Donkeys and Elephants

The Elephants and the Donkeys both send me stuff in my email all the time, and it’s interesting in some ways to compare what they send with each other.

The Elephants sent this one today:

We have seen your strong support for Conservative values and we want to thank you by giving you an exclusive offer…

It’s an offer that’s only for the BIGGEST supporters of Trump’s agenda and Conservative majority.

We are giving you EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the Presidential Majority Platinum membership. . . And because we know how much you’ve stood with our movement, we also want to give you a FREE American flag t-shirt.

But, we can only do this exclusive bundle today…

What it boiled down to is two things:  A Presidential Majority Platinum Member card that appeared to be made from plastic, and a T-shirt with a small American Flag on the front.  When I clicked on the “order here” button I found that the minimum amount they want is $50, and the maximum is $1,000 or more, with the option to make it monthly already checked for me!  This Limited Time Offer allows me to stand with President Trump and his House Majority today!

The Donkeys, of course, make up in quantity what they fail to achieve in quality, but I will give them this:  Most of their stuff is wrapped around a particular issue or angle.  Today, for example, to just cite a few:

The Legislative Majority PAC wants between $10 and $100 to fight gerrymandering, and they feature a smiling Barack Obama on the page.

Claire McCaskill’s campaign for Senator from Missouri is freaked out that she is now tied in the polls with the Trump guy, so please send money, $5 to $50, anything!  She’ll obviously take money from me in Washington State to run in Missouri, so what does that say about who else she will take money from, and what she will promise them in return?  Sorry, Claire, you will make it or break it in your state.  Stay there and run to them.

Then Bob Casey wants money from me to run in Pennsylvania!  Same answer, Bob, stay home. 

Then the Sanders Institute (a 501 (c) 3 organization, meaning my donations are tax-deductible), wants at least $27, up to $1,000 to boost Solar power companies and take away $20 billion in subsidies for the fossil fuel companies.

Then Patty Murray chimed in, with an offer to add my name to a petition demanding that Republicans do something about Trump, to “Hold Trump Accountable”, whatever that means.  She wanted anywhere from $5 to $250 after I clicked on the “Sign My Name” button.

I won’t bore you with the rest of them, and there are many, but they follow the same pattern.  The Elephants are completely ignoring current events and fishing for money based on a clear cult of personality and an unspecified “agenda”.

The Donkeys are more apt to bear down on one specific issue, which probably gives their data scientists a bunch of analysis of how any particular issue is flying with a given chunk of the electorate so they can fine-tune the message as we get closer to election day.  Clever people, those bit-twiddlers.

They both have one obvious thing in common:  They both have their hands out, and they both are using dollars raised as a measure of the success of any campaign.  The whole thing stinks to me of manipulation, professional image-crafting and corruption.  It’s becoming clear that both political “parties” have been taken over by scammers who are using them to extract money from us, the marks.  I bet they charge by the vote.  :-{)}

It's Over

The light bulb went on the other day, and I got hit with the obvious stick, and it felt good!

As anybody who pays any attention whatsoever to the news - or what passes for it these days - knows, the airwaves and the internet are full of arguments, disagreement, and complaints.  The finer points of axe-grinding, finger-pointing, name-calling and blaming have been raised to new heights as what seems like half the population takes on the other half in a continuing struggle to come out on top, even though nobody really knows what that means.

Well, here’s a news flash for you:  The last undecided voter, a young woman in Peoria, Kansas, finally made up her mind once and for all on April 1, 2018!  That means there is nobody left to convince on any issue!

Let your mind open and let the ramifications of this new reality sink in.  We’re done!  We don’t have to fight anymore, about anything!  It has all been decided, and there’s nothing left to talk about until the next election, which is the only place where we can exercise our right as a citizen in a way that actually does something.  We can vote.

In the meantime, we can just shut the hell up, all of us.  We don’t need to talk about politics anymore, there’s no need.  I already know who I’m going to vote for, and I don’t care who you pick, that’s entirely your business, which means it’s none of mine.

Of course, stuff will continue to happen, and people will react to it, as usual.  I’m not suggesting we give up our rights as citizens to tell the government what we expect from them at any and every opportunity that presents itself.  Far be it from me to even suggest that.  What I do suggest, though, is that we stop and consider who we should be talking to about issues that come up, and who we should not bother with.

Every one of us, at least the ones that aren’t currently homeless, has a representative who is elected to represent us.  We have City council members we can talk to, and a Mayor, if we live in town.  We have a County Council, and an Executive, and of course we have a State Representative, along with a Senator, and a Governor as well.  All of these people have to listen to us, because we live in the districts they represent and we vote for or against them in every election, if we’re holding up our end of the Citizenship Agreement.

And let’s not forget, at the national level, we have both a U. S. House member and a Senator who have the same responsibility to listen to us and respond to our concerns when we take the time to express them.  Or, you can go to the top of the line and work our way back down.  That starts with the President and Vice-President, of course, but you could extend that down to the Cabinet members if you’re a glutton for punishment.

So, as a citizen, you have many different people who would like to hear what you think about any issue on their plate, and, if you let them, will gladly send you newsletters along with never-ending requests for donations and invite you to their public events, so you can talk to them in person (don’t hold your breath on that one).

Every one else can go away.  I don’t need to discuss political issues with my cousins, my co-workers, strangers at the bus stop, people standing in line at the grocery store, or the beggar on the street corner.  I certainly don’t need to bother with trolls on Facebook.  I can smile and be pleasant, say, “Nice day, huh?”, or, “How about those M’s?”, and it doesn’t matter if the person I’m talking to is wearing a Confederate Flag T-shirt or one that says Black Lives Matter, because I don’t want to talk about their causes or hear their opinions.

If someone on the street comes up with a petition for something I would like to see adopted, I can sign it, but that’s all.  No, you don’t get any money, and no, I don’t want to hear about it.  I can sympathize if you’re all worked up about this or that cause or problem, but, in the words of an old song by Ten Years After, “Don’t ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to.”  Address your complaints and your suggestions to the only ones who can actually do something about it, your own representative.  Why are you wasting your breath on the rest of us?

“But, but but”, you say, “Look at those other guys!  Look at all the money they’re spending!  We have to match or beat them in order to win the election!  If you don’t give big now, we will lose!”  To that I ask only one simple question:  How do you measure the effectiveness of all that spending?

As to that, I think – but there I go again, don’t I?  Trying to slip in my opinion when it really doesn’t matter, does it?  Hey, how about those Seahawks?  They gonna be great this year, or what?  :-{)}