Sunday, April 22, 2007

Doktor Sarkozy, Madam Royal.....


I participated in an outdoor art show today in a glorious garden in the middle of the woods with a view of the Chateau de Fleurac on the hill in the distance. The exhibiting artists were an eclectic group. A Belgian woman sculptress, An American making furniture, French man who made wonder Raku pottery, an Englishman making small polished objects out of wood and stone, a French woman who sculptted in clay and another woman who made incredible welded metal planters that had real personality, each on was like a distinct alien being with a complimenting cactus...and an older French couple who I met before, the wife makes very beautiful lampshades and her husband, very beautiful polished wood objects, some of which are lamp bases for the shades.
My wife voted this morning on our way to the show. She remarked that at 8:30 am, the voting box already had a lot of ballots. At the show, no one spoke of politics. We had a group lunch around 1pm and I was sitting next to the older couple and their son. I was joking with everyone in my present level of conversational French...everything works fine and then occasionally I hit a wall, and out of the blue, the son of the older couple asks me "and you, a foreigner, if you could vote, who would you vote for?"
For a second I was taken aback, that's a question that might be in bad taste at so volatile a time, in such an international group. Wthout battiing an eyelash, I replied,"Segolene Royal, bien sur!" Then the fellow asked me why? I jokingly replied, that I thought she was the most beautiful candidate!
Janet immediately jumped in, because she realized that I was being played a fool by the fellow, She launched into a very detailed analysis of Royals positions and why she admired her. He was a little over whelmed by the passion of her position, the command of facts and the fact that she probably speaks much more correct and eloquent French than he does. I don't speak elegant or correct French, but I do speak well enough especially after a few glasses of rose in the hot sun...I added that this election was a good example of how George Bush was elected and if Nikolas Sarkozy was elected, I would never take anyone seriously again who asked me, "How could Americans elect a president like George Bush?"
There was a silence, then a few of the people applauded and told me I made a lot of sense and I joked that I was happy that I could at least express my opinions.
The questioner was silent. After lunch, a number of people came up to me and explained that the son who had questioned me was a Front National Militant and was running for office and they were afraid to speak up in front of him because of the fear they have of their reputation of fascistic violence and backlash.
I made a point of hanging out with his father later and talking to him about printmaking and where he gets his supply of boxwood from and then bought one of his carved wooden pieces. Every one was smiles...but I left with the knowlege of how deep the fear of the FN is and how it lurks beneath the surface here in the country.
We got home and turned on the TV...It was 7:30 and there was a half hour of suspense as we waited nervously for the elction returns...then suddenly, the results came up!
26.4% for Segolene and 29.6% for Sarkozy! The results are still vascillating a 10th of a point here and there, but it is done. The Front National, which every one feared could pull some kind of an upset, never got past 10%, Bayrou was third with 16%
It was the largest voter turnout in French history! 86% of the registered vopters showed up. A number unheard of in America!
Sarkozy has been running for president for 4 years. He has allied himself through his brother with big businesss and the mainstream media. He has been ruthless in crushing his opponents and using his power to coherce supporters to come to him or face destruction. He has played the card of fear over and over again and appealed to basest instincts of racism to woo voters from the FN! He has been omnipresent in the media. He has recieved covert assistance from the Bush administration in his campaign.
Segolene started to campaign a year ago and has pretty much run the campaign by her instincts without much support by the elephants in the socialist party. She has been attacked constantly in the press. She was attacked by all the small party candidtes on the left. Through it all, she has remained strong, serene and toally positive . She has shown that she is Mitterands political heiress. She has offered France a clear alternative to the darkness of Sarkozy. He wants France to get up earlier, work harder and expect less. He wants to take away social programs and close the borders.
He wants to ally himself with American foreign policy. He said recently of his foreign policy,"Sometimes I feel more Amreican than French!"
I believe that given such a clear choice, between light and dark, between the future and fear, that Segolene will win the 2nd tour of the election. She will challenge Sarko to a debate and she will win. If he refuses to debate, he will look like he is afraid of her. Segolene is deadly in debate.
As the commentator said on Channel 3 this evening when she made her speech dressed in white against a white background,"She has the stature now! She has evolved into a leader before our eyes!" Sarkozy made his speech earlier, dark circles and red eyes, looking vaguely Nixonian, talking about the fear of the French people and how, if they would let him, he would protect them....pretty creepy, huh?

11 comments:

ohdave said...

Will Sego be able to rally the suport of the other leftist candidates? Will Bayrou's supporters rally to her?

microdot said...

All of the little candidates publically suupported her last night.
Bayrou? without his complicit cooperation with the UMP, his party is nothing. In the end, Bayrou is all vacillatting platitudes and no substance. His hard core support will probably go to Sarkozy, but he wooed a lot of voters as an alternative to the socialists and many will go to Segoline.
If LePen officially endorses Sarkozy, it will be a curse.
I think that one result of this election will be the end of the Front National as a unified far right party. It was always on the verge of splintering, but it was Jean-Maries force that kept it in line and disciplined. He is getting very old now and this was his last presidential campaign. His daughter will try to keep the moderates and the more hard liners will even further isolate themselves.
It was a party with no real platform except hate.

microdot said...

more perspective, when Mitterand won the first round in the early 80's, his percentage was lower than Segolenes. He went on to become one of the most respected and best presidents that France has ever had.
Olivier Besancenot said last night in his concession that France had to elect Segolene because the future of France would either be decided in the urns (the voting boxes) or the streets! He is right!

microdot said...

How do you say Rudy Guliani in French?
Nikolas Sarkozy!

liberal_dem said...

Although you predict Mme. Segolene will move forward against Sarkozy, do you have any fear of the so-called 'October Surprise' as Karl Rove loves to manage when things get too close?

microdot said...

The answer to your question is YES! Sarkozy is favored in the American press and the conservative "think tanks" are all declaring their support for him. Many people here believe he is being aided by the Bush administration.
All the Left candidates have come out sttrongly for Segolene and gone on record declaring that Sarko est un homme dangereuse!
It should be interesting as the candidates start to debate. The networks are broadcasting a debate between Sego and Sarko that occurred in 1993 and she destroys him!

Anonymous said...

You have such intelligent well thought out responses. I truly feel (and understand) the emotional exhaustion you experience when faced with religious rhetoric disguised as political debate when you respond to poor misguided Barb. It's always good for a laugh. Keep them coming.

microdot said...

Mrs. oh dave, is that an irish name?
I wrote that post when I came home for lunch today. I had been thinking about Madame Barb this morning up on the ladder in the heat.
It's the same record over and over again. The same scratchy old vinyl recitation of intolerance disguised and pseudo scientific fact. Pulling factoids out of thin air like some two bit Vaudvilliene Magician trying to impress a bunch of rubes.
It's not like we haven't all had the same discussion with her over and over again. It doesn't matter what you say, there is no logic and there is no room for any voice but hers. I have to go and get the quote about me inspiring homosexual mass murderers because it was a classic.

Anonymous said...

I believe Mrs. O'Dave is LD in drag.

As for Barb, I've been following LD's persecution of this well-meaning poster and I notice you are a follower, Microdot --OK until you get with the wrong company--namely LD.

Barb, if you're reading this discussion, remember that Jesus said "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matt. 5:10-12

Scoffers of God and those who proclaim his word are not a new phenomenon.

Barb said...

Thank you, Bible Boy! Have you visited my blog? If you have a blog, I'll list it!

St. Paul did get disgusted with his scoffers and said sarcastically he guessed they didn't feel worthy to have eternal life --since they weren't interested in the Gospel --in fact, why do you suppose it is that they weren't just bored by His message about Christ, ignoring it? but instead were infuriated and were contradicting and blaspheming Paul --resulting in the eventual stoning of Paul--and later imprisonment? They believed with all their hearts that Paul and Jesus didn't know what they were talking about.

I didn't' see any science, pseudo or otherwise here in the comments about French politics. I guess those old posts of mine on two subjects --the ones that say we are created by God with purpose, design and accountablity, rather than by unguided darwinian process --and the ones that say God has prescribed the definition of sexual morality and expects us to repent when we fail his standards --those posts are still niggling at your consciences--perhaps not for your own immorality but for approving that of others.

Rejoice --spiritual conviction is a sign of the Holy Spirit's wooing you away from His opposite, the enemy of God. You aren't dead yet!

Well, actually, Jesus does say some are dead man's bones in whited sepulchres --until they repent and receive His life-giving water and bread --we are made alive unto Christ by His grace and our faith --the sacraments of faith unto salvation are symbolized in the Mass and Holy Communion, but those are just outward signs of inward works of grace--symbolic of the atoning work finished on the cross.

Repentance is recognizing our equal, sinful status at the Cross and saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." "I have sinned against thee." Repentance and faith that Jesus came to be our atonement --that's how we enter the gate from death to life. But we can't discount all the rest of the Bible and just accept the eternal life we want. Not that we feel legally bound to all the rabbinical laws today --that, too, was settled in the NT. And the church has loosed us from some other legalisms through the years --recognizing that Jesus said it's the inward changes in our love for God and His Word and each other, not the outward superficial rules kept which determine our status with God.

Scorn and bigotry against believers IS sin, you know.

If I didn't care about your ornery souls, I wouldn't bother. And it's not holier than thou to proclaim the principles, teachings and the very words of God from the scriptures.

Moreover, I may not be GOOD at online witness --I wax overlong and didactic, I suppose --but I may be the only messenger you're going to get because you may have insulated your lives from any truthful spiritual counsel, (you would scare them off) --else you would know it was wrong and feel guilty about being so blatantly rude to me online. If you were in the company of the redeemed, in the sheep fold of the Shepherd, you would NOT target me for your verbal mudballs --you'd have a different approach if you thought I was well-meaning (as Bible Boy said) but misguided in my approach. As it is, you epitomize generations of persecutors of believers and preachers in Bible Boy's quoted scriptures. You call me bigoted when that is so not true.

To you, I suspect a real Christian would be popular with everyone (historically inaccurate.) You believe you are so smart in your selective skepticism about the Bible (LD) --and you erroneously think YOU would've been neither Pharisee nor Roman in the crucifixion of Christ --because you liked how He talked to the religious leaders of His day --forgetting He only talked that way to the scoffers and the scorners, the unbelievers.

Nicodemus was a leader --and Jesus and He talked by night, in secrecy -when he asked Jesus, "What must I do to be saved?" And Jesus told Him --You must be born again --born of the Spirit --to inherit eternal life. That starts with repentance and faith in the resurrected Christ.

If your annoyance is that you already KNOW this stuff --and don't disagree with it --you could've fooled me! I can tell you are very knowledgeable --especially Microdot --and I get the impression you are both lapsed catholics, LD and MD --but I don't think you have characterized me fairly or correctly.

for example, MCD --that quote about me you are looking for --You won't find it because that's not how I said what you jumped on --the truth is --YOU think Christian teaching and I stir up violent homophobes like Shepard's killers (that has been said by you guys). I countered that calling me a bigot might justify persecution of me that could stir up a violent homosexual. They do exist,you know. So we have BOTH accused the other of potentially lighting the fuses of the deranged Cho's of the world. But my approach to gays is compassionate; yours toward me is to say I deserve all the insult you can heap on.

People have already gone to churches and Amish schools, etc. and opened fire. Disagreeing with each other is inevitable --getting furious about it and hating each other ought not be, FOR BELIEVERS WHO HOPE TO GO TO HEAVEN. Being furious about these matters is not MY problem but LD's and MD's when LD comes around and gets MD to perform in his lion-eating-the-Christian act.

you know I'm right --and that's what makes you so mad.

microdot said...

mrs. o'dave is not LD...
don't play out your martyr complex here! you'll' get no sympathy from me. grow up, it's a big world, bigger than the claustrophobic cage you call Toledo.
If you are bold enough to put your opinions on the internet, you are going to get comments. we don't always like the comments we get...but at least your opinion is getting out there!