Friday, September 05, 2008
Reasons to Vote Democratic in November (#4,623 in a series)
As proven by their words and actions at their convention, the Republicans are all nothing but a bunch of bullys, cheaters, liars and cry-babies. Sorry to resort to such low ad hominum there, but it's the same thing they brought us via the speech Sarah Palin read, and in the smug "I know I'm an asshole and I don't care" smirk on Giuliani's face the entire time he spoke.
A little more concrete evidence, though. The RNC actively sought to silence not only anti-Republican protesters outside by arranging to have them arrested before the committed any crimes, they sought to silence their own party by harassing Party Delegates who were pledged to Ron Paul.
The Secret Service went so far as to surround group of Paul delegates, then confiscate anything related to Paul that they had -- buttons, books, whatever they could get their hands on. On the convention floor, and openly, any time a Delegation in the Roll Call Vote was about to pledge delegates to Paul, microphones were turned off, as happened to Oklahoma, among other states.
Think about this for a moment. Delegates are party officials and bigwigs. They are the insiders of the Republican Party. It shouldn't matter who they support, as long as the person they support is a member of the party. It especially shouldn't matter in the case of delegates who are bound to their votes by caucuses or primaries.
And yet -- the Republican Party Members, with valid credentials, who were not good little McCain/Palin fanboys were threatened, intimidated, and treated barely differently from all the protesters in the streets.
Sound familiar? Every reactionary party in history has gone through its purges. Mao's Communist Party. Hitler's Nazis. Stalin's Bolsheveks. Royalty from princes to emperors throughout history are known for periodically lopping off the heads of those who disagree with them. Maybe this is a hard-wired genetic trait of those who become far right-wing conservatives (or far left-wing liberals) -- they are so frightened of the invisible bogeymen they have created in their own heads that they cannot tolerate even a hint of criticism, so those who don't agree with them, even those who are allegedly their friends or allies, are the target of paranoia, revenge, and fear. Extremism of any wing goes so far off the map that it comes back to meet its opposite -- I see little difference in the actions or mindsets of the RNC and PETA. Both organizations are insane, will cut off their own nose to spite their faces, and refuse to listen to even one tiny iota of criticism of their beliefs, sacred cows, or actions.
So... St. Paul brought us this one hope: The Republican Party is tearing itself apart, and this convention was their last hurrah. The red meat McCain fanatics will tout their selection, alienating less fascistic elements in the party to the point that they just won't vote, or they'll hold their noses and vote for Obama. (Maybe they won't even have to hold their noses.) After two years of majority Democratic Rule -- and President Obama's first Supreme Court nomination, of a judge from the 9th Circuit Court, sailing through), the true Conservatives will have had enough, and the backlash will kick the far-right, neo-Con, neanderthal, religiously insane douchebags out in the cold. The New Republican Party will move to the center, the New Nazi Party will quickly fade into obscurity, and true bipartisanship may finally be restored to this country.
Oh. Did I do that ad hominem thing again? It's just so easy to slip into that when all of the empirical evidence really does support the slurs and insults as factual.
Final argument: contrast the Democratic National Convention. Not only did the DNC not try to squelch Clinton supporters, they welcomed them and encouraged them. Clinton votes in the roll call were announced, none of her supporters had their buttons or books taken away, and it was finally Hillary Clinton herself who, on behalf of the New York Delegation, moved to suspend the roll call and nominate Obama by acclamation. It was one party united, and it showed everything that is good about the Democratic Party -- overall, the burning sense of fairness that is the heart of Liberalism.
Republicans are the party of Fear. Democrats are the party of Hope. Which one would you rather spend the next four years living in?
A little more concrete evidence, though. The RNC actively sought to silence not only anti-Republican protesters outside by arranging to have them arrested before the committed any crimes, they sought to silence their own party by harassing Party Delegates who were pledged to Ron Paul.
The Secret Service went so far as to surround group of Paul delegates, then confiscate anything related to Paul that they had -- buttons, books, whatever they could get their hands on. On the convention floor, and openly, any time a Delegation in the Roll Call Vote was about to pledge delegates to Paul, microphones were turned off, as happened to Oklahoma, among other states.
Think about this for a moment. Delegates are party officials and bigwigs. They are the insiders of the Republican Party. It shouldn't matter who they support, as long as the person they support is a member of the party. It especially shouldn't matter in the case of delegates who are bound to their votes by caucuses or primaries.
And yet -- the Republican Party Members, with valid credentials, who were not good little McCain/Palin fanboys were threatened, intimidated, and treated barely differently from all the protesters in the streets.
Sound familiar? Every reactionary party in history has gone through its purges. Mao's Communist Party. Hitler's Nazis. Stalin's Bolsheveks. Royalty from princes to emperors throughout history are known for periodically lopping off the heads of those who disagree with them. Maybe this is a hard-wired genetic trait of those who become far right-wing conservatives (or far left-wing liberals) -- they are so frightened of the invisible bogeymen they have created in their own heads that they cannot tolerate even a hint of criticism, so those who don't agree with them, even those who are allegedly their friends or allies, are the target of paranoia, revenge, and fear. Extremism of any wing goes so far off the map that it comes back to meet its opposite -- I see little difference in the actions or mindsets of the RNC and PETA. Both organizations are insane, will cut off their own nose to spite their faces, and refuse to listen to even one tiny iota of criticism of their beliefs, sacred cows, or actions.
So... St. Paul brought us this one hope: The Republican Party is tearing itself apart, and this convention was their last hurrah. The red meat McCain fanatics will tout their selection, alienating less fascistic elements in the party to the point that they just won't vote, or they'll hold their noses and vote for Obama. (Maybe they won't even have to hold their noses.) After two years of majority Democratic Rule -- and President Obama's first Supreme Court nomination, of a judge from the 9th Circuit Court, sailing through), the true Conservatives will have had enough, and the backlash will kick the far-right, neo-Con, neanderthal, religiously insane douchebags out in the cold. The New Republican Party will move to the center, the New Nazi Party will quickly fade into obscurity, and true bipartisanship may finally be restored to this country.
Oh. Did I do that ad hominem thing again? It's just so easy to slip into that when all of the empirical evidence really does support the slurs and insults as factual.
Final argument: contrast the Democratic National Convention. Not only did the DNC not try to squelch Clinton supporters, they welcomed them and encouraged them. Clinton votes in the roll call were announced, none of her supporters had their buttons or books taken away, and it was finally Hillary Clinton herself who, on behalf of the New York Delegation, moved to suspend the roll call and nominate Obama by acclamation. It was one party united, and it showed everything that is good about the Democratic Party -- overall, the burning sense of fairness that is the heart of Liberalism.
Republicans are the party of Fear. Democrats are the party of Hope. Which one would you rather spend the next four years living in?
Comments:
Post a Comment
