50 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 7 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

THE GOLDWATER GIRL AND OTHER CHANGELINGS

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Message Mary Pitt

In this life there is one immutable truth. It is that there will be change, whether or not we may approve or desire that change. At this time, there is no place where this is more true than in the battle for the presidency of the United States. The people whom we thought we knew now appear to us as something different than we ever expected from their past performances.

We hear of concerns about the possibility of a "split" in the Democratic party as the result of the no-holds-barred contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. If this is true, it is not necessarily the fault of the people involved but may be due to the failure of the American public to recognize how severely bifurcated the party has become as the result of the tension between the desire to consider the welfare of the working class and the desire to win dominance in the halls of government.

As the Democrats continue to jockey for power and privilege they find the voters to be less than compliant with their carefully-laid plans. Most apparent of this syndrome is the campaign of Senator Clinton. Being distrustful of her party's ability to prevail over the opposition, she is determined to attempt to appeal to their base in order to beef up her own support. This has been simple for her, inasmuch as her internship in the political field was in the camp of former Republican conservative, Barry Goldwater. Actually, she boasts of her days as a Goldwater Girl.

However, her political leanings were challenged by her relationship with a certain up-and-coming young man named Bill Clinton, who later served two terms as an acceptable Democratic governor and President. Once the White House days were over, she was determined to pursue her own political career and availed herself of her husband's support within his party. But some of us wonder, as she makes her appeal to the Reagan Democrats, if her indoctrination under the master conservative might still be directing her thinking as to policy as well as to talking points. One might also speculate as to whether her husband's firm friendship with the senior President Bush has any bearing on her political changes.

As Senator Obama trudged along in the path of a traditional Democrat in pursuit of the impossible dream, the improbable candidate found himself being damned by association with his pastor, the reverend Jeremiah Wright -- one of the heroes of the civil rights movement, one who is known to have associated with and to still be fond of those social warriors from that struggle.  These connections are to really scary people, such as the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Al Sharpton, Louis Farakhan, the Black Panthers, and the Weather Underground, et al. All of these people and the events in which they participated, by the way, are largely responsible for the fact that we not only got out of Vietnam but have reached the point where a man of color can actually have a chance of becoming our President.

However, even with the "radical preacher" tied about his neck like an albatross, Obama labors on, reaching out to the working class and the poor who are struggling greatly in this time of Bush-o-nomics. We will soon know whether he can reach enough of them with his understanding and care to get them to swallow the last of their inbred racism and support him in his quest, or whether the old instincts will compel them to swing to the right and vote Republican-lite due to the racial animus aroused by the words of somebody else.

In any event, the winner of this contest will face another race against another "changeling" whose ambition has wreaked horrendous changes in him. A man who cherished his reputation as a maverick, who had steadfastly refused to march in lockstep with the Neo-Cons and the religious right, but courted both factions and adopted the attitude of the Bush administration as well as the no-taxes-no-welfare program of the super-right and the continuation of the war in the Middle East into the future without foreseeable end. To listen to Senator John McCain parrot the words of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney is to wonder whether he has lost his mind or whether we have lost ours. Or perhaps this change is prompted by the fact that his previous positions have been co-opted by Clinton in her effort to capture "the middle of the road."

In any event, to paraphrase Rev. Jeremiah Wright, "It's not God bless America, it's God SAVE America!"

Rate It | View Ratings

Mary Pitt Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

This writer is eighty years old and has spent a half century working with handicapped and deprived people and advocating on their behalf while caring for her own workung-class family. She spends her "Sunset Years" in writing and struggling with The (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

TEAR DOWN THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

The Naked Truth About Rape

The Truth about Your Income Tax

Sarah Palin Simply Does Not Matter

Revolt of the Grannies!

TO HELL WITH COMPROMISE: THIS IS WAR!

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend