I have good news. As of today, we have less than four years left for George.
I was going to say 'George and company', but of course if the Democratic Party can't get energized and focused, the 'and company' will still be around after George departs for Crawford. I haven't been giving this a lot of thought, but when an article about 'who really won the election' or 'what were the real issues exposed by the vote' comes along, I read it, at least far enough to see if its fatuous nonsense or a reasonable article.
You can always tell the first type: they seem to be saying that while technically Bush won, clearly the voting patterns show that.... (you can finish that sentence). The other type of article might disagree with others of the same type regarding the origins of the win (some will say that it truly was a family and morality election, others will say that that interpretation is an artifact of how questions were asked) but it won't try to change reality. Bush won. Deal with it. So I read these things, putting the pieces together, and try to come in my mind to an understanding of what actually motivated the people who made the result that we're living with now.
One thing seems pretty clear. The people who voted for Bush in the small towns and byways of America weren't always yokels, not even usually. They were people who felt that he represented the better choice, either because he truly did reflect their values and aspirations, and he addressed their fears, or simply because he came to their state and spoke to them, and Kerry did not. Some of them are people I could like.
In multiple cases, Kerry's message didn't get through, or was distorted. Of course, both sides had their message distorted, or got it through, and it helped some and hindered some. It depends, a little, on what point you're trying to make.
Less than four years...Time to start thinking about what points the Democratic Party wants to make.
2 comments:
Why did Bush win? Simple....though "Manifest Destiny" may be out of style, fear is "In Style". As long as Fear is in the Driver's seat, you will have huge sums being spent on Military and ParaMilitary instead of on social programs or even roads. You will have a seige mentality which will result in the loss of precious human rights, the loss of the very freedoms which the US is so very esteemed for in the world. When this started to happen in Britain, Churchill said to the people...."You have nothing to Fear but Fear itself". This is not just rhetoric.
Not that I am suggesting for a moment that air passengers should not be checked...this seems as logical as locking your car door even when it is in the driveway. However, it might help from time to time to remember the old saying "locks. Right, they are there to keep honest people out."
I can't agree with that entirely, but I do think that fear was a significant part of why people voted for Bush. If that doesn't seem rational, remember that neither is the method by which most people choose who they want to vote for. There is an much emotion as intellect in the process.
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