You live here, you know Kerry. It doesn't matter what he thinks about it. He doesn't go out on limbs, he waits for political cover before he takes a position. We build up support for gay marriage and Kerry will eventually follow along when he knows it's safe. Don't expect leadership from him, you know better :)
I think I must be getting jaded. I wonder if it's really possible for someone to be involved in politics for that long, at that level, and retain that. People who cleave to their beliefs like that, and don't comprimise, and are willing to take whatever lumps that might bring - they don't tend to do so well. Because if you don't toe the line the party shuts you out, and if you don't make deals other people don't vote for your bills, and so on.
This isn't a defense of Kerry particularly. I've just been thinking about this kind of thing recently, and how I can't seem to ever get really excited about major candidates.
It's definitely possible, and there are people who do. The major obstacle is getting elected to offices like president. We have a system that selects for the worst, in a lot of ways. It selects for the kind of politician Kerry has become, and rewards that, while making it much much more difficult for honest, straightforward, courageous politicians (of which there are many). Sometimes they do sneak through the system. Paul Wellstone kept getting re-elected to the Senate until he died. Howard Dean came much closer than anyone thought to getting the Democratic nomination. Ed Rendell is governor of Pennsylvania.
Right now the best hope I see for changing the party and election process to make it more possible for good people to get elected, is through the Dean movement. For example, here in MA we're running a bunch of people for Democratic State Committee and local Democratic town and city committee seats, in the primary this Tuesday: http://www.deanvolunteers.org/massfordean/election.htm
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xiphias
(no subject)
Date: 2004-02-29 11:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-03-01 05:56 am (UTC)THAT'S the Kerry I want to have a chance to vote for.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-03-01 07:46 am (UTC)This isn't a defense of Kerry particularly. I've just been thinking about this kind of thing recently, and how I can't seem to ever get really excited about major candidates.
jaded about major candidates
Date: 2004-03-01 09:39 am (UTC)Right now the best hope I see for changing the party and election process to make it more possible for good people to get elected, is through the Dean movement. For example, here in MA we're running a bunch of people for Democratic State Committee and local Democratic town and city committee seats, in the primary this Tuesday: http://www.deanvolunteers.org/massfordean/election.htm