"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." W.B. Yeats
That seems to be the meme so far for this election cycle. We'll wait until all the votes are counted in November to see whether or not enough Democratic "unexcited" votes can match or overcome the Rethug "excited" votes (an unexcited vote counts the same as an excited one, after all). In the meantime, reading the posting about the Orange Boner below reminds us of one of the consequences of a Rethug takeover. Here are, summarized, a few more:
Rewarding bad policy decisions past and future: In a case of mass amnesia, voters would be rewarding the party that "drove us into the ditch" a short two years ago. The Rethugs haven't learned a thing from the market collapse two years ago; if anything, they've painted themselves into a more extremist corner by taking up the outlandish positions held by the tea baggers and Club for Growth crowd: cut taxes for the rich, starve government, repeal health and financial reform. So, to summarize: the more dangerous and destructive our actions and ideas, the more you want to support us. Hmmm.
Rewarding bad behavior: Even occasional readers of this blog don't need to be reminded of the Rethugs' bad behavior over the past 18 months. The hate, innuendo, and fearmongering at both the level of Rethug officeholders (Bachmann, DeMint, McConnell, Boner, et al) and their surrogates (the teahadist nation, Fux "News" Nutwork, hate radio, etc.) has reached unprecedented levels from our 40-plus years perspective in political observation. Voters would be rewarding and asking for more obstruction, deceit, reactionary retrenchment, and unfettered access to pols via massive plutocrat and corporate campaign donations (thank you, John Roberts' court!). Again, hmmm.
Stopping reform dead in its tracks: Notwithstanding progressive angst about the flaws in the health care and financial reforms, and the efficacy of the stimulus, voters would be sending the message that they want these reforms rolled back or repealed, and don't subscribe to the notion that government has a role to play in stopping the economy from going off a cliff. That's a recipe for disaster the next time the economy implodes and, more immediately, for those who are just now starting to benefit from health reform.
And if you need any more reasons to fear these consequences, let these names ignite whatever passionate intensity you may be lacking: (Senator) Rand Paul, (Senator) Christine O'Donnell, (Senator) Sharron Angle, (Senator) Joe Miller, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Jim DeMint, (Speaker) John Boehner, (Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell, (Chairman) Joe Barton, Eric Cantor, Dick Armey, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck...Enough?
