After 8 summers writing about politics on these here blogs (websites), my fans are encountering my least productive season. Some of them have reached out to me for the reasons why, and I have facilitated with genuine answers: a combination of dealing with quite a few adverse personal issues; plus the fact that politics has started to become boring to me: after a lifetime of community involvement, political activism and academic pursuit in this area (mainly but not entirely).
Back in the summer of 2008, the prolific writings of both myself and Howard Gatemouth -appearing here on Room Eight New York Politics (www.r8ny.com); plus also on other local blog sites- led to our joint-selection by the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC), to cover the convention as credentialed bloggers. We were given full access to delegates, elected officials, other mediums and the like; plus every morning we had to pick up our press-passes like every other media person so credentialed. It is where I ran into Rachael Maddow everyday: and yes she chatted with me every single time: totally oblivious to her fame and stature; holding no airs or pretensions beyond being a “regular” human being. Is it any wonder why I am a big fan of hers; especially given the fact that she has the most informative political show on US television?
This Room Eight selection in itself was historic on many levels. It also moved the blogosphere up another notch. It’s great to see that Gatemouth has persevered, and continues to edify us near every day – as to the inner and outer workings of New York’s politics. He -along with the other regular writers on Room Eight- should be given awards for their tenacity. As for me, I keep dreaming of the day when most US citizens get serious about understanding the true requirements of individuals within an unfinished democracy. That will be the day when they see the need to do things like these: continuous political analysis, honest and genuine truth-seeking, creative participation, critical thinking, absorbing and studying political history, plus accepting individual civic-responsibility and community-involvement as virtues; amongst many other things of course.
I keep praying for the night or day when citizens are intellectually developed -to such a sophisticated level- wherein their propensity for accepting bullshit excuses, lies, ineptitude, schemes and perpetual corruption (from egotistic elected officials, greedy businesspeople and fourth-estate types), hits zero on the tolerance-meter.
I also long for the day when twelve-year term limits on all elected officials, will become universal across the land; and when voting is treated as a sacred trust and not some optional stroll in the park.
Anyway, this column is being written to disprove the rumors that I am no longer politically-virile (eight years later). Politics has become a bit boring but I still wake up with a political erection every morning; so yes, I am still a media-junkie once time permits.
Let me give you the joke of the year: here goes:
QUESTION: What did Maury Povich say to Mitt Romney, after Romney reluctantly appeared on Maury’s show recently?
MAURY’S ANSWER: “Relative to ‘Obamacare’; Mitt Romney, you are the father”.
And that joke sums up Mitt Romney’s chances (and political problems) in 2012.
After “Obamacare” (Mitt’s words) was passed by both congressional legislative bodies in 2009, Romney’s chances of becoming the US president were real slim. Then I decided to talk to Slim. And in typical New York brogue, he told me: “forgetaboutit”.
So there you have it.
Look; when a presidential candidate becomes the butt of jokes -inside and outside mainstream media- then you can stick a fork in said candidacy. It’s done. Over. Finished.
As a presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been “dead man walking” slowly, since he started running. In time, lamestream media will get around to that reality. They are often light years behind the blogosphere anyway. They are often playing catch-up with my analysis anyway. They are inferior ketchup to Heinz. And Heinz is real slow.
What is painful about watching this paint dry on the wall is the fact that the country needs a vigorous debate on the many salient contemporary political issues facing us here; especially one on future economic development/planning (including the merits of capitalistic and socialistic approaches to economic-problem-solving).
But it’s not going to happen.
Don’t even think about getting a true debate on political and electoral-reform ideas being this time around; that’s dead on arrival.
This campaign is going to be a perpetual mud-bath. The republican primary was an epic of things to come campaign wise. Mitt Romney did it to them (his opponents) and now it is his turn to die (politically speaking of course). Barack Obama is a deadly and skilful political thinker. He is also a hell of a campaigner. Ask Billary Clinton about him. His tactics are often inscrutable.
Barack Obama’s campaign is going to savage Romney before he even gets to the convention. It’s déjà-vu of Cassius Clay v. Sonny Liston 2. Romney’s people won’t even see the phantom punch that takes them out of this race. (BTW: it has already landed).
I have written many times before: Mitt Romney is a horrible candidate on many many levels. Go to my archives and dig up my column predicting the outcome of November’s race. It is entitled: “It Wouldn’t Even Be Close”. It was written months ago.
Barack Hussein Obama will be handily re-elected. You can make book on this. The sharp-boys in London already put his odds at four to seven. By the end of summer it will be one to five; or they may close the book down and pay out early. Watch.
Over a year ago I told you all that Mitt Romney will be the worst candidate for the Republicans to nominate; but then they were hell-bent on self-immolation anyway: check the party’s devolution since Bush 1.
This present Republican Party is one that makes very little sense. Their main players contradict with impunity. They also lie and distort with unlimited license. They offer no new ideas for policy applications/prescriptions. They appeal to emotionalism rather than to common sense. They are now a sad apology for a political party; at a historical juncture when this country needs a vibrant and engaging opposition. At a time when near half the people in this country are struggling to remain healthy, try to cope, remain optimistic about the future, shelter themselves, find work “to eat a food”, develop resources enough to take care of their kids without food stamps, and just simply survive from day to day, without being a crime victim and/or statistic (especially in communities of color).
The intellectual gymnastics of republicans trying to explain away their contradictions and flip-flops, have now earned them the name: “The Pretzel Party”. What else can you say to politicians who routinely change hard held positions, when Barack Obama decides to adopt said positions and attempts to turn them into public policy? What else can you call a party wherein leaders flip over core positions -long held and established- in hopes of making the president look bad to a long-suffering public? What else can you call a party where leaders prefer to make ordinary Americans suffer unnecessary hardships, rather than pass a jobs-bill to deal with our crumbling infrastructure and perennial unemployment crisis? It’s both mind-boggling and tragic at the same time. I am tempted to quote the elected who told Senator McCarthy: “My God sir; have you no decency?”
This is all so sad that it is becoming boring. Elected republicans have now been resorting to chicanery in order to get a leg up on the competition all over the country. From gerrymandering to voter- suppression; from obscene and mysterious campaign contributions, to media-saturation with lies, half-truths and outlandish distortions; from a rigid ideology to a united front; from union bashing to union busting ; republicans are up to no good as they usually are in general. But it won’t work. Despite all the “Citizen’s Union” money at their general disposal, Mitt Romney will be a drag on the national ticket. On election night do place your television-dial precisely on Fox News Network. That should be fun. And bring some mops to wipe up their tears from your floor.
For all you political junkies out there: let me tell you now (four years early), that the 2016 primaries (both Republican and Democrat) will be the most exciting in presidential history.
Stay tuned-in folks.