Calhouns Can(n)ons

Bye-Bye Mittens



Watching Mitt Romney's fatuous "farewell speech" last night, I thought of that wonderful line -- something like, Nothing in this world became him so much as his leaving it. Romney, an empty suit stuffed with money and overweening ego, declared that he would have to save the republic by stepping aside, otherwise Hillary or Obama might win and there'd go America since Hillary and Obama are surrender monkeys who want the terrorists to win.



Gosh, I had no idea that the only thing standing between me and the complete destruction of the republic was this ninny.



Instead, we now will likely have a Republican candidate who hugged and stood smiling on a platform, arm around the guy who was responsible for sliming and trashing his wife and son. All grins and hail fellow well met. THAT's how much McCain lusts after the presidency. Sell his grandmother for a shot at it.



Meanwhile, Huckabee, who believes the world was created some 5,000 years ago, is still chugging along, scraping for the Christian Vote. Still echoing in the muddled silence is this: What the hell kind of platform can Republicans possibly present to the American people after George Bush has finished demonstrating exactly how the End Game of Reaganism actually works? Ideally, McCain should run on a platform of simply dismantling what's left of this crony-filled, corporate kleptrocratic mess and go out on the stump to tell Americans, "See? Reaganism is Great! The Economy is wonderful! The War in Iraq is surging along beautifully! Wall Street Rules, Privitization Works! We're cutting taxes even further on those earning over $750,000 a year, We'll slash Medicare to nothing! Get a constitutional ban against Gay Marriage. It's a free market so, Congratulations, you're on you own! Let's Bomb Iran!"



Of course, most of the polls show Americans are asking for help from, of all things, their Government. Apparently they found out that Reagan's comment that the most frightening thing in the world is someone who says, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you, is crap. When Katrina hit, people were actually waiting for the government to help them and, Surprise, Heck of a Job Brownie didn't bother to show up. Privitized Health Care System crumbling into an expensive mess, Surprise, even the AMA is taking out full page ads begging the voters to think about the upcoming elections to ensure that the government will step in to craft a national healthcare program to help stop the uninsured bleed-out of this cracking system. And so on.



So, this election year it's going to be really interesting. Have Americans finally seen what, in the real world, the End Game of Reaganonics really looks like, up close and personal? Are they ready for a change? Try something that works to bring back the Value of the Commons so they can be more fully engaged in and benefit from that Commons?



Barack Obama's line -- We are the change we've been waiting for -- is one of the most fascinating lines I've heard in any of the campaigns. Yes, indeed, America. WE the people are -- and always have been -- the change agents, but that only happens when WE get real, get wised up and then get off our duffs and act.