Anyone else watch the State of the Union address last night? How about the pitiful "Democratic Response" right after? Are these people serious? Could this president be any more uncharismatic? Or smarmy, for that matter? Anyone else think that America has the nastiest case of bad karma in history, and it's totally coming back around now? If you did miss it, you can find the SOTU transcript here.
Last night's speech wasn't so much of a 'state of the union' as it was a 'let's spew more rhetoric hoping no one will notice we have no concrete plans for the future and we're trying to cover up all of our shady deals that are now coming to light' address. I'll leave the detailed analyses to people who have a better grasp of the intricacies, but needless to say, the average viewer would have come away slightly confused and disheartened from last night's broadcast. It's great to list all the new and exciting programs you'll be trying to push through Congress to make your approval numbers spike, but how about letting us know about issues that are looming in the here and now? Jack Abramoff and his connection to the White House? The war in Iraq, a feasible and fair timeline of our pull-out, and when we can see a concrete changing of hands of the Government there to the Iraqi people? The NSA and the legality of domestic wiretapping? Bringing down the immense national debt that this administration has created? I lost all hope of getting any kind of an answer to these important questions when I saw Bush's self-satisfied smirk at the first standing ovation from the gallery.
People, this is our government. Avoiding the whole "Well, I didn't vote for him..." Argument, for good or bad, these people are who our democratic process elected into office. Two pseudo-parties that have evolved (or devolved) into tragic caricatures of their former selves. The Republican Party has mutated into this chimera of money-hungry oil addicts, fascist war-mongerers, and toxic religious fanatics intent on prying rights away from those deemed "unworthy" of equal treatment, pouring money into unnecessary pork projects, and 'spreading freedom' to other parts of the world while spreading our military thin to the point of breaking. Democrats, on the other hand, have become political hermits, cloistering themselves away from important issues and only half-heartedly attempting to fire back at what they see as the right's egregious activities. They've let themselves atrophy into a sliver of what they were.
Although not evenly matched, both parties are doing the nastiest things to our civil liberties and then lying about it to our faces. Then they have the audacity to crow about how great the country is chuggin along by giving masturbating Standing Ovations to this crackpot president while their approval ratings plummet (I believe Bush's rating is somewhere in the 39% range). I wonder how collected and steady Bush would have been and how many standing ovations he would have gotten if they would have let Hurricane Katrina survivors sit in the gallery...or maybe patients suffering from any number of diseases who could be helped by stem cell research...or maybe the countless impoverished or elderly who can't afford health care...or maybe gay parents who have had their children taken away from them and placed in foster homes because the government doesn't consider them 'real parents'. Give me a break. Preaching doesn't count if your preaching to the choir.
And the Democratic Response was more of the same. Governor Kaine from Virginia, between reminding us of his Catholic riteousness and missionary work, gave the same touchy-feely "let's work together" rhetoric that the Democrats have been spewing for years. The Democrats are no longer a viable oppositional force to the Republican machine. So now they flip-flop and flounder wildly on the issues, trying desperately to find the right footing to regain their balance in the fight for control of government. Guys, I have a few words of advice for all of you on the left...grow some fucking balls. I'm actually mortified at this point that I registered Democrat. They called me this past week trolling for donations, and I told them off, saying how disappointed and frustrated I was with the whole lot of them, and how they wouldn't see a dime out of me until someone showed me some chutzpah. Being the only viable alternative party to the Republicans, you guys need to organize and fight fire with fire. Do you think the right sits around wringing their hands, worrying about sounding tough and pissing people off? No, they say "fuck it" and take control. It pains me to say this, but if the Dems had a little of the spark the Reps have, there would be a lot more progress in Congress.
Luckily for the rest of us, there are a fresh batch of elections coming up real soon. This will be our chance to get people who have a backbone in their bodies and a brain in their heads into office and challenge the right. I'm hoping by the time the polls open up, the Dems have grown a spine and given me a reason to support them, both with my hard earned donations, and with my vote.
Last night's speech wasn't so much of a 'state of the union' as it was a 'let's spew more rhetoric hoping no one will notice we have no concrete plans for the future and we're trying to cover up all of our shady deals that are now coming to light' address. I'll leave the detailed analyses to people who have a better grasp of the intricacies, but needless to say, the average viewer would have come away slightly confused and disheartened from last night's broadcast. It's great to list all the new and exciting programs you'll be trying to push through Congress to make your approval numbers spike, but how about letting us know about issues that are looming in the here and now? Jack Abramoff and his connection to the White House? The war in Iraq, a feasible and fair timeline of our pull-out, and when we can see a concrete changing of hands of the Government there to the Iraqi people? The NSA and the legality of domestic wiretapping? Bringing down the immense national debt that this administration has created? I lost all hope of getting any kind of an answer to these important questions when I saw Bush's self-satisfied smirk at the first standing ovation from the gallery.
People, this is our government. Avoiding the whole "Well, I didn't vote for him..." Argument, for good or bad, these people are who our democratic process elected into office. Two pseudo-parties that have evolved (or devolved) into tragic caricatures of their former selves. The Republican Party has mutated into this chimera of money-hungry oil addicts, fascist war-mongerers, and toxic religious fanatics intent on prying rights away from those deemed "unworthy" of equal treatment, pouring money into unnecessary pork projects, and 'spreading freedom' to other parts of the world while spreading our military thin to the point of breaking. Democrats, on the other hand, have become political hermits, cloistering themselves away from important issues and only half-heartedly attempting to fire back at what they see as the right's egregious activities. They've let themselves atrophy into a sliver of what they were.
Although not evenly matched, both parties are doing the nastiest things to our civil liberties and then lying about it to our faces. Then they have the audacity to crow about how great the country is chuggin along by giving masturbating Standing Ovations to this crackpot president while their approval ratings plummet (I believe Bush's rating is somewhere in the 39% range). I wonder how collected and steady Bush would have been and how many standing ovations he would have gotten if they would have let Hurricane Katrina survivors sit in the gallery...or maybe patients suffering from any number of diseases who could be helped by stem cell research...or maybe the countless impoverished or elderly who can't afford health care...or maybe gay parents who have had their children taken away from them and placed in foster homes because the government doesn't consider them 'real parents'. Give me a break. Preaching doesn't count if your preaching to the choir.
And the Democratic Response was more of the same. Governor Kaine from Virginia, between reminding us of his Catholic riteousness and missionary work, gave the same touchy-feely "let's work together" rhetoric that the Democrats have been spewing for years. The Democrats are no longer a viable oppositional force to the Republican machine. So now they flip-flop and flounder wildly on the issues, trying desperately to find the right footing to regain their balance in the fight for control of government. Guys, I have a few words of advice for all of you on the left...grow some fucking balls. I'm actually mortified at this point that I registered Democrat. They called me this past week trolling for donations, and I told them off, saying how disappointed and frustrated I was with the whole lot of them, and how they wouldn't see a dime out of me until someone showed me some chutzpah. Being the only viable alternative party to the Republicans, you guys need to organize and fight fire with fire. Do you think the right sits around wringing their hands, worrying about sounding tough and pissing people off? No, they say "fuck it" and take control. It pains me to say this, but if the Dems had a little of the spark the Reps have, there would be a lot more progress in Congress.
Luckily for the rest of us, there are a fresh batch of elections coming up real soon. This will be our chance to get people who have a backbone in their bodies and a brain in their heads into office and challenge the right. I'm hoping by the time the polls open up, the Dems have grown a spine and given me a reason to support them, both with my hard earned donations, and with my vote.
