What Does The GOP Stand To Gain?

In the last few days, there has been a rash of reports commenting on the Republican Party’s apparent embrace of violent terminology. You can read about it lots of places, but in case you somehow missed it, here’s an example.

So there appears to be a trend, not necessarily amongst all Republicans (I still like to dream that there are a few fiscal conservatives cowering beneath the onslaught of Moral Imperatives Activists and Obama Is A Fascist lunatics), but certainly amongst some of their most prominent and loud-mouthed representatives. And the contingent of the blogosphere which likes to think of itself as Sensibly Liberal has made the predictable response: they’ve gone into mama-next-door mode and begun worrying about the future of the neighborhood. They’re concerned, and perhaps rightfully so, that one of these days some teabagger out there somewhere is going to stop throwing bricks through windows and pick up a gun.

Continue reading

Super-Delegates, Public Funding, and the Sham of the Democratic Primary Process

Reminds me of “The Hanged Man”…*sigh* - Photo by Austen Squarepants. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)The Presidential primary process is settling into full swing now, as I am constantly reminded by emails from various political and activist groups. Everyone’s eyes are on the Democratic showdown between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama, and the news is rolling in hard and fast every day. Hillary calls Obama a slum-lord, Obama brings up Hill’s stint on the Wal-Mart corporate board; who’s talking today about race, gender, and of course change? It’s all very exciting, and I have watched the primaries like some people tune into the playoffs, cheering and booing during the debates, the speeches, and the polls (which have turned out to be about as reliable as a weather forecast). It’s a thrilling time, but before we get too carried away, I feel compelled to mention a few sobering facts. Like how, if you are voting in the Democratic primaries your vote only sort of counts. And that’s even without considering the rotten machines which have never been remedied. Not to mention that many of us won’t get to vote at all, even though we are paying for the privilege.

Continue reading