Remember, the Democrats went first...
Sep. 4th, 2008 08:35 pmThe Democratic National Convention was first. Remember that.
Because if they had made their criticisms respectful, and based upon substance, after the Republicans had been nasty, you could cynically assume they were playing a nasty game, pretending to be "above the fray" when they were just as dirty as anyone.
But they went first.
So when the Republicans went nasty against Obama, suggesting that helping people in his community, winning jobs and job training for people was nothing next to big, important things like winning votes to be a small town mayor, it wasn't like the Democrats had a chance to choose to take the high road to make the Republicans look bad. No, the Republicans got to hear just about every Democrat say that they respected John McCain's service to his country... and then decided they wouldn't be equally respectful of the Democratic nominee.
Folks, the biggest problem facing this country right now is that, for some folks, everything is about the partisanship.
How many times did the Republicans talk about drilling for oil?
Do you remember when that whole "DRILL! DRILL!! DRILL!!!" strategy showed up? In June. Up until then, everyone agreed that offshore drilling was not quite ready for prime time, and that the minuscule amounts of oil we'd get from the ANWR weren't worth the huge amounts of environmental damage that would occur.
Even today, economics experts agree that we're talking about a difference of pennies a gallon, when gas is over $3.50 a gallon already. No, what would really help us is better gas mileage and better transportation infrastructure (more trains, especially - something like 40 ton-miles per gallon of diesel is nothing to sneeze at!), and a faster adoption of alternative energy sources. If we cut our gasoline needs, the laws of supply and demand tell us that the price will drop, and we'll also be using less of it... that's double the bang for the buck.
But the Republicans are still shouting "Drill! Drill!! Drill!!!"
Why?
Because the Democrats are opposed to it. Because the Republicans can turn it into a wedge issue.
Folks, if this had been going on for over a year now, that'd be one thing. But since June? Come on... show a little election year cynicism. This is a game, pure and simple.
So, on the one hand, you have people who, while fighting hard, are still showing respect for their opponents
And on the other, you have people who are trashing their opponent and playing games.
As I said, one of the biggest issues facing this country is that, for some folks, it's all about the partisanship, it's all about winning the game.
Both sides are promising to change that, but which one has shown that they're really trying? And which one has shown you more of the same games we've been seeing for the past too-damn-many years?
Because if they had made their criticisms respectful, and based upon substance, after the Republicans had been nasty, you could cynically assume they were playing a nasty game, pretending to be "above the fray" when they were just as dirty as anyone.
But they went first.
So when the Republicans went nasty against Obama, suggesting that helping people in his community, winning jobs and job training for people was nothing next to big, important things like winning votes to be a small town mayor, it wasn't like the Democrats had a chance to choose to take the high road to make the Republicans look bad. No, the Republicans got to hear just about every Democrat say that they respected John McCain's service to his country... and then decided they wouldn't be equally respectful of the Democratic nominee.
Folks, the biggest problem facing this country right now is that, for some folks, everything is about the partisanship.
How many times did the Republicans talk about drilling for oil?
Do you remember when that whole "DRILL! DRILL!! DRILL!!!" strategy showed up? In June. Up until then, everyone agreed that offshore drilling was not quite ready for prime time, and that the minuscule amounts of oil we'd get from the ANWR weren't worth the huge amounts of environmental damage that would occur.
Even today, economics experts agree that we're talking about a difference of pennies a gallon, when gas is over $3.50 a gallon already. No, what would really help us is better gas mileage and better transportation infrastructure (more trains, especially - something like 40 ton-miles per gallon of diesel is nothing to sneeze at!), and a faster adoption of alternative energy sources. If we cut our gasoline needs, the laws of supply and demand tell us that the price will drop, and we'll also be using less of it... that's double the bang for the buck.
But the Republicans are still shouting "Drill! Drill!! Drill!!!"
Why?
Because the Democrats are opposed to it. Because the Republicans can turn it into a wedge issue.
Folks, if this had been going on for over a year now, that'd be one thing. But since June? Come on... show a little election year cynicism. This is a game, pure and simple.
So, on the one hand, you have people who, while fighting hard, are still showing respect for their opponents
And on the other, you have people who are trashing their opponent and playing games.
As I said, one of the biggest issues facing this country is that, for some folks, it's all about the partisanship, it's all about winning the game.
Both sides are promising to change that, but which one has shown that they're really trying? And which one has shown you more of the same games we've been seeing for the past too-damn-many years?