Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Bravo, Rick Santorum

There. I said it. Philadelphia Senator Rick Santorum has done A Good Thing. And we (take your pick: liberals, atheists, smarty-pantses) ought to applaud him for it.

Santorum is, make no mistake, a douchebag. But we should not be so blinded by his douchebaggery that we fail to see positive moves and, as good behavioralists, reward them.

Right now, the liberal blogosphere (notably, Americablog, via Buzzflash) is going nuts hammering Santorum for hypocrisy or flip-flopping, or whatever, after he's renounced his support for the Dover, PA, school board and the various sham groups that backed its attempt to inject creationism into American classrooms.

I understand the reaction. There's blood in the water. Start chewing. And there's something to be said for the take-no-prisoners approach, for the idea that it's better, in some respects, to have our opponents assume their most radical form, that Americans might more easily recognize them for what they are.

But this isn't just a philosophical battle. It's not a game. This is an ongoing, real, practical battle being waged every day for control of our schools, our towns and our country. Real people pay the price every day. Students are having their educations -- i.e., their framework for understanding the entire world -- short-changed every day due to religious zealotry. We should therefore, I think, not penalize those of our enemies who see the light on particular issues. We should praise them. We should reward and defend them. Or else, we make conversion to our positions a no-win proposition.

And besides, as we've seen from how Republicans embrace Sen. Joe Lieberman, there doesn't have to be a realpolitik down-side in doing this, either, even on a strictly strategic level. Have Republicans lost anything by rewarding Lieberman for his adoption of their military tenets? No. If anything, they've used the opportunity to build bridges and make inroads. They look non-partisan, plus they get to use Lieberman, and their embrace of him, to appeal to fence-sitting voters. Democrats shouldn't be pouncing on Santorum. They should be pounding on his voters.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

All I can say is, please please please please make Hillary Clinton your candidate for president. Oh, please. Please please please. I'm so DYING to see you liberals lose AGAIN, and then have to live with a Republican in the White House for another 8 years. Oh, please pick Hillary. Please.

P.S. Please pick Hillary.

Anonymous said...

They don't need Hillary in order to lose, she'd just make it easy. So far as I can tell we won't have another Democrat president ever. I'm of the opinion that some third party will come to power and supercede the Democrats and they'll go the way of the Whigs. If you can think of a Democrat who might conceivably capture the general public imagination again... ever... please, let us know.

Anonymous said...

<< They don't need Hillary in order to lose, she'd just make it easy. >>

True. I loved watching the Democrats this past year, hoping and praying for tragedy and failure in Iraq, just so they could say "I told you so!" about Bush -- and somehow regain power in Washington. Didn't happen, did it, losers? You're going to lose again in 2006 and 2008. Republicans will keep winning, and you sad little whiny liberals will be even more sad and whiny. More blogs from them which I LOVE! I must say, it's great being on the "right" side and reading blogs like this, so desperate to "show people" how dumb Bush is, and how wrong republicans are. Well, keep on blogging, and we'll keep on winning and running the country. LOL

Anonymous said...

Oh please keep being a moral and mental midget wallowing in the false sense of security that republicans become eternally entitled to when one hand snatches that campaign contribution and the other hand scratches the requisite back. Can you make Barbara Bush the queen mother to the nation so she can teach you to raise your children to become breast-biting vipers when they grow up? Barbara Bush is the mother of all mothers and most responsible for the smirking armor George, Neil, and Jeb wear. They will never go to prison, shed a genuine tear, or have to work a day in the real world. But the real world will always know what true idiots they are. These guys aren't good enough to wait tables, much less govern the golden-gated communities where royal america lives. Please, please, oh please let the administration get lawyered-up with republican lawyers that can get richer defending kindred clients breathing the rarified air that must smell refreshingly minty inside the right wing bubble inhabited by only those good enough to get in as long as the legal bills get paid.

Anonymous said...

<< Oh please keep being a moral and mental midget >>

Hmmm. So, I'm a "mental midget"... and I assume you feel that way about the other "idiots" who agree with my points of view.

Interesting.

Well, if I (and those like me) are "mental midgets," please explain... how is it we're smart enough to continually outmaneuver you and your ilk so successfully?

Let's see... last time I looked, my guys owned the House... ummm... and the Senate... ummm.... and the Presidency. Oh, ummm... and the Supreme Court seems to be going in our direction quite nicely, as well.

Meanwhile, your tards can't seem to get jack shit done (have you noticed?). And your pathetic attempts to manufacture scandals keep failing (have you noticed?).

I'll just leave you with this to think about: if I were playing chess against someone, and that guy kept KICKING MY ASS CONSISTENTLY... I'm not sure I'd run around talking about how "stupid" he was. Because, see, if he's CONSISTENTLY KICKING MY ASS... and he's "stupid"... umm... what would that make me?

Ya follow? Catchin' on, are ya?

LOL

Love,
One Of The Mental Midgets That Keeps Kicking Your Ass

P.S. See ya in 2006.. and 2008. ;)

Anonymous said...

How is it in the best interest of our country to perceive that government is for sale? How is it good for our country that people believe that U.S. Senators and Congressman are bought and sold? Who benefits when indictments are handed down, and hearings are held in the 2nd. terms of Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and Bush? It makes perfect sense for Tom Delay to demand that k-street lobbyists [17,000] be registered republicans. Why bribe twice when one-stop shopping in a one party world is much cheaper and more efficient. If it takes fund-raising of the magnitude of $10,000 a day per day in the term served, how is it possible to have a meaningful voice in one's government without a $1,000 dollar donation clipped to the ballot? Even casinos have nickel slots for the poorest suckers looking for something for nothing. As much fun as it has been proven hating people you don't know is, and I admit, I had fun hating you this morning, this process is not a chess game, nascar race, or to be won in overtime with a field goal. Truth doesn't care whose mouth it comes out of and the truth about the pay for play tactics of Delay, the lies about the justifications for invading Iraq, insider trading, and the outright ridiculous idea that your pals deserve jobs just because they are in the frat white mafia are the ugly events that make up a rising tide of trouble for Bush. I guarantee you that in the next election there will be an ad showing George flying over New Orleans with that bemused look on his face after Hurricane Katrina struck. The next shot in this attack opus will be the speech he gave in rolled-up shirt sleeves promising to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It isn't going to happen. Americans know they have been lied to, and the christian right will resent it the most. They may not say bad things about him in public, but a lot of hearts have been broken, and in the privacy of the voting booth, they will vote their conscience.

Anonymous said...

p.s. in addition, I find it revealing that you fucked up wing nuts get your chrome-polished feelings hurt when your intelligence is insulted but have no response when your honor, morals or integrity are pissed upon. That must come from cheating within the rules and knowing how much it takes to buy your soul.

Anonymous said...

Republicans are better than Democrats (and conservatives are better than liberals) which is why we keep winning. HA HA!

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