From: Jasper
Date: 28 Sep 2008
Time: 09:46:24 PM
Anytime you get into a political discussion you KNOW ahead of time that political partisans are going to see things through the distorted lens of their political affiliation. You know that they are going to use as the key factors in their analysis everything that looks good for their side and everything that looks bad for the other side... “What they say, ‘Hurray for our side.’ It’s time to stop, hey what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down...” ......................... Let me get my political prejudices out of the way right now. I’m a liberal Democrat. I’d vote for a yellow dog before I’d vote for a Republican. I haven’t always been that way. But after thirty years of trying to vote for the “best candidate,” I found that the Republicans I liked never made it through the primaries to represent their party... Never. Not once. The sticking point always came down to the guiding DOMESTIC social philosophy that separated Republicans from Democrats. Foreign policy-wise (mostly so-called “war and peace issues) I tend to agree more with Republicans than I do with Democrats in general. In practice I see leaders of both parties being guided by polls and the President of whichever party being forced by political pressure AND reality to do what needs to be done for the good of their party. ....................... All of that said, it makes me crazy when people do not recognize the fact that Democrats and Republicans are, above all, politicians. All successful politicians put self-interest first. They couldn’t run a successful campaign or survive as members in good standing in their party if they didn’t. Politicians who don’t ally themselves with people who can promote them or make promises they can’t kept, don’t get elected. ....................... The bottom line is that the distinctions I see between political parties are actually VERY small – but clearly defined in enough areas that are important to me to groan with Democrats in power but to cringe with Republicans in power. There IS a big difference between groaning and cringing. ..................... None of this has a thing to do with my observations on the Mark Fuhrman/Sara Palin parallels. All I’m trying to do here is put the subject of prejudice on the table and to articulate some of my political prejudices. I have another big one with Sara Palin. ................... I took a dislike to her as soon as I saw her. When I heard her speak, I liked her less. I knew that my negative reactions to her appearance and her voice were irrational but I didn’t let it rest. There is always a personal connection to feelings like that. Then it hit me. She looked and sounded like someone I knew – someone at Ford Motor Company in a position of power that I had legitimate reasons to dislike. ...................I hope my recognition of my predispositions allow me to make the mental corrections necessary to see the political race closer to the way it really is. –Jasper