This morning on CNN, Kasich stated that McCain shouldn't even have to run for the Senate given his love of the country and record of leadership. Kasich, referred to him as a hero with which I agree. McCain is an American hero and although I don't always agree with him, I certainly respect him. And yes Kasich may have been using those statements to demonstrate the admiration he has for the man. Nonetheless, we are not a monarchy and this smacks in the face of a representative democracy. It's just a very strange thing for a government official to profess and it's just as strange that the interviewer didn't even ask him to clarify/defend this comment.
By the way, before any of you on the Right begin ranting hypocrisy, I am clearly aware of, and fully understand the bullshit pulled by the former Left. I chose to use the word "former" because I don't view the Dem party as left or even moderate for that matter. Therein lies their hypocrisy. Someone on the board recently stated that the Dems have been better covering their actions with bullshit messages and with that I agree to a significant point. But, in my opinion, the Dems were actually pulled way to the Right by the Neo-Liberal values that were successfully sold to the American public in the Reagan years. Big monied interests have kidnapped our government and were led by extreme right wingers. The Republican Party has spent the past 50 years alienating virtually every group in the country, leaving itself with very few options to get to the White House based on popular vote. In a twist of historic political irony, the Koch backed billionaire boys club did such a good job propagandizing the remnants of the Republican base that it actually resulted in the disembowelment of the party. Consequently, all the Democrats had to do was continue to show just modest signs of liberalism in order to capture the middle. The reality is, the Dems have been far, far from liberally based on historic political standards. And this explains the lack of a balance of power in this country among the populace, the government and big business.
Yep, the Reps have made it easy for the Dems to look more normal because they went completely off the rails. And it's quite easy to see what I'm talking about just by reading many of the comments on boards like this one. Over-simplification abounds and that's exactly what political demagogues & propagandists pray for. "Build a wall", "they're coming for my guns", "it's the liberal media's fault", "big government is evil", 'voter fraud" and so on. These messages are merely intended to distract public attention from what's really going on. For instance, if you're big corporations lobbying like mad mother fuckers to construct trade agreements, behind closed doors, taking zero social concerns into account, you pull this off by calling them "FREE" trade agreements and simultaneously feeding the public with a PR campaign stating that we have to leave to compete because of the "Big Bad Government". Now keep in mind that these same busineses who rail on big government are the same ones who received multi-billion dollar bailouts from said government. Furthermore, you'll never hear a PR campaign launched by big business suggesting that the only reason much of "Big Government" exists is due to monsterous behavior by said big business. Most regulation is reactive and a result of anti-social, criminal behavior. Yet no one goes to jail. And most proactive legislation is done behind closed doors, far from view of the public and often even the Congress. Ever hear of "Fast Track" legislation? How about George W. and Obama implementing policy without Congressional consent? Most of what we see is political slight-of-hand.
I also believe that the Dems are at the end of their rope politically because they have done nothing to truly help the middle class or small business. It's just that their message has been more moderate and most people are not attracted to leadership that appears unhinged such as Trump or detached like Romney, when he showed his disdain for the average person with his "47 percent" gaff. The Dem's actions have not been so moderate, however. We have a very, very socialized big business culture that has now wrestled control of our government through vehicles such as, "Citizens United". Disaffection and change only occur during times of pain, particularly when that pain affects the pocketbook. A huge percentage of Americans are now feeling the pain and whether they understand it or not, it's economic pain driven by a rigged system that doesn't offer a sense of fairness or hope.There are ways to create balance and for the average citizen to regain some control in our government. But rest assured, it will not happen if we're focusing on the wrong messages that are continually fed to us through "corporate controlled media."
The bigger the gap that develops between the have's and have nots, the more likelihood the current dissaffection will end in crisis. History has proven this. Capitalism and Democracy make strange bedfellows and the way I see it, we have two choices --- increase equality via opportunity or decrease Democracy. In the last 45 years we have clearly chosen the latter.
SORRY FOR THE LONG COMMENTARY BUT I THINK THAT ONE OF THE REASONS NOTHING GETS DONE IN THIS COUNTRY IS THAT WE'VE BECOME A NATION OF SOUNDBITES. Most people want one sentence answers to very elaborate problems. As citizens, we don't think things through and we are disengaged from the process. Furthermore, there's an overwhelming tendency to rely on conventional media sources for quality information.Unfortunately, reality suggests that our news is filtered to soundbites and sanitized beyond recognition. There is no true free press in this country and it's certainly not liberal, but is definitely corporate controlled. All of this is in plain site but most Americans(educated Americans included) live under the illusion that since we are a free society, public relations doesn't form our opinions and we are beyond manipulation. Of course it does and of course we are. Otherwise billions wouldn't be spent by major corporations and think tanks, to flood the airwaves with mindless soundbites. For god's sake, most people don't even realize that Senators were appointed by their respective State Legislatures until just over a hundred years ago. You're not gonna find that in the mainstream media. Hell you can't even find that in a High School history text books.