March 9, 2004 6:56 AM

The "United" States of America? I wonder sometimes....

There are times when I fear for the future of this country, especially when I consider that we are going to spend the next 7+ months trying to decide on a President. This during a period in our history when Americans are more polarized than ever. It may not be Good vs. Evil, but you can bet that it will be portrayed as the political equivalent thereof.

When George W. Bush was Governor of the Great State of Texas, he was most definitely a Republican. He was also a deft politician, one who could play the game but also find a way to make his adversaries feel as if they weren't on the outside looking in. Bush most certainly was not the intolerant, exclusionary demagogue that he has turn into during his term in Washington.

If you listen to Bush's campaign speeches (or worse, his commercials), what you get are numerous vague generalities, a collection of unfocused attacks on John Kerry, and a generalized appeal to our collective post-9.11 fear: "Who would you rather have fighting the terrorists?" Buttressing Bush are Right-Wing trolls such as Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Ann Coulter, who seem to think that ridicule and personal insults pass for meaningful political discourse. THIS is how we conduct political discourse in this day and age? This would seem to be the case if you're a Republican.

Of course, I'm not saying that Liberal Democrats are immune to these tactics, but Republicans have two things that Democrats tend to lack: money and access. Largely because of that, they also have a slavish and unquestioning audience of middle-class Americans willing to swallow whatever bile their pundits-for-hire disgorge without so much as a second thought. "Rush is Right"?? Hardly. Rush Limbaugh is a bigot, a hypocrite, and a blowhard who couldn't have a reasoned, rational debate with a Democrat if his life depended on it.

This gets me back to the reason(s) I fear for the future of our union. No longer do I sense a mutual pulling for the common good, the knowledge that we are all in this together and that we need to find a way to pull in the same direction. Politics has become a zero-sum game, an I-win-you-lose proposition in which no one really emerges victorious. I've always believed in the Tip O'Neill's theory that politics is "the art of the possible". As time passes, though, I'm becoming progressively less confident that compromise is part of our political vocabulary.

Conservative Republicans seem quite willing to marginalize Liberal Democrats and toss us aside as if our opinions and sensibilities are invalidated by the "L" word. And how many times can we anticipate hearing the "L" word used as a pejorative during this campaign season?

Of course, much of the current situation exists because Liberals have allowed Conservatives to frame the debate in terms advantageous to their cause and to define Liberals as out-of-touch, clueless Big Spenders. Of course, if I were to describe Conservatives as mean-spirited, self-righteous bigots, I'd be pummelled. Never mind that it seems perfectly acceptable for Conservatives to turn the tables.

From where I sit, the only way this situation will change is if American will WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CAT LITTER!! You've got a President and his cabal who are more concerned about maintaining power than with addressing and resolving the issues currently facing our country. You also have a Conservative power structure with a vested philosophical and financial interest (Clear Channel Communications, anyone??) in maintaining the status quo. If Americans cannot find it within themselves to ask he tough questions and truly think about the past four years, then we deserve George W. Bush.

Of course, if I wanted to just sit back and enjoy the ride, the comic relief potential inherent in this Presidential campaign ought to be through the roof....

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on March 9, 2004 6:56 AM.

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