Here I go again. I used to be a Republican. I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh. I read his first two books. I thought Bill Clinton was a bad dude (and I still he is in some ways). This was all in high school and for a couple years afterwards, maybe until 1995 or 96. I am no longer a Republican. I think Rush Limbaugh is is a big fat idiot. I think the GOP is morally bankrupt. I think they long ago sold out and are now no more than puppets for Corporate America. They play on the middle class evangelicals and devout by promising to outlaw abortion, get prayer back in school and bring God to the heathens in Washington. They play to those who feel left out by saying they’ll bring jobs to the little people and they’re “compassionate”. They don’t really mean it, obviously. Sure, they’ll create a day, but all they really care about is making money for themselves and their patrons. They want to keep us fat and complacent while they run off with the bank.

What about the Dems? They’re no better. They may have better positions, but they’re incapable or unwilling of fighting the Republicans at the moment. After decades of being able to articulate their positions and get popular culture on their side, they’ve lost it. The cats (or Elephants) have run off with their eloquence and left them with nothing to say. It’s depressing. At a time when we need a fiery and vociferous opposition party, we get Casper Milquetoast and His Band Of Capitulators. Where’s the fight? Where’s the fire?

And third parties? Dream on. Ralph Nader turned into Andrew Dice Clay after the election and I’m not sure we’ll ever hear from the Green Party again. The Libertarians, who actually showed some promise in ’92, were nowhere to be seen in 2000 (at least not in DC). Jesse Ventura did more to set his little party back than more it forward and… well, that’s all the ones anyone knows about, isn’t it?

Where does that leave us? I feel that if I vote Republican, whoever I vote for isn’t really going to do anything for me, and in my district, we don’t really have any Democrats running for anything important (John Warner ran unopposed for the Senate… huh?!). It makes me almost want to give up and stop voting, but I know I won’t. It’s the only way I’ve got to make even a little difference. Man, this was depressing.

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas – probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

Wow. How did this guy get elected? Every day I watch a news conference or read the news, I cringe at what comes out of his mouth. And now the National Sanctity of Life Day and Patriot Day? On NSoLD, I don’t care where you stand on abortion, and I’m not going to get into my position on it here, but how big was the wheelbarrow he used to roll his balls into the room to make that announcement? This guy has no sense of what he’s doing looks like, does he? He’s all for sticking us with his wacky Religious Right agenda without considering the objections of anyone who may have a differeing opinion. There are now dozens, if not hundreds of examples of the Bush (part Deux) Administration making Black and White declarations about things without knowing all sides of the issue. For example, let’s create an energy policy in secret without talking to even the most conservative enviromental groups? Not one! Let’s create a national Anti-Abortion day without thinking that this is a Democracy and there is a large percentage of Americans who will be offended by it (probably much larger than those who think this is a good idea)! Woo-hoo!! Ok, on to Patriot Day… What a meaningless and stupid name for a day to commemorate one of the worst acts of violence in American history. One of the others, an act of war that led us into WWII in the Pacific doesn’t have a holiday. We don’t celebrate December 7th. We don’t give it a name. It’s the day something terrible happened. Let’s leave it be and let people remember it how they want or need to.

Compassionate Conservatism is a joke. It’s an evil joke played on the American people, and I’m sick to my stomach over it. Bush Junior has done nothing but stick it to the middle class and the poor in his time in office. He’s bungled situation after situation with his unnuanced and uninformed positions and policies and I for one can’t wait until I get to cast my next ballot for President.