Has our nation gone batty? Have the Republican candidates so overwhelmed the voting populace that someone normal, someone who might appeal to a less strident audience, someone who doesn't spout catch phrases might be an acceptable choice?
Where is John Hunstman when I need him? I don't agree with him on everything, but I could sleep at night were he our President. He was too reasonable, I guess, to succeed last time. This time he didn't even show up.
John Kasich gave a reasoned, nuanced answer to the issue of gay marriage at the first debate, and received no publicity for it at all. He spoke from the heart, and from civic pride; he seemed to understand the situation in a way that his fellow candidates did not. He responded like a man who has lived a full life. He wasn't looking for the Supreme Court to validate his lifestyle. He seemed able to accept the reality that many kinds of humans make up America.
That's a concept the other candidates seem to have trouble understanding. They seem to share a we're right and they are so very very wrong attitude. That's fine for a softball team, but it falls short of the standard I would set for the leader of our country. After all, they are running for the Presidency of the entire United States, not just those whose religious and moral principles fall in line with their own.
Reasonableness is lacking regarding ObamaCare, the Iran nuclear deal, and, above all, when discussing Israel. Have you seen Ann Coulter's rant? The one where she tweeted How many f'ing Jews are there in this country, anyway? Foul language from a member of the political press is cheap and unworthy, but that's not what irks me about her comment. I have to wonder: Is she truly that ignorant, or is she mindlessly feeding religious animosity?
I don't believe that any of the candidates on the stage were pandering to the Jews in the audience. I don't know a lot of Jews who are comfortable with the Republican platform on any level, and support for Israel may not be enough for them if Bernie Sanders ends up running on the Democratic ticket. By standing with Israel, Ms. Coulter, those candidates were speaking directly to the religious right, those who are waiting for the Rapture... whose wonderfulness certainly does not include the Jews.
Meanwhile, the world is crumbling around us, and I don't think that massing arms on the border of Ukraine will do anything other than distract an increasingly distractable public. We flit from crisis to crisis - is anyone still interested in the three men who shot an Illinois State Trooper and are still running free?
I'm looking for gravitas. I'm looking for the ability to make subtle distinctions. I want to imagine my President holding my welfare above poll numbers. I'd like to respect the person, even if we disagree on policy.
I don't want a President who spouts nonsense about vaccines and autism. I don't want a President who proclaims that doctored videos are the basis for sound health care policy. I don't want someone who knows that God has told him what to do; in some circles hearing voices giving directions is cause for alarm.
I want to feel good about my government for a change. Is that so much to ask?
Great post. :) What's bothering me about the GOP right now is that they are pandering to the worst type of American--the paranoid racist with a bit of religion sprinkled in. That's a deadly combination. They are only focusing on abstract issues that have no real bearing on how our country succeeds. They lack substance and real vision. If they said they were going to focus on jobs and education, I "might" be more supportive. Instead, all they can do is be negative and blame every one else. It's the immigrants fault there are no jobs, it's Planned Parenthood's fault that the government may shut down, it's the gays who are destroying our country. It's all a bunch of BS and it sickens me that this is all they can come up with. THEN they have nut jobs who feed into this rhetoric. They are throwing gas on a fire and they refuse to even put out the fire they are creating. Donald Trump knows damn well Obama is not a Muslim and was born in the US, but because he can get someone's vote based off their fear of Muslims, he will perpetuate the lie. THIS is what's bothering me with the Republican Party. They refuse to tell the truth or stand-up for truth. They capitalize on the fears of racists and ignorant people.
ReplyDeleteI wish the election was today and we didn't have to listen to this crap/negativity for another year.
Thanks for the post. :)
Megan xxx
From your lips to God's ear, as they say.... would that this were not assaulting my consciousness day in and day out. Ben Carson saying a Muslim should not be President? HOW did he get this far?!?!?!?
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Think this is a great political cartoon to go with this post: http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/SiersK/2015/SiersK20150922_low.jpg
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think there is common sense on the left side but often its craziness is just in different places. I am sure everyone saw the article about the guy who bought a drug company to make the cost skyrocket and not care how it impacts humans with AIDS. We got a personal dose of it today at the pharmacy where I was coming to pick up a prescription which my doctor had renewed. It wasn't there though we had gotten a call saying it was. Then we finally found out it not only wasn't there but they would not order it until we came in. It had a certain classification. It's not something I need often but I like having it on hand but when I found out the copay would be almost $300, I decided it wasn't worth that to me. There was worse info. Its actual cost was $1000; so the government was to pay the rest through Medicare and my added insurance. I was in shock at the cost but you know why so high-- the ACA bill does not allow negotiating with drug companies on cost... Just think about it. I might not pay $1000 for it but somebody does through premiums and taxes. Here's the cherry on the top-- I looked online and can buy it from amazon, shipped from Thailand for $70-- no copay. That's the total cost... And that was Obama and the left; so much as I agree-- I could not vote for any Republican right now, I also am angry at the Demiocrats!
ReplyDeleteOrder away, Rain! Order away! The compromises he had to make to get the bill passed are gut wrenching and impossible to parse but I have health insurance I would otherwise have out-spent myself and been ineligible for and so I feel blessed. You, and my mom who also had a copay for a medication that cost Medicare $1000/ month (we stopped it after 6 weeks), and everyone snookered by that little twerp - saw him on CNN and could hardly keep lunch down - deserve not only to be angry, but there ought to be relief.
DeleteThey are awful. Left, right and center. What is it about our system that lets this kind rise to the top?
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Although I don't vote for Republicans, I think I could sleep at night if Huntsman ran and won. I can't say that for any of the other people in the clown car. When did our country go off the rails like this? How did this happen? Drug prices are just nuts. I'm using cipro with a steroid in my ear, and a teeny tiny bottle retails for $250. It's maybe half an ounce of liquid. It must be made out of gold.
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