As you can tell, I've been too busy this week to post anything that takes more than five minutes to write. Well, today, I set the timer to twenty minutes, because I think the 2008 elections are that important.What's the worst-case scenario?
Rudy Guiliani will be voted our next President. He's just awful. Rudy isn't as bumblingly stupid as George is, but he's just as power-crazed, corrupt, and hawkish. McCain is a hawk too, but I don't think he would continue Bush's drive to make the legislative and judicial branches subordinate to the executive branch. And don't give me any nonsense about Guiliani being liberal on social issues. Just because he's fond of dressing up like a woman and living with gay men doesn't mean he won't nominate socially conservative supreme court justices.
Guiliani scares me just as much in 2007 as George W. Bush scared me in 1999. Maybe even more so, because back then I thought he might hire smart people around him and be a figurehead in the mold of Reagan.
What can the Republicans do to win?
The Republican nominee can't throw George under the train, but he'll have to separate himself in some way. He'll probably do this by hinting at the fact that the problem with George wasn't his ideology, but his competence. And then smear, smear, smear...
What can the Democrats do to win?
Nominate a generate candidate who can run against George Bush's disastrous legacy without being a lightning rod to the right-wing smear machine. Unfortunately, John Edwards appears to be slipping, so that leaves Hillary (aka The Ice Queen) and Barack (aka Obama bin Laden). Obama is actually my favorite candidate, but I don't think he's electable.
The other thing the Democrats need to do is make the election about George W. Bush. The Republican nominee represents More Of The Same.
Why would you be upset if a Republican won?
I want a landslide election to force the Republican away from the extremist fringe and back to traditional conservative values like small government, fiscal responsibility, and hazy corruption. If a Republican wins, they'll continue to cater to the neocons and religious right.
P.S. Any George W. Bush fans out there? If so, please leave a comment. You don't know how much this would delight me. I miss the old days when Bush fanatics would turn on ALL CAPS and cut loose with rants against the mainstream media and leftist know-it-alls who thought Operation Iraqi Freedom might last longer than six months. Where did all those clowns go?
THE ONE THING YOU LIBERALS FORGET IS THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN ATTACKED ON OUR HOME BASE SINCE 911. SO, WE ISSUE A FEW UNAUTHORIZED WIRE TAPS NOW AND THEN. THERES NO SLIPPERY SLOPE.
ReplyDelete'OMG....WTF..BBQ..ONE DAY I'LL WALK OUT OF THIS CLOUD OF POT SMOKE AND I WON'T BE ABLE TO BURN THE FLAG ANYMORE'
F'IN HIPPIES
AND HILLARY? SHE IS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SAME COIN. LOOK AT HER IRAQ RECORD. HER MOST MARKETALE QUALITY IS THAT BILL WILL BE DEFACTO SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE WORLD LOVES HIS BS.
Sweet!
ReplyDeleteI can't stand ANY of them. Rebulican OR Democrat. I like Christopher Dodd, but that's just because his kids are cute.....
ReplyDeleteSWEET!! Rebulican.....
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be unfortunate if Obama really was electable, but too many people who would have supported the guy thought that he wasn't. It does seem like Hillary has a fair number of luke warm voters in her camp who are there because she's the front runner. That may be a fragile equilibrium, though. If someone like Barack starts gaining momentum, those tepid Clinton fans would happily switch.
ReplyDeleteThe other school of thought says there are still too many people like the one Clarence Page identified in S. Carolina. This voter said something like "I don't want to sound prejudiced, but I won't be voting for any colored man for President." Of course, I'd like to believe that crackers like that have been miscasting their votes for years and aren't the ones poised at the margins--the ones that decide things.
BOB
ReplyDeleteYOUR JUST UPSET NOW THAT WE ARE WINNING THE WAR IN IRAQ.
YOU AND YOUR LIBERAL FRIENDS WOULD HAVE HAD US PULL OUT LAST YEAR AND GIVE VICTORY TO AL QUEDA.
NOW, THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT.
AND IT IS TAPPING ON A BATHROOM FLOOR
Earl - I used to think Republicans and Democrats were two sides of the same coin; one side slightly favored business and small government while the other side slightly favored labor and more government. When the religious right took over the party in the early 90s, I started seeing a more radical difference between the two parties. It isn't a good vs. evil thing for me. I don't love the Democratic party. I do think the Republican party in its current form is reprehensible, and the Democrats represent the lesser evil. Democrats: 70% less corrupt.
ReplyDeleteSteve - I think Clinton's gender hurts her just as much as Obama's race. That's why I want Edwards. The stakes are too high.
Lyle - I admit you had me with your first comment. I thought you were a genuine wingnut. In the second comment, the toe tapping on the bathroom floor gave you away. Nice touch.
I used to think they were opposites NOW I think they are two sides of the same coin. I HATE politicians. It doesn't matter much WHICH party is in "power". They depart from what they said they'd do. Politicians/lawyers = pond scum. Your not a lawyer, right?
ReplyDeleteTwo words- Joe Biden.
ReplyDeleteBiden has too many skeletons in the closet. He has no chance, he knows he has no chance, so he's angling for something else.
ReplyDelete