Friday, October 19, 2007
Hillary’s Presumptive Victory
Have you seen the new polls coming out? They are an attempt to break down the voting demographics of who might support which candidate. The polls seem to be focused on Hillary and no other candidate. Interesting! More than a year from the general election and the pollsters know how people will cast their vote. Joseph Goebbels, former propagandist minister for the Nazis, once said something to the effect of, tell a lie long enough and loud enough and people will believe it is true. In my humble opinion, the polls are nothing more than an attempt to make Hillary appear more electable.
There is also an obsession with Hillary’s campaign bank account. The conventional wisdom is that, the more cash a candidate has the better their chances of winning. I have never subscribed to that theory. I believe a candidate's ability to get their message out to the public is far more important. The candidate that can frame him/herself into the image the most appealing to the electorate will win. Throwing money at a campaign is the easiest and laziest method of running for office. The best example is the recent Corker/Ford senate battle in Tennessee. The Corker campaign was able to paint their opponent into a box many voters found troubling with the use of very little money and a whole lot of media coverage.
What does it all mean? Hillary is trying to win the nomination and election before the first vote is cast by simply implying that she has already won. If she can get the MSM to help her tell the fable long enough and loud enough, and we know how unbiased the MSM is, then she can cruise to the finish line. Ah, but here is the danger. Voters are not as predictable as one might think and if Hillary does not do as well as expected in the first few primaries, the paint might come off the pig. You see, unfortunately for Hillary, the actual votes are the only thing that counts in the end and with negatives like hers, the end is not so predictable.
There is also an obsession with Hillary’s campaign bank account. The conventional wisdom is that, the more cash a candidate has the better their chances of winning. I have never subscribed to that theory. I believe a candidate's ability to get their message out to the public is far more important. The candidate that can frame him/herself into the image the most appealing to the electorate will win. Throwing money at a campaign is the easiest and laziest method of running for office. The best example is the recent Corker/Ford senate battle in Tennessee. The Corker campaign was able to paint their opponent into a box many voters found troubling with the use of very little money and a whole lot of media coverage.
What does it all mean? Hillary is trying to win the nomination and election before the first vote is cast by simply implying that she has already won. If she can get the MSM to help her tell the fable long enough and loud enough, and we know how unbiased the MSM is, then she can cruise to the finish line. Ah, but here is the danger. Voters are not as predictable as one might think and if Hillary does not do as well as expected in the first few primaries, the paint might come off the pig. You see, unfortunately for Hillary, the actual votes are the only thing that counts in the end and with negatives like hers, the end is not so predictable.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
So, Why Don’t You Find Your Own Candidate?
I am sick and tired of those who are telling me … us who they will not support, for whom they will not vote. Shut up! I now invoke the sanctity of the voting booth; that is, everyone has the right to privacy and anonymity when they vote. Except, I am invoking the rule now, today, before the first votes are cast.
Note to Dr. Dobson and all who cannot seem to find a candidate they like in the current field, if you want a candidate in your own image, go out and find him/her and push them into the arena. Put your money, time and effort where you mouth is. Otherwise, sit down and be quiet. And therein lies the problem. Those like Dr. Dobson want to be involved in the political process without getting their hands dirty. They want the perfect candidate to appear, as if by waving a magic wand, or in Dr. Dobson’s case, by an act of God. Then they can rush out to support him/her or, better for them, the candidate will court them like a Sunday afternoon suitor and they can pronounce their blessing. News flash: That ain’t gonna happen!
Politics is a dirty business because many who are in it are there for the power and not afraid or ashamed to used whatever means necessary to acquire it. They are the dominant force because good people shy away from entering the fray. For politics in this country to change, good people must join the struggle. A few years back, my former home state lost its US senator. He wasn’t defeated, wasn’t forced out of office and was not in danger of losing in the next election cycle. But after two terms, he called it quits though never explaining why. My guess, he was a good man living and working in Washington D.C. and the filth overwhelmed him.
But my complaint with Dr. Dobson does not end with his lack of active involvement in the political process. As a Christian, who often yells at God for the condition of this fallen world, I read the same Bible as Dr. Dobson and I find one overwhelming admonition concerning those who lead, they are allowed to do so by the hand of God. The role of believers, therefore, is to petition The Most High to give us leaders worthy of Heaven and brush aside those destined for Hell. Before we stand on the mountain top and shout our displeasure, we must spend time in the desert seeking the pleasure of God. However, eventually we are required to leave the mountain top, come out of the desert and live among the people.
You want a good candidate? Pray God to anoint him/her then, find him/her, support him/her and launch him/her into the contest. Otherwise, shut up and vote.
Note to Dr. Dobson and all who cannot seem to find a candidate they like in the current field, if you want a candidate in your own image, go out and find him/her and push them into the arena. Put your money, time and effort where you mouth is. Otherwise, sit down and be quiet. And therein lies the problem. Those like Dr. Dobson want to be involved in the political process without getting their hands dirty. They want the perfect candidate to appear, as if by waving a magic wand, or in Dr. Dobson’s case, by an act of God. Then they can rush out to support him/her or, better for them, the candidate will court them like a Sunday afternoon suitor and they can pronounce their blessing. News flash: That ain’t gonna happen!
Politics is a dirty business because many who are in it are there for the power and not afraid or ashamed to used whatever means necessary to acquire it. They are the dominant force because good people shy away from entering the fray. For politics in this country to change, good people must join the struggle. A few years back, my former home state lost its US senator. He wasn’t defeated, wasn’t forced out of office and was not in danger of losing in the next election cycle. But after two terms, he called it quits though never explaining why. My guess, he was a good man living and working in Washington D.C. and the filth overwhelmed him.
But my complaint with Dr. Dobson does not end with his lack of active involvement in the political process. As a Christian, who often yells at God for the condition of this fallen world, I read the same Bible as Dr. Dobson and I find one overwhelming admonition concerning those who lead, they are allowed to do so by the hand of God. The role of believers, therefore, is to petition The Most High to give us leaders worthy of Heaven and brush aside those destined for Hell. Before we stand on the mountain top and shout our displeasure, we must spend time in the desert seeking the pleasure of God. However, eventually we are required to leave the mountain top, come out of the desert and live among the people.
You want a good candidate? Pray God to anoint him/her then, find him/her, support him/her and launch him/her into the contest. Otherwise, shut up and vote.
