Things Are Worse Than I Imagined

[wlotus]

sophiaserpentia has written an eye-opening (to me, anyway) description of why the political situation in this country is much worse than I imagined it was.

In spite of my surprise at the seriousness of the problem, it is no surprise to me that the Democratic Party is wasting a hard-won opportunity to turn this country around. If they keep it up, we are looking at another 8-16 years of Conservative Republican control over the country (and the fiscal and social nightmare that will accompany it) once Obama's term is up.

Comments

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

It really amuses me that your icon is the same image as the cover of the copy of Atlas Shrugged that I am reading.

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

I read the blog post you linked to... well, pretty much what s/he's saying is the Democrats haven't really done much the past few years, and don't we kind of already know that?

It would be rather lame if people voted out Democrats who are doing a little good and some damage via inaction... and replaced them again with Republicans who run around doing a bunch of damage.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

We do, but I hadn't realized the current administration was doing so many of the same things we've complained about in the past. I stepped back from politics after the 2008 Democratic primaries (hence the Atlas Shrugged icon) and didn't realize it was that bad.

It would be a shame, but it's likely the scenario you describe is what will happen.

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

I think Atlas Shrugged is closer to Glenn Beck than stepping back from the administration. In fact, I heard he quotes the book. LOL Well, I'm only on page 400 so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.


Obama is disappointing, that's for sure. But I do try to remember that's partly because we endow him with such uniquely high hopes way beyond what we expect of anyone else... at least I have.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I didn't expect anything from Obama than what he has delivered, which is why I left the party after they handed him the nomination.

I want to re-read Atlas Shrugged. It's been a couple of years, but I am still fascinated by the story!

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

I expected waaaay more. I thought he was a closet radical (or at least progressive). I guess I was way wrong...

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

The reason I didn't expect more was because I had grown up seeing this sort of thing play out in the black Pentecostal church over and over and over again. The minister was skilled at throwing together a bunch of phrases and catchwords that would get the congregation very excited. Before long the people would be shouting, singing, and dancing in the aisles, not to mention giving him their money. There would be no realistic discussions of how anything would or could get done, just vows that God would be there, God would change your situation, you would come out victorious, but all you have to do is wait and put your trust in Him. And the people would get excited by those promises week after week. But when time passed, the wicked still prospered, bills had to be paid, they didn't get that job/raise they needed, they lost their homes, and so on, some folks would start to ask some very tough questions.

That is what Obama did, in the black Pentecostal preacher tradition, and that is what is happening, now.

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

Wow, I never thought of that analogy. Very interesting...

Do you think it's possible though for a politician to make promises and actually get them (mostly) done?

I wonder if the system is somehow set up so that they can't even if they really do want to, or if they really just aren't trying hard/wisely enough.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

In order for a politician to get anything done, they have to win over their peers, not the people. In Obama's case, that could mean one of two things:

1. He has not won over his peers.
2. He has won over his peers and is getting done exactly what they all intend to get done, regardless of the claims he made during the election.

I tend to believe the second one, based on his rapid ascent to the office with very little time on the national political level. You don't ascend to the presidency with as little government experience as he has without a LOT of back-room help...and once you get there, you'd better pay the piper.

If, on the other hand, #1 is the truth, he can help his party and his popularity by being more transparent. As I said, I stepped back from politics a lot, so I haven't been following the nitty-gritty details, but I get the sense (from reading others' commentary, particularly the commentary of those who used to support him) that he and his administration are venting about and avoiding the hard questions far more than honestly answering them. Rants like the one sophiaserpentia quoted show a blatant disrespect towards their own voting base, and that is not going to win any politician brownie points. What will happen, instead, is those people they snubbed their noses at will either stay at home or use the midterm elections to get rid of Congress-people who could have been allies to the president's causes. If he thinks he's having a hard time getting anything done, now, his head will spin at the resistance he'll get from a restructured Congress after the midterm elections.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

That's a really fascinating analysis.

I was a hard core Hillary Clinton supporter. I loved the Clintons -- warts and all. I finally decided to support Obama after his race speech because it was the first honest appraisal of race I'd ever heard from a politician, and because I think race is the big issue of the 21st century: if humans do succeed in wiping out themselves and the planet, it will be over pseudospeciation. I cried when he was nominated; I allowed myself to get giddy on Election night.

Obama was a disappointment almost from the start. Has there ever been a President who squandered so much good will in so short a time? Well, yes, one -- George W. Bush...

Obama's health care bill is a disaster. After chanting "transparency" like a mantra all throughout his campaign, he turns out to opaque to the point of covertness. And then there's the Afghan War... We're propping up a corrupt puppet regime both in Afghanistan and Pakistan... for what? Is this really making us safe from terrorists? How exactly?

It's a given that the Democrats will lose the House in September -- possibly the Senate too. It's not clear to me that Obama will end up a one-term President. Really depends on who he's running against. Sarah Palin is not a viable candidate.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

Sarah Palin might not normally be a viable candidate, but you're talking about a presidential election season where a LOT of Democrats are disaffected, a lot of Republicans are likely to show up at the polls just to try to get the White House back, and a fair number of independents would rather vote for a third party than vote for Obama or an anti-choice Republican candidate. That raises her chances of being elected a fair amount, if she wins her party's nomination.

There are some people who are saying Clinton will run in 2012. I don't see that happening. She plays too closely to the party rules (and probably loves her political career far too much, as that would be political suicide) to do something like that. The only way that would happen would be if Obama refused to run or was pressured not to run, and I don't see that happening, either.