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Problem being, "playing hardball" may mean "dumbing down and going for God" in an attempt to court an electorate which apparently favours "faith" over evidence-based reality, no matter how much global death and misery this involves.
I totally disagree that that's what they'll be doing in the next four years. In 2008? Quite possibly, to try and gain some ground. But there was a clear policy set out by Kerry that 48% of America stands behind and I hope that elected Democrats realize that and stand behind it, and refuse to waffle. The dissatisfaction and disillusionment is palpable, and I doubt that representatives will miss it. Also, look at Schwarzanegger as just one example of a Republican in office who refuses to piss on his electorate just to court favor with Bush's New Regime. Stem cell research makes sense. He backed it and so did his state and has effectively saved thousands of lives as researchers will undoubtedly be flocking to the state to do their research. As much as Bush has the POTENTIAL to uproot fundamental liberties and decency, so too do the other branches of our government have the power to keep him from doing so. If Kerry had lost by a wider margin, I assure you, I would not be feeling this optimistic. If you look at the final polls, these "Moral" numbers, even Evangelical voters, only make up 1/3rd of our population, tops. Perhaps it is naive of me to believe, but I truly feel that there isn't any possible way for 1/3 of America to completely railroad our democracy. Yes, the 11 Same Sex Marriage bans are not even troubling, they're nauseating, sickening, and downright unamerican (Ron Regan Jr, made the critical note, that Bush's use of the word "sanctity" when referring to CIVIL marriage, is the keystone of how and why this issue is so completely fucked), but, like I said, it's less then 1/3rd of our population base. If you look again at poll numbers about the issue, only 30% of Americans are en toto against Gay Rights. Yes, even that number is ridiculous and way too high, but I really believe that it will never become the prevailing wisdom of American policy. And note that at least one judge has put his career on the line to deem the act as unconstitutional. There is a public official who is playing hardball, who believes in America, and who will have at least some support, even if he doesn't win.
These kinds of battles are historically long and historically ugly, but no one lost the war yesterday. Eventually the flagrantly unamerican basis of most Evangelical policy will meet the unflappable wall of the constitution head on, not to mention the democrats in the House, the Senate, and a few houses down from you. And think about probably one of the youngest new senators, Barack Obama; think about his policies and his popularity. This is the future of America. W2, I really believe, is just the last chapter in a very ugly volume of American history. There will be two primaries in 2008 and think about John McCain running for the Republican nomination. Compare his views with Bush's administration.
I think that "Moral Values" (and most pundits are already pointing towards its vagueness as a huge factor in its popularity) has as much to do with religion as it does with pants shitting, post-9/11 fear. There are also people who truly believe that the invasion in Iraq was a moral imperative, even Kerry supporters who believe that the idea of usurping him was a fundamentally good one, and just that Bush completely botched the job. There is an enormous amount of grey area in these results that could easily stoke the flames of abject terror in the hearts and minds of, you know, rational thinking humans, but the key number here is 30%. Those are the crazy people. Yes, our president is almost certainly one of them, but there are an assload of people with a significant amount of power who are most certainly not. |
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