...Hey, where'd ya go? Kind of slackin' lately, wouldn't ya say?
Well he's right; I have slowed down a bit. I'm even getting burned out on the health care debate. We're well into the legislative process now, which as they say is like sausage-making. (I'm tempted to look away. Just get it done and wake me when it's over.) In other news, the economy and the financial markets seem to be stabilizing (for now), I've ranted enough about religion, and we're still a month away from the high school football season. I've tried some humor pieces but only with varying success. (You know your tongue-in-cheek posts aren't working when people comment on them as though they were serious.)
I have been getting a little depressed about the right wing lately: the birthers, the whole Sarah Palin phenomenon, Glenn Beck's recent rant about Obama as a racist (huh?), and how the GOP has replaced reasoned discussion with fear-mongering. First it was the Bush-Cheney crowd scaring us about terrorists, Muslims, WMD, and all manner of bogeymen at home and abroad. Now the Republicans are spreading fear about health care reform: "It's a government takeover of the health care system!"; "It's socialized medicine!"; "You don't want a government bureaucrat to come between you and your doctor!" Blah, blah, blah. Have you heard the latest? Chris Matthews had a segment on Hardball last night about their new tactic of telling seniors that the government is going to encourage them to die rather than receive medical care. What?!?
Has this nation lost its #$*%! mind? I can't remember a time when America was so polarized. I wonder if it was this bad during the Red Scare years of the late 1940s and early '50s or the Vietnam War years of the late '60s and early '70s. I worry that it could get worse if the economy doesn't turn around soon. It's a little scary.
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5 comments:
I'm interested to see what happens in the 2010 Elections. Do the Republicans really have the juice (let alone the ideas) to mount a significant realignment of Congress? Part of me wonders if America is really all that polarized or if (for now) it's just become a one party town.
My sense is that the Republicans have bet all their chips on the recession lasting until 2010 or (best case scenario for them) 2012. In the meantime, they will oppose the president at every turn and win back the congress and White House if the economy doesn't recover. If the economy does come back, then they run the risk of going the way of the Whigs. (They're almost there right now.) The GOP has effectively taken itself out of the national conversation. The debates in Washington now are between the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dogs. The Republicans are left to ponder such weightier topics such as Obama's birth certificate or whether or not South Dakotans should be allowed to bring their guns into Central Park.
I still think the country is incredibly polarized, however. Just look at how fast Sarah Palin can raise a lot of money. Or look at the goofy things that Glenn Beck says on Fox. When Chris Matthews had a segment on him this week, a reporter from the Washington Post asked him why we were even talking about him. Matthews had a good response: because more people watch Glenn Beck than read the WaPo. That's scary!
Ya, it seems like the future of the Republican party might even lie in some way with the Blue Dogs.
Saw this the other night and it scared me:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07242009/watch2.html
Recently, I've had to listen to some Conservative talk radio. For the most part I thought it was funny, emotional, and not as "dangerous" or outright crazy as I expected. There was clearly spin and it was clearly meant to control people's opinions by manipulating their emotions but that tactic seems to be a non-partisan aspect of media.
This Moyer's story definitely does portray a darker picture of what angry white people are capable, though. Yikes.
I had seen this before but watched it again. I especially liked what that Savage guy had to say about autism. I can't decide if these guys really believe this stuff or are just saying it to attract listeners. The scary part is that they have audiences. And I wonder how many in my own extended family are quietly nodding in agreement.
I also wonder if it ever occurred to Bill O'Reilly to just sit down and talk to George Tiller. Maybe it's more complicated than he thinks. Personally, I would love to have had the chance. I think it would have been fascinating. He was a Republican, a churchgoer, and a hero to many women.
The thing that really got me was the 4 page letter from the church killer; just how cold and rationalized and premeditated murderous rage could be.
Also the anti-abortion spokesman at the beginning making veiled threats about how "some people" would respond to unfavorable legislation "viserally". For the most part, I don't care about shock-jock stuff. The 1st amendment should trump most sensibilities, but that just sounded to me like a straight up call to violence.
Anyway, if you need any more uplifting thoughts check out my new blog: Depressing Liberal Whiner. What it lacks in flash, it more than makes up for in fodder for right of center scoffing...
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