Warning: The following post contains personal therapy material. Do not continue reading if you are pregnant or nursing, have back or neck problems, are under 18 chronologically or developmentally, or if you believe that the Democratic Party is really out for your best interest.As some of you know and even fewer of you care, I've been involved in a progressive Democrat's congressional campaign for about four months. My candidate's primary was a week ago, and though he was ahead in the early returns, the late returns put his opponent over the top with a 51% to 49% win. Around 700 votes separated the two when it was all said and done.
Now this Democratic opponent is probably a nice enough guy.
The fact that he was elected and spent less than 5000 dollars on his campaign is quite amazing.
The fact that he was elected by being very low key (read: nearly absent) until he blanketed the district with 40,000 robo-calls the three days before the primary is even more amazing.
The fact that he was elected and didn't set foot in seven of eleven counties in the district is... even more amazing.
The fact that he managed to win a Democratic primary in Tennessee having run for a state seat as a Libertarian only two years prior is even more amazing. (Yes... you read that right... LIBERTARIAN).
I could go on.
This opponent will now be facing Republican Zach Wamp in the general election, and I'd LIKE to vote for the opponent, if only I can find a dime's worth of difference between the two candidates. Both claim balancing the budget is important (but seriously, what candidate DOESN'T say that?). Both are for energy independence and alternative energy fuels (who isn't?). Both are for fully funding education (who isn't?). Both think that staying in Iraq as long as we are asked to be there is important. Both are anti-embryonic stem cell research. Both are anti-choice. Both are anti-gay rights. Actually, I think both are Republicans.
But this post isn't so much about the opponent... because like I said, he's probably a nice enough guy.
This is about Political Machines and a Democratic Party on the local, state, and national levels who would sabotage, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly, a progressive candidate who also happened to be a VietNam vet in exchange for a... well... a Republican running as a Democrat. Perhaps this is a trend in the south. Get a Republican. Dress him in blue. Get him elected. Have a party. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
In doing this, we might be able to color in a part of Tennessee blue instead of red, but realistically in terms of congressional voting patterns, what has changed?
Frankly, it sickens me.
So I now also think there's not a dime's worth of difference between the Democratic Political Machine and the Republican Political Machine. It's all ugly, ridiculous business, and people generally have no idea what kind of immensely pathological crap goes on in back rooms and between different factions within the same friggin' party.
And what's even more horrible is that the American people can no longer trust the election system to give fair and accurate totals. Whether or not my candidate truthfully lost by 700 out of 29000 votes to a robocalling voice on the phone who never went to 7 or the 11 counties will probably never be known. But what is known is that we now have an election system where people have to question whether or not what's reported is really what happened, or what the electorate intended.
Most folks who are part of the political machines say, "Hey, that's just politics," as they suggest that it's naive to think it has been or is or will ever be any different. And this might be so, but what disturbs me the most is... I tell ya, I've never seen so much psychopathology in one place since my family reunion.
Believe nothing. Trust no one. Everyone has their own agenda, and if a few orphans get trampled in the process then so be it, as long as there's no media present. If media is present, then we'll have to figure out a way to blame the orphan trampling on the Republicans, or on the losing candidate.
So it's ALL a very dangerous game about money and power, and it's filled with people who get off on it and who pretend that it's for the good of the people or the good of the nation. I'd like to stand up and officially call "bullshit" on that. The Democratic Party is no more good for the people and the nation than is the Republican Party.
And though we talk and talk about Republican Machine "spin," the Democrat Machine is absolutely no different. None. Nada. Zilch. Zip.
Yes, I'll keep voting Democrat for the most part because I do believe that the Republicans these days are leading us down the wrong path. And yes, I'll perhaps get involved in another campaign if I feel like the candidate is actually someone who stands for something other than just trying to amass personal power and pretending it's for the good of the people.
But (deep breathing) I think I have a few things to work through here (deep breathing) in the meantime (deep breathing).