I had an interesting discussion the other day with some friends. I made a comment characterizing Republicans as making gut decisions, and shooting from the hip. My friend rightly corrected me, saying that there are some thoughtful people in the Republican Party, which of course there are, and I think his point, moreover, was that we should shy away from making blanket statements about people, even if we disagree passionately on their politics. A good, reasonable, rationale, thoughtful point...did I mention that he is a Democrat? Nevertheless that got me to thinking...at this point are there really any thoughtful people that plan on voting for McCain/Palin? Are there? Really?
Well, as any well educated person can tell you, that depends on the definition of thoughtful. Thoughtful is defined by Webster's as: 1. full of thought; employed in meditation; contemplative 2. attentive; careful; exercising judgment 3. anxious; solicitous; concerned. So, is anyone who is considering voting for McCain/Palin doing any of the things mentioned above? The short answer is no. The long answer...
No, of course not. For example, one pair of my grandparents are thoughtful people, but when it comes to politics, they are not thoughtful at all--they listen to right wing radio and FOX News, they believe president Bush has done a good job, they, like John McCain, probably still believe that the fundamentals of our economy are strong, they believe that privatization is the end all be all, and they don't believe that health care should be universal or run by the government, even though medicare is universal for the elderly and run by the government. Couldn't these things be said in general of most Republicans. Sure, they may be thoughtful people, but when it comes right down to it, in the realm of politics, they are most certainly not. John McCain intends to carry out the familiar neoconservative mantra if he becomes president, that is: cut taxes, run a deficit, privatize and deregulate, and start wars in places that are of strategic economic importance to U.S. interests. At one time, a "thoughtful" person could have been said to believe in these ideal and still be considered "thoughtful." Anymore, to continue to believe that these things will bring about a prosperous nation is about as far from thoughtful as one can get--it is downright ignorant. Bush has cut taxes, but that hasn't prevented our manufacturing base to continue fleeing overseas, or produced the magical "trickle down economic" benefits of which Reagan spoke (also known as voodoo economics, perhaps a more apt name), and to which many conservatives still adhere to, displaying the ultimate disregard for reason or logic, or thoughtfulness for that matter. A thoughtful person would note that tax cuts to the wealthy are not going to work very well if the industry in which they are investing EMPLOYS PEOPLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES. They are also not going to work very well when businesses are fond of furnishing their CEO's and other high on the corporate ladder with monstrous compensations packages, EVEN WHEN THAT BUSINESS FAILS.
Oh, and technically you can run deficits as long as you can find people who are willing to buy your debt, but then, a thoughtful person might think--hmmm, what is going to happen if we have a national crisis, economic or otherwise, like we are having right now? Or what if those buying our debt decide to call it in? No, no, a thoughtful person would certainly not endorse such a policy, not indefinitely anyway.
And what of privatization and deregulation--isn't that the reason we are in the economic mess we are in right now, because we allowed mortgage and financial industries to do whatever they pleased without any oversight or regulations governing those actions? A thoughtful person would certainly not vote for someone like McCain who agrees with these economic philosophies, especially in sight of their recent failures.
As far as starting wars in places of strategic economic importance, a thoughtful person would never agree to such a premise. After all, aren't we ourselves, the United States, a place of strategic importance, full of natural and human resources, and close to large trading partners like Canada, Mexico, and South America? If the Chinese or any European country were to follow our example, they should start a war with us, for we are economically stategic in the world market. Or is it just places where we know that we can bully a petty dictator and win easily--wait a second, how's that going again--4,170 dead soldiers and a cost of $600 billion and counting for both. Again, I don't think a thoughtful person would consent to such a foolhardy venture, or future ventures, and McCain says he has no intent of leaving Iraq anytime soon.
Thus, in the end, I am left to conclude that Republicans are not thoughtful, nor is anyone considering voting for them this fall. If you are still unconvinced...consider the following:
1) Would a thoughtful person allow the chant "drill, baby, drill" to be uttered as the solution to our energy problems at his party's convention?
2) Would a thoughtful person that is in his eight decade pick a political neophyte (who has only recently travelled outside of North America, whose husband has not even graduated from college, and who is not even allowed to speak to the press) to be his next in line as leader of the free world?
3) Would a thoughtful person have no idea how to use a computer or email people?
4) Would a thoughtful person forget how many houses he had, or refuse to answer the question and what for someone from a focus group to tell him what to say?
5) Would a thoughtful person vote against veterans benefits packages time and time again, when he himself, is a veteran?
The answer is, again, no, and the person that has done all of these things is the Republican candidate for president, John McCain.
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