Herd Watching

Up until today I was pretty mellow about this election, maybe even detached. I figured that Obama was going to win because frankly the amount of whining happening for the last eight years had whipped the Democratic base into a frenzy. All part of the normal give and take in the US system.

Basically, whoever is in charge gets all the blame and after 8 years or so we as a nation get nostalgic for the good old days when the other side was in charge and vote them in.

No problem. I was prepared to just chill out and enjoy the next four years of not having to defend “my” president from a bunch of folks pouting and stomping their feet. There is something to be said for letting the other guys do the heavy lifting so they feel like they are contributing. We could always clean up the mess later and how much trouble could Barack really get into? Yeah, the guy is a crook and a liar. Yeah, he’s an influence peddler and deeply in love with the perks that come from lots and lots of lobbyist cash. Yeah, he hangs around with some of the most vicious racists you’ll find anywhere. That’s politics right?

Who knows, maybe John Stewart would lighten up and get funny again.

You will notice I said “was”. As of today? I am no longer mellow about this Obama guy. His flaws have piled up high enough, and are so systemic that now I am convinced he is not just another politician but actively dangerous to not only the nation, but the foundation it sits on. Nothing the system can’t handle – but an active danger nonetheless.

I am almost embarrassed that it took me as long as it has to realize that the game changed about 4 years ago. It used to be that there were elections and then once we chose a president we got behind him for the most part and got on with running a nation.

The idea of “total conflict” had not entered into the US political system.

That ended when Bush got re-elected. In the intervening four years, and especially the last two, we have seen the Democrats in office actively disrupt the functioning of this government to create an advantage in this election. We have seen them actively interfere in the conduct of a war, putting US lives and security at risk for political gain. Still, I figured that was just them hating Bush… and that maybe things would go back to normal later.

Now I realize that it will never be the same… and it’s probably time to get with the new program.

I can forgive lots of things during an election cycle… but I will no longer forgive the things that have become commonplace in this one.

• The systematic manipulation of what gets reported and how in an openly partisan way by influential news outlets (I’m looking at you AP and CBS).
• The systematic, widespread and campaign funded / driven fraud of election registrations and the voting process.
• The systematic manipulation of the oversight process in an openly partisan way.
• The open tolerance for racism and terrorism.
• Actively working, in secret, on foreign soil of the American foreign policy.

Today it crossed the line for me. This is no longer a collection of isolated incidents but rather the symptoms of a serious breakdown of any remaining agreements of fairness or reasonable conduct. The final straw for me today was watching a number of folks take the McCain campaign to task for being too hard on Obama. They had the temerity to look McCain and his mainstream supporters and tell us that we were somehow over the line.

Bullshit.

• After more than four years of watching protesters openly call President Bush a terrorist without a word of condemnation or restraint from the Democratic party they no longer get to tell me what is “over the line”.
• After spending more than twenty years in the church of Reverend Wright, and Father Pfleger then soaking in and spouting some of the most vicious racist and anti-US rhetoric I have seen in a long time they don’t get to tell me that our support of McCain is driven by racism.
• After working closely with a open and unrepentant terrorist then attempting to lie about how deeply tied they were, Barack Obama and his supporters no longer get to tell me that the policies I support handling terrorism wrong.
• After going to Iraq and actively working to subvert US policy, they don’t get to tell me that our opposition to his presidency will weaken the country.
• After the vicious attacks on Palin, without a single word of response from Obama or his campaign they don’t get to tell me that McCain is supposed to take responsibility for everything his supporters say.
• After funneling more than $800,000 to an organization that is openly attempting to steal this election under the cover of legislative protection by openly partisan Democratic election officials then lying about how deeply he is connected to them neither Obama nor any of his supports get to tell me that somehow the Republicans are being too partisan with election registration reform.
• After a Democratic official openly promised to subvert the process of an investigation specifically to have an impact on a presidential election they don’t get to tell me that they care a single bit about the truth.

In short, you people don’t get to lecture me – and the attempt to do so shows a contempt for my intelligence of a magnitude I will no longer simply put up with. I was pretty much willing to let bygones be bygones and hope for unity… but this attempt to not only feed me this empty suit of a messiah but then tell me that my legitimate questions are a sign of how evil I am? That is an attempt to convince me to stop thinking, to stop questioning. That is an attempt to shut down not only my well deserved questions but my moral and ethical right to ask them. It is an attempt to shut down the capacity and will to question and I will not tolerate it.

Both online and off I will not be conciliatory. I will support investigations into every dark corner of Obama and his incoming administration. I hope he never has a good night sleep and worries every day wondering when some evidence of his fraud and pandering will show up and stick. I will laugh my hardest when the honeymoon glow of his rhetoric fades and he reaps the anger of the victimization culture he has used so long to his advantage as they turn on him.

The left has shown us the kind of success to be had via total war, and I think it is a lesson I am now ready to learn.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no intention of becoming one of those bitter protest junkies the left has turned into profession over the last eight years. I will live my life, make my money and enjoy my days – because neither Obama nor the more vicious among his supporters have the power to change that. This blog will still make fun of a wide range of idiots on the left, right and fringes of our society. We will laugh at the tree huggers, the man haters, the creationism idiots and save the planet fools. I will be polite with my well meaning opposition and gracious with those who are gracious with me.

I am a benevolent Watcher, after all.

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