Super Ain't It

PRIMARY BLOGTOPIA
Ah, after a dissapointing to disgusting superbowl game, time to grab the couch and a cocktail and see what CNN blasts through the tube. It can be a pretty long night. You get to listen to some interesting comments, Bill Bennett for example just made a comment of how some conservatives speaking out about McCain not being a conservative as "being Trotskyists" in looking at some kind of purity in the party. It's a strange world in which McCain isn't a conservative and an indication of how far the Republican party has swung to the right. Similarly, the Democratic party swung to the left as identity politics and the the "mainstreaming" of the New Left led to a legacy of losing from Humphrey to Clinton I, (leaving out the outlier of Jimmy Carter, a reaction to Watergate more than the strength of the candidate himself) leaving out lunch bucket Democrats. The question is where is the Democrat's Ronald Reagan, the candidate that can clean up the disaffected "left wing" of the Republican party and moderate independents.

TRENCH WARFARE
The finest day that I ever had was when I learned to cry on command Love myself better than you I know it's wrong So what should I do? Nirvana

Being a Democrat in a Democratic hotbed means you get lots of phone calls, lit drops, mailings, etc. This year, we also have a contested state rep race, making the calls even more intense and the recycling bins fill up quick. State Rep seats open up about every two cicada cycles, so people who are interested jump on high and hard. Perhaps the most annoying thing is when a stranger calls you for support, when you personally know the candidate, real turnoff, know you're tired and busy but call those people yourself.

Being of Latino descent and having a Spanish surname, I get the pleasure of getting things in two languages, seemingly ignoring the fact that the vast majority of Latinos who are US citizens are either bilingual or English dominant. Culturally competent? I dunno, more pandering to me. You want to do right by Latino voters, it's not about immigration or welfare or some other racist notion, it's about jobs, schools that are held accountable for educating our children and public safety, wait is that what everyone else wants, ahhhhhh, now you get it.

As we walked to vote today, I still hadn't decided who to vote for, I had Edwards who has "suspended his campaign" on my mind as a broker at the convention, a spokesperson for the Two Americas, etc. I got no idea why he dropped out, he could have coasted to 15% all along the way and had a lot of influence. I eventually voted for Obama, "the half breed with a funny name", mostly out of solidarity. Not really but it's a good story and probably the only thing I'll remember when I age.

Neither of these candidates really impress me. I love portions of both of them, Hilary's potential wonkiness, Obama's rhetorical style but neither of them has really said anything yet. It's mostly intentional, any program or idea that you bring out has the potential to be overanalyzed and destroyed in the media which tends to be too shortsighted and slowwitted to understand the nature of policy development. I voted for Obama on the grounds of meritocracy and electability. It is a strange time in American history where I can say the black guy with the middle name Hussein is the more electable Democrat. The other point is the meritocracy of Obama, a guy who really made himself, who's to say what Hilary Rodham would have become, corporate titan?, senator from Illinois on her own volition? Dunno, but lets say the election of her husband as President certainly vaulted her into the public light and a possible building of a Clinton dynasty.

YOU GO THIS WAY, I'LL GO THAT WAY
So I don't mean to dismiss the Huckabee campaign here, in fact he seems to be doing fairly well in some of the southern states. Mitt's a moving target here as he tries to carve himself into a Reagan suit in a weird silence of the lambs fashion. McCain tries to keep up some Conservative "cred" when he actually can't wait to kick Dobson down a flight of stairs and draft Rush Limbaugh into Scudbusting service. It's not that McCain isn't a conservative bastard, he just wants to do it by his own angry man rules, with a little spice of mavericity.

McCain, of course hopes to win quick, and not have to run and pander to every right wing kook. Again, in something I though would never say or type, Bill Bennett has got it nailed, he fears this, he fears that the Republican rift will lose those folks who helped to build the Republican power base, those who had become disaffected with the leftist control of the Democratic party and the perceived celebration in the Democratic party of big government and a lack of self reliance. The party for most Republicans is not the party of the neo-cons or the theo-cons.

Governor Romney has the bankroll to keep it going and likely will spin his victories in 2 of his 4 homestates on Super Tuesday as a kick off for the rest of his campaign as the real conservative in the race. Seems like Muffy and Billy Weld have both resurfaced for Mitt's Massachusetts renewal speech, best part of the speech is a large group of yankee republican engaged it call and response. The focus is now totally on the economy and those fat cats in Washington. Wow, now that was inspirational.