The Courage To Say "No More!"…
Tuesday, November 7, 2006, three weeks from today, you and I have a right, I say an obligation, some even say a mandate, to speak out for what we have for too long taken for granted — the rights guaranteed by our Constitution and paid for with the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave souls who have fought to keep us free.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. — Winston Churchill
Regardless of your political persuasion, you must surely recognize that the tone and methods of governance have changed radically in this country over the past few years. If you approve and want more of it, then go vote your mind. If, like a growing majority of us, you don’t like what has happened and where we are inevitably headed if we stay the course, then turn out in record numbers and speak with your vote at the polls and shout a very loud message that we are madder than hell and not gonna take it anymore!
I am sick of watching the greedy power-hungry Bush Administration dismantle our Constitution, with each decision they make moving us closer to becoming a totalitarian fascist state. That this is happening is no secret. Just ask those in other countries scattered around the globe. If they can see it so clearly from the outside, why do so many Americans fail to see it from within.
I love this country and all it has given me and all it has yet to offer in opportunities for anyone willing to work to achieve their dreams. I do not want to lose what we have. That is why on November 7, I will go and vote my heart and my mind against any and all who are associated with Bush and his Republican party. I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. Over my many years of voting, I have never once voted for a party, rather for the individual I felt best capable of filling the job. My votes have gone about as many times Democratic as they have Republican. There are some very good Democrats and Independents running for office this year, and there may be some good Republicans. But this time around, I cannot take a chance on any Republican standing up against the Bush regime.
In Tennessee, we have an extremely critical post to fill, the Senate seat being vacated by Bush’s man Frist. Thank god he’ll be gone! Another Bush devotee, one named Corker, is just drooling on himself to get swept into Washington so he too can suck-up to the big man. A far better alternative, with or without the party line and the Bush connection, is Democratic candidate Harold Ford, Jr.
If you don’t go vote, then you have no right to complain. If you go and vote for the devil, don’t get all hot about landing in hell.
16 Comments so far
My NY voter registration card came in the mail yesterday. Alas, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, I’m guest lecturer down your way at Suwanee for a couple of class periods. Can’t believe I’ll miss my first NY election! I think I’m too late for an absentee ballot. Bad planning on my part, I guess.
re: Bobby Corker. Yes, Bobby Corker - I went to high school with him; he was the year behind me at Chattanooga (City) High. When he was mayor of Chattanooga, all my good Republican friends (love ‘em all, they’re just off-track)who know BC very well couldn’t stand him as mayor. Thought he was awful. Complained all the time. But I bet my bottom dollar that all of ‘em are voting for him for TN Senate. Aaargh! It freaks me that little Bobby Corker is in this big important Senate race. My, my.
Wonderful post Winston. I will be doing the same. Never have I been more intent on trying to change what hasn’t been healthy for this country. My affiliations are like yours….I vote for the person….not the party. I’ll be voting Nov. 7th for whomever I think will help get us out of the hole that Bush has dug for us. We need change, and we need it fast. Thanks Winston.
This election may very well serve as a referendum on republican democracy vs. buying votes. Passing through TN last month I saw perhaps three Corker ads (counting the “issue” or anti-Ford ads) for every Ford ad. My aunt assured me that no one believed Corker, but we’ll see.
It’s just sad that so many put more thought and effort into following sports than choosing and monitoring their government.
“If you don’t go vote, then you have no right to complain”
I frequently say that to people - especially people who say, ‘it doesn’t make any difference if I vote or not.’
Great post, Winston.
Great post and exactly how I feel and where I have come from in the past to this point. I have heard good things about Ford and also in terms of his potential someday to run for higher office. I hope he wins in Tennessee.
This is a critical time for Americans to determine who we are as a people. This is not just about ‘them’ but ‘us’ and what kind of human beings we are. I think it’s still up for debate as to what that will turn out to be, but I am hoping. I woke up this morning thinking about it and I really do hope it’s going to be a turn around for our country, but I just don’t know. Six years of Bush can cause anyone to begin to doubt what the majority in this country really want…
Remember, Remember,
the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot….
Two days off I guess?
You guys need to vote BushCo out,
for which the rest of us (furriners) will be grateful. But if Rove has fixed the Diebold machines (again?), then it may need an uprising…
Stu ‘Bushwhacker’ Savory
Good news! I just learned that in NY the polls stay open until 9pm (in Georgia, they close at 7pm). So if all goes well and my plane lands vaguely on-time (due in at 7), I should make it to the polling place across the street from my apartment. Yea! (And fingers crossed for Ford in TN)
Unfortunately, I have formed the opinion that only evil megalomaniacs run for office. Would I be incorrect if I opined that some Democrats in the House and/or Senate voted “yea” on some of the odious bills the Republicans rammed through? Would I be wrong to say that they, the Democrats (some of them) have pork-barrelled with the rest of the piggies? I have never registered as either a Dem. or Rep. I guess I’m over on the sidelines despairing. I agree the Bush administration has been an unmitigated disaster.
A heartfelt post Winston, I wish for you that there will be change. And the words that come to mind are Jackson Browne’s:
The Word Justice
As the battlefield comes home and democracy falls through
I am waiting for the time to come
When the word will be real for everyone
And not just a word but a thing that can be done
But justice must be won
I post again to add that I do vote, so I suppose that I don’t totally stand on the sidelines. I watch political ads, becuase they appear in front of me while watching TV, and wonder where the statesmen/stateswomen/statespersons are.
[...] Gerry Prosser commented in Nobody Asked that it was frustrating that there was little to choose between Republican and Democrat. One hears this a lot, often from people trying to excuse not voting (which Prosser says he does); and it is disturbing to me. [...]
You “Bush is a fascist dictator” people are hilarious. George Bush is the greatest president, next to Reagan and Lincoln. You have absolutely no base to say that he’s a fascist dictator, you just love to make stuff up.
And I bet your thinking “What about the habeas corpus thing?” Well if you actually pay attention in your history class, the president has ALWAYS had the power to suspend habeas corpus. Eat it.
Jay Noran, whoever you are, are welcome to come back here and offer whatever pitiful comments you wish, anytime you wish. They will be left intact for the world to see, unless of course you get so vulgar that even I cannot handle it. Seems you are a voice of one, crying like a lost fool in the wilderness, totally oblivious to the reality that has beset so many of your previous allies. Blither away in peace and rest easy in the comfort of knowing that your prez is taking this great country right over the cliff with him.
Pwnt
Jay Noran, if you have something to say, then say it. Don’t hide behind gutteral animal sounds that mean nothing… But come to think of it, that’s what Bush sounds like, and that’s about how much sense he makes…
Yes, I do vote. No, I don’t find anyone very inspiring. However, I reiterate that I think the Bush administration has been an unmitigated disaster. What will happen, as usual, I’ll grit my teeth and vote Democratic.