There is not enough cheese in the world to go with all the "whine" I'm hearing about last week's Republican Revolution.
Like bleating lambs, Democrats from Florida to New York are singing the "poor me, the victim" song in disgusting unison and it is really starting to get on my last nerve.
Fact is, the Republicans beat the war drums so loudly and continuously that they simply drowned out the weak Democratic message about the real issues that most of us have to face and deal with all day, every day, not just on Election Day.
The Republicans turned the mid-term campaigns into a referendum on war. They made it seem like a vote for the Republicans was an act of patriotism while a vote for the Democrats was an act of treason.
But was it really was as simple as that? Of course not.
The Republicans used magic.
Republicans made those issues disappear by waving their multi-million dollar corporate-sponsored magic wand and sprinkling stardust into our eyes.
What happened to the discussions about the economy, education and health care?
Poof Š gone were the outrageously high unemployment numbers. Shazaam Š no more prescription medication dilemma for senior citizens. Abracadabra Š the environment, suddenly pristine again, no need to clean up anything. Wow!
How'd they do that?
Magic!
It works like this: Keep repeating over and over, "Evil Empire, Homeland Security, Terrorism." Now do it again.
Good, keep going. Get it?
OK. Now vote.
See? Just like that. Simple, easy, eh?
But, just like any other magic spell, there is a way to break it. Whining is not the antidote. The only way to break the spell is to organize, mobilize, conceive, believe and achieve a broader vision.
During the last days of the campaign, the immigration issue suddenly rose up again, when 200 Haitians tried to gain entry into the United States by leaping dramatically from their wooden boat into the ocean just off the Florida coast.
Living here in the Palm Beaches, this was nothing new. Boatloads of illegal immigrants are a common sight here. Not surprisingly, quite a few make it to shore and into the mainstream without notice.
They live and work amongst us, doing the jobs most Americans would rather not do. Down here, there is plenty of landscape work on acres of golf courses. There are literally millions of trees to trim, lawns to manicure, dishes to wash, foods to be cooked, restaurant kitchens to clean, and almost anyone can afford a housekeeper here.
Without unions to protect them, and with an immigration service that turns a blind eye, they are the working poor. "Real Floridians" blame them for everything wrong here, from overcrowding in the schools to clogging health services, overrunning public housing, unsafe driving, over-loaded cars without insurance, and generally straining this state's economy beyond its ability, yet the governor's race completely ignored them.
Like so many others who seem to love America and hate us at the same time, the Haitian national economy is in total disarray, and many of them blame our foreign policy or complete lack thereof for their dire straits. Truth is, they, like many Third World countries, are suffering greatly because of our lack of international vision.
What happened here is not much different from the rest of the states where the Republicans "won." They did it by ignoring the real issues.
The deep divide between the poor and the upper levels of the economy is growing. The issues, though ignored by the "winners," did not really disappear. They are still here, and over the next 24 months until the next major election, instead of whining, the Democrats might be wise to try a little magic of their own.
Try this. "Unemployment, education, health care." Say it again. "Unemployment, education, health care."
Good! Now say it again.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | November 12 2002 |