The Good, the Bad and the Truly Terrifying: Saturday Political Soapbox 33

State Senate Candidate Gene Mitchell astonishes myself and  Lamar Deal with his command of his facts and his common sense solutions.

The most terrifying choice ever made to run for Vice-President.  Seriously.  And after Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin, that is saying a lot!  This devoted follower of Ayn Rand is the most extreme candidate ever presented by either major party in decades.  And within the context of his times, he IS the most extreme ever.

Today's soapbox is a drawing of contrasts.  This is not what I originally planned to write, but sometimes events overtake us.

I had the distinct honor and privilege of attending a campaign rally for State Senate candidate Gene Mitchell, who is running for the open seat in our Georgia senate district.  He is a very competent and accomplished young man,  He served four years in the United States Marine Corp and graduated from Mercer University.  He is a South Georgian who has stayed here to help revitalize this area.

I was very impressed with his ability to speak on the issues.  His opinions, marshaling of the facts, and nuanced solutions were intelligent and well-spoken.  They are common sense and should appeal to both Republicans and Democrats alike.  In my opinion, he believes that government and private business are tools to be used to improve South Georgia as a whole.  He believes in both and wants to see them work together to benefit all of us.  His ideas, I believe, will improve the stability and growth of public education, preserve and target the Hope Scholarship, and accelerate infrastructure and development in this section of the state.

Whether you vote for Gene Mitchell or not, whether you live in his district or not, you need to check out his facebook pages and learn more about him.  I believe this young man represents the very best of the future of American politics.

In sharp contrast, we have another relatively young person (at least in terms of Presidential politics) whom is being announced as Mittbot's selection for Vice President.  Paul Ryan is a worshipper of the atheist writer Ayn Rand, and believes that government's only purpose is to serve the interests of the wealthy and the powerful.  The budget plans that he has proposed in the past, have dramatically increased tax cuts for the wealthy while increasing taxes on those least able to afford it.  His budgets increase spending on programs that benefit the wealthy while slashing or eliminating programs that benefit the middle class and working poor.  And the worst thing, even in his proposed budgets that call for so much slash and burn, so much sacrifice by those least able to afford it, even in his budgets, they don't come into balance for DECADES.  

For a long time now, it has become a Democratic Party tactic to claim the other side wanted to get rid of Social Security and Medicare.  But now, the cover is off the ball.  Now the claim is absolutely, undeniably, reliably TRUE!  

For my Republican friends who think this is a great choice, be careful what you wish for you.  If this happens, it's going to effect you and those you love in ways that you have not yet comprehended.  For my Democratic friends who think this makes this election a slam dunk, be careful of complacency.  The American voting population can be fickle and unpredictable, and voter suppression and negative ads will be widespread this election.  It doesn't matter what the polls say.  You have to keep fighting as if you were ten points behind.

So in Gene Mitchell we have a candidate who wants to see us as citizens work together with all elements of society, with all the tools at our disposal, to make a better place to live and work and enjoy the freedoms of a democratic society.  And in Paul Ryan we have someone who would pit us against each other, would help the strong devour the weak, would take government and unions and small business out of the toolbox, and let the wealthy and large corporations run roughshod over us all.

So do we move ahead to a better future, or do we charge backwards in time - not to the Reagan era, not even to Coolidge and Hoover, but into a Dickensian nightmare?

Your call, America!