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As thrilled as I am that we've kicked ass so thoroughly, the political observer and philosopher in me is a bit worried. The conventional wisdom is that this election was all about Iraq--obviously that was a big issue, but according to CNN, the biggest issue named during exit polls was "corruption." Now, I'm a true-blue Democrat but I certainly don't believe Republicans are any more prone to corruption than Democrats are. It's not ideology--it's power that corrupts. All this time of a Republican administration and a Republican-controlled Congress turned the likes of Santorum and Foley and DeLay and this jerk Sweeney into bullies, forcing their ideology down our throats or throwing their weight around behind the scenes as Foley and Sweeney did. Frist and DeLay were particularly egregious--they felt they had the right, the God-dictated mandate, to overstep their legislative boundaries with things like Terri Schiavo. Only someone who feels invincible due to his incumbent status would be as mean-spirited as Allen was to the camera guy (the whole "Macaca" incident which kick-started Allen's whole campaign meltdown--man, he handed that election to Webb). Foley went out of his way to schmooze with those pages, emphasizing his status as Congressman, telling them he could take them places. That's hubris, and it certainly isn't unique to Republicans and conservatives. That's a function of unlimited power, which the Republicans have had for the past few years.
Right now we have complete power in New York, and we've overturned the balance of power in Congress. I just want to say--be careful. Don't believe the hype, don't get caught up in the trappings of the office and the power structure. And don't disenfranchise us. That just engenders bitterness--one reason I'm jumping up and down so much about this election is that people like Rove and DeLay make me feel as though there is a sign on their door--"Go to Hell Unless You Believe What I Believe." I think their divisive policies and rhetoric have engendered an enormous amount of bitterness--the "Get Out the Hate" campaign tactics, as I called them (that is, the ballot initiatives banning gay marriage, which were cynical campaign strategies to get out the conservative voters) are just the most egregious examples. So don't disenfranchise gays, or women, or poor people. Work WITH each other and don't forget--we're ALL Americans, we are ALL brothers and sisters. You are here at our pleasure--you answer to us, the voters. Bush forgot that--he actually said in an interview that he didn't owe anybody an explanation. Wrong, Mr. President. You owe every American an explanation--you answer to every one of us.
Bush has said many times that he prays, he has a strong Christian faith and looks to Jesus for his calling, his answers, his guidance. It seems that Bush only sees Jesus's message in explicit signs--burning bushes perhaps, or a voice from the Heavens. But Jesus's message manifests itself in many forms, and if you believe, as I did, that God is everywhere, that "the meanest flower that blows can give/Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears"--then God has spoken through the voters in this past election. Bush, and this new Congress, would do well to heed that message which is: we are all Americans. Don't get caught up in the hype--you were elected to serve the people.
Right now we have complete power in New York, and we've overturned the balance of power in Congress. I just want to say--be careful. Don't believe the hype, don't get caught up in the trappings of the office and the power structure. And don't disenfranchise us. That just engenders bitterness--one reason I'm jumping up and down so much about this election is that people like Rove and DeLay make me feel as though there is a sign on their door--"Go to Hell Unless You Believe What I Believe." I think their divisive policies and rhetoric have engendered an enormous amount of bitterness--the "Get Out the Hate" campaign tactics, as I called them (that is, the ballot initiatives banning gay marriage, which were cynical campaign strategies to get out the conservative voters) are just the most egregious examples. So don't disenfranchise gays, or women, or poor people. Work WITH each other and don't forget--we're ALL Americans, we are ALL brothers and sisters. You are here at our pleasure--you answer to us, the voters. Bush forgot that--he actually said in an interview that he didn't owe anybody an explanation. Wrong, Mr. President. You owe every American an explanation--you answer to every one of us.
Bush has said many times that he prays, he has a strong Christian faith and looks to Jesus for his calling, his answers, his guidance. It seems that Bush only sees Jesus's message in explicit signs--burning bushes perhaps, or a voice from the Heavens. But Jesus's message manifests itself in many forms, and if you believe, as I did, that God is everywhere, that "the meanest flower that blows can give/Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears"--then God has spoken through the voters in this past election. Bush, and this new Congress, would do well to heed that message which is: we are all Americans. Don't get caught up in the hype--you were elected to serve the people.
