How this works… really. In simple terms
The president of the United States is the supreme executive officer of our government and the commander in chief of our armed forces. He is considered to be one of the most powerful men in the world. The two main political parties in the United States nominate candidates for office and support them through the campaign process. The United States presidential election process begins with party primaries. This pre-election nomination tool is an election itself, held only within that party. Several candidates are informally considered for some time before the primary; support within the broadest base possible is considered; financial backing and connections to powerful people, business, and families are weighed in, and then in the case of this last election, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were formally vetted by primary election. Barack Obama having won his party’s primary will now campaign as a Democrat for the national presidential election. Presumably, Republicans go through the same process, but in this most recent election John McCain was chosen strictly based on the fact that he was the candidate most able to distance himself from the unpopularity of his party and his president. The election of the next president is really a two-party process. Some minor parties have broken the horizon, but have only served to detract attention from the two main parties, Democrat and Republican.
John McCain is running on the platform of “I am a Republican but not really.” He has been forced to this corner by the abuses of civil liberties and economic safeguards by his party. As the “conservative” movement in this country became focused on social issues of little relevance (1984-2008) they have lost focus on the financial well-being of the nation. People will always be gay. People will always use drugs. People will always have abortions, illegally if they have to. People will exist in social groups that you don’t like, liberal or conservative. We know from history what occurs when larger and larger sectors of the population become marginalized. They don’t like it. The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its population than any other nation on earth. Republican interests push to further privatize prison systems. Expanding these divisions by marginalizing groups and criminalizing their actions has resulted in larger government, more expense to the taxpayers and widening gaps between people that could have a shared societal identity. Republican policy spearheads these divisions. How many enemies can the dominant ideology create in the world at large and here at home? How many more terrorists will we make? At this rate we will soon make one of me.
A society is made up of cultural institutions and norms. We as individuals are socialized through various agents to fit in and strengthen whatever society we belong to. If so many of us fall outside of these norms, how seriously are these values held? What sanctions can be applied to so many? How long can our civil liberties last under this strain? Policies like the “Patriot Act” suggest a dismal trend. That breaks my heart. How far from un-American am I? How many others like me do you think there are? Fifty million people of 300 million voted for the last president. How many are the hardened conservatives? Not many, neither are there that many crazy lefties. But when crazy lefties screw up 4183 U.S. servicemen don’t die in an oil rich country somewhere at a total cost of 590 billion dollars (as of today). Conservatives in the last 10 years have changed a little. Becoming “neo-cons” concerned with the preservation of private capital at the expense of the national interest has not improved their look. What groups are being strengthened by their support? Can an argument be made that they stand for this society as a whole? No.
Conservatives supposedly stand for limited government and freedom from regulation in business. These are difficult things to stand by. In fact impossible. Government is directly in opposition to the concepts of conservatism by its very nature. It governs and regulates. Freedom to do what you want to do is pretty basic to the mindset of the people of the United States. Nobody wants to be interfered with, especially by “big government,” so conservatism found friends in those not wanting to be regulated. Conservative leaders also took advantage of bible belt fears of “liberals.” They spent years selling the fear of communists and queers and hippies and other sorts that rural people had little contact with. Conservative leaders espoused protections of “values” against these “un-American” groups. Bastions of intolerance and hate led the religious right deep into Republican territory, eventually garnering its core leadership roles. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Adolph Hitler….. These are the names you now think of when you imagine a country slipping suddenly into the far right wing. For many years the far right waited for its time and fought dirty. When the neo-cons finally got their candidate in G.W. Bush he represented only a small part of the country. But the conservative effort to get out (and pay for) the vote had paid off. It did not go as most conservative voters assumed it would. G.W. Bush paid off big, but only to a handful of really well-connected business people. The rest of the people in the world suffered. The “principles” of conservatism were ignored and the wishes of the rest of the United States constituency doubly so. Big government spent more than it ever had before, a lot more. Government itself grew by leaps and bounds. Eight years of dishonesty, hostility, indictment and lies have let to a small amount of doubt even in the core of conservative voting blocks. Take a look at the list of indicted republicans. NO REALLY; do it now, google it. The way these men do business is anti-democratic, evil and worst of all incompetent. The corruption is thick enough to stick though; people will put up with anything as long as they are not starving. Who won Florida in 2000? Ask Fox News. How many people tried to marry their gay partners in 2004? Enough to base an election on? How about enough to base a presidential election on? Who hates gay people? Americans! Who hates illegal immigrants? Who hates brown people in general? Americans!! Republicans have counted on it again and again. Ethno-centrism, fear and hate are no platforms for a political party. Hating politics and regulation cannot successfully or honestly be the basis of a political party. Oversight on government spending and deregulation seem so absurd and farfetched at this point that Republicans should be ashamed. And they are. Having deeply soiled the party name the Republicans have been forced to run a “maverick,” someone plausibly different than the rest of his party. Dishonesty, obfuscation and corruption have become the hallmarks of the Republican party. Therefore they must present a different facet of conservatism or perish.
The presidency. The president of the United States is not all powerful. Or shouldn’t be. The last eight years of expanded executive office power have shown even the dimmest how dangerous mismanagement can be. Fear of spiritual doom left behind long ago, now it is time to get some of that financial doom too. “It is too late for George Bush to be thes best United States president, but maybe not too late for him to be the last.” (Jon Stewart, The Daily Show)
Barack Obama is a politician. He is an inspired orator and a man of unfathomed eloquence. But a politician nonetheless. Real people don’t get elected to the office. Nice people don’t get elected to the office. Politicians get elected to the office. This is not a question of policy, I mean, in the short term it is but this is an election of spiritual direction. Policy illuminates motive in the long run, and this policy is corrupt. This is an election of directional change. We can’t just slow the corruption, we can’t just replace it with different corruption, we certainly have never seen John McCain stop any corruption before. He may want change, but he doesn’t have a friend in his party or in the other that will help him. Another term for maverick is “lame duck.” Everyone wants change. Which candidate will deliver it? Which will only promise to deliver enough of it to get the 50 million votes? Will we vote for another Republican and be surprised that he doesn’t love us in the morning? Again? Seems a little crazy. This is not a game. As much as it feels like one, and as much as everyone treats it like one, this is not a game; this really matters. We need desperately to win back a few allies. How have we lost and alienated them? Republican policy; the entire world thinks we are pignorant racist jerks from Texas and will continue to treat us as such until we send a clear message that we are sincerely willing to change our policies. Voting in another Republican will not do that. I don’t care if he is Abraham Lincoln himself, the rest of the world won’t put up with it.
The vice-presidency. Sarah Palin doesn’t know anything about policy, at all, end of story. Sure it’s cute to be a mom and everyone likes her lipstick, but Biden has put in more years than I have been alive serving the nation in the context of national politics. There is no, I repeat, NO comparison. Do we really need another rural speaking, attitude over experience western politician anywhere close to the presidency? Really? Sarah Palin couldn’t name any difference in John McCain’s policy and Barack Obama’s. She cannot be allowed on-the-job training. We are in need of competence. Not cute. Plus, she isn’t that cute. I get the feeling you would get real tired of having her around the house.
The vote… Everyone agrees that Bush policy is failed policy. Worst president ever. Not opinion here, just hard science. He was (is) the president of his party. They aren’t leaving. Not enough of them anyway. Republicans are still in Congress; they are policy makers. Not leaving. They fully back McCain. Their policy hasn’t changed. They are paying for the McCain campaign. Is there expectation here? Yes, of course there is. He would be his own party’s president, obviously. It is their money. Do we need more of this policy? No. Look where it got us. Who wants more? John McCain is shopping Democratic policy around like he invented it. Will the real Obama win or the white one? America likes white. But let’s hope. Barack Obama is the leader of a party that has always held Democratic ideals. Go with the pros. They aren’t some Johnny come lately republicrats, they are the next real deal. Even if the policy of Barack Obama and John McCain are exactly the same, as McCain is peddling, Barack Obama has some Democratic credentials to back it up. And more importantly, international credibility and respect.
Everyone wants as close to the same thing as we ever have in the history of American politics, DO NOT CHOOSE THE 80-YEAR-OLD GUY PRETENDING HE AND HIS PARTY CAN CHANGE. In conclusion, a quote from Tim Meadows as Ike Turner: “Tina, I swear, this time it will be different.” That, (name removed), is why you are a douchebag.
Posted by Modus Operandi 
