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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

When I was young, unmindful of Churchill's admonition about over-and- 
under thirty-year-olds' appropriate political affiliation, I voted  
Republican several, maybe many, times. I would have to check the list,  
but I think the last Republican president I voted for was Richard Nixon.

As I have aged, again defying Churchill's view, I have tended toward  
more Democratic votes. While I dislike simplistic labels, I feel that  
I lean Libertarian, although far less radical than what I have  
observed of that party for the last ten or fifteen years. If I were  
forced to reduce my political positions to labels, I would say that I  
am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, but my values and self- 
view would be at odds with those of the correlative parties--for  
instance, I do not support social welfare but I am in favor of a  
national health care system; it makes sense to me that a healthy  
populace is a more productive populace.

I have pondered European politics. As a proud and fully indoctrinated  
American I have derided the overt socialism of various countries,  
although I have admired their multi-party condition which embraces and  
represents more disparate groups, giving greater voice and equanimity  
to the many. From time to time I am brought up short when viewing  
tables on various conditions where we Americans compare unfavorably:  
infant mortality (more than 25 countries are better than the USA),  
longevity (29 countries have longer-lived citizens than we),  
healthcare (we spend more than 8 other first-level countries but have  
worse health care).

How has this happened? The direction our country has moved is partly  
the result of worldwide conditions but it is also and largely the  
result of what has happened in our political arena, the area where we  
voters are in charge, right? The general themes or values of our two  
political parties have been that the Republicans represent the  
principles of free-market enterprise and financial and social  
conservatism, which latter has often meant aligning with the religious  
right. Democrats have historically been aligned with the working  
class, the middle part of America, and have been seen as the party of  
the poor (which I have always and erroneously thought of as the  
natural constituents of the religious right). While political  
campaigns have manipulated disparate American voters, the overriding  
theme I have seen is that Republicans represent the rich and Democrats  
represent the poor. Early on, my young and ignorant brain figured that  
if I wanted to be rich I should be a Republican. And then I aged and  
observed and thought.

During one of my failed business ventures I heard the phrase of the  
wise leader: "There go my people; I must follow them." At one time,  
Republicans were clever enough to know that they had to represent not  
only the upper classes, but that they had to come down far enough to  
embrace at least the upper-middle class in order to maintain a  
majority. Somewhere along the line, probably after viewing the  
previous two presidential elections, they decided that getting elected  
was more important than representing all of America. Paradoxically and  
ever increasingly, the affluent and educated are aligning themselves  
with the Democratic party.

There is much that I admire about the Republican party. Without  
sufficient business freedom and encouragement we would not have  
attained our present superior economic condition on the world stage.  
But the Republicans no longer represent enough of America to be a  
viable political party. If by some aberration of logic and common  
sense, John McCain is elected our next president, it will be the  
result of the no-ethics but very effective Rovian campaign tactical  
plan. If that happens, then once again American voters will show that  
they are emotionally susceptible, that they can be politically  
manipulated by those of no ethics save the drive to win, whatever it  
takes.

My prediction today is that this is the last presidential campaign in  
which the old Republican guard has a chance of representing America to  
Americans and to the world.