re: I thought people in this country fell mostly in the center of the political spectrum.
I still believe that. Only the intellectually lazy, or the political zealots, buy 100% into the Democrat/Liberal or Republican/Conservative extremes. For example, I'm sure there are many folks that call themselves conservatives that are pro abortion, and many liberals that are anti gun control.
John, I think you may be making assumptions that are not true now if ever they were true. What I have experienced is people becoming more defining in what they believe. For an example, the conservatives who once said they were pro abortion now are not sure where they stand on the subject and are more inclined to be anti. I think that many conservatives were afraid to show how really conservative they were.....but that has changed now that the party that represents them is in the ascendancy......they are able to be more frank about the issues.
The two parties spend 90% of their time and funds on marketing, they are selling a product, no different than Coke and Pepsi, except the pols probably spend a lot more on focus groups and polling. They are going to say whatever they think will carry a majority in any given election. The problem is that we have no clue anymore how these guys are going to act once they get in office. Bush campaigned as a compassionate conservative; turns out he's is neither compassionate nor conservative.
For me, the two parties really are not the issue. I am now 100% behind the Dems only because they are the only group that is capable of fighting the conservative juggernaut that has gripped this country. My normal inclination is to be independent. However, the conservative movement has taken center stage and I think their ideology is a real threat to the well being of this country. Maybe because you live in FLA which is located in a conservative region of the country, you feel less uncomfortable with the predominance of a strong conservative ideology but I am not.
Fanning the flames of divisiveness is in the best interest of both parties; you have to differentiate your product if you want to build brand loyalty. In the end, I think Americans want a President that will do very little, and just let the world make slow steady progress towards being a better place to raise your kids.
Again, ideology is what's fanning the divisiveness, not because one party has a donkey as its mascot and the other, the elephant. Not only am I against pre emptive war but I am against any war that's predicated on misinformation or out and out lies. To ignore this substantive policy issue that is very much rooted in ideology and to try to blame it on party politics, I think is a big and dangerous mistake.
Excuse me, but I think its part of the average American's lack of focus and laziness which ignores these issues and puts them off as partisan politics. I don't believe its politics as usual. And if Americans don't get on the ball, they could well lose the very thing they claim to cherish most.......representative democracy.
I like Eisenhower because he built the Interstate system; now that's a tangible contribution. Kennedy and the space program is another example. The guys that start discretionary wars I don't like, a bunch of kids and innocents die, and it saddles our economy with debt.
The next president should be all over alternative, renewable energy. Wind power is now cheaper than coal, solar is very, very close. Starting the country on the road to clean and renewable energy would a very tangible accomplishment, but it's not sexy enough to get on the front page of the NYT; it's good policy but lousy marketing.
Like many Americans, I think you want a president who is secular; progressive without rocking any boats; who believes in apple pie and motherhood; who looks presidential. I don't think he exists now if he ever did.
The reality is a president who looks like a cross between a weasel and a rat; who can't speak well; who's of average intelligence and who has surrounded himself with ideological and religious fanatics. People not too unlike OBL. The only difference I see between OBL and some of the administration's members is that the former became a revolutionary while the latter are still willing to work within the system.
This country runs the risk of having its democracy hijacked in the name of fear and terrorism. I don't think it will ever be business as usual again..............at least not for a long time.
If you've got any intellectual stamina you make up your mind on individual issues, you don't let these guys buy your vote by marketing inflammatory issues. At the end of the day, you want a guy that will do less harm than good, and that leaves us a little better off than he found us. If's he's marketed as a liberal or a conservative doesn't make much difference once he gets in office.
I think what you say above was true 5 years ago........I don't think its true any longer. I could be wrong........in fact, I hope I am. Time will tell.
ted |
