A Life, Lived: An Election Rant of Sorts . . .

So my US friends have an election coming up.

How the hell could you miss it?

My twitter feed, facebook, and news has been inundated with commentary, cartoons, and pictures about the upcoming election.

It's is interesting to follow from the outside as our elections are so different here in Canada. Election spending is tightly regulated. We don't have Super PACs and special interest groups with their misleading campaigns outside of the real campaign. Leaders tend to talk about their accomplishments (or attack the government for the lack of said accomplishments). Even when they attack one another it isn't the same vitriolic acid that we have seen down south.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, politically I tend to flit on the left side of the spectrum. Recognize that here in Canada the policies of the current Democrats would be on the centre right of our political spectrum and those of the Republicans would likely exist in some fringe party that everyone would right off as whack jobs.

So, having said that, here is my question . . . how the hell can anyone even consider voting Republican?

I truly understand that political parties sometimes run in families but your grandparents' Republicans are more like today's Democrats (just look at the policies of Eisenhower and compare them to those of the current Democrats). People should look at the platform rather than the historic political affiliations.

The Republicans are running Romney, a man who will say anything in order to get elected it seems. I don't get how anyone can vote for him. Here in Canada if a politician says one thing on camera one week and then says the exact opposite the other week (i.e. 'the government has no role to play in disaster relief' followed by 'the government can play an important role to play in disaster relief') they would trend downwards in the polls very quickly.

This is a man who once strapped the family dog in a carrier on top of the car while the family drove from MA to the gated community of Beach O'Pines here in Ontario. Again, here in Canada this would be enough to get him discounted. Oddly, in the US he is neck and neck with the President.

Don't get me started on a candidate who is on record (privately) as saying that 47 % of the population doesn't even matter. Hello folks, people say their most honest statements when they think it is safe. Hello . . .

How about a candidate who made millions by closing US companies, stripping them of their assets, selling those assets to the highest bidder (foreign or not), and then shipping those jobs overseas. This candidate is now vowing the build the economy, the same economy that he was a real part of destroying!

Hello people . . ? Is anyone listening?

Another thing that I do not understand is this notion that government and taxes are bad. I love this image:

and to the lady sitting in the chair - you look as if you might be of an age to collect social security - who the hell do you think pays for that?

Taxes are NOT the enemy. The problem I see the US as having is that they have reduced taxation to an unsustainable level so that they are no longer able to pay for the things they value i.e. schools, first responders, hospitals, and roads. The Republicans have moved the debate so far to the extreme on this issue that they are destroying the economy. The US doesn't have a spending problem nearly as much as they have an income problem.

Here in Canada we have heard that old chestnut 'tax cuts will build the economy' and we have seen that they do not. Those who get the cuts are the richest and they place the money in offshore bank accounts (not unlike Mitt Romney). The rest of us struggle to make ends meet since we suddenly paying for things that the government can no longer pay for. Our experience clearly showed that tax cuts increased the deficit - if you look at the number sin the US you'll see that they have there as well.

When the fabulously wealthy in the US are starting to say 'we should be paying more taxes' you know the system is a mess!

Related to this hatred of taxation is this foolish notion that 'I can make it on my own without government. I get that this is a part of the US psyche and has been since the 13 colonies turned their back on the King. The problem is that our world has gotten so damn complex since then - you can NOT make it on you own even as you might have even 30 years ago.

We've also had experience where government services are turned over to smaller governments and private companies. The result was deregulation of said services and an unfortunate patchwork of support across the land. People fall through the cracks - often those who most need help. it becomes a race to the bottom with saving money or making money becoming the prime goal and not service to people. In one extreme case here in Ontario hundreds of people got sick from tainted water and scores died.

Government is not the enemy. In fact, thinking that government is the enemy might in fact be the enemy.

If it weren't for government so many of the things that we cherish - roads, power, safety, public education, hospitals etc wouldn't exists. Sure, in the past local citizens could informally band together and provide some semblance of service. . . those days are gone folks and they are not coming back.

Let's move on to the media shall we? Fox news anyone . . .?

OMG

How can anyone watch that crap and not see it for what it is? A bunch of ill-informed idiots spewing hatred and misinformation the likes of which the world hasn't seen since the second world. I can't watch that propaganda machine for more than 5 minutes without my blood pressure going through the roof. I miss the days where intelligent commentators could actually see both sides of an issue and presented the news without an inherent bias.

Another thing about the election that is bugging the hell out of me are the efforts to suppress the vote of certain groups. Over the past two years, more than 30 states have introduced legislation or enacted laws that would curb voter’s access to voting. Some states, such as the battleground states of Florida and Ohio have dramatically shortened early voting opportunities, including the weekend before Election Day when many minority voters choose to vote. Florida and Texas both passed legislation to make it harder for volunteer organizations like the League of Women Voters to register voters. It's not an accident that these policies are spearheaded by the Republicans and they tend to target traditional Democrat supporters.

Funny how Americans can make so many comments about elections around the world yet don't hold themselves up to that same mirror.

Since we have sort of segued into the 'buying elections' realm let's talk about those Koch brothers. Charles Koch, a billionaire industrialist whose network is spending $ 400 million (yes, those zeroes are correct) in this election and who has used his influence to weaken environmental regulations, Social Security, and voting rights. How is this allowed? I understand the 2010 Supreme Court ruling but this is buying elections. People don't do this because they feel warm and fuzzy about the U S of A - they do it because they are looking for personal gain. Guess what, billionaires don't care a fig for the rest of us.

Of course, if you bring it up the right bleats on about the leftist unions spending millions doing the same. If you look at the numbers you'd see that spending by unions is a drop in the bucket compared to what the Koch's and their cronies spend.

How about numbers? Why do people continue to ignore the simple facts? Here are some independent numbers for my American friends . . .

The federal government has gotten smaller, not bigger, under President Barack Obama. They now have fewer federal employees than they did in 2009.
Government spending under President Obama has been smaller than under the previous nine presidents (yes, that is even with so-called Obamacare).
Obama has actually put in place fewer regulations on businesses than George Bush did in his first term.
The deficit was grown more slowly under Obama than it did under Bush.

This is getting out of hand an I haven't even got started on social issues. ARGH

That could be a long rant. Suffice to say this election is important. It's important for Americans but it is of critical importance for the rest of the world since what happens in the US impacts all of us. I do hope that they get it right.

A final message to those who say 'I don't like to be political' or 'I'm too busy'. It is too important NOT to vote. By staying away from the polls you allow elections to be manipulated, bought, and rights to be trounced upon.

Comments

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Jerry, this is outstandingly excellent. I wish that some of our mutual friends would read it.
Loved this comment as I have so often had that thought.
"Funny how Americans can make so many comments about elections around the world yet don't hold themselves up to that same mirror."

Posted by: Jane | November 05, 2012 at 05:23 PM