There she was, thrown to the pavement by a Republican in a checkered shirt. Another Republican thrusts his foot in between her legs and presses down with all his weight to pin her to the curb. Then a Republican leader comes over and viciously stomps on her head with his foot. You hear her glasses crunch under the pressure. Holding her head down with his foot, he applies more force so she can't move. Her skull and brain are now suffering a concussion.
The young woman's name is Lauren Valle, but she is really all of us. For come this Tuesday, the right wing -- and the wealthy who back them -- plan to take their collective boot and bring it down hard on not just the head of Barack Obama but on the heads of everyone they simply don't like.
Teachers union? The boot!
Muslim-looking people? The boot!
Thinking of retiring soon? The boot!
Living in a house you can no longer afford? The boot!
Doing a bit better with your minimum wage? The boot!
Stem cell research, the bullet train, reversing global warming? Ha! The boot for all of you!
What? You like your kids being covered by your health plan 'til they're 26? The boot for them and the boot for you!
In love with someone of your own gender? A double boot up the ass for every single one of you sick SOBs!
Hoping there's a few jobs left here in the U.S. when you graduate? How 'bout just a nice boot to your head instead?
And most importantly, the last boot is saved for the black man who probably wasn't born here, definitely isn't a Christian and possibly might be the Antichrist sent here to oversee the destruction of our very way of life. A boot to your head, Obama-devil!
Yes, one big boot is poised to stomp out whatever hopey-changey thing we might have had two years ago and secure this country in the hands of the oligarchs and the culture police.
And if they win on Tuesday, they plan to show no mercy. They will not speak of bipartisanship or olive branches or tolerate any filibuster threats. They will come in and do the job with a mandate they'll perceive the electorate will have given them. They will not fart around for two years like the Democrats did. They will not "search for compromise" or "find middle ground." They will not meet you halfway on the playing field. They know that touchdowns aren't scored at the 50-yard line. Unlike our guys, they're not stupid or spineless.
Make no mistake about it, my friends. A perfect storm has gathered of racists, homophobes, corporatists and born agains and they are on fire. Two years of a black man who secretly holds socialist beliefs being the boss of them is more than they can stomach. They've been sick to death since the night of 11/04/08 and they are ready to purge. They won't need a rope and tree this time to effect the change they seek (why bother when a nice shoe on another's skull will do just fine, thank you).
They simply need to get their base to the polls (done), convince enough people Obama is responsible for the fact they don't have a job or a secure home (done), and then hope enough of us Obama-voters are so frustrated, disappointed and downright mad at the Dems (done) that we'll either stay home Tuesday or, if we vote, we won't be carpooling with 10 others to the polls.
Done? Or not?
These Republicans mean business. Their boots are all shined and ready. But they've got one huge problem:
The majority of Americans don't agree with them.
The majority want the troops home. The majority want true universal health coverage. The majority want the thievery on Wall Street to be stopped. The majority believe that global warming is happening, that social security shouldn't be privatized and that unions are a good thing.
Too bad the majority party has done precious little to bring about the change for which the majority voted. Yes, change takes time. But try telling that to someone who hasn't worked in two years. Or who hears the knock of the foreclosure sheriff at the door. The booted-up minority knows how to make hay in a situation like this. All they need is us, the disappointed, dismayed, disgusted us.
What say you? Stay home and punish the weak-kneed, sell-out Democrats? Or spend every free moment you have between now and Tuesday trying to protect what little progress has been made so we can live to fight another day (even if it is with "allies" like a Democratic Party that will more than likely still not get the message of what they need to do -- and has, in fact, spent much of the past two years giving progressives the boot)? Perhaps our job, post-election, is to provide a gentle but swift boot in the bee-hind of the party whose mascot is an ass.
Right now, we've got 112 hours. Seems like enough.
Follow Michael Moore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MMFlint
One example tax cuts for the rich
http://www.gallup.com/poll/142940/Americans-Allowing-Tax-Cuts-Wealthy-Expire.aspx
The majority supported the Arizona illegal immigration bill. In fact, on the two most "controversial" measures of the bill, the liberal Pew Center for the People found that 73% and 69% respectively support those harsher measures. Of course, that should not be a surprise - as all straight polling has always shown such a view by a strong majority, here.
The majority did not, still does not support Obama on closing Gitmo.
Poll after poll by leaning left media outlets, continue to show that a majority of the people want a smaller govt providing fewer services - not the other way around.
And only a fraction in the US put addressing "global warming" high up on their list of what they want gov't to tackle.
Do you read, man?
To say that people don't want universal healthcare differs markedly from wharthe wanted 10 months ago. I wonder why? Propaganda. We know very little about what the propagandist's call Obama-care. Most actually want hellth insurance that is non-profit with cost based on real numbers. But real numbers are not readily available - only polls. The bail-out worked and cost far less than anyone knows - but polls don't say this because what people want is their own bailout, not the currency's. The public wanted a President who would act strongly against poltics as usual, but when Obama tried for bipartisan support and failed, they resented his soft approach. The public wants a government that represents them first.
Polls are easily manipulated, but facts are not. Unfortunately facts take time and hard work to expose. It is so much easier to talk about poll results than actually geting to the facts. That is a propagandist;s dream! So we live in a world of hypotheticals and base our opinions on them
FTR - I was only referencing polls conducted by liberal orgs. Try to do better.
He's saying that Republicans will continue the nightmare.
"8. Blaming a whole group for the actions of just one of that group is anti-American." - posted by you, on 9-11-10
Seems like you are painting the entire tea party as this monolithic boot-stomping guy. Anyway...keep up the good work!
I am so proud to have him represent America in the world, and that is one of his main jobs.
Do these rabble rousers really think he, by himself, will solve the economy and unemployment and the budget?
But that personal favorability doesn't translate into re-election support when voters are asked if Obama deserves a second term. Says Schoen: "Despite voters feelings toward Obama personally, 56 percent say he does not deserve to be re-elected, while 38 percent say he does deserve to be re-elected president." Worse, Schoen adds, "43 percent say that Barack Obama has been a better president than George W. Bush, while 48 percent say Bush was a better president than Obama has been."
http://politics.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/10/27/poll-most-want-obama-fired-in-2012
Bush better than Obama? Oh my...
I don't think so many "little" people rally for the rich because they expect to be rich themselves. I think it is a complex mix of fear of the rich (that the rich will somehow take revenge on the lower classes if they are thwarted in any way), and a need to justify their own small scale greed and striving. Defending the rich defends their own selfish actions, and blaming even poorer people for their plight relieves them of the need to help, freeing scarce resources for their own use. There is also the effect of identifying with power, which can make people feel a little bit powerful themselves, even if it is totally imaginary.
A reasoned argument against the administrations actions is not considered treason or back-stabbing, especially when infused with alternatives. (Take the time to listen to the reporting and commentary of the msnbc crowd that you mention, and you might see what I mean.)
The GOP has cast their lot with the politics of fear, anger, and gaining power for it's own sake - and any hint of disloyalty to that end is immediately neutered (Smile, Karl!). A look at the slate of radical candidates offered this mid-term certainly shows that result.
Mike, your next documentary should be based on Democratic weakness and concessions and compromises.
It's the only way the Democrats will get the message.
Sorry, couldn't come up with something shorter than that to make a nice title....