Modern GOP: "If we let people have what they really want, they would wreck the country. So we've now put ourselves in a position where the only way we can get elected is to spin the hell out of every issue, and change our story constantly, and make it as hard as possible for Americans to realize that what we actually plan to do in office is in most cases against their self interest."
Democrats: "People voting for what they really want is how democracy should work. We'll naively believe that since we're representing people's rational self-interests that the population will be able to see through all the evangelical manipulation of the media and public opinion." (Note: every now and then they get a natural-born media-savvy nightmare who rises to the top of the Democratic Party despite their normal inability to cultivate them. Two of them were Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and they give the GOP nightmares.)
Unfortunately for John McCain, it's 2008 and the GOP's bullsh*tting and story-changing to get into office at all costs has finally painted them into a corner. As with Dubya, there's not a lot of positions that aren't purely to get into office, and we've had two terms to see what that does to a presidency. And trying to get Hillary votes and evangelicals for the same person is a foolish ploy, and I'm not the only defector the VP choice has created. And once professional religious interferer Jimmy Dobson weighs in for McCain-Palin, changing his previous position, you know why: the evangelical movement has given its seal of approval to the GOP ticket. Religious extremists have again hijacked the party, and it's time to get out (Palin's acceptance speech was written by Bush's speech writers - there is no longer any chance of salvaging the GOP in this election).
Centrists, Libertarians, moderate Republicans left on the other side, if you can no longer stomach your own party's lies, come on over. I promise it feels a lot better to be able to speak according to your convictions, not those of a team which doesn't share your values.
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3 comments:
So, you're defecting to the Dems? Do you feel as though you'd have a better chance of convincing them to make compromises with market thinking than to get the GOP to compromise on "moral" issues (i.e., how everyone else gets to lead their life)? I could seen an argument for that, but a lot of answers from teh Dems come down to more taxes. Seems like it's a hard road ahead for the Libertarian-minded folks out there.
Except in healthcare, very few of Obama's proposed changes represent increased regulation and most Americans actually get a tax break under his plan. The free market is safe with him in office, AND it's protected from the crony communism that has gone on under Bush II and shows no promise of disappearing in a McCain administration. On the other hand, Obama seems to make hard decision based on fact and reason, and, unlike Sarah Palin, has never been a member of the Constitution Party, which wants to rewrite the Constitution in accordance with Biblical law, and in Alaska wanted to secede from the Union. Really. I really think that by November "Palin" will replace "Eagleton" as the term in American political English that means "hastily chosen and badly damaging running-mate".
I like that Austan Goolsbee is involved with the Obama campaign, so I do think that there is a good chance the administration might find the right mix. I'm not excited about increases in corp taxes, though I don't think it would be devastating if the highest marginal tax rate is increased. Cap gains increases would affect many more people than hedge fund millionaires.
I'm still interested to ear what each candidate would do in the instance of Israel doing a pre-emptive strike on Iran. That's a tad more nuanced question than Rick Warren's "What do you think should be done with evil?" or whatever.
If Palin's going to have an Eagleton like downfall, it's going to have to happen soon. And with no CREEP to facilitate the hit, she might end up as a Christian martyr saddled with a lukewarm presidential candidate. The fundy righties seem to like her a lot.
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