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If you're referring to my comments about "we
get the politicians we deserve"--that wasn't what I meant at all. I was
saying that our politicans reflect our society. That when we turn a blind
eye to nefarious methods of achieving our goals, then we have no right to
complain when our politicans do the same thing. I was asking people to
reconsider an "ends justifies the means" mentality. After all, what is all
the brouhaha about how votes are counted and throwing out absentee ballots to
retaliate for butterfly ballots and incomplete chads, etc. etc.? The end
justifying the means. At least I think so.
I'm not going to apologize for my vote.
It's a matter of my conscience I have and had reasons for how I voted. Nor
do I blame anyone who in good conscience voted for Gore. I'm dumbfounded
that anyone would have voted for Bush, but hey, it happens.
I am not thrilled about a Bush presidency, but I am not panicked over it either.
(I am however, thrilled about the potential for genuine GRIDLOCK in
Washington--possibly until the 2002 midterm elections.)
Frankly, if Bush had won this thing fair and
square, I -- and I believe everyone else -- would have taken my lumps and just
dealt with it. The fact is, there are a lot of very disturbing stories and
issues coming out of Florida--including some very serious allegations of
racism. And there's the other little bottom line fact that Bush did not
win the popular vote, that the state which is too close to call just
happens to be run by his brother and that his "victory" in the state
was solidified by a woman who worked on his campaign and who by many accounts is
expecting some sort of appointment from Bush once they put him into the White
House. I will, however, be honest enough to admit that I don't know how
upset or active I would be over all of this if the tables were turned and if I
had to fight for Bush's right to a fair election count.
(Interesting side note: On the other
hand, the Repubs were ready for just that thing. I watched Ray LaHood,
Republican from Illinois, just one week before the election introducing a bill
to abolish the elctoral college--that was when the Repubs were expecting Bush to
squeak by with the popular vote but lose the electoral college.)
This whole situation has just reminded me how
much elections divide us. Look at this conversation. We had what I
thought was a dialogue-debate-conversation in the heat of the election, and
apparently some people took it rather personally. I certainly
took no umbrage at anyone's comments and I apologize if anything I said
made others feel silenced. I've been watching people shout each other down
in Florida and to a lesser degree here in Minnesota and I'm not sure that's what
democracy ought to look like either. We need (and deserve) rational
dialogue about issues--ALL issues--rather than digging in and shouting partisan
soundbites and engaging "did to/did not"-type reductive arguing with
each other. Again--we as a society mirror the very thing we claim to
be turned off by. And that brings me full circle.
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