I watched in horror as the clown car careened on a path to self-destruction, finding that the RNC was not as terrified as I was, listening to them vowing to support the candidate, whoever he might be, even when it looked like the candidate would be Donald J Trump.
I watched and listened and I really didn't care.
I tried to justify supporting Hillary, even when I didn't trust her. As the long, oh so very very very long run up to Iowa and New Hampshire and when did it become a surprise that Bernie would do well in a neighboring state.... I still really didn't care.
I wasn't worried, after all. Hillary was the only Democrat anyone could find and she handily trounced any and all of the clowns in nationwide polling. I could vote without doing anything more than my usual exhortations to Get Out and Vote and be satisfied with the outcome.
Now, Ted Cruz is polling better than Donald J Trump and Bernie is a real presence.
Now, I have to pay attention. TBG wonders if I would vote for Senator Sanders; "I'm certainly not voting for Ted Cruz!!" The fact of the conversation itself was noteworthy. There was tension in our voices.
Senator Sanders thinks my husband sucks. He's tarring all of Wall Street with the same broad brush, and it's sweeping all nuance out of the way. His position is actually one which TBG could embrace; he's in favor of reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act (click here for the explanations) and begins his position paper with a phrase I've been hearing from my husband for more than a decade:
1. Too-big-to-fail banks are bigger, riskier, and more ungovernable than ever(.)*
Why can't my open-minded, socially conscious, fiscally responsible spouse hear the argument? I think it has something to do with the way the message is delivered. In this instance, context is everything.
I'm involved in the conversation, now, at least with the Democrats. There is research to be done. There are opinions to be sought and decisions to be made. It's going to take time and effort and energy, all of which I'd hoped to avoid.
Still, as I told Big Cuter tonight on the phone, it's a nice problem for me to have, especially on the eve of G'ma's birth:
When I was faced with a ballot featuring unknown names running for a variety of judge-ships, G'ma's advice was simple: "Always vote for the women and the Jews."I promise, Mommy, I will.
For me, Ted Cruz is the scariest candidate, bar none. He's intelligent, diabolical, self impressed with himself, not likable, determined to bring down our government. Why any conservative would go for him is beyond me but the latest poll that has him ahead of Trump had the hardest line conservatives and they are the ones so filled with hate for Obama and our government that they want a destroyer as a candidate. Of course, none of the Repubs suit me for the issues but, you will probably groan, I'd prefer Trump to any of them. I listened to him last night on MSNBC's town hall and most of what he says makes sense-- to me, who is pretty moderate. I don't think we know what we'd get with Trump. We do with the rest. That said, I will vote for Bernie in the primary. I think his talk about Wall Street is really about the unethical end. The problem, when stocks dictate, is profit is everything. It has to be the primary consideration for companies when maybe they should care about the environment or workers or consumers, but it's been written into the rules that $$$s must be the first consideration. One thing Trump said last night is that a lot of what Sanders says, he might agree with but he does not believe Sanders can get it done. He thinks he could. I don't know if anybody can turn this train around and we don't seem to me to be heading in a good direction. I hate to be pessimistic but it's hard not to be given so much of what is going on.
ReplyDeleteI wrote this wondering what YOUR take on it would be, Rain. Thanks for joining the conversation.
DeleteTBG agrees with you that Trump is better than Cruz. It's Trump's mouth that bothers me - the racial divisiveness is not what we need right ow.
As for knowing what we'll get with Trump, that's anybody's guess. He's a chameleon, a reality star, someone who goes for the glitz and the glamour and he certainly knows middle America's taste and aspirations, but he still turns my stomach.
I have to decide about changing my registration to Dem or Rep from Ind in order to vote in the AZ primary. Hmmmm.....
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Yeah, he does tend to talk without thinking. What he said about Muslims being stopped from entering the US had more to it. He said until we can sort out those with radical ties from the rest. I think that makes sense. As for the border, it's a bummer what it's come to but you know as well as I that it's changed totally for how it is south of Tucson and how dangerous the back country has become because of the coyotes and I don't mean the furry sort. Nogales used to be a town I enjoyed visiting. My last experience there determined me no more as too many really rough and mean looking men hanging around-- on both sides of the border crossing. There has to be something done and as it stands, the Democrats aren't doing anything; so...
DeleteWow. The Democrats are in real trouble if YOU are writing THIS.
DeleteNo one goes to Nogales any more; it's a shame, but it's just too dangerous. And the Park Rangers won't sleep in the free housing b/c it's too dangerous.... and there is certainly no camping.
I have a post coming on immigration....
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It is extremely disappointing but I will be voting Democrat no matter who they nominate because of the radical nature of all the Republican candidates where it comes to social issues, which matter to me and their blaming the poor for what's gone wrong economically when clearly it's wars we should never have fought as well as funding by oligarchs. Neither party pleases me though and I can't even begin to say how disgusted I am with the Congress. If I have to vote for Hillary, it will be holding my nose without a doubt. As someone else said here, I don't want all that goes with the Clintons. I am not a fan of Bill either.
DeleteIt's hard to say how much camping there is. I read a lot of RV blogs, and people are out there in the desert boondocking. So far, no one has reported any assaults by migrants. The signs are up that there may be illegal activity in the area, but the campers aren't seeing it. The helicopters, border patrol ATVs and surveillance blimps may be making a difference.
DeleteI used to spend a lot of time down along the border in the back country. It has changed. Campgrounds might be safe. Mostly I'd be concerned about off-roading it when you don't know the area. One of our favorite spots to explore little canyons had a murder of migrants by probably a coyote gang opposing the ones who'd brought them in. We've run into militia groups, seen cut fences, and garbage strewn. I never camped down there though but we used to enjoy exploring the arroyos-- on foot. Not anymore. You don't want to come across just anyone. And it's not the migrants. It's the traffickers. They are hard men and they abuse the ones they bring across.
DeleteAs for Nogales, it was the way the men reacted to me that told me I'd not be going back. Their comments were disrespectful, even if they felt they were being flattering, and when they do that on a main street, not going to take the risk of being in the neighborhoods that had less people.
First time in my life I do not like any of the candidates, Dem or Rep. What to do? I will hold my nose and vote a Democratic ticket because I am a Democrat. I want Democrats as cabinet members and heads of agencies. I want a Democrat appointing judges and particularly Supreme Court judges. Apparently Democrats are not going to move forward until Hillary gets off the stage. I'm weary of her, not at all interested in enduring another race for the White House. There's no passion in her campaign. Bernie, now what can I say about him? At least he had the guts to take Hillary on so I'll give him good marks for that. I think he would be a disaster as president but no worse than any of the republican candidates. I see Bernie as a third party candidate but I will vote for him if he gets the nomination. We've had 7 years of a scandal free White House, no investigations, no calls for impeachment. I can hardly bear to think about another Clinton Whit House and all that starting again and it will. Hillary's at her best when she's fighting Republicans. There's not a Republican cell, bone or drop of blood in my body. I have no choice but to hang with the Democrats. It's depressing.
ReplyDeleteEverything you said could have been in the body of this post. Holding my nose, indeed...
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Like Linda, I will vote Democratic. Previous generations would rise to haunt me otherwise! I once said that I would always choose a women if given a choice, but Republicans quickly disabused me of that sentiment. I would vote for Elizabeth Warren in a heartbeat though.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Sen. Warren is regretting the decision to stay out of the race this year.
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