If you're reading this then you most likely belong to the political junkie collective that has unconsciously grown addicted to this election cycle. Accordingly, you must have read or even yourself based an opinion or commentary on some form of a common concern echoed loudly and repeatedly across political and social classes, in the bars and the papers, around the water coolers and the network spin rooms. You might have been acquainted with this concern as Rovian Tactics. Some know it as the Republican Attack Machine, others call it a Conspiracy and a vast one at that.
I call it over.
I call it over because this time I am angry. This time I'm mad as hell. This time I'm furious. I'm pissed off, disgusted, and irate.
This time, I'm ready for the Republicans to try and play their little games.
They can't scare me with an Arabic middle name. Not while there are 45 million Americans without health care. They won't scare us. Not this time.
They can't shock me with a loud pastor screaming "God Damn America". Not while more of us ask ourselves everyday: "food or gas?" No they won't. Not this time.
They can't distract me because we were called bitter. Not while history indicts their filthy dealings with Abramoff and the likes. They won't distract us. Not this time.
They can't terrorize me with images of Bin Laden and orange alerts. Not while our enemies roam free as we occupy a country that never attacked us. They won't do it to us again. Not this time.
They can't redirect my anger with doctored statistics of immigrants stealing our jobs. Not while our gender and skin color are percentages by which we are multiplied rendering us less than whole. They won't. Not this time.
They can't convince me that the Democrat will raise my taxes. They can't tell me that with them I'm better off. Not while our government functions under a code of ethics that allowed the Abramoff scandal to take place. We can't fall for their lies. Not this time.
Whatever it is they'll throw at me, at you, to distract us, no matter how clever, how scary, how terrifying, I say let them bring it the f**k on. We cannot let it work. Not this time. This time is too important to take our eyes off the real problems that affect real people. This time is too important because they forgot about us. They forgot about the workers, the ill, the single mothers, the children, the troops. This time is too important because we're tired, we're hungry, we're in pain, we're dead, when we shouldn't be.
For this election, and every other election to follow, any argument, TV ad, mailer, article, talking point, broadcast, or debate that doesn't talk about us, address our problems and our needs, should be rejected. They've tricked thus before. But this time it's different.
Not this time.