I spent the afternoon yesterday walking around the quad of Washington University in St. Louis in a Progressive Future t-shirt and mask, introducing myself as Sarah Palin. The mask -- Bush with red lacquered lipstick -- got a lot of laughs.
Along with Dania Becker, a Progressive Future volunteer, I welcomed people to "John & Sarah's Diner", where the stale old fare of the Bush Administration is still on the menu -- dishes like "Baby-Give-Back-to-the-Wealthy Ribs" and "John’s Wall Street Sliders". I think I do a pretty good Sarah Palin. "How are ya!!?!" Lots of exclamation points. "Too, though, you should try my Baked Alaska! Made in a global warming oven!!"
The titles of the dishes entertained people, but most of them were surprised to see the tab. We had calculated the price that each taxpayer pays for Bush's failed policies, ones that John McCain supported and would only continue in the White House – and the grand total was more than $27,000.
$27,000! That can pay for college, a down-payment on a house, solar panels, most of a teaching position, a hybrid car. Instead, what are we forced to buy? Bridges to nowhere, global warming pollution, a protracted struggle in Iraq, and golden parachutes for fat-cat CEOs.
The ironic thing is that, despite much posturing to the contrary, John McCain helped get us into this mess. Exactly nine years ago this Election Day, McCain voted to abolish key protections designed to tame Wall Street and prevent disasters like our current economic crisis.
So, Dania and I asked people, “Would you ask the person who drove you into a ditch to drive you back out again?”
Nope.
But the most impressive part of the day wasn’t the laughs we got, or the surprise that registered on peoples’ faces when they learned just how much of their money Bush and McCain want to burn. It wasn’t even getting out the Progressive Future message on Hardball with Chris Matthews, which was broadcasting live from the quad – though that was an awesome addition.
The best part was this: we ran into crowds and crowds of young people who where political and nuanced. There was a large contingent, for example, of students who were organizing for Power Vote, a growing group of youth voters who want to hold the next president accountable to clean energy, green jobs, and economic growth.
Like Progressive Future, these people don’t segregate the array of progressive issues in isolated bins. The Power Vote folks aren’t just stumping on global warming – they’re talking about the relationships between energy, community, and prosperity. It leaves room for the issues – and their solutions – to be dynamic. And that’s pretty smart.
It’s certainly an interesting counterpoint to the right’s highly nuanced take on policy. “Drill, baby, drill,” may be pithy, but it’s not the thoughtful kind of answer we need.
Students at Wash U really picked up on this message, and at the two remaining presidential debates I’ll be excited to see whether young voters at Belmont and Hofstra do the same. I have a hunch they will.
