Electoral Philosophies of the Major Parties

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.