Kooks and Hatemongers

I get so discouraged seeing us endlessly debating style over substance. Apparently, it's now become gauche to criticize whatever harebrained idea Obama happens to come up with. When has that standard ever applied to Republicans? I note we are all too eager to accept the Left's admonition whenever we dare raise objections. "Crass", "hatemonger" and "extreme" (right wing) come immediately to mind. Add, "unsophisticated", "stupid", "buffoonish". And like the obedient, oft abused children we feel we are, we reflexively jump up to embrace every chance to cleanse ourselves of such smears (in fastidious preparation for fresh abuse, no doubt). In the process we're thrown off-track and our argument (along with our dignity) dies.

L.G. calls me a 'kook', and 'hate(monger)'. Why? Because my views differ from his? It’s interesting that personal attacks are all he has in his arsenal. It’s all any of them ever have. Why do we continue to buckle under the barrage of personal slights by the media; academe; Hollywood; the limp-wristed bartenders at fancy restaurants? Why does a child continue to allow itself to be abused? Are we lacking maturity? Confidence? Have we become psychologically damaged?

Republicans need to learn to acknowledge the relationship between ‘standing for something’ and ‘winning’. ‘Standing for something’ is the currency with which politicians can purchase a win. In this world nobody looks twice at a man with empty pockets. Similarly, the public will not bestow its favors on a party with empty (or shifting) positions.

How quickly it would all turn around if just one of us were to stand up and stop apologizing for exhaling CO2! Do we actually mean to say that only liberals deserve to breathe? Has it come to the point where only one’s political affiliation determines a blameless life? I abhor the idea! There’ve been those who’ve lived through such times. It’s one of the reasons so many of them came to America.

And yet, we continue to follow the losing script. We imprison those who most effectively speak in support of us with our distancing. No one is interested in anyone reaching across the aisle; no one is interested in compromise. Compromise only leads us further to the left; a consistent trend in our stance that keeps losing us elections.

Are we so brain-dead to think anybody will accept our ruse of joining the other side in order to win? What do we think this is? A football game? And even in football it would not be acceptable to deliberately throw the game to one’s opponent. Why do we continue to do it on the political playing field? Don’t we yet realize that traitors are more despised than losers?

It’s interesting how news stories are written. I happened to be reading a story on Israel on yahoo yesterday. They missed no opportunity in referring to the Netanyahu government as “right wing”. The view from a Palestinian perspective was never categorized by any such pejorative, giving the impression that it reflects mainstream thinking. Any reporting about Republicans and Democrats in this country follows a similar pattern: Republican are always ‘right-wing’ while Democrat are always mainstream. Never mind that the country is going down in the flames of deceit, false euphoria and outright madness.