Posted by
beltway girl on Sunday, April 06, 2008 1:05:45 AM
There has not been an election in recent history that was this interesting, that drew this much attention from the population, that brought in so many new voters and brought back so many disillusioned ones. There has not been an election so rife with choice; a plethora of candidates representing "slices" of their respective parties' electorates.
These parties are both experiencing a period of realignment. New coalitions are being formed in response to the political gymnastics being performed in the public arena. Voters sit through the debates, they go to the websites, they learn about their choices. Then, they go to their caucuses and primaries and make their choices. Some may invest time and resources in their selections.
Turnout has been on a blockbuster scale. And the pundits have been examining the spectacle from every angle.
At first, it looked like Hillary Clinton's year. Then, it looked like Barack Obama's year. But whatever squabbling might have been going on, it definitely appeared to be the Democrats' year. And with Obama, it was looking like a better year than they had ever imagined.
But then came Jeremiah Wright. Hillary had always been viewed as vulnerable in a general election with her high negatives. But now, the candidate of hope and racial healing was being examined, and when they shook him, just a little, out tumbled Wright. Wright, with a trip to Libya with Louis Farrakhan on his resume. Wright, who had inspired the title of one of Obama's books. Wright, whose rhetoric murmurs in subtle tones throughout Obama's entire dialogue with the nation.
Wright was the climax to the rising action and rhetoric of race as a major subplot in the fight for the Democratic Party's nomination.
The Democratic Party is imploding. Indeed, it is unravelling.
And now, you couldn't be too sure this is the Democrats' year. It may well end up being the Year of the Maverick.
Some conservatives will argue that the Year of the Maverick is no one's year other than the Maverick himself.
But keep in mind that the Maverick is a Republican. Even if he did once consider becoming an independent, he did not become one. Even if he sometimes looks like a Democrat, he is still not one, and he is definitely not on the same plane with a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are diehard liberals. John McCain is not, no matter how alarming his reaching across the aisle may appear.
Liberals are extreme people. When either Obama or Clinton accepts the nomination, some of those who find themselves in the losing camp may themselves decide to reach across the aisle, particularly if Camp Clinton finds itself in what it perceives to be an unacceptable position. But whatever the outcome in terms of the nomination, some of the voters in the losing camp may stay home on election day.
Where there is so much dissent among the liberals, a mild Republican choice may become the likely beneficiary.
A man so dismissed not all that long ago may well end up becoming the Candidate of Fate.
He will owe his fate to the liberal devotion to the gerrymandering of justice via "social justice."
For decades, liberals have sought to gerrymander justice with their gospel of social justice. It is a myth in the terms by which they approach it.
Injustice is a universal offense. It knows no color, gender, "sexual orientation," or religion. It finds its way around statutes, movements, Emily Post, and CNN. It is everywhere. It is insidious. It is self-righteous, unabashed, and unashamed. There is no way around it except through decency in the face of indecency and kindness in the face of unkindness.
The way to beat injustice is called by many names around the gobe. Some call it "Judaism." Others call it "Christianity." And the list goes on and on.
Liberals would love to believe they are in the same league. But they're moving in the wrong direction.
So many love true conservatism because they can still see it as decency. This devotion is not misplaced. You cannot gerrymander goodness, no matter how hard you try.
The liberals are in trouble. Let's all try to make sure conservatism doesn't end up the same way. There has not been an election in recent history this important. This is why.