Democrats Agree with Fitrakis, but Will They Vote for Him?
Colorful speakers have gone by the wayside in politics. In the 2004 Presidential election George Bush fumbled through his pre-written speeches while stumbling back into office. His opponent John Kerry put people to sleep with a stiff tone that the heartland viewed as pompous.
He said the things these loyal Democrats wished their own candidates would say, and he said it with conviction ... |
Cincinnati even showed a surprising distaste for fiery stump speeches when the voters bucked Christopher Smitherman from his council seat in 2005 — leaving us with the bland flavor of Leslie Ghiz and Co.
Bob Fitrakis, Green/Independent candidate for Governor, had the intimate crowd of a few dozen up in arms as he met with the Democratic faithful of the group Democracy for Cincinnati.
Fitrakis arrived after the crowd had sat through a few speeches from unendorsed candidates of the Democratic Party. The crowd was respectful. With the exception of Subodh Chandra that was the best that they deserved.
No one in the room seemed to know what to expect from Fitrakis. He seemed like a smiley, friendly guy with the fashion sense of someone who has spent their life in academia. He wore a sports jacket and khaki's to match a pair of Reebok's.
When the time keeper held up her finger to indicate the time to perform his routine he dropped the smiles, harnessed the energy in the room, and spoke about the frustration that all progressive activists feel. He said the things these loyal Democrats wished their own candidates would say, and he said it with conviction. The crowd would applaud, say "amen" or yes" at each and every turn of his speech — desperate to somehow show this candidate they will never vote for that they agree with every word of his speech.
Whether it was the living wage, the preservation of the environment, the cleaning up of elections, or just speaking to the fact that J. Kenneth Blackwell is a criminal; this crowd of active Democrats needed to hear someone say what they have been feeling and they responded accordingly.
Howard Wilkinson of the Cincinnati Enquirer painted Fitrakis as pandering to the conspiracy theorists — in spite of the fact that Fitrakis is an elections expert who has all the numbers and figures to back up his claims. He also privied the crowd to the fact that in the next month a prominent Democrat and a respected pollster will come out and say that the election in 2004 was indeed stolen.
Part of being an independent candidate is the ability to say what the other parties are contractually bound to their investors not to say. But does the truth earn you votes? Do your values earn you votes? Does being a superior speaker earn you votes?
We all know the answers to these questions and we know that in November D's will pull the lever for D's and R's will pull the lever for R's. But the Fitrakis' and the Naders exist to keep the two parties of corruption honest (at least more honest) and say what needs to be said on the campaign trail. And I, with my undying idealism, will continue to believe that one day people will vote the issues instead of the letters next to the candidate's names.
