Our friend, JC, from Chicago, has agreed to contribute this piece for us. JC worked with Obama for America in Arizona in 2008.
I feel it important that I introduce myself by scolding America. No offense meant, but I think we're past time for it.
Politics in America has dissolved into a spectacle of posturing and theater that would make Vince McMahon say "Guys, tone it down a little, okay?" even as his own wife seeks a Senate seat in Connecticut.
Our two-party system in America is ailing. These days, the parties are loud, obnoxious, and often deteriorate into pointless name-calling. I've seen 5 year-olds at Chuck E. Cheese with more decorum than our elected officials.
Not that their constituents are much better. Get this: to some, Democrats and Republicans are apparently not uncivilized enough for their taste, so they've splintered off to create their own sub-parties, apparently by introducing some (legal) stimulants.
It started with the Tea Party: a group of disaffected conservatives that feel that they aren't being represented in Washington. Funny, but it seems like a lot of Republican politicians are pretty eager to call Democrats names like socialist, communist, or fascist. You would think you could just pass out some dictionaries and history books and let them sort it out for themselves, but it seems as if they're interested in stripping textbooks of all that pesky learning stuff, so I'm not that hopeful.
Now, we have the Coffee Party. This is, supposedly, a loose conglomeration of people that are tired of the level of discourse in politics. I think they missed out on a better name: the Irony Party. As it happens, the founder of the Coffeeistas is an archliberal (working for the New York Times, no less), and it appears that she created this organization to directly contradict the Tea Party message. I always get a chuckle over people who think that we can't just run a Google search and instantly have more information about them than their parents have. Organization? Perhaps. Grassroots? Not so much.
I'm all for the rise of grassroots organizations. But you're not grassroots if you have corporate sponsorship (It's the Tea Party, brought to you by Fox News!)
As a (sometimes) proud Democrat, you might say I'm a little biased. I am. I worked for the Obama campaign in 2007-08. I helped build an organization from the ground up in Arizona, a state our candidate had no real chance of winning. Why did I do it? Because I believed that we had better ideas. I believed that he was the best candidate in the field, and that he would make the best president. I still believe those things, as I believe that the Democratic Party is the better choice to govern at this moment in history.
That said, it doesn't mean that I'm blind. A ship of fools runs the Democratic caucus in Congress. Not to be outdone, the GOP leaders are just as arrogant and impotent. They're all ideologues. An ideologue can't hear an idea that contradicts their way of thinking. There is no negotiating with ideologues; they are unable and unwilling to compromise. This, my friends, is the very antithesis of what's needed to heal our nation's discontent.
That's why I strongly advocate the replacement of the leadership on both sides. Out with the bug-eyed Nancy Pelosi, Human Jack-o-Lantern John Boehner, Reid, McConnell, Cantor, Hoyer, et al. Good riddance. Somewhere in these two chambers, there must be some modern-day Henry Clays; men and women not afraid to find middle ground, more interested in governing than winning.
In the meantime, I think I'll start my own party: the Scotch Party. Why? Because this is all driving me to drink.
*The above piece reflects the opinions of the author alone and not necessarily those of TDH.
Ya' know.... Scotch IS whisky but not all whiskey is Scotch.
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How about the "Whiskey Party". Scotch, Kentucky bourbon, Irish, Canadian, Tennessee Sippin' Whisky....we'd have room for almost EVERYBODY.
I think that's "douchebagian" behavior. I am a kinda of an amateur linguistician.
Boy, you have hit the nail right on the....uhh.....uhh..... side opposite the pointy end.
Ever since TV, we've been going downhill. If you are an IDIOT, then it's news. NOW, it's news in a "millisecond" either on CNN or MSNBC or Faux News, the internet, or some assholes blog.
And many people (maybe even MOST) have a mentality to assigns validity to anything that is on TV. "It's right there on TV". Gotta be truue. Gotta be right or it wouldn't BE on TV.
And, I must borrow from Scott's article last week and my post about "HONOR". It's ALMOST dead and buried. And if we don't give it CPR pretty damn soon, we're doomed like the Aztecs. Nothing will be left of US but some damn calendar hangin' in Jesse James' motorcycle shop with Pamela Anderson in thong bikini. And when the aliens come her from Alpha Centauri......I just hope they don't get a hold of an old Jerry Springer show on videotape.
First, thanks for defining "idealogue". I never knew what that meant.
As I see it, the problem is EVERYBODY has an opinion, but VERY FEW people have an INFORMED OPINION. Add to that what you said..
"An ideologue can't hear an idea that contradicts their way of thinking. There is no negotiating with ideologues; they are unable and unwilling to compromise."
Now you've got "The Perfect Storm". To spice up the gumbo, throw in "bought and paid for" legislators and stupid people who got elected simply because they are good looking.
I have solution. It's rather drastic. But, I'm gonna run it up the flagpole anyway.
Divide the country up into East America and West America. Smaller countries, smaller problems. Smaller governments and more responsive representatives. We have TOO MANY different peoples, cultures, socio-political ideologies and this "time zone" thing is just making it worse.
"Sixty minutes will be seen following the conclusion of the game 'in it's entirety' except on the west coast."
You don't think that isn't messing up EVERYBODY'S brain?????
the geek that yelled "you lie!" at Obama raised 1.5 MILLION dollars for his campaign the very next week, and is now a popular guest at republican events....Naugahydeburger(or however the smeep you spell that name) followed his apology up with an ad on his website promising(with all due dramatic effect....seriously, all that was missing was a choir in the background singing "Havin' my Baby") to "never stop speakin' out fer them unborns" Anyone care to guess if he's gonna get donations or not?
In other words, this extreme douchebagic behaviour is being REWARDED....and thus will continue. Given the competitive nature of humanity, it's going to get a LOT worse. I have a feeling that our houses of congress are going to come to resemble a cage full of turd-flinging howlers monkeys at the zoo.(and if you think I'm wrong, remember that Jerry Springer made MILLIONS for well over a decade, and the people who watched that show are all voting americans)