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No, this thread is about no one.
It is about an ideal - the "Anger Candidate"
The country is mightily pissed off. And that pissed offedness is on all sides. Our side is pissed at the outrage mounded atop outrage. The list is too long and a sampling is inadequate. Every part of our government and every private institution that should serve the public weal are diminished, compromised, or emasculated. American democracy is, indeed, on life support, and the cardiac trace is weak.
The right is also pissed off. Nearly as much as our side. They're genetically predisposed to be pissed at us, reason be damned, so that should go without saying. But now they're pissed at each other. The religiously insane are pissed that they've not seen the vice grip of Christofacism have the screws tightened. The hawks think we're wimping on Iraq and Iran. The big multinationals, as entities, are happy, but the fiscal conservatives who populate their boardrooms are not.
The winner of the campaign for the heart of America will be an angry person. He will be the populist version of Peter Finch's Howard Beal, and he **will** be unwilling to take it anymore. He'll model visceral anger in a way that will connect viscerally with the citizenry - right and left.
To be sure, he'll not gain any connection if he's a kook. He'll have facts and figures, be able to cite specifics and have a very firm grasp on the horror that is the reality of today's America. He'll also have solutions based on reason and vision. And he'll advocate for those positions based on reason and reality, not on his anger. He will call out the malefactors by name and for specific actions.
The manner in which he models his anger could vary widely. He could be the loud voice type. Or he could be the very quiet, seething type. He could model the anger by clear, direct speech, or specific recitation of the facts of the failings. But his anger will be widely directed. We live in what can rightly be termed a target rich environment when it comes to the objects of our national ire. Our angry candidate will know them all and call out them all.
Our angry candidate will not be fully representative of your views and he will not be fully representative my views - or 'their' views. But you **will** know where he stands.
And where he doesn't stand.
He doesn't stand for the criminals running our country. He will, in his own way, strongly and clearly rail against them.
He doesn't stand for the rapacious corporatists who have stolen our country. He will, in his own way, strongly and clearly rail against them.
He doesn't stand for the war hawks pushing our country to greater feats of misadventure and empire. He will, in his own way, strongly and clearly rail against them.
He doesn't stand for the doves who would prefer our country stand naked and defenseless. He will, in his own way, strongly and clearly rail against them.
He doesn't stand for the xenophobes who would see our country divided by race, class, religion, and ethnicity. He will, in his own way, strongly and clearly rail against them.
He doesn't stand for those who would see our country as a safety net for the citizens of a country with a failed economy. He will, in his own way, strongly and clearly rail against them.
He will angrily advocate for nothing less that what's right and good - as he sees it.
He will be a Democrat. And will win. He will be the darling of the ***vast*** middle of the populace, the 75% of the country that sees things just like you and me.
He will be angry. When his opponents lie about him, he will face them directly, look them in the eye, and say, clearly and angrily: "You are a liar and you know you're lying."
He will be angry. When his opponent tries to deceive, obfuscate, or change the debate, how will face him directly, look him in the eye, and say, clearly and angrily: "That is not the issue. You know it is not the issue, and so do I."
There will be no successful swiftboating and there will be no wedges. There will be no internet invention. There will be no obfuscation of failed National Guard careers or insider trading the stock of failing companies. The meaning of 'is' will be clear. There will be no Arbusto or Love Story ambiguity.
He will be too angry for that.
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