Not So Excited
I can’t speak for others, but I am decidedly not excited about the Democratic Convention in Denver.
Sure, I want the Democrats to win in November, but only because the alternative is SO much worse. Still, when I see footage of AT&T’s big party for the Blue Dog Democrats and the selection of Joe “Forfeiture” “anti-medical marijuana” “Bankruptcy Reform Bill” Biden as the vice-president, I’m not seeing change I can believe in at all: I’m seeing politics as usual.
Now who knows? Maybe Booman (who helpfully suggested I drink “a nice cup of shut the fuck up” because my eyeballs work) is right:
There would be other power shifts, too. Assuming she wins reelection, Sen. Mary Landrieu would be in position to take over Kerry’s chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, thereby increasing the female institutional power of the upper body (Feinstein currently chairs Rules, while Boxer chairs Environment & Public Works). It’s also possible, if Teddy Kennedy cannot continue on as head of the Health Labor Education & Pensions (HELP) committee, that the position could fall to Barbara Mikulski of Maryland (a key Clinton supporter).
Meanwhile, the Governor of Delaware (most likely to be a Democrat) would appoint Joe Biden’s replacement in the Senate. It’s not unlikely that Joe’s son, Beau, would get the nod. Beau Biden would join a new senator from Illinois (Jan Schakowsky?) as key young allies of the new administration.
If Obama decides to tap Kerry as Secretary of State rather than Dodd, most of these chips would fall the same way, but it would be Obama’s dear friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who would appoint Kerry’s replacement. You can take your pick from five Massachusetts congresspeople that endorsed Obama: John Olver, Richard Neal, Niki Tsongas, Michael Capuano, or William Delahunt. My money would be on Delahunt.
But after watching the abysmal performance of the 110th Congress, much of it self-inflicted, as well as Mr. Obama breaking explicit promises about FISA, I’m not really interested in a bunch of self-serving, self-congratulatory speeches. Here in reality world, I’m concerned about heating my house, and thanks to Joe Biden and his bankruptcy bill, my credit ain’t what it used to be: I’m not sure I’ll actually be able to buy that new gas furnace or qualify for gas service from the local utility. I’m not interested in what Barack Obama SAYS he’s gonna do, because he SAID he was going to filibuster the FISA bill before his ACTIONS were the exact opposite. I don’t need to listen to Nancy Pelosi’s speech, TELLING me how awful the GOP is when her ACTIONS enabled the minority party’s dominance in 2007-2008, passing blank check after blank check for war in Iraq, as well as ex post facto laws that legalize previously criminal behavior. And while I’m sure Michele Obama’s speech was simply lovely, she’s not running for president.
I always learned that actions speak louder than words. And when the Democrats show me some action, outside of raising the minimum wage by tying it to a blank check for Iraq, I will clap my hands really loudly, jump up and down with my little blue balloon with the donkey on it, and say “Hip hip hooray” as loudly as anyone else. For starters, they could repeal the Bankruptcy Bill or pass universal health care.
I’m nearly 40 years old, and my adult life has been filled with empty promises from the Democratic Party. Talk is cheap. Maybe I feel this way because I work as a grant writer for a human services agency, and I see the difference between talking and doing every single day. Maybe it’s because I actually see and feel the effect of stupid policies on poor and working people, since I’m included in that category). Maybe it’s because one of my drinking buddies from high school came home from Iraq in a box, well after one of those blank checks. Maybe I’m just tired of struggling for every little thing I have in my life. Maybe I’m just tired of listening to people who promise the world and then break their promises as if those promises had never mattered. Maybe I’m stupid, and don’t realize that the political arena is the same as being on a used car lot, where you have to make sure the dealer isn’t picking your pocket while you admire the 1998 Hyundai.
All I know is actions speak louder than words: if the Democrats follow through on this year’s promises, you will see no one happier than me. But after 40 years, it’s going to be hard to convince me.
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August 26th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
[...] News » News Not So Excited2008-08-26 19:02:24Rather Patrick, who would appoint Kerry’s replacement. … way, but it would [...]