Does Eric Cantor make you angry enough yell at your TV? Do the teabaggers on the tube drive you up the effin wall ? Do the right wing Politicos make you want to hack up a hair ball? Do those Self-righteous people telling us who we can “officially” love make you crazy? They are all about BIG government when they are telling you how you must deal with your private parts. Do old men dictating what women must do with their vaginas make you bat shit crazy? Please people just imagine what it is like to live here in the center of the most fetid political fever swamp of sweaty teabag infected, dripping armpit of republican orthodoxy. It is almost over whelming. They believe there is no other way because God tells them so. I don’t think they should listen to those voices in their heads like that. This area of Virginia is the reddest of the red. Most of the time around here Republicans simply outnumber Democrats at least 3 to 1 on national elections. Every four years the intimidation is palpable. Often local Democrats don’t even speak up when the right wing types harshly bad mouth the president. The scope and financial power of the right wing political machine is damn near overwhelming. The tea party people have made it an article of faith to overwhelm common sense voters during the low turnout elections such as during primaries, off year elections, and midterm elections. During those types of elections their narrow brand of extreme activism will push forward an even more extreme brand of right wing politics. It can seem like it will crush your soul some times. It feeds on itself and grows. It expects to win. Always. And that is a weakness that may be exploited. Do you remember those pictures of the individuals, usually a single person, standing in front of an advancing tank and saying ”stop”? Can you understand the courage it takes to finally say “ENOUGH ALREADY” and stand up in front of that machine? It takes a healthy degree of character, self-confidence and an optimism to stand up against such a machine. There is a candidate here who is saying “enough extremism already”. Fair warning, at the end of this screed I will make a crass blatant plea for help. You are warned. Now read on while I vent a bit more. Ok, some of you know that I am a generally a bearded, balding, liberal, tree hugging, east coast, LGBTQ supporting, Health care believing optimist who knows that full funding for education is the BEST way for everyone to get ahead. You also know that I believe in people way more than huge corporations. That is probably why I was a college teacher for 33 years. I believe that a safe and secure life is our right. That is not just for the big ticket “I’ve already got mine so screw you” ideologues. I believe that it is ok, No, check that, I believe it is expected that if we can help, we should help those who need help. My view of the world states that women and children, the sick and elderly should not be forced out of the Life Boat because someone sitting in first class wants a better view of the ocean. I am generally a supporter of underdogs. I also happen to like gamblers because they try. I rather enjoy tilting at wind mills when I have time. As a theatre artist, I understand that we must put our hearts and souls into those things we love to do. Probably that is why theatre, dance, music and all forms of entertainment can succeed. We know we will work till we almost drop and then we will probably come in a little bit early the next day to get a running head start on all that stuff we must do. We are not afraid of committing to something larger than our selves. Remember how we committed to the ideas of HOPE and CHANGE in our national politics? Twice on the national level we voted, but the Republicans refused to work with us. They blatantly did not carry their half of the load. In Six years they have become even more negative, socially caustic, and politically destructive to our national wellbeing. They are attempting to disenfranchise voters, trying to force our brothers and sisters back into closets, demanding women should not be in charge of their own bodies. Republicans believe they can just do these things. In the last six years I have learned that top down is not the way to break the republican extremist fever. True change must come from the grass roots up and not the from the top down. So I have committed to start at the bottom. Now comes the reason for this long face book posting. I have found a new candidate to support for state wide office. She is a Democrat, with the courage to run as a democrat right here in the beating heart of Republican world. She believes that the right wing has become too crazy and gone off the edge and into the ditch on the right. She feels that obstruction and petty partisan politics must stop. She believes that the people in office should work to solve the practical problems for people and not become a part of the darn partisan problem. We have talked extensively and I know she is LGBTQ friendly. She also wants Education to be fully funded. She thinks a woman should control her own body and have a full range of health care options available. She believes that guns are a right, but there must be real background checks performed. Trigger locks should be required, and those huge capacity clips must be reduced. She is not a career politician. She is someone that most of you could comfortably call “Mom” or “My neat Aunt Toni”, some of you youngsters would see her as a really wonderful grandma with her sh*t together. She is good people. She is actually standing up, almost alone, against the Big Red Machine and saying loudly “Enough already!” This is a small grass roots campaign. There is only the Candidate Toni, the campaign manager Zach, and me. I am the self-appointed “official office minion”. But together we three are standing up against the machine. I have been a full time volunteer for her since the very beginning. I gave her the first $100 Check back when she said she was thinking of running. Since then I have learned a lot and I have become much more politically savvy. The biggest lessons so far are very simply. Power and money flow to the top. Down at the base level there is darn little cash flowing. It is hard to make a clear political point when people do not even know you exist as an election option. Money Talks in politics. For example, in this campaign it will cost a bit more than $ 17 Thousand dollars just to send out three simple “mailers” to the voters in this district. Basic Yard signs cost a few bucks each and are ordered by the thousands. I personally have put together two thousand yard signs so far. Office space must be rented, utilities paid, printer paper bought, gas purchased for the car, to go visit voters or deliver those yard signs. Phones are needed for calling voters, and toilet paper is needed for those volunteer callers. It all costs money that a new candidate simply does not have. Nationally the “Tea-publicans” are sucking up to the big money types because that is where the money is found. (It makes such sense.) They only have the billionaires sending money, (bwhahah), but we have you! All kidding aside, since the Citizens United ruling unlimited money is now equal to unlimited speech. Without donated money in a campaign you might as well go home and holler into a pillow. That sucks but it is true. OK, this is the time when I make those two requests. 1) I want you to send this face book posting to everyone you know that would just love to see the big red republican machine suffer a ”surprise loss” deep in the heart of supposedly safe republican territory. People, I want to plant a small yet stunning bright blue flag in Eric Cantors’ blood red world. Gosh, I would love to see him choke on his cheerios early in the morning of NOV 6th and frantically ask “What in the hell is happening back home?” The national media will take note if this “huge upset” happens. There are only two state elections happening in America. Everyone is watching Virginia. Ha! (Wouldn’t it be great to jump up and bite ‘em on the butt?) 2) Go to TONIRADLER.COM and donate some money. It is simple, Click on the donate button, then Donate. So easy even a … nevermind… I know you are not a big cash wad money donor but I ask that you give an amount that is equal to your age. Send this tiny grass roots campaign “your age” in money . If you are 18 (and a maybe freshman in college) you can probably afford $ 18. If you are close to retired then maybe $ 64 is not out of the question. Donate your age, but please send more if you can. Do what you can. We all must stand up and say “Enough already!” On November 6th for sheer entertainment value you can watch the news. You will have a vested interest in what happened in the House 55 district delegate race in Virginia. You can talk about it with your friends. Hah! We might even win! We do have a shot if we can sneak up on them. (“So you are saying there is a chance?”) Gosh, What a giggle and a grin! Say, does anyone know someone who works for Stephen Colbert? Now wouldn’t that be a hoot! “Hello Stephen Can you hear me now”? People, We are standing up here in Virginia. Toni Radler is fighting the good fight. She is directly facing a potentially overwhelming and ominous red tank. She will not flinch. She will work till she drops. She believes it is time to make a difference. (Cue sound effects :”KAPOW! Bang! zzzzboom!”) We send our love to you from the muddy trenches of the Virginia political war. Remember we need your help so desperately. ( Bang! Boom! End Sound EFX) My best. Lou* *Official Office Minion to the Toni Radler campaign. (AKA: the old fat balding white guy with bad knees and no game, but with lots and lots of heart.) This missive was not endorsed by the candidate, it was my idea, totally. So there!
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 02:05:03 +0000
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