Lying low
Man, it's a hot time in national politics. The Republican convention is sure getting hearts pounding -- some in excited joy, some in black rage. While I slog my way at work through the first week of a new school year, I've been catching the action mostly through the lens of The New York Times. Their detailed coverage is subtly designed to make a Democrat's blood boil, and it surely has mine.
But what difference does it make, really? It seems to me that more people have their minds made up two months before this election than in any previous Presidential contest since Nixon-McGovern. And although the undecideds are still calling the shots -- particularly if they live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, or Wisconsin -- I don't see this week's folderol swaying them one way or another. I think most of the undecideds are going to stay that way for another four to six weeks.
That being the case, what's the sense of my trying to fisk everything that's coming out of New York? Readers who support the W already have their pat answers ready for just about everything I've got to say, as I have mine for them. And so I'm going to take the easy way out and pretty much just rest.
However, I did want to point out one interesting thing I picked up from the Times the other day. There was a full-page ad that called into serious question the GOP's boast that it is a "big tent" in which many different kinds of voters play a role. The ad, purchased by the folks behind the book "The Great Divide," pointed out how few Republican minority-group officeholders there actually are around the country. Alas, their website doesn't appear to have the ad on it anywhere, but the salient points were these:
Among Republican state legislators, 3,643 are White (98.8%); only 16 are Black and 13 are Hispanic. In Congress, 374 of the Republicans are White; there are no Blacks and all 3 Hispanics are Cuban-Americans.President Bush's home state leads the way. Texas, with a minority population of 47%, has 106 Republicans in the state legislature, but there are 0 Blacks and 0 Hispanics among them....
It is the Democratic Party, which has 20% minority representation at the state and federal levels -- 732 state legislators and 67 members of Congress -- that truly represents all Americans.
Pretty interesting, as is the site. If nothing else, go there to check out the banner design for their blog. Wish I'd thought of that!
Anyway, short of taking a trip to Ohio or Pennsylvania to ring doorbells, I'm not sure we're going to be making much of a difference flying our flags here, at least not for a while. My colors are clear, as they have been all this Year of our Lord 2004. And so, as rant-inducing as it may be, I'm going to lay off the election for now.
| Posted at 12:42 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (13)
How many Democrats in office are minorities? Fewer than the Republicans.
How many of the Hispanics in Texas (general population) are illegal immmigrants and should be deported? A lot.
Posted by Scott-in-Japan | September 2, 2004 4:05 AM
Jack - sorry to turn that other post into a Swift Vets rant, it just gets me VERY worked up. I find it difficult when I feel so strongly about something and other people have the exact opposite opinion. Everyone should agree with me dammit! :P Perhaps it's my youth. I like your attitude - just let it go. (Deep breath.)
Posted by raging red | September 2, 2004 5:39 AM
Actually Scott-in-Japan,
Texas has always (and I mean always as back to the days of the "Republic") had a sizeable minority of "Tejanos" who are not immigrants at all. And as for the immigrant population...gee, I wonder who is hiring all those immigrants (so that they can save money by paying less than)? I bet a majority of those business owners are Republicans. The only reason immigrants come into the US is because people are willing to hire them, not because of the supposed "welfare state."
Posted by hilsy | September 2, 2004 6:46 AM
How is it the Republican party is not only able to keep its moderates in line (Guiliani/Schwarzenegger) but able to get them to speak glowingly of an extremely conservative Republican President. While the Democrats can't even keep their moderate (Miller) from speaking glowingly of an extremely conservative Republican President.
I'm telling you, if the Democrats lose, they have know one to blame but themselves. The Republicans are maintaining their fundamental Christian base and still reaching out to moderates. Why can't the Dems do this?
Posted by Justin | September 2, 2004 8:50 AM
For all intents and purposes, Zell Miller is a Republican.
Posted by raging red | September 2, 2004 9:36 AM
Texas has Hispanic representatives - Henry Bonilla is one that I know of locally (I want him to run for Senate!). The problem is that the media doesn't consider him a minority - he is a conservative...
If the Democrats would get off the anti-war bandwagon and the mistaken belief that offering child-related tax cuts are middle-class tax relief, then I could consider voting for them...
Posted by Jeffrey | September 2, 2004 9:45 AM
If the Republicans could get off their bandwagon of saying that peace is a result of war, maybe I could vote for them... Or maybe the bandwagon of wanting to fund faith-based community organisations with my tax dollars... Or what about the idea that they can run us in to a record deficit and push the debt on to the middle-class... Or the fact that they are "compassionate" to everyone except homosexuals... etc, etc, etc...
Posted by davidwhunt | September 2, 2004 5:33 PM
What Bush has done:
Condy Rice, C.Powell- two power positions
What Democrats have done:
A Surgeon General who advocated teching children how to masturbate
An Attorney General who thought she "knew more" than the Texas Rangers and killed women and children in Waco. I put her down because she was selected to pander to the homosexual voting block. She was last seen following the Village People Revival tour. Case closed.
Posted by brother gary | September 3, 2004 9:19 AM
"...peace is a result of war..."
When our enemy is terrorists who murder innocents, then yes, peace is the result of a successful war.
Posted by Scott-in-Japan | September 3, 2004 3:06 PM
hilsy -
" And as for the immigrant population...gee, I wonder who is hiring all those immigrants (so that they can save money by paying less than)? I bet a majority of those business owners are Republicans."
A nice try at class warfare (only Republicans are 'rich'), but no dice. Kerry and Edwrds have a nigher net worth than Bush and Cheney - by a wide margin. The Democratic Party receives more money (percentage) from large donors (people and corporations) than the Republicans. The party of the rich people and big corporations is the Democratic Party.
For all the whining that the foot-soldiers of the Democratic Party do - the party itself is run by the very 'rich' whom the peons claim to despise.
Posted by Scott-in-Japan | September 3, 2004 3:11 PM
"When our enemy is terrorists who murder innocents, then yes, peace is the result of a successful war."
We have 140,000 troops in Iraq and only 10,000 in Afganistan. Last I heard, Osama wasn't hanging out in Iraq. Neither were WMD's. Wake up, bud.
Posted by davidwhunt | September 3, 2004 11:23 PM
"Last I heard, Osama wasn't hanging out in Iraq"
OBL isn't the only bad guy in the world. Displacing an Islamic(esque) goon like Saddam is a great long term plan. It removed Iraq as a home for training terrorists. It's brought Libya back into talks with the civilized world (baby steps for now).
The best news is that bringing Iraq into the civilized world has put Saudi Arabia on notice. If the Saudis don't get their collective act together, the USA will do it for them. Saudi Arabia unleashed OBL on the world. Instead of stopping him, Saudi Arabia gave us OBL. And the USA is now slowly remaking the Middle East as a place where folks like OBL will be killed, before they can kill Americans.
'Wake up, bud,' indeed.
Posted by Scott-in-Japan | September 4, 2004 1:48 AM
The Boss suggests reading Al Franken's latest book. I always do what Bruce suggests. Great read.
Posted by Raoul | September 7, 2004 9:28 AM