an eye on is how the Democrats will manage to blow one of the biggest sure things ever. The fact that they're not an overwhelming favorite to have solid majorities in both the House and Senate is startling. Only 35% of the country approves of the President. The Republican led Congress has been the President's BITCH for 6 year. Only 35% of the people in this country should even consider voting for a Republican this year. If you're a Republican, you're voting record is indefensible. And the the Democrats are so wishy-washy that they might not even be able to capitalize on that. They're like white guys going for a dunk: they look awkward doing it and you know there's a good chance that they'll blow it. Take the Foley thing for example: the Republicans would be using this in every single ad, they'd be on every single talk show bashing Democrats values, and they'd use it as a rallying cry to get out the vote. You get the sense that the Democrats are afraid to be labeled as players of dirty politics even if it means securing the win. It's so back asswards that the REPUBLICANS were the ones that went on the offensive saying that Democrats were the only ones that knew the truth all along and they waited until now to reveal the news!!! Well, let's hope the Democrats can pull through in spite of themselves like Woody Harrelson at the end of White Men Can't Jump.
Then, on the actually Voting Day itself, there are bound to be some extremely interesting turns of events throughout the day. Firstly, at least one race, and probably far more, will have a black cloud hovering over it as a result of some sense of election fraud. It will DEFINITLEY benefit a Republican. What is unknown is exactly how much National air time the situation will actually get. If it gets as much as the Ohio voting irregularities, then Republicans will have won back one or both Chambers of Congress and it will be clear that Democracy is dead in America. But if there's a big enough stink, which I hope there will be and there certainly should be, then there is hope. But it will be predicated on Democrats controlling the agenda and thereby the stream of news from Capitol Hill. If they don't do that, then they don't have control and we're all in trouble. On the day of the election, anyone who says they are voting for a Republican should be asked this question: are you voting for him based on what you THINK Republicans stand for and how they SHOULD vote or because of they're track record over the past 6 years? If it's based on perception, they need to face the reality and understand what has happened to the size of the government, it's spending and it's involvement in our day-to-day lives now compared to 6 years ago. They need to understand that there is absolutely NOTHING to indicate the next 2 or 6 years will be any different than the previous 2 or 6 years. The votes will be the same, the government will become more obtrusive and the constant threat of terror will become more real. If they are voting based on actual performance, then odds are pretty good they're part of the Religious Right and they are voting based on how their preacher tells them to vote. They have put as much thought into this decision as every other decision they make in their lives: none.
But what will be most interesting is the 2 years that follow. As much as the vote 2 years ago stood as a turning point where Americans could have taken back our Government and wrestled away the control from a group of people set on rigging the system to keep them in power in perpetuity, this vote stands as a chance to wake up the average American. The one that chugs along with no interest in the system thinking there is no way to change it. This is an opportunity to actually get the system back on track and in the middle of the road where it belongs. They call it the middle of the road for a reason: the road represents a path and a path is always a good thing. It's been swung far too right for far too long and we're stuck in a ditch. This is a chance to remind people how our government should function and that the forces that are currently in charge are nothing but bad news. It could be an exciting and invigorating 2 years. It might also be a scary and depressing 2 years. The people have to decide between having a clear path or being stuck in the ditch.
posted by RauluaP at 5:35 PM
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