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  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: Homestead <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Homestead] Republicans appear to be yesterday
  • Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:27:31 -0500

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.






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