The End
No, no, no. Not the end of this blog. If you’re reading this blog, you must be nuts because I haven’t published for months. Why would you come back now? (Oh, by the way, hi there!) Anyway, we don’t end here, just go on unexplained lengthy hiatuses.
No, “The End,” as I’m referring to it here, and as I’ve sort of alluded to before, is the end of this current Republican-dominated era, whether or not the Democrats take back either or both houses of Congress this election. Even if they continue to dominate all levels of government, they will not be able to pass through any substantial legislation that doesn’t have bipartisan support. Astounding, really, considering that just 2 years ago, they had taken hold of the government and they appeared to be able to function without limit.
But the war in Iraq has been disastrous, Afghanistan is heading that way, and they can’t do much about Iran and North Korea; Katrina has shown them to be ineffective, heartless bastards; the corruption scandals have shown that they are, well, corrupt; the Terri Schiavo case has shown they are very concerned about interfering in our private lives; the Social Security “fix” was a bust; then there’s legitimizing torture, government eavesdropping, secret imprisonments, and other things I’m sure I’m forgetting; the Mark Foley scandal, which reveals just about every dirty aspect of these charlatans; and all of this has shown they are, above else, most concerned about keeping their hold on power than anything else.
The curtain has been opened on their little production and more people are seeing just what they are made of and seeing through their smears and lies. The polls have been consistently poor for them and they’re looking worse, not better, as the election creeps near. Bush has been consistently in the 30s for the better part of a year.
Even if they keep power, where do they go? Not that being exposed would necessarily stop them, but their shamelessness has been exposed—how can they ram through any legislation without sinking even further and ruining their 2008 prospects?
The continual 2-year election year cycle, more than anything else, has probably been the godsend that has saved this country. They can’t ram through abortion bans, gay marriage bans, more wars, and the rest of the agenda they promised to their base because they are sinking in the polls and would be wiped off the map if they did.
In short, their “end” has been brought about because George W. Bush has been a disastrous president, and the members of Congress pledged undying fealty to him in the early years of his administration, basically purchasing themselves tickets on the Titanic. That was their fatal mistake—basically forfeiting their legislative status as a check on his power and becoming his rubber stamp so that they could keep power indefinitely.
If the Republicans hold onto power, there will be a major disconnect in this country that will render the government ineffective. One party will hold all the reins of power, but won’t be able to do anything because, ironically, more people dislike them than the minority party. This could lead to an electorate that is either more outraged than it is now, or one that becomes more apathetic and withdraws from the process. But this is the government we have now—one that is no longer representative of the people. Congressional districts have been gerrymandered by both parties to become noncompetitive and largely unchangeable. We’re in a war and what sacrifices should we, the people, make? Buy more goods. Forfeit your rights under the Constitution. And don’t ask any questions of your leaders than they don’t have prepared answers for. Our elected representatives are shamelessly up for sale to the highest corporate bidder.
If they somehow turn it around and save their political hides, or if they have this thing already secured in the Diebold bag, they can spend time patting themselves on the back and talking about how the American people have spoken and how God-fearing and mighty they are, but they’re still fading away even if nothing changes. They will be sliding away to their worst nightmare, which will be a Democratic presidency in ’08. The people are on to them and eventually said people will do something about it.
No, “The End,” as I’m referring to it here, and as I’ve sort of alluded to before, is the end of this current Republican-dominated era, whether or not the Democrats take back either or both houses of Congress this election. Even if they continue to dominate all levels of government, they will not be able to pass through any substantial legislation that doesn’t have bipartisan support. Astounding, really, considering that just 2 years ago, they had taken hold of the government and they appeared to be able to function without limit.
But the war in Iraq has been disastrous, Afghanistan is heading that way, and they can’t do much about Iran and North Korea; Katrina has shown them to be ineffective, heartless bastards; the corruption scandals have shown that they are, well, corrupt; the Terri Schiavo case has shown they are very concerned about interfering in our private lives; the Social Security “fix” was a bust; then there’s legitimizing torture, government eavesdropping, secret imprisonments, and other things I’m sure I’m forgetting; the Mark Foley scandal, which reveals just about every dirty aspect of these charlatans; and all of this has shown they are, above else, most concerned about keeping their hold on power than anything else.
The curtain has been opened on their little production and more people are seeing just what they are made of and seeing through their smears and lies. The polls have been consistently poor for them and they’re looking worse, not better, as the election creeps near. Bush has been consistently in the 30s for the better part of a year.
Even if they keep power, where do they go? Not that being exposed would necessarily stop them, but their shamelessness has been exposed—how can they ram through any legislation without sinking even further and ruining their 2008 prospects?
The continual 2-year election year cycle, more than anything else, has probably been the godsend that has saved this country. They can’t ram through abortion bans, gay marriage bans, more wars, and the rest of the agenda they promised to their base because they are sinking in the polls and would be wiped off the map if they did.
In short, their “end” has been brought about because George W. Bush has been a disastrous president, and the members of Congress pledged undying fealty to him in the early years of his administration, basically purchasing themselves tickets on the Titanic. That was their fatal mistake—basically forfeiting their legislative status as a check on his power and becoming his rubber stamp so that they could keep power indefinitely.
If the Republicans hold onto power, there will be a major disconnect in this country that will render the government ineffective. One party will hold all the reins of power, but won’t be able to do anything because, ironically, more people dislike them than the minority party. This could lead to an electorate that is either more outraged than it is now, or one that becomes more apathetic and withdraws from the process. But this is the government we have now—one that is no longer representative of the people. Congressional districts have been gerrymandered by both parties to become noncompetitive and largely unchangeable. We’re in a war and what sacrifices should we, the people, make? Buy more goods. Forfeit your rights under the Constitution. And don’t ask any questions of your leaders than they don’t have prepared answers for. Our elected representatives are shamelessly up for sale to the highest corporate bidder.
If they somehow turn it around and save their political hides, or if they have this thing already secured in the Diebold bag, they can spend time patting themselves on the back and talking about how the American people have spoken and how God-fearing and mighty they are, but they’re still fading away even if nothing changes. They will be sliding away to their worst nightmare, which will be a Democratic presidency in ’08. The people are on to them and eventually said people will do something about it.
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