Michelle Tucker is a political junkie, in a world full of them. She moved to Milwaukee from the south, and is still often surprised that it's OK to be a Democrat here; she's also quite in love with Russ Feingold (and Al Harris). Besides her political addiction, Michelle is a full-time student pursuing her Masters in Political Science, and is currently researching the influence of religion on American politics.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Political thoughts through the fog of a hangover
I thought I’d take a break from lazing my day away (i.e. trying not to move too much because I’m still hungover from last night’s Vital birthday party- you were there, weren’t you?!) to offer up my two cents worth on the weekend’s political news. Because, really, I know you all can’t live without my opinions for more than a few days- who can blame you for that?!
Anyway, self-delusions aside, I personally think the big news of the weekend is Ralph Nader’s entry into the race. I don’t think Nader himself is going to put much of a dent in the election, but as I noted in an earlier blog, I’ve been waiting for a third party candidate to pop up because both parties are so divided about their chosen candidates. I wonder if Nader’s presence will pave the way for someone who has more of a chance with independents and moderates. It’d be interesting if there were.
My favorite political bit of the weekend was actually a skit on Saturday Night Live. If you haven’t seen it yet, go see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INICB1BFhCI. It’s a great skit, and it’s always fun to see politicians poke fun at themselves, particularly a conservative.
And my least favorite political crap (and it is crap, I think) of the weekend is the total disintegration of all goodwill between Hillary and Obama. Yeah, I know there’s been tension in recent weeks; I know that things have been getting progressively worse, as all of us here in Wisconsin can certainly attest to. But, overall, there’s been at least a modicum of respect. Until now. We’ve got supposed false mailers sent out by Obama; Clinton waving the mailer and calling Obama out; we’ve got accusations of attack ads funded by private organizations (hello? pot meet kettle); attacks on Obama’s patriotism because he doesn’t wear a flag pin (wtf?); attacks on Clinton for the attacks on Obama. It’s an ugly circle, and if it doesn’t stop soon, it’s going to tear the Democratic Party apart, and you know, I just don’t want to hand over another election to war-monger assholes.
I have a little hope that the Texas and Ohio primaries will lean far enough toward Obama and Hillary will drop out of the race. As a party, we can’t have this kind of infighting all the way up to the convention in August. And as a country, I don’t think it’s going to do anyone any good. God knows, if this crap continues it might actually give Nader a chance in hell.
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