It must be nice to be Teflon. You know that wonderful substance where
nothing sticks to you?. You get to
operate with impunity and actually have people defend your actions.
You get to promise Hope and Change while delivering none of
it. Actually the former is supplied by
the “Kool-Aid” drinkers while the latter is more a matter of style over
substance.
You get to talk of looking forward and not backward, as an
excuse not to investigate possible crimes of your predecessor and have most
people cheer about what a wise and pragmatic decision it is.
You get to continue the very same policies of your
predecessor – many of which you campaigned against, with
the backing of people who are grateful that you are “keeping them safe”.
You get the virtual undying loyalty of people who look like
me and whose parents suffered under the lash of Jim Crow, who never thought
they or their parents would see the day when someone that looked like them
would be elected to the highest office in the country.
You probably are able to chuckle inside about the irony of
some groups being afraid that you might somehow promote polices that could be
considered favorable to people who look like me or other minorities, when your
answer to that is your belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” No matter any evidence to the contrary.
You get to threaten Social Security and Medicare and
Medicaid and blame it on the other party.
Actually you don’t even have to blame the other party, because many
people simply refuse to believe it’s even happening.
You get to take “single payer” off the table, and pretend to
offer a “public option” – negotiate it away in backroom deals, and have one of
your spokespeople refer to those who take exception to this as “f’ing retards”,
but not to worry, because nothing sticks.
You get to tell the “middle class” that you’re on their side
and fighting for them, while extending tax cuts for the Power Elite.
You get to provide bail outs to our “too big to fail Banks”,
while millions of home owners face foreclosure without aid resembling anything
close to what the Banks received.
You get to assert powers
that when used by others are described as tyrannical and have most of us shrug
our shoulders, and say things like “well, hasn’t it always been this way?” And
sadly, unless we become willing to scrape away the Teflon, and accept our responsibilities
as citizens, I suppose it always will be.
