Where the Right went Wrong....a Mega Rant
After being good for a few weeks and avoiding any really long political rants the dam at last has broken.
You have been warned....
I have a very unique job. I run satellite signals for horse racing, the byproduct of this is that I have a constant stream of media at my fingertips. For example right now I have CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC all on in front of me. In addition to that I have multiple news RSS feeds on my desktop and of course the entire internet at my disposal. I also have a couple hundred people from all walks of life just outside my office door. Republican, Democrats, Independents, and people who don't vote or pay attention to day to day politics at all. The three main topics of conversation here at any given time are horses, sports, and politics. I have worked here for about 12 years now and at least 80% of the customers and staff here has been here as long as me or longer. So we were all here talking about Clinton when he was caught with his pants down. We were here talking about the 2000 election and that debacle. We were here and talking on September 11th. The Iraq war, Afghanistan, the 04' election, the housing bubble, the crash, you get the point. I bring all this up because what I see happing with the Republican Party and a vast majority of its supporters is quite frankly one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in my life. And considering all that party has done the last 8 years that is really saying something!
Let me explain....
It started in 2000 when Bush declared himself winner and forced Al Gore to go on the defensive from a position of looking like a sore loser. That was the tremor that began the dividing of the country. It ebbed and flowed over the years reaching its peak during the 04 election. Somewhere along the way there Fox News convinced it's viewers that they were the only "real" journalist left on earth and that anything else was at best just plain wrong and at worst anti American. What is scary is that people REALLY believed Fox. The truly think that everyone else is just lying to them. Not just biased, or left leaning (MSNBC) but L Y I N G to them!
Now to be fair both sides did put blinders on. Democrats including myself developed a hatred of everything Bush. The guy could not do anything good in the lefts eyes. The side note to this is that for the most part everything we on the left lambasted Bush for by and large turned out to be true. Gore did get a raw deal in 2000, 9-11 did happen on Bush's watch, Bush really does have ties to the Bin Laden family, Iraq really did have nothing to do with 9-11, had no weapons program, and did not turn out to be the "quick war" we were sold on. I could go on but my point is that if you turn out to be right about a whole bunch of things you should get credit for it. If you turn out to be wrong, well I'll get to that in a bit.
Let me back up for a second....
The reason I brought up all that I did in the first paragraph is because I’m not just generalizing here. I have had a front row seat for this. I talk daily with a lot of people for whom Fox is second only to the bible in truth. The 20% that still think Iraq was behind 9-11 and that we did find weapons of mass destruction, I know those people. I talk to them every day. They still believe that Obama is a Muslim and refuses to say the pledge of allegiance.
So not only do they not see that Fox is right leaning, just like MSNBC is left leaning they do not accept that it was 8 years of failed policy and abuse of power that put us into the mess we are in today.
But why should they accept it? Bush and his crew never took any blame. The holy Fox news never held them, congress or the senate accountable. At least until the last 2 years of Bush's term when the Democrats won back a majority. It is rarely mentioned on Fox news that for 6 out of the last 8 years Republican policy was the unopposed law of the land. Even rarer mentioned even on the left leaning MSNBC is the fact that the last time we voted a democrat into the White House after 12 years of Republican control we were facing a lesser version of the exact same problems we do now. A weak economy and rising unemployment.
So we have an large portion of the our countries people that not only distrust everything not heard on Fox News and repeated by the right leaning segments of the media, some of those people in stark denial of simple and provable facts. You also have a group of people who do not see the cause and effect of Republican policy despite recent history and current events staring them in the face.
Up to this point for the most part I am talking about the voting public and a biased news network. While they are for sure part of the problem they are not elected officials. The trouble is the elected officials of that party are playing this for everything its worth. After losing control of the White House, Congress and the Senate they now sit in a position to actually gain from things getting worse for you and me. They are playing politics when it is clearly time to dig in and try something new. When you are wrong time and time again there has to be a point where you realize that what you are trying is not working and you try something new.
This is where the sick beauty of the culture they have pushed within their party comes in. Since their base denies simple cause and effect and does not believe what they are told by anyone other than Fox News it puts them in a perfect political position. Do what you can to make sure Obama fails and things don't get better. Just stand in the way of in progress for a while and they will be back in power again (at least in the Senate and Congress) in a mere 2 years. Make no mistake about it, that is what they are doing right now with this stimulus bill.
Let me say it again, A bitter and cynical Republican Party is playing politics while you, I and hundreds of thousands of people like us are losing their jobs and not to be too dramatic in some cases even their very lives.
The end result of the last 8 years is that the current Republican ideology has been shown to be wrong yet again. The realization of that has left the party with 2 choices. Admit the failure then examine what has failed, come up with new good ideas to replace the old bad ones and then go about the long task of selling those to the public. Or play on the ignorance they have cultivated within the base. Blame the incoming President for everything that is wrong. Let the old blood that runs the party regain some power. Then leave the problem of truly reinventing the ideology of the Republican Party for future generations to figure out.
To the possible detriment of their party and the country on a whole they have decided to take the low, easy road of politics as usual.
I'm going to stop myself for a second right here. I am not going to for one second say that Democrats never play these games, they do. But the trouble/beauty of the Democratic Party is that we are just too diverse in our views to ever really fall into the kind of lock step it takes for this level of political obstruction. This is what made us such an easy target for the last 8 years. We are all over the place as a party but tend of meet in the middle with each other where it counts.
I know that I am not a complete cynic because even as I write this I feel in my heart of hearts that if things get bad enough that a good chunk of the Republican Party will say enough is enough and do whatever they can to put our country back on track. Even if that means working together and risking losing the support of their base and party. As I write this it is being reported that "a bipartisan group of moderate senators" has reached a deal on the stimulus package. So who knows maybe it will happen sooner than later. But until a few things become widely accepted fact among people as a whole then we are doomed to suffer the same foolish mistakes over and over again.
Let’s spell them out nice and simple....
The Economic policies of Regan, H.W. Bush, and Bush 2 have failed. Twice now. It's time to try something different.
There is no "one true source" for news of any kind. We have the ability to read more news and opinion now then anytime in written human history. It is our responsibility to inform ourselves and verify that the things we hear are in fact true.
If someone, ANYONE is wrong over and over again then they might in fact be wrong again. So when Karl Rove or Dick Cheney tells you what "needs" to be done with the economy or the war keep in mind these are things they did not get right while they had the chance.
Like it or not the Democratic Party won the last 2 elections overwhelmingly. The American people have spoken and have asked for something new and different from what they had. Oppose and voice dissension when you disagree, that is what you were elected for. You were not elected to win more elections.
If you are using lies and dirty politics to do so you are doing nothing more than standing in the way of the will of voters and in the long run you will be shown to be nothing more than just another dirty politician. Show that you are more than that, show that you are a good American first, and a republican second.
The sad part about a rant like this from myself or anybody angry and long winded enough to write one is that for the most part the only people who will read it is someone who agrees with the writer to an extent already. Perhaps that is what is really at the heart of problem. In these modern times where we have every option in the world we choose a little too often only to listen to those who will affirm what we already believe. So with this in mind I am going to say something just for you, the person reading this and agreeing with me. Have the courage to challenge your own opinion or you run the risk of being no better than the people you have been reading about above!
The world is changing. We can all feel it. It is a tangible thing. It's why there is so much Armageddon talk and fascination with things like the Mayan Calendar, 2012, end times prediction and Nostradamus. It is a cycle that repeats it's self over and over again all throughout history in times of change and strife. We wake up the next day and the world is still turning. We crossed over the top of one of the many mountains of change. We are going to go down that mountain like it or not. There are many paths down. We can help each other to navigate those paths and come down together, strong and ready to climb the next mountain. Or we can continue to push each other in to a free fall down, arguing about who tripped who and if we should have head up to the top of the mountain in the first place.
You have been warned....
I have a very unique job. I run satellite signals for horse racing, the byproduct of this is that I have a constant stream of media at my fingertips. For example right now I have CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC all on in front of me. In addition to that I have multiple news RSS feeds on my desktop and of course the entire internet at my disposal. I also have a couple hundred people from all walks of life just outside my office door. Republican, Democrats, Independents, and people who don't vote or pay attention to day to day politics at all. The three main topics of conversation here at any given time are horses, sports, and politics. I have worked here for about 12 years now and at least 80% of the customers and staff here has been here as long as me or longer. So we were all here talking about Clinton when he was caught with his pants down. We were here talking about the 2000 election and that debacle. We were here and talking on September 11th. The Iraq war, Afghanistan, the 04' election, the housing bubble, the crash, you get the point. I bring all this up because what I see happing with the Republican Party and a vast majority of its supporters is quite frankly one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in my life. And considering all that party has done the last 8 years that is really saying something!
Let me explain....
It started in 2000 when Bush declared himself winner and forced Al Gore to go on the defensive from a position of looking like a sore loser. That was the tremor that began the dividing of the country. It ebbed and flowed over the years reaching its peak during the 04 election. Somewhere along the way there Fox News convinced it's viewers that they were the only "real" journalist left on earth and that anything else was at best just plain wrong and at worst anti American. What is scary is that people REALLY believed Fox. The truly think that everyone else is just lying to them. Not just biased, or left leaning (MSNBC) but L Y I N G to them!
Now to be fair both sides did put blinders on. Democrats including myself developed a hatred of everything Bush. The guy could not do anything good in the lefts eyes. The side note to this is that for the most part everything we on the left lambasted Bush for by and large turned out to be true. Gore did get a raw deal in 2000, 9-11 did happen on Bush's watch, Bush really does have ties to the Bin Laden family, Iraq really did have nothing to do with 9-11, had no weapons program, and did not turn out to be the "quick war" we were sold on. I could go on but my point is that if you turn out to be right about a whole bunch of things you should get credit for it. If you turn out to be wrong, well I'll get to that in a bit.
Let me back up for a second....
The reason I brought up all that I did in the first paragraph is because I’m not just generalizing here. I have had a front row seat for this. I talk daily with a lot of people for whom Fox is second only to the bible in truth. The 20% that still think Iraq was behind 9-11 and that we did find weapons of mass destruction, I know those people. I talk to them every day. They still believe that Obama is a Muslim and refuses to say the pledge of allegiance.
So not only do they not see that Fox is right leaning, just like MSNBC is left leaning they do not accept that it was 8 years of failed policy and abuse of power that put us into the mess we are in today.
But why should they accept it? Bush and his crew never took any blame. The holy Fox news never held them, congress or the senate accountable. At least until the last 2 years of Bush's term when the Democrats won back a majority. It is rarely mentioned on Fox news that for 6 out of the last 8 years Republican policy was the unopposed law of the land. Even rarer mentioned even on the left leaning MSNBC is the fact that the last time we voted a democrat into the White House after 12 years of Republican control we were facing a lesser version of the exact same problems we do now. A weak economy and rising unemployment.
So we have an large portion of the our countries people that not only distrust everything not heard on Fox News and repeated by the right leaning segments of the media, some of those people in stark denial of simple and provable facts. You also have a group of people who do not see the cause and effect of Republican policy despite recent history and current events staring them in the face.
Up to this point for the most part I am talking about the voting public and a biased news network. While they are for sure part of the problem they are not elected officials. The trouble is the elected officials of that party are playing this for everything its worth. After losing control of the White House, Congress and the Senate they now sit in a position to actually gain from things getting worse for you and me. They are playing politics when it is clearly time to dig in and try something new. When you are wrong time and time again there has to be a point where you realize that what you are trying is not working and you try something new.
This is where the sick beauty of the culture they have pushed within their party comes in. Since their base denies simple cause and effect and does not believe what they are told by anyone other than Fox News it puts them in a perfect political position. Do what you can to make sure Obama fails and things don't get better. Just stand in the way of in progress for a while and they will be back in power again (at least in the Senate and Congress) in a mere 2 years. Make no mistake about it, that is what they are doing right now with this stimulus bill.
Let me say it again, A bitter and cynical Republican Party is playing politics while you, I and hundreds of thousands of people like us are losing their jobs and not to be too dramatic in some cases even their very lives.
The end result of the last 8 years is that the current Republican ideology has been shown to be wrong yet again. The realization of that has left the party with 2 choices. Admit the failure then examine what has failed, come up with new good ideas to replace the old bad ones and then go about the long task of selling those to the public. Or play on the ignorance they have cultivated within the base. Blame the incoming President for everything that is wrong. Let the old blood that runs the party regain some power. Then leave the problem of truly reinventing the ideology of the Republican Party for future generations to figure out.
To the possible detriment of their party and the country on a whole they have decided to take the low, easy road of politics as usual.
I'm going to stop myself for a second right here. I am not going to for one second say that Democrats never play these games, they do. But the trouble/beauty of the Democratic Party is that we are just too diverse in our views to ever really fall into the kind of lock step it takes for this level of political obstruction. This is what made us such an easy target for the last 8 years. We are all over the place as a party but tend of meet in the middle with each other where it counts.
I know that I am not a complete cynic because even as I write this I feel in my heart of hearts that if things get bad enough that a good chunk of the Republican Party will say enough is enough and do whatever they can to put our country back on track. Even if that means working together and risking losing the support of their base and party. As I write this it is being reported that "a bipartisan group of moderate senators" has reached a deal on the stimulus package. So who knows maybe it will happen sooner than later. But until a few things become widely accepted fact among people as a whole then we are doomed to suffer the same foolish mistakes over and over again.
Let’s spell them out nice and simple....
The Economic policies of Regan, H.W. Bush, and Bush 2 have failed. Twice now. It's time to try something different.
There is no "one true source" for news of any kind. We have the ability to read more news and opinion now then anytime in written human history. It is our responsibility to inform ourselves and verify that the things we hear are in fact true.
If someone, ANYONE is wrong over and over again then they might in fact be wrong again. So when Karl Rove or Dick Cheney tells you what "needs" to be done with the economy or the war keep in mind these are things they did not get right while they had the chance.
Like it or not the Democratic Party won the last 2 elections overwhelmingly. The American people have spoken and have asked for something new and different from what they had. Oppose and voice dissension when you disagree, that is what you were elected for. You were not elected to win more elections.
If you are using lies and dirty politics to do so you are doing nothing more than standing in the way of the will of voters and in the long run you will be shown to be nothing more than just another dirty politician. Show that you are more than that, show that you are a good American first, and a republican second.
The sad part about a rant like this from myself or anybody angry and long winded enough to write one is that for the most part the only people who will read it is someone who agrees with the writer to an extent already. Perhaps that is what is really at the heart of problem. In these modern times where we have every option in the world we choose a little too often only to listen to those who will affirm what we already believe. So with this in mind I am going to say something just for you, the person reading this and agreeing with me. Have the courage to challenge your own opinion or you run the risk of being no better than the people you have been reading about above!
The world is changing. We can all feel it. It is a tangible thing. It's why there is so much Armageddon talk and fascination with things like the Mayan Calendar, 2012, end times prediction and Nostradamus. It is a cycle that repeats it's self over and over again all throughout history in times of change and strife. We wake up the next day and the world is still turning. We crossed over the top of one of the many mountains of change. We are going to go down that mountain like it or not. There are many paths down. We can help each other to navigate those paths and come down together, strong and ready to climb the next mountain. Or we can continue to push each other in to a free fall down, arguing about who tripped who and if we should have head up to the top of the mountain in the first place.