I got a number of things creating a burning ember of hate and frustration in my still beating heart. So I will get this out of the way:
The views presented in this diary are presented in "raw form" meaning that I pretty much say whatever is in my head about the particular subject. This also means that I go off in weird tangents, but I do try to stay on track. Also, because it is Raw, the language tends to reflect that. So what I say here is Not Even Remotely Safe For Work. Viewer discretion is advised.
So here we are, 12 days from the 2010 Midterms, and things are getting interesting. I say "interesting" more as the Chinese would put it, with the hope that that particular curse is passed on to the Greedy Old Pinheads. It's like I've taken a trip back in time to 1994, only without the good parts and all the bad ones.
Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here but it seems to me that the Republican assholes (yes, I call them assholes. They may be well-meaning and have the best of intentions, but at the end of the day, they are assholes) that are currently running for various offices around the country have a recurring theme. "Cut spending, less government, No Free Rides." Everywhere you turn, their solution is those seven words. Let's start with the first word; cut.
Cut (verb) 1. to penetrate as if with a sharp edged instrument "I cut my finger." This sorta makes sense, because these so-called "True Patriots" want to cut the amount of unemployment I get every week or privatize the VA or Social Security or whatever they can to "cut spending" because allegedly we can't afford it. 2. To lower, reduce, diminish or curtail. Aha! Now we're getting somewhere. But that's a problem see, because these assholes don't really want to cut spending. See, Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone put it very well:
Vast forests have already been sacrificed to the public debate about the Tea Party: what it is, what it means, where it's going. But after lengthy study of the phenomenon, I've concluded that the whole miserable narrative boils down to one stark fact: They're full of shit. All of them. At the voter level, the Tea Party is a movement that purports to be furious about government spending — only the reality is that the vast majority of its members are former Bush supporters who yawned through two terms of record deficits and spent the past two electoral cycles frothing not about spending but about John Kerry's medals and Barack Obama's Sixties associations. The average Tea Partier is sincerely against government spending — with the exception of the money spent on them. In fact, their lack of embarrassment when it comes to collecting government largess is key to understanding what this movement is all about
So there's "cut". How about "spending"? There's lots of talk about that these days. How we're spending too much on gas, too much on rent (Because The Rent is Too Damn High!), too much on food, and so on. But when the Republicans talk of "spending" what they really mean is spending on the government. I believe it was Grover Norquist who said:
"I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."
Never mind the fact that this particular Asshole is the brains behind the Bush Tax Cuts, which got us from a budget SURPLUS to a Deficit in less than eight years. Why? Because while they cut taxes, they didn't reduce spending. So all that money that was supposed to go into the system from the highest income earners instead went back into their pockets. Did they spend it? Hell No! They saved it, or did something with it, but they sure as shit sticks steadfast to stucco didn't spend it.
So what about "less"? Well, there's been a lot of less. Less money in my pocket, less money in a lot of peoples pockets (except for the top %1 who made $501 Million dollars more on average than you or I) less services available such as buses and other forms of public transportation. Less state money for things like, um, Police Services, lights, less money all around. Also less jobs, less intelligence, less hope and more fear.
So now we come to the G. "Government"
"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." Shepard Book-Firefly "War Stories"
Caribou Barbie and her Poisonous Pals will tell you that the Government is the problem, not the solution. So why in the Tympani Fuck are people still voting for them to run for office? Why would you want to put someone in charge of government that believes government should be reduced to where it does nothing and everything is privately run? That's like hiring a hydrophobe as a lifeguard at the public pool.
Yeah, laugh, but remember that quote I mentioned from Norquist? Yeah, he's one of those Assholes that believes in less government, and actively set out to destroy it. Notice that the details are a little less clear here, and that's because no one really knows what will happen if there is no government in our lives. And here's the rub: There is no way that government will ever get out of our lives. People are meddlesome. We meddle. Everyday we are told what to do, what to say, what to wear, who to talk to, even what to think. We can't help it. Unless you are complete misanthrope, we want to know what people are thinking about us.
When I go to a job, I want to know what the person across the table from me is thinking about me. Why? Because I know his or her perception of me is going to determine whether or not I will get a job or not. Is this right? Probably not, but that's how it is. So if we can't get the government out, then what can we do?
How about starting with governing well, or at least governing with some degree of competence. I may not care for some of the things that Obama and his Merry Pranksters have done for me lately, but I admit he's juggling chainsaws blindfolded here. He got handed a bill of damaged goods, and he's doing the best with what he has in his hand.
Here's another word. "No." It's a powerful word. No means stop. Don't go there, don't continue, it is a negative whereas "yes" is an affirmative. It's also a favorite word for Republicans. Say what you will, but even I have to admire how lockstep they all are. Even the so-called moderates still toe the line when it counts in the end (like the Twin Harpies of Maine, who would rather pass on a Defense spending bill than vote on a repeal of DADT. To fuckery with them, I say) unlike the Democrats who can't seem to tie their own shoes without a Union Oil map, a flashlight, and a permission slip from the teacher.
Seriously, I'd have an easier time herding my cat than getting any Democrats to agree on anything. Look at how many times the Blue Dogs broke with their own party and voted with the Republicans.
Then there's the word "free." Free market, free enterprise, free beer, freedom, the band Free...I could go on. There's this little thing called the Law of Unintended Consequences:
The law of unintended consequences is an adage or idiomatic warning that an intervention in a complex system always creates unanticipated and often undesirable outcomes. Akin to Murphy's law, it is commonly used as a wry or humorous warning against the hubristic belief that humans can fully control the world around them. Many fields of study in the sciences and humanities embrace this concept, including economics, history, philosophy, political science, and sociology.
Or to put it simpler: Everything that you or anyone does has a consequence that you haven't factored in. You can run charts, and plot plots and make plans, but sooner or later whatever you do is going to have an effect that you didn't account for. And that's the problem with something like No Free Rides. Look at what happened to that poor bastard up in Obrien who's goddamn House burned down because he didn't pay the fee.
Then there's "Rides" And that's what these people who support the Tea Party can't fathom or don't see. They are being ridden like the prize horse all the way to the Halls of Power with the mistaken impression that the Republicans they are helping to get elected will "help them" without realizing that the backers of this movement will quietly fade away and leave the faithful holding the bag. And then it won't be long before they forget again.
Of course, that is only my opinion. I could be wrong.