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Krawdad
Member Elite
since 2001-01-03
Posts 2597


0 posted 2004-10-27 02:14 PM


Lies, Lies, Lies
Sick, Sick, Sick

I have been involved in politics since long before I was old enough to vote.  I have been on the inside of both major political parties in the US at one time or another.  I have supported various independent candidates.  I have seen my own name on a ballot.
From the very beginning I've witnessed (or been party to, when I was too young to catch on, or a target of, later on) the lies, the deception, the trickery and the crimes carried out on the behalf of a candidate or a party.  The worst of it always came from the conservative right.
Now, the current regime has reached lows I have never seen before.  It may not be the worst in this nation's history, but it is the worst I've seen in over fifty years of it.  And they revel in it.
And the other side is being dragged along with them.
And audiences are easily mustered up to cheer it all on.  How sad.  How disappointing.  How embarrassing.  How destructive of the office.
And now to top it off, there is that "Wolves" TV spot being run.  Have you seen it?  Are you scared?  (You're supposed to be!)  How absurd!  How denigrating to the wolf.  It's just another piece of manipulated fantasy from the past.
Enough already !!!

Disclaimer:
This is not a "trolling" thread.  It's just something I needed to air.  I make no claims other than from my own personal experience.  I am currently inactive in any political campaign or entity.  This is as far as I am willing to go.
I am just so sick of the foul odor that US politics has come to that I can barely stand it.
I wouldn't even show up at the ballot box except that I just can't bring myself to capitulate without at least a protest vote.

e


© Copyright 2004 Krawdad - All Rights Reserved
Mistletoe Angel
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Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
1 posted 2004-10-27 03:14 PM


Oh, I absolutely agree.

I can't stress enough how I've said I hate politics more than any other thing in this world. Politics is a wicked game that I believe only tangles everyone up.

I am upset with both major parties right now. The conservatives are not acting like conservatives and the liberals aren't acting like liberals. Both the Republicans and Democrats have become walking corporal interest giants with stomachs so big they can't look down at the ground and see the general public at their feet or feel them tugging at their ankles.

It's true that I have voted Kerry, the Democratic nominee, but I am not thrilled with this choice. He's morally superior to Bush in my opinion, but he really doesn't represent the heart of liberal, progressive politics, no matter who believes that Kerry is the most liberal senator who makes Ted kennedy the conservative senator of Massachusetts nonsense.

I do believe Kerry will fight this same war during his first term before sending all our young men and women home by 2008, and it troubles me. 95% of Democratic delegates are against this war now, and I wish the Democratic Party could represent their majority.

Why I've voted Kerry is actually more that I believe a vote for him is not supporting Kerry but using him as a tool to end Bush's radical neo-con regime. I believe because Kerry has the conscience to say this war was the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time, in contrast to Bush believing this was the right war, and Kerry also understanding that terrorism must be understood as something that can't ever fully be abolished like gambling and prostitution thus we shouldn't make it the thing we think about every single day and invade our lives, while Bush continues to encourage the fear-mongering of the possible threat each day.

I do believe Kerry can win this war on terror, by NOT fighting it as seriously as Bush, and concede terrorism is a psychological sickness that comes from feelings of terrorization. It sounds to me like he intends to capture or kill the key targets, but not go lindy-hopping bombing Falluja and Najaf day by day. All war upsets me, but I guess I'll have to settle with the somewhat tamer former.

You could say I should just vote Nader, an anti-war third party candidate. That's out of the question, for this is clearly a two-way race mentality and Nader has conceded himself he cannot win. He's expected to only get 1% of the national vote, so a vote for him would be symbolic, no doubt about that, but also insufficient.

The fact is, over half of Americans believe America is heading in the wrong direction, so that tells me people are suffocating under this rigid two-party system.

I've been trying to shake up as many Indymedia communities as possible, where passionate progressives come to talk, and encourage them not to slack off a single day from November 3rd to Election Day 2008, and we must work, work, work to see to it that ITC ballot is enforced, so we can pick our candidates by first, second and third favorites. We must work to expand this underground media to other markets and get more educated and accustomed to the politics the mass media ignore. We must phone our local congressmen and not simply ask, but DEMAND our many progressive proposals and see to it they at least find a way to the Senate floor.

So, Krawdad, I wouldn't say I'm exactly on the same page as you, but I do sympathize and feel you here. I really wish voting Nader or Cobb was sufficient right now. I always ask myself, "Where are all the Martin Luther King Jrs. and George McGoverns and Benjamin Spocks and Gandhis of this generation?"

And as for that wolves ad, yeah, that disturbed me too. It was blatantly recycled from the 1984 "bears" ad under Reagen's re-election bid. Just more adulterated fear-mongering, something none of us need.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Krawdad
Member Elite
since 2001-01-03
Posts 2597

2 posted 2004-10-27 10:07 PM


Thank you for your reply, Noah.
I appreciate your always studied comments.
In the end I probably won't give in to the protest vote even though where I vote my vote is almost always swamped out by the conservative mass.
I hate to waste even a slim chance to remove Rumsfeld, the architect of this war, who will pursue it maniacally to any end.
I believe our only long term hope is for an instant run-off ballot, though I don't see a way to get that done.  
It is such a waste to watch what should be, or at least could be, a "season" to enlighten an electorate, to demonstrate social responsibility, and to reasoned debate only to see it disintegrate into character assassination and trickery.
I despair.

e

Midnitesun
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Empyrean
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647
Gaia
3 posted 2004-10-27 10:58 PM


Boy, do I relate to this. It's a real mess. Did you see that PBS special on Rumsfeld's War? It was very revealing, and I can imagine there must be even more back room dirt we'll never know about.
Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
4 posted 2004-10-28 12:14 PM


Let's not forget Wolfowitz and his doctrine.

Brad
Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705
Jejudo, South Korea
5 posted 2004-10-28 10:30 AM


To be inserted.

Isn't that what phase 5 of the battle plan said?

Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
6 posted 2004-10-28 10:29 PM


why i l@ve pbs, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pentagon/

full transcripts and further analysis is always available for free

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