Nightmare in Iowa?

 

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

 

          I went to sleep and woke up this morning to the Iowa Caucuses, a relentless reminder of not how much choice we actually have in the upcoming election, but how little a field of choice we have.

          On one side, we have President Obama – whose biggest contribution to America over the last four years has been to kill Bin Laden, and bring down the government of Libya, and cause even more turmoil over seas, while allowing secret government operatives even more control over the private lives of American citizens.

          Instead of socialized medicine, he’s given us a new tax.

          Instead of tax cuts for the middle class, he’s imposed new fees on potential home owners.

          But he did manage to repeal “Don’t ask; don’t tell,” which may or may not make everybody happy, knowing everybody else’s private business.

          On the other side of the Iowa Caucuses, we get GOP operatives trying to dispel the influence of the most extreme elements of American society, making it seem as if the Tea Party and the Christian Right have some value to those who would seek more middle ground.

          The truth is, these groups are changing what “Middle” means so that the middle we see today would have been far right a few decades ago, and so that the survivors of the caucus can pretend like they are reasonable people when reason went out the window long ago.

          The old adage of “least of evils,” comes to mind, but is hardly a comfort for anyone who still maintains that society should represent all of the people and not some group of fanatics who wants to set up a system of government that tells us who we can sleep with, who has a right to live in America, and whether or not science will get taught in our schools rather than some whacko theory coming out of some questionable Biblical verse.

          Who do you vote for when the Democratic candidate is in bed with the banks and the CIA, and the Republican candidates are in bed with God?

          The stench on both sides is so bad, it is impossible for me to hold my nose and vote for any of them – which serves their purposes just as well as if I vote for one side or another.

          When you have no choice, you lose your right to vote just as effectively as poll tests or police dogs.