“Anyone in support of the unpopular war in Iraq cannot win.”
Wrong. I’ll wager that come Oct. 2008 this war will be rounding out the bottom-end of the top ten most important issues the typical undecided voter is concerned with. The Republican’s have a whole year to spin this back to a “favorable” position… which is exactly eleven and a half months more than Carl Rove would actually need.
“America is so fed up with Bush and he is so unpopular that anyone even associated with a Republican can’t win.”
Wrong. The people who say this are partisans. They define themselves as belonging to one party or the other. The majority of voters in this country identify themselves as “independent”. I put quotes around that because what they mean is that they will vote for either party’s candidate… not that they vote for independent candidates. They don’t know the difference between those two things.
We are sick of being deceived and lied to and told that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11 or the war on terror(ism).
Wrong. Most people actually believe the lies. I don’t have the time right now to reference the polls, but they are out there for the industrious reader.
We’re ready for a female or black leader (read Clinton or Obama).
There it is. You can forget all the other reasons above because none of them matter. The real reason the Democrats can’t win is because they will almost certainly choose to nominate one of two candidates:
- A black man whose middle name is Hussein and whose last name rhymes with Osama.
- A woman that most women hate and don’t respect.
“Oh but Scott, I think the American people are smart enough to see past that obvious B.S. There are enough enlightened, non-racist and non-gender discriminating Americans to overcome that kind of obstacle.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. You’re wrong. You’re wrong. You’re wrong. So very very wrong.
Last week I was listening to a radio show… my favorite non-political talk radio show (The Mischke Broadcast) and I heard a black female caller say something I will never, ever forget. I’ll do my best to quote this:
Caller: “I would never vote for that black man. Obama. Ya know why? Ya know what his middle name is? It’s Osama! That’s right. That’s why black people don’t like him.”
Host: “Is it, is that his middle name? Let’s find that out. (to assistant) Find out what Barak Obama’s middle name is for me.”
Caller: “That’s what I heard.”
Host: “And that’s why you wouldn’t vote for him? I mean my father’s middle name was Hitler and I think he was a pretty upstanding citizen.”
Caller: “I’m not voting for nobody named Osama”
Host: “It’s Hussein. Barack Obama’s middle name isn’t Osama. It’s Hussein.”
Caller: “Well whatever. Same thing.”
Host: *chuckles*
Think that one through. Not only does this woman not know anything about the candidate, but she is making snap racial decisions (a black woman mind you). She can’t distinguish the difference between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden and Barack Obama. Just like the polls indicate most Americans think Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. Listen, the number of Florida voters who voted for Bush in 2000 who thought he was his father was five times higher than the margin of his victory. They didn’t even know who the hell the guy was. But they recognized the name: “Yeah, OK, I know that guy. Let me just punch this hanging chad out like Mike Tyson punching a hole through the innocent face of democracy itself.”
I challenge you to randomly ask women you may consider your typical, average undecided voter (find someone who calls themselves a small “i” independent) what they think about Hillary Clinton. I have done this. The answers range from: “She’s a bitch.” to “I couldn’t vote for someone who let their husband cheat on them.” to “I just don’t like her (see the previous two responses)”. Women don’t respect her. And I’ll let you in on a little secret… most American men don’t feel comfortable voting for a woman because, frankly, they have such a low opinion of their own wives.
There are enough redneck, backward, uneducated, racist, sexist, ignorant morons in this country to fill a… well to fill a country--a country somewhat smaller than Canada and slightly to the South. I hope I am wrong. Really I do. Because there is a part of me, albeit buried deep deep beneath a crusty exterior of pragmatic cynicism that really wants to be wrong about this. Kind of like the feeling I get every time get pulled over for speeding: “I bet this cop will cut me break because I wasn’t really going that fast or endangering anyone and he can see that I don’t have a very nice car and probably can’t afford an expensive ticket.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong…
5 comments:
Allow me to not disagree with you. Not that I think Democrats can't win; I just think it's really a toss up and I would be truly surprised if they did.
But here's the weird thing. When I hear Republicans talk, and I mean Republicans who are more up on the actual poll numbers state by state, who are both jaded and informed (a trustworthy combination), I hear a shocking thing.
They all talk as if the election is over and Hillary Clinton is already the president. They're actually preparing NOW for what a Democratic administration will mean for corporate regulation, carbon taxes, you name it.
The real air of inevitability about Hillary being the nominee and the next president is coming not from liberals, but from insider conservatives.
And I don't believe it for a second. Not because I think it's part of some larger conspiracy... because Republicans are licking their chops to run against Hillary (they're not).
I just can't envision a Democrat winning the White House any more than I can imagine Notre Dame winning a football game.
It's hard to imagine, I know, but nothing was ever accomplished that wasn't imagined first.
If George W. could somehow run again, we'd probably see another four years. But that might not happen. So you have to ask yourself, who will the republicans run? McCain? Guiliani? Neither is a super strong candidate.
I personally love Barack Obama, and I don't believe for a second that he's stockpiling WMDs or that he had anything whatsoever to do with 9/11. He's just black, that's all.
Hillary scares the ever-lovin' crap out of me, the way any powerful woman will scare the crap out of virtually any man. But if she gets the nod, just go to the polls pretending that you're voting for Bill. It'll be alright.
One final thing. I wouldn't count... uh... you know... what's-his-name... EDWARDS! Yeah. It's Edwards. I wouldn't count Edwards out of the game just yet. See what happens at the Iowa caucus. He seems about a foot taller than he was four years ago, he's white, and he's a man. Now that's a winning combination. Edwards said something on Bill Maher's show the other night, "If we're going to solve these problems we're going to have to be willing to make sacrifices. That means being patriotic about something other than war." I don't know what "problems" he was talking about, but it sounded pretty good.
I lost all faith in the United States general population after the last two elections. Perhaps its because I surround myself with educated, well-informed, fairly liberal (or at least open-minded) people. I began to trick myself into thinking that the general population had become more educated, more informed, and open-minded. HA! Boy was I proved wrong.
So as far as the current presidential election is concerned, I'm not expecting or hoping for anything.
On a related note, I used to work with someone in Hennepin County who actually began the process to defect to Canada after the last election. She, and her family, received their Canadian citizenship this past summer. I have frequently joked about moving to Canada, but now I actually know someone who did it.
Marc, I love your pessimism. Keep it up. It's inspiring. But really, I don't think Republicans are that worried... or at least they shouldn't be. Unlike you, I DO think it is a conspiracy. I really think they want Hillary to win the nomination. They want images of blue dresses and cigars floating around the Internet detracting from the substantive issues because they are upside-down on those issues.
Kuni, Edwards has a chance if the Democratic hive mind wakes up from its euphoric, semi-vegetative state and in one voice says: "Wait a minute! She's a woman... and he's black. Whoa. Um... who else we got?" Then again, if he wins I owe you $10. I suspect it's the easiest money I'll ever make. But hey, it's early yet.
Patina, as a converted Libertarian I have no particular love for the Democrats (maybe even less for Republicans) but try to have a more positive outlook here. ANYTHING is better than this guy we have right now.
I remember debating a Republican friend of mine who said angrily that he was sick of Democrats saying things like "Anyone but Bush". He meant that these people should bring forward their own ideas that people can vote for rather than just complain about one guy that people can vote against. I explained to him that, although this is generally true there are circumstances when quite literally anything (not necessarily anyone) else is preferable. I mean anything. A table lamp would be an improvement.
I Love Lamp!
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