tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20944051.post5477658733684887355..comments2023-08-20T07:04:30.618-04:00Comments on Prose and Thorn: Shadowy Perspectives in the Time of PoliticsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20944051.post-88935650751229661932008-05-20T15:57:00.000-04:002008-05-20T15:57:00.000-04:00I remember those days well. My entire family were ...I remember those days well. My entire family were "yellow dog" Democrats. They regarded FDR as a savior for rescuing them from the Depression...and, of course, Eisenhower sending troops to Little Rock assured the Dixiecrats of supremacy in the South for a generation. Ike did the right thing despite the political costs because he was a good,decent man and in my humble opinion, his Presidency is generally underestimated in the annals of history. The documentary "Why We Fight" has helped alleviate that misperception by highlighting one my favorite quotes. In his farewell speech after his 2nd term he warned, "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Too bad the advise fell on deaf ears.<BR/><BR/>But back to the point...<BR/><BR/>Back when Ronald Reagan first ran for the Presidency, I had a cousin who'd defected to the Republicans and had become active in the Reagan campaign by putting up yard signs. One day my grandmother, who hardly ever mentioned politics, confronted him and wagged her crooked,bony finger in his face and declared angrily that "If you elect them Republicans, it's gonna be Hoover days again!" Turns out Granny Matt knew what she was talking about and it's come to fruition in the Bush administration...thus W has become what Herbert Hoover was to her generation.Painted Rock Pictureshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280520073194646822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20944051.post-35897297607407889622008-05-19T22:59:00.000-04:002008-05-19T22:59:00.000-04:00PRP, Really, that's a big issue for all of us here...PRP, <BR/>Really, that's a big issue for all of us here in Red State, Georgia. I mean, I don't know if you are old enough to remember, but there was a long time here, until at least 1971, that Dixiecrats turned Democrats ruled this redneck wasteland. Democrats won statewide and national elections because they were, with notable exceptions, states'-rights segregationists. <BR/><BR/>Now all those white guys have either turned Republican or consider themselves Reagan Republicans (but here that's a euphamism for Newt-ees). <BR/><BR/>I remember noting a C-Span broadcast during the 2006 midterms that featured a New Jersey (congressional?) debate. The Republican in that debate was like a Georgia Democrat in his embracing of populist and progressive social policies. I would consider him for dog catcher.<BR/><BR/>What I think is really interesting is that as the Democrats collect so called "moderates" in Mississippi and Louisiana (who might not get my dog catcher vote), the Republicans fret and the Democratic majority grows. <BR/><BR/>But as long as it's about having a majority that can sustain at least the idea of progressive values, I think I can put up with a stinker or two. God bless America!<BR/><BR/>-PBGPB Goodfriendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03161911448529402309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20944051.post-27963493522359808882008-05-19T15:56:00.000-04:002008-05-19T15:56:00.000-04:00If the election of 2000 taught us anything it is t...If the election of 2000 taught us anything it is that every single vote counts! The 2004 election is the one that really puzzles me. I firmly believe had the election been held a few months later, in January rather than November, the result would've been different. Almost immedietly after the election W's poll numbers began going south and haven't stopped plummeting. It's almost as if Americans woke up after the election with a hangover wondering what the hell they'd done the night before.<BR/><BR/>I remember an interview Jon Stewart did on "The Daily Show" with the journalist Sarah Vowel. She described how she watched W's second inauguration in tears thinking about dire consequences of a second term but in hindsight she said, "the failure of my pessimistic imagination at that moment boggles my mind."<BR/><BR/>By any rational measurement W's Presidency has been an abject failure. To me, and I'm sure millions of others, W is what Herbert Hoover was to a previous generation. After W I wouldn't vote for a Republican for dog catcher!Painted Rock Pictureshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280520073194646822noreply@blogger.com