There's Always Something...

The Great Day...

I was reading some fine Irish poems by a fine Irish poet, William Butler Yeats, and I came upon "The Great Day." 

Yeats isn't alive any more, but if he were I would have ventured a guess that he was writing about the nincompoops we Americans call our Senators.

The Great Day

Hurrah for Revolution and more cannon shot;

A beggar on horseback lashes a beggar on foot;

Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again,

The beggars have changed places but the lash goes on.

I Was Once A Republican...

I know. I know. A grizzled old Liberal like me shouldn't confess stuff like that. But it once was a good fit. I was happy with it.

But some real nut cases began to appear on the scene. Joe McCarthy. Phyllis Schlafley. (sp?) Richard Nixon. It got to be an embarrassment. You see, I was a liberal-type Republican and there was plenty of room for the likes of me under the tent.

Today I look at the grand old party and hardly recognize it. Talk about nut cases. Richard Cheney. Sarah Palin. Rush Limbaugh. John Boehner, John Kyle, Antonin Scalia, Donald Rumsfeld, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, etc. These folks who project themselves as the "voice" of the Republican party are actually the voices of the extreme right wing of the American scene. I really do not want them to take over the Republican party. It almost makes me want to sign back up again to make this opposition conviction heard - except that I don't have the time, the patience or the guts to fight folks with this much power and such mean-spiritness. Still, I can and do wish the best for the party and hope for them better days. They deserve much better. They need to do better.

Besides, I'm in love with the new President, his family -  and the liberal, concerned spirit of so many contemporary Democrats. Think I will continue to belong, support and vote Democrat. It's a very happy fit!

War Criminals...

As the American torture scandal lowly sinks into our national awareness, the realization is gradually surfacing that the perpetrators of the barbaric torture practices we used over the past decade were not merely red-necks who found themselves worked into our prison system, but high ranking members of our national administration who initiated it and allowed it to go forward.

The "it can't happen here" myth that has so long pervaded our lives is crashing into the ground. this is more than sad. It is disgraceful.

Amazing Republicans...

Day by day, the Republicans increasingly amaze me. Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the guy from Louisiana (can't remember his name) now put forward as the "voice" of the party.

Please!

I know lots of Republicans. Good folks for the most part. We don't discuss politics because we value our friendships. But these days I suffer with them. There's no one there one can look up to or place hope in. For the good of the country, this has to change.

We do need two healthy, respectable, competitive parties for the body politic to prosper.

Obama Looks Exhausted...

Last night, after watching our Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, we turned to more serious matters for just a few minutes. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were appearing together for a brief shot at Florida.

Obama looked extremely tired. That is long overdue. The guy has been at it for two years now. He has taken on and vanquished some of the toughest old political heads (Hillary and John) in the business. It exhausts me to think of it.

The truth is that all of us who have followed along are pretty stressed out.

John from Arizona, at 72 has about done himself in and as I watch him these days, I truly feel sorry for him. There's nothing left in his tank and he's a better man than what we're seeing. He's too old for the office he seeks, but it's too late to deal with that.

Just think, next Tuesday it will all be over.

Thank God.

Another Look at the Core...

Some time ago, one of my best friends won the Republican nomination to run for Governor of Nebraska. As the campaign went on he ran into a major snag -  the Republican "core" - that is the right wing of the party.

It was a strange thing. As they got into his basic beliefs, mainly regarding social issues, they realized that he wasn't "conservative" enough for them. Suddenly his funds and party support dried up. He lost by a landslide. The guy just wouldn't compromise his beliefs in order to please a handful of rich business people who made up the party "core'.

Since then it has become obvious to me that if someone wants to be truly successful in Republican politics, he or she had better get into bed with the "right" people. The irony is this. Once their control became absolute in the junior Bush administration, their rigidity increased and the mean-spiritedness became universal.

This year a decent man, John McCain, compromised his basic principles and went along in order to get elected. As the election went on, the fruits of the "core" began to fully surface. It became obvious to almost everyone what they really were at heart.

Down went not only McCain, but the entire Republican leadership good and bad. At least it looks that way from here - a week before the vote. John is flawed in many ways, but he doesn't deserve this.

If I were a conservative, I would be for letting the right wing have the whole thing and start a new party made up of responsible conservatives.There are plenty of them around.

The Roves, the Gingriches, the Palins, the Bushes, the Cheneys, the fundamentalist Christian leaders - and their ilk can take the whole thing and go their way.

A responsible group of good conservative men and women will be needed to provide the necessary correctives in governing this country. For them to cowtow any further to the far right is to lose their souls and to betray the vision of a balanced government which the Constitution so wisely envisioned.

Breath of Fresh Air...

In this world of nutty political shenanigans, with politicians rightfully giving full-time effort to the task of running for the nation's highest office - and then wrongfully assuming the role of "knights in shining armor" - suddenly calling time out from the hustings and heading to Washington to straighten out the mess there, comes a delightful quote from senator Harry Reid of Nevada: "We need leadership, not a photo op." Love it.

Cowtown Patti...

I'm a longtime fan of CowTown Patti. There's a danger that the Bush folk give us the impression that all Texans are Googs. Not so. Patti gets off some good ones regularly.

Yesterday, for instance, she quotes a Dallas fellow (DALLAS!):

"This kind of conservatism, which is not conservative at all, has produced financial mismanagment, the waste of human lives, the loss of moral authority, and the wreckage of our economy that McCain now threatens to make worse."

And this morning, she has this classic about, yes, Sarah from Alaska:

"As an older white broad(occasional chick), I am apalled at the attention given to this Geezer/Gidget ticket. John McCain must think that we women are incredibly stupid and will vote for this cosmicly flawed duo just because there is a woman there. I haven't lived for 60 years just to be duped by this obvious pander to the women of America. I survived a husband in Vietnam X2, the 60's, the Beatles' breakup, Reagan, inflation in the 70's, the death of Harry Chapin, Disco, transcendental meditation, the boring 80's, kids' graduating from high school, then college, even becoming a granny. So, while Palin is damn scary, I think I can survive her pretentious little threat to become VP. We've come too far to take such a giant step backward. This country is worthy of so much better.

Mon, 09/15/2008 - 6:46pm — Susan Knott

God bless Texas. At least a small part of it.

More Craziness...

Well, this morning I read that yesterday a reporter mentioned to John McCain his new television ad which accuses Barack Obama of calling his running-mate Sarah a "pig."

"Is that true - and if so, could you tell us exactly when and where he said it?"

"No," McCain replied," it isn't - but he is an eloquent fellow and he shouldn't have said it."

I'm worried about John.

For one thing, he never appears these days without either Cindy or Sarah standing within two feet of him. Does he realize how incredibly old these comely young ladies make him look? And one begins to get the impression that they just might be there to keep him from falling.

It is all very confusing.

A Sarah Prediction...

Every once in awhile I acquire something tht seems highly desirable. It's something I've really wanted. Worked for. Even sacrificed for. I get it and am thrilled.

At first.

I think of the skis my parents got me for Christmas in Lexington, Ky. when I was 11. I really wanted them. I strapped them on and headed for the one little hill in our front yard. Two trips down. There wasn't much snow. The hill wasn't really a hill. I stood there surprised and disappointed. The snow was gone before noon. It didn't come back. Never put them on again.

Good lesson actually.

I have this strange feeling that Sarah from Alaska is going to wear very thin, very fast. She is shrill. She is more than a bit angry and it shows. She is an Assembly of God true believer. She doesn't seem to know how to make even basic adjustments. She is in way over her head.

I doubt seriously that anybody believes that she is going to make even a brief ripple in Washington. There are many substantial women around there who know how to get things done. They have dignity, poise, class and wisdom. She would have to live with them. And they would have to respect her.

Then there are the "good ol' boys" she is having so much fun beating up on in public. They've run the town for eight years now. Oh my.

Too much too soon for Sarah.

I'm afraid she will flame out quickly with the electorate before that has any chance of happening - and I hate to see that happen to someone like Sarah of Alaska.

It isn't pretty. She is, but it isn't.