Rob, in 2016!

Are we Asses, or What?

Politics suck. Even more so when you’re on the losing end. Me? I hate to lose! Most people don’t know that about me, thinking I’m generally a nice guy, but boy, I not only hate to lose, I really hate to lose big time, and that’s exactly what happened November 4th.

I actually went into the election believing the polls were wrong. They were, but not to my Democratic advantage. The red wave was embarrassing and damaging to my entire belief system, and I’m still in shock. How could someone like Brownback in Kansas, or Ernst in Iowa be elected?

Yea, I don’t get it! Okay, maybe I do. It could be said Ernst was the stronger Candidate, character wise. She said some pretty outrageous things, had colorful ads, and she really didn’t make any serious mistakes, and she bashed Obama relentlessly.

Yep, that’s how she got elected, being colorful, not making mistakes, not having a strong opponent and hating the President. But that’s one race out of how many? How do you explain Brownback winning? A guy that ran his state into the financial ground, so much so, Republicans actually turned against him? Exit Polls suggest that people voted for him based on Brownback being white, male, conservative, Christian and because they felt the country was going in the wrong direction, even while their own Kansas economy was in disarray due to  white, male, Christian conservatives leadership.

Yea, I don’t get it!

I suppose I could blame Voter turnout, specifically Democrat turnout, as being low, and it was, but c’mon, so was Republican turnout. So, who actually bothered to vote? Everyone that hated Obama? Maybe? I don’t know!

I guess it’s a combination of colorful characters, political anomalies, and low voter turnout.
I guess the only thing messing from the above, is looking in the mirror, and asking what part the Democrats played in their loss, because that question is going to be asked by a lot of everyday, normal democrats, but probably not those politicians that need to be asking the question.

Bottom line is, you all let the reds have their way, you let Republicans define the entire election. There was no talk of issues, it was all about the President and his policies. You allowed that party to create an environment of fear, and even hate, long before Ebola. That was a mistake you paid for, and will pay for, because that hate has permeated the nation, setting the stage for a conflict you don’t even see coming.

From the moment Mitch McConnell declared his only job in his political life was to make Barack Obama a one term president, you should have been on the offensive. We should have been on the offensive!

We ran away and refused to have a seat at the public table, letting Republicans define every issue for the last six years. It was almost like, we went to bed after the ‘08 elections believing that just because we elected Obama, everything was going to be alright, our work was done, people had come to their senses. When Republicans started to gain traction, when the far right took control, we analyzed, mystified, mollified and did little else. And when we woke up concerned about the far right, we were too scared to do anything, and we ran, straight away from our beliefs.

And that’s why we lost last night.

Because the Democratic Party leaderships and politicians are nothing but cowards! They will reinforce that belief with the coronation of Hillary Clinton.

I won’t accept that.

Let me offer up another scenario.

Start with taking the ‘Financially responsible’ mantra back. The Republicans have been the most fiscally irresponsible party while in power for the last 50 years, and yet we allow them to claim otherwise. Second, start hitting them where it hurts, not their pocketbooks, their swarmy little claims that their ‘Patroits’. Let’s start callin ‘em what they are, what the far right really is, fascists! What moderate Republicans really are, corporate owned war hawks!


and finally,
Coronate a true Progressive.
That’s how we build the future, or we can die with the old!

halloween

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The Fear Flavor of the Week
September 26th 2014

I’m going to enjoy this first Autumn Friday night around a campfire sucking down some MGDs scattered with a few shots of Cuervo. Hopefully, when I wake on a crisp Saturday morning, my mind won’t be dull and not notice the changing of the seasons. I hate the cold winters, but the beautiful color in the trees is in itself, a reminder of life. The trees, the very planet itself is exhaling, ready to sleep here in our Northern hemisphere.

Things change constantly, and I find a comforting irony in the fact that change is the only consistent thing in life to hang onto. You can’t stop change, but you can shape it. There’s a lot of truth in knowing how to make lemonade out of lemons but the sad truth is, far too many people fail at a such a simple task. Especially change that’s dark and foreboding.

Yea, I know, easy to say, huh?

It is easier to say, and much harder for most to bear. Change at times, is by nature hard, sometimes even tragic. A life threatening diagnosis, the abrupt death of a cherished friend, a paralyzing accident. There is also a slower type of change that's harder for most to deal with. The change that you see coming like a slow motion train wreck. A sister caught in an abusive marriage, a brother who drinks way too much, a wandering husband or a friend who lives a bit too dangerously.

Most of us just set back and kinda watch. Most of us fall into that category these days because we're tired, tired of trying to help and getting our asses bit, and bit hard. So much for trying to do the right thing! We have our own lives to worry about.

It’s not that we don’t want to help, it’s that we no longer know how to help. Energy, time, money has already been spent, and to what avail? Nothing has changed! You look around and see others stepping up to the plate, and you wish them the best of luck, you’re going fishing or shopping.

Seem familiar?

Think about this old saying, ‘As Above, So Below’ which can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, one of which is; what happens on the smaller scale of the individual, happens as well with the collective whole. It’s a nice way of saying, we are all in this together.

I believe most of us are tired. Tired of reading about hate, police brutality, racism, financial inequality, ineffective politics, war, terrorism, mass murders or whatever else happens to be the fear flavor of the week. How can you not be beat down, your compassion drained, your energy sucked right out of your soul as if your mouth was duct taped to the end of a vacuum cleaner hose, 24/7. It just never ends.

You and I are busy with our personal lives and in those rare moments, when we happen to look up, the leaves on the trees have changed, and when we look around us, all we see is a train wreck waiting to happen, how rotten the world is, how terrible people are. We've listened to it all week long. We’re ready for the weekend, for Friday night.

Some will find refuge in other things, facebook and twitter come to mind, you know, cute little kittys, jokes, cartoons and memes are always a nice distraction to comment on as opposed to all the evils and ills in our world

That’s when my tequilla really calls.