Disheartening Mysteries.

Typical Rant.

Not to be the guy talking politics like a thirteen year old, but COME ON. I just don’t even know what to say anymore. Our president almost DESTROYED everything his party supposedly holds dear tonight and it still wasn’t enough for the House Republican caucus. A deal that gave them everything they wanted and more, denied because they wouldn’t agree to close tax loopholes. Of course, we all know the real reason is that they have never given a shit about any of that. Their only goal is to bring Obama down (a man who it turns out is probably the most centrist/right leaning Democrat to ever hold office [with the exception of Lieberman]). Every single year since I was in 7th grade I have thought to myself: “it cannot get worse than this-” and every single month the Republican party proves me wrong. Again.  This group is driving our country further and further and further into the ground. It’s actually hard to know what to do about it. A significant percentage of the people in this country seem to lack all basic grasp on morality and common sense. There is no arguing or debating or discussing with them. There is no convincing them to try and see things a different way. The grand old party is now a noxious mixture of elitism, contrived plain-folks appeals, actual devastating poverty and lack of education, rampant racism, sexism and homophobia, distortions of religious ideals to support shocking, deplorable wealth and extreme violence, corporate cronyism, deliberate lying, cheating and swindling, and a total lack of regard for people of other viewpoints, faiths, walks of life, etc.

Something that comes to mind is an argument I had with my mother several years ago about whether Republicans could be called “evil.” She argued vehemently that no one is truly evil and that they are simply trying to do good as best they know how. Would you call a shark evil for doing what is in it’s nature? I do not think she argued this from a naive standpoint at all. Her own Buddhist faith and years of deep questioning have led her to this viewpoint. In the end I basically agreed with her (with a couple of caveats for specific individuals - I see you Dick Cheney). However, I don’t think today that I can have any doubts at all but that the Republican party itself is rotten and evil at its core and that any person with a modicum of intelligence who subscribes to it is participating in a massive and undeniable culture of wrongdoing comparable to any so called “evil” regime you can name.

I don’t mean to be hyperbolic. Whenever someone issues such screeds it’s easy to wave them away as over the top, cynical, counterproductive, reactionary, lacking in substance, hot-headed blathering or not contributing in any way to a real debate. Although I’m sure most anyone who follows this blog is liberal leaning, I’m sure too that some of you will dismiss this rant as just that. But it’s not. I’m sick to death of people pretending things are not as bad as they are.

It comes down to this simple fact: It’s time to stop saying that both parties are bad; that it’s about voting for the lesser of two evils, or that no one in Washington wants real change.

No. The Democrats are deplorable only insofar as humanity is imperfect. It is incredibly hard to build consensus and to run a democratic institution. People’s imperfections will always get in the way of good government. There are TONS of lousy Democratic politicians. Their plans are not perfect. But they are trying. Yes, they are trying to maintain their grip on power, to further the interests of their own bases and cut deals and corners where they can so that we are stuck with what is basically the status quo. But they are still trying to do SOME good in the world - trying to provide basic services and human rights. This is not an evil thing - it is not evil to be imperfect or not even very good.

The Republicans are evil. And that’s all there is to it. It’s time to stop bullshitting about it and stop making exceptions and excuses. Anyone who aligns themselves with this ideology is either woefully misinformed or just downright, plain, good old fashioned B-A-D.