For months now, the Democrat party has become increasingly divided as to who will be the best nominee to knock the Republicans out of the White House this fall. With all but the Clinton camp now believing Barack Obama to be the presumptive nominee, everyone’s trying to figure out how to reunite the Democrats. The Democrat leadership insists that once a candidate is selected the whole party will instantly become one big happy family behind that candidate, even though many polls suggest otherwise. Some in the party are saying the best way to mend the rift is simply to talk the two current contenders into being on the same ticket, thus creating the Hill-Billy ‘Bama ticket.
Make no mistake, this would be a shotgun wedding in the extreme. Reports indicate that the two camps, understandably, just don’t get along, even if the two candidates are able to kiss and make up. Few industries are as territorial as in politics, and with that kind of competition, it’s a safe bet that few will be happy when the two teams attempt to merge. It will be predictable gridlock, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to postulate that such gridlock would carry into an administration run by these three.
On the other hand, sometimes a shotgun wedding is the only way to form a family, albeit reluctantly. Perhaps marrying a Hatfield to a McCoy would be the best way to encourage peace in the valley. After all, European monarchies of old were always marrying into each other’s families as a way to create mutually beneficial alliances, though they didn’t always last very long.
Of course, a Hill-Billy Bama ticket likely won’t turn feuding cousins into kissing ones overnight, and therein lies a major part of the problem. How much time will the Dems need to become a single clan after suffering such a deep rift? How credible will it be to the voters, especially independents, that seemingly overnight these two feuding candidates are suddenly playing public kissy-face? How can the voter trust that the motives of either candidate is pure when both are so willing to sacrifice their principles for the sake of Party unity?
This is particularly destructive in light of the fact that Obama, necessarily, continues to preach a united America, rather than a united Democrat party, though it’s hard to image how we can have one without the other. While his alliance with the Clintons (and rest assured, it will be BOTH the Clintons in office) may assuage the hurt feelings of the Clinton supporters and thus unite the Party in the short-term, it will only raise more questions as to the truthfulness of both.
Once again, the Democrats are facing an election that is apparently theirs to lose. The short-sightedness of the rules committee, who created the primary and super-delegate rules system only to be surprised and dismayed that they might actually have to follow those rules, will become legendary after this election cycle. Whether they will learn from that lesson next time around remains to be seen.
It would seem the beneficiary of all this, naturally, is John McCain and the Republicans. The only question remaining is whether or not they can capitalize on it.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Power of "Just Words" Must Never be Underestimated
What an amazing event! He stood before a waiting crowd, who practically quivered in anticipation of his first words. When at last he began, he started out softly, personably, finding common ground is their mutual plight of a useless government and a country heading for disaster. Gradually, his words moved faster, more emphatically, urging the crowd forward, helping them to imagine a future of hope, change, the recovery of past greatness, and the expansion of their nation’s influence in the world.
He hit every hot button along the way: the diminishment of the reputation of the country in the eyes of the rest of the world by a government that’s lost its way; the folly of going to war unnecessarily and the destruction it caused at home, the deterioration of the middle class, and the collapse of the economy under the poor judgment of the current leaders.
Then he turns to the future, and what is necessary to change course. He says that, if elected, his new government will be one that "will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and co-operation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built." He outlines plans to reorganize commerce and trade, to reduce unemployment, to take care of the sick and aged, to encourage the entrepreneur, support the armed forces, all along the way using "unity as our tool."
It is exactly what the audience wants to hear. They are uncontrollably swept up with enthusiasm, screaming and cheering at the vividness of the future he is promising, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a failed state. By the time he nears the end of his speech, the crowd is mesmerized, waiting with breath abated for his final words to ring so that they may erupt in the wave of support they can barely keep contained. At last, his final words come. "May God Almighty give our work His blessing, strengthen our purpose, and endow us with wisdom and the trust of our people, for we are fighting not for ourselves but for Germany. "
This was Adolph Hitler’s Proclamation to the Nation speech of February 1, 1933 after he was named Chancellor of Germany. If you thought it sounded like somebody else, you’re not alone.
The point here is not that I am comparing Hitler to any contemporary politician. The point is to insure that we all understand that the art of oratory is a learned skill that can be mastered. Successful speeches invariably contain the same elements, the same emotions, the same means of getting an audience charged up, regarding of what the actual specific issues are. Yes, good words can be used inspire us, but they can be used to do bad things, too.
Many people have often scratched their heads and wondered how the German people could have let themselves be duped by Hitler. We must recognize, however, that a master orator can mesmerize any audience on any subject at any time, and that under the circumstances, their response was quite natural. Hitler was not the first to accomplish this, nor, unfortunately, will he be last. But no matter how many times we say "Never again," all bets are off when a Master Orator seizes the opportunity to whip a crowd into a frenzy that could propel him to great power. Caveat emptor all great orators.
He hit every hot button along the way: the diminishment of the reputation of the country in the eyes of the rest of the world by a government that’s lost its way; the folly of going to war unnecessarily and the destruction it caused at home, the deterioration of the middle class, and the collapse of the economy under the poor judgment of the current leaders.
Then he turns to the future, and what is necessary to change course. He says that, if elected, his new government will be one that "will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and co-operation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built." He outlines plans to reorganize commerce and trade, to reduce unemployment, to take care of the sick and aged, to encourage the entrepreneur, support the armed forces, all along the way using "unity as our tool."
It is exactly what the audience wants to hear. They are uncontrollably swept up with enthusiasm, screaming and cheering at the vividness of the future he is promising, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a failed state. By the time he nears the end of his speech, the crowd is mesmerized, waiting with breath abated for his final words to ring so that they may erupt in the wave of support they can barely keep contained. At last, his final words come. "May God Almighty give our work His blessing, strengthen our purpose, and endow us with wisdom and the trust of our people, for we are fighting not for ourselves but for Germany. "
This was Adolph Hitler’s Proclamation to the Nation speech of February 1, 1933 after he was named Chancellor of Germany. If you thought it sounded like somebody else, you’re not alone.
The point here is not that I am comparing Hitler to any contemporary politician. The point is to insure that we all understand that the art of oratory is a learned skill that can be mastered. Successful speeches invariably contain the same elements, the same emotions, the same means of getting an audience charged up, regarding of what the actual specific issues are. Yes, good words can be used inspire us, but they can be used to do bad things, too.
Many people have often scratched their heads and wondered how the German people could have let themselves be duped by Hitler. We must recognize, however, that a master orator can mesmerize any audience on any subject at any time, and that under the circumstances, their response was quite natural. Hitler was not the first to accomplish this, nor, unfortunately, will he be last. But no matter how many times we say "Never again," all bets are off when a Master Orator seizes the opportunity to whip a crowd into a frenzy that could propel him to great power. Caveat emptor all great orators.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Iowa Caucus Should Signal End of Affirmative Action
More than 90% of the population of Iowa is white. Just over 2% are black. Yet in the Iowa Democratic Caucus, the only black candidate in the race enjoyed a resounding political victory. What more proof do we need that for all intents and purposes, racism against blacks in American is dead and gone?
Following the civil rights movement in the sixties, the Boomer generation was rightly reeducated that all Americans are created equal, regardless of race or gender. Older generations were harder to convince, but most of them have passed on now, leaving the previous prejudices that supported American apartheid long gone.
In more recent decades, whites have been doing their best to prove that they are fair to minorities, and, other than a few isolated criminal cases, have been predominantly successful in doing so. The only ones not buying it seem to be the aging Civil Rights leaders, who recognize that if they declare victory (as they should do, particularly in light of recent events), they’re out of a job. Unfortunately for the nation, there’s not much likelihood of that happening anytime soon.
The Civil Rights movement was about equality, about everyone starting on a level playing field and having an equal chance to succeed or fail as their talents allowed. It was never supposed to be about one group getting special treatment over another, or about whites and blacks changing places as to who was the oppressor and who was the oppressed. Nor was it meant to guarantee that all blacks have happy and successful lives, any more than it’s possible for all whites to do so. It was only meant to give everyone the same opportunities to succeed.
Affirmative Action, that poorly-defined practice of discreetly using racial preference (even when it meant having to settle for less qualified applicants) in order to prove our fairness by the numbers (NEVER to be called a quota, of course), should not have been implemented in the first place. It contradicted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that guaranteed equality. Quite simply, racial preference is racial preference, regardless of which side of the coin you’re on. There’s no such thing as "reverse discrimination," only discrimination.
With the success of black Barack Obama in white Iowa, all Americans should be celebrating the death of Affirmative Action, and the confirmation that all of our nation’s efforts to distance ourselves from our racist past have, at last, succeeded. This is a watershed moment, the moment that our hard-fought battle has finally been won. It’s a wake that should be one heck of a party, and one all Americans should celebrate together.
It’s been a long time coming. We’ve waited impatiently for an entire white generation that didn’t want to give up their privileges to die off. It would be a shame and a disappointment if we have to wait for the current generation of equally intransigent black leaders to pass on or fade away into obscurity before the real celebration can begin. It would be positively legendary if they instead claimed victory and joined the party!
Following the civil rights movement in the sixties, the Boomer generation was rightly reeducated that all Americans are created equal, regardless of race or gender. Older generations were harder to convince, but most of them have passed on now, leaving the previous prejudices that supported American apartheid long gone.
In more recent decades, whites have been doing their best to prove that they are fair to minorities, and, other than a few isolated criminal cases, have been predominantly successful in doing so. The only ones not buying it seem to be the aging Civil Rights leaders, who recognize that if they declare victory (as they should do, particularly in light of recent events), they’re out of a job. Unfortunately for the nation, there’s not much likelihood of that happening anytime soon.
The Civil Rights movement was about equality, about everyone starting on a level playing field and having an equal chance to succeed or fail as their talents allowed. It was never supposed to be about one group getting special treatment over another, or about whites and blacks changing places as to who was the oppressor and who was the oppressed. Nor was it meant to guarantee that all blacks have happy and successful lives, any more than it’s possible for all whites to do so. It was only meant to give everyone the same opportunities to succeed.
Affirmative Action, that poorly-defined practice of discreetly using racial preference (even when it meant having to settle for less qualified applicants) in order to prove our fairness by the numbers (NEVER to be called a quota, of course), should not have been implemented in the first place. It contradicted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that guaranteed equality. Quite simply, racial preference is racial preference, regardless of which side of the coin you’re on. There’s no such thing as "reverse discrimination," only discrimination.
With the success of black Barack Obama in white Iowa, all Americans should be celebrating the death of Affirmative Action, and the confirmation that all of our nation’s efforts to distance ourselves from our racist past have, at last, succeeded. This is a watershed moment, the moment that our hard-fought battle has finally been won. It’s a wake that should be one heck of a party, and one all Americans should celebrate together.
It’s been a long time coming. We’ve waited impatiently for an entire white generation that didn’t want to give up their privileges to die off. It would be a shame and a disappointment if we have to wait for the current generation of equally intransigent black leaders to pass on or fade away into obscurity before the real celebration can begin. It would be positively legendary if they instead claimed victory and joined the party!
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