Frustrated with my party

friday, june 12, 2009

Frustrated with my party

I am tired of all the hatred and divisiveness that I see coming out of the US from all sides. I am in Guatemala for a few months and in the strange position of viewing us from the outside. I am reading and trying to keep up but it is not the steady barrage that I had when I am at home in my normal routine. This perspective of looking in from the outside is making me see thing a little differently.

I read the transcript of Rush Limbaugh's argument that the von Braunn evil man was a "leftie". That only lefties radicalize issues and carry them to extremes. We all know that is not true. Extremism in any belief creates people that take issues a step too far. I continued to read about this guy and on his website is a very detailed chronical of his path to the Right side of politics and beyond and then it's eventual peversion. The only thing he agreed with the left about was George Bush, but the rest is pretty rightwing. His associations are rightwing, libertarian and white supremacists. He is an entire package of hatred of all things.

I have been thinking about a lot of things. I have been thinking about my conservative beliefs and about our country and about the issues we face, about the election and the changes that have happened so quickly, about the lead up to the election, and how things have gone so terrribly wrong these past few years. You might read that statement and think I am talking about our nation under control of the Democratic Party, but I'm not.

I remember when I was struggling with the loss of my husband in Iraq. I read and reread everything he wrote to me from that place. He wrote about good things and the horrible things he had witnessed. He talked about extremism. He mentioned "mob mentality" a lot and how in a group as one bolsters the ideas of another and another that the frenzy grows. He said he watched several times when mobs would form after an incident and it became a one-upsmanship contest of who could say the most vile thing and suggest the most horrible retribution. It would feed on one another and grow and grow. Days later, Iraquis who had been a part of the mob would wonder how they got dragged into it.

I am seeing the same thing take place in the US right now. We have some people with great loud constant voices. They are pushing those who listen to them to more ridiculous places in their thinking. Their rhetoric is cruel and based on half truths. People don't seem to be able to step back and think for a minute "What is this person doing? Why is this person saying this?"

Yes, I'm talking about Rush Limbaugh. So often I have listened to him or read transcripts as I am doing now and I chase down his theme and he leaves out everything that does not support his theme or his point for the day and what he says more often than not is incendiary and wrong. His ratings since Obama was elected have skyrocketed. The more he incites people, the more they hang on his every word, the more his ratings go up and the more he is pushed farther and farther into extremism. This guy make $400,000,000 a year! What is his purpose? Saving the nation? Leading the Republican Party? I don't think so. His purpose is his own wealth, his ratings, his popularity, his ego.

Rush Limbaugh and a few others on the Right remind me of the stories I have heard of a nation held spellbound by people like evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson back in the 20's as she led the battle of the fundamentalists against the "modernists." There was a lot of immigration at the time, a lot of racism, lots of new technology like moving pictures and radio to get her word out. Sound familiar in a very simplistic way?? I was always confused as to how she became so popular and influential with such craziness, but I am watching it again in my own life time now.

Rush Limbaugh and his quest for ever higher ratings is not our leader, or anyone's leader. He is doing this for him. If there is harmony in the country, the need for a show like his is less. If there is chaos and discord his ratings skyrocket. His success depends on the country in turmoil. The more discord, the more bloody attacks on innocents, the more dissention among neighbors, the more extremism we have, the better he does and the richer he gets. I have no use for anyone like him. I will not give him my time or attention any longer. He is creating the atmosphere for the upswing in domestic terrorism and he is encouraging it. He is destroying us. I believe that many of his messages borderline sedition or treason.

I will turn my attention instead to people who are working toward positive moves in the next election. We need balance in our government. We need balanced numbers in the House and Senate. We don't need a runaway congress rubberstamping every idea put forth by the White House.

We conservatives have a problem. We lost and we need to know why. We can't say it is because Obama was better online than the Republicans and dismiss it. There were problems with our message. We weren't focused. We were put on the defensive. We reacted. We didn't establish our goals and then go after them in an organized way. We didn't lead. We didn't put up any leaders. We put up a moderate and a dingbat. We failed to understand the problems and formulate solutions. We were so used to being in charge that we couldn't see how much trouble we were in. We still don't. Nothing has changed. We complain about the Democrats and put out distorted negative ads on You-Tube. We say outlandish things. We rail against the Democrats. We do not have a cohesive positive message yet. We cannot find a leader. We trot people out in front of a camera and see how they play and if they don't do so well, we abandon them like we have Bobby Jindal.

We are so busy posturing and saying the same talking points over and over we don't listen. We don't listen. We don't listen. We are a representative government or supposed to be. We need to listen to the people, understand their concerns and find leaders who will take their message to Washington.

There are very good people out there, but the very good people are NOT Rush Limbaugh, NOT Sarah Palin, NOT Newt Gingrich, NOT Michael Steele. These people are all jokes. They are all gimmicks. They make outlandish statements and make for interesting news cycles but they are not leaders. I want my party back. I want real conservative leaders who listen and do the right thing. I want all the hate mongering messages to stop. I want the hatred to stop. I want to work together to find solutions that are the best for the country not one side's reaction to 8 years of impotency. Our complaints are not being heard. We are not being taken seriously.

I have been all over the place here but I am angry. This isn't my country the way it is now. It is a devisive hate-promoting place with serious issues. We cannot fix this thing in separate camps. One side cannot shut down, complain, and whine. We need to find a way. In the mean time we need to pull together and try to find common ground. When I would tell my husband that I did not agree with moves we were making in the conduct of the war in Iraq he would chide me regardless of our individual opinions we needed to support our country and those in command or it will all fall apart. I am not sure what he would say now but what I am seeing is or country falling apart. I don't know whose fault it is but I believe that conservatives cannot walk away from out part in this. Like in anything in life, if you make a mistake, find out where you went wrong and fix it. We need to do the same.

I know this is disjointed but I am so frustrated right now. I want the hate to stop.

tuesday, june 9, 2