Sorry for the lateness of my blog, but my job has been keeping me busy and since I lack a laptop at the moment, this blog will continue to be infrequent during the holidays as personal package volume increases.
A year ago, we elected a president, and we all know who won, but why? Last year, I didn't see Obama vs Romney, I saw 2004 election of Bush vs Kerry all over again. For the most part, Obama has been a continue of the Bush policies even more with more illegal immigrants sent home, and a increase of the war on terror, and a increase of surveillance via the NSA. And just like before, the opposition was very angry to the point of craziness. So when I saw Romney walk around and campaign, I couldn't help being reminded that guy was so much like John Kerry. Like before, (2004), a rich white guy came out on the platform of "anything but" the current guy in office. Like before, he try to sound like he was one of the small guys, that he was a patriot and was a better choice. But in the end, these people were chosen by the crazy fringe. The only difference in the election is that we didn't have to wait all night long for winner to be announced.
Remember those Swiftboat veterans against Kerry, well this time they had laid off workers against Romney. Kerry's problem was talking trash about the USA during war time. You can be against a unpopular war, but you better not trash talk your country at the same time. People remember that trash talking and remembered the trouble of the Vietnam veterans had coming home after that war because of that trash talking. Thus his fellow servicemen came out to campaign against such a loser. The same can be said about Romney's company laying off hard American workers and sending those jobs overseas. When Romney campaigned on creating jobs, the lot of all those who lost there jobs came out of the blue and told everyone how they lost their job because Bain Capital. The point here is that if your running for the highest elected office of the land, you better not have a history of performing non-patriotic acts.
When you have lots of money, you don't have stories of catching the biggest fish or struggling to pay the bills. And when your born into it, you don't have stories of growing up starving, or your father coming home tired and laid off. Well Kerry married a rich woman, an heir to the Heinz ketchup, so he had no problem with money. To prove he was the little guy, he said he had Blue Cross and Blue Shield when everyone knows that Congressman and Senators have free healthcare. Right before the election, he stopped in a Diner and looked so out of place that I could help but notice how much of an embarrassed fool he appeared to be. Fast forward to 2012, Romney claiming how he was one of the small guys, (rolls eyes) but this time he didn't hide his wealth because he didn't know how. He told stories only a rich kid could about when his father was Governor of Michigan and how he was embarrassed about the band behind him playing Wisconsin fight song in a parade, How he asked one of his rich relative to start a company that send jobs overseas, and how he went to play missionary in France during the unpopular Vietnam war. I could go on and on, but you get the point. Instead of a awkward moment in a bad diner, Romney choose to go shopping at a grocery store except what he purchased didn't look like what you and I buy for a BBQ. And what everyone saw wasn't him shopping, although I bet there's videos out there, what we saw was of him loading up his car with what looked like not bags of grocery, but cases of food you see on a pallet.
Now during the entire campaign and leading up to it, there was a saying "Anything But Bush" and in 2012, "Anything But Obama." The only difference between then and now was the comedy show that lead to the winner of all those primaries. I don't recall such a showing of debate after debate like in 2004, but it was there among the crazy democrats as it was thrown out in 2011 and early 2012 among the crazy republicans. Both incumbents had thing unpopular, but none the less a policy that was working in Americas favor. The Iraq war was the height of getting back at those damn muslims who attacked us on 9/11 and Affordable Care Act was the combination of years of healthcare becoming unaffordable for most Americans. Regardless on where you stood, these where the main reasons during both 2004 and 2012 elections. But as in 2004, you don't win on a platform of Anything but unless your running for mayor of Niagra Falls, NY. In the end, instead of running on actual solutions to the problems of the day, the opposition ran against the figure for good or bad. This left a hole on policy for the actual candidate that eventually won didn't win with solutions in hand for solving Iraq, or an alternative to ACA. They ran on the platform of "Anything But." It didn't matter that their guy wasn't the best choice for the job. He was simply better because he wasn't Obama or Bush. Kerry, a Vietnam vet himself running on how Iraq was a repeat of Vietnam and Romney running against his own ideal that he passed while governor of Massassuttes. In the end, it wasn't the rational people running the party but the fringe craziest picking the stupidest person out there running against a president that is for the most part popular among the people. "Anything But" the guy you hate feels great, but that just doesn't win elections.
In another two years, we'll see a similar comedy show leading up to 2016 all over again, only this time, the crazier candidate will have all the money while the rational person will be left in the dust because his/her views will not match up to the guy with all the money. Like Bush, Obama will be leaving office on the success of his major policy. Regardless of what you might think of Iraq, it lead to a favorable government to the USA in a region which has the vital resource of running our planet. Regardless of what you might think of ACA, more popular known as Obamacare, it will eventually lead to a healthier nation. I already know who's going to win the next presidential election. Like in 2008, the guy who won was the guy who was going to end the war in Iraq. The guy who going to win in 2016 is the guy who is going to improve ACA. If the Republicans want to see their candidate win 2016 for president, you better remove all those fools trying to repeal Obamacare for the 50th or 60th time and run on a platform of making healthcare more accessible for all. If the Democrats want their guy to win, you better promised to improve it instead of saying how fine it is. I'm not counting on a Third Party candidate actually winning alot of votes until after 2020. We'll continue to see the failed policy on the war on drugs drag out, we'll continue to see gun violence with assault weapons and the wars against terrorism will only be continued or increased until one of our hellfire missile hit a Chinese diplomat. I'm not betting on the highway funding being diverted to alternatives options such as transit, passenger rail and bicycles, I'm not seeing much of a change in our energy policy at all in this decade away from fossil fuels, but the change is already taking place. If your hoping for change in any of these policies, elect guy on the local and state level asking for this change, and little by little, things will change in these areas. Our national government is going to be too corrupt for any meaningful change for the rest of the decade if not more. The changes that need to be taking place are happening on local and state levels already. Gay marriage is now the law in 16 states, smoking marijuana is becoming legal and normal in many other states already. If we are going to see changes, its at the local level that well see these changes. So if your part of any group wanting these changes, focus on the local and state level for that is were we are going to see these changes take place for now.
