I actually sat through the entire VP "debate" last night. I didn't watch or listen to it all, but it was on the TeeVee and I was in the same room concentrating on other things, particularly concrete things that can be done to reduce police violence and killing (seems there are all kinds of ready-made fix-its available, they just need to be implemented more broadly. This ain't rocket science. What needs to be done is well-thought out and well understood. The resistance is strong but can be overcome... topic for another post.)
As for Kaine and Pence. Jeebus.
Look, I get that the program of both campaigns is to appeal to a "conservative" -- ie: traditional Republican -- base, and that both these men have some cred in doing so, Pence from the religious and self-righteous right, Kaine from a similar (though, ick, Catlick) religious and proudly righteous "left." It's not a real left, let's face it, but we don't have one of those in politics.
What I noticed more than anything was the similarities of these two, practically Tweedle-y they were. It wasn't surprising, but it was edifying. They are performing similar roles for their candidates -- make them palatable to a market segment they otherwise might lose. Ie: randical chritianists, moderate Republicans, dubious neoC,ons, yadda yadda.
They both strongly favor neoLibCon policies, which can be endearing to the Establishment but truly to no one else. Kaine is stronger on the Liberal Identity Politics front, but Pence is no slouch with the Rightist Identity triggers. They both know this game inside out, but they are like sideline coaches rather than players themselves.
I've read a lot of trash talk about Pence and how horrifying his reign as governor of Indiana was, but what I remember him for is radical christianism in Congress. Kaine strikes me as a less polarizing figure both as governor of Virginia and in the Senate. In other words, he plays better with others and can "get things done." Pence on the other hand has a record of hurting people in a kind of religious ecstasy -- the very thing I think we shouldn't want so close to the Big Chair -- or really in public office at all, though that can't be prevented under our system. I'm thinking of Cheney as an equivalent on a secular plane. But maybe GHWBush is the closer equivalent, he being the CIA head and said to be quite the eminence grise behind the throne during the Reagan regime. In other words, especially as his mind deteriorated, Reagan wasn't really in charge, Bush the Old, apparently with help from Nancy, was.
Be that as it may, the upshot of the yap-fest last night, at least for me, is that you're gonna get the same neoLibCon shit from either of the candidates, one with a slightly less cutting edge, and you better like it because there is no alternative. Suck-ers!
Kaine's yippy-dog act was to demonstrate that he is quite able to go on the offense; he's not a passive wall-flower, oh no.
And that's all I'll have to say about that.
The scary thing is that given the likelihood of either Trump or Clinton being impeached (or having health problems, in Clinton's case), one of these two guys could end up running the country. With Pence, that's Christian sharia and an all-out effort to overturn Roe v Wade. Oh, and he supports the TPP, unlike his running-mate, and is big (HU-U-U-GE) on fracking.
ReplyDeleteKaine also supports the TPP and fracking.
Both support more and bigger wars, but that's par for the course.
Personal note: I frequently think of you and hope your health is, if not vastly improved, at least not getting worse.
Best,
Teri
Hola Teri,
ReplyDelete[This is my sixth attempt to reply, as I’m still being kicked out of the comment-box at this site. So I’m composing this as an email reply to see if that works better.]
The party choices for VP are the clearest message I can imagine of what little regard Our Betters have for the rest of us. Pence the Christo-Fascist warmonger or Kaine, the Jesuit Jolly Warrior warmonger. What did we do to deserve this?
Of course WE had nothing to do with it, and I’m not convinced the candidates did either.
Hillary will almost certainly face impeachment the instant she sits down in the Big Chair assuming Rs keep the House. As for Trump, if he were to be elected by some chance, he would probably be fending off other means of eliminating him.
Right now, it looks more and more like a Hillary sweep, but you never know. How much of the “look” is real and how much is media invention, who can say?
Hillary’s health isn’t such an issue for me. Modern medical miracles can keep her animated as long as necessary. But Trump’s erraticism is something else again. If he can’t be controlled, he’ll be disposed of. Simple as that. It’s one reason among several that lead me to believe he has never had any intention of winning the White House. He knows what the so-called Deep State can and gleefully would do.
Meanwhile, my own condition appears to be under some control. Fatigue is my main problem at this point, as the pain and joint swelling are relatively modest for now. Trouble is, I have to get doctored constantly… practically every week. Bleah.
Hope you’re doing well your ownself!
Meh, I am doing okay. Hip, back problems interfere with mobility and cause a lot of pain, but so far I am avoiding the heavy painkillers and sticking with over the counter stuff. So far, no re-growth of the brain tumor, so I figure the rest is relatively bearable. I feel bad that you have to go in to the doc so frequently. That's tedious in and of itself. (Bleah, as you put it, is right!)
ReplyDeleteI think we have talked about the Trump reluctance to actually win. I have maintained all along that he just wanted to say he could have won (or should have won, but was cheated out of it). At this point, he is saying and doing things that are so outrageously, blindly ignorant for an adult - never mind for an adult running for president - that I stand by my other original belief: he is running to help elect Clinton.
I can't tell which of these misanthropes will "win" the election. The whole thing is so openly manipulated that no result will be verifiable whatever the official tally is. I have noticed that here in Md, there are ZERO yard signs and bumper stickers for Clinton. I see yard signs all over for Trump. Come to think of it, I haven't seen any bumper stickers for either one. I guess nobody supports either candidate enough to commit to a permanent defacement of their car. Yard signs can be tossed in the trash later. In comment sections at other sites, the same thing is noted: no signage for Clinton whatsoever. So who knows? The oligarchs want her in, so that will probably decide the thing.
This is a sad end to the empire. I have known we were headed downhill since the 2000 election shit, but I never expected the final stages to be so depressingly stupid and so obviously corrupt. (Corrupt at every level, I mean, not just the election part.) The ignorance, though, the idiocy and relentless dreary mendacity of all parts of the system: the media, the politicians, the voters, the judicial system, the corporations, the elites....my God, I can hardly bear it. I knew it would not be fun. I didn't think it would be so dismal and vapid.
[Here we go again, the struggle to reply in the box...]
DeleteTrump's current travails indicate to me that this could have been pre-planned, and yes, he's playing his role to the hilt to get Hillary into the White House. He'll get his reward, too. Those who have suspected as much all along are having multiple Ah-Ha! moments...
I tend to look at the phase we're going through as the end of the republic and the consolidation of empire, but our neoLibCon rulers are so ignorant, arrogant and plain stupid it's probably the end of both. The generation hence will not recognize our era; the past will melt away.
Sorry to hear of your pains and discomfort. No fun. Before I got treatment for RA, the pain was so bad, I broke down and took tylenol with codeine. I had previously refused to take it; the side-effects were bothersome. So I had some left over from a previous prescription. Surprisingly it worked on the RA pain, and side effects were barely noticeable. I told the doc that it had worked on the pain, and it's now an alternative medication if the others don't work. So far, they are working, so I haven't taken it recently. But it might work for you if you can stand the side-effects, or if you don't experience any.
Best to you. We'll get through this somehow...
C