The dissaffected Obama voter: enthusiasm gap on the left
Progressives and liberals are despondent lately. They’re having trouble mustering up the energy to vote in 2010, or even to defend Barack Obama, once their shining star:
Why, asks a Democrat leading a training session for fellow activists, doesn’t “Yes we can” work as a slogan any more? “Because we haven’t,” a jaded participant responds…The present gap is really more of a chasm. Gallup, a pollster, reckons that a mere 28% of Democrats are “very enthusiastic” about voting, compared to 44% of Republicans.
Of course, the left is disappointed in Obama for different reasons than independents are. The latter think he’s too radical, the former think he hasn’t gone far enough to further their radical agenda. And they’re not buying his blame-Bush line any more, either:
“I’m sick and tired of hearing we don’t have 60 votes. Go get them!” thundered Ed Schultz, a bombastic liberal radio host, at a recent progressive powwow, to equally thunderous applause.
And yet, blame-Bush—and claiming that electing Republicans again would be worse than the status quo—is all that Democrats have right now to campaign on. That’s a sad position to be in, but a well-deserved one. One of the perils of getting what you wish for (in the case of the Democrats, it’s control of both the executive and legislative branches of the government) is that you are held accountable for what you do (or fail to do) afterward, and the old blame game becomes more difficult unless you’re looking in the mirror and accusing yourself.
Disappointment in Obama is wide and deep (the only ones who seem spared are those who never liked him in the first place). I had a personal encounter yesterday that underscored that fact, and left me surprised and hopeful. It happened during a telephone conversation with one of my nephews, whom I’ll call Eric.
Now, I love all of my nieces and nephews very much. They’re great young people in their twenties, smart and funny and decent and even generally kind to their parents and their weird aunt who’s become this right-wing lunatic (that would be me). Politically, they seem to be varying degrees of liberal right now. I don’t talk politics much to them; it’s too contentious and ultimately unrewarding, and I see them too seldom anyway.
However, I happened to speak to Eric on the phone yesterday. Actually, I was talking to another relative he was visiting, and it was Eric who asked to speak to me.
This is unusual. Very. And I was puzzled when I heard what Eric had to say, which was that he needed to apologize to me.
Apologize? Whatever for? I racked my brain to think what he might have ever done to hurt or offend me, and I came up with absolutely nothing. It was even more puzzling when he said he’d been meaning to apologize to me for about eighteen months.
And then he reminded me that we’d had a political conversation the last time I saw him, which was during the summer of 2008. Our talk was about then-candidate Obama, for whom Eric was planning to vote.
I no longer remember the content of the conversation. Actually, I barely remember that it even happened; it was typical of the sort of low-key arguments/discussions I used to have at the time, trying unsuccessfully to tactfully explain why I thought Obama would be disastrous for the country.
But Eric remembered it, and he wanted to tell me that about forty days after the inauguration he realized he’d made a mistake in voting for Obama. His main beef with the president seemed to be economic—turns out Eric is not a Keynesian. We didn’t have a whole lot of time to talk yesterday, but I’d love to hear more.
If Eric stands for a lot of disaffected Obama-voters—and I believe he does—the enthusiasm gap is real, and it’s profound. Most of my friends and relatives have been silent on the subject of Obama—Eric’s is certainly the first apology about him I’ve ever gotten, and I thank him for it—but even their silence speaks volumes.
I am also the lone conservative in my family, so talking about politics is out of the question.
It would be interesting for your nephew to write a guest post on your blog. While he seems to have a concern about the economic issues, what are his opinions about the other promises made and missed?
Sounds like a very fine and considerate young man, no matter what his particular political philosophy. The type that both sides would benefit from, if they had in their ranks many others like him.
I’ve had an experience like this myself.
Lucky you. All my relatives, except my husband and son are bleeding heart limousine liberals. My best friend, too. Most of my coworkers voted for Obama (so far as I could tell). My relatives and my best friend continue to support Obama.
Interestingly, yesterday for the first time, I overheard one coworker say something negative about Obama, and the entire office chimed in agreeing with him from their cubicle. What’s ironic is that our workplace is one that the conservative blogosphere likes to mock as a haunt of greedy parasites….I do think that conservatives need to stop dismissing whole classes of working people who just may share their views.
These are people from blue collar, lower middle class roots, whose neighborhood property values are being destroyed by illegal apartments often filled by 20 people, whose children are graduating from state colleges with huge debt and are unable to find work except part time (often moving back with their parents).
They are afraid that Obama will tax their health benefits, will tax or take away their 401Ks, that he will do nothing about illegal immigration. Most of all they feel that he was brought to power by Wall St. and big business and that he cares nothing for ordinary Americans.
But I wouldn’t count chickens before they are hatched. Opposition to Obama does not a Republican victory assure. Their alienation is from all politicians, not just Democrats. They aren’t hopeful about other options. They will probably be very critical of any millionaire Republican candidate. They are cynical about ideology and feel that both parties are hypocritical and have lost touch with the majority of the population. To be fair, the Republicans in our state are an uninspiring bunch. It’s hard to know who would appeal to my coworkers and people like them. They hate Wall Streeters, lawyers, and professional politicians equally. If I were to summarize what I think it would take to reach them it is this: most of them come from Irish or Italian immigrant roots originally, and the types of politicians they remember and valued were ones who stayed close to and responsive to the needs and values of their constituents. Some form of populism?
I’m still working on my kid…But one’s children seldom admit that they were wrong…
Sorry to sound so glum, but I am just discouraged by the candidates where I live…tho happy that people are breaking free of the One’s spell at last.
I think we all have similar experiences. My wife has become rabidly Conservative and to find both her parents voted for The Chosen One has affected her deeply. Her mother has shown that she regrets her decision, but her father, being rather prideful has not. In fact, an argument over “death panels” has nearly destroyed a once great relationship.
I only hope November makes everything right.
retriever: perhaps if we could clone Chris Christie he’d appeal to them. And he has the added bonus of being Irish/Italian.
I must have really crappy relatives or something (actually I know that I do…) because my liberal relatives like to either bait me or “correct” me in conversations. There is this prevailing bias that if I would “just get out more” as in, go get smashed at bars and catch some STDs, then I would be a normal liberal person just like everyone else, and if I would stop going to my silly church etc etc you get the idea.
My parents do stuff like hold a fake conversation about how Bush is a fascist, and pretend like they are talking to each other when really they are talking at me. Then when I am silly enough to take the bait and disagree, they calmly explain in teacher-voice about how I should pay more attention to the world.
My sister and her husband are even worse. Because they don’t even bother to use the faux-patient demeanor that my parents do, they are just outright mean.
And thus, I am very good a shutting up. I also only see them for births/deaths/Christmas. They wonder why.
It appears that many Obama voters are getting what they voted for, good and hard.
Poor Anna 🙁
Luckily, all in my near family are some version of conservative, but I have had friendships become distant.
Neat! It sounds like your nephew may have had an epiphany. I don’t see how he could have assumed Obama was anything but a tax and spend liberal before the election.
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/08/american-socialists-release-names-of-70-congressional-democrats-in-their-caucus/
I don’t talk politics much to them; it’s too contentious and ultimately unrewarding, and I see them too seldom anyway.
My aunt and uncle celebrated their 60th anniversary in April. It came down very quickly that we should NOT discuss politics. With seven children, 20 something grandchildren, one greatgrandchild, that was for the best.
I like this conversation. My baby sister is down syndrome. She flies alone and is very upset that she cannot travel with her shampoo and body lotion. When she visited recently from Chicago (I am in Florida) she told me I had to buy her shampoo because “that man” would not let her take shampoo on the airplane. She said “that man” with contempt, although she was secretive not knowing for sure how I would react. So how does a down syndrome sibling figure it all out and my other siblings still believe the messiah message? Another sister has Obama bumper stickers all over her car and asked me to pick her up from the airport using her car. I refused to drive her car and she had to take the limo. Touche.
God bless your nephew, Neo, and I hope there are a lot more like him! Like Older/Wheezier says, on both sides.
I think retriever is right…some sort of conservative populism would be the most successful answer, politically. I’m not sure we’re going to get it. I’m not sure the Republicans, while less power-mad than the Democrats, understand, REALLY UNDERSTAND, how desperate the situation is, how furious the voters are, and how absolutely essential it will be to be bold and decisive. Forget “making nice” with the likes of Emanuel, Pelosi, Reid, etc. Mend the country and observe the Constitution. That will create some fights – but they will be clarifying fights. Republicans must learn to make the right enemies, domestically.
Where your point regarding motivation on the part of Democrats is concerned, support for it can be seen in the anti-Meg Whitman ads I keeps seeing here in California. I see ads in support of Meg Whitman and ads opposing her, but while I see ads opposing Jerry Brown I have yet to see one supporting him and his policies. I have to ask, is Jerry Brown trying to lose?
“His main beef with the president seemed to be economic–turns out Eric is not a Keynesian.”
That’s his beef? He learned a little more about economics and decided to switch allegiances. How does this denigrate Obama? Is Obama a Keynesian even?
http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/26/obama-economic-team-oped-cx_kah_1126hassett.html
If the Republicans win in November, they need to get serious. No more “reaching across the aisle” to their “esteemed colleagues”. They have to take the gloves off, and publicly call out Progressives as enemies of America. There must be investigations and criminal prosecutions. The Left must be defunded. Marxist academics must be exposed, and student financial aid eliminated, since it is basically a taxpayer subsidy of radicals.
Anyone–anyone–who was involved in steering taxpayer money to the likes of ACORN needs to go to prison for a long, long time.
If the Republicans don’t do this, the party is finished. There was an American Thinker article about this the other day.
How A GOP November Victory Could Bring Its Death
Simon: he said there was a lot more. But we didn’t have time to discuss it. I hope to do so later.
Alan Kellogg: I am hard-pressed to find a reason anyone would give to vote for Jerry Brown.
Neo,
how about showing up at the next family gathering with this .
Actually, I also didn’t vote for Obama, and never liked him either. But I will acknowledge that I also made a mistake: I underestimated just how bad he and the Congressional Dems were going to be. I knew he was going to be bad, but not this bad. I was expecting perhaps a repeat of the awful Carter years, which is bad enough…. but the things this administation and his congressional allies have managed to pass (Obamacare, the “Porkulus” bill, etc.) are worse and more malignant than anything Carter could muster.
anna, it sounds terrible. Most of my liberal relatives and coworkers are not so much directly antagonistic about conservatives, but merely dismissive of them as stupid, fearful, possibly dangerous. They like to make fun of them cleverly, as people used to do in high school and college – the effort going into the riposte rather than the truthfulness.
You have left the tribe, so your parents are trying to shame you into return or hint that you will be exiled. Sort of like the Caucasus or the Middle East. Is this the Armenian side?
J.L.: I have to say I thought Obama would be very bad, although I tried to hope for the best and hope I was wrong, after he got elected. I remember telling a very good friend of mine, an Obama supporter, back in the summer of 2008, that I suspected and feared—based on Obama’s record and character—that he would be much worse than any president in my lifetime, and would actually be a dangerous person to have in the office. She looked at me as though I’d lost my mind, even though I tried to explain what I was basing my opinion on (including the Alice Palmer incident, which shocked me and gave me a good idea of the kind of person we were dealing with).
My own relatives have not had much to say about Obama recently. I feel a bit of relief, because it at least may mean that their initial enthusiasm for that thug has moderated somewhat. I also suspect that they don’t want to alienate me because they do love me and want me in their family. There was a time when my disgust for liberal politics was so palpable to them that they noticed I was emotionally drifting away from them, and it seemed to concern them a great deal.
My older sister is the most problematic person in this regard. She is an aging hippie who is in many respects a product of the Counterculture, and although she is not nearly as foolish as a lot of leftists I see on TV, it is really dismaying for me to be confronted by the reality that an older sibling to whom I had always looked up as a kid is such a political imbecile. I have still not mended fences with her completely after a looney blow-up by her over politics on the phone in the fall of 2002, when the Iraq war was brewing. I think that my icy rejection of her may have frightened her into realizing she just might lose a brother on the altar of her leftist “principles.”
I’m not one to do well in face-to-face debates, because I don’t like being confrontational, and I am often bulldozed by people who simply know how to shout more aggressively. I’m much better at getting my point across in written exchanges, in which forum I have often succeeded in getting my opponent to give up the fight because I had them cornered and they must have known it.
If I may I would like to add another comment somewhat related to the issues being discussed here. It’s been on my mind a lot lately, and it has to do with the phenomenon of the Left’s Bush Derangement Syndrome. I find it very hard to believe that the left’s hatred of Bush had much to do with any of his policies. I think back to my old days as a self-righteous liberal who tended to assume that conservatives were morally flawed people not worth listening to. And then I do this mental exercize:
Imagine a typical northern, urban secular-progressive white liberal, the sort of person many of us were at one time ourselves. Now imagine such a person – angry, bitter, clinging to his delusions of moral superiority and his subscription to the NY Times, reading his Frank Rich columns and sipping his lattes at the Neville Chamberlain Cafe in Berkeley, San Francisco or the Upper West Side of Manhattan – meeting a private person, someone who has no role in politics, but is Christian, conservative, sympathetic to the Republican party, and what’s more a Southerner, a guy who speaks with a drawl and wears cowboy hats. Can you imagine the sort of noxious liberal I am envisaging feeling anything other than disgust and contempt for this Southern Christian conservative? In the mental world of the sort of liberal I used to associate with, any person like that would be dismissed as either the moral equivalent of Hitler or the intellectual equivalent of Jethro Clampett.
The cultural bigotry of Northern secular progressives toward ALL Southern Christian conservatives, not just politicians, is very deeply ingrained in the leftist psyche and incredibly virulent. To understand the craziness and the worthlessness of the Left’s critique of Bush, you would have to consider an analgous situation where we had narrowly elected a black president in the 2000 election, and we were living in a society where the Hollywood establishment, the mainstream media and the academy were all dominated by Ku Klux Klansmen. It is easy to see how utterly worthless the political commentary coming from such quarters toward a black president would be – and yet, it is, in my view, a strict analogue to the reaction that liberals displayed toward everything Bush did or said. The Left’s public denunciation of Bush’s policies was simply an attempt to give legitimacy to their a priori hatred of Bush as a human being. It was a cover for their ugly cultural bigotry against Bush’s background.
Abdul, astute, very astute.
The lame left operates in desperation mode with braggadocia, otherwise know as a moron… So, is it finally time to get out of Iraq? The european and western hemispere left, and islamic cult have diverted so much positive energy it is tragic. Time for Iraq to go back to some kind of totalitarian leadership, but more benign than Saddam, who could hope for more with that kind of people with the blinders and rose colored lenses off; the muzzies have milked us long enough. Allen West for President ASAP!
Hey, Abdul, that’s a good point. This phenomenon, which I’ve also observed, is what Molly Ivins, of all people, wrote about as the phenom of the Southerner-hating “Yankee Bigot.” She was a dyed in the wool leftie, but she was also a Texas gal, daughter of an oil company executive, and had at least some residual loyalty to the South.
Of course, in her NYT essay, she “shucked and jived for the white folks” (her NY lefty audience) by couching it in humorous terms that sorta agreed with their prejudices even as she chastised them Very Gently for having them.
Similarly, a poisonous Comment I read in response to a WashPo editorial accused the conservative-supporters of living in “double-wides” [trailers] and handling snakes on Sunday, etc. Bigot.
I’m also reminded of Garrison Keillor’s hideous spew at Republicans during the previous election: describing us all as knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing Neanderthals, etc. Bigot.
And oh, aren’t they pleased with themselves.
I’d like to throw in, the administration is not Keynesian either. They are not following his models. They just use him and his work as an excuse to do what they are doing.
Simon Says:
“Is Obama a Keynesian even?”
No, but he plays one on TV.
These kinds of posts are my favorite. Robin from Berkley and the nephew and the friends, my girlfriend, coworkers, etc…
What is the key?
Because i want the light bulb to be about liberalism (not just Obama).
Personal responsibility, freedom, the free market, national security – all hard to get across when people talk about the boogey man social issues as their reasons for voting Democrat
These liberal big government politicians are stealing away America’s future.
Baklava,
I agree completely. I love it that Eric wasn’t playing the betrayed lover act like some of the looney left. I love it that he is willing to look at policies and issues. And I love it that he won’t spend the rest of his life defending what he believed as a young person in order to preserve his self image. We all can learn, change, and grow. Those who don’t simply hop from one Messiah to the next to the detriment of all, and the problems remain unsolved.
I also agree about the guest post. It would be good to hear from real people about the state of things rather than “opinion leaders.” Eric might even want to organize a guest symposium of young people who want to share their views with us.
“handling snakes on a Sunday”
Huh? I mean – this is like something from an old “conversational language” textbook: the words, each one of them, are clear, but the overall meaning escapes me completely.
So Sunday is a wrong day for handling snakes? How do you “handle” them? And why would you have any business with them anyway…any day of the week?
Must be something “folksy”, straight from To kill a mockingbir.
Some obama voters might be dissatisfied, but he’s actively recruiting new masses.
As several others have noted, what I’m struck by in this story is that this young man was haunted by what he came to see as his error, and then his compounded shame in not offering the apology he believed he owed for 18 months… but ultimately did it anyway.
Such a young man is welcome in my home anytime.
As a born and raised southerner of parents from Boston and Providence, I have noticed the hatred of those from the south by those from / in the north for most of my life. I can only assume it dates from Civil War days, and has become deeply rooted and remains. Perhaps if history were not so revised as to be unrecognizable, and the real reasons the civil war was fought, brought to light, things would be different. And if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
“”What is the key?””
Baklava
The key would be getting people to understand emotional thought driven politics is a selfishly feel good exercise, that cruelly ignores its impact on the maturity level reached in the lives of masses of people.
Tatyana,
There are cultists in the South who handle snakes to demonstrate that God’s protection is upon them. Since these cultists tend to be from the rather inaccessible parts of the Ozarks and the Great Smoky Mountains, handling snakes in church signifies backwardness for a good many people.
At some point the young left is going to have to realize that Obama and his party have taken us to a European style economy with high unemployment, high debt, high taxes, and limited opportunity for young people. It’s going to have to hurt for awhile like the Carter years did an earlier generation.
Michael Adams, thank you for the explanation.
Learned something new…on a Saturday!
Every single vote for Obama was a racist vote based solely on his skin color.
As to snake handling, at least the handlers have read and believed their Bibles (Mark 16:17-18).
Dear Neo-Neocon,
My two formerly Liberal sisters and mother have finally been mugged by reality and become Neo-Neocons. My Neocon brother and I and my conservative father, Gengis Kahn, are pleased at their growth and development. We have nurtured them by always being sensitive to their deep feelings of frustration at our caveman-like primitivism and our obstinate insistence that up is not down and that backwards is not forwards. Though they have been typically Liberally slow to embrace these difficult concepts and apply them to understanding the wider world, they have reached the develomental stage where they can conceptualize that there is an objective reality, accept the cognitive dissonence this produces, and reach rational conclusions. It has been a Long March and a Great Leap Forward in the mental processes of these women, and I am pleased to inform you these formerly diagnosed Liberally Disturbed women are now on the road to recovery. (Sura 2:29)
While liberal young people are dealing with unemployment they might look into the effects of the Davis-Bacon Act and the minimum wage on unemployment. The latest increase in the minimum wage came just as the recession was hitting. Let’s hear it for 99 week unemployment benefits.
Tatyana,
See this article
JL -fascinating.
Do they also drink harmful liquids and not getting hurt by it? Then half of Russian drunks who consume o’ de’ cologne , breaking fluid and rubbing alcohol are probably saintly, too.
Incidentally, now I see where the preference for “uncut” women hair stems from.
“bluewaterneocon Says:
Another sister has Obama bumper stickers all over her car and asked me to pick her up from the airport using her car. I refused to drive her car and she had to take the limo. Touche.”
I got a good laugh at that.
FTR – I don’t talk politics with my brother.
I’ve had a similar experience (sans apology) in my family. While my parents raised us four kids in a classically liberal household in Boulder (we were comparatively conservative in that environment), we each individually became conservative in the 90’s. My turning point was living in DC witnessing all of the Clinton shenanigans and their enablers. However, all of my other relatives – aunts, uncles, cousins – are big time liberals.
In particular, my aunt and cousin were some of Obama’s biggest supporters. Their family has traveled the opposite path from ours. My deceased uncle lived the American dream, starting near destitute during the depression and going on to found his own, very successful business. He retired a multi-millionaire at 50 and moved the family to a very posh part of FL. As a result, my aunt has only sporadically worked (editing my uncle’s books and newsletters), and my unmarried cousin has spent most of his adult life living off a trust fund and attending school.
My aunt and her friends (other wealthy widows of businessmen) were absolutely giddy for Obama, and also serious Bush-bashers (including Jeb). In fact, a lot of them have joked about voting twice for Gore since they all own homes in multiple states. However, in the last 12 months there has been quite a change. My aunt went from practically hissing when mentioning Obama’s name to no longer being able to mention it at all. While she could never bring herself to admit her disappointment in Obama, she could at least admit how much she now appreciates Jeb’s competence and leadership (especially his handling of hurricanes).
Sadly, my cousin is a lost cause. While he’s no longer including me in his mass-emailed diatribes about the unjust wars and rape of the environment, he continues to lecture all of us unenlightened, red state rubes on the ways of the world when we see him. I have to wonder what it will take to get him to wake up, or if it’s even possible.
So, Neo, you’re lucky to have family that not only can change their views on the administration, but respectfully articulate it and apologize.
I’m a Southerner (from Kentucky), and, as strange as it seems, I think some of the rise in open contempt of the South, and of rural people in general, started in the 60s, when the networks decided that they were too sophisticated for shows such as “The Beverly Hillbillies,” Green Acres,” “Petticoat Junction,” etc. The characters were stereotyped, but they were also smart, funny, and sometimes wise. In interactions with pompous city people, the country people often got the better of them, but they did so in a friendly manner. They were the heroes of the shows, so the viewer would have some sympathy if not identification with them. Also, 30-40 years ago, many of the country’s greatest writers were from the South.
Now, the only time a southern accent is heard on TV is when there is some disaster and the networks go looking for victims to interview. Or on Jerry Springer type shows.
Toy: I think it was “Deliverance.”
Tatyana-
One thing I find perplexing is… the snale handling sects adhere to statements in the Bible which assert that “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. . .” Mark 16:17-18, and they handle snakes and according to the article also “occasionally consume poisons such as strycchnine”…. but they also “preach against any use of all types of tobacco and alcohol.” Why are tobacco and alcohol not included within the “drink any deadly thing” admonition? Strychnine yes but tobacco and alcohol no?
As regular readers of this blog know, my personal transformation from a liberal “useful idiot” to a neocon independently mirrors neo’s transformation. I too have many liberal family and friends and wonder, is this the norm? Or is some strange convergence in the atmosphere drawing a higher than normal percentage of the formerly liberal to this blog?
On another note, rickl’s statement, “If the Republicans win in November, they need to get serious. No more “reaching across the aisle” to their “esteemed colleagues”. They have to take the gloves off, and publicly call out Progressives as enemies of America. There must be investigations and criminal prosecutions.” requires a response.
Be careful what you wish for and advocate, the ‘law of unintended consequences’ never rests.
Consider this statement, [Obama]”granted full-scale legal immunity to those who committed serious crimes in the last administration.” a statement of dissatisfaction with Obama on the left, many of whom want to prosecute most of the top leadership of the Bush administration for ‘war crimes’…so unless you think another civil war is a good thing, you might think twice knowing that in such a war, many of our loved ones will die.
Perhaps it shall come to that but lets not unnecessarily and unwisely contribute to that eventuality manifesting.
There are lots of ways to take it to the left without getting into legal conflict. Defunding the left, exposing the left’s networks and real goals is an excellent place to start.
While we are on the subject of the left’s disdain for and condescending view of all things conservative I ran across this:
“Our Daughter Isn’t a Selfish Brat; Your Son Just Hasn’t Read Atlas Shrugged.”
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2010/8/12hague.html
In the real world studies have shown that conservatives give to charities a lot more freely than do those on the left.
Geoffrey Britain:
Or is some strange convergence in the atmosphere drawing a higher than normal percentage of the formerly liberal to this blog?
Blog readers/net surfers check out blogs and usually spend more time on those they find more compatible. Post Liberals – AVI’s term- quickly find out that this is a Post Liberal blog. It is not “strange convergence,” but filtering/selecting for compatibility.
John Says:
August 14th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
From your link:
LOL!
Geoffrey Britain Says:
August 14th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
No, I don’t think another civil war would be a good thing, but I do believe that it is a near certainty. I made my earlier comment because I figure that arresting and prosecuting leftists is preferable to simply hunting them down and killing them. For now. Although we would be a lot better off today if we had executed more Communists in the 50s and 60s. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were only the tip of the iceberg.
This country has not been so deeply divided since 1861. Roughly half the population believes in limited Constitutional government and free-market capitalism, while the other half supports command-and-control socialism combined with big-city machine politics and a racial spoils system. The two sides are irreconcilable. No compromise is possible, and compromise would not be desirable even if it were possible.
As Ayn Rand said, “When good compromises with evil, only evil benefits.”
I said above that I think civil war is a near certainty. Is it inevitable? No, but we need a lot more ‘changers’ and we need them in a hurry.
I was at a party tonight where I overheard two liberals expressing their disappointment in Obama’s inability to deliver on the promise for change. Their explanation: he is unable to overcome the deep corruption of Washington politiciians at the hands of big business. No mention of maybe trying to apply wrong ideas! Or the futility of continuing to apply the tired, unsuccessful liberal panacea of throwing billions and trillions of dollars at problems.
I’m not saying this is going to become the universal liberal mantra to explain Obama’s failures. I am intrigued though by the delusional mental gymnastics of some of his supporters to explain away his failures.
Henry Scuoteguazza Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 12:23 am
This phenomenon is known as “regulatory capture” and is very much a symbiotic relationship. The more that government regulates business, the more business lobbies government to write regulations favorable to themselves and not to their competitors.
Big corporations benefit the most from this. They have entire departments devoted to compliance with tax laws, environmental regulations, OSHA, EEOC, you name it. They can pony up big bucks for lobbyists and campaign contributions, too.
Small businesses simply don’t have the wherewithal to compete on that level. When buried under the weight of tons of complicated regulations and tax laws, a small business owner is more likely to just throw up his hands in despair and close up shop. Needless to say, this is a feature, not a bug, to big corporations.
To expand on my last comment, ‘fascism’ is what you get when the biggest, most powerful capitalists in the private sector compromise with socialists in the government.
I forgot to mention that the major oil companies, including BP, are in favor of cap & trade legislation and are even helping to write it.
Cap & trade will be a disaster for ordinary people. It will lower our standard of living by making energy (and everything made using energy) more expensive. But it will greatly enrich well-connected people both in government and in corporations.
rickl, I actually agree with you on your point about what we’re seeing happening here is more fascist than it is communist. I’ve posted something on this on my blog. I was just commenting that the explanation I heard last night is an attempt to excuse Obama for his lack of the change he promised. If he truly wanted to forge a new path I agree that there are powerful vested interests in his way. The problem is that his own policies such as Obamacare feed into this power structure.
*rickl,
your every comment [well, starting yesterday at 11:33…at least] is spot on. Bravo.