Watching the game - both politics and sports = brutal competition
Well, now … looks like we’re gonna have ourselves a big ‘ol TEA PARTY in Washington come January.
Yeehaw. Serve ‘em up bartender, I think I’ll have a double. No, I haven’t been drinking. My eyes are just bleary from hitting my head against the wall.
What a night it was, huh?! WHOOOOSSSSSS !! You can almost feel the pendulum swinging past, can’t you?
Political hacks are calling it “a wave” and they expect more to come over these next several election terms. Better get your surfboard all waxed up and ready for a wild ride. This is going to be some decade! Ah, but today there will be joy in many corners of America. Some voters believe they’ve “taken back” something from someone else. They most likely have.
Many folks will be joyful because they believe this is the return of Populism in America; the will of the people and all that. Maybe it is, only time will tell.
For some voters, a yearning will be fulfilled, at least for one night. Hey, you starry-eyed Obama supporters know what I mean. Remember? For the victors … election eve is always like that first ___ (fill in the blank). Full of hope, and promise, and roses. Anything seems possible. It is the first day. I remember that feeling. I was junkie for that feeling long ago, but I’ve since been educated. The hard way. Believe me, this feeling won’t last for long.
I only wish it were true. I also yearn for the days when we the people mattered, or at least we had the perception that we did. I love the idea of common cause and the will of the people. I’ve always counted on our strong middle-class to provide balance between the extremes, but I fear the results of this election may have moved things even farther apart.
This outcome will add to the polarization (if that’s possible) because Republicants just moved further right and the Democraps suddenly got more left. Yep, the more moderate “blue dog” Democrats lost their seats leaving the most liberal Dems all by themselves. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans have their own problems as there’ll be some in-fighting between the entrenched country-club conservatives (like John Boehner R-OH) and the newly-elected tea party representatives who want to break up the business-as-usual club in Washington. This menagerie will be a very interesting lot to watch.
When the-man-with-the-tan, John Boehner, takes over he’ll likely do what every Speaker of the House has done – solidify his power base and ensure his hand-picked committee chairs are in place to do just that. This priority over the country’s business was one of many mistakes Nancy Pelosi made as Speaker, and why she failed so badly in a time where the country needed and demanded more. Although there’ll be all kinds of excitement about this election, especially from the tea partiers, I think we’ll find that this mid-term election was mainly power politics 101. Another product of the colossal power struggle between two political parties and the people and entities that rule them. The “power elite” wages war upon one another rather than to govern, and I’m concerned with what sociologists have been warning us about … that this is actually ground zero for class and social warfare, American-style. We’ll soon see.
Oh. Tea Party bartender … on second thought, you can forget that double. I think one is enough for me, thanks.
SHOUT OUTS
Congrats to Jerry Brown, the youngest-oldest Governor in the history of California. Geesshhhh, talk about living multiple lives … JB is experiencing multiple lives in real time. He beat the big money. The guy is tenacious.
I can’t go without a SHOUT OUT to my favorite over-achieving baseball team, The San Francisco Giants, who are now MLB WORLD CHAMPIONS! Way to go!! Man, they were fun to watch this year. My buddy’s ( Jimi D) cousin, Mike Fontenot , was picked up by the Giants from the Cubs in mid-August, played a little infield, and ended up with a World Series Championship ring. That’s one lucky guy!
A nod to my San Francisco pal, Patti Mangan, who has season tickets and takes me to the game when I’m in town. She took this picture (above) at the last game we watched together in July when the Giants were like 7 games back in their division. Patti is a great friend and I love her to death.
Patti and Noriko in Patti's beloved old Mercedes convertable
Prop 23 Goes Down! Thanks California, the planet owes you one!
Share on Facebook
