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| Jeff Michael's Blog
| Election 2010: Making lemonade out of... incest rape babies?11/20/10 at 10:41 PM by ZeoVGM |
NOTE: I wrote this the night before the election and I thought I posted it here but apparently not. I just thought I would throw it up on this blog anyway, even late, for the hell of it.
I've been posting a lot of political and election-related stuff lately, which might annoy some and interest others. To each their own, obviously, but I find it interesting. After having a few people talk to me about something I posted recently, I decided I wanted to expand on my thoughts a little, as well as touch on some other topics, because I love the sound of my own voice and/or fingers hitting the keyboard.
Racism and the Tea Party: Hide Ya Kids, Hide Ya Wife, Hide Ya Gay Muslim Grizzly Bears
There has been a lot of talk about the Tea Party and whether or not they're a racist political group. I don't believe that as an entire entity they are racist. The basic ideals behind the movement are solid: less government and less taxes. However, it's what comes out of the party that I find to be the glue that holds together those ideals. No, they're not stringing up minorities in their backyards but I do think the underlying tone is very obvious. Actually, the overlying tone is pretty obvious too.
The founder of a popular Tea Party group held up this "niggar" sign at a gathering a month after Obama took office. A spokesman for the group said he was kicked out. Of course, that is a lie. He's not only still listed as the founder on the official website but they list his media appearances from this past summer.
Or how about Witch-Doctor Obama with Kung-Fu Grip (and bone-through-the-nose accessory!), coming soon to a Walmart toy isle near you?
Or how about this sign, which has been repeated at multiple gatherings, telling us the TRUTH about Obama's presidency: he wants to make white people into slaves! Quick, get the Glenn Beck Survival Kit (complete with SARS masks and, uh... beef stroganoff... for the low, low price of $199.99!) and head for the bomb shelter!
In fact, let's look at other ignorant and baseless signs from that rally, not just the racist ones:
SOCIALISM!!!
COMMUNISM!!!
MORE SOCIALISM!!!
FACIST!!!
Black people don't have jobs, by the way.
He's a terrorist too! He truly is a Jack of all trades.
Also, Obama is the anti-Christ.
Also, Obama wasn't born in America.
He CAN'T be American. Because he's Hitler!
Those are pictures that one guy took at one protest. But it's not just the pictures that back it up.
This is a recent survey by the University of Washington. It states that there is a 25% higher chance that Tea Party members are more "racially resentful" than white people who are NOT in the Tea Party.
"The Tea Party is not just about politics and size of government. The data suggests it may also be about race."
Is it the majority? I don't think so. But when combined with recent violent and dominative acts like stomping on the head of a liberal who was tackled to the ground and when contrasted by the types of signs held up at this week's Rally to Restore Sanity, which set out to make points while being humorous and full of Internet memes, it all adds up to something very scary.
Sharron Angle (or: What the FUCK, Nevada!?)
While I don't understand how someone couldn't see the backbone of the Tea Party for what it is, it is obviously something that is up for debate. What I don't believe is up for debate, however, is how terrible of a person this woman is.
Sharron Angle, for those who don't know, is the Nevada GOP Senate nominee. Recently she had an illegal immigration ad showing us Hispanics, trying to make us scared of them entering the country. After drawing fire for this, she said she was "not sure" whether or not they were Hispanic in the ad. On its own, that is stupid. But she of course felt the need to top herself.
In this short video, she is speaking to the Hispanic Student Union. She tells the kids that some of them look "a little more Asian to me" and follows it up with, "I've been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly".
Yes, she really is that dense. But perhaps it's only on the topic of immigration. It's not as if she believes that the separation of church and state is unconstitutional, right? Oh, right.
She has shown a complete refusal to answer important questions, time and time again. In that video, she states she won't answer certain questions until AFTER she gets elected.
However, most sickening to me are her views on abortion. I am not bothered by someone who is against abortion. What I am bothered by is the idea of not understanding the circumstances in a situation and taking them into consideration without being tainted by the blind faith in whoever the hell one's "God" is. Such is the case with Sharron Angle, who believes that getting pregnant in the case of rape and incest is simply part of "God's plan".
She later elaborated on her opinion in another interview, stating that not only is it God's plan but it's a "lemon situation" that can then be turned into lemonade. That's right, little Suzy. When your dad forced himself on you when you were 13, he was simply making a delicious tangy beverage.
Thankfully, she's for the death penalty because that's not hypocritical or anything.
The reason I dedicate any time to this woman at all is actually scarier than the woman herself: there is a good chance she will win today. Yes, she's neck and neck with her opponent in Nevada. Perhaps I am ignorant and I simply don't understand. If that's the case, I'll be glad to shout that I am blissfully ignorant from the top of a building. Or my front steps. I don't like heights.
Obama Has Disappointed Me
I voted for Obama in 2008 and I am feeling disappointed. He has accomplished things but many of the big reasons I voted for him have yet to pass. I am completely for health reform. It is absolutely needed in the country and it should be done right. The problem is that the health care bill limped across the finish line without Democrats making a true stand for it. It isn't the bill that it should have been and it's going to take too long to feel it the impact. Of course, no one can deny that there are great things in the bill. It's just not in the time frame I had hoped for.
Obama has not followed through or really even tried to follow through with his promise to abolish the monumentally stupid Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. It's even made strides thanks to other people only to be shut down by the administration. Over 70% of the country think it should be repealed. Just fucking end it.
In general, there's been a very flimsy, unsure, and flat out weak feeling to the first two years. I wanted the strong leader that I voted for, not the one who invites two guys over to the White House for a beer and a photo op.
However, I sound more negative than I mean to be. I am disappointed yet I am still happy with my choice and optimistic about the future. He has put billions of dollars into funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act, gave more benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, saved the American car industry, repealed Bush-era restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, issued an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay, ended the Bush administration's program using torture as a method of interrogation, prevented credit card companies from pushing arbitrary rate increases on customers, and of course put the stimulus through.
And yes, I do stand by the stimulus. I can't claim to know the ins and outs of the economy. Of course, I can choose to put my trust in those who do. If Rush Limbaugh says it hurt us or if Keith Olbermann says it helped us, I don't care. However, I do care what a large group of economists have to say in this survey as well as others which have nearly the same results. A 62% majority of those polled, a good number of whom have PhDs in Economics or teach at a university, say that the stimulus package helped the unemployment rate. 40% say it would be at least 2% higher if not for the stimulus while 22% say it would be more than 2% higher. I choose to put my faith in those who know better than myself.
I saw someone on a forum post a quote from David Leterman, which strangely enough sums up my feelings on this election completely: "Democrats are about to get punished severely in the midterm elections. See, the problem is that Obama and the Democrats didn't clean up the mess left by the Republicans fast enough."
The entire energy surrounding this election seems to be, "So much for change! Nothing is better! Unemployment is awful! It must be the fault of the Democrats!" So now, the country is eager to hand the country back to the people who helped push us into this mess because they claim they have "changed"? I would understand this if they had any ideas on how to fix it but they don't. They have said they will not compromise and they have not sparked up any intelligent debate on what to do opposing Obama's administration other than simply wanting to oppose it.
Are we that jump-the-gun where and short-sighted that we think they can put a giant bandage on the economy only two years later? Did we delude ourselves by believing that "change" was more than it was or could ever be? And if we allow people like Sharron Angle to have even a slight semblance of power in the country, do we really have anyone else to blame but us? | | Tags: politics, obama, election 2010, sharron angle, rally to resore sanity, tea party |
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