Well, as predicted, but still decried, the GOP ran roughshod through the midterm elections and took control of the House. Not as if it was a rocket coming in sideways; the levers that prompted it are where I scratch what’s left of the hair on me head…

The run up to the midterms had the Democratic candidates distancing themselves from President Obama. As a Democrat / Independant / naysayer of all – I have to ask – why?

I’m sure some will simply turn their heads and utter “duh” – isn’t it obvious? But as with everything in life, if we dig deeper to find root cause, why starts to become blurry….

Many of the indicators of a positive economy  are high heading into the midterms, as seen in a previous post. The Federal Government’s dysfunctions are well noted and not the responsibility of the President alone. Think about it with an open mind for just the next minute. If the office of the President was the sole reason our representatives in the Nations Capital have done essentially nothing for the last two years, well, Dems and the GOP alike would have run Mr Obama out of town many moons ago. Anyone who thinks one man alone is the architect of this dysfunction needs to go back to Government 101 and start over. No one individual is that powerful or that unlucky.

I used the word architect. Hmmm. Happenstance? Not bloody likely. When it comes to brandishing the weaponry required to get the likes of Scott Desjarlais and Michael Grimm re-elected the money trail will end with the Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to fund campaigns. I could point to individuals, or brothers, or specific large corporations, but instead will comment on the effects of the decision. Years ago the seed was planted that brought us to where we are today.

Not every nugget the current administration mines is gold. Some are slag, some are coal << insert war on coal jokes here >> but some are gold. War on coal. Funny that as well. Let’s save that for a bit later though. When you let big money into politics it will work to propagate its own agenda. It is a well documented fact, and not only opinion. The birth of the Super PAC has helped to make a mockery of the office of the president, as well as supporting candidates that will forward the PAC’s and big money’s agendas. Granted, again, not every decision dealt by the Obama administration was gold; but lets talk about one that is.

Add up these quick facts on the Affordable Healthcare Act (AHA).

• Fact one; Kentucky has had over 210,000 enrollees in the Affordable Healthcare Act. This is a significant win for the AHA, for Kentucky, and the individuals it covers. Kentucky is not alone in this being a win-win. Other states and economically depressed areas are benefitting to the same degrees. A positive fact.
• Fact two; Mitch McConnell has commandeered over five million dollars in 2014 alone from Business donations to his campaign funding. Over five million dollars. From business interests alone. In 2014 alone. That is over 90% of his contributions for the year. I’ve heard candidates funds called a “war chest”; this doesn’t fight a war, it brings the lambs in for slaughter. A negative fact.
• Fact three; McConnell will do everything he can to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which has benefitted over 210,00 people in his home state, and has withstood over 50 votes in the house to repeal it. More valuable time wasted. A negative fact.
• Positive fact one + negative fact two + negative fact three = Mitch McConnell is not working for his constituents, he is working for big money.

If ever there was a dearth of reasons to push to enact term limits? Or to repeal the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision?

And the “war” on coal. Thirty, twenty-five, twenty, fifteen, hell, ten years ago, Mitch McConnell should have tried to think beyond the now and into the future of the coal industry. The negative impacts on our planet, and the negative effects on the miners locked into it’s dark hold need to be addressed not as a marketing tool but as a real problem that needs fixing. Had McConnell thought ahead, worked ahead, worked and thought outside the box, into alternative choices of energy generation and dependency, then the “war” on coal would not need to be fought. McConnell has propagated and entrenched Eastern Kentucky’s coal fields and its  workers into the slate dumps and toxic retention ponds made famous by its Mountaintop Removal mining.

Take what you will from the 2014 general election results. Each of us should come to our own conclusions. But if there is a breath of humanity in you, take the next two years and work to better things for yourself, those close to you, but more importantly, for those not close to you, regardless of party affiliations. Think outside your sphere of influence, concern, control. Think wider than the skies are wide. Think not of your own self-interests, but ahead, in kindness, and for all, not for the one.

So the answer to draw from the why?

Money. As simple as that. The want of it, the need for more of it, the price it extracts, the path to it, the path from it. Money. That is the why; always has been, always will. And seemingly, it will always find low tide.

I’ll close on a lighter note:) Some lyrics from a song that fits now more than ever. The Big Money – Rush.

Big money goes around the world
Big money underground
Big money got a mighty voice
Big money make no sound
Big money pull a million strings
Big money hold the prize
Big money weave a mighty web
Big money draw the flies

Sometimes pushing people around
Sometimes pulling out the rug
Sometimes pushing all the buttons
Sometimes pulling out the plug
It’s the power and the glory
It’s a war in paradise
It’s a Cinderella story
On a tumble of the dice

Big money goes around the world
Big money take a cruise
Big money leave a mighty wake
Big money leave a bruise
Big money make a million dreams
Big money spin big deals
Big money make a mighty head
Big money spin big wheels

Sometimes building ivory towers
Sometimes knocking castles down
Sometimes building you a stairway
Lock you underground
It’s that old time religion
It’s the kingdom they would rule
It’s the fool on television
Getting paid to play the fool

Big money goes around the world
Big money give and take
Big money done a power of good
Big money make mistakes
Big money got a heavy hand
Big money take control
Big money got a mean streak
Big money got no soul…