Now I know how documentary provocateur Michael Moore felt after Election 2004. I have a sense of
how all Democrats and liberals felt when they dreaded four more years of George
W. Bush, the same wrath which voters voiced throughout the 33rd
Congressional District.
The title of this post comes from the final scenes of Martin
Scorsese’s film “The Departed.” Irish Mob boss Frank Costello (played by Jack
Nicholson) gets cornered in a state police cross-fire, which younger mobster
and mole Connie Sullivan (Matt Damon) was supposed to head off. The acolyte had
learned that Costello was an FBI mole, and the plots of double-dealing doubled over,
with Costello shot and down in the back of his car, moaning: “What the h----
happened?” Then the disillusioned Sullivan finishes him off.
Here’s a healthy take on the “morning after”:
n
Voters, rich and poor alike, cannot be bought.
All the money in the world will not massage a message which is missing real
substance, or does not promise more goodies from the government for those who
depend on the government. A solid message of debt and deficit reduction means
nothing for the man or woman who does not have a job, who cannot look past the
grim present into a calm of even smiling future.
n
The electorate has grown increasingly volatile,
with one slew of candidates thrown out in place of another in every election
cycle, yet neither major party, neither its leaders nor its acolytes, will pull
the trigger to cut the spending, curb the entitlements, and diminish the
over-extended prestige of this country.
n
The “Tea Party” message is getting watered down,
even though the platform of returning our government back to its constitutional
principles would solve many problems. Two years ago, many of the same Tea Party
supporters stood out on the curb waving the “Do Not Tread on Me!” flags, yet
when I told one of the attendees that
this country needs to curb entitlements, she balked, saying that anyone over 70
should retire with all that the government promises. Another member standing on
the sidewalk wanted to lecture me about his frustration with local police could
not remove a dead bird from the street. The same kind of “Occupy Wall Street”
rage of blame without a name bubbled over on Torrance Blvd. I am tired of
people getting angry because they feel betrayed while still betraying their own
principles. All in all, the tea tasted watered down: one more group of people
who want to cut the spending, but not their
spending.
n
The moment-modern media has made an indelible
mark on our platforms and our politics. One stray remark about abortion and rape
helped kill potential GOP pick-ups in Missouri and Indiana. From Twitter to FaceBook, from the Internet to
the blogophere, the opinions of the many, whether reasoned or rationed, are
driving this nation’s discourse. The voters, the commentators, and the
political elites cannot paper over missteps which get hammered at length in
easy, breezy private media. Still, no one has commented how corrosive, if not
corrective, the influence of instantaneous media has become.
n
People are looking for safety and security in a
world that is still shaking. 9-11 gave George W. Bush free reign not to rein in
spending or military ventures. From easy credit to easy invasions in the Middle
East, all of this power unrestrained has made us worse off, less secure.
Freedom is an afterthought if your choices are a split baby between bad and
worse. Fiscal discipline means nothing if government remains undisciplined with
our money, or careless when caring for our rights or securing our borders.
n
The polling was not as accurate as one would
have assumed. How many statistics indicated that Romney has a slight lead in
certain swing states, only to seem the melt away into a bare Obama resurgence?
So much information was misinformation.
Obama has been reelected. Waxman
is still in office. One side feels betrayed, done in by the very people whom
they trusted would carry the day, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
for praising Obama following Superstorm Sandy. Still, the fish are swimming,
and the birds are singing. Life goes on. I am still breathing, at peace notwithstanding
the unwanted outcomes. What happens in the White House or in the state house
does not have to hurt the peace and prosperity in my own. Perhaps if we stop trusting
the minute-by-minute and rest in the moment, we can stop asking “what happened”
and pay attention to what’s happening now.
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