You Know What I Think?

I spoke to a Washington, DC lawyer today, a guy who's a disenchanted Republican but a Republican nonetheless. He views George Bush as the incarnation of Satan, as he should, but he still sees some Republicans as more aligned to his way of thinking than any Democrat could ever be.

And maybe he's right. I'm in favor of fiscal convervatism, too, up to a point. I loathe pork barrel spending and earmarks and corporate welfare. I hate to see waste in government. I despise seeing incompetent, uncaring, idiotic civil servants flaunting their ineptitude like a badge of honor. I'm appalled and disgusted by massive spending on programs that ostensibly make our country more secure but, in fact, make our country more oppressive and fanatic and abrasive on the world stage.

But I hate to see people who desperately need and DESERVE a safety net provided by government ignored or worse. And I hate seeing otherwise intelligent people hijacked by lunatic pastors who manage to lure them into delusions of religious righteousness.

Back to my lawyer. He was expressing his distaste for Obama. He said Obama does not understand what he is doing when he tries to do things like radically modify federal Independent Contractor (I.C.) statutes. I agree. Obama doesn't understand. He is naive. Sure, there are hundreds or even thousands of companies that abuse I.C. laws. But most companies and individuals that deal in I.C. relationships do so because there are very good reasons to do so...not because of tax issues, but because of pragmatic matters like an I.C. working for 200-300 companies during the course of a year...it's nuts to consider that the individual would want to be on the payroll of every company for a day or two during the year. The paperwork burden would be absurd.

It's not just I.C., though. It's government in general. It's horrendous. Some days, I'm almost ready to turn to Ron Paul and say, "I'm yours." But I cannot because his ideas are so contrary to mine...we DO need government, but ONLY if it is FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE. THAT's where things have gone horribly wrong. We have abdicated our responsibility, collectively, to vote for and elect people who truly represent our interests and the interests of the country at large. Instead, we elect grunting pigs who erupt into orgasmic delight when faced with the prospect of the stench of rotting ethical compromises.

I'd love to see a dark-horse emerge from the fog and offer us the following:
1) A commitment to justice for everyone, worldwide, and a love of truth;
2) An honesty so breathtaking that we will gladly follow his/her admonition that we all must compromise and suffer for the greater good;
3) A willingness to confront and correct our own naive and unrealistic demands that government can and will solve all of our problems;
4) An insistence that we answer, in a resounding way, the question: are we a nation that accepts lies spoon-fed to us in order to justify an atrocity as horrible as attacking a nation that has not attacked us?

There are more attributes that this dark horse would bring to the table. But, I'm afraid, the dark horse died on the track. Our best hope is that one of a handful of crooks and criminals of a lessor degree will be elected, instead of their god-fearing opponents.

Is my bitterness and skepticism and rage showing? Does anybody fucking care?! You know what I think?