Mark Ellis may be a political animal, but he can relate to the little girl in this video who’s tired of “Bronco Bama” and Mitt Romney.
Really must say I feel just like this little girl today. One can only hope she has been spared the threat to Big Bird.
I’m a political animal, but I’m ready for it to be over. I’ve been battling for my man Mitt for over a year now. Whatever happens on Election Night, I’m going to need a break. I will probably turn down local political assignments for at least a month, even if my wallet takes a hit.
Since Oregon is theoretically not in Electoral College play, we have not been inundated with national campaign advertising. Yes, there are some local ads, but they’ve just started in heavy rotation, and the budgets for these races are miniscule compared to the coffers of Romney and Obama. I can’t imagine what voters in the swing states have been subjected to. I wonder what state this little girl lives in.
If Mitt wins, I’ll be happy. I will not gloat. I don’t regard the Right as infallible. It’s just that Mitt is so much closer to where I live, ideologically, than the president. It has always been that way with conservatism, even back in the 60s when I was pretending to be a hippie.
If Mitt wins I will get on with my life, with renewed optimism I must say. After a period of respite from the partisan wars, I will likely write think-pieces about what I think the new Republican president should and should not do. I’ll be happier, at least when I think about the big picture.
If Barack wins, I can’t deny that there will be a certain amount of dejection. I’ll lick my wounds, like I did in 2008, take a break, and then likely join the partisan chorus looking to undermine whatever it is Mr. Obama is trying to do. To ask me not to do that is tantamount to asking me to change my sexual orientation.
Some of my conservative friends are pretty dramatic about what they’ll do if Obama gets four more. They talk about hoarding “seeds and guns,” about how the jig will be up, the nation lost. Me, I’ll get up on Wednesday morning (assuming we know the election results) and go to work. I’ll keep swinging, keep competing, and keep sidestepping the governmental nexus and socialistic drift that I believe has the potential to sap the exceptionalism of America.
But I’ve seen too many elections, too many swings, too many times when the Democrats said the GOP was through, and vice versa. Life will go on, in a country with the highest standard of living and most freedoms of any nation on earth, even with Obama returned to office.
My prayers go out to all the partisans. Half of them are headed for some measure of depression. What is really important? I suppose you could say that if a few days dejection over the result of an election is the worst prospect facing you, you are blessed.
I’m hopeful for this little girl, because though she’s painfully fed up with the campaign, she was fortunate to be born in this country. Two weeks from now her psychic exhaustion over “Bronco Bama” and Mitt Romney will be lost to the limits of linear memory. Her thoughts will likely turn to the holidays, in whatever sense her family celebrates them.
But for now, she’s ragged, fed up, she’s had it.
Politics matter and we need to pay attention. But today I can totally relate.
About Mark Ellis
“…and then likely join the partisan chorus looking to undermine whatever it is Mr. Obama is trying to do. To ask me not to do that is tantamount to asking me to change my sexual orientation.”
Um, not really. One is something you have no power to control and you couldn’t “change” it anyway. The other is a personal choice to adopt a combative stance against an arbitrarily defined “opposition”, no matter what their views or policies are. I guess political “animal”, means political “pugilist”. Well done.
Must agree with Heisenberg on a combative stance being very much a choice. We supposedly live in a Democracy wherein bargaining and compromise are fundamental to the functioning and effectiveness of our legislatures. In such a diverse society, nothing else will grease the wheels and get things done. The author lauds the behavior of the past GOP-controlled House vowing to oust Obama even at the cost of taking care of the business of the country, the very job for which they are paid, and paid well. I find that behavior treasonous. I didn’t like Bush, but we got through 8 years with that idiot at the helm. Now it’s the conservatives turn (I hope) to cooperate with a supposedly liberal (but not liberal enough for ME) president. You’ll live. Get over it.
Thank you both for weighing in. Though social scientists and other researchers have traced the propensity for political leanings into to the deepest reaches of the human psyche, Hisenberg’s point is entirely valid. The decision to engage, to not just vote but go to bat for a team, is a choice, unlike sexual orientation.
I just wanted to drop you another line and quote Mitt Romney, in his incredibly gracious and magnanimous concession speech:
“At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and posturing. We need to reach across the aisle.”
I quote this to further highlight that for you to adopt an immediate opposition to everything that the other side of politics proposes, is not only counter-productive, it also will go against the wishes of the man who almost led your party to victory. If we keep on fighting, we’ll never reach that jar of cookies. But if we give each other a boost, then we can share the deliciousness. (Cookies can be a metaphor for anything you choose.)
Hey Heisenberg,
Fair enough. I would welcome President Obama should he reach out to the other side and to Mr. Romney as he promised to do in his gracious bipartisan victory speech. Bill Clinton won me over in his second term, with his pivot towards the center. Miss you already, Mitt.