Hobgoblins and Such

It's Halloween time and my random thoughts turn toward witches riding broomsticks and hobgoblins in the night causing mayhem and mischief through out the land. Hey, to my way of thinking we don't need All Hallows Eve to begin to be wary of happenings in our midst.

All we need to do is to look at the appalling accomplishments of the House of Representatives this year and listen to the Republican candidates debates to know that there is a parallel universe operating within our shores. Should you need more convincing, just watch the Republicans in the Senate defeat the jobs bills which could get our economy back on track. Surely, they cannot be living in the same reality I occupy.

Recently the House voted to order the Mint to create a commemorative coin to honor the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It was an overwhelmingly endorsed piece of legislation with only three votes in dissent. (Far be it for me to point out that with the large numbers of unemployed in this country -- few actual working people will be able to afford commemorative coins, but we as Americans would not want to diminish the enjoyment of our national past time!)

I attended a "one year out rally" for the Obama campaign in Silver Spring at Blair HS this week and was happy to see a huge and enthusiastic turnout. They had a national headliner in DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz with locals Senator Ben Cardin as well as Reps. Elijah Cummings and Donna Edwards from Maryland. Chris Van Hollen was supposed to be there but he was tied up with the Super Committee. Speakers also included Maryland Governor O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. The theme of the evening was getting the supporters prepared for the difficult race ahead as 2012 is expected to be a tough campaign against whoever is chosen on the other side, especially with the Citizens United decision.

Speaking of those on the Republican side -- those candidates who are living in that alternate reality -- have you heard them recently?

• Romney has swiveled on so many sides of some issues, even he doesn't remember what was said before. You know Romney -- the man with hundreds of millions in investments, off-shore businesses, and multiple residences who claims he is in the middle class! I'm in the middle class. Would he trade places with me?

• Perry unveiled his flat tax proposal, but it must have bored even him, as he veered off onto the birther issue. His embrace of the death penalty and the oil industry should send chills up the spines of voters.

• Bachman lost her New Hampshire campaign staff and continues to make misstatements such as when she recently claimed many thousands of Yemeni and Syrian "terrorists" are crossing our porous borders. She is staking all on winning Iowa, but is polling poorly even there, despite her appeals to the religious right.

• Cain, however, states he will take care of the illegal immigrant issue with his advocacy for an electrified fence along our southern border. His 9-9-9 tax proposal flounders under real scrutiny. His strange campaign ad has sparked You Tube fans but few actual voters. He still seems high in the polls despite having little staff or money nor knowledge of foreign policy. Definitely in a strange universe!

• Gingrich -- still in single digits in the polls -- but supposedly creeping up, as Republicans are trying to find someone other than Romney. His spending habits, aberrant ideas, arrogance and multiple marriages cannot be overlooked by conservatives if the religious right accepts any of its own rhetoric.

• Santorum reminds one of the child at the back of the class who always thinks he knows the answer, (teacher, teacher!) but once called upon cannot remember what he wanted to say. He is stuck on the fact that he was once a Senator and so should be heard. He is riding the anti-abortion route as the issue which will drive his campaign.

• Paul, who recently said that the local communities and churches will take care of sick people (he refused to take any government payments when he practiced obstetrics), has said people should be allowed to die if they cannot afford care. He denies his Hippocratic oath by such words. According to the Daily Kos, his former campaign manager died heavily in debt and without health care.

• Huntsman seemed to be making the most sense for a while, except when he said he might choose Cain as his Veep. He has given knowledgeable answers on foreign policy, but is getting no traction and has little money.

This is the cast of characters -- none has the least chance of being ready to run this country. Think of some of the Democratic candidates in 08 or 04: Obama, Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Edwards, Richardson & Kerry, Dean, Clark, Lieberman, Gephardt -- most were accomplished, well spoken and knowledgeable. Okay, due to later events, take Edwards out of this equation. Any could have been seen as a president able to walk onto the national scene and be ready for work on day one. One cannot say this about any of those in the list above.

So it seems as if the scary characters and their unreal worlds will not disappear after Halloween. We will have some of them still around, at least until Iowa and New Hampshire voters have spoken. What is your guess?