re: #30 harlequinade

This terrifies me more than the stupidity on display by the candidates.

That people will vote, happily, for morons. And that having morons in seats of power is a good thing because… actually, I don’t know what the end of that sentence can be. Why would smart people willing vote for morons?

Dangerous morons with ridiculous ideas?

Is there some secret desire to stop government working for another 2 years?
To spend money on impeachment hearings?
To keep out gay marriage?

I just do not get it.

The Congress has passed, and the President has signed, legislation that Republicans believe will be bad for the country, and in particular, bad for themselves. What’s not to get? They want it suspended, blocked, rescinded, or modified.

Insurance companies across the nation are ceasing to offer coverage in various categories, for the simple reason that under the laws now coming into force, there is no way they can break even on that coverage at any price they will be permitted to charge. Democrats are fine with that; the laws are not going to be modified in the face of reality unless Democrats lose enough contests to force a reappraisal.

The national debt is soaring, and commodity prices are soaring. There’s an inverse relation between the amount of paper a nation prints and the buying power of each scrap of paper. Republicans want this stopped, Democrats are determined to stay the course. The policy is not going to change unless Democrats lose enough contests to force a reappraisal.

Gay marriage is widely unpopular. On this blog, almost everyone supports it and cannot imagine any reason for opposition. But the recent vote in California illustrates that this is a minority position among the populace at large. Policy on gay marriage is affected by elections and voters in both camps want their own position, rather than the other position, to prevail.

Republicans, on the whole, put the immediate economic needs of the nation ahead of the long term “green” needs. On this issue, I part company with them but if one wants to understand the voting behavior of Republicans, that’s another of their reasons. It’s kind of inconsistent with the whole notion of “conservative”, but in another way it isn’t. Climate change didn’t used to be widely understood to be a problem. A conservative approach to ideas includes not accepting new ones gladly or promptly.

And then there’s religion. Republicans are unhappy with all sorts of stuff here. Why not permit Catholic adoption agencies to help place orphans and unwanted babies? Why not permit Catholic schools to require that teachers set a personal example somewhat consistent with the core values of the church? Why force hospitals to perform elective abortions? Republicans want these policies changed, and they won’t change unless Democrats lose enough contests to force a reappraisal.

That’s why Republicans vote Republican. Some of it is why independents sometimes vote Republican.