I’ve been asked what I thought about the recent Democratic “shellacking” known as the midterm elections.
Honestly, as a newly remarried man and dad and sales manager in an industry that is facing tough times, I gave it little thought.
Tuesday was an “Oops we overslept I got the kids you run to work see you for lunch hey I’ma be in late gotta do my civic responsibility in my old precinct (why lie? The election is over, and I’m updating my registration) see you love you ‘bye” kind of day.
Historically, mi- term elections do not favor the party in power.
Frankly, I am happy it is over. I was growing tired of hearing those on the left, especially Black folk, make it seem that Republican conservatives were going to make the nation’s first admittedly Black president serve them tea and say “Yassah” should the Dems not remain in control.
I was equally tired of right wing nutjobs screaming “I want my country back!” What country? The one we lived in for eight years prior to this administration, where we watched supposed fiscal conservatives magically turn a surplus into a deficit? The country where energy companies bled us dry as so many of us took pay cuts? Oh, the country where we lied our way into not one, but two wars?
You know, the Native Americans are the only ones who should be kvetching about “wanting our country back.” They are the racial personification of “No good deed goes unpunished.” I don’t care how many casinos you build.
I digress.
Every “x” number of years, Americans go to the polls to supposedly choose people of privilege to supposedly represent them. These people supposedly do honorable work for little pay, with no desire of power, access to women who like power, or that strange animal, the lobbyist, who makes all public servants’ hard work worthwhile.
These Americans get worked up over issues they have neither the education nor the sincere desire to fully understand. They jump on talking points and invest in personalities. Black people support Democrats, thinking this is their party, conveniently forgetting the GOP was the party of Lincoln (self hating racist that he was) and southern Democrats stood in the way of every piece of legislation that 400 years of oppression built. Black folks cry about people dying for their right to vote, which is overstating things a bit. Here in Chicago, Blacks long had the right to vote. The current Chicago Democratic machine finds its roots and initial strength in blocks of Blacks “persuaded” to switch party alliances in the 1920s. That machine has produced a president that looks like some Black folk, so we’ve come full circle. The irony is that Black people have yet to realize politicians and preachers aren’t “leaders”, and our deifying them as such is part of why they are so ineffective.”The Democrats are for working folk!” Really? Like the organized unions that still won’t let you in? You aren’t even the minority of choice anymore. You’ve been passed over for the Latins. Black people also aren’t honest enough to admit the Democratic Party has long used the Black community as some guy uses the unattractive yet needy girl in the neighborhood. No Vaseline, and no that baby ain’t mine.
The Republican Party is for semi literate white males what the Dems are for urban Blacks. These are people who fail to realize that Sean Hannity is an entertainer and not a journalist. There is a lot of quiet racism shrouded by “These policies… are just not American” logic, and that its head is a modern day caricature for StepinFetchit is a joke the higher ups in the party play on the masses that keep them in office. They are the equivalent of a group of third grade play grounders arguing whether Superman and Batman are really friends, and how could they make a movie about it if it wasn’t true? This block is quickly losing its power and will support any policy they think will keep those who are not white males down, even if said policy is detrimental to them. There is no way you can explain a group of working class white males from the Bible belt supporting the scion of one of America’s wealthiest, blue blood families as one of their own. Really? Because he wore cowboy boots? I thought Bush was a horrible president, not a bad man, who laughed through all eight years of his administration thinking, “Are these people for REAL? I couldn’t even run a baseball team! Did you see what I did to Texas? Oh wow. Condi, Baby, they never even figured out about US.” These are people who are hurting but willing to support policies that hurt them further just to make a certain man a one term president. Huh? You do realize only 44 people have ever held this job? If he’s only there 3 days, he will still be one of the most powerful men to have walked the earth. No, white males, and many other Caucasians failed to realize their party has, since the days of Nixon, done them the way Selena Cross. No Vaseline, Shut up Cousin, or next time I’ll go see Bessie the sheep.
Meanwhile, the real power structure in our country, the businessmen, could care less who is elected. To quote billionaire J.R. Simplot, “Republicans or Democrats? What does it matter? I gotta do business with whoever gets in.” These people realize elections are not about policies, but about money, and they could care two whits about half of the fodder on the table for public consumption. That is meant to keep the masses teething while agendas are rammed through that make the conglomerate corporations more and more powerful. Unemployment is high. Jobs are leaving. They are not coming back because it is simply not profitable to have them here. That has nothing to do with organized labor or the American can make more money paying little Asian kids a few cents to build my product and shipping it here than paying someone here even minimum wage. I’m interested in making more money, and as long as you dummies buy my products I don’t give a damn whether you have a job making them.
To sum it up, the midterm elections did not faze me. I participated, but realized, much like Simplot said, whatever happens, I have to deal with who is there. Frankly, the last decade has seen me switch industries, and I make way less at 38 than I did at 28, and that’s not something a bunch of speeches will solve. As a Chicagoan, I am too politically honest to believe those in office can push through policies that will benefit anyone other than the hand that feeds them. You play the cards you are dealt, I have learned, and remember that politics is a lot like a magic show: a lot of smoke and mirrors and little relation to reality at all.
Honestly, as a newly remarried man and dad and sales manager in an industry that is facing tough times, I gave it little thought.
Tuesday was an “Oops we overslept I got the kids you run to work see you for lunch hey I’ma be in late gotta do my civic responsibility in my old precinct (why lie? The election is over, and I’m updating my registration) see you love you ‘bye” kind of day.
Historically, mi- term elections do not favor the party in power.
Frankly, I am happy it is over. I was growing tired of hearing those on the left, especially Black folk, make it seem that Republican conservatives were going to make the nation’s first admittedly Black president serve them tea and say “Yassah” should the Dems not remain in control.
I was equally tired of right wing nutjobs screaming “I want my country back!” What country? The one we lived in for eight years prior to this administration, where we watched supposed fiscal conservatives magically turn a surplus into a deficit? The country where energy companies bled us dry as so many of us took pay cuts? Oh, the country where we lied our way into not one, but two wars?
You know, the Native Americans are the only ones who should be kvetching about “wanting our country back.” They are the racial personification of “No good deed goes unpunished.” I don’t care how many casinos you build.
I digress.
Every “x” number of years, Americans go to the polls to supposedly choose people of privilege to supposedly represent them. These people supposedly do honorable work for little pay, with no desire of power, access to women who like power, or that strange animal, the lobbyist, who makes all public servants’ hard work worthwhile.
These Americans get worked up over issues they have neither the education nor the sincere desire to fully understand. They jump on talking points and invest in personalities. Black people support Democrats, thinking this is their party, conveniently forgetting the GOP was the party of Lincoln (self hating racist that he was) and southern Democrats stood in the way of every piece of legislation that 400 years of oppression built. Black folks cry about people dying for their right to vote, which is overstating things a bit. Here in Chicago, Blacks long had the right to vote. The current Chicago Democratic machine finds its roots and initial strength in blocks of Blacks “persuaded” to switch party alliances in the 1920s. That machine has produced a president that looks like some Black folk, so we’ve come full circle. The irony is that Black people have yet to realize politicians and preachers aren’t “leaders”, and our deifying them as such is part of why they are so ineffective.”The Democrats are for working folk!” Really? Like the organized unions that still won’t let you in? You aren’t even the minority of choice anymore. You’ve been passed over for the Latins. Black people also aren’t honest enough to admit the Democratic Party has long used the Black community as some guy uses the unattractive yet needy girl in the neighborhood. No Vaseline, and no that baby ain’t mine.
The Republican Party is for semi literate white males what the Dems are for urban Blacks. These are people who fail to realize that Sean Hannity is an entertainer and not a journalist. There is a lot of quiet racism shrouded by “These policies… are just not American” logic, and that its head is a modern day caricature for StepinFetchit is a joke the higher ups in the party play on the masses that keep them in office. They are the equivalent of a group of third grade play grounders arguing whether Superman and Batman are really friends, and how could they make a movie about it if it wasn’t true? This block is quickly losing its power and will support any policy they think will keep those who are not white males down, even if said policy is detrimental to them. There is no way you can explain a group of working class white males from the Bible belt supporting the scion of one of America’s wealthiest, blue blood families as one of their own. Really? Because he wore cowboy boots? I thought Bush was a horrible president, not a bad man, who laughed through all eight years of his administration thinking, “Are these people for REAL? I couldn’t even run a baseball team! Did you see what I did to Texas? Oh wow. Condi, Baby, they never even figured out about US.” These are people who are hurting but willing to support policies that hurt them further just to make a certain man a one term president. Huh? You do realize only 44 people have ever held this job? If he’s only there 3 days, he will still be one of the most powerful men to have walked the earth. No, white males, and many other Caucasians failed to realize their party has, since the days of Nixon, done them the way Selena Cross. No Vaseline, Shut up Cousin, or next time I’ll go see Bessie the sheep.
Meanwhile, the real power structure in our country, the businessmen, could care less who is elected. To quote billionaire J.R. Simplot, “Republicans or Democrats? What does it matter? I gotta do business with whoever gets in.” These people realize elections are not about policies, but about money, and they could care two whits about half of the fodder on the table for public consumption. That is meant to keep the masses teething while agendas are rammed through that make the conglomerate corporations more and more powerful. Unemployment is high. Jobs are leaving. They are not coming back because it is simply not profitable to have them here. That has nothing to do with organized labor or the American can make more money paying little Asian kids a few cents to build my product and shipping it here than paying someone here even minimum wage. I’m interested in making more money, and as long as you dummies buy my products I don’t give a damn whether you have a job making them.
To sum it up, the midterm elections did not faze me. I participated, but realized, much like Simplot said, whatever happens, I have to deal with who is there. Frankly, the last decade has seen me switch industries, and I make way less at 38 than I did at 28, and that’s not something a bunch of speeches will solve. As a Chicagoan, I am too politically honest to believe those in office can push through policies that will benefit anyone other than the hand that feeds them. You play the cards you are dealt, I have learned, and remember that politics is a lot like a magic show: a lot of smoke and mirrors and little relation to reality at all.
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