How far we have fallen ....

Last night, the GOP candidates gathered together to debate the issues and their candidacies in an event sponsored by the Tea Party. Now, on the face of it, this sounds like a wonderful idea and a true expression of the principles upon which this country was founded. Better yet, it was sponsored by an organization named for a seminal event in our history, the Boston Tea Party, where ordinary citizens banded together to cast a blow against taxation without representation in our first fight for independance.

Sounds like a wonderful night ... a terrific event, where ideas would be exchanged, issues would be discussed with passion and proposals to solve the problems of the world might be brought forth for intelligent discussion. A true ideaological salon, as it were, regardless that the event would present only one side of our political spectrum , it would be peopled by the best and the brightest of the GOP and the American people would be able to learn what makes each of these candidates worth consideration for your vote.

Sounds fabulous, doesn't it?

But what did we get? Well, certainly not intelligent discourse about how to correct the ills facing our society, but to be honest, I doubt very few of us, even actual members of the Tea Party, truly expected much of that.

But much worse, we saw a shining example of just how low this country has sunk ... we saw an example of humanity at its worst ... and frankly, I am really getting tired of this kind of display, especially coming from US.

To referesh your memory, or for those who did not get to see the debate, or perhaps turned it off before this particularly shining moment occured, here is what has my dander up:

Ron Paul was asked a question, which I paraphrase here: a healthy 30 year old is involved in a terrible accident, requiring extensive medical treatment ... under you proposed healthcare plan, Mr. Paul, who would be paying for that care?

Paul hemmed and hawed a bit and eventually said well the person would want the government to pay for it if he wanted a socialist program ... the crowd got riled ... the Moderator asked: are you saying then, that the 30 year old should be left to die?

And here is where I lose it ...

The crowd gave a resounding and vibrant YES ......

The Tea Party folks in the audience cheered for this 30 year old man to be left to die .......

WHAT THE FIRETRUCK HAS HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY???

The Ancient Romans of Nero and Caligula have been reincarnated as members of the Tea Party/GOP and are CHEERING for the LIONS ???

I am at a loss ... I am horrifed .... I am disgusted ...... I am, as Seinfeld would say, without speech.

Everything I have ever learned about the founding of our great nation, everything I ever learned about why my ancestors emigrated to this great land, everything I ever carried in my heart about the greatness of America, about her spirit to rise above the dirt and filth of corruption, about her willingness to reach her great arms open-wide and wrap the poor, the disenfranchised, those in need, into her great embrace and help them make a new life .... everything I thought I knew America represented ... was trashed, was spit on, and was disgraced by that demonstration of callous, isolationist, greed and self-interest displayed by the Tea Party last night.

In the shadow of the 10th anniversary of one of the worst days in our history, a day we celebrated everyday heroes who reached out to those in need without asking to see an ID card, or check for a crucifix hanging from their neck ... in no more than 24 hours after one of the most senistive and moving services honoring America's ability to pull together and work for a common goal, we have the Tea Party CHEERING FOR A YOUNG MAN TO BE LEFT TO DIE ........

I am bereft.

And while I do not care if you are religious, quasi-religious, atheist, or spiritually ambivalent, if there is ANYONE out there in the USA who can honestly say that you still will vote Republican, I pity you and will pray for you, for assuredly, perpetuating this type of America will damn your soul for eternity.

Save America, save your neighbor, save yourself: VOTE DEMOCRAT IN 2012....

The big ruckus

This week, both the internet and the school systems across the nation have been 'abuzz' with the announcement that the President of the United States would speak to school children about the importance of education. (sarcasm alert) OMG! How dare he?

Seriously, what is the fuss? The President of the United States wants to speak to school children and re-inforce that staying in school is a good idea, that studying hard and doing well in school is a good idea, that the vast majority of them do not have a solid jump shot and therefore will NOT become NBA superstars, nor will they have solid gold recording careers and, so, maybe getting an education is a good idea .... And parents and politicos across this great nation have been horrified! How dare he? How could my school district want to show this on TV? Why was I, the parent, not informed? How can my child opt out? (Yes, that is sarcasm again).

We here in the individualistic New Hampshire, home of "live free or die", were not given an option - POTUS was not shown in our schools - so much for choice.

I don't understand what all of the fuss is actually about.

When I was a kid, if the President of the United States was going to be on TV, he was on ALL channels and most radio stations. The only opting out was if you chose to go read a book. I mean, whether you voted for him or not, he IS the President of the United States of America - our President, yes even for you Republicans (and quite honestly, if I had to listen to W for 8 years, the least you guys can do is let this guy talk about the importance of staying in school).

My friends who live where their children could actually watch the speech report that the verdict is split: some of the kids thought it was boring; some of the kids thought it was kinda cool for the school where he actually spoke because they got to shake the hand of the President of the United States. But universally it has been reported that none of the children seem to have absorbed any socialist, fascist, communist, closet-Muslim, Black Power-mongering, anti-white ideas (yeah, more sarcasm). Of course, if POTUS's true message is subliminal, I'm not sure if any of the parents would have picked up on its effects yet ;-)

In any event, what I originally found amusing about this fuss has quickly become more than annoying and in fact down-right insulting.

These fuss-budgets are more of the same people who gave us W for 8 years and actually thought Sarah Palin would be a good person to have a "heartbeat from the Presidency". And those that aren't of that ilk are giving them credence by jumping on the band-wagon with 'we're parents and we should have a say in who speaks to our children'.

On the face of it, that last sentiment seems to have merit but where I have a problem with it is that as parents we have very little options about who speaks to our children and I daresay that on the face of it, I don't know that there is a problem with that IF you actual parent your child.

YOU as the parent should be speaking with your kid - about politics, drugs, sex, and yes, staying in school. YOU as the parent should speak with your child about who else is speaking with your child, what they are saying and how your child feels about it AND how YOU as their parent feel about it. It is part of your job, as the PARENT, to help your child listen to what is going on in the world and learn to separate wheat from chaff and develop opinions of their own .... ooh! wait a minute! that would mean that not only would YOU as the parent have to think but you'd actually be teaching your child how to think, too .... and actually that isn't sarcasm, that is called parenting.

The long good-bye

I watched the coverage of Senator Kennedy's death from the moment the story broke (had been up channel surfing) until the closing shots of his grandsons, clutching their hands together across the top of his coffin, sobbing in the early darkness of Saturday night.


It has been very sad, and yes, not unexpected - especially when we learned he was too ill to attend the services for Eunice a couple of weeks ago. But somehow, I just never really thought it would happen - that if anyone was going to beat this, it would be Ted.


Growing up in Boston, an Italian-Scots-Irish Catholic school kid, the Kennedy's were always there, always 'in charge', always something special. Earlier this month, I was moved by Mrs. Shriver's death and recalled how I had met her while I was in college and campaigning for her husband's Presidential candidacy. I met Senator Ted Kennedy a couple of years later, in early 1979.


After college, my first paying job was as Office Manager at Campaign Headquarters for Paul Guzzi for US Senate. Mr. Guzzi, former Secretary of State of Massachusetts, lost the election to Paul Tsongas, but being a well-liked and respected Democrat, benefitted from a state-party committee sanctioned campaign-debt retirement effort. One of the fund-raisers was on a brisk winter night, on 'the boat' at Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant.


Anyone who was anyone in Massachusetts politics was there, and anyone who wanted to be anyone was, too.


I remember the night vividly as I was young, impressionable, and enjoying a pretty "swank" time ... this was still the day of open bars in Massachusetts and there was plenty of alcohol flowing and fabulous food. I had my very first taste of Oysters Rockefeller that night. And lots and lots of political debate was going on in various corners, at many tables and around the cocktail bar.


The entrance to the function room was slightly sunken - as you entered through the double doors, there was a large wide, curving platform and a single step down into the main body of the room. It was not a steep step, barely 4 inches I think, but enough to set those not yet into the room at a slightly elevated level 'above the crowd'.


I was standing with some of my friends, all of us recent college grads who had been thrown together and forged friendships in the hot-house of a heated summer campaign (the party had determined Republican Senator Ed Brooke was ripe for ousting and it was the first time in a while that there had been real energy around a challenge to his seat). We were talking and laughing about some silly thing or another, comparing notes about who got to meet Tip O'Neill, and did you just get a handshake or were you able to actually have a conversation with him? Was that (Massachusetts AG) Bellotti over there? Was the Governor coming? and so on ....


And then, the doors opened and as if someone cued the crowd, it parted, and he stood there ... center stage on the entry platform ... strategically under one of the overhead recessed lights ... he paused for just the briefest of seconds ... but it seemed as though time stood still - you could hear every one in the room hold their breath.


He looked powerful, stately - that thick head of hair haloed by the overhead light, his right arm slightly bent, hand not quite in his pocket/not quite out .... then he turned his head, surveying the room, and smiled that famous, brilliant Kennedy smile ...


As he started down the step and into the room, the buzz picked up and people jockeyed to shake his hand, whisper in his ear and so forth ....


The news this morning called him "a lion", and yes that is the way he looked with that great mane and smile ... but it was more than that, he moved through the crowd with ease, making each person feel as though he were looking only at them, shaking hands, laughing at jokes ... working the crowd ... but it was more than typical political glad-handing ... He had a way about him, he had charisma, and something more than that.


When he ran for President against Jimmy Carter, I made a bumper sticker of white contact paper and black vinyl letters which I proudly sported on my little red Toyota Corolla station wagon "Cranberries ... not Peanuts" ....


One summer evening, I was driving from Boston City Hall, where I worked, to yet another fund-raiser, heading down the Surface Artery, when someone started beeping at me. I thought "what the heck?" and kept going .. the beeping continued, so I sort of slid over and waved to the car behind me to pass. The bright orange VW Squareback pulled along side me and I realized who it was ... Senator Kennedy, giving me a big thumbs up and that incredible smile (I almost drove into a stanchion I think) ... it made my day!


I remember watching the DNC Convention later that summer, ensconced on the couch of a summer condo in Dennisport on Cape Cod - his speech was amazing and I remember thinking 'this man can do so much'. It was an exhilirating moment at the end of a rather tepid campaign.


I think he ran because he had to, but his heart was not in it; his heart was in the Senate - where he was more successful and effective than he ever could have been as President.


For those memories and for the decades of work, of commitment to not only the Commonwealth of Massachusetts whom he served so ably, but also for his commitment to this country, for the 300+ laws that bear his imprint and for the example he set for public service and social progress, Senator "Ted" Kennedy will always be remembered and honored.


But I think that his greatest accomplishment was of such a personal nature and yet stands as his strongest example for each of us, and that is his journey from indulged youngest son through troubled adult to successful elder.


He showed us that you can bear the unbearable by enduring the many Kennedy family tragedies in full public view; he showed us it is possible to pick up the mantle and shoulder responsibility that no one expects you to carry, and move forward; and he showed us that redemption is never impossible.


He lived his life, he grew through adversity, and in words he himself used often, showed us that "the work remains unfinished" and that is as it should be.


I am going to miss Senator Kennedy, very much.