We’ve all shared a few giggles over Howard Kaloogian’s geographical
shortcomings and felt a little horror at the blunt stupidity of his war cheerleading.
Giggles and horror are good for a good horrified giggle, but Kaloogian is no joke.
Among other things, he’s running in a special election to represent California’s
50th Congressional District. While he’s only only polling at about 13%, he’s still
the leading Republican candidate amongst many in that race. California election
law stipulates a runoff, should no candidate win a majority of the vote in a special
election.
Democratic candidate, Francine Busby, is polling
at around 45%, while all of her many Republican opponents, combined, are
polling at 46%. If Busby doesn’t pull over 50% of the vote on April 11th, she’ll
be matched in a runoff against the candidate who garnered the second most votes.
That person will likely be our buddy, Istanbul Kaloogian.
Busby seems like a good candidate with some decent
positions. In the world that most of the Booman Tribune’s readers live in,
she’d be a shoo in against a nutcase who pretends that pictures of a Turkish
suburb show peace and progress in Baghdad.
California’s 50th Congressional District, however, is not the world most of
us live in. We’re talking about a very Republican district, where a Democrat
polling at 45% in a congressional election, special or otherwise, is pretty
much unheard of.
Why do I bring any of this up? Because I find Kaloogian to be an offensive
individual, and our country will be ill served by his presence in the United
States Congress. His lies are pollution.
Why do I bring this up? Because, even if it only lasts for a few months, it
would be wonderful to have a person like Francine Busby represent California’s
50th Congressional District.
Why do I bring this up? Because there are less than two weeks left before the
election, and I’d bet my cat that almost everybody reading this blog would like
to see Busby reach the 50% threshold that it takes to avoid a runoff.
I bring this up because cash helps.
I’m not a wealthy man, and I almost never donate to political campaigns in
any way. I’d love to do more, but my reality dictates something else altogether.
Tonight, however, I donated just a very little to the Busby campaign, and I’d
like you to think about doing the same. I donated through Atrios’
Act Blue Page, which is as good a spot as any.
I don’t know how long Booman is going to let me post on Booman Tribune’s front
page. I hope I get to do it for a little while. Nevertheless, whatever length
of time I’ve got here, this is probably the only time I’m ever going to talk
about donating money to a candidate. That’s just not my gig. Not on my own site,
and not on this one. I’d rather be cleaning my cat’s litter.
Here’s the deal though. By trying to pass off a make believe world on his would be
constituents, Kaloogian proves himself unworthy of the immense task of representing
his constituents in Congress. A representative in a republic is about as heavy
as it gets. Kaloogian needs to lose.
Our nation is at war in Iraq. The Iraq war, is one Kaloogian clearly supports.
That he’s unwilling to deal with that war as it actually exists, is indicative
of the sort of person he is. That he paints an attractive, Turkish portrait,
in an attempt to mask the disastrous war he claims to love so well, is beneath
repute. He needs to lose.
If you support this war, then you have to be willing to deal with the facts
on the ground. Those facts are not pretty. If you support this war, you have
to be able to talk about all of the dead and maimed Americans and all of the
dead and maimed Iraqis. You have to be willing to really talk about torture.
You have to be able to tell us that why you think it was worth it. Why shiting
on what we claim as our core beliefs was worth it.
For Who? For What?
Spit it the fuck out, and don’t give me any bullshit about threats. The drunks
in my corner bar could have told you that Iraq posed less of a threat than slipping
on a piss puddle walking down the stairs to the subway. Are you still soaking
in that puddle?
Tell me why 20 year olds are coming home with post traumatic stress disorder.
Is sectarian violence or civil war in Iraq worth their suffering? Tell me how
you plan to treat them with genuine medical and mental health care, and provide
for their needs for the rest of their lives. The last failed war our country
was engaged in, produced more than just a few poorly adjusted individuals who
wander our nation’s city streets in abject misery. Give me some answers darling.
Actually, no. Howard, please don’t bother. Tell me that you’ve heard evey sound there is, and your bird can swing. Goatfucker.
