Political Grumblings

It’s frustrating. It’s infuriatingly frustrating when one is trying to make a point, to shine a light on an issue, to be overwhelmed with grandstanding, slap-n-dash tactics and wildly false, inflammatory responses. It seems to be the way of the neocon – when confronted with a legitimate concern to bring out the artillery and fire relentlessly at the subject, not only drowning out any conversation in regards to a matter on the table but attempting to decimate the target as a bonus. I think of Richard Clark. This guy was a major player in several administrations, suffering from inexplicable exasperation by the way the bushies were dealing with terror concerns,so he went public. I remember one person, who shall remain nameless…because I can’t remember who it was……in a dark, menacing tone gravely revealing that Mr. Clark (they always say mister before they lob the grenade) was, well, a tad bit loopy. Crazy. Insane. Lo-co. That’s why, we had to let him go. Sad really. We pray for him.
And then there is Blanco (governor of Louisiana) and Nagin (Mayor of NO) who have been riddled with missile fire over the handling of the Katrina disaster. Although they managed to evacuate 92% of the residents, and they have submitted all documentation in regards to the mess (unlike the bush administration which refuses to), they have been attacked from all sides. Did bush think he did anything wrong? Take his response side by side to Katrina and Rita. See anything different? One would hope so, as he was taking photo-ops, eating cake, and strummin’ the gee-tar while people affected by Katrina tread water, but fully engaged during the days leading up to and following Rita. Will he admit that he did anything wrong? Like putting buddies with absolutely no experience in key governmental roles? No. It is still going on as I write. The big joke is how the wolf isn’t only guarding the hen house, he’s got an electronic key to the gate and a kitchen inside. Heads of pollution control are former huge polluters; directors of forest maintenance are leaders in the timber industry. If it weren’t doing so much damage, it could be comical.
To speak out takes an enormous sense of righteousness and very large, ironclad balls. And you better have an incredibly clean record, never have tried any sort of alcoholic beverage or toked on a doob at an Eagles concert because, by God, they will find out and that is what will matter. That is what will be shrieked repeatedly. That will be the focus. Because it works. Over and over again. Look at Joe Wilson. Does this guy love his wife and his country or what? Relentless. For almost two years he has fought to make the outing of his wife’s identity and the destruction of her career an issue. Purposeful and spiteful backlash smacking of Rove and Cheney. And finally, redemption – bursting through the dark clouds. I heard the collective sigh of relief upon the announcement, because no one expected anything to be pursued. No one expected anyone to get in trouble. It wasn’t what it should have been, but when you are starving for justice, a crust of bread will suffice in lieu of a feast.
It’s funny how often bush projects the way future generations will view this era, and how often I believe we will see the whistleblowers standing like the heroes of yesterday held up as the true patriots during this time. Not the leaders who destroyed the environment, paraded around cloaked in false piousness, Grand Canyon-ized the divide between rich and everyone else, sent thousands of kids off to war for no reason, lied endlessly about every available topic and brought down an empire in less than eight years. Future historians, scholars, and citizens will dialogue endlessly about this quandary, trying desperately to understand how an entire country could have been duped so monumentally by a few people. They will marvel at the clever spinning of intricate webs of deceit and distractions, and some might even try to emulate the antics of this administration, after all it has been incredibly lucrative and beneficial to a few people. But I shrink and shudder, thinking back to what I expected an informed, enlightened and clever society to be, and how it really is.