My first thoughts on looking at the election results this morning:
Damn, Davis is still going to be Governor
it wasnt a bad dream
Im working on two post-election posts this morning, one an open letter to Davis on what he can do to salvage his reputation, and one a look at what this means for party politics.
Ill give you the lede for the party politics one:
There is only one political party today. It is the party of SkyBoxes, limos, and private planes.
I choose those as symbols
and they are both real manifestations of how the politically powerful live today as well as powerful symbols of what is wrong with the political system that empowers them. They manifest the continued isolation from anything resembling the real life lived by the rest of us.
Hillary Clintons limo can run toll booths and her entourage can bypass airport security, where they wait in VIP lounges. Bush Senior cant run a supermarket scanner, because he hasnt been to a grocery store in most of his adult life.
The issue isnt simply one of social class and stratification
it is one in which the political class in this country, which has often run against and been a check on the economic upper classes, has been bought by them, and has been a good investment because as has been true for much of American history, and as Prop 50 shows, the course of government action is often diverted to put our cash in someones pocket.
This is as true of the Democrats as it is of the Republicans.
And the answer isnt as simple as the class warriors would make it.
Hear, hear! Government is run by the rich and powerful, whether they sit in the seats, or behind them. It is occupied by and attracts the corrupt and the corruptable.
It is a necessary evil, and should be treated as such – distrusted and viewed with a watchful eye. (A duty largely abandoned by the media.)
Instead, steadfast defenders of the parties treat their candiates and representatives as though they can heal the sick, change water to wine, and walk on the wine.
Every OTHER Congresscritter is the embodyment of evil, but MINE is a saint.
I understand why the Founders made the system so cumbersome – to limit the damage our “leaders” could do, but after 225 years they’ve managed to circumvent most of the safeties.
Still, our form of government – a democratic republic, is better than almost any alternative.
And it really works, when citizens do their part of the job.
Is it any wonder why both major parties want voter apathy?
Now that the election is over, I don’t have to be quite so sycophantic. And yet…
Given everything that happened nationally, I’m very glad to be living in California with Democrats who like clean air and water, hate off-shore drilling, and respect privacy, among many other things I consider “good.”