On the evening of the first GOP Debates, I posted this on my Twitter. Since I don't really think much has changed, thought I would repost it here.
Tonight, one of my favorite television shows is having it’s big season premier tonight. The cast has changed a few players, and they’ve got a new character joining the crew. It seems he thoroughly enjoys annoying the other guys, so it will make for a whole new interesting dynamic this season. I am so looking forward to this year. After all, the show is only on every 4 years.
It’s strange to think about what it is this cast of characters is trying to accomplish. They want us to like them. They want to win us over. They want to convince us that their opinion is the right one. They want to tell us what they think we want to hear. They want to appear strong, smart, decisive, opinionated. They hope to exhibit the characteristics of a strong leader. They want you to believe that they care about you, that they care about this country, and the future that belongs to our children. Each has their little niche they are trying to reach, to bring them in, to tempt the fence dwellers to join the party, or come back into the fold. They each offer a slightly different path, but eventually, all paths will lead back to the one left over at the end. They are the goat herders guiding the unwitting animals into the pen.
While they dance for the rest of us, unbeknownst to most, they are also trying to win over the deep pocketed contributors that have unlimited amounts of cash to spend. They’ve been reading the latest poll results, staff members have been pouring over social media posts, discovering what most triggers an emotional response from potential voters. They’ve kept record of what words brought about the maximum applause at stump speeches they’ve made. They want to be sure to slip in clever sound bites the media will hopefully use for the next week or so.
What they don’t want you to know about are all the behind the scenes antics, their secret behind closed doors, heavily secured meetings, their five star luxury traveling entourage that would put most divas to shame. How most of them all run within the same circles, the same country clubs, the same exclusive restaurants.
A majority of people will choose to not turn on there televisions, mumbling under their breath that there’s more authenticity watching Judge Judy than this media circus. They know they won’t hear these rich, (mostly) white, privileged, overly entitled men talk about what really ails them. Will they talk about civil rights? Will they address poverty without using those gross words “entitlements” or “austerity”? Will they talk about the thievery of the big banks, the innocent victims of police brutality, the struggles of the embittered middle class? Will they talk about soldiers of war taking their own lives at alarming rates, or elementary school kids being handcuffed by police officers in classrooms? Will they talk about the working poor who slave away at 3 jobs while still qualifying for food stamps?
Haha, yeah, silly me. It will be a Benghazi Obamacare kind of night.
Oooh, almost time to grab the popcorn. Enjoy the show, everyone!