Entries from February 2008
Well, it seems like the Democratic primaries are going to go down to the wire. I cannot for the life of me understand why. Who in their right mind would vote for Hilary Clinton? Anyone? Is it nastalgia? A wish to return to the booming ’90s? As a Centrist, I think it’s high time for a change. The Republicans had control of the Presidency, both houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court and look at how completely screwed up our nation has become. It’s time to get someone into the presidency that can balance this out. The knee-jerk reaction would be to go wide left, but what we need is someone who can unite us as a nation. Whether Barak Obama can do such a thing remains to be seen, but out of the remaining candidates, he’s got the best chance by far. Clinton is a very polarizing person. If it came down to her and John McCain, I’d go for McCain in a heartbeat.
The last couple elections I have had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Eight years ago I would (and did) back McCain for president. When Bush won the nomination it was very disappointing to me. Now however, McCain seems to have gone a little wonky. I can hope once the Republican Nomination is in hand, he’ll be moving back towards the center. Especially if he’s up against Clinton. From where I’m sitting (far far away from relevence) Obama has a chance at winning the election, Clinton simply doesn’t. She seems to be doing okay with the Democrats, but you can’t win an election with only half the Democrats and none of the Republicans. I really, really don’t want to head to the polls in November and cast my vote for the lesser of two evils. I’d rather vote for someone who has hope and a vision for the future of America that is not layered in cynacism and despair.
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A few years ago a movie was released. It was a very good movie, a follow up to a rather obscure television show that had gone largely ignored by the general populace with the exception of a few die-hard fans. The fans were rabid. They helped to finance the movie and did everything they could to promote it. There were even reports of fans buying out showings at movie theaters and giving tickets away to anyone who wanted them just to get people to see the movie that they loved so much. Despite all of this the movie was a financial failure at the box office. The lesson to be learned here is that while fan boys (and fan girls) are passionate, dedicated, have lots of free time and disposable income to spend on their passion, that passion has a tendency to push people away rather than convert them.
Most of us will have been in the situation where we’re mildly interested in something until we meet someone who is totally obsessed with it. Their enthusiasm and descriptions of the object’s greatness push you into the opposite side. You find yourself thinking, “Well, it’s not THAT great.” The same is true for every extreme position. The more that person insists on the infallability and wonderousness of that thing the more obvious the subtle flaws are. Push far enough and the subtle flaws become glaring flaws. Alas, the same is true of theRon Paul Revolution. The Ron Paul fanboys have done more to push people away from his positions than they have to further his cause. However, it is hard to say what they could have done differently.
It is always the case that people who are passionate about something will attract other passionate people while alienating the dispassionate. There are a lot more dispassionate people in America today than passionate ones which is terribly unfortunate. It is not however impossible to convert your passions into something that will appeal to the masses, but it does take a severe grounding in reality and willingness to meet people on their own level. I was of the opinion before the primaries that all Dr. Paul had to do to win was keep doing what he was doing until people noticed how crappy the other candidates were. I think I was giving to much credit to how much people pay attention. Perhaps if everyone had been told, “If you are dissatisfied with the current Republican leadership, the Neo-cons, or the direction this country is going, vote for Ron Paul to send a message to Washington that the American people want real change, fiscal and personal responsibility, etc. vote for Ron Paul,” he might have stood a fighting chance.
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