Caterwauling

At this point, I am tired of feeling heartsick over the election. It reminds me of how I felt about a week after Sept. 11, 2001, happened — I couldn’t watch another news broadcast or read another newspaper. I couldn’t stomach just one more thing that would stir up my emotions. Eventually, I just felt numb.

I’ve made some comments on other people’s blogs, and I wanted to kind of continue that discussion here. So, forgive me if you’ve heard it before. 😉 Like every life situation I’ve had, I just need to spew some vitriol so I can heal and, more importantly, move on.

He who has the most toys, wins
If I hear Bush’s PR people saying one more time, “He’s gotten the most votes any president has ever gotten!” I am SO going to pull my hair back and puke. Really. Sure, he should take a moment, then, to congratulate himself that his people turned out in droves to support him. That is an accomplishment. But what he needs to realize, most importantly, is that no president had that many votes AGAINST him, either. I know somebody always has to win and somebody always has to lose, but when nearly half the nation wants his ass in a sling, what is he going to do to build bridges? Sure, there will always be detractors, and many people just don’t want to hear a word out of his mouth. I mean, I am pretty much resigned to accepting that he got the most toys. Therefore, he wins. And he probably won’t share his milk and cookies because it’s not like he can seek a third term (and I thank my lucky stars for THAT).

But, without the pressure of having a third term, just what is going to happen in this second term that we nearly escaped during the first?

More than 90 percent of D.C. voters wanted Kerry … or, at least, didn’t want Bush. And a great deal of the people who live in D.C. proper work for the federal government in some way. If my neighbors wanted me to be evicted, then I’d be looking at co-existing for the coming four years and maybe, just maybe, extending some olive branches.

Anything But This
I know that the “Anyone But Bush” campaign probably helped Kerry, but it hurt him, too. I chose Kerry based on an untold number of reasons — not because he was “the other guy.” And sure, we can rant about people who voted for Kerry because of who he wasn’t but, well, at least they got out and tried to be heard — the “because it’s our right and civic duty” hasn’t been enough of a reason for most up until now, sadly.

There is, though, a small part of me that is frustrated at votes that did not go to either of the two major contenders. More than a small part, truth be told. But those people didn’t watch the election and want to hang themselves when the concession and victory speeches occurred, either. And maybe they just didn’t believe in either guy as much as I believed in Kerry — again, the “Anyone But Bush” was a seed that turned into a rainforest during the past two years. And that’s OK, but until enough of us band together and support a third-party candidate to give him or her enough of a shot to make an impact on the political radar, well, I’ll keep voting for one of the big two.

What makes YOU pound the table?
And I need to say this — I am not a bleeding-heart Democrat. As recently as last year, I was heard using the word “moonbat” to describe the people who were so left-wing that they were on the tip, about to fall off. Now I reserve that word for other special political wankers. 😉 I registered in 1992 — Bill Clinton’s year — as an Independent. Last year, I became a Democrat. Why? I suppose I figured that social liberties were the most important issues for me, so I went with the flow — and now that I’ve registered with the Democratic National Committee, I am going to do more than exercise one tiny little vote. I know my issues, my hot points, my things that Make. Me. Pound. The. Table. With. Passion. I will do what I can to ensure the protection of our basic human freedoms.

My affiliation with the Democrats, though, has not stoppped me from voting Republican. I really do study the candidates before I vote. And if I don’t know anything about the candidates in a particular race, then I don’t vote in that category. Simple as that. An ill-informed vote is more wasted than none at all.

But if we want to talk about horrible voting tactics, let’s consider that a GOP-controlled executive office, House and Senate will lead to a possible abolishment of the 22nd amendment. Yeah, what was I just saying about not having to see Bush for a third term? *twitch*

Frienemies
And I know, I know, Kerry’s high-profile wife and friends may or may not have helped his cause. Say what you will about Theresa, but I’ve worked with enough of her people in my day to believe that this is someone who does care about investing in the greater good and building/continuing relationships with the community. Those ideals had to have come from somewhere. And yeah, I am not a fan of Michael Moore or a number of the other celebrities who very publicly endorsed Kerry, but you know what? They aren’t the ones running for office! They don’t pass legislation!

I’ve heard a lot of commentary that Kerry’s alliances with the NAACP and other minority communities damaged him. Sure, he wasn’t completely pro-gay marriage, but he was willing to compromise for the time being. Yes, I’m sure he isn’t the biggest fan of abortion, but he was willing to leave it be, in favor of more important things (like, oh, bringing our troops home in something other than a bodybag? Christ, even Doctors Without Borders announced today that they are packing up and coming home!). But the “minorities” (self included) had hope that in Kerry, we would have a protector and, if we were lucky, a fighter.

It reminds me of a gay, lesbian and bisexual group I worked with not too long ago. Some discussion arose about adding the “T” to the caues — transsexuals and transvestites. Ultimately, it was added, but not without a lot of fear that it was hard enough to get equal protection for those who loved people of the same (or both) genders. But then to add (and I use this term loosely, for lack of anything better) the “fringe element” of the T — well, that was tricky. Inherently, everyone wanted to be inclusive, because every individual born and reared in this world was supposedly guaranteed certain unalienable rights. But, you’ve got your redneck moonbats out there who might accept someone who is gay, but only provided if he or she doesn’t “look” or “act” it. And to mix in the “tranny” factor, said redneck voter goes apeshit and doesn’t want rights for ANYBODY affiliated with the now all-inclusive GLBT group.

And, I ask, where does that leave the intersex individuals? Those with gender identity struggles? Those whose homosexuality is clearer than a vodka tonic? What about the cross-dressers who are, in fact, straight as Bubba’s BB gun but who loves the feel of silky panties once in awhile? Is everyone going to be exiled to Canada because Bush and his posse either want to ignore them or, worse, outlaw them?

In any event, Kerry did not do enough pandering to the media. There are certain personalities who expected more ass-kissing from him. They didn’t get it from him. Unfortunately, while I respect that he really did appeal more to the common man than to the common man’s television anchor, that unfortunately bit him in the ass. Bush might have been incoherent and illiterate on TV, but at least his publicist forced his ass out there at every opportunity, armed with great speeches — even if he couldn’t say all the big words. 😉

Bitterness would’ve tasted so much better with ketchup
I realize that America is more conservative — nay, Puritanical — than progressive. I get that. Even if someone isn’t a visibly bible-thumping, tobacco-spitting redneck, well, he or she sure doesn’t want to see two men holding hands, walking down the street. But what gives that person the right to want to see the Constitution amended because he doesn’t like what he sees? What if I don’t want to look at that character upon which “Deliverance” was based? Don’t I get to ask my representatives to amend the constitution to require tolerance — nay, acceptance — of all human beings? Oh, wait, our founding fathers tried that already. Whoops.

The D.C. I experience (and granted, I’m young) is a progressive one, and it’s sickening to have Jesus on the Mountaintop (aka, Bush on Capitol Hill) telling us he loves America, just so long as we’re not kinky or gay or liberal or whatever Shrub perceives to be as unwelcome in his world.

Not over yet
The election is over. The world hasn’t gone to hell in a handbasket yet. But we know what a formidable opponent we’ve found in our incumbent. Four years ago, I figured Dubya couldn’t possibly have enough time to completely fuck up the country until someone better could take over. And he didn’t completely fuck things up, but he got a running head start on his coming term.

But before he starts banning abortions and repealing gay marraiges, he’d better fix that messy excuse of legislation “No Child Left Behind.” Yeah, let’s pass even more quasi-literate students into the world to work the jobs that they could have had but, whoops, they’ve been shipped overseas!

And why the hell aren’t we ordering meds from Canada? Or, *gasp* producing the shit HERE?!?! I mean, tonight’s newscast showed the “winners” of a fucking FLU SHOT RAFFLE in my area. Yes, my friends, it be desperate times.

And that Iraq War — shit. If the war really is being done “on the cheap,” then we need to take our men (and the women, natch) out of that mess. There are just not enough men over here in America for us single gals, and I really don’t want to keep losing even more in this modern-day Vietnam. Initially, I supported war. I was upset at the “moonbats” who protested it, because our country was not safe anymore and we needed to do something.

But it’s like when you’re driving with a man and you get lost and he refuses to stop for directions, even though you’ve driven so far out of your way that you aren’t sure you’re still even in the same state. I think that is where we are with this war. Of course, I don’t know the right course of action. But I do know that I do NOT want to see the draft reinstated. There was that public appearance where Bush supposedly accidentally said that our armed forces wouldn’t always be a voluntary group. Umm hmm. My red flag shot up; did yours?

I’m not happy with the results. But the world won’t end. I’m not going to Canada because I want to give it a real shot of kicking some ass here. Besides, our elected representatives are there to make/pass legislation anyway; those are the ones we need to focus on now. And even though I’ve always made it a practice to write in, I have a lot more energy and passion in me than to write the occasional e-mail. In war, it is often said that it is not personal; it’s business. Au contraire, my friends. It’s not business anymore … it’s personal.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 4th, 2004 at 11:01 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.