November 2, 2004. This was supposed to be the day when America finally shook of the malaise of 2000, righted what was wrong, and rejoined the real world.
Alas it wasn't to be. America was righted all right, but in the wrong why. Not only did George W. Bush become a two-termer, his party gained nearly bulletproof majorities in both houses of Congress.
The problem with all this is that it's exactly what the framers of the Constitution were trying to avoid. With the impending retirement of several Supreme Court Justices, Bush is poised to control all 3 major branches of the federal government. Moreover, his party, unlike the Democrats, is sufficiently disciplined that there will be no breaking ranks. Unlike Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bush faces neither intransigent judges nor a contrary wing of his party own to rein in his excesses.
All this of course leaves us with two possibilities.
The first possibility is that people wake up to what they've done and put responsible people back in charge in the 2006 elections. By responsible, I mean congressman and senators who are not dedicated to bankrupting the nation, conquering the globe and enforcing a Christian fundamentalist moral agenda upon the populace. Reagan or even Nixon would fit the bill nicely.
The second possibility is no, the status quo remains, and we rapidly pass the point of no return on the way over the cliff. It'll be a fun ride, by there won't be much besides pieces left by the time we reach the bottom.
Of course, the trip itself will probably be as bad as the landing. Median income in the U.S., adjusted for inflation, has fallen since 1960. Personal debt as well as public debt is at all time highs. Well-paying jobs are leaving, and they're not being replaced. The education system is churning out millions of people with inadequate skills who are only going to add to the ranks of the growing underclass.
Meanwhile, Bush seems to think that starving the government of funds, cutting back on social programs, and fighting several atrociously expensive wars overseas will help the situation. He seems to consider the Iraq war a success, despite the creation of thousands more terrorists and the cost of $270 billion.
Something has to give. You can't indefinitely spend more than you have and run an empire. Empires are expensive as the British learned the hard way, and maintaining the military might sufficient to crush the rest of the world isn't going to be easy. All this isn't aided by the administration's propensity for issuing threats and being generally belligerent.
All of this is a bit depressing to say the least. Then again, it bears mentioning that this country got exactly what it asked for. It voted, albeit by a small margin, for an avowed fundamentalist who's first allegiance is to God, not the Constitution. He is a man with an unshakeable faith in his own infallability, and a knack for listening to extremely radical advisors.
The 51% of Americans who voted for Bush of course deserve to experience the upcoming disasters in full. It's just a pity the 48% of us who didn't have to stick around for the ride.
Or do we?
True, I was born here. But it's not as if I had a choice in the matter at the time.
Good thing I now do have a choice. Any suggestions for somewhere nice, quiet, and stable? Time to start go home-searching.
