Joyce Arnold attempts to describe the choices we face in November:
This time around, the Right side of this process is dealing with a candidate who really doesn’t fit the preferences of some further to the Right. The Left side of the process is dealing with an incumbent who really doesn’t fit the preferences of some further to the Left. In both cases, attempts are being made to convince those further to the Right that Romney really is a good Republican and those further to the Left that Obama really is a good Democrat. For both Right and Left, the convincing process includes large doses of how terrible it will be if the other guy wins.
Can the U.S. Electorate Walk, Chew Gum, Hold Its Nose and Whistle Past the Graveyard at the Same Time?
The truth of that last sentence was the inspiration for the poster that leads this article. It's the standard mantra - Romney will be so much worse than Obama. I've covered that subject before, and while I'm sure that some things will be worse, it's almost certainly true that many of those things will get worse if Obama is President, too.
That's the problem - the next few years will suck anyway. No matter who wins, the economy will continue to suck. It may get worse, depending on events in Europe and China, but it will certainly be no better in four years time no matter whether it's the white corporate tool or the black corporate tool who is sitting in the White House. The real question is, what course can we steer to avoid complete disaster?
I’m having a similar conversation here at SnS. Is there a path that doesn’t first lead through complete disaster to a possibly better future? The answer I keep coming up with is that I don’t see it happening. Wish I did, but until enough progressives are at least willing to withhold their votes from Democratic candidates who haven’t earned them, nothing will change.
And right now, progressives are the only ones who have reasonable answers to the problems we face. We’ve been trying conservative economics for the past four decades, and they don’t work. We need world-wide cooperation on greenhouse gases and economic issues, something most conservatives have shown no interest in. We need respect for our Constitution and the Bill or Rights, and these days, I’m sorry to say, most conservatives don’t give a crap about those things, either. Until progressives demand that their politicians do this, though, they won’t, because until then the money and the conservatives who serve it will always talk louder than we do.
So, we’ll probably go through some crash of the system, or some chaotic period before something else happens. That something else may or may not be better than what we had before, but I don’t think it will happen before most of the current crop of progressive leaders (both politicians and issue-oriented leaders) are gone.
There's a whole lot of stupid to endure between now and then.
3 comments:
This is the bare assed truth of the matter Cujo.
A reason I have not been blogging so much. The reality and many times the message is negative and this guy is not going to make it seem something other. Get's real old after years of the same shit.
You're right - it ain't changing anytime soon.
Gotta agree with both of you. I truly believe that both parties are aimed in the same direction: down. The republicans are probably going to get us there faster then the democrats, but not a lot faster.
So given my age I should vote democratic since I might be lucky and die before it all goes to hell in an hand basket. On the other hand I probably won't be that lucky.
Sadly, One Fly, we're stuck with this for a while. What I find daunting is that it's not going to be the government or progressive institutions that make things change. It's going to take popular pressure from outside those places, and I don't see that idea being too popular right now.
It's a real Sophie's Choice, isn't it Lawguy? I figure I'm screwed either way, but somehow I don't feel like that makes the decision any easier.
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