Political Ramblings

Well, I don’t know about everyone else, but I am more than ready to stop hearing about Joe the plumber. He isn’t running for office and he doesn’t really add anything to the current political atmosphere. If he is really tired of the attention like he says, he is more than welcome to drop back into obscurity in my opinion.

I am also tired of the negative advertisements that keep showing. I know the theory of the Big Lie, and I know it works, but so far this year it seems to be less than completely successful. Maybe the US electorate is finally starting to look beyond the sound bite and trying to find the facts. Well, at least some of them. There are still people that are more than willing to believe the worst about their opponents.

These two videos from the Smith Memorial Dinner are much better advertising for both candidates. They made fun of each other, the audience members, and themselves.

This kind of thing is much nicer to hear about than something like this story about Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and her views of Obama, and apparently every “liberal”. Why do we have so much trouble in this country with the idea of a loyal opposition? Why are people like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, who advocate that anyone that disagrees with them are evil, subhuman, and/or traitors, so popular?

I can understand being passionate about beliefs and wanting to win. Anyone who has ever competed in sports has felt that. But demonizing your opponents, considering them less than you for some reason, is a bad idea in wartime, nevermind during a political campaign. Because, when it is all over, the winners are required to work with each other to get things done.

Even if the Democrats manage to get 60 senators this year, it won’t last, any more than the Republican “permanent majority” lasted. The Democrats will get some blame for the current economy, deserved or not, and they will make some mistakes as they govern. If they do a very good job, without too many mistakes or scandals (Yes, they will have both, they are humans in a position of power. Failing to temptation by someone is going to happen.) they will probably be able to stay in control of Congress until at least 2012. What happens then will depend on just who the President is and how good of a job he does.

But no matter what happens they need to keep in mind that eventually, the Republican Party, or whatever continues in place of the current mess that makes up the GOP, will have the top hand. Ignoring the checks and balances in our system, or trying to dismantle them, just makes things worse when you are the minority again. I think it is very important for the Democrats to remember this, if they manage to win as big as it seems they will right now.

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