Friday, January 2, 2009

A New Day

Government policy, or lack thereof, is the biggest input into the economy.  

I received an email berating me for my "continued haranguing" of the Left.

Dear Sir or Madam:

I only harangue the Left because the Right is no more.  I would harangue them too, only they are too busy destroying what little is left of themselves, so why should I bother?  The Republicans got "fired for cause" (and I am a Libertarian Republican) and they deserved more than the ass kicking they got, they deserve to be ground into the turf.  Parties can only see as far as the next election.  Many Republican operatives knew quite well that the demographic trends were going to overwhelm their party, but back in 2o04 they cleverly saw a way to squeak through a crack in the door and then proceeded to poison the well and sow salt in the fields.  The coasts are gaining in population (Blue States) and the middle of the country is emptying out (Red states). American's are becoming more and more educated, and with education comes a belief in science, not fundamentalism.  The population is aging, and with age comes greater reliance on government social programs - especially in a society with ZERO savings - and social programs = the Left.  Believe you me, the Republican operatives saw this all too clearly... and correctly realized that the Right had painted itself into a corner, spent like the Left, and then as the Titanic was going down dispatched life rafts with the command "Bankers and Brokers first!" bellowing from the megaphones.  The Right knows that it will have to reinvent itself over the next generation - it WILL take that long - IF it survives.

I am not whining, just calling them like I see them (I worked for campaigns when I was younger, even held elective office once - no thank you!).  If you are still a Republican (few besides me admit this in public these days) my bet is that you will either die out or evolve.  2012 could be the nail in the coffin if the Republicans try and trot out another bible thumping fundamentalist.  (If I were looking for a job as an operative I would not talk like this.)

I sincerely hope that Barak Obama, our first celebrity president since JFK, succeeds.  But "success" needs to be defined:  Obama is not going to return America to 1999 - whether you think that is a good thing or a bad thing is not the issue - as that seems to be the measure.  His team is correctly trying to lower expectations, and I think they will succeed.  I hate to be the one to break this to my fellow Republicans... it would take a miracle for Obama NOT to be a 2 term president.  Now miracles can happen.  But America, and even Republicans, does not want the kind of miracle it would take to make Obama a one termer.

No, success for Obama will be measured in his ability to cheerlead. To bring a smile to people's faces.  To help the American people to "hang in there", and to adjust.  

Mentatt (at) yahoo (dot) com

6 comments:

bureaucrat said...

Since I hate to watch someone drown ... :)

I'd ask you to remember that the answer to the question of life is .... cycles. There are no beginnings, nor any ends, just bouncing between the extremes. I am a democrat, and likely always will be, but Reagan came roaring into office in 1980 after 15+ years of malaise and failure (the 1960s and 1970s), and Reagan could easily happen again. Matter of fact, I guarantee it will happen again. :) McCain was a sacrificial lamb and Palin was .. Palin. Obama is going to borrow and print so much frickin' money that I can hear the Village Peoples' "Macho Man" song even now. :) I voted for Obama. I sent Obama $500. And I know by the looks of it, he cannot succeed. And when that is over, and the nation needs to be brought back, a "Reagan" will be there somewhere. Guaranteed.

A Quaker in a Strange Land said...

Perhaps. As likely a third party or a reinvented Republican party. Remember, it is only a name - and ANYONE can borrow a name...

I don't feel I am drowning. Libertarian Repubs like me do not particularly like the folks that seized control of the party. I don't care about gay marriage, or the 10 commandments in school, or school prayer... and I certainly do NOT support the "War On Drugs" (our last current president and president elect both admit to doing cocaine. They were lucky enough not to get caught and if they had ANY sense of right and wrong they would pardon EVERY AMERICAN convicted of minor drug possession).

I support the strict constructionist view of the Constitution and self reliance and MUCH smaller government - to me, the rest is just noise.

bureaucrat said...

The tens of million of Americans benefitting from social security, medicare, veterans benefits and interest on the national debt (free FDIC insurance over $100,000/$250,000) disagree with you. That's why they will never be scaled back. :)

Looks like oil has made a slight upward surge in price. Hmmm.

A Quaker in a Strange Land said...

For my money, Oil is still in "no-mans-land".

dAnd the fact that certain special interest groups disagree is irrellevant. These WILL be scaled back when the funding sources cease funding... the question, as always is "When?"

A Quaker in a Strange Land said...

The funny thing is... even if a REPUBLICAN was elected, the new administration would have printed and borrowed and spent "so much frickin' money that I can hear the Village People's "Macho Man", too.

I guess it just is what it is.

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing.......

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