I’ll Core Your Cuss in a Minute
Morning.
I’ve been spending the last month, on and off, trying to figure out how the fuck the American political system works.
I think I’m finally starting to get it.
Well, I’m starting to understand the systems by which the Presidential candidates are chosen, which I imagine is the the tip of the iceberg, but a big enough problem for me. (Seriously…none of this stuff makes any sense, and I come from a country that has no formally written constitution…possibly).
Anyway, this is what I’ve established so far.
The Republican’s are in a heated race to find the most reprehensible man on the planet, or at least the person I’m least likely to vote for. Personally, I think this is a little lacking in political savvy, due to the fact that I can’t vote and I have less influence on the American public than….well….than anything else in the world (either that or logical well reasoned thought process, which may have less influence than me…just so that I can make my first clearly bigoted lie of the new year) .
This really isn’t making sense.
Let’s put it this way.
I really understood the GOP side of things when I was pointed in the direction of an article explaining the similarities between Buffy villains and the candidates. (Props to the Oyster for that one).
The interesting thing for me, is the fact that my ‘favourite’ villain, and also the most reprehensible and monstrous, came top in the Iowa Caucus. Telling. (I also wonder whether there’s an argument for calling Dubya the first evil, and trying to claim that the season finale of season seven is a call to arms to the American people. Seriously…if you all became slayers, and then rose up to defeat the evil that is trying to take over the world…then….well….something big is going to blow up……this may not be the most positive pop culture prophecy I’ve ever attempted to conjure).
Where was I?
Oh yeah, the Democrats.
Now, in principle, this is my side of the argument, but mostly just because there’s only two sides to choose from (what’s with that? That is fucked up.)
Now, funnily enough, the prime arguments for what democrats will vote for, seem to consist of not ‘what Democrats want’, but ‘what will the Republican voters let us get away with.’
The words ‘rush to the centre’ have never depressed me more often.
Actually, that’s a lie…..that’s the entire reason I hate fucking politics.
Anyway, Justin, privately, lent his support to Edwards, and I bow down to his understanding of politics, if only because he has a better trimmed beard from me, and is easily corrupted by my wiles.
Erm. I’m not sure if that’s logical. But he did convince me that he was the one talking the most sense, but only by summarizing each of the front runners beliefs into simple one liners.
But seriously, I have no fucking idea what the hell is going on on the Democrat side of the race. Mostly because, from what I understand, everyone is campaigning in entirely different directions, and all of them are slagging off the others.
It’s like….I can’t vote for all of them, so what’s the point. (In fact, I can’t vote for anyone, but that’s hardly my fault.)
But turn out was good, with lots of young first time ‘caucusers’ showing up to vote for Obama.
If he can actually inspire lots of people to take part in the political process, then I like him. Though there’s a niggling doubt about populism in there.
And here lies my problem.
I want people to win elections, who are going to make the right decisions that are likely to be unpopular with selfish voters.
I want someone who will raise my taxes and make my public services better. By hurling money at them and not just setting targets.
I’m willing to pay for slow, and steady, change for the better.
But that’s not a campaign promise that anyone with any sense (or with any hope of winning) will ever make in any election, either here or in the US.
So yeah.
I have no fucking idea how all of this works. But I know it’s incredibly important.
Anyone care to help?
Addendum:
I like this article, but the point about the overriding misogyny of the American political sphere terrifies me. But yeah, I’m English, so I want Thatcher destroyed by any means necessary. This appeals to me. If this was Obama’s campaign manifesto, to remove all trace of Thatcher from the world. He’d get the vote of every right thinking person in the UK. Which remains utterly useless to him.
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Now playing: Tori Amos – [Scarlet's Walk #08] Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas [foobar2000 v0.9.4.3]
via FoxyTunes
My mum felt that the use of the word caucus as a verb was the funniest thing she’d heard all week.
Oh, and Edwards is my first choice, but I’d settle for Obama.
And an interesting thought about misogyny: in order to have a hope of winning the leadership of a hyper-masculine Anglo-Saxon political establishment, be that the UK or the US, female candidates seem to have had to outman the men in order to avoid appearing weak. But because they’re not men, they can’t quite do it. This invariably makes them (and by them, I mean Thatcher and Hilary) a hollow shell of gender-neutral evil. Compare this to Angela Merkel and the Finnish president who looks faintly Celtic.
And you’re reading OurKingdom! *does a little dance*
But, at the end of the day, I think that this is less about gender or race, and more about age. This might be a bit heavy of generational theory & corporate workplace ethics, but I think there’s more than a glimmer of truth in there.
Justin
4 January 2008
If you ever figure out how the American political system works, please let me know. I’ve lived here all my life and it still confounds me (especially when it turns out that our votes don’t count because the Shrub of Evil can go running to the Supreme Court to intervene).
I’ve long thought the two-party system stinks, mostly because there seems to be little difference between the two parties these days. I’ll vote for a democrat because I feel the Republican party is part of the axis of evil, but it’s usually a matter of voting for the lesser of the two evils, not a matter of voting for someone I believe in. It’s been a long time since I voted for someone because I liked their views and stance on things.
Throughout the Shrub’s reign the Democrats have shown themselves to be wusses. And when it comes to women’s issues, they’re even bigger wusses, asking that the feminists put aside their agenda “for the greater good.” The greater good for white males, I suppose, because it’s not for the greater good of women.
Ah well, I’d better stop now or I’ll be on my soapbox all day. Good luck figuring it all out. :)
Robin
4 January 2008
Justin,
You make an interesting point about the misogyny and the hypermasculinity, and it definitely applies to Clinton and Thatcher.
And yes, I am reading Our Kingdom, and yes, it is your fault. Continue dancing you fool. Frank Zappa, I assure you, wrote a song about you (though most pop historians concede that it was probably actually written to honour me…but I’ll share the kudos if you like).
Robin,
Stay on that soap box, you’re saying exactly what I’m trying to say. And making me think of Battlestar Galactica (choices between feminist agenda and ‘the greater good’, but I can’t go deeper without spoilers, and wild tangents).
This is the problem with the greater good. It is always the greater good of the hegenomy, not necessarily society as a whole. This is because it can only be a ‘greater good’ if it is deemed more good for more people. And the people measuring it are always the ones with the most to lose, who want to maintain it. So they see good as being on their side.
This applies to almost all politics. Which is kinda what we need to change maybe, probably. Definitely.
But not all that needs changing. There’s plenty o’ that lying around.
Alabaster Crippens
5 January 2008