Just about every four years, we hear about how this election is going to be a transformational election and how the direction of the country is going to be permanently changed and how our children and grand-children will be affected by what we decide now. In reality, transformational elections are rare and this election doesn't look like it's going to change much no matter who is elected.
History shows that America is a one-party state. What I mean by this is that one party tends to dominate and the other party tends to be a "me too" party. In the early nineteenth century, the Democratic Party established itself as the majority party in the era of Andrew Jackson. That lasted about forty years until the Civil War, when the Republican Party under Abraham Lincoln seized majority status. The GOP dominated American politics from 1865 until 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt inaugurated an era of Democratic hegemony. For most of the twentieth century, from the thirties until 1980, the Democrats controlled the government. Reagan's election in 1980 began our current epoch of Republican and conservative domination.
How do we know that this has been a conservative era? Not just by the number of Republicans who have occupied the White house. We also know by looking at the behavior of Democrats who have managed to get elected. Today Bill Clinton goes around boasting, "We won the Cold War." "We fixed welfare." "We signed the free trade agreements." "We put the lid on spending." Remarkably all Clinton's accomplishments are conservative accomplishments. At least one of them, welfare reform, was signed reluctantly because of GOP pressure. None would have been possible without conservative support. Clinton's liberal ideas, such as gays in the military and national health care, went down in flames. In sum, Clinton was dragged by the conservative tide and basically governed as a moderate Republican.
Is the conservative era now finished? Many of the pundits say it is, but I see no sign of it from the actions of the three presidential candidates. McCain of course has largely pleged to "stay the course." His independence is genuine but it does not constitute a departure from Reagan principles. Mostly McCain is a temperamental departure from Bush. Interestingly Hillary seems to have tempered her erstwhile radicalism. As a senator she has generally occupied the right flank of the Democratic party, voting for example to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Even in the campaign Hillary has sounded cautious notes, warning of the danger of negotiating with Iran, promising a staged rather than precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, an so on.
That leaves Obama, who sounds transformational in his rhetoric. But where is the actual change that Obama is proposing? Basically Obama's argument is that he is different because he grew up in many different places, has a black father and a white mother, and because his grandmother lives in an African village. Obama claims to be different because of his name and his background. So is Obama going to radically overhaul the tax system? No. Is he going to change America's longtime alliance with Israel or our special friendship with Great Britain? No. Does he have any new ideas for reshaping race relations in this country? If so he has kept them entirely to himself. Even Obama's tiresome repetition of the need to change the way Washington does business is unaccompanied by any concrete strategies for changing the modus operandi in the nation's capital.
One of these days we will have a transformational election, as we did in 1932 or 1980. But so far this doesn't look like one at all. The long shadow of Reagan still hangs over American politics, shaping the way the presidential candidates see themselves and the world.
Reader Comments ( Page 6 of 27)
76. I wanna bend Ellie Mae over the fender of the jalopy and drive her home...
Did I really say that?
Ouch.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:26PM on May 14th 2008
77. "Hey, these groups advocate child pedophilia. So it goes to show u that this issue is all connected together and corrupt."
[Smacks head] Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Although I do wonder whether 100 years from now NAMBLA will be seen as true filth or a veritable civil rights issue. You probably see homosexuality as a kind of "gateway" liberalism. Thankfully I have enough faith that modern liberal mores will never stretch so far as to condone pedophilia. Your worldview is still dangerously intent on lumping nonrelated groups into the same category.
Mokele Mbembe at 4:26PM on May 14th 2008
78. (Unrelated to child molestation)
You can kinda tell the type of christian that might be a closet gay in denial, too.
If you insinuate that a person might be gay, or even just ask them if they are, they're the ones that REALLY get angry at you for it. Because they can't stand the truth...
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:30PM on May 14th 2008
79. Thought I'd post this lovely website again. It seemed appropriate. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a quick look:
http://armchairsubversive.org/
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:34PM on May 14th 2008
80. Now after last night's blow-out of Obama by Clinton, they're all saying that Obama needs to increase his appeal with poor whites that have never finished college.
This is possibly the ONE challenge that he is unequal to.
To show the stupid white racist demographic that they should vote for the smart black man. Hell, why not try to convert them all to santeria while you're at it?!
Maybe he WILL need Clinton on the ticket. He's just not stupid enough (or white enough) for the task.
I hope not, though. I hope he can do it without her. She doesn't deserve to be on the ticket. She's a perfect representative of exactly what Obama's against and trying to change. It would just look stupid and false.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:42PM on May 14th 2008
81. I just LOVED the way that SNL boiled Hillary in oil last saturday night. They left no room for doubt of whom they're for.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:44PM on May 14th 2008
82. Too much of this christian mind poison every day and it can make even the Dalai Lama into an asshole.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:03PM on May
====================================
The bible said> And from a child thou hast known the Holy scriptures that are able to make thee wise unto salvation.
It is not the christian way that has poisoned thy mind...
At least thou knowest that thy mind is tanited...
Watchful at 4:50PM on May 14th 2008
83. Electing Obama would be transformational, because he would be tied, rather than to special interests, such as large corporations or labor unions, to the whims of Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago.
We haven't had a President owing so much to a big city mayor since Richard J. Daley, Richard M.'s father, had the voting machines tossed in the Chicago River to protect JFK's slim margin of victory in Illinois.
Kent at 12:16AM on May 15th 2008
84. 59. What happened?
Did everyone go on 'tilt' wondering how the topic, "A Transformational Election?" suddenly became, "Christians hate gays!"?
not-pboyfloyd at 3:03PM on May 14th 2008
-------------------------
We forgot the topic. It was, sadly, very forgettable. We'll try harder next time! :-)
So, back to how much christians hate gays...
I think it's jealousy. They are closeted in-denial gays themselves a lot of the time, and they just can't stand anybody else enjoying what they're forbidden to do. They insist on seeing being gay as a choice, because in their own lives, they've made the un-natural choice themselves, to be straight when they FEEL like being gay. So they reason, if they can do it, why not everyone? Except that they can't see what that choice is doing to them as persons. Since, after all, they were born gay, and forced themselves to not be. They'll even tell you that it's better to defeat the temptation through christ than not to be tempted at all!!! This is a tacit admission that they were born gay, since for a truly straight man or a truly gay man, it's never a choice. I never had to choose to be straight, and I've never been tempted to try guys, not even once in my entire life, not even in my darkest fantasies. All of my sexual fantasies involve women, all of them, throughout my whole life. It's effortless to be who you are. If you're trying, you're choosing the wrong answer for yourself. Stop trying, and relax into your own identities! Life is a lot better when you stop lying to yourself.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:53PM on May 14th 2008
85. The ego is interested in the self. Being selfish relates to the self preservation instinct which is, in my view, the second strongest instinct. Many, perhaps most, of us have learned that ego satisfactions, ego fulfillment are great for a period of time but lacks staying power. How then to have that day by day, most of the time, satisfaction that makes living on planet earth enjoyable. Let us tune into the choices we have.
First we can live under the illusion of the chosen child syndrom. We can think and even act upon how important we think we are. Entitled to preferential treatment, at least our ego thinks so. Because our ego thinks we deserve so much and life tells and shows us something quite different, the funk begins. Why me, O Lord, why me? The question is, are you willing to do the work to make your life change from self-pity to self fulfillment?
Second, we can conform. Those who go along get along. We can be accepted by most of our peers and feel a sense of belonging. For those that can find fulfillment in this way life can be beautiful for the most part. For many who try conformity find a desert., A desert that is totality void of the living water that our souls crave.
Third is the way that leads to the so called fountain of youth. Our ego is our human identity so we must , if we are going to have an enjoyable existence, satisfy our ego in what ever pursuit we chose. What we have available to help us is what I call spiritual gravity. Spiritual gravity is that slight inner pull toward higher ethics that speaks to our treatment of our fellow man. By aligning our ego with spiritual gravity will over time produce an enjoyable life. Positive thoughts of compassion toward our fellow man, coupled with less negative thoughts toward our fellow man will be the sign of success.
Jerry Brown at 4:53PM on May 14th 2008
86. Jerry Brown,
I think your ego is hindering you from writing a credible post.
Watchful at 5:05PM on May 14th 2008
87. Watchful
What is it you find non creditable about my post??
Jerry Brown at 5:07PM on May 14th 2008
88. The bible said> And from a child thou hast known the Holy scriptures that are able to make thee wise unto salvation.
It is not the christian way that has poisoned thy mind...
At least thou knowest that thy mind is tanited...
Watchful at 4:50PM on May 14th 2008
------------------------------------------
I knoweth my own mind, and it is not tainted by anger except when it encounters vicious stupidity. So it IS the christianity thing. The BELIEF thing. The ignorance thing. That's what gets to me, that's what really eats my shorts, that's why I can be bitter.
You see christian, unlike many of you, (but like the man you name yourself after) I love all people. Even you. My rage is not directed at you personally. It is directed at your psychosis, your disease, your problem, which I would see you rid of if I had the ability. It's your blinders. It's your Christ-Colored Glasses that I hate. Your inability to tell facts from beliefs, due to being conditioned not to be able to by the presentation of supposed "facts" to you that are really just beliefs, only you've been taught to accept them with even more authority than you accept science and direct observation. The intentional and premeditated complete reversal of your ability to reality-test, so that you see white as black and up as down. It's all intentional, it was done to you on purpose, and you can never admit to yourself that you even see a glimmer of the TRUTH of it because if you ever did, you've been conditioned to believe that you're a sinner and damned to hell for it...
It's evil, allright. Similar to the nazi evil, just more civil due to it not being in absolute power YET.... It's mind control. It's macchiavellian. It's a tapestry of lies, all directed at destroying the identity and reasoning ability of the faithful and subsuming them into it's dogmatic worldview.
And they like it and ask for more please, with gravy.
So yes, this is my personal challenge. To learn to tolerate THAT. To learn not to get upset at the prospect of yet another potential mind being lost to a series of circular rationalizations so that it sits and spins all the rest of it's life, waiting for a fantasy reward after it dies, a victim of Pascal's Wager and a plethora of other specious fallacies concocted by shrewd evil power-hungry corrupt men, past and present.
Godless Heathen Brian at 5:09PM on May 14th 2008
89. Great post, Jerry.
What was I THINKING when I flamed you?
That's the part that annoys me. I need more control.
It's like trying to grasp a handful of sand as tight as you can. The tighter you squeeze, the more slips through...
Godless Heathen Brian at 5:14PM on May 14th 2008
90. Watchful, are you or do you know Man_In_Wilderness? Remember, it's a sin to lie.
K at 5:17PM on May 14th 2008