Kickin' It Old Skool - The New Hampshire Primary, Part 1
Cue the Dr. Dre and the Soundgarden.
Dust off your flannel shirt and pop "Singles" in the VCR. Is it the 1990's? Clinton and McCain?!?! I know McCain was a 2000 candidate, but it FEELS so10 years ago. Jeez. What is UP, New Hampshire???
A paradigm shift took place last week in Iowa. I know a lot of people felt it - what was that feeling? It was the weight of cynicism lifting off of their shoulders. Obama had stirred something up... just the idea of him is stirring. If Hillary were truly interested in the future of America, she would have signed on as a Mama for Obama right then and there. But no. She had to go play the "don't listen to those crazy kids" card in New Hampshire. And now we're back to 1996. Because you know what comes after another Clinton? Another Bush. God for-f**king-bid.
Bush, Cheney and Co have always struck me as perfectly cast for a McCarthy-era spy movie, in black and white of course.
They'd play the evil government conspirators who try to squash progressive thought and free speech, strip away the Constitution, build up the military and concoct a war for their own financial gain ... oh wait, that's not a movie.
Look, how could we NOT be cynical after the past 7 years? How could we NOT distrust politicians? It's just self-preservation at this point!
This isn't Hillary-bashing, by the way - I've always been pro-Hillary. I voted for her to be our senator when I lived in NY and always thought she'd make a good president. I still do actually. But after all the old skool politics we've been subjected to, isn't it time for something a little new?
Gary Hart gets to the crux of the issue in this morning's Huffington post. Casting all of the aspects of race and gender aside (amazing that we can even attempt that now!), he discusses the basic decision the Democratic party has to make this year (notice the radio silence on the McCain win? Its like, "yeah...and?"). As the so-called party of progress, do they take a leap or a step?
Anyway, I guess that's what we'll all be considering over the next few months... interesting times, huh? I was kidding about the flannel shirts, by the way. Lets not bring those back!
I don't know anything about your favorite candidate but be nice to me, I do have to write a report back to my home planet and I am taking notes. We already know I'm a liberal creature and by some government mix-up (that seems to happen a lot on your planet) I get to vote. Remember, I know nothing about your candidate. Obviously I've already written a lot of reports back about the Republicans (they have not been positive). But maybe a Democratic or a really compelling third party candidate might be interesting. Does anyone want to help me? What do you hope your candidate can do? Exactly how can they clean up the awful mess somebody else has made of this world?
IMHO, Mr. Hart is off the mark when he talks about "staying with the known" or "accepting a new generation of leadership". I don't think that any of the leading candidates would be a carbon copy of Bush. They each have important differences from Bush on important issues. What we should focus on is which of these representatives of "a new generation of leadership" best represents our own vision for our country.
My problem is that I don't agree with any of the candidates on 100% of the issues. So, I'm going to pick a couple of issues that are most important to me and vote for the candidate who is closest to my views on those issues.
Thanks for your comments and views.
For me, the problem with politics is that only the party who is not currently in power knows how to do things right. I think we are only presented with an illusion of choice unfortunately. It's kind of like when you were a kid and your mom asked you, "Do you want pancakes or eggs for breakfast?" Wow, I am really a big boy I get to choose. Now, I never said I really think I would like some Thai food for breakfast - and that was not a choice offered, but that would have been real change.
Politics, like fashion, has its trends and I imagine we will swing back to the left no matter who is elected to compensate for this administration. The real problem seems to be that while we focus on our culture - there is a meta culture that is shifting around us. One might argue that we are like England in the 19th century - a declining world power. No matter who is elected, the national debt will rise and China and India will become increasingly powerful.
I feel a sense of civic duty and I will vote, but the choices here seem more like choosing a color shade rather than a bold new hue. I admire McCain's stand on torture and feel like he is more than qualified to discuss that topic. Rudy seems to be like an ax mounted to a wall that says in case of terror break glass. I do not think Hillary cried real tears or she would have rusted by now. Obama is at least going to come out with a television show. I mean if Oprah can do it for Rachel Ray, it's the least she can do for him.
I'm afraid I have to agree with you, Michelle. I have always voted for a third party candidate for President. And this year I'm having trouble finding that.
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful comments. You've restored my faith in humanity a bit :) It's nice to know that, agree or disagree, there are some thinking minds out there.
More soon...
xo - Michelle