IT'S PARTY TIME FOR POLS

I hardly know where to begin.  I'm in turns restless and impatient, dismayed and agitated, excited and joyful.  Hopeful and bereft.  And sometimes just crazy happy.  I'm trying to breathe through it all and BE HERE NOW, but damn!  It's hard.

Every four years I become obsessed with presidential politics.  I'm a presidential campaign junkie.  I watch all the debates in the primaries (OK, this campaign I skipped some of the R debates, because really, that was just torture).  I devour news and opinion.  I tune in to primary night results.  I listen to the pundits.  I scroll Facebook and news sources.  I get invested.  By the time summer and the conventions come along, I'm in so deep I can barely keep afloat.

Every night last week I tuned in to the Republican National Convention.  I knew I would disagree with much of what was said, but I was curious about their perspective and the hows and whys of our differing world view.  Holy Shit!  Armageddon over there at the RNC!  The United States, in their view, is a dystopian landscape of violence, death, destruction, anger, hatred.  Who are those people?  How can they deny actual facts and spin a web of fantasy that is based on nothing but pumped up fear and the desire to have a strongman (strawman) save them from people like me?  It was startling.  Their presidential nominee has been labeled a racist and narcissist with not one iota of experience in elected office, yet he declared in his speech that only he can fix the world they are so afraid of... and they cheered him!  This, after chanting over the course of the week in true mob mentality fashion, "Lock her up!" about the Democratic nominee for president.  Yes, that's one way to deal with your adversaries.  Not really what our democracy is about, but then the word "fascist" hasn't been tossed in his direction for nothing.

In the party I support, the Democrats, we've had our own brouhaha what with Socialist/Independent Senator Bernie Sanders suddenly becoming a Democrat to run for president and then decrying the primary process the Dems have in place for choosing the nominee.  He struck a chord, hit a nerve, revved up the disaffected on the Left and used his bully pulpit to push the Dems leftward and good for him for that.  But in the process he denigrated the true Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, effectively undermining her to the point that now that he has lost the nomination and is trying to get his troops to line up behind her, they've gone AWOL and on Monday even booed him when he called for unity.   Their intractable ideology is looking just as whacked out as those on the far right.  Comedian Sarah Silverman, a Bernie supporter, even took them to task during her convention appearance with one of my favorite (and ad-libbed) lines of the convention so far:  "Bernie or Bust people -- you are being ridiculous!"  Golly this is fun!

I know I am biased, but ask anyone who is an expert on conventions and they will tell you the RNC was a hot mess.  Nobody knew how to run a convention and it was a bit crazy and chaotic.  No big name Republicans agreed to speak or even attend, and even the entertainers were washed up third rate oldies who ranted a good rant, but really, who cares?

The Dems have run theirs, the first two nights this week, like clockwork and all the biggies are out to support Hillary.  On Monday Michelle Obama gave a speech for the ages (ask anyone, even the sensible R's say she rocked it), along with inspirational Cory Booker, firebrand Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie himself finally stopped with his Ego Trip and gave his full-throated support to Hillary.  (I don't dislike the man at all; he just annoyed me a lot.  I hope he is an important voice in the Senate with Warren).  Last night Bill took the stage and did his Bill thing.  I have some quibbles with the speech, but overall he bragged Hillary up and gave us an insider's view of the absolutely life-long dedication she has shown (not in front of cameras or on the national stage) to helping others and moving our country forward.  Tonight the trifecta of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Tim Kaine (VP nominee) will all speak.  Tomorrow Chelsea will introduce Hillary.  In contrast to the doom and gloom at the RNC, the DNC is upbeat, positive, hopeful, and reveling in the slogan "Stronger Together".  Yes, our side gets silly trying to out-Liberal each other at times, but I love our diversity and our can-do spirit and the knowledge that we really are all in this together.  We are not looking for a "daddy" to fix it.  We got this.

So, I don't know where I'm going with this except to say, every four years I get caught up in the excitement.  I lose sleep over polls and worry about the ups and downs of the race.  I pray nothing will derail my candidate (hello email scandal) and I lament that the other side is often so mean, with this year proving to be worse, with the meanest SOB yet as their standard-bearer.

I also get overwhelmed with patriotism.  I reflect on our democracy and the history of our country and I weep with gratitude that, warts and all, we have maintained this grand experiment for 240 years.  Other countries still want to be us.  The least we can do is be aware, involved, and engaged in this process. At the very least, we must  realize what a privilege we have; one that should never be thrown away or taken for granted -- just ask anyone who has lived under a repressive regime.

The next few months will be a roller coaster ride.  But also a time to play catch up if you are not as tuned in to politics as some.  Time to listen, read, ask questions.   Be informed.  Think critically.   And get ready to cast your vote on November 8th.  People have died to protect your right to do so.  Don't diss them by not caring.

At least, that's the view from here...©

POLITICAL DISMAY

Well for god's sake.  I have already mentioned I'm depressed.  How am I going to get any better when every week Donald Trump racks up more delegates and his supporters punch out more protestors at his rallies -- while he urges the violence on?

I so love our country.  I do.  I am a proud Liberal Democrat Patriot.  I know there's a lot we can do better and a lot of mistakes have been made and some outright evil has been perpetrated on others by our government for selfish motives throughout history.   But in spite of it all, I have ALWAYS believed that we are for the most part a loving people of compassion and good-will and that our leaders, while they may disagree on various points, would band together to ensure that a dictator, tyrant, or fascist-leaning individual would never be able to take over.  Oops.

I have never been more dismayed and disillusioned about our political system and our country's future.  I have seen it coming:  The degradation of any civility in public discourse, where politicians behave no better than the worst talk show hosts and reality show contestants; where partisanship devolves into brute force refusal to compromise on anything for any reason, citizens be damned; where the person holding the office of President is ridiculed, maligned, and disrespected beyond the pale by those who cannot countenance that this man "somehow" became the leader of the free world.

Smarter people than I have written volumes about all of this and I'm just a personal essay blogger who writes for a teeny audience of mostly friends and family so I won't even try to explain why all of this has happened at this point in our nation's history.  I have some facts, some theories, some opinions.  So do you.  Suffice to say, this election season has taken on a scary surreal quality that has me scratching my head, waking worried in the middle of the night, and fearful for the future of my granddaughters.

They say the Republican Party is crumbling before our very eyes and I'm glad.  Not because I'm anti-Republican, but because I'm anti whatever and whoever these people are who call themselves Republicans but are something else entirely.  We have a strong and vociferous far right wing of that Party who really are an entity unto themselves  -- Tea Partiers, I guess, but that moniker almost seems quaint in these days of the identity-defying Donald Trump who has been a Democrat at times, who is wealthy and ostentatious, who has no moral compass, who is a textbook narcissist -- yet is supported by those of low to moderate means, of low education, of professed religious faith, and who (as a study shows as the consistent common denominator) adhere to an authoritarian perspective.  Anyway, this right wing cabal has disrupted and disturbed to the point of taking over what used to be a political party with at least a relatively understandable world view -- one where I could maybe see their point.  Now there is no point.  Not one I can understand.

I am afraid of the current wave of anti-intellectualism;  anti-"elitism"; anti-press/media(ism); and every other anti-ism (except fundamentalism) that is now the gospel of the day.  Really?  Do we want people running things who are less intelligent, less sophisticated, less informed and less able to think creatively and critically than the majority of us?   Do we want a media that is so biased that we just hear over and over and over again the very things (often fraught with distortions and lies) we already agree with?  What happened to unbiased reporting?  What's happened to reporting at all?  Now it's all just opinion and conjecture.

I am starting to lose faith.  But maybe that's just what they want.  Maybe that's the point of it all.  To wear down and demoralize, to make violence commonplace, to denigrate and deny and defame until the effort to continue to defend ourselves against such an evil onslaught becomes just too damn hard.

Wait.  No. No. No. No.  I will not give in, give up, or give away my country!

I almost feel like there is a Civil War brewing....not one with cannons (hopefully!!!) but a war of ideas and ideals, of values, and of the very essence of our identity and our humanity.  Who we choose in November as our new president, as well as who we choose to represent us in Congress (even more important when it comes to day-to-day decision-making), will tell us who we are and who we want to become for the next four years and beyond.  

I look into the innocent faces of my beautiful granddaughters and I know I can't quit.  I have to work for candidates who stand for progress, for humanity, for kindness and compassion; who exhibit intelligence,  fairness,  experience, and  wisdom.  Is there a perfect candidate in the race this year?  Is there ever?  Nah.  But some are way more perfect than others.   Let's choose one who doesn't want to punch us in the face.

At least that's the view from here....©

IT WAS INEVITABLE -- POLITICS 2016

I've been steering clear of political discussions this election season.   So contentious!  And demoralizing!  But it was inevitable that at some point I'd start to write about it.  (Stop Reading Now if You Are a Conservative Republican...you won't like this post.)

I'm not going to deconstruct what has happened with the parties and their standard-bearers so far.  I'm actually not all that well-informed about the minutia, as I may have been in past Presidential election years.   I've been watching mostly from the sidelines, reading the occasional article, catching most of the the so-called "debates" and Town Hall Meetings, and seeing the ubiquitous partisan Facebook posts.  I do believe I have the main talking points for each candidate down.

God knows I won't be supporting any of the Republican candidates who I find to be mostly terrifying and diametrically opposed to all I hold dear.  Our values do not align.  At all.  Plus, what can one say about The Donald?  His seemingly successful candidacy as the R frontrunner is such a demoralizing degradation of our political system that I fear for the health of the Republic.  (See?  I told you you wouldn't like this.)

That leaves me with either "Feel the Bern" or "Hill Yes!" which, in turn, leaves me in an unfamiliar and rather squirmy position.  I have never been a true-blue Hillary gal.  Like many, I often have found her to be too politically cautious, too politically expedient.  I parted company with my feminist cadre of friends in 2008 and jumped early and completely into the Obama camp and never looked back.  If he could run again, my response would be the same.  But he can't, so here we are.

Bernie is the Progressive darling of the political left and according to many of my friends, the Second Coming of the Christ, he is so pure of spirit and intention.  Never mind that he hasn't even been a Democrat until relatively recently, having been mostly a local boy done good as an Independent from a chilly and homogeneous Northeastern state which prides itself on irascibility.  The thing is, his "revolution" talk has caught fire  with the "kids" and idealistic left-leaners of all ages.  Plus, he does seem to display a consistency of values and has "walking the talk" to his credit.  I like that.  A lot.

And yet....I don't know how this will play out nationally when push comes to shove in Ohio and Pennsylvania and Michigan and the like.  I'm a Midwest girl from a conservative mostly rural area of northern Illinois.  I KNOW those folks.  They are mostly Republicans or moderate Democrats.  Bernie is not Moderate.  I just don't believe his Progressive momentum will carry the day in areas where people are more than a little skeptical of his list of Liberal bonafides.  Moderate Dems will lean right, not left.

What I like is that his candidacy has pushed Hillary to the left a bit.  She has had to ditch her knee-jerk caution and come out with some positions she might have considered too risky without his nudge.  Is she just being politically savvy?  I don't think so.  I think she says what she believes and not all of it is popular with either side of the Left/Right divide.  Do I agree with everything she says?  No.  But, I'm with Hillary this time.

Unfortunately, being with Hillary puts me on the outs with people I love, many, if not most of whom, are completely enamored with Bernie and truly believe he is the inspired leader of the Uprising of the People.  I believe he has said some very important things and has pointed out some very ingrained problems and hypocracies.  I just don't think shouting about it and being able to fix it are the same thing.  What we will all need to do is clean house in Congress to really get anything to change.  How many Bernie or Hillary supporters are willing to work their butts off for down-ticket races that will put new faces in the Capital building?  Remains to be seen.

Hillary is pragmatic and that's where she and I align.  I am a realist when it comes to the glacial pace of change.  And I have learned in my own life that the person in leadership can't do anything unless those further down the pecking order are with him/her.  One can hold a vision all day long of how things "should" be.  How they are, however, takes a cool-headed pragmatist to admit and then start to chip away at what can be changed little by little over over a long, long time.   Compromises must be made -- not always palatable and not always successfully -- to move the behemoth that is our government forward.

Am I being a pessimist or a realist?  Have I lost my youthful enthusiasms for movements?  Have I become a cynical and jaundiced old fart?  Well, I don't know.  I'm just trusting my gut on this one and I will be happy to be proved wrong if Bernie gets the nomination and wins the Presidency.  I just doubt that will happen.

The other thing I have to admit, but by no means is this the reason I support her -- it's just a happy add-on -- is that Hillary, in spite of having to play like the boys in a good old boys sport, is a woman.  I don't have that many election cycles left to see a woman president.  I'd like to see one -- one from my party.  And I do admit my feminist ire has been raised by the double standard that she is up against.  I admire her gumption to just keep fighting her way to holding an office that is so masculine-centric that for some people the very thought of a woman in the Oval is anathema to Americana.  Sheesh!  Get over it!

I'm watching a lecture series on the 2016 election that is available online presented by the Chair of the Communications Department of the University of Washington.  http://www.washington.edu/alumni/election16/    His last installment was a discussion of Politics and Gender and he outlines very clearly that candidates in presidential campaigns are in the business of emasculating their opponents.   Hillary has a double whammy, since she starts out with those scary girl-parts already and must prove her "masculine mettle" while still demonstrating her feminine side which should be at all times compassionate and comforting and sort of nice (and not shrill -- girls can't yell and flail their arms around like boys can.)  That she should have to walk that tightrope at all just makes me hopping mad.

Well, I'll stop now because I can imagine I might write more political posts between now and November.  So, like I say, if you don't like the Dems, I know you won't like my politics.  But I hope you might still like me.  I'm really nice; I don't yell.

At least, that's the view from here....©

POLITICIANS: THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME

The pendulum of the Republican party has swung so far right, it's liable to knock us all out cold on its inevitable swing back.

A sadly misinformed politician from Missouri (Rep. Todd Akin, R.) has created a shitstorm of controversy with his recent comment, to the effect that "legitimate rape" can't result in pregnancy because a woman's body will "shut down" if attacked in this way and won't allow fertilization.  This, to justify a ban on abortion even in cases of rape or incest (which has just been included in the draft of the official Republican party platform).  It also helpfully explains, I guess, that if pregnancy did occur in cases of rape, well, it just wasn't "legitimate"... as in she secretly wanted to have sex at knifepoint?  I need further clarification on that.

Mr. Akin is not the only one who thinks this way.  I saw on a news show the other night a piece detailing how this line of thinking (and speaking it out loud!) about rape not resulting in pregnancy goes back at least three decades amongst (male) politicians, all Republicans from the south (I don't blame the south, but they do seem to have a disproportionate number of dipshit politicians.)

You can tell my ire has been raised.  I have worked so hard to let so many things go.  I'm practicing compassion, lovingkindness, "nowness".  So, this political season is a challenging teacher for me. It's  hard to let go of the outcome of this election, because I believe politics really do matter and that politicians are not "all the same" as some disillusioned in the electorate like to lament.

There is a busload of Catholic nuns who are criss-crossing the country to educate and protest the "Ryan Budget" as immoral in its draconian measures to cut funding for programs that help the poor and the working poor, who are drowning in spite of treading water as fast as they can.  I thought, at first,  "Who is this Paul Ryan guy and that budget of his will never pass anyway."  Well, the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, just chose Ryan as his running mate.  Even though Romney changes his tune to sing whatever song his audience of the day wants to hear, at least we now know what he really believes.  Ryan's views are well-documented and consistent.

I've seen a lot of elections -- some of which went the way I wanted, and some didn't.  But really, none made me truly fearful, even though I was not happy with cowboys or paranoids in the Oval Office.  This being a democracy, I believed reasonable people would ultimately demand responsible leaders.  Now I'm not so sure.

The "good guys" of the Republican Party seem to have abandoned ship.  They've handed it over to right wing politicos who appeal to what I thought was a minority, but who now have been given a great deal of power.  Or at least the power to take over the debate and somehow drag others along with them.  And to enact laws aimed at ensuring Republican-leaning districts in some states will have an unfair advantage over those who traditionally vote for Democrats -- the young, poor, and/or elderly would be most affected -- by requiring a government issued ID to get their hands on a ballot.  (My own mother would have been denied a vote if she had lived in one of these districts).

This year we have a billionaire Republican nominee who will say anything he thinks you want to hear to get elected.  He has chosen a running mate who is the darling of the far right.  Both of them will reward the excesses of the rich at the expense of the middle class and the poor.

And we have the incumbent, a pragmatic and perhaps over-reaching, but well-intentioned President who swept into office on a wave of "Yes We Can" only to realize, "no you can't" if the other party sees as Job One personally vilifying our President and thwarting absolutely any legislation he proposes--the American people be damned--then blaming him for "doing nothing".  Talk about a Catch-22!

I believe that having an intelligent, articulate, principled black man in the White House who embraces diversity across the board, inclusive of ethnicity, race, class, gender, and even divergent ideas, has created such fear and aversion that an ultra-conservative uprising of unhinged classism, racism, and sexism was perhaps inevitable.  What I didn't see coming was how the rest of the Republican party would stand for it.  There must be some who are appalled, embarrassed, outraged.  But will they express this dismay by switching parties in the privacy of the voting booth?

Don't know. Hope so.

Because I still want to believe that my country, which I dearly love, will not abandon the very democratic, egalitarian principles we so fondly espouse to uphold.

(Here's a clip from an Aaron Sorkin-written TV show; so the bias is obvious, but the points are factual and well made, even if he went a bit far at the end in my judgement.  He's entitled to his opinion...we do still have freedom of speech here (even money "talks").

http://front.moveon.org/what-we-already-knew-about-the-tea-party-and-the-newsroom-finally-said-out-loud/#.UD024cIjA8g.facebook

And, sisters, if men like Todd Akin continue to think they can tell women how our bodies work and what's best for us politically, and we let them do so by not standing up for our own truth, then we do not honor the sacrifices of the women who worked to ensure we have a voice in this election, or any other.

At least, that's the view from here....©

Read this easy abbreviated history lesson about women's voting rights: http://www.pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_suffrage.html
Also, watch this "Hollywood-ized", but factually accurate portrayal of the fight for the vote:  Iron Jawed Angels 2004-HBO Movies (Netflix has it).