Tom Toles for February 11, 2020

It does now appear that the Iowa Dems were far less organized than it seemed from over here. In fact, probably better to turn it over: WAAAY more DISorganized than I would have thought likely. And of course, the remaining candidates are hard up against “win or drop out” decisions

Neither is an excuse for the circle (trigger) jerk that Toles is depicting, and so far, I’ve only seen some of them seeming to fall into that stance. I hope that they manage to maintain at least minimal civility and avoid internecine mud-slinging. Because I hope that despite their massive egos (all presidential candidates have that) they are still largely focused on the needs of the nation.

And yes, Mr. Toles’ avatar: Such behavior MAY be hard-wired into politicians.

The Democrats, as they so often do, hope they’ll win with personal sensitivity, heartfelt songs, and modern interpretive dance. They’ve gotta get real. Politics, especially when running against the ruthless RatThugliKlans, is a biker bar fight.

On top of that, the Democrats, sweet folks that they are, have a long tradition of recruiting the perfect to make war on the good. The Bernie Bots especially. When and if they do actually manage to win an election and then get a chance to govern, the Democrats generally do a vastly better job of it than the Republicans, whose only skill seems to be winning, or stealing, elections and then screwing everything and everybody up. So after the shooting dies down, vote blue no matter who.

I am so thrilled to hold my nose and vote “whoever blue” or you could call it voting for “whoblu” for tasty soundbite effect. Where the best we can hope for is pretty much the same pandering to Wallstreet, crappy access to health care, and same old, same old. Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures to remove orange JAY-SUS and his cult of thugs. Not denying that. But to write off those who believe in the concepts that Sanders espouses because “winning” is all that matters is disingenuous. Maybe those who were and are inspired by MLK Jr. should never see themselves as truly equal in a country that spouts the talk but falls far short of the walk. Because, you know, racism is just too ingrained in America and fighting against it will just get you beaten or worse. At least the so called ‘bots’ are standing up for something better than “just good enough government”. In all these years of watching baby steps of progress, but mostly spinning wheels in the mud of whatever party was in control, it was refreshing to see a movement, bots or not, that put the needs of people instead of the oligarchs.

Wonder how long “vote blue no matter who” will hold with establishment Dems if Bernie Sanders gets the nomination?

Firing Squad – {3 beats/line, then 4}

For decades this party’s “Center”

among themselves will splinter

and the fray “Progressives” will enter

{currently Bernie’s their mentor}. -

- So there at the brouhaha’s epicenter

it’s “Wall Street” versus “We the Peeps”

{“We the Peeps” v “Establishment creeps”}.

… Coda: – {3 beats/line}

‘stoo Bad for me as a Lefty

that the Center’s so dadgum’ hefty.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

{Off-topic:}

Trumpites’ Self-appraisal – {3 beats/line}

Trumpites tend sanctimonious

{their values with Virtue harmonious}, -

- but their self-appraisal’s erroneous:

their harmony’s with a prez who’s felonious.

… Coda:

They’re hypocritically pious

in their warped and distorted bias.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adlai Stevenson II must have seemed a great candidate in 1952 — witty, literate, lots of serious government experience — a real statesman … so much so that he was nominated again in 1956. Yet Eisenhower handily won both elections, even after his heart attack while in office. Not to say Eisenhower was a shady character like Trump is. But most people don’t like to take bad-tasting medicine, which is what the Democratic candidates seem always to be offering. Trump offers candy-flavored cough drops, with his picture in place of the Smith Brothers.

A marketing evil genius is in power. His personal product is sold and bought eagerly like cigarettes, leaded gasoline once were; and as high-calorie, low-nutrition junk food is now. The Democrats offer, as it were, broccoli and tofu stir fry, with fresh beet juice to drink. The noble mother who packs her children nutritious lunches for school should know that they are likely thrown away in favor of brand named stuff from vending machines. It’s bad for them, the chemical ingredients are scary — but it tastes so good.

Bloomberg/Buttigieg~2020

What bothers me most is that the resident is saying it’s okay to discriminate and bully those who are different. And because they are unable to defend themselves you can blame then for your failings. Minorities, the poor, the elderly, even the disabled are now fair game for being the reason you’re not able to succeed. The democratic response is name-calling and trying to shame those who have no shame and have been propagandized into believing that immigration and globalization hurt the US and actually believe that a physical barrier and restricting entry of those who are the “wrong” race/religion will cure America’s ills … that the Constitution is just words, not anything to be taken seriously. Have the Democrats while in control made permanent changes that benefit the entire electorate? Ideally, the government must be results-based and bad policies quickly discarded when evidence shows that they do not fulfil their promise, but our brand of politics appeals to the emotions too much and logic reason and evidence are not considered by the electorate. We don’t elect leaders, it is a [ersonality contest and the most charismatic wins no matter how inept they are at managing others and accomplishing goals that were promised. Racism, bigotry and discrimination are alive and well in the US and have survived under both “major” parties control in spite of their rhetoric. If you’re still looking for a top-down change and adherence to the words of the Constitution from the political parties, it won’t happen if your lifetime. Only a grassroots movement town-by-town, city-by-city, state-by-state will make that change … society must believe in our Constitution or accept that our republic has ended because no one cares any more. Will the perfect Democratic candidate win the hearts and minds of the entire electorate, reunite the nation and make us a world leader, again? … I don’t think so.

Bernie is right that the system needs a complete overhaul, but Bloomberg has the record, the resources and the realism to take it all the way. A competent person of color as a running mate for Mike would seal the deal.

{About the “Culberson” sendings:}

Trolls Feed on Feedback – {limerick}

Feedback a troll enjoys; -

- responses from you are his toys.

They’re why he deploys

the tripe which annoys;

they’re why he makes so much noise.

… Coda:

Much better were you to ignore

a troll, an insufferable bore.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

{Off-topic:}

On the Nose – {limerick}

The story is right on the nose

about the Emperor’s cloes.

Do you think his base

will withhold their embrace?

Just WHEN, do you suppose?

… Coda:

His base is aware // that their Donald is bare,

so they avert their eyes // and just fantasize

that MAGA succeeds // when their Emperor leads.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vote Blue…. no matter who.

Democrats are bad at self-hatred and backstabbing. When you engage in it with each other, you just give Trump free attack ads. Please try and be better than that. Sell the people on the good things you stand for and not the bad things you think your fellow candidates have done. Don’t Trump it up.

The Right calls our ruling clod/ a thinly disguised “gift from God”/ – while the Democrats strive/to keep hope alive/ with a circular firing squad.

To those who say that the Democrats’ only hope is to go all namby-pamby and squishy, I offer these words of wisdom from a century ago:

“At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past. Let us have no fear lest the fair towers of former days be sufficiently defended. The least that the most timid among us can do is not to add to the immense dead weight which nature drags along.

“Let us not say to ourselves that the best truth always lies in moderation, in the decent average. This would perhaps be so if the majority of men did not think on a much lower plane than is needful. That is why it behooves others to think and hope on a higher plane than seems reasonable. The average, the decent moderation of today, will be the least human of things tomorrow. At the time of the Spanish Inquisition, the opinion of good sense and of the other good medium was certainly that people ought not to burn too large a number of heretics; extreme and unreasonable opinion obviously demanded that they should burn none at all.”

—Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949), Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist, “Our Social Duty”, in The Measure of the Hours (1907)

{Off-topic:}

Don’t Mess with The Donald – {limerick}

You’ll pay in yuuge recompense

for an against-The-Donald offense.

Don’t be dense;

use your common sense, -

- or your status will be in past tense.

… Coda: – {4 beats/line}

Don’t mess with John Wayne nor with Donald Trump.

These guys will kick you quite hard on your rump.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

They bought the Software from yet another Russian company.