i know, i write about politics too often.
and too much.
i really do wonder, though, in a fairly agnostic and objective way, what do the conservative right-wing in america stand for?
i subscribe to a few right-wing newsletters, and for the life of me i can’t figure out what they care about.
here’s what i’ve learned:
a-they hate immigrants. that seems to be the rallying cry for conservatives at present.
apart from that…
b-a lot of them hate gays.
c-a lot of them hate abortion.
d-they all hate the ‘liberal media’ and the ‘liberal elite'(the only problem being that they never actually say what they hate about the liberal media or the liberal elite apart from the fact that they both have the word ‘liberal’ attached to them).
what else i’ve learned:
a-no one on the right seems too fond of gw bush. they just kind of figure he’s the best they have to advance their agenda(no gays, no immigration, no abortion).
b-they don’t like to talk about the size of the federal government or foreign policy(unless it’s iran, cos we haven’t done anything there yet).
c-europe offends them.
d-well, the rest of the world offends them.
e-they sort of defend the republican senate/congress/executive branch/governorship/judiciary/etc, but not really.
f-they have the notion that all democrats are lesbians who want to give the keys to the united states to the u.n while they drink imported wine and burn flags and practice
wicca.
in short, and i try to say this without too much bias or agenda, the conservative right-wing seem to be an agenda-less group primarily marked by in-fighting and demonizing the democrats and the left.
and if history has taught us anything(and, to quote homer simpson, ‘it hasn’t’), it’s that a movement that is leaderless and without an agenda quickly degenerates and loses power.
and please remember, i’m not anti-republican. i’m just anti the current crop of republicans who’ve created the largest federal gov’t and deficit in history and who’ve redistributed wealth to corporations and millionaires and who’ve waged a disastrous and expensive war in iraq and who’ve been egregiously anti-progress and anti-science and who seem to think that getting indicted for corruption is the new trendy passtime.
it’s too bad that the smart middle can’t start their own political party. a 3rd party in the u.s would clean up, as everyone seems to be utterly fed up with republicans and democrats alike.
imagine a new party with the following agenda:
a-fair taxation(i.e-one that brings dick cheney up from the 6% tax bracket)
b-sensible immigration policy(i.e-one that recognizes that we are a country of immigrants and that immigrants more often than not enrich our nation)
c-sensible(and science based)environmental policy
d-sensible energy policy(not written by the energy industry, and stressing the development of energy and industries that are domestic)
e-sensible education policies(wherein, say, some corporate welfare is redistributed to our nations failing public schools)
f-sensible foreign policy(where countries are dealt with diplomatically before they’re invaded. invasions, which under this administration become occupations, are expensive and don’t exactly endear us to our allies or the populations of the countries which are being invaded)
g-respect for civil liberties(do what you want in the privacy of your own home, just don’t force anyone else to join in)
a pragmatic and sensible 3rd party…
ah well, a boy can dream.
-moby