Vote For ‘None of the Above’

The latest controversy over John Kerry’s Vietnam War record is another perfect example of why so many Americans are disenfranchised with the political process. That’s not to say that I’m blaming the Republicans, as Democrats are just as guilty. But this election (as I’m sure is as has been the case in most presidential elections) is less about issues and more about manipulating public perception.

With that in mind, El Duderino dedicates this column to the reasons for its support of John Kerry, or in this case, its non-support of the current administration. Ideally, Monty Brewster would enter the race, as he did in the 1985 Richard Prior film Brewster’s Millions, and dedicate his millions to the purpose of getting none of the candidates elected.

The GOP often times likes to refer to itself in business terms. That government should be run more like a business. Results are what matters. If that was the case, the Board of Directors would have no choice but to fire George Bush as shareholder value has been abysmal. And that’s with the GOP controlling every major facet of government.

Economy
According to a recent report published by the Census Bureau, from 2001 through 2003, poverty increased, income stagnated and the ranks of the uninsured grew. Despite bringing the Nation to war, the Bush administration handed out more than $400 billion in tax cuts, which primarily benefited those in higher income brackets. As evidenced by a Congressional Budget Office report, the middle class has taken over a larger role of our Nation’s tax burden as a result of those same tax cuts. In June, the Nation experienced its largest trade deficit ever at just under $56 billion.

Despite the record stimulus added to the economy by the administration’s tax cuts, job growth has been weak at best, not even adding enough jobs to cover increases in the population, and there are a few million jobs less in the Nation today than when Bush took office in 2001. Worse, the budget deficit is expected to reach an all-time high of $445 billion this year and keep rising to a high of an estimated nearly $2 trillion in the not-too-distant future. This hamstrings future administration’s ability to deal with any unforeseen disasters, be it another major terrorist attack, an international incident that is truly time sensitive or another recession.

We’re not even close to being in a better spot than we were when Bush entered office.

International Arrogance and Ignorance
The United States used to be an example to the rest of the world. We came to the rescue of our European and Asian allies in World Wars I and II. We were largely responsible for ending the Cold War. We’re far and away the largest benefactor to Developing and Third World nations. Our political pressure helped end Apartheid, end decades worth of corruption at the hands of the PRI in Mexico and helped instill Democratic ideals (often times bringing down ruthless dictatorships and despotic regimes) in dozens of countries world wide… all through peaceful actions.

The Bush administration has single-handedly taken that century’s worth of good will and completely and irreversibly made Americans the scourge of the world for the foreseeable future. Although it would be nice to be thought of as good people, what’s worse is the potential damage that anti-American sentiments may spawn.

Our economy is based on the world becoming increasingly advanced and opening up new markets for the goods our companies sell. With the increasing coordination of the countries in the European Union and the sheer mass of more than one billion inhabitants in both China and India, we’re not going to be the 500 pound capitalist and technologically advanced gorilla forever. The more we piss off the rest of the world, the less likely those same countries are going to be in welcoming our economic policies in the future.

And what’s even more disheartening to ED, is that the Bush administration’s arrogance in dealing with our allies has seemed to wear off on the rest of society. Anecdotal evidence suggests that we’re entering a new era of religious ferocity, the evangelical Christians versus Islam, with history telling us that such religious fanaticism leads to violence and division.

Environment
ED is not an environmentalist. If it’s a choice between logging a plot of land owned by a private company (and employing a town) versus moving a species of owl to another forest, ED is for moving the owl. But, ED is also a believer in moderation and cooperating with the rest of the world. The current administration’s failure to enact policy (or even show any interest) in reducing our dependence on oil and other non-renewable sources of energy is appalling.

Bush policies that can be deemed “anti-environment” and show a lack of respect for the views of the rest of the industrialized world include cutting the EPA budget, proposing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as well as drilling in vast plots of land in the Rockies, burying the Kyoto global warming treaty (of which America is by far the largest producer of greenhouse gases), renouncing his pledge to cap carbon dioxide emissions and suspending new limits on arsenic in drinking water. More good news came this past Tuesday, the EPA reported that fish in virtually all of the nation’s lakes and rivers are contaminated with mercury.

Education
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was the Administration’s first major piece of legislation. As can be said about several of the President’s major initiatives, NCLB appears to be more about being able to point to progress in a key voter segment, education in this case, versus actually attempting to reform a neglected aspect of society.

In the case of NCLB, the Administration pushed forward legislation, which on the surface made a lot of sense, creating accountability for educators. Unfortunately, the Administration provided very little funding for the Act, nor did it provide a reliable game plan for reaching the goals put forth in the legislation.

Headline Quote Movie of Origin: Brewster’s Millions
Character: Monty Brewster
Setting: At the behest of a will, Monty is tasked with spending $30 million without acquiring any assets in return. After being largely unsuccessful, Monty decides to take his millions and run for the Mayor of New York due to the corruption that has enveloped the city. Because winning the election would result in him attaining a salary and thus an asset, Brewster runs on the platform of vote for none of the above, in order to ensure he doesn't win the election.
The quote is relevant to this story how?: ED isn’t crazy about John Kerry, neither his policy (most notably his seeming aversion to free trade principles) nor his personality. But, the current administration has been given four years and has failed miserably. If voting for none of the above was an option, that box would have at least one checkmark.

Contact El Duderino at jaipf@hotmail.com.