newprotest.org: A SWING TO THE LEFT

A SWING TO THE LEFT

November 08, 2006
by: jovial_cynic
My left-leaning friends are all cheering the win of the House and Senate by the Democrats, and the expected change that is supposed to wash over the United States, as though a new empire has been established.

Me? Yeah... maybe not.

Don't get me wrong -- I think that some things will change. I'm aware that the politicians voted into office have every intention of tipping the balance towards Democratic-party ideals. I'm just not convinced that it makes things any better.

As stated in comment for a previous post, I don't think down party lines, so if I did vote (which I don't), I certainly wouldn't vote down party lines. That said, why would I vote for somebody who is, by definition, a representative of the party, regardless of the political aisle they choose? In the House and Congress, the game is to create a majority vote among the representatives, such that the officials aren't really representating the people, but rather the party. It's all about agenda.

... and it makes me sick. The whole electoral process makes me sick. People vote, and they feel smarmy and great about themselves as though they've made a difference... and in my mind, it's a bit like Christians who pay their tithes to church and act like they've fulfilled their requirement to take care of the poor and the hungry, when in fact, all they've really done is passed off the responsibility of doing something to a representative organization. Let the church make the change. Let the politician make the change.

Disgusting.

I'd rather get my hands dirty and make a real difference. This whole representative democracy nonsense is worthless.

I, for one, welcome our new Democrat overlords.

np category: politics
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COMMENTS for A SWING TO THE LEFT


Luke said:
I think the only thing that has been won is a stalemate. Bush will all the sudden pull out his veto pen (he's used all of one time so far) and crush Democraps policies. And the Dems will quash anything Bush tries to get done. So we'll be in the midst of nothing but a glorified version of...um...crap I lost it. It's 2am and I'm tired as aych eee double hockey sticks.

In any event I will have to say that I think Republicans lost it on their own. Dems didn't really run on anything but anti-war. They were fairly quiet on most issues (for good reason). Republicans shot themselves in the foot by scandals and whatnot.

Oh well, nothing matters anymore. We're all going to die...maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. I'm sure that heaven awaits me so let the politicians scramble for the little power they hold now, they'll be in for a big surprise come judgement day.

November 09, 2006


jovial_cynic said:
Cynicism loves company, apparently.

Sure - the Democrats ran an "anti-war" campaign, and during the last presidential election, the Republicans ran a "morality" campaign. There's always a theme, and whoever has the pulse of America wins. It's the same crap every election.

November 09, 2006


Kristen said:
You sound a lot like my husband (but he votes). What do you say to people who say "if you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain"?
November 09, 2006


jovial_cynic said:
Yeah - I don't understand those people. That's really a hyper-partisan worldview.

I can vote for a candidate, have that candidate win, and then have that candidate do something that goes completely against my values... in which case, I can complain, but I got the vote I wanted. So the complaint is meaningless, based on the "don't vote - don't complaint" paradigm.

Political complaints should really be about an issue, and not about a person. Unless you're voting for yourself, the person for whom you are voting is never going to align perfectly with your values. So... I think people are free to complain about the decisions politicians make whether or not they vote.

November 09, 2006


Sandra said:
This post conveys exactly what I was thinking about the whole mess. Politicians are politicians for a reason. They want to get somewhere in their career. If they were about helping the people they would be serving at a soup kitchen not running for office.
November 09, 2006


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