KELSO THE ATHEIST JEW ALWAYS DOES THINGS BACKWARDS...
...contemplation and reflection on Jewishness yesterday, on Shabbos, however, it's back to politics.
Kelso believes he covered in an earlier post why he thinks Bloomberg is good and Clinton is the least-worst. Kelso failed to explain fully why he thinks Kucinich is the best. It took some back-and-forth commenting elsewhere for Kelso to clarify this for himself. So, here goes...
We got into a heated debate elsewhere when Kelso mentioned that for all of George W. Bush's faults, he at least has leadership qualities that are so desperately lacking in every Democrat, especially Obama, but save Kucinich. Sure, he's short and not a great public speaker and has a thick Slavic-Cleveland accent but doesn't he have ideas and balls to spare?
We'll get to the ideas, but given that we took some heat on the Bush/Obama contrast, let's start with balls. In 1979, when Kucinich was looking like an even more promising rising star than Obama looks today. Kucinich was more than 15 years younger then than Obama is today. Kucinich was the boy-wonder Mayor of Cleveland. Yeah, Cleveland in 1979. Stagflation. Horrific poverty and crime. And an oil crisis. Is anyone old enough to remember people trading season tickets to the Browns for a few pounds of beef and pork? Or some gasoline? So, the boy-wonder, who's a lock to become governor of Ohio, U.S. Senator or at the very least a U.S. Representative, bets his whole career --and loses -- in order to fight off the power monopoly from gouging his most black constituents. Given the ethnic politics that obtained in those days, can you imagine what heat Kucinich took from the Slav machine that got him there? Can you imagine the heat he took from his neighbors and family? If any of this concerned Kucinich for a minute, he never showed it. He did what was right, called the utility's bluff, and paid the price. Kelso's not sure Kucinich was as old as 28 then.
The record is probably there but Kelso can't recall hearing Kucinich quoted on Newradio88 in NYC saying "we have to move past partisan rancor...and find a third way." It was a straight-up class and money issue and Kucinich handled it like a man and like a Democrat. And that was it for him. No more rising star. No more boy wonder. George Voinovich got to do as a Republican all that Kucinich was supposed to do. Voinovich, however, can't make up his mind whether to shit or get of the pot with regard to Iraq, Gonzales, whatever, so he just closes his eyes and votes with Bush. Conrast that with Kucinich's unwavering stances on these bestial wars and this bestial adminsitration. The citizens of Ohio screwed this up bad. The had the best guy good-to-go and never realized what they had -- a real advocate.
That's balls. Here are the ideas. Let's start with the much-maligned Department Of Peace cabinet level office. Lynn of zelleblog was absolutely right to correct Kelso for saying that this idea was good because is it was a reflection of Kucinich's pacifism. No, Lynn, you're right. It's not that at all. While Kelso believe that Kucinich unlike that vast majority of American politicians actually does prefer peace to war (of course the rest love war -- war is good for business and political popularity), the Department Of Peace as conceived by Kucinich would work in tandem with the over-burdened Department Of State, with former focused on diplomacy with peace as the ultimate goal, the latter handling other functions of diplomacy and the two working in tandem often. In order for this to work, Kucinich would dump a lot of the overlapping Departments Of War, and let the many nuclear weapons and the fine U.S. fighting forces serve as a defensive deterrant. Aside from being the moral approach, it is also the practical approach, and the libertarian approach. If the U.S. is freed of conducting god knows how many simulateous wars, of continuing to lard all of the Departments Of War with newer and better toys and pallets of cash to steal, and is given the cheaper solution of single-payer health coverage, Dennis The Menace could do practically anything he wanted with the budget and still leave room for -- yes -- tax cuts for the rich to sell the whole damned thing in the first place.
And we could kiss that god-awful Patriot Act goodbye. And, guess what? The United State of America would still be a capitalist republic. Probably with a stronger dollar. Go figure.
Kelso's Nuts love you
7 comments:
You know Kelso you are right. Kucinich is the only Dem w/balls. Other than Kucinich I don't see any other Dems acting like I would have hoped they would. I don't think at this time that he has a snowballs chance in hell. Americans are so afraid of peace lovers. It is ashame. I am at the end of my rope w/all of them.
Nice blog here. Anything that Supergirlest would be though.
I just wish everyone (especially men) could see Kucinich they way I do. His masculinity is defined by his love of peace and his stubbornness to stick to his principles, come what may.
I saw shades of that in Howard Dean. I'm glad he's the Party Chair and I'm glad his brother Jim is getting more and more involved.
Other than Kucinich's getting out there and running for president knowing that he's always going to be ridiculed for views that aren't crazy at all, Kucinich has also a dedicated member of the CPC and hasn't missed a chance to introduce legistlation that reflected his beliefs and the needs of his constituency, with the full knowledge that nothing would ever get heard no matter which party was in charge. Impeachment. Immediate end to wars. Single-payer health plan for all.
The leading Democrats just stink of fear. Richardson ain't terrible but nor is he great. Biden's a drunk or a tweaker so he doesn't count and Gravel may be a little senile.
I wish I were a Republican. They have some nice looking candidates, albeit not the top one, "America's Mayor" or John McInsane. Were I a Republican I'd be happy with Huckabee and Brownback's intelligence and sincerity, Romney's professionalism, Tancredo's sense of humor and Paul's pacifism. It's their ideologies I can't abide, but I confess to liking what see in them as people, weird as that must read from a stone-cold radical like Kelso.
I find Clinton, Edwards and Obama looking more and more like lost souls, with at least Clinton having strong political instincts and the ability to fend off attack. I hear Gore has seen the light, finally, but who can be sure with him?
Sure, Dennis Kucinich has no chance to win anything but at least the press ought to pay closer attention to the man and LISTEN to his ideas.
happy with Huckabee and Brownback's intelligence ???
Kelso, from what I have read, these two guys have proclaimed their disbelief in evolution!
Yo bro! My comments are not actually about your piece here, but the whole Miss Smack brouhaha. While I do feel you overreacted a bit to MS's musings about dick size, you were certainly contrite in the following post, and NO WAY IN HELL was that fuckwad who followed justified in his rantings.
Now...about Panama. I want to live there! It sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in PA til death do us part.
BTW, I don't really speak much Spanish. A couple of years in high school, a Mexican step-father for a couple of years, a friend from Venezuela back in the 70's (she didn't speak any English, so the H.S. Espanol got dusted off) and a trip to Spain in the '90's are the only times I've used it. I can only understand about half of what you write. I remember how I learned the word "verga." When I was 14, a cousin of mine who thought he was funny, handed me a piece of paper with a sentence written in Spanish. He said he needed to know what it meant and he knew I had a Mexican girlfriend at school, so would I ask her for a translation. The sentence was, "Mamay mi la verga." My friend was embarrassed, I was mortified, and the cousin was on my shitlist for a looooong time.
Z:
(I'll do these in order)
happy with Huckabee and Brownback's intelligence ???
Kelso, from what I have read, these two guys have proclaimed their disbelief in evolution!
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THAT NEITHER BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION. THAT'S A PITY BUT IT MAKES NEITHER STUPID, MERELY WEDDED TO A SET OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS WE DON'T BUY. I THINK I'VE REFERRED TO THIS BEFORE ON MY BLOG BUT WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE AT THE ST. ANSELM'S COLLEGE DEBATE, HUCKABEE GAVE A VERY SERIOUS AND NUANCED ANSWER ABOUT HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS INCLUDING BUT NO LIMITED TO THE IDEA THAT THE IDEA OF GOD CREATING THE UNIVERSE IN 6 DAYS IS PROBABLY A METAPHOR,THAT THOSE 6 "DAYS" COULD EASILY STAND FOR 6 "10,000,000,000 YEAR LONG DAYS." BASED UPON THE IDEA OF THIS METAPHOR, HE DID NOT DISCOUNT THE IDEA OF EVOLUTION, HE SAID HE PREFERRED NOT TO ACCEPT IT BECAUSE IT MADE HIM PERSONALLY UNCOMFORTABLE.
IN THE SAME DEBATE, BROWNBACK'S FOCUS ON THE NEED FOR MUCH MORE MONEY DEVOTED TO CANCER RESEARCH NOT SO MUCH FOR PROOF OF AMERICAN MEDICAL SUPERIORITY BUT BECAUSE OF THE FEAR THE IDEA OF CANCER PRODUCES IN EVERYBODY. THIS TO ME SHOWED A FEELING FOR THE HUMAN CONDITION ABSENT FROM EVERY CANDIDATE SAVE KUCINICH.
SO, NO, I WOULDN'T VOTE FOR EITHER MAN WITH A GUN TO MY HEAD. I FIND THEIR INSTRUMENTAL, MATERIAL, IDEOLOGIES REPULSIVE, BUT I CAN APPRECIATE BRAINS AND SENSITIVITY WHEN I HEAR THEM. CLINTON, OBAMA AND BIDEN HAVE SURELY SHOWN ME A STUNNING LACK OF SENSITIVITY SO FAR.
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FUNNY STORY ABOUT THE NOTE. YOU SHOULD TELL IT ON YOUR BLOG. IN EQUATORIAL SPANISH, "VERGA" IS MORE LIKE "KHOUI" IN RUSSIAN OR "SCHMUCK" IN YIDDISH. YEAH, IT'S A VULGAR WORD FOR PENIS. BUT IT'S MORE LIKE "DICK" AS A NOUN, OR "FUCKING" AS AN INTERJECTIVE ADJECTIVE.
THANKS FOR THE BACKUP ON MY COMMENT OVER THERE. I REALLY WANTED TO TURN THE CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDING INTO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A DEEPER DISCUSSION, BEACUSE I THINK "SMACK" IS COOL AND HAS A GREAT SITE. THAT SOME ASSHOLE COULDN'T DEAL WITH ME IS TOO BAD. BUT THAT'S HIS PROBLEM, NOT MINE.
I cannot understand how thoughtful, educated adults can hold serious religious beliefs. I gave up the whole god thing shortly after rejecting the easter bunny and santa claus. Yeah, it was nice to believe that "someone up there" was listening to my prayers and watching over me, but logic put a crimp in it, and by the time I was 18 I was a heathen. I know that polls in America indicate that only 3% of the populace identify themselves as atheists, but I think people are just afraid to admit it. Certainly no politician would ever dare to take such a lonely stand. So we have to listen to them being "holier-than-my opponent" and just hope (oops, I started to say "pray") that they don't really believe that bullshit. Otherwise, how can they be smart enough to figure out how to run the country? Oh wait...they're not doing such a great job, so maybe they do believe. Never mind.
Z:
I hold no brief for the Christian Right. I couldn't even imagine what weirdness would take place if Huckabee or Brownback were President, oh yeah i do, something like what's happening now.
You know I'm an atheist and you know my politics are radically left except on fianncial regualtion and taxes and I'm willing to listen to any argument that works. I do know that the SEC and the IRS have made a giant dog's dinner of it.
As retrograde and backwoods and whitebread as Brownback and Huckabee are, at least they gave thoughtful answers not bumper sickers. On very touchy subjects. I don't have to love them or vote for them, but I can appreciate their intelligence and ways of expressing themselves.
Have you ever uneerstood a single word Barack Obama has ever said.? surely haven't. I speak Englsih and Spanish,and know a little Yiddish and Russian. I don't speak DLC pandering. So Obama's "inspiring words" put me to sleep. He can't answer a yes-or-no question without having a ten-stage alternative response with a zillon 10-dollar words signifying nothing. You know I l0ve Kuciniich but I'm going to have to bite down hard and go with Hillary.
Sad to me that Kucinich isn't doing better. He's the only Democrat that is truly sui generis in the field. As I said, though I'm expecting Clinton to win Presidency, I don't see her as any kind of savior. It's kind of messed up that the "idea" candidates are all bringing up the rear. As odious as they are, the Peublicans DO have a better bullpen but not a better starter.
Democrats: One pro (Clinton), One idea guy (Kucinich) two nice, lost guys (Edwards and Richardson), one insane guy (Biden), one guy who doesn't even exist (Dodd), one guy with Alzheimer's Disease (Gravel) and one darkly complectly Elmer Gantry(Obama). With a who knows what waiting (Gore).
Repbulicans: One pro (Romney), Three idea guys (Brownback, Huckabee and Paul), Two insane guys (Giuliani and McCain),one humorous guy (Tancredo). With a who knows what waiting (Thomspson) and anthor insang guy wating (Gingrich) for whatever it is Newtg Gingrich's of the world wait for.
Stil like the Clinton/Richardson ticket agaist Romney/Whoever.
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