Slightly less than a year ago, I wrote the following post.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Now, Let's Just Take a Few Steps Back
An guest editorial in the Denver Post the day after the election provided the essential advice that I know I've been seeking; some definitive, rock-hard, common sense conclusions that will, undoubtedly steer me in the right direction . I didn't save the hardcopy and I can't seem to locate the piece on the Post's website but, what the young lady -- I believe her name was Linda Chavez -- advised, in essence, was for all of us pointy-headed liberals to get our heads out of the Sunday New York Times review of Books and into the Bible which, incidentally, is located within a church everywhere in America on Sunday morning where, some of us, might prefer to -- or, indeed, ought to -- spend some quality time rather than with the Sunday New York Times.Anti-intellectualism, fear and religious fundamentalism -- now that I think about it; now that I've taken a few steps back -- are the stuff of Dubya's real and acknowledged victory on November 2nd. And, I have no problem in observing that Dubya's victory was real, was genuine, was conclusive.But, to concede that it was the religious right who handed this victory to Dubya is a little misleading; a little too comfortable for my taste.
Take, for example, Colorado. While Colorado remained in the Red column for Dubya, Colorado elected a Hispanic Democrat, Ken Salazar, over a beer mogul, right-wing Republican Dubya clone, Pete Coors, to represent Colorado in the United States Senate. And, AND, Democrats captured both the Colorado State Senate and the Colorado State House of Representatives IN SPITE of Dubya's victory in the national race.In Denver -- I kid you not -- Kerry/Edwards led Bush/Cheney by 69.51% to 29.41%; and the U.S. Senate race between Ken Salazar, the Democrat, and Pete Coors, the Republican, ended up as 72.50% for the Democrat and 25.91% for the Republican.
My prior post was about "spontaneous fictions." We all know the definitions of "spontaneous" and "fiction."What is significant to me is that I would classify issues such as Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq as sublime "spontaneous fictions," as well as all the other bullshit Dubya utilized to justify the invasion of Iraq. I would classify as "spontaneous fictions" the fear -- Oh, the enormous Fear -- that "gay marriage" will destroy the institution of marriage in America -- as if marriage in America has not already been sorely compromised by a fifty-percent divorce rate amongst heterosexuals.
Yes, I'm taking a few steps back and looking closely at November 2nd.It's interesting to note that our Governor, Bill Owens -- sweetheart of the Bush administration -- suffered significant defeats in Colorado on November 2nd: His candidate, Pete Coors, was soundly defeated by Ken Salazar for the United States Senate; In the 3rd congressional District in Colorado, Owens' support of Greg Walcher for the US House of Representatives fell flat; Owens' opposition to what is called "FasTracks" -- a significant expansion of our light-rail system throughout the Front Range -- was passed overwhelming by the electorate; and, Owens' support of a significant change to the civil service system in Colorado was defeated, also significantly.
So, I'm taking a few steps back and really looking at what occurred on November 2nd. And, I'm happy to say, I am heartened; I am energized; I am optimistic.And, with that conclusion, let me repeat part of an earlier post that included a bit of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's,
I am waiting.......
and I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder
and I am waiting for someone to really discover America
for the discovery of a new symbolic western frontier
and I am waiting for the American Eagle to really spread its wings
and strainghten up and fly right...
No, I reject Garrison Kiellor's suggestion that we -- in reflecting on Dubya's victory -- simply enjoy our morning coffee and the feel of the dog next to our legs and the ten mile hike to relieve the angst of another four years of Bush.We can do better than that. And, we must start now. We must push, and push and push and never relent in pushing for what we believe in; for what we believe is America's promise.
Dubya is, today--August 18, 2005--running about a 44% approval rating with the American people. That's the lowest approval rating of any president during this time in a second term since, I believe, Harry Truman. So, goodness--in spite of Rush Limbaugh's belief that the fledgling anti-war movement is peopled with "maggot-filled" something or others--do you suppose that Dubya and Rove, Condi, Donny and Dickie might be getting just a wee bit nervous about the 2006 elections?
Looking over what I wrote almost a year ago, it is interesting that the more things change the more they stay the same, except, of course, for a good portion of that 51% who, apparently, today are beginning to understand what a whole lot of us understood way back in '03 and '04: Dubya is a lier and a cheat, as are his inner circle of sycophants.
And, by the way, why have gasoline prices gone up almost 19% over the past month?
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