I just finished watching Mitt Romney’s interview with Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes and didn’t know whether to laugh or yell at Romney’s claim that President Obama has been unwilling to work with Republicans during his time in the Oval Office. Obama has done just about everything a biracial man can do to please a bunch of crusty old White men short of tap-dancing and calling them “Master.” If anything, Obama has been too conciliatory these past three years. But, the Republicans still don’t appreciate it. Of course, if he showed more backbone and got ugly with their sorry asses, they’d be just as hateful towards him. Either way, he can’t win.
I’ve never seen so much disrespect heaped upon a president than has been thrown at Obama. From the “birther” crowd (a pack of idiot assholes) to the Tea Party gang (neo-Nazis disguised as suburbanites) to Governor Jan Brewer sticking her finger in Obama’s face as soon as he got off the plane (I wanted to break than thing off and stuff it down her throat, but that would have ended her sex life). I thought Bill Clinton suffered plenty of disrespect from his Republican counterparts, especially with the self-righteous impeachment. But, that’s nothing compared to the crap Obama has endured.
The Republicans keep blaming Obama for the still-stagnant economy. Never mind that the GOP helped create the worst financial crisis in nearly eight decades with the help of the lame-brained George W. Bush. Their intense deregulation led to the housing and banking calamities. This was actually worst than the 1990’s-era savings and loan mess, which – in case anyone forgot – was brought on by the 1982 Banking Deregulation Act; a brain child of that other Republican moron, Ronald Reagan. Republicans keep thinking if you just let businesses do whatever they want, the economy will function perfectly. They haven’t figured out yet that’s never worked. It’d be easy to call them idiots, but I think they’re just greedy bastards. Perhaps they know deregulation doesn’t work so well, but don’t care because the hogs at the helm of the big corporations will get richer regardless of what happens. They just hope average people stay stupid enough not to be able to recognize it.
Moreover, the Republicans exacerbated the economic mess with two unfunded wars. Here’s where they get the ignorant masses riled up; the people who keep putting them into office. The GOP stalwarts wrap themselves in the American flag and cry freedom. Anyone with half a brain, however, realizes that the Iraq War was based on lies; lies perpetuated by a pack of scoundrels who weren’t so eager to answer their own country’s call to arms in their youth. I watched Condoleezza Rice’s speech at the Republican National Convention; a moving and emotional sermon where she talked of growing up a colored girl in the Deep South. And, I realized she was one of the architects of the Iraq War; one of the scumbags who hoodwinked both the country and the United Nations into believing that Iraq had yellow-cake uranium, or some other such dastardly concoction, and plans to destroy life as we know it. She, like Ann Romney, stood up there at the podium in her designer dress and extolled the virtues of being an American. And, I thought of the nephew of a friend of mine who served in the Marines in both Iraq and Afghanistan and is now back home, living with his single mother and going to school on the GI Bill. He told me at a Christmas party his mother held in 2010 – just months after he left the Marines – that he’d lost some friends in both wars. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so I didn’t press him on the details. But, I could tell it hurt him. I thanked him profusely for his service and gave him a good old fashioned bear hug. He deserved that much. He and other military veterans deserve a lot more.
All of us hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens deserve a lot more from our elected officials than the perpetual sludge fest known as the 2012 presidential race. So, what is Obama to do in the face of this morass? I suppose he could get meaner. But then, he’d be viewed as an uppity Negro by the Republican leadership. Yes, I feel race still plays a part in this discussion because if Obama was a full-blooded White man, he probably wouldn’t be subjected to this level of hate. He could still try to compromise. But then, he’d be seen as a weakling not worthy of the office of the president. Again, he can’t win – not in this political climate.
Americans keep talking about changing the way Washington works. Obviously, it’s not working now! But, it’s not Washington itself; it’s the people, or rather our elected officials. They just won’t work together anymore. Everyone complains about that great partisan divide, but who’s going to do something about it? Somebody needs to take the politics out of Washington and put back in public service. We all deserve that much from the people who represent us.
Chief Writing Wolf 
Silver Spoons and Golden Butt Plugs
While George W. Bush may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth – to paraphrase the late great Ann Richards – Mitt Romney was born with a golden plug up his ass. In case you just woke up from a coma or have been spending too much time watching the Kardashian clowns, you know that Romney has been busted disrespecting nearly half the American population. During a private fund raiser at the home of a wealthy Florida benefactor this past May, Romney said, “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.”
Someone in the crowd surreptitiously videotaped Romney’s speech, but only now has it come to light. Gosh, if a rich White guy isn’t safe saying whatever he wants in the home of an affluent supporter, where can he be safe? I mean, what a cruel world!
In one respect, Romney is correct: some people will vote for Obama no matter what. And, some people will vote for Romney regardless of what he says or does. In either case, they have that right. That’s the beauty of a truly democratic society; people can vote for whichever politician they choose and not feel compelled to explain it to anyone.
But, once again, Romney proves just how far removed he is from American reality. While he and his family lounge on their luxury yacht that flies the Grand Cayman flag, the average U.S. citizen – that loathsome “47 percent” – continues to struggle with joblessness, low wages and / or high medical costs. He seems to have the same understanding of what us lowly common folk experience every day as – well – as the Kardashians. I guess when you live in an ivory tower, everything on the outside looks like a garbage landfill.
That “47 percent” comprises not just nearly half the American population, they include many folks who vote Republican. They’re retirees who paid plenty of taxes during their working lives and military veterans whose pay is tax exempt. Since Mitt Romney – like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney – dodged the draft during the Vietnam War and Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life, neither can relate to many souls in that “47 percent.”
But, that “47 percent” includes people like me who have struggled to find work in a fragile economy brought on by conservative Republican financial incompetence and my parents who – between them – have put in a century’s worth of work and rely upon Social Security and Medicare just to stay alive. None of us has a million dollar trust fund. We didn’t get a $77,000 tax credit like Ann Romney’s dressage horse. But, we don’t ask for that either. We don’t need millions of dollars to be happy. No one really does. Anyone who feels they need a million dollar salary just to get by is an idiot.
But, since my parents and I, along with millions of other Americans, have worked hard all our lives and done what was expected of decent, law-abiding citizens, we deserve more respect than Romney seems able – or willing – to dish out. That he made those comments during a meeting staged by a wealthy donor and where attendees paid $50,000 just to be able to walk in the front door shows where his interests lie. Of course, big political contests require big monetary donations – both Republican and Democrat.
In 1992, then Governor Bill Clinton appeared at a “town hall” type forum where a woman asked him if he knew the cost of certain basic essentials like a loaf of bread and a gallon of gas. Clinton answered accurately and without hesitation. It was clear he could relate to the average American. But, his prime opponent, President George H.W. Bush, couldn’t. That seems to be an attribute of most politicians and – from my independent perspective – an affliction of the vast majority of Republican politicians.
So, here’s a piece of uninvited advice to Mitt Romney from a middle class voter and tax-paying citizen: pull that golden plug out of your ass and stick it in your mouth. Have your wife and her horse help you if it’s wedged in there too tight. All that shit in unpaid taxes has backed up into your brain and obviously has no place to go. Now, happy campaigning!
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