BartBlog

Barry speaks. He thanks every body. He thanks McCain for being actually nice. He thanks his family. He thanks his base in broader terms. (The author finds himself too relieved to be snarky)

Barry is an experianced debater and speaker. He talks of glowing platitudes for the happy masses but kicks in the right code words for the smart people. I’m sure everyone reading BartCop is smart enough to have picked them out. I just wanna out line the high points for everybody else. Team work is paired with sacrifice. Responceablility is paired with accountablility. We must work together as a nation but we all know that there is profit in fear and greed.

from breadwithcircus.com

Just a few thoughts as the Americans prepare to shed their status as rogue nation.

First, Barack Obama’s victory is encouraging, but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. There are still two and a half months left until Obama’s administration takes power, and the last days of the Bush administration may be particularly ugly. Bush, and others of similar ideology may realize that the next few weeks offer them their last opportunity to do what they’ve always meant to, whether it means launching an attack on Iran, repealing environmental laws, or simply continuing the looting of their country. I expect that they will take all of the lightbulbs and strip the copper wire out of the walls on their way out. With all the attention on the incoming President, we must pay close attention to the last actions of the Bush administration. They have seventy five days or so. I have no doubt that they are capable of at least one more massive betrayal of the rest of us.

Second, having elected Obama, the Americans have taken a huge step towards regaining their credibility as a democracy. If they want to show the world that they are truly back, it is important that they close the concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay, re-instate Habeas Corpus, begin closing out the war in Iraq, and begin taking action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, if they really want to get back in everyone’s good graces, they’ll
prosecute the war criminals who have spent the last eight years pillaging the planet. Let’s have a second Nuremburg Trials! They can try Rove, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Libby, Wolfowitz, Gonzales, etc. for crimes against humanity. They can put the proceedings on pay per view and raise millions. The world wants to see the neo-cons where they belong, in prison. If the Americans do this, they could ask the world for anything, maybe even a little bit of debt forgiveness. First though, Obama must convince transportation authorities to ban all flights to Paraguay.

Third, something that really bothered me throughout the campaign was the rhetoric of Sarah Palin. In particular, while touring small towns and racist backwaters, she’d talk about how it was good to be in the “Real America.” I would like to remind everyone that it is the people you saw at the Obama rallies, that mix of young and old, black and white, religious and not, that is the real America. The xenophobes that the McCain campaign pandered to are relics. I am encouraged to see that there are no longer enough of them to give the Republicans victory.

Finally, Obama, for all his charisma and oratory skills, is about to take over the helm of a sinking ship. The mess that he has to clean up is immense, and his hands may be so tied that he may not be able to keep his promises. We must remember to be realistic about just how far the US has fallen. I wouldn’t expect any miracles. At the end of the day, Obama is not a messiah, but a politician. He can’t help but let us down. I hope that everyone cuts him a little slack. I wish him luck, he’s going to need it.

It is good to know that there will soon be new management in Washington. The violent alcoholic, (the guy who ran over your dog with his Hummer) is moving out of the neighbourhood and a nice new family is moving in. Welcome back America. It will be good to once again have a reasonable neighbour.

I’ve waited 8 long years for this moment in history.  Congratulations to President-elect Obama and to everyone who worked hard to make that happen.  Bart, I sincerely believe that you and your site have made a positive difference over the past 8 years.  My red state flip pledge donation to you will be one check that I am more enthusiastic about writing than any that I have in a long time.

To everyone that reads this blog, it’s easy to breathe a sigh of relief and say it’s over, our team won!  But the truth is that our work has just begun.  A lot of us have worked very hard to get here and a rest is well-deserved.  But there is one real danger now: Complacency.

Even as I write this there are 4 hotly contested Senate seats that are still undecided, one of which I feel is extemely important, the Franken-Coleman contest in Minnesota.  It is important that is decided fairly, with every vote counted.  We have not won enough yet.  Republicans are like cockroaches.  We can set off the bomb, kill the big one and most others, but the next day there are always a few left.  If we don’t finish the job and mop up the stragglers, they will breed again.

There is a lot that needs to be done to fix the mess that this country is in, and we as citizens cannot just sit back and expect our new leaders to do everything without our help or our input.  Now that we got our team in there and that there are people in office that may actually listen to us, we must continue to make our voices heard.  We must continue to be active in politics, let our representatives know what issues are important to us, and not be afraid to speak up if we disagree with anything.  We can never sit back and let what happened in the past 8 years happen again.  If we do, we may not get another chance for change like the one we have now.

That’s to be expected but it’s still great news.

Let’s hope the news is good all night. 

I just want to make a quick post regarding my voting experience in West Bend, WI.  West Bend is Republican territory.  McCain-Palin lawn signs and bumper stickers outnumber Obama-Biden ones by about 10:1 in West Bend.  The weather here is gorgeous today, 72 degrees and sunny, which is remarkable for this time of the year in cheeseland.  A huge turnout was expected, so I strategically timed my appearance at the polls to beat the morning and evening rushes.  Wisconsin has same day registration and I needed to register before I could vote.

I arrived at the city hall/police department at 1:30.  Parking was more than adequate and entrances were clearly labeled.  I went to the registration area armed with my drivers license and a utility bill, expecting to wait in line.  But there was no wait!  When I expressed my amazement to the clerk, she mentioned that it was busy in the morning and that she expected things to pick up again after 4pm.  I was registered within minutes!

I then went to the ballot line where there was also no wait.  I was provided a paper ballot with ovals to darken with a marker for the selections.  There is no way that card can be misread by either a scanner or human eyes.  Markers and chairs were provided in every cubicle.  I made my selections and even took the time to carefully read through the referendums.  I was then instructed to deposit the ballot in what appeared to be an optical scanner ballot box.  I asked if the ballot had to be deposited in any particular way and the poll worker said it doesn’t matter.  I was back in my car at 1:40.  Mission accomplished!  Total time: less than 10 minutes!

I am sure we are going to hear about long lines and glitches in other parts of the state, especially Milwaukee and Madison.  I have voted before in Greendale, WI, Madison, WI, and Brooklyn, NY, but in GOP West Bend voting was quicker and easier that it ever has been for me.  I wish it could be like this everywhere.  Good luck everyone!

Please post your voting experience in the comments section.  Thanks.