I am beginning to think the era of political heroism has long since come to an end.
I want a new leader. I want a politician to stand up high in the world and change the voice of America. I want someone who will advocate for the poor, reform education, regulate financial institutions and lead the world in environmental issues, human rights advocacy, and cooperative negotiation standards. It is time for a great leader who will see that American Imperialism is hurling itself toward the inevitable fall and for a leader who will respond to that foresight by changing our foreign policies, striving for peace, advocating for pacifism, using our armed forces to battle genocide, and creating a cooperative international immigration protection. I WANT A HERO. But . . .
The Center for American Progress released a report titled Report of the Commission on Inclusive Prosperity that outlines, according to Vox.com reporter (and former employee of The Center) Matthew Yglesias, what can essentially be viewed as Hillary's economic plan for her 2016 run for president. Mr. Yglesias goes on to outline the plan, including the absence of several agenda items. Most notably missing are specific economic plans for addressing the increasing poverty of the lower class and an elaborate environmental policy, in particular there is no mention of the Obama-proposed fees for high level carbon emissions. Unpopular with the Right (and even the moderate-Left), these agenda items have been abandoned in the report and, presumably, by Hillary as well, because she does not need to work for hard for votes on the left. She needs to appease the middle. So, apparently, she will do just that.
Elizabeth Warren, by all seeming accounts, is not going to make a bid for the 2016 presidency (though many speculate otherwise). For many liberals (and even a large number of moderates), this is disappointing. Warren has an impressive history of championing politically unpopular causes from increasing regulations on large financial institutions to her Republican-blocked bill to reform student loans, but even she ran to the safe corner with her foreign policy when she defended her vote to continue funding the Israeli military siege on Gaza, even going so far as to defend Israel's "right" to bomb schools and hospitals. Her website, progressive and exciting in so many ways (she is one of the few elected officials actually speaking about issues of protecting transexual citizens), reads like a middle-of-the-road ruffle-no-feathers collection of noncommittal patriotic sound bites on her foreign policy page. And so we have another politician who sacrifices her ideals to appeal to funders and fear-mongers. Even our most seemingly heroic politicians are terrified to express anything other than full support of US military operations around the globe. Change, on a grand and international scale, will not come from Ms. Warren.
On the Republican side, with Paul Ryan seemingly walking away from potential presidential candidacy, the hope for a hero is even more bleak. The list of those remaining who have expressed public interest in running is too long (and too ridiculous) to address in a single blog post, my potential severe depression at further exploration of each not withstanding. The notable mention is, of course, that Mitt Romney not only seems to be considering another run, but has somehow secured the financing to make that a likely bid. Mitt Romney. Enough said.
There is a decent amount of completely fact-free speculation roaming the interweb advocating for George Clooney as our next president. Though there is no evidence to support any Clooney interest in such a run, a few fun-seeking pundits have put his odds at winning astronomically high. He won't run. But what if he did . . . think about it.
1. His wife, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, is fucking awesome. She is an internationally respected legal genius with a history of strong arming human rights causes. Her resume reads like a Hero's Manual. And she's Lebanese - meaning the implications for Arab-American relations alone are amazing, but more importantly she is legally incapable of running for president so she could have an unmarred array of causes at her disposal without backlash regarding her own political aspirations. Don't get me wrong - I love Michelle Obama and I think battling obesity in children is a beautiful agenda, but Amal is the person the United Nations Human Rights commission calls to figure things out for them, and she would have the ear of the president every day.
2. His human rights record is astounding. Few famous folks have used their celebrity, their influence, and their personal dollars to fight wrongdoing in the world like George Clooney. He makes Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt look lazy. The man supports everything that is right against everything that is wrong.
3. He is a person. A person who had sex. Did drugs. Plays practical jokes on a regular basis. I would LOVE to have a president who has no problem saying he has fucked a lot of people. Call me crazy, but I want my president to have regular orgasms so he can run the country with the upper half of his body.
4. He is hot. The world loves him. It does not hurt, particularly in opening doors all over the world. We need our next leader to start talking, negotiating and creating actual solutions to end deadly conflict in every region of the globe, often conflicts we had a hand in creating. If half the world wants to see you naked, it is a lot easier to open those doors to the interior rooms.
5. I like his movies . . . wait . . . what am I talking about???
Sigh. Sorry. Somewhere along the way I've gone off the rails in this post. I started off lamenting the political mediocrity of our current (and seemingly future) leadership, and somehow spiraled off into a fantasy about having a George Clooney for our next president. I have gotten so wrapped up in a fantasy of having the next true leader, that I started envisioning his fictional acceptance speech. But George Clooney is not going to run for president.
But wouldn't it be awesome if he did?
I want a new leader. I want a politician to stand up high in the world and change the voice of America. I want someone who will advocate for the poor, reform education, regulate financial institutions and lead the world in environmental issues, human rights advocacy, and cooperative negotiation standards. It is time for a great leader who will see that American Imperialism is hurling itself toward the inevitable fall and for a leader who will respond to that foresight by changing our foreign policies, striving for peace, advocating for pacifism, using our armed forces to battle genocide, and creating a cooperative international immigration protection. I WANT A HERO. But . . .
The Center for American Progress released a report titled Report of the Commission on Inclusive Prosperity that outlines, according to Vox.com reporter (and former employee of The Center) Matthew Yglesias, what can essentially be viewed as Hillary's economic plan for her 2016 run for president. Mr. Yglesias goes on to outline the plan, including the absence of several agenda items. Most notably missing are specific economic plans for addressing the increasing poverty of the lower class and an elaborate environmental policy, in particular there is no mention of the Obama-proposed fees for high level carbon emissions. Unpopular with the Right (and even the moderate-Left), these agenda items have been abandoned in the report and, presumably, by Hillary as well, because she does not need to work for hard for votes on the left. She needs to appease the middle. So, apparently, she will do just that.
Elizabeth Warren, by all seeming accounts, is not going to make a bid for the 2016 presidency (though many speculate otherwise). For many liberals (and even a large number of moderates), this is disappointing. Warren has an impressive history of championing politically unpopular causes from increasing regulations on large financial institutions to her Republican-blocked bill to reform student loans, but even she ran to the safe corner with her foreign policy when she defended her vote to continue funding the Israeli military siege on Gaza, even going so far as to defend Israel's "right" to bomb schools and hospitals. Her website, progressive and exciting in so many ways (she is one of the few elected officials actually speaking about issues of protecting transexual citizens), reads like a middle-of-the-road ruffle-no-feathers collection of noncommittal patriotic sound bites on her foreign policy page. And so we have another politician who sacrifices her ideals to appeal to funders and fear-mongers. Even our most seemingly heroic politicians are terrified to express anything other than full support of US military operations around the globe. Change, on a grand and international scale, will not come from Ms. Warren.
On the Republican side, with Paul Ryan seemingly walking away from potential presidential candidacy, the hope for a hero is even more bleak. The list of those remaining who have expressed public interest in running is too long (and too ridiculous) to address in a single blog post, my potential severe depression at further exploration of each not withstanding. The notable mention is, of course, that Mitt Romney not only seems to be considering another run, but has somehow secured the financing to make that a likely bid. Mitt Romney. Enough said.
There is a decent amount of completely fact-free speculation roaming the interweb advocating for George Clooney as our next president. Though there is no evidence to support any Clooney interest in such a run, a few fun-seeking pundits have put his odds at winning astronomically high. He won't run. But what if he did . . . think about it.
1. His wife, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, is fucking awesome. She is an internationally respected legal genius with a history of strong arming human rights causes. Her resume reads like a Hero's Manual. And she's Lebanese - meaning the implications for Arab-American relations alone are amazing, but more importantly she is legally incapable of running for president so she could have an unmarred array of causes at her disposal without backlash regarding her own political aspirations. Don't get me wrong - I love Michelle Obama and I think battling obesity in children is a beautiful agenda, but Amal is the person the United Nations Human Rights commission calls to figure things out for them, and she would have the ear of the president every day.
2. His human rights record is astounding. Few famous folks have used their celebrity, their influence, and their personal dollars to fight wrongdoing in the world like George Clooney. He makes Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt look lazy. The man supports everything that is right against everything that is wrong.
3. He is a person. A person who had sex. Did drugs. Plays practical jokes on a regular basis. I would LOVE to have a president who has no problem saying he has fucked a lot of people. Call me crazy, but I want my president to have regular orgasms so he can run the country with the upper half of his body.
4. He is hot. The world loves him. It does not hurt, particularly in opening doors all over the world. We need our next leader to start talking, negotiating and creating actual solutions to end deadly conflict in every region of the globe, often conflicts we had a hand in creating. If half the world wants to see you naked, it is a lot easier to open those doors to the interior rooms.
5. I like his movies . . . wait . . . what am I talking about???
Sigh. Sorry. Somewhere along the way I've gone off the rails in this post. I started off lamenting the political mediocrity of our current (and seemingly future) leadership, and somehow spiraled off into a fantasy about having a George Clooney for our next president. I have gotten so wrapped up in a fantasy of having the next true leader, that I started envisioning his fictional acceptance speech. But George Clooney is not going to run for president.
But wouldn't it be awesome if he did?