Politics The Elephant in the room...The GOP today

Lets go from Iowa to Alabama and the Republican Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court

Holy Constitution!

 

Apparently immigration was the key issue in Cantor's defeat.

I think this ends any possibility that John Boehner is going to bring up immigration reform and get it through the House.

 

I think it also supports your notion that money doesnt buy a victory, with Cantor ouspending Sprat $5 million to $200,000. A grass roots ground game matters.

The upcoming leadership fight within the Republican party should be interesting. Cantor had a 96% conservative approval rating and just hinting that he is open to immigration reform sets a target on your back from the far right back home. I dont know who among the Republicans want to take that on, but it likely will be Tea Party types (they might come up with a full slate and go after Boehner as well) and the next two years will be a circus with the Republican party.

 

I know it is somewhat melodramatic and it is dated, but is not altogether false. Let me explain.
I consider myself to be moderate. I hold true to some conservative beliefs, some liberal beliefs, and a lot in between the two. As such I have the ability to look past party biases that reside in media to discover my own truth. Truth being that which resides between two lies, or believed truths. By my interpretation of current events, the truth is that the Tea Partiers are right-wing extremists, the GOP old guard are just gumming at anything they can use against the president, Democrats have barely made a dent in the political arena, and the President has taken up the pose of a petulant three year-old. In the end, the nation is not being served responsibly by the people elected to look out for our best interests. BTWs, I was going to post counter-points, but my connection to the interwebs is spotty at worst and alright (with single shoulder shrug) at best.

 

Without going into a long-winded rant against the irresponsible Baby-Boomers or their idiot progeny the Millennials, I believe that we are suffering from this Shifting Baseline Syndrome. One generation of politicians is stepping into office on the heels of their predecessors without full understanding of what they are supposed to do. They use assumptions and information bias to determine their roles in government based on what they read on some blog, saw in a movie, or heard from a wingnut on the radio. As a result they feel that they are doing things properly without regard to what the people and this nation need. I can't help but think of the main character from "The Gods Must be Crazy" dealing with an unfamiliar technology/item/information, and trying to make sense of its proper use without having the benefit of context. I know they went to school, but schools these days suck. Have you read a newspaper lately? As for the old farts, my parents generation, they are using political office to forward their extremist ideologies, namely padding their wallets and screwing over future generations. Damn it, I'm ranting, sorry. Basically we're dealing with folks who do not care what the "book" says they are supposed to do, they are going to do what they want to improve their positions (social and ideological). This has resulted in a gradually decline in fiduciary reliability.

 

Oh you brits and your hatred of "pikeys", it's so cute.

 

Well, the Senate did pass an immigration reform bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. The House could pass it or not. Looks like not.

In January 2015, they'd have to start again from scratch. If Republicans control the Senate, they wouldn't even bother to try.

The metaphor I enjoyed was the one about the evisceration of the Voting Rights Act: The Supreme Court gave the Republican Party a poisoned chalice, and they hastened to drink deeply from it.

That being said, obituaries for American major parties (I have seen many of these) always turn out to be premature. They can instantly spring back to life when needed.

 

But for serious, the problem is not the immigration itself rather the laws that govern nationalization. Since the founding of the United States the laws governing immigration have vacillated in degrees of severity. The most restrictive time period being from circa 1882 until 1952. During that time émigrés were limited by nationality and race. I am somewhat conflicted by the need to change. Our southern border is a gushing wound of illegal aliens pouring in. There is also a larger standing population of unregistered aliens in the agrarian regions of most states. This is one of the few topics I prefer to stay clear of. There are too many factors to take into account when you start talking about deportation, nationalization, untaxed income, "free zones", and children. There are plenty of reasons to be all for reform and to be against it. For me the most compelling argument for reform are the ideals upon which this country was formed. The U.S.A. is the land of opportunity, liberty, and equality. Our forefathers came to this land in the pursuit of possibility. The possibility of building a better life, a better future for their children and future generations. "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". The problems come from those seeking to avoid the law for illicit purposes... How do we control human trafficking and drug smuggling while making it easier to cross the border(s)? I realize that the problems are not just from southern travelers, nor are they isolated to our continental shores. The politic solution is difficult when trying to effect change to the benefit and satisfaction of all. Hopefully fairness wins out, not some super PAC funneling money into loose pockets.

 

A temporary diversion from the Cantor story.

In a hearing on "The State of Religious Liberty in the US" yesterday, Rep. Louie Gohmert tells Congress the "good news" that non-Christians" are "going to Hell."

Louie Gohmert tells Congress the ‘good news’ that non-Christians are ‘going to Hell’

 

I think the cultural conservatism of immigrant Asians and Hispanics is often overstated. Behavior and political attitudes don't line up neatly.

One of the great paradoxes of American religious life is the way that many (even most) clergy in black churches sound a whole lot like right-wing Protestant Fundamentalists. They come out of the same Southern preaching tradition. They build sermons around the same passages in the King James Version. They use a lot of the same words. The Christian Right sees this, and imagines a great opportunity to expand its base.

But, as a friend of mine once put it, "the lyrics may be the same, but the music is different." The meaning associated with those words is very different. Black Protestants don't just vote Democratic out of racial solidarity; they are systematically more politically liberal than white Protestants.