"The Fine Print", by Michael Schrader

<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>"The Fine Print", by Michael Schrader

<o:p></o:p></span>

<span style='font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Whwhat Is the Rust

Arlen’s Defection A Specter Of Irrelevancy For The GOP

(Written and posted 06 May 2009)<o:p></o:p>

spec⋅ter [spek-ter]

–noun

1. a visible incorporeal spirit, esp. one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition.

2. some object or source of terror or dread: the specter of disease or famine.

Isn’t it ironic Arlen is named Specter? He is, after all, the personification of the word. If you look at him, he does have a ghost-like appearance to him, thanks to his age and his successful medical battles. More importantly, his defection to the Democrats is indeed a source of terror or dread to the Republicans, as his defection pushes the GOP onto the brink of irrelevance. Thanks to his defection (and the anticipated seating of Al Franken), the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, meaning that they will be able to do pretty much whatever they want without ever needing a single Republican vote, meaning that there will be zero incentive to compromise with the Republicans because they will not need to. Throw in control of the House and the Presidency, and the United States will effectively be a one-party state.

In addition to giving the Democrats unfettered control of the federal government, Specter’s defection has now created a sizable Republican-free zone in a heavily populated chunk of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. All of the original states north of North Carolina except New Hampshire have a Republican-free senatorial delegation, as well as two of the three states (West Virginia and Vermont) carved out of one of the original thirteen. Only lonely Maine, our northeasternmost outpost, has a Republican senatorial delegation. In other words, the contiguous block of states consisting of Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont do not have one single Republican in the U.S. Senate. That is a large Republican-free zone consisting of 11 states and some of the largest population centers (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, not to mention Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Richmond, Hartford, Providence, and Newark) in the country. The largest contiguous Democrat-free zone are the six southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. While impressive, the population and political clout of the Dixie Democrat-free zone pales in comparison to the Northeastern Republican-free one.

Thanks to Specter’s defection, the Republicans now almost exclusively represent states dominated by evangelicals (although many Protestant evangelicals do not consider Mormons to be an evangelical community, with its emphases on proselytization, male dominance, and strict adherence to church dogma, the Mormon Church is and evangelical faith community). The GOP is in real danger of becoming the American Taliban, a party that derives its power from a base that wants to impose its theological views on everybody else. Until Specter defected, it could still maintain the veneer of being a “big tent” party; it can’t anymore. The states dominated by the GOP are rural (there’s more rural than urban in Texas), segregated, non-union, poorer, fundamentalist, and less educated, and the GOP is a reflection of this culture. Name me a Republican dominated state where unions are strong. Hard, isn’t it?

Let me just state that for the first time ever, I voted for a Republican in last year’s elections. Quite frankly, the socialist leanings of Obama and his allies in the Democratic Party are alarming. Talk of “being entitled to” anything bothers me, for I believe that we are entitled to what we have earned, nothing more, nothing less. That being said, when I moved in November and reregistered to vote, I registered as a Democrat. For as much as the Democrats and their progressive socialism frighten me, the Republicans and their dogmatic litmus tests bother me ever worse. Personally, I don’t think that every single person who is in an organization should have the exact same views and philosophies; sameness means stagnation. To be a Republican, you better be pro-life. You better accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and read the Bible literally. You better be a creationist. You better think global warming is a hoax. You better think we need to go and kick the butt of every other nation that disagrees with us. You better be pro-death penalty. You better be pro-gun. You better believe that men are superior to women. You better believe that home schooling is better than the “government” schools. You better believe that we should round up all of them damn immigrants and ship them back to where they came. You better look like me, think like me, act like me. You better.

I find it interesting that there are a dearth of Catholics in the Republican dominated states, as the Catholic Church is the most conservative Christian denomination. Church dogma hasn’t changed much in two millennia; now that’s conservative! Only men can have positions of authority (YES) and Catholics are pro-life (YES). (Case in point -I am Catholic, and I have seven kids.) But yet we are not welcome in the GOP. Why? Because we are pro-life, which means that you shouldn’t ever take a life, including the life of a mass murderer. Yet the Church is ridiculed by the “pro-life conservatives” for its opposition to the death penalty. (I am also against the death penalty.) The Church is pacifist, and holds to the “turn the other cheek” mantra espoused by Jesus himself. Remember the hate that was spewed by Republicans against the Pope and the Church for its opposition to the Iraq war? (To me, it’s kind of hard to say you are a follower of a man who was a pacifist and then advocate going to war by choice, but that’s just me.) The Church has always been a haven for immigrants, be it Irish, Italian, Polish, German, or Hispanic, and the Republican Party and its power base are openly xenophobic and anti-immigrant. (The irony is that immigrants tend to be more family-focused than non-immigrants, yet are shunned by the “family values” party.)

I am one of the most conservative people I know. I am fervently pro-life. My kids and I always eat dinner together as a family. I believe that you get what you earn, and you shouldn’t get what you don’t earn. Yet, like Arlen Specter, I feel more comfortable with a D after my name than with an R. I believe in free market capitalism, but I also believe that when people cannot exercise self-restraint, it is necessary for the government to step in an exercise it for them. While I believe that those who are not working or trying to work should not get free housing, food, or medical care, I also believe that the working poor deserve some help, that they should be rewarded for working and trying to improve their lives. A worker should not be penalized because his or her employer is too cheap to pay a decent wage or insurance benefits. I don’t mind paying taxes to help those who are trying to help themselves. I believe that we should live in harmony with nature, and conserve our natural resources and preserve our environment. I guess you could describe me as a compassionate conservative. Too bad I would not be welcome in the Republican Party anymore, because I fail the rigid ideological litmus tests.

Have you talked to a Whig lately? How about a Federalist? National parties come and go if they are not willing to adapt and be inclusive. Both the Whigs and the Federalists died because they became too rigid and refused to adapt to changing times. Interestingly, the Whigs arose out the ashes of the Federalists, and the Republicans arose out the ashes of the Whigs. Who will arise out of the ashes of the Republicans?

<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial'>BACK TO "THE FINE PRINT" INDEX</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span> <span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span> <span style='font-size:12.0pt'></NOSCRIPT><o:p></o:p></span></div><script language="JavaScript" src="http://hostingprod.com/js_source/geov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">