“Bread crumbs”(perhaps how you got here)

Friday, August 1, 2008

Swift Boating Again,

Or,

Don’t Let Your Bag Get Too Close To The Water
Or You’ll Lose Your Lunch

And to think that there was once a time when I thought of myself as a Republican. But that was when Republicans thought well of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, and when Earl Warren was considered a great man. Richard Nixon was a bad dream, something dark and horrible lurking in the corner like one of Lovecraft’s monsters.

Now what we have is Karl Rove and his ilk, Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter, and, alas, John McCain. The Swift-Boating of Barack Obama has begun. The Republican Party has placed itself firmly in the camp of Might Makes Right and The End Justifies The Means.

The entire platform of today’s Republican Party is based on a simple premise: no tactic is too vicious to use, no lie too great to shout. The opposition must be slaughtered and left dead. Not left for dead, but left dead. Not bleeding, but, with the blood poured out. The Republicans must win, regardless of the cost.

We have had the Britney Spears / Paris Hilton commercial from the McCain Citadel of Darkness, and now we have (get this) the “Moses” version. I guess Moses must be a bad guy. And Obama is said to be “playing the race card”. (As if it were possible for a black candidate to run in America without mention of race.)

I suppose it is safe to prophesy that the Republicans and their now completely trained pet, John McCain (who has clearly abandoned the service of his country in his lust for power) will win the election. I can’t believe that the Democrats have enough imagination and energy to strike back effectively. So the country will toss aside another leader of great potential, and we will all use more sunscreen while the environment is raped and the poor are pillaged by Bushonomics 2.0.

Not that I’m wild with enthusiasm about the Democrats’ prospects for Congress and various state races. The record compiled by the Democratic majority elected in 2006 is almost as depressing as that of the Republican majorities that ruled from 1994 onwards. Nancy Pelosi has hardly been organized enough to have something like Newt Gingerich’s Contract On America, but it doesn’t matter - she has shown zero leadership ability, and her Senate counterpart from Nevada is hardly better (although he does have a bit of an excuse because of the Senate’s rules and his weaker majority, which is held captive by Joe Lieberman).

It’s a good thing we’re not trapped in a wet paper bag, because Nancy Pelosi couldn’t lead us out of one.

But an election won or lost is a small thing. What is much more troubling is a nation that is slowly crumbling into despair; people no longer exert much effort for the common good, for we are now all taught that all that matters is to advance your own career, your own agenda, without regard for America or the World. This doctrine has led to a profound moral vacuum that expands every year to encompass more and more of our national life in every sphere - politics, culture, religion, even sports. There will come a day, not long from now, when there is nothing left that is admirable, solid, generous, wise, and honest.

And on that day, Osama bin-Ladin and his friends will be dancing cheerfully, for the truth will have finally vanished from the Earth. That day will be the fruit of the poison now being poured into the ground of politics by the Republican Party. No wonder I refer to myself after almost forty years as a “recovering Republican”. You can never stop recovering from the heritage of Richard Nixon.

 All text on this page is the work of J W Durham and is licensed only under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Other licensing terms may be available. E-mail me