TBV Feature: Imagine 2008

One of TBV's group projects that came out of our last meeting was to build on Lisa's post from earlier in the month, "A Tall Order for Democrats". Our mission, if we chose to accept it, was to generate hope and also to wonder if the Democratic Party offered an alternative to the dismal leadership we seem to be stuck with today. In the best realistic scenario for 2008, we might end up with Hillary Clinton/Al Gore, or even Gore/Clinton, and I would be spared the expense of buying a new T-shirt, I could just use that old one from 1992, although it wouldn't fit as well as it did back then. As much as we all are wishing for a time machine to fast forward our nation out of the present dark ages, I'm thinking that we need to take baby steps back to democracy, and focus on 2006 before we think about the next Presidency. I would like nothing better than for this nightmare to end, but King George will reign for nearly 3 more years, and there are an awful lot of shitty things that can happen in that time frame.

Let's imagine that we can take the Senate back in 2006. The first order of business would not be impeachment, would we really want to have Deadeye Dick as President for the remainder of George's term? I don't know about you, but personally, I'd rather have Cheney face indictment first and resign. Still though, that presents a problem, because the next in line for the throne is the Speaker of the House, and that would leave us with the Pillsbury Dough Boy, Denny Hastert as Leader of the Free World, and that can't make anyone, Democrat or Republican, feel comfortable on any level. And let's say the Democrats took the House in 2006? How would you feel about President Nancy Pelosi? I don't know about you, but I would feel like projectile vomiting.

If we were to have a Democratic Primary today, who would you vote for? And what if it could be like Fantasy Football, and you could pick your ticket? Would you vote for Dean/Kuchinik, Gore/Clinton, Kerry/Biden? What if the next election could actually be decided by the people, for the people, and not by the paid consultants of the DNC? Would you vote for Jimmy Carter/ Sandra Day O'Conner? Barak Obama/John Conyers? And hey since this is Election Fantasy, can I write in Ghandi/ Kennedy?

If elections were truly decided by voters, there would be no end to the possibilities. But let's get real folks, even if by some miracle, the Democrats are elected in 2006, the likelihood of real change is remote. Democrats and Republicans are only slightly discernible from each other, and the reason for it is that Americans don't really want change, they want comfort at all costs.

We might as well elect Angelina and Brad. They won't make a difference, but at least they will be nice to look at for the next four years.

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