I am often accused of exhibiting a high faluting left-of-the-left attitude and often knocked about as a black and white thinker, but one thing I cannot be accused of is stupidity.
The Florida GOP's planned strategy to vise grip onto the Governor's seat had me windexing my Dem tunnel vision.
I squinted at my newspaper, and knowing my left-to-the-left-self, asked my Libertarian loved one to read over the article and act as my second set of eyes.
As a no-nonsense Libby, his political vision is quick to decipher through party lines bullshite.
For once, Libby and I focused 20/20 .
Yep.
Close one eye and read what you see.
Planet GOP orbits it's own galaxy.
The Galaxy Of Perception.
No matter how altered, no matter how blindingly blatantly false, it's all about presenting a perception that the people will believe.
The more telegenic the candidate, the more visual the perception presentation.
And the Reps have a vivid imagination.
At a recent Republican pow-wow, gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist and top GOP party players painted the anomaly called Jeb Bush's political legacy-higher property taxes and sky-high home insurance premiums-with a surreal Dali touch.
''I will tell you what. We will not raise your taxes and the other guy will,'' said Crist, who faces U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, the Democratic nominee for governor in the Nov. 7 election.
''Republicans are against taxes and the Democrats are for them."(Bill Cotterell, Florida Capitol Bureau Political Editor, Florida Today, 9/24/2006).
Tell that to the woman who recently sent Crist a copy of her property-tax bill, showing an increase from just over $1,000 last year to about $3,000 this year.
Insert Scooby-Doo "Ruh-Roh" here.
Jeb Bush has led Florida for the last eight years, fully supported by a majority Republican state legislature.
Explain how Florida's Republican-majority state legislature have raised-and raised-and raised-taxes while lowering-and lowering-and lowering the quality of life Florida citizens once knew.
What's more appalling, is our elected officials act surprised that Floridians have noticed Jeb's blind eye toward Florida citizens.
So Crist, serving as Attorney General and Education Commissioner under Jebbie can't blame the Dems this time.
''Property taxes have skyrocketed under the leadership of Charlie Crist and the Republicans in Tallahassee,'' said Josh Earnest, campaign manager for Jim Davis. ''He hasn't worked to lower property taxes, he hasn't worked to improve our schools, he hasn't worked to solve the property-insurance problem.
The Crist plan to motivate Reps to get to the polls November 7, includes the "use of the word ''liberal'' - a time-tested tactic - and talk about property taxes, homeowner insurance rates and the eight-year record of Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-run Legislature.
So knock yourself out, Reps.
Homeowner anger has reached the tipping point as the Florida gubernatorial election looms.
Go ahead.
Talk about the property taxes and homeowner insurance rates.
Paint some sort of rosy distorted picture so Floridians will somehow forget the Century 21 signs planted in front yards, simply because property taxes and home insurance rates have priced them out of their homes.
"Staring down reality
Don't do Reps no good
'Cause our misunderstanding
Is too well understood.
Use imagination,
To think of good reasons,
To keep on keepin' on.
Make the best of, best of, best of.... a bad situation.
Every since the day....
Dems wake up and
Find Reps gone."
Thank you, Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Keep on keepin' on.