I came to a sad realization this morning in the car. I no longer trust my government. At all.
NPR this morning ran a story regarding the propaganda machine of the various Iraqi insurgent groups. It was an interesting story, and the point was that the insurgents are much more savvy from a multimedia and public image standpoint than most people would expect. But I had a very different reaction to the story.
The press releases put out by these insurgent groups deny much of the information being put out by the US. The US has said that there is infighting among the various insurgent groups; the press releases say this is not true, that the insurgents are more united than ever. The US says that some of those insurgent groups are negotiating compromises with the US; the press releases say this is a lie. And I realized, with a shock, that I am naturally inclined to believe the Iraqi insurgents over my own government.
This may seem obvious, considering that I’m a latte-drinking Northeastern liberal who dislikes Bush with a passion approaching hatred. (I don’t actually drink lattes.) But it came as a shock to me. Despite my ideological differences with the Republicans in the past, I’ve always at least had an inherent trust in the system, a subconscious belief that we’re still somehow more honorable than them.
But I suppose that things like Valerie Plame, NSA wiretaps, and “Mission Accomplished” have finally pushed me over the edge to where I’m more likely to believe the propaganda of Iraqi insurgent groups than the propaganda of my own government. And I feel really bad about that.
I want to believe in my government. I want to believe that we’re doing the right thing. I want to believe that I can trust the people in power, regardless of whether I agree with their politics. And I don’t.
I had a conversation
I had a conversation with Sam about this yesterday.
Let me state that I DID vote for Bush and Dick “Take Cover!” Cheney, not for ideological reasons, but because I work in the defense industry. That vote was a slam dunk for food on the table for 4 more years. But also, my vote was for the lesser of two evils, not the best men for the job.
I’d guesstimate that 80-90% of the country is moderate, but the two parties have migrated to that outside 10%, the liberals and conservatives. It seems like no one in the current system thinks it’s possible someone can think abortion is murder but think gays have every right as straight people to get hitched. Huh? That’s don’t make no sense to me.
And the more I hear from Bush’s government, the more I feel like he and Cheney are operating from a perspective of, “We’re right, we know we’re right, and we have the power, so f*** off if you don’t agree with us, you commie pinko bastards”. They can’t be voted out, they have the congress, so we’re going to push our conservative agenda and you can stick it up your pie-hole if you don’t like it.
Now that being said, I don’t think we need to swing the other way and have a liberal in the office as well. I think McCain or a similar moderate would be wonderful.
How about McCain and Powell in 2008? All it would take is some financial backers who would be willing to buy a third party into the system or force the two parties to come back towards the middle a little.
Same thing in Maryland, but in reverse. The Dems in Maryland have recently passed legislation about voting procedures that would all but invite fraud, and thet have all but admitted it’s to make sure Ehrlich is out during the next election.
Politics is not about running the country anymore. It’s about staying in power and feeding off of us. Iraq doesn’t need a new government. We do.
My $.02 Weed
Agree
I agree that we don’t need liberals to take over in ’08. Bush has polarized this nation to such an extent that we need a moderate who knows how to compromise. I think that the worst possible thing that could happen would be if Hillary Clinton got the Democratic nomination in ’08. (Although sources tell me she has no intention of running.)
That said, I don’t feel comfortable with McCain. He goes back and forth between opposing the administration, and kissing their asses when it benefits him (like appearing as a Bush talking head during the ’04 election). I’m not violently opposed to him – I just don’t really trust him.
I’m putting my support behind Mark Warner, the former Democratic governor of Virginia. He was a very successful governor of a red state (he left office with approval ratings in the 80s), he’s a moderate in the Clintonian model (socially liberal, economically conservative), and he’s an attractive, charismatic Southerner (lest we forget how many people in this country vote for the guy they’d rather have a beer with). Check out the website.
— Ben
10 and 2
Right now the Dems have 10 party members lined up for a Presidential run, including Hillary Clinton as well as former losers Kerry, Edwards and Clark.
The GOP is getting ready to stump with just 2: Frist and Brownback (sp?) from KS.
don’t forget…
Mitt Romney believes he can be taken seriously. He is wrong. John McCain will also run and lose in the primary.
As strong as the Republican party is right now I just don’t think a viable presidential candidate will emerge.
GOP nominee
I still have hope about ’08 though, because I just don’t see a GOP golden boy who can keep the party together. If they run a Senator like Frist, they’ll run into the same issues that Kerry had in ’04 – a very long and very public voting record. Plus, Frist has some serious ethical violations counting against him.
The popular Republicans like McCain, Giuliani, and Schwarzenegger (yes, I know he can’t run) won’t get the party support because they’re too moderate.
So the GOP candidate is likely to be an unknown (unless it’s Jeb Bush *shudder*), so we may still have a chance.
Check out Warner, seriously.
— Ben
Third Party
There needs to be a third party, darnit!!!
My $.02 Weed
I didn’t forget
The above two are who the GOP party leadership believes are the likely stumpees for the ’08 run-up, with the latter running on a strong social platform of marriage and babies (no gays and no abortions).
I would like McCain to run. Even though he would lose in the GOP primary, McCain would likely win an outright popular vote in a general election. The Dems should convince him to run VP on their ticket!