Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Friday, February 17, 2012

Well That's Comforting


Rush Limbaugh, drug addict and sex tourist, believes that the GOP should run on the Culture Wars.

The reasoning is pretty simple.  The economy is improving.  This economic improvement is looking stronger and more self-sustaining with every passing week.  Running on "the Obama Economy suck!" is not going to cut it.  Plus, Rush hates Mitt, too, and Mitt's only the choice of the GOP's Gated Community demographic and his pitch is "I can create jobs! (In China)"

In effect, this is Rush's endorsement of Santorum.

My dear old dad blames the culture wars on both sides.  It's those scary feminists from the '70s with their hairy armpits that rile him up.  I think he shares with a lot of Americans the idea that "both sides" are guilty of constantly foisting this debate upon us.

But I don't see how that can withstand a casual look at facts.  The GOP gave us the wedge issue, they gave us the culture wars, they gave us the Moral Majority.  Democrats have largely been fighting a rearguard action on choice and have let LGBT activists and the states themselves forge the way on marriage equality.  Obama's somewhat laughable "evolving" position on marriage equality is a great example of the national party's position on social issues.  It's moral cowardice, but probably electorally savvy.

Markos and Alan Grayson got a ton of crap for calling the GOP the American Taliban.  But really, what's the difference?  OK, the Taliban believed in executing more people for a broader array of crimes.  But both insisted on religious law for their countries.

Just remember, as we watch Snowe and Collins tie themselves in pretzels over this contraception nonsense, there are no more moderate Republicans.  It's simply not allowed.

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