Remember Barrack Obama's rousing speech at the DNC convention last year? Remember how the echo chamber here swelled to a boisterous chorus? Remember how the disillusionment set in once he established a voting record? Remember the backlash he received when he tried to speak to us? Is this attitude healthy? Is it rational? Is it reality-based? Can you not see that the predominant attitude of this site towards politicians is not healthy for Kos, or democracy in general?
I am the product of Cuban immigrants. My father's parents took a plane from Havana to Miami in 1955. They saw Fidel coming and got the hell out of Dodge. My grandsires were smart, but they were fairly ignorant and uneducated. What they did have was a keen sense of what other's were thinking. They were very much social types. Growing up in Miami in the 80's, seeing Fidel on the TV, I asked them a lot of questions. I learned a lot.
They told me how divided Cuba was. The
Batista supporters felt he was the only one who could bring stability to their tiny island. They excused his violent excesses for that reason. Someone of course had to maintain order. The
Castro supporters thought Batista had sold out Cuba. They said Batista was just a puppet of the United States, and the U.S. had no interest in Cuba's well-being. They just wanted Cuba's cheap sugar.
Both sides clung almost religiously to their chosen dictator. Instead of looking at the actions of each politician a majority of Cubans took each man at their word. My grandparents decided everyone was crazy and moved before violence swept their island.
Now I don't think Barrack Obama or Paul Hackett are planning a violent or even a bloodless coup. I do, however, think some of you are crazy for putting so much faith in either man. They're politicians, just as Fidel is and Batista was. An irrational, polarized electorate let each man get away with too much.
Then there are the detractors. In Cuba, Batista and Fidel could get away with murdering or imprisoning their most vocal opposition. We're lucky here in America in 2005 we can slander anyone we want with impunity over the Internet. But don't you think that freedom should come with some responsibilty? No U.S. Congressman is the Anti-Christ. Why the inflamed rhetoric, against "our side" or "the other?"
They're all politicians. They're all self-serving. They have to be to get and stay elected. You'll notice, Paul Hackett is quick with populist rhetoric, but loathe to discuss policy. Barrack Obama was much the same before he won his election. They both know as Senators they can do little, so they won't make promises they can't keep.
That is the nature of the legislator. One Congressman can't do crap. It takes caucuses and closed-door meetings and schmoozing with lobbyists to accomplish anything. Usually what's accomplished is Federal Pork for the home district. This is the nature of the beast. It's far from what our Founding Father's wanted, but short of revolution, it's all we have.
So how about everyone take a deep exhale of hope, and a deep inhale of reality. Support Obama. Support Hackett or Brown or whoever wins that primary. But don't support them too much. With a majority they may just throw us a bone.