I’m sorry it’s been a while since I posted on my blogs. I’ve retreated inwards a bit. But then, watching the political news from our next door neighbours is enough to make anyone take a mental health break.
The Republican National Convention was a particularly horrifying experience, and like a bad auto accident it was strangely compelling. The audience was nearly entirely white and well… disturbing. They kept chanting their country’s name “USA! USA! USA!” in a way that made me fearful that they were going to come across the border and bash our brains in.
One such instance was when they said Obama’s trips around the globe caused him to pick up “European Values”. Boo … hiss. And then the nationalistic, jingoistic chants “USA!” (Gee, is there anyone voting in the US election who is not an American? Who are they chanting against?)
Then there was that wonderful trick, most awkwardly and blatantly performed by Mitt Romney of suggesting that by electing a Republican was the only way to get rid of the supposedly liberal government now in power. (He tried to work the word Liberal into every disjointed one-liner in his speech.) Ummmm…. if you really want to fight the power brokers that have wrecked a once-great nation, then my advice to the GOP is to stay home on election day. The president for the last eight years has been a Republican. John McCain is a Republican — on most issues, McCain has voted with Bush. McCain employs the same advisors who helped Bush into the White House (and smearing McCain along the way in 2000). With Romney’s speech and McCain’s new “original Mavericks” ad talking about how he fought Republicans, you’d think that McCain is the Democrat. Maybe that’s what they want people to think.
Palin’s speech was a biography short on issues. And since then, she has recycled her one big speech with the same factual errors time and again. There’s even a Sarah Palin action figure being produced. You know, the Republicans attacked Obama for being inexperienced. They attacked him for being a celebrity. I guess they decided the GOP ticket also needed an inexperienced celebrity. Mind you, not a very effective celebrity if she’s too scared to do interviews.
I don’t know how many Canadians have been watching what’s been happening in the US but it’s frightening. It’s a mockery of politics, journalism and the traditional American values that made that country an inspiration to so many others.
The campaign has been dirty and sleazy, like McCain misrepresenting Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” expression even though McCain had used the exact same expression when talking about Hillary Clinton’s health care plan. Or the sleazy, sleazy ad taking Obama’s backing a bill to teach kids what to do when confronted by a sexual predator and make it seem like he wanted to teach kindergarten students a grade-12-level sex education course.
And of course, there’s exploiting a national tragedy. Keith Olbermann said it best in another of his glorious special comments:
And for any American reading this, please look at what is going on. Stop the madness now — before it’s too late.
PuckRobin
A Hobgoblin's HoBohemia 