Desperado

It is amazing to me how foolish politicians and the media types take us for. They would have us believe that the reason McCain picked Governor Palin for his VP was because he wanted to thumb his nose at conventional wisdom and display once again what a maverick he is. According to the narrative, he wanted to demonstrate his desire for change and desire to break with the Washington insiders whom he has been a part of for the last 25 years. Let’s be clear John McCain would pick Satan himself if he thought it would get him elected. His selection of Governor Palin was a desperate move by a desperate man.

John McCain and the Republicans campaign would have been on a fast track to oblivion in the fall if he had chosen another conservative white male and he knew it. While Governor Palin might be a nice woman and may even be competent, but her selection was a giant gamble by McCain and the Republicans to make a clumsy attempt to foster their own change theme. My question is this; if the Republicans really wanted to embrace change so badly where was Governor Palin at the beginning of the process? Why were their only primary candidates the usual suspects of middle-aged and elderly white men? For the unenlightened the Republican’s goal for this country is to keep the status quo and to fight any real change. Is it really any wonder that when faced with the drum beat of history that they would now select a woman? So since nominating another white male was certain death they select a conservative white female with homespun charm and a dialect that some rural and lower-class whites can identify with.

So while on the surface the choice looks like change the reality is more of the same; just in better packaging. It proves once again just how bankrupt the Republican Party is in that they cannot initiate anything new, they merely copy whatever the Dems do and claim it was their idea all along. An example at this year’s convention is the great American hero mantle being placed on John McCain. Where was this heroic mantra for the last two elections? These are the same patriotic Americans who turned a true war hero into a coward and a wimp and turned a coward into a hero. Sometimes the hypocrisy of these people is overwhelming to the senses. Don’t they have any shame?

Another example of the change without changing theme was the orchestrated procession at the convention prior to Governor Palin’s speech where the Republican handlers decided it might be a good idea to actually have some women in the same frame as the Governor; however there was only one small problem. They didn’t have enough women to fill the section. Evidence again that the majority of delegates to the Grand Ole Party’s Convention were majority white and majority male. As I watched the cameras panning the arena and I saw a smattering of minorities I couldn’t help but wonder how they felt. Unlike many of my fellow bloggers and liberal fire brands I don’t believe that all Republicans are evil. I just think they don’t get it.

In the majority of speeches I had the displeasure of hearing, including the VP candidate the mantra has not changed in seven years. It is still be afraid, be very afraid. As the delegates were interviewed they also echoed the same Party line. What this suggests to me is that they are this small group of people who all share this mass paranoia that not only the terrorists are out to get us but according to Rudy so are our former European allies. I suppose 8 years of fear was not enough to accomplish all of their goals. So many civil liberties to trash, so many people to torture, and so little time. It was surreal to hear the Republican VP nominee speak about smaller government and how Senator Obama wants to expand government to take away our freedoms. I have to wonder were these people on the same planet as I was the last 8 years? This smaller government would it resemble the smaller government that allowed the mortgage bankers to speculate us into a housing crisis, or the banking industry being allowed to charge extravagant fees for services, or the gas speculators that have driven the price of gas through the roof. They don’t get it, we don’t want smaller government we just want a government that works and does what we cannot do for ourselves.

Finally I couldn’t help wondering that something was missing from their attack speeches about how the country is in dire straits and how important this election is. Oh yeah I remember it was the small details like for 6 of Bush’s 8 years in office the Republicans had all three branches of the Government, that the reason we as a nation are being assaulted on all fronts might have something to do with the occupant of the Oval Office for the last eight years. Not to worry by the time November arrives you’ll be convinced that it was Senator Obama who invaded Iraq, raised gas prices, and authorized torture. So much for that gentlemanly discussion of the issues, I think we can kiss that idea good-bye. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.