Well Here We Are...

I am a big tilter at windmills.  I will fight for a cause I believe in up to and beyond the point of reasonableness.  But I also know when I'm beat and accept it (even if I keep on swinging).  And....I'm beginning to feel defeated in the current election.  Now admittedly, I'm not a big John McCain fan, so this isn't a huge disappointment, but it is a disappointment still.  So, in the interest of keeping spirits as high as possible, I decided to share my reasoning on why Obama's seemingly imminent election may not be the total disaster we are all thinking.

1.  Conservatism needs a booster shot. The thing that folks fail (in my humble opinion) to understand about George Bush, and his father before him is that they are not conservatives in the conventional sense.  We have had a huge growth of entitlements unde GBII.  This is not conservatism, and has led to a huge budget defecit.  The funny thing to me, is that althought the public is incensed by the defecit, they are willing to elect a guy who will only make it worse. A booster is a small dose of the disease that rejuvinates the immune system.  Perhaps a couple of years of a democratic administration will remind folks of why we don't need them in office.  It has really been 28 years since we had a true liberal in the White House, and it has taken this long for the public to get this close to electing another one.  A booster shot may buy us a Republican congress and presidency in 2012.

2.  There is a limit to the damage he can do.  Granted, with a democratic congress for his first two years, especially with 60 votes in the Senate, he can do a lot of damage.  But the most long term damage would come from Supreme Court appointments.  The oldest member of the Court is Stevens at 88, the member in the worst health is Ginsberg.  Both of these are unabashed liberals.  Scalia is the oldest of the conservative block at 72, I think he can hang on for another 4 years.  So...the worst thing that is likely to happen there is that we lose a liberal justice or two and replace them with different liberal judges.  No net shift in the court.

3.  Maybe we'll get a real candidate next time.  One of my favorite pieces of scripture is Rev 3:15-16, paraphrasing, "if you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth".  This is the problem with conservative candidates.  Since Reagan, we have not had a candidate who was willing to stand up and say..."I'm a conservative, this is what I believe, if you don't like it...vote for the other guy"  I truly believe that that candidate, with credentials, can get elected.  My feeling with McCain is exactly what I felt with Dole in 96...it was his turn so let him have it, even if it means we are going to lose. 

We may still pull this out, and I'll be out there pulling the lever to do my part, but I'm not going to slit my wrists if we lose...just got to hunker down, take the crap storm that is coming and wait for the next round.

Just my .02 worth