Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Go Away, Hillary and John!

I'm sick and tired of royal political families, I'm sick and tired of the far right and far left's incessant feces-throwing, and I'm sick and tired of our government's having no plans to deal with the unavoidable crises that face our nation. It's time for some major adjustments to our political choices, driven by the now-not-so-silent majority in the middle.

Everyone knows we've had enough of the Bush's. Some of us voted (once) for the incumbent idiot, remembering that his father ran a pretty good administration. We've learned our lesson, I hope. There are too many entanglements in that family - business interests, foreign connections, Texas politics, Sunday-school religion. Jeb could be the next incarnation of God and not be elected president.

But we've probably had enough of the Clinton's as well. Bill did a reasonable job, considering his minority in congress and his sexual adventures. But Hillary has too much baggage, too much connection to that divisive period, to be effective. She should give it up, perhaps simply because her husband was president. We don't need any more royal families.

And McCain, he's too old and too vacillating. Right now it seems like the "Straight Talk Express" has morphed into a cow-towing parade as old John pays homage to such carrion as Jerry Falwell. Old John is figuring he's got one last chance and has to pull out all the stops to get the nomination. And we don't have nearly enough soldiers to staff the overwhelming force he envisions for Iraq... Americans will not pay any attention to him.

So, what should the now-not-so-silent majority do? Walk away. Tell these worn out politicians that their time has passed. Turn off the strident, no-compromise voices of the radicals on both sides. Wait for a new set of candidates, Democrats and Republicans, to surface during the next 18 months. Open our ears to arguments about the facts of our society today, alternatives for the direction of our country, statements about what we want to stand for, and hopes for the world we want for our grandchildren. There have got to be a few good men and women who can stand up and make themselves be heard because, simply, people feel they are smart enough and honest enough lead us out of the ugly political morass we read and hear about every day.

The alternative is to let the current candidates' money and old alliances keep us down in the stagnant streams of business as usual. We've been fooled too many times, been promised substance and gotten hidden agendas, been taken to war for no reason. Time to put all the old politicians out to pasture!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't like term limits- I think if you get a good one, you should be allowed to keep him- but the founding fathers were all amateurs, and they did okay. Fresh faces and new ideas are desperately needed.

I'm disgusted with the Democrats for failing to push for their agenda. When the Republicans won House and Senate majorities, they didn't just skip the next two years and aim for the presidency; they actually pushed through legislation and accomplished things.

I'm afraid the *real* election is taking place right now, as the moneyed elite make campaign donations. By the time we get to cast a ballot, the populist candidates will have all been whittled away for lack of funds.

If we end up with two morons on the ballot (again), I will most likely cast a write-in vote for Pat Paulsen (again).

Ron Davison said...

LH,

Who do you propose? Are you asking for someone who is more centrist than Hillary or John?

Life Hiker said...

I wish I had a candidate to propose.

Hillary may be smart, and she may be seasoned, but she is just too controversial. America needs someone who doesn't come with so much emotional baggage.

John McCain has been right about a lot of things, but he's just too old and his posture on the war is scary. He may think courting Falwell is the only way to go, but it was a big sell-out to the wacko wing. I'm done with him.

We need someone to come out of the woodwork with a platform that sells itself. Fix entitlements. Control immigrants. Rationalize health care. Reduce defense spending, which is outrageous by any measure. Emphasize education, not necessarily by bowing to the teacher's unions. Start doing government accounting by the same rules that companies are bound to.
In other words, deal with our country's long term issues.

I don't know if "liberal" or "conservative" is the right way to assess what we need to do. If "centrist" means someone who can get a significant majority of Americans to follow them, then that's who we need to find.

1138 said...

"his father ran a pretty good administration"

You saw it far differently than I (and the majority of the American electorate) did when we voted against a second term for Mr. Read My Lips, amd "We are not in a recession" getting a second term.

1138 said...

I propose Richardson