I haven’t written much lately, and certainly very little related to politics. With election fever having reached such a high point, and the ensuing disappointment, I haven’t felt much like delving in to the topic. I’ve kept up, reading faithfully the articles and blogs that I started following ever more closely over the summer. But I haven’t felt a need for remarking on policy or issues myself as of late.
Granted, with the election results, I remain concerned about the direction of the country. I think we’re militarily distracted and bogged down in fighting an unnecessary war that has put us more at risk than we were before. Social Security “privatization” (aka transferring money I would otherwise receive to fees for the financial services industry) and the general decline of fiscal conservatism has me deeply concerned as well. And I’ll post more thoughts on these as the dialogue develops.
However, as has been true for nearly four years, what I find most discouraging is the general lack of leadership and vision within the Democratic Party. There is an incredible amount of material that could be used to make a point as an opposition party, a number of pinciples and positions that can be taken that would garner significant support, bu the Dems remain unable to talk about issues and unwilling to try. They cede far too much ground before they even step on the field. This has nothing to do with whether the party should move Right, move Left, or dance around in circles. I’m not sure I would care where it goes, so long as it starts going somewhere.