Sunday, December 16, 2012

New Political Party


We need a new political party
At the national level;
The Grand Old Party
Can't cut it anymore.

They sent me invoices
Twice a week before the election
Demanding money, forthwith.
I sent nothing back, postpaid.

You can't be a Republican
In Massachusetts unless you
Spend more than the Democrats.
That's how we got RomneyCare.

The Tea Party might be a good base
Except the name sounds like
Alice in Wonderland, and the
Group is excoriated by the media.

Their mission is simply to
Balance the budget and reduce the debt.
But they are called racist, homophobic,
And every other nasty label.

Those governors and state legislators
Who call themselves Republican
Are also stuck with those labels
When they just try to do their job.

Maybe they should be called Federalists
For standing firm on the tenth amendment,
Or perhaps, the States Rights Party,
But that smacks too much of the Old South.

The name, Libertarian Party, sounds good.
It conjures up images of selfishness,
Free love, and anarchy, but
Don't we have that already?

Personally, I like Conservative Party
As a name, but I'm not really sure
What should be conserved
That the electorate would agree with.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

I've Got Mine


"I've got mine!" say the old folks:
My social security, my medicare.
I paid for them for forty plus years;
They damn well owe it to me.

(They are the last generation
To receive unrestricted largesse
From the government, financed
By their children and grandchildren.)

"I've got mine!" say the unemployed.
It's not my fault I can't find a job.
The benefits are keeping me alive;
They damn well owe it to me.

"I've got mine!" say the disabled.
I worked hard all those years;
My bad back is their fault.
They damn well owe it to me.

"I've got mine!" say the single moms.
I can't work and tend my babies.
That bastard left me nothing.
They damn well owe it to me.

"I've got mine!" say the food stamp recipients.
It's not my fault that prices are sky high.
I have to feed my family somehow.
They damn well owe it to me.

And while we're at it,
What happened to "freedom from want?"
Why do we have to pay for medical care?
Why isn't college tuition free?

Don't tell us about the national debt.
Don't tell us about the budget deficit.
That's someone else's problem.
I'm only concerned about my finances.

So tax the rich, like the fellow said.
That's everybody who has more than me.
They should have to get along
With a whole lot less, like me.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Hail to the Strongman!


Yesterday's dictator is today's "Strongman."
The Strongman no longer uses force;
Instead he manipulates his country's powers
To seize control of his people's lives.

He builds support among the dispossessed
By showering them with goodies from
The national treasury, financed by borrowing
And extracting from the evil plutocrats.

He courts acquiescence from the latter
By protecting their tacit monopolies,
While at the same time excoriating them
From the public pulpits of power.

The Strongman scolds the judiciary
When they try to overturn his orders,
Replacing unfriendly judges with those
Who know where power resides.

The country's legislature is stacked
With loyal supporters, inasmuch as
Opponents are either outlawed, or
Crushed in rigged elections.

Therefore, what passes for
Constitutional and traditional restraint, is
Routinely ignored with the issuance
Of decrees from the many bureaucracies.

The Strongman aims to rule forever
And die in bed, as he is well familiar
With Churchill's famous observation:
"The dictator rides a tiger and cannot dismount."

If he cannot obtain continuous rule, through
"One man, one vote, one time,"
He appoints surrogates to fill the gaps
And do his bidding until he can return.

The masses worship the Strongman,
He demands nothing but obedience.
While their country deterioriates,
He sets one class against another.

Sometime later, much later
The people realize they have been cheated,
That promises of continuing prosperity,
Cannot be kept, and then .....