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Well it had to happen. With the likes of a George W. Bush as President and the candidacy of Sarah Palin for Vice President in 2008, now comes Representative Michele Bachmann (R. Minn.) jumping into the Republican primary field for president.
This writer, away for a few days and sitting in a rural small town café, couldn't help overhearing a fellow septuagenarian at a nearby table exclaim happily to his friend across from him, "Michele Bachmann? Oh I like her," which brought a silent cringe to this over hearer.
Michele Bachmann; against all abortion, same sex marriage, accuser of most of her colleagues in the House as traitors and the darling of the "tea party" crowd launched her candidacy over the weekend in Waterloo, Iowa, her birthplace.
One wonders whether this improves the current field of woebegone, non-descript but ambitious right wing politicos (who's last debate revealed their utter incapacity for ideas) or takes it down a notch? Does it really matter?
For in truth, Bachmann and her fellow arch conservative bedfellows in the Republican party along with Barack Obama and his weak kneed and spineless Democrats on the other side are the face of politics in this country.
It is hard to imagine a political condition any worse for this country.
With both Republicans and Democrats beholden to deep pocketed corporate interests for their very political existence, our government and its office holders have become utterly corrupted belying its dysfunction and incapacity for serving the people.
These electoral exercises we have every two and four years (under our current money corrupted process) is a masquerade belying this essential truth: It doesn't matter who wins or loses.
Because in this plutocracy we currently have, the candidates are in effect interchangeable with both parties remaining under the influence and control of the powerful moneyed and special interests that underwrite their candidacies.
Whether some of us bought into Barack Obama as the transformational leader and latched onto his "change you can believe in", the reality is he is no better or worse than his less eloquent predecessor.
So now a Michele Bachmann jumps into the latest fray. The left shutters with a worrisome, "Oh my God" while the right rejoices with "Hee, haw". Please!
We as a people haven't been vigilant. We have not exercised the necessary fortitude to resist and demand the overhaul of our corrupted political process and quite simply, we get what we get.
Sadly we have become, with our acquiescence and passive indifference, the recipients of our current political condition.
