Friday, September 2, 2011

Political Perpetualities

All of the candidates in the Republican field vying for the presidential nomination are running a relentless campaign, not against each other, but against Barack Obama. Each one is trying to flaunt their conservative, "traditional" credentials, and in doing so they are pandering to the lowest common denominator of the Republican party, the religious extreme. The only two different individuals out of the entire field are Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman.
Ron Paul is different from the field in that he doesn't equivocate; that is, he doesn't bother with lofty language praising America and stating that America is the best country in the world. Instead, he states exactly what he believes, which is something unheard of from a political candidate. His intentions and statements, however extreme, are sincere and concise explanations of what he believes. I don't agree with his beliefs, but I respect his ability to be honest.
Jon Huntsman recently said that "evolution is a fact" and that the members of the Republican party mustn't be the "anti-science" party. He is, of course, not the frontrunner, but he does have the moderate appeal that the Republicans need to win. The other candidates, such as Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Caine, et al., all question evolution and have admittedly frightening beliefs about their religions.
Of course, they must face the current president, Barack Obama. It seems that 3 years has passed and not much has happened in the way of progress, as he's given money to banks, allowed the Bush tax cuts to continue, didn't get a public option for healthcare, etc. etc. etc. He has time and time again conceded too much to Republicans and has moved away from legal action against those who created the recession in 2008 (some of whom are in his cabinet). I suppose the choice is a lesser of two evils.

This post may seem scatterbrained. That's because it is.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg