Calling Batman, or why we need heroes

“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history…There is a tiny splinter group, of…a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.” ~ Dwight Eisenhower

As we observe the tenth anniversary of 9/11 there is nothing else on the news. It is especially sad as the media highlights the parentless children. So many of them talk about their fallen Dad being their hero. The copy reads like a graphic novel. We need our heroes.

Now the political season is ramping up for another presidential campaign. The venom and poison being spewed is horrific. Wannabe’s who have never done anything are queuing up to be our next president. It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. And each of the candidates are diss’ing the current president and the job he’s done. Obama has dealt with a very nasty time in our history. The same people who say he isn’t fixing the US economic problems fast enough are voting down the fixes that might cure the situation.

But the homo sapiens (knowing man) is an optimistic species with a short memory. Most of us will be hitting the mute button for the nastiness that results from  the campaign show. And when it comes time to vote, we will vote as we always have, often as our parents did, for the candidate that comes closest to what we perceive as the truth.

Some of us will rally around a candidate as if she or he were a hero, infallible, the holder and enforcer of the truth, and the one the will bring us closer to nirvana. In 2000 and 2004 that was Mr. Bush, the good ole boy candidate. Those who voted for him hoped for a Christian country, with huge cuts in government, and breaks for the rich corporations and people (now labeled the job makers). Batman would have a hard time winning this campaign.

“America was composed of two distinct groups: the rich and the rest. And for the purposes of investment decisions, the second group didn’t matter; tracking its spending habits or worrying over its savings rate was a waste of time. All the action in the American economy was at the top: the richest 1 percent of households earned as much each year as the bottom 60 percent put together; they possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent; and with each passing year, a greater share of the nation’s treasure was flowing through their hands and into their pockets. It was this segment of the population, almost exclusively, that held the key to future growth and future returns.” ~ Can the Middle Class be Saved?

In 2008 the country deserted Mr. Bush’s political party in huge numbers. But the legacy of that failed presidency will live on for decades. In came Mr. Obama, our first black president, and arguably a hero by most of our definitions. But even those who had held so much hope for his tenure were disappointed to discover he was a moderate with slight left leanings.

As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act in December 2010. Other domestic policy initiatives include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act and the Budget Control Act of 2011.

In foreign policy, he gradually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered enforcement of the United Nations-sanctioned no-fly zone over Libya, and issued a direct order to a small group of American military forces to kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

But the folks who voted for Mr. Bush are back. The corporations and rich need a new president who will take care of the “job makers”. In a time when the country cannot afford to be the world policeman because our infrastructure is crumbling and our citizens need assistance to feed themselves, the Republicans have called the poor and crippled insignificant, the teachers overpaid, and social security a drain on US resources that could be used to fund the defense of the US by way of bigger Armies, massive terror fighting agencies, huge border fences to be the number one priority.

Think this is hyperbole? Is it possible, that the Republican’s would target more taxes from the poor? World of Class Warfare – The Poor’s Free Ride Is Over

The ugly truth is most people are not informed, don’t follow politics, and believe it or not, don’t even vote. Things have to get pretty bad for people to get off the Lazy Boy and go register to vote. With so many people unemployed, struggling to make ends to meet, without health insurance, you would think they might rise up and get a president elected who cared about them more than the rich, fat cats and corporations.

Unfortunately I don’t see that; I see another Bush-lite like Perry or uneducated like Bachmann becoming our next president. And I see them being elected by both the rich class and the ignorant bastards who would rather have a worthless friend in office than a balanced, fair president. Because, hey, even if the good ole boy can’t get the job done, he sure does provide a lot of comedians with funny stories to tell. We really need a hero to step up and not a Batty Man.