Yay! No more conventions until 2012!!
Sep. 5th, 2008 09:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meirwen_1988Watching the GOP nominee's speech last night, the Duchezz said, "Oh dear. I'm afraid...I'm really afraid to say this in front of you...but...I think I'm going to have to pay attention for the next couple of months."
Now, the Duchezz will be the first to tell you she lives in her own special universe (the sky is green and the clouds are pink--really: just ask her). The newspaper is where you find the funnies, the hour news breaks on the radio are where you think about what you're going to do later in the day, and CNN and FoxNews are just words on the channel guide. So, I was stunned. And, really upset, because after (1) bullying her into becoming a registered voter 20 years ago, and (2) being frustrated by years of her willful ignorance, I found myself saying, "Well, he has always supported the war in Iraq and he's pro-life. Do you really need to know more?" Normally, I'd be more nuanced, but she's pretty adamant on those two issues (nicely balanced between foreign and domestic). She got this disappointed look. "No."
Then she explained. It seems that Obama's video (which The Duke and I basically guilted her into watching), "Pushed all the right buttons" for her, but she was put off by the man himself when he spoke. McCain's video "Really pushed all the wrong buttons" for her, but she felt a warm, positive reaction when she heard the man himself speak. So, no longer an easy choice for her, and her inclination is always to go for the person, not the canned information.
I looked at her, tears in my eyes, and said, "John McCain is an incredibly decent, incredibly good man. And I'm not going to vote for him. But I really wish I could." [GOP platform, GOP base. Just can't risk it.]
"Ah," said the Duchezz, probably confirming in her own mind that she didn't have to pay attention to the news since she ended up where I was [after I'd been paying careful attention for months, talking about the issues, with considerable years of paying attention to both parties], and all she'd had to do was watch two 5 minute videos and listen to about an hour's worth of speechifying.
For myself, there were moments of his speech that I loved. Subtle jabs at his own party and their opposition to him. Certain statements that sounded like the JM I love, not the candidate I've come to mistrust.
I want to go out for a drink with John McCain, talk about our country, ways to make it better. Cindy can come, too, I don't mind. Let's invite Fred Thompson, and Orrin Hatch, and Arlen Specter, too. Christie Whitman might have some good ideas. And let's invite Joe Biden, and Joe Lieberman, and some of the Gang of 14. And Teddy, if his health is up to it. Maybe a couple of Blue Dogs. Bill Richardson would probably have something to contribute. Yeah--the kid from Illinois can come, too. We'll drink beer, eat pizza and burgers; we'll speak passionately, and maybe even come up with some good ideas that good people can agree on. Maybe even get one of them as far as committee.
But then the committees will destroy it, the "pragmatists" will dismiss it, the lobbyists will fight it, and our plan will die a slow, horrible death.
But we'll all feel better for having had a chance to have intelligent conversation, with thoughtful people, over beer. We'll restore our faith that there are good people in government. We'll remind ourselves that patriotism isn't always the same as getting our own way. And we'll be able to get up in the morning a little stronger than the morning before.
So--want to go for a beer?
Now, the Duchezz will be the first to tell you she lives in her own special universe (the sky is green and the clouds are pink--really: just ask her). The newspaper is where you find the funnies, the hour news breaks on the radio are where you think about what you're going to do later in the day, and CNN and FoxNews are just words on the channel guide. So, I was stunned. And, really upset, because after (1) bullying her into becoming a registered voter 20 years ago, and (2) being frustrated by years of her willful ignorance, I found myself saying, "Well, he has always supported the war in Iraq and he's pro-life. Do you really need to know more?" Normally, I'd be more nuanced, but she's pretty adamant on those two issues (nicely balanced between foreign and domestic). She got this disappointed look. "No."
Then she explained. It seems that Obama's video (which The Duke and I basically guilted her into watching), "Pushed all the right buttons" for her, but she was put off by the man himself when he spoke. McCain's video "Really pushed all the wrong buttons" for her, but she felt a warm, positive reaction when she heard the man himself speak. So, no longer an easy choice for her, and her inclination is always to go for the person, not the canned information.
I looked at her, tears in my eyes, and said, "John McCain is an incredibly decent, incredibly good man. And I'm not going to vote for him. But I really wish I could." [GOP platform, GOP base. Just can't risk it.]
"Ah," said the Duchezz, probably confirming in her own mind that she didn't have to pay attention to the news since she ended up where I was [after I'd been paying careful attention for months, talking about the issues, with considerable years of paying attention to both parties], and all she'd had to do was watch two 5 minute videos and listen to about an hour's worth of speechifying.
For myself, there were moments of his speech that I loved. Subtle jabs at his own party and their opposition to him. Certain statements that sounded like the JM I love, not the candidate I've come to mistrust.
I want to go out for a drink with John McCain, talk about our country, ways to make it better. Cindy can come, too, I don't mind. Let's invite Fred Thompson, and Orrin Hatch, and Arlen Specter, too. Christie Whitman might have some good ideas. And let's invite Joe Biden, and Joe Lieberman, and some of the Gang of 14. And Teddy, if his health is up to it. Maybe a couple of Blue Dogs. Bill Richardson would probably have something to contribute. Yeah--the kid from Illinois can come, too. We'll drink beer, eat pizza and burgers; we'll speak passionately, and maybe even come up with some good ideas that good people can agree on. Maybe even get one of them as far as committee.
But then the committees will destroy it, the "pragmatists" will dismiss it, the lobbyists will fight it, and our plan will die a slow, horrible death.
But we'll all feel better for having had a chance to have intelligent conversation, with thoughtful people, over beer. We'll restore our faith that there are good people in government. We'll remind ourselves that patriotism isn't always the same as getting our own way. And we'll be able to get up in the morning a little stronger than the morning before.
So--want to go for a beer?
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 02:16 pm (UTC)See, I think that McCain is perfectly willing to invite everyone on your list. He understands that progress is government is a process of ongoing compromise, and he is the guy that Republican Establishment has been trying to keep out of office because he has been reaching across the aisle.
Fixing government is going to be an ugly political fight. And remember that the character of the next President will not be determined by Iraq, but by what they do with Guantanamo, FISA, Illegal Immigration, and China. I'd be very interested in seeing how either of these men talkabout Georgia, whose president is American educated, was inspired by our Founding Fathers, and instituted our founding principles--to great success, which is why Russia ultimately attacked them.
I also don't think that he'll appoint right-wing radicals to the Supremes. He can pick conservative jurists who won't be objectionable to the Dems on Roe v Wade and still reshape the court so that it is highly conservative. Trust me, there are a LOT of conservatives around who think that apart from dealing with some egregious failings of the abortion industry, as an industry, that it's really a private matter. (I happen to be married to one.)
In my mind, the problem with Obama is that he is really not prepared for the huge challenges of uniting a country who is inflamed by people who don't want it united. Truly united, Americans are the most dangerous people on the planet, which is why a lot of people don't want us to ever be united unless it is through demagogy. I also think that the guns/bible/bitter comment really showed him to be two-faced and elitist. It's going to leave a mark, because it is PRIME fodder for soft money.
Could he be part of that party of which you speak? Yes, but I also don't think that he'd be a mover and shaker in that room, because he's really not ready. :(
no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 02:52 pm (UTC)Well, this WAS my no-lose election, because of all those things about McCain. And I don't care about his age. He's in better physical shape than Cheney, will get the best preventive medical care possible, and hell, my parents are 79 and 80 and in great shape, why shouldn't he make it through the next 8 years?
But stuff does happen, and I can't stomach the thought of Palin "a heartbeat away" from the White House.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 03:02 pm (UTC)Good GRIEF but that's the way I wish it could be. I am equally frustrated that the politicians are owned by the parties. That's one of the things I like about *both* of these candidates.. neither seems to be cardboard Elephants or Donkeys. They both have shown a willingness to buck the party line. ... a little.
/sigh
no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 11:15 pm (UTC)