Well, the People Who Matter have spoken.
The pundits have weighed in every sonorous Sunday morning. The news has credulously paraded every staged bimbo and jewelry store debt across our screens to the point where we can't tell 60 Minutes from TMZ.
Failed mancrushes (and girly crushes, too) have been splashed all over blogs, Twitters, Facebook, Tumblr and the rest of the metastizing 'social media' like an Occupy porta-potty as someone or another's dream candidate turns out to be clueless, fallible or human. Talk radio hosts have eagerly cribbed these tantrums as though they had ideas of their own.
The special interests have show why they get the special bus to school, the Democratic leadership have shown they don't give a damn about democracy and the Republican National Committee doesn't give a damn about the future of the Republic as long as their rice bowls remain filled.
The election is over, we are told, and all that matters is which party's heir apparent gets anointed.
AND NOT ONE DAMNED VOTE HAS BEEN CAST. No caucus held, no primary voted, no convention assembled, no campaign run. It's as though the World Series was awarded on the basis of spring training, or the Super Bowl decided by exhibition games.
In short, Mr. and Mrs. American Voter (or, in the words of a pre-PC Harlan Ellison, 'sir, madam, or bisex'), NOBODY ASKED YOU. Whether it's Karl Rove or Kos Moulitsas, James Carville or Ace of Spades, you'll take what we decide to give you.
Except, and here's the funny part, you don't have to. All the experts and hysterics and hysterical experts have had their say. Now it's up to you. Listen to the candidates. Look at them. Learn what they've done in the past and measure it against what they say they'll do now.
These are all, with one or two exceptions (decide for yourself), people of genuine material accomplishments, unlike the current mannequin in the White House. They are all, one or two exceptions (decide for yourself), people of substantial virtues, unlike our current Neurotic in Chief, who stands revealed more and more as a crudely assembled collection of stale ideologies, grievances and appetites.
You probably can't tell that from us. Sorry about that, but those Nielsen points and site visits won't create themselves. You can trust us if you choose, but in the words of our last truly great President: "Trust... but verify."
Just don't sit back and let us do your thinking for you. We are, mostly, no more up to the task than you are.
Peck, peck, peck...
2 comments:
Deborah Leigh said...Well stated, Richard! One of your best pieces. People should make their conclusions and decisions based on verified information, and a healthy dose of critical thinking. Pundits of reliable credentials provide a information and insights that people are sometimes lacking. A good example is the latest Herman Cain accuser. Her claim is that she has had an on-off affair for 13 years. Well, he must have been really good because it was at a time when he was undergoing treatment for cancer. Further, she has a history of harrassment, suits-for-profit, and her former co-workers have nothing good to say of her.
The Democrats are so worried Conservative Republican candidates that they will use any tactic. And number one in the Saul Alynsky playbook is destroy the opposition's reputation. They are especially worried about a Black Conservative that they will employ the Lyndon Johnson tactic of "let the bastards explain it".
People laughed at Rick Perry when he had a brain freeze like it was something new. Everyone has had it. The bimbo salvos have hit the Cain campaign with no evidence of wrong doing, only the accusation. Newt has been accused of telling his dieing wife that he was divorcing. And the slander goes on. It has only happened with the front runner.
Don't be a tool or a fool. This is a divide and conquer campaing by the Democrats.
D
Great piece!
Only a single factual error visible: "Occupy"-ers don't use porta-potties, but patrol cars and open spaces... this is demonstratively true. Using the analogy hits like a prolonged glottal-stop to the analogy's image flow....
Sorry to have to call you on a (somewhat) minor point in an exceptionally honest, (as in true-to-reality,) excellent post.
Oh! And even more than that: thank you so very much for posting this piece! You've greatly cheered a discouraged 96 year old.
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