Ruminations

 Happy Sunday.  I am a fallen Republican.  The party lost me somewhere at the end of Clinton’s first term when my young, yuppie, successful professional friends and their wives were all on the porch at the country club and one of the woman was crying about how the re-election of Clinton would literally be the death of us, economically and certainly morally.  As people joined the conversation agreeing heartily with her sentiments I realized that these people did not have a clue about how the rest of the country felt, the direction (inexorably) the country was going towards multiculturalism and how good they, themselves had it.  They were tone deaf.  Some of those people is now a local or regional muckity muck in the Republican party.  The Newt Gingrich contract with America followed by the neo-con (W Bush) takeover cemented their beliefs that they were “right” in the most morally righteous sense and inexorable.

My Christianity (and I do not say this sanctimoniously because “MY” Christianity is DEEPLY flawed) took me in a different direction.  I believe there is a role for government in caring for the voiceless.  I know my church tries but is inadequate to the task.  I know Republicans give more than Democrats and that is awesome but I believe most of that is given from plenty which diminishes the awesomeness somewhat.  The Democrats have always left me squeamish.  I am against abortion (which from my point of view also mandates being against Capital punishment). I believe in allowing Gays to have ALL legal rights accorded to the rest of us.  I think Ronald reagan handled it the “right” way and that we need to make everyone who is here today an American wholesale, ignore their braking of our laws and ackowledged the poverty and hopelessness that brought them here and ackowledge that they are making us a greater America, as every wave of immigrants has made us a greater America. We do need (I think) to secure our borders but I am NOT building a border fence along our 3500 mile border with Canada.  I do not understand why we have been unable to secure our southern borders and would like to have it explained to me.   I believe the wealthy should pay more taxes because no one benefits from our great countries systems more than them, they have proven it.  I will not work any less hard if I am being taxed at a marginally greater rate.  The very idea that people would do that seems asinine coming from a group that trumpets American exceptionalism.  The idea that these exceptional Americans are uncertain and afraid and are hoarding their cash does not sound very exceptional to me.

Anyway, you have probably stopped reading.  Sorry.   I voted for Obama.  I am not proud of the fact.  He disappointed me in that in his first term he had a mandate to call us to something greater but instead was the flip side of the same coin and it saddened me.  We march on now into a murky, difficult future.  Let’s do it boldly.  Let’s hope President Obama can be better and smarter. He is off to a bad start.  His first speech was not a hand being reached accross the aisle but a scolding “send me the bill I want, I have a pen”.  What a bunch of crap.  What a tone deaf message.  He is like a dog with a bone.  The Republican leadership needs to save face.  They deserve a chance to react rationally without being bullied and Obama is blowing it, AND he does not have a strong enough position to win.  

Let’s hope the Republican leadership realizes that if they can assist in a recovery, they can assume the mantle again in 2016 with a fine man who is not defined by traditional marriage, the right to life and illegal immigration.  George Bush ruined compassionate conservatism and that is a shame because ultimately empowering individuals to succeed is the most compassionate thing.  But if we cannot figure out how to do that, Jesus told us to take care of them if we can.  The government provides one way of doing that however imperfectly. Government is not inherently evil, only inherently stupid.  It can be fixed.

God’s peace and thanks for stirring my brain.  Sorry about the diatribe.  There is much to be said for being the loyal opposition.  The Republicans have lost that.  People like you have the power to bring it back and I would be happy to come back home to the party of Lincoln.  I pray for change but America remains the greatest country in the world and we are blessed beyond our comprehension.