Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Great Repudiation
A Newsweek feature from a few weeks ago talked about how America is a center-right country and wondered how Obama might struggle to get his agenda passed. There was, of course, a rebuttal within the magazine. But from who was making the claim that American is center-right -- a slew or ultra-right pundits -- one wonders if Newsweek was taken for a ride. In addition to the election being for hope, it was also a repudiation of conservatism, both in government and politics. In government conservatism gave us: overboard deregulation and its disastrous consequences in banking and food safety, invading nations under false pretenses, inability to deal with Katrina, and spying on its own citizens. In politics conservatism gave is divide and conquer through fear, perfected and in use by Nixon and culminating in a crude attempt to portray Obama as a Muslim terrorist. This time it didn't work and usually backfired. If Obama's presidency is successful we may finally get rid of conservative government and politics.
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A friend replied:
ReplyDeleteThis one needs a reality check. Political leanings run in cycles and the rightists will be back. I have some hopes that community-minded politics will dominate for quite a while -- maybe as long as I remain on the planet -- thanks to the huge youth vote last week. The Rs may have alienated a large majority of a generation of determined voters. Let's hope they have durable memories.
But a relatively liberal trend will wear itself out; credible and initially disciplined new R leaders will appear and conservative dominance will return in America... and wear itself out with corruption and greed in its own turn.
By then, with any luck, gay rights will be embedded deeply in federal law and discrimination against gays criminalized.