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yesthattomThe difference between politics and governing is that politics is how you get elected, governing is what you do after you get elected.
Clinton was excellent at governing. He tuned the tax situation to boost the economy in ways that made the poor richer and the rich richer. He saw FEMA was a disaster and reorganized it and made it the shining star of the federal government. He saw the rise of terror (caused by Reagan and Bush, Sr. “giving in” to terrorists, which gave them encouragement to do more) and reshaped how we address terrorism so that we could fight it better and respond better. (Read Richard Clark’s book for more info about that).
But the Republicans know how to get elected (even when they have to steal the election, or disenfranchise black voters). They just don’t know what the fuck to do once they are in power.
You know, it’s hard to imagine anything worse than coming back to your home in New Orleans and finding it completely destroyed. But, tonight, as you’re about to hear, there is something worse, much worse. Dozens of families have returned to what is left of their homes and found, lying amidst the mold and the wreckage, a body, forgotten, abandoned. Maybe it’s their mother or their grandmother, sometimes even their missing child.
51.6% of America... you voted for this.
Clinton was excellent at governing. He tuned the tax situation to boost the economy in ways that made the poor richer and the rich richer. He saw FEMA was a disaster and reorganized it and made it the shining star of the federal government. He saw the rise of terror (caused by Reagan and Bush, Sr. “giving in” to terrorists, which gave them encouragement to do more) and reshaped how we address terrorism so that we could fight it better and respond better. (Read Richard Clark’s book for more info about that).
But the Republicans know how to get elected (even when they have to steal the election, or disenfranchise black voters). They just don’t know what the fuck to do once they are in power.
You know, it’s hard to imagine anything worse than coming back to your home in New Orleans and finding it completely destroyed. But, tonight, as you’re about to hear, there is something worse, much worse. Dozens of families have returned to what is left of their homes and found, lying amidst the mold and the wreckage, a body, forgotten, abandoned. Maybe it’s their mother or their grandmother, sometimes even their missing child.
The state called off searching house to house in New Orleans well over a month ago. They said they completed the job.
51.6% of America... you voted for this.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-18 12:56 pm (UTC)Is this why you like spreading the interest of "falsifying statistics"? Under 61% of eligible voters actually cast any vote. Under 32% of America voted for this. Our real enemy is voter participation, and only secondarily the election scams of the Republicans.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-18 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-18 01:57 pm (UTC)I teach college freshman. Last Wednesday, I asked how many of them had voted in the previous day's elections. In a class of 26, 3 of them raised their hands. I asked those who didn't vote how many of them made that choice because they felt that their vote wasn't really important, didn't really count. About 10 of them raised their hands. I said, "The fastest way to be SURE your vote won't count is to not cast it in the first place." I then went on to explain to them that they would be alive FAR long to feel the effects of decisions made now than would the high turnout generation of their grandparents. I'm hoping our little talk will encourage at least a few of them to vote next time.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-18 02:01 pm (UTC)