The first note in this stream puts things in a bit of perspective. My kids were born between 1976 and 1990. Clearly, when it comes to politics and government leadership, (leadership, in this case, should probably be Bold, “in quotes” and italicized, just to make my sarcastic point), the preponderance of my kids’ experience has been delivered by Republicans: The squandering of a large surplus; being asleep at the wheel (or worse) on 9/11; invading two countries; starting two wars off the books; commencing an eternal war on terror; promulgating torture and endless imprisonment without judicial review; installing regulation-averse/ideologically pure bureaucrats to oversee energy, environmental and fiscal departments; nearly destroying America’s (and the world’s) financial system. The list could be a lot longer, but you get the idea.
Every one of those things has impacted, and will continue to impact our lives for decades to come. Elections have consequences, and so do ideologies and personal articles of faith. If, for example, typical Evangelical beliefs are among your own articles of faith, you may not be very concerned about environmental issues like climate change, the rise of oceans or the increase of environmental pollution. Why? Well, because part of your system of belief includes the “imminent” return of Jesus. At that point, the earth will be remade and everything will be good, so there’s no real reason to get all wrapped around the global axle when the whole shebang will soon be brand new. (No, I’m not being sarcastic. That is a common belief among Evangelicals.)
Why do I mention that? Because at present, the Republican party is controlled by the Tea Party, and the Tea Party bench is, if nothing else, quite deep with very conservative Evangelicals.
Quick Aside:
You may wonder how the Tea Party controls the GOP? It’s very simple. The GOP has gerrymandered political districts throughout the states, (and yes, Democrats have done the same), ensuring as many districts as possible contain a majority of Republican voters. Those districts select and elect a congressional representative to the House. If your district contains a Republican majority, guess who goes to Congress? Exactly. And at this time, the ultra-conservative Tea Party has a lot of financial backing from a few, very crazy millionaires and billionaires. (i.e. Trump, Adelson, Koch brothers, et al.) So, when a moderate Republican candidate shows up, the Tea Party shoves one of their, “Hey, I can count all eleven toes on two hands!” lunatics out on stage and finances the b’jeezus out of their campaign. Viola! And for the sitting GOP members in Congress who may be inclined to a bit more moderation? They’re scared witless of having the Tea Party campaign against them in a district primary. This is how the House got infested with Tea Party members, and why most in the GOP choose to go along; they don’t want to lose their jobs.
Back To Perspective
If the notes below, (from The Dish), indicate anything, it is that the GOP is, and will be for a long time, in deep trouble. The party jumped an unbelievably ridiculous shark with Sarah Palin, and it seems to find new, bizarre sharks to jump every other day.
I was born in 1983, sent off to college and putative adulthood in September 2001. Republicans’ retrograde social views clearly have a depressing effect on their performance among younger voters, but the issue is far simpler than that: Republicans ran the show for the first eight years of our adult lives and what happened? 9/11, Iraq, Katrina, and the financial meltdown. If this is your only experience of Republican control in Washington, you have to have serious ideological differences with the Democratic Party to convince yourself that it’s a good idea to put those people in charge again.
Jeez.
