Month: October 2012

Delete,Delete,Delete

I woke up this morning to read a post on my Facebook against Obama that can only be described as hateful and racist.  What was even more disgusting was a few people agreed with it, even posting, “Well said.”  Well said???  What is the matter with you people?  When did this name-calling and hate spewing become a substitute for discourse and conversation?  When will I quit asking questions? 
I am from Orange County, California and what I did not know growing up was I was from a Democratic family adrift in a sea of Republicans.  It wasn’t a big deal then.  My parents did not like Nixon but they respected he was the President and never said, “I told you so.” when it turns out they were quite right about him.  I have reconnected with a lot of people from my home-town of Brea through Facebook. It appears that not only are they still Republican, but a couple of them are viciously mean and racist when discussing Obama. I understand being upset with a President. I have spent the majority of my adult life not particularly liking whoever was President. I do not understand, however, the amount of hatred, vitriol, violent threats and meanness directed toward Barack Obama. Oh wait, yes I do.   One of my favorite posts regarding Ann Romney written on Facebook, “It will be so nice to have a beautiful intelligent first lady again.”  Hmm.  I am playing the race card because I have seen it written down.  I saw it on a soon to be former Facebook friends post this morning. 
I have one friend from Brea that I am still in contact with through Facebook or phone almost daily.  Wendy and I have been friends since Junior High but we were kind of “off campus” friends meaning we hung out with different groups at school.  When we really needed to talk, rant or get advice we would always turn toward each other and still do.  When we were Freshman I found a marijuana cigarette or what I was told to call a “joint” in a purse my sister and I shared and I freaked out.  I was pretty hysterical about holding an illegal substance in my hands so I called Wendy and asked her what to do.  She told me to calm down she’d be right over.  She arrived five minutes later in her green Brea Olinda High School band uniform and told me to give her the joint and she would take care of it.  It took me fifteen years to figure out that she and the rest of the brass section smoked it under the bleachers during that nights’ football game.   Wendy has always been the voice of reason in my ear. She is nicer than I am and believes people are good even when they say or do bad things.  I admire that about her and I wish I were more like her.  Maybe Wendy is right and our mutual Brea friends are good people in spite of their offensive posts.  They call themselves good people and talk about God and church and all.  What does God think of hate and racism?  I can’t reconcile it so I will leave it to Wendy to explain the psychology to me as she has done for almost forty years.   In the meantime I will just keep pressing delete.

Puppy Fixes Post Debate Depression

Last Wednesdays debate was traumatic for me.  I knew things were going to go badly when Romney delivered his opening joke about Obama’s wedding anniversary fairly well with only one little stutter.  The joke written for him was self-effacing and funny and I thought, “Oh crap”. As we all know, it turns out my initial feelings were correct. (When are they not?)   The next day after I drove the kids to school I was so bereft I took to bed in a pink silk peignoir with my smelling salts and all the candy I could find and stared at the ceiling wondering what had gone wrong.  How could Barack do this to me?  I have given him the best years of my life. I have stood in the blazing sun extoling his virtues.  I have endured countless jerks and crackpots threatening him and me.  I stood by him when my husband fumed about his going after healthcare instead of the economy.  Let’s face it; it is obvious I have been doing most of the work in this relationship.  All HE had to do was show up and debate Mitt Romney!  I was screaming at the television.  “Look up!!”  “That’s a lie! Call him on it!”  “Barack! Wake up!” It was a nightmare and I couldn’t believe it was happening. There are no excuses.
It took the entire day for me to sufficiently recover and only then because I was forced to participate in this thing called “a family”.   That night I was awakened by Sofie throwing up (not exactly in the toilet). By the time I had cleaned up and was able to return to my bed both Sofie and Addie were in it.  When I crawled in Addie asked me why Sofie was in the bed and I told her she was sick.  Addie leaned over Sofie to whisper what I thought was going to be words of comfort but what she said was, “Do not throw up on me.”

So life continues and it will no matter who wins.  As my 1st Cousin Once Removed Craig said this weekend, “Nothing terrible will happen either way.”  He’s right.  Both sides of this election have portrayed their opponent as the devil who will destroy us.  The truth is we have checks and balances and things have a way of resolving themselves in spite of our idiocy.  Thank Goddess.  Also, I think my guy will probably kick ass in the next debate and all will be right.  In the meantime this weekend we got a new puppy and I got to meet my Great Nephew Jack.  Even though I look way to young to be a great Aunt I do enjoy the title and I am making him and all future  great nieces and nephews call me “My Great” and bow their heads just a little when saying it. The thought of that cheers me up….. a lot.

Is Mitt Romney The Next John Kerry

An opinion piece written by a simple humble housewife with no political background whatsoever.  Oh, wait! I was a Political Science major at Cal State Fullerton for six weeks with the plan of becoming a lawyer until I dropped out to be a dancer at Disneyland. That should do it.  
Me as Cinderella lounging casually backstage with the other Princesses.
When I typed the title of this post, I accidentally wrote “Is Romney the next Jim Carrey?”  Well, no argument there: no.  Just as well, because Jim Carrey probably wouldn’t make a very good President.  The real question is, “Is he the next John Kerry?”  My answer is, “could be.”  By that, I mean Republicans may be scratching their heads in disbelief that they could not find anyone to beat Obama.  In 2004, when Bush was not enjoying great popularity, the best candidate Democrats could come up with was John Kerry.  Not even his own party was that excited about him.  He was stiff, not very likeable, and couldn’t rally the troops.  Sound familiar?  America decided to stick with Bush because they didn’t find the alternative to be a viable choice.  Fast-forward eight years.  Again we have a President not enjoying a great deal of popularity that is ripe for defeating.  And again, the opposing party has put up a candidate that is unlikeable, stiff and can’t even rally his own troops.
I would like to speak to Republicans now, and tell you in my own humble opinion where you went wrong (if in fact you did and Romney loses), or why if he wins it wasn’t by a larger margin.  There were lots of Democrats unhappy with Obama and open to listening to another candidate.  Instead of putting up someone with a moderate voice (like my favorite, John Huntsman) only the far right candidates were given any credence by your party.  The far Right (Tea Party) has called all the shots for the Republican Party, and I am not sure why you are letting them do that.  All of your reasonable voices have been silenced and marginalized.  Mitt Romney moved way far to the right in order to get the nomination, and is now trying to push a bit more toward the middle in order to be more electable.  It’s probably too little too late.  You did not offer Democrats any choice they could get behind.  The addition of Paul Ryan to the ticket sent any Democratic women or seniors who may have been open to change into a tizzy of terror.  No, we don’t think he is good looking, and you can’t buy our vote that way.  Yuck (says Cinderella.
So you are left trying to persuade a handful of independent voters instead of having any shot at luring the discontented Democrats.  And by the way, I know a lot more Democrats willing to vote for a Republican candidate than the other way around.  Just saying.  Even I, DeAnne “I Love Obama” Spicer Todd, would have listened to a Republican candidate with conservative fiscal ideas not accompanied by a platform that includes overturning Roe v. Wade in even the most horrific circumstances, and that sends gay people into hiding.  I even liked John McCain back in the day, before he got old and cranky. 
If Romney loses this election, the Republican Party is going to have to do some major changing.  You have been eating your own tail.  Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Bachman, most pundits on Fox News, Rick Santorum… really?  I cannot believe these are the people you want speaking for you.  Unless they do speak for you, and then I am just plain scared.  
The first debate is tonight, and I seriously doubt it is going to change anything.  The hype surrounding it should keep both candidates from making any mistakes or going out on a limb.  Because we have “a clear choice,” meaning extreme viewpoints, we have left the future of our country in the hands of a very few who can’t even commit to a candidate yet.  Im sorry, how can they not know yet? Those are the only people Romney has a chance to reach, and that is why it might not work out in his favor.   Maybe after the election Romney and John Kerry can get together and watch a Jim Carrey film to cheer themselves up, and start the “I Can’t Believe I Couldn’t Beat That Guy” club.  If that is the case, my suggestion to Republicans is to have your days of mourning and hair pulling and then get to work figuring out what your party really stands for.  I’m pretty sure that if you do that, you could be back in 2016.  Maybe.