Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Are Republicans Setting Themselves Up For A Heartache?

When a torrid love affair ends bitterly, it is often because one person, or both people, is not in really in love with their partner, but rather, is in love with the notion of being in love. The person might have gotten into the relationship for any number of unhealthy reasons: fear of being alone, coming off the rebound of another failed relationship, or just seeking positive self esteem through another instead of themselves.

Whatever the reason, the results are almost always the same. A bitter break up and an angry grudge against their former partner. But they never, ever look at themselves for what their role in the whole mess was.

I am starting to wonder if the Republicans are heading down the same doomed path with their candidates.

Two years ago, just after President Obama was elected, I predicted that there would be an uprising of sorts from the right. I figured that after eight years of partying it up at the expense of the poor and the middle class, people weren't going to like the pain of cleaning up the aftermath:
But because this is work that is unpleasant and difficult, because it can be embarrassing and get quite costly, Bush and his supporters, the people that were enjoying themselves at this party, all at our expense, are becoming very angry indeed. They resort to the behaviors more histrionic and obscene than ever displayed by an angry teenager.

They will blame Obama and the Democrats for raising their taxes to pay these bills, without ever admitting they were the ones that ran up the bills in the first place. They will call Obama and the Democrats names like Marxist and Communist.

They will be resentful for having to take part of the clean up. The will tell Obama et alia that they are fascists and that they have no right to tell them how to live their lives, even if the rules are that of common courtesy and concern for one's fellow man.
Obviously, I was correct in this prediction, although it wasn't really going too far out on a limb.

The TEA Parties are becoming almost as prevalent, and as pleasant, as bed bug infestations. And they are angry. I don't think they know what they are really angry about, but by George, the definitely are angry. Pick almost any issue typically associated with neoconservatives, from taxes to spending to having an African American president to having protest signs with properly spelled words on them, and they will be represented at one of their events.

In their fear, their anger and/or their resentment, the RepubliTEAs have ended up with some rather dubious candidates. In Kentucky, they have Rand "Aqua Buddha" Paul. In Delaware, they have Christine "I am not a witch" O'Donnell. And running all over the country in preparation for a suspected 2012 presidential run is everyone's favorite, Sarah Palin.

Things aren't any better here in Wisconsin.

For their senatorial hopeful, they picked the enigmatic Ron Johnson. He is enigmatic because he doesn't meet with the press or partake in interviews, so no one really knows where he stands or what his ideas, plans or goals are. When he does make a statement or a commercial, it tends to contradict something else had previously said. Or even worse, it fails to match up with the little history we do know of him. Johnson can't even keep his stories on why he chose to run straight. How can anyone have any confidence in that type of person representing them?

For governor, they have the hypocritical Scott Walker. Walker has lured the Republicans with what they want to hear even as he is doing the exact opposite. He claims he will lower taxes, but has raised them every year. He says he is opposed to the stimulus spending, but has eagerly grabbed stimulus cash with both hands. Walker says he will create jobs, but has cost tens of thousands of people theirs during his time as county executive. The only thing you can believe about Walker is that you can't believe one thing he says.

Even the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor is not immune from these problems. She came off as this sharp, conservative, genuine person. But she has committed one gaffe after another. She has celebrated her government-bought health insurance, but would deny it to others. Then she compared same sex couples as being inanimate objects and dogs. That comment alone seems to have alienated several Republican voters, although I would hesitate that these people were offended enough to change their vote. It's no small wonder why Team Walker has tried to keep her under wraps for as much as they dare, including not letting her participate in any debates.

Stunningly, the Republicans are so desperate to preserve their illusions of having picked worthy candidates that are their political soul mates that they willingly minimize their foibles and faults, even to the point of being in complete denial of reality when they are presented with it.

If their candidates lose on Tuesday, they will blame Democrats for "stealing the election" and/or blame the voters as being "uninformed." Heck, some have already started that drum beat in an act of self-defense of their psyches.

However, if their candidates were to win on Tuesday, it will be only a short matter of time before they, at least on a subconscious level, realize that their political paramours also don't live up to their fantasies. Some might be able to keep up even more amazing feats of skewing their perception of reality for a little while, but the sad truth is that once again, as they did with former President George Bush (either one), they will end up with a bad case of broken heart.

This is, of course, a sad thing. But not as sad as the fact that all of us will have to contend with everything else their chosen ones will end up breaking, including health care, the environment, the economy and the Constitution.

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