Re: Trump (or sometimes people don’t realize things until you just tell them [and Bonus!]). As you may be able to guess from the title, I’d like to take this opportunity to clear up some possible misconceptions or ill-conceived conjectures that I have left open to misinterpretation. I like Donald Trump. For those of you not paying any attention to me, I’m a far-left liberal democrat, so a statement like that is quite out of the norm, similar to realizing Jesus had a thing for Mary Magdalene. (Similar only in the dichotomy.) If I had been born in a different circumstance and grew to believe almost the opposite of what I believe in my circumstance, I could have been Donald Trump, which I just an exact way of saying we have the same basic character trait: in a world full of people who say what they think you want to hear, we tell you what we think. He’d make a good president for the same reason I’d make a good president: we only care about results, don’t really give a damn if we hurt your feelings along the way and expect you to be mature enough to understand this. We’ve got a lot of work to do in this country and it would be nice to actually do some of it. Of course, in reality, Trump or I would be a disaster in corridors of power as they exist because we don’t really care about power (we care about results, remember?) and this charade of appearing to kiss someone’s ass while simultaneously trying to stab them in the back (or vice-versa) places the actual work of reality as second-tier to the theater of the absurd that is politics. We refuse to accept that there are people in this world who just live for that nonsense and assume, when confronted with reality, they will act rationally. Oddly, this is a trait Obama shares and it has largely shaped his interaction with Congress. You can see where that approach has gotten us… The fact that Trump dumped the GOP (and snubbed the Dems) tells me he’s at the same point in the curve that I’m at: total disgust with the process. Running a third party campaign that focused solely on reality would be his best use in this atmosphere and might push the other parties into actual engagement of the actual issues. While I think Obama’s the best person for the job, still, the country needs every person of good conscience to push Washington off saying no to everything and the pressure of Trump as a spoiler to the GOP might be the right thing for the most people: just telling the truth, and letting the chips fall where they may, will force politicians to focus on the results of their actions and not the personal expediency of their inaction. In other words, if you decide to run, Mr. Trump, run your campaign like a business. You still won’t win-but we might.
(Bonus!)
Iowa.
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel I should make my attitude clear at the onset: I don’t like Iowa and, while my better angels nag me that there are probably many good people living there, I hope to live long enough to meet them, i.e., a very long life. (It’s a win-win!)
While not as pornographically stupid as some other states (Yes, I was thinking of Kansas and Colorado-it’s like you’re reading my mind!) it is well along the downside of the slippery slope of the public scratching of private areas, which, I suppose, describes the caucus, both in intent and execution. When people ask me where I’m from, I don’t say the Midwest, I say Illinois-where politicians have to be corrupt because the people are savvy enough to catch them. In the rest of the Midwest states, the people are told, “That’s what you voted for, corruption!” and they believe them.
While we are all born with the God given ability, and the constitutional right, to say any idiotic thing that pops into our heads, the three times a decade we have to listen to Iowans shape the political discourse (particularly for the Republicans) reminds me of my relatives having to sit down to a holiday meal with me.
Well, it’s fun for me.
I relish being “Cousin Eddie” (FYI: National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation”) to my wound-up family and they should know it’s coming if they’ve been paying any attention at all. I know they have to invite me and listen to me because, well, I’m family and they’re stuck with me. That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the Iowa Caucuses and our Thanksgiving dinners: the rest of us spend the interim not paying any attention to Iowans, and the stupid things they believe, and sleep better as a result. My family should be so lucky.
I almost feel sorry for the candidates, as they do meet and greets with the square look in the eye and the heartfelt “ So, you’re a hypocritical, political neophyte-me, too!”(paraphrased) but, you know, like my relatives, they should know it’s coming if they’ve been paying any attention at all. And every four years, the candidates let it happen to them, again.
But I bet it’s fun for Iowa…
In a round-about way of saying, look out for Huntsman. He’s the only one not toting that baggage.
Despite what you may be thinking, I will actually admit going to Iowa, of my own volition, when I was 18 because the drinking age was lower than Illinois (at the time). The most distinct memory, of that trip to the Quad cities area, is sitting in a dive-bar, watching two homely prostitutes fight over the turf and having the only instance in my life where the catfight didn’t make the women more attractive. Maybe that has shaped my attitude.
And you can’t make something like that up…
(Bonus!)
Iowa.
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel I should make my attitude clear at the onset: I don’t like Iowa and, while my better angels nag me that there are probably many good people living there, I hope to live long enough to meet them, i.e., a very long life. (It’s a win-win!)
While not as pornographically stupid as some other states (Yes, I was thinking of Kansas and Colorado-it’s like you’re reading my mind!) it is well along the downside of the slippery slope of the public scratching of private areas, which, I suppose, describes the caucus, both in intent and execution. When people ask me where I’m from, I don’t say the Midwest, I say Illinois-where politicians have to be corrupt because the people are savvy enough to catch them. In the rest of the Midwest states, the people are told, “That’s what you voted for, corruption!” and they believe them.
While we are all born with the God given ability, and the constitutional right, to say any idiotic thing that pops into our heads, the three times a decade we have to listen to Iowans shape the political discourse (particularly for the Republicans) reminds me of my relatives having to sit down to a holiday meal with me.
Well, it’s fun for me.
I relish being “Cousin Eddie” (FYI: National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation”) to my wound-up family and they should know it’s coming if they’ve been paying any attention at all. I know they have to invite me and listen to me because, well, I’m family and they’re stuck with me. That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the Iowa Caucuses and our Thanksgiving dinners: the rest of us spend the interim not paying any attention to Iowans, and the stupid things they believe, and sleep better as a result. My family should be so lucky.
I almost feel sorry for the candidates, as they do meet and greets with the square look in the eye and the heartfelt “ So, you’re a hypocritical, political neophyte-me, too!”(paraphrased) but, you know, like my relatives, they should know it’s coming if they’ve been paying any attention at all. And every four years, the candidates let it happen to them, again.
But I bet it’s fun for Iowa…
In a round-about way of saying, look out for Huntsman. He’s the only one not toting that baggage.
Despite what you may be thinking, I will actually admit going to Iowa, of my own volition, when I was 18 because the drinking age was lower than Illinois (at the time). The most distinct memory, of that trip to the Quad cities area, is sitting in a dive-bar, watching two homely prostitutes fight over the turf and having the only instance in my life where the catfight didn’t make the women more attractive. Maybe that has shaped my attitude.
And you can’t make something like that up…
