Friday, November 9, 2012

moving forward



We've been nose to the grindstone around here for the last month, in the city during the week, so this is the first opportunity for me to express myself about the election.

The election is over and Obama won his second term. I admit I was nervous and concerned, fearful even at times, but after I voted early, I tried to put it out of my mind. After all, I had done everything I could by voting.

We are happy and relieved that Obama was reelected. In fact, this is 'no whine' week around here in celebration. We flipped back and forth between the election results and Escape From New York with long time heart throb Kurt Russell, staying up late enough to know that Obama had in fact beat the pants off Romney/Ryan.

I have been reading with interest Republican reactions to their defeat. Stunned disbelief pretty much sums it up. Lots of trying to understand what went wrong and the things they are coming up with are so far off the mark it's no wonder they lost.

No matter. I'll help them out.

It could have been the over 600 outright lies the R/R team told about Obama.

It could have been Romney's refusal to show that he was in fact a tax paying citizen.

It could have been Romney's refusal to discuss his past as governor or his stint as Olympic Committee chairman in Utah or his business dealings at Bain, his lack of any kind of plan or details to back up the things he said he would and could do, and most especially his repeated refrain of 'trust me'.

It could have been their desire to defund public education.

It could have been their intention to get rid of the Great Society's safety net at a time when so many people are still out of work or the jobs they have won't pay a living wage much less provide benefits.

It could have been their complete lack of understanding that older Americans deserve the benefits that they paid for all of their working lives.

It could have been their refusal to return the tax rate to pre-Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest among us, a hike that would not affect the wealthy's lifestyles one little bit.

It could have been the fact that they sold themselves and the country to corporations and the ultra-wealthy whose only goal is greater profits at any cost.

It could have been their intention to give more tax cuts to the wealthy and return to the economic policies that got us in this mess in the first place.

It could have been their intention to immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act.

It could have been their desire to force government control over the reproductive rights of women.

It could have been their attitude that women were second class citizens and didn't deserve equal pay.

It could have been their desire for Latinos to engage in 'self-deportation'.

It could have been their belief that the LGBT segment of society didn't deserve equal civil rights.

It could have been their arrogance and obvious and utter contempt for anyone who wasn't a rich, white, hetero, christian male.

It could have been that they think half the population of this country are lazy shiftless moochers.

It could have been their complete lack of understanding what the working poor and the struggling middle class have to endure on a daily basis.

It could have been their flagrant attempts to restrict the voting rights of the segment of the population that generally votes against them.

It could have been their desire to take this country back to a time of social repression where the white christian hetero male reigned supreme.

It could have been their desire and attempts to turn this country into a right wing christian theocracy.

It could have been their complete and total extremism to the point of marginalizing the moderates in their own party.

It could have been and was all that and more.

Republicans are beating their chests and wailing the loss of 'traditional' America, they are losing their country, America is done for.

What?! Like their opinions on marriage and the family and patriotism, they think that they and only they know what that is.

This may come as a shock to them then when I say that far right wing republicanism does not get to define America, it does not get to define patriotism, it does not get to define what women will be allowed to do, it does not get to define marriage, the family, or even 'christian' values.

America is moving into the future with a true diversity of population and inclusiveness and continued stonewalling and obstructionism by the Republican party will only make them obsolete.



15 comments:

  1. What can I say except that I agree totally !!!

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  2. amen- You are the BEST! Saw Frontline last night on the evil pbs station... re: Montana and Citizens untied if you can google it do so- it is very informative and the supreme court is challenged, must re-think that one!!! I was way too distraught over this election, usually I just roll with what ever- but this one really had me scared...had to shut down for a while. Glad to breathe again!

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  3. I've been listening to various Republican talking heads, and have yet to see a single shred of intelligent introspection or self-analysis. You know, the kind of thing mature, responsible adults sometimes do?

    Why, just today, Condy Rice was talking on CBS about what message was needed in order to to win the women/black/latino vote and keep the Republican party viable. Um. If survival of their party is their first priority, then their kind of country deserves to die.

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  4. Finally, maybe and end to the Age of Carter. (And I say that to piss off Republicans, even though it's pretty much true. Carter started the whole "government is not your ally" trend. Reagan just took the ball and ran with it).

    Selfishness, with any luck, is done for awhile, and the idea of community and cooperation (uh, the Big C words) should hopefully come back into style. But, it won't happen unless all of us keep the R House from digging in its heels again. So, citizens, time to beat Congress about the head and shoulders, now that the governing is commencing.

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  5. Very well said...and I agree. The lack of introspection on how important the social and cultural beliefs of individuals were in this election is astonishing to me.

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  6. i have always thought more liberal than conservative. but i am willing to support either party if the right person is positioned to lead. in this case, the repulican party failed to bring a forward-thinking leader.

    this line hit home with me: It could have been the fact that they sold themselves and the country to corporations and the ultra-wealthy whose only goal is greater profits at any cost.

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  7. Well, I guess you wrote them a white paper to review! I'll bet it rolled off your finger tips in less than ten minutes. Longer than the attention span of one of those hateful commericals.

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  8. Yes! Every damn Republican gnashing his or her teeth right now should read this.
    Perfect and perfectly said!

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  9. Yep. I am so relieved at the outcome of this election. I wasn't convinced that it would happen this way, and now I just hope we can move forward.

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  10. You gotta wonder though just why is it that half the country loves/loved the guy. I have people I really care about who were for Romney but we never talked about it. For my part I guess I didn't want to hear it and probably same for them. So, I still wonder why good people liked him.

    I, of course, agree with everything you've said here Ellen.

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  11. Amen! The Republicans are gearing their messages for a country that doesn't exist anymore -- a nation of Ward Cleavers. Even back in the '50s, Ward Cleaver was a myth!

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  12. Guess what? On this side of the Atlantic a huge big sigh of relief went up among anyone with a shred of intelligence. We do not want to go back into the dark ages!

    On the other hand, ‘Bushisms’ provided many good laughs for us, whereas Obama seems able to form sentences which make sense.

    Can’t have it all, I suppose.

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  13. We have a great country and a system that has worked. Eventhough I did not support Obama in the election, I do support "ALL YA"LL" and the bless-ed opportunity that we can disagree and stay civil. I agree with a large part of your list for the R's defeat,,just as a safety measure,,,let's hold the current administration to the same goals and guidlines and have them answer the same question as listed...
    Thanks, Glenn

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  14. Amen! I think you just listed everything that's been twisting in my gut for the last six months!

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.