When Animals Eat Their Young

When Animals Eat Their Young

Ever since I was a young child, I’ve had a perverse fascination with insects and animals that ate their own kind. What, I wondered, could drive a living creature to devour its own kith and kin? Sheer desperation, I hoped. Whatever the reason, it seemed such a sad practice to me.

Strange now how I gloat watching the Republican Party tearing itself apart in the course of the current presidential campaign.

Remember the “flip flop” charges so successfully leveled against Democrat John Kerry in 2004? Who could’ve predicted that same charge would come back to bite the current crop of Republican presidential candidates in the butt? Such great irony! Having so successfully raised ‘policy change’ to the level of heresy in 2004 (to use as a club against Kerry), the Republicans in 2008 have put themselves into a rhetorical straitjacket, wherein no allowance can be made by their own candidates for altered circumstances over time or the maturation of thought. Woe to the Republican candidate who, having announced a particular stand on a policy matter early in their career, amends it later for whatever reason! In today’s Republican Party, rigidity of thought and inflexibility of opinion are held up as desirable qualities.

Therefore, in 2008 we’re treated to the spectacle of Republican presidential candidates bickering like children in their debates, accusing each other of having said or done something two decades earlier, only to change their minds later. “Flip floppers,” one and all, and any explanatory context be damned!

A good example of this phenomenon concerns Mike Huckabee. Huckabee, while Governor of Arkansas, was compelled by court order to raise revenues to properly fund his state’s public schools. “You raised taxes!,” the rest of the field cries at every debate, as they ready the pitchforks and torches. Never mind that Huckabee has a well-demonstrated philosophical distaste for tax increases, or that Huckabee raised taxes in Arkansas only to comply with a court order and avoid breaking the law… all of which Huckabee has labored valiantly to explain. Poor man. He should have learned by now that the actual circumstances don’t matter. Objective reality counts for nothing. Change means “flip flopping,” end of story.

1984 has arrived finally in 2008. And having entered into their neo-Orwellian universe, the Republicans will likely continue to help set up their party’s eventual nominee for defeat in November by ferreting out and publicizing “inconsistencies” in each other’s political record.

I don’t know about you, but I’m taking notes. And I’ve already gone out and bought myself a cheap pair of sandals to wave at rallies should the eventual Republican presidential nominee come to town. Waffle breakfast, anyone?

Peace!
Historian

Bravo for Iowans!

Bravo for Iowans!

January 3rd was a great day for Iowans and the nation! We witnessed a record turnout at both the Democratic and Republican caucuses. At my Sioux City precinct, a show of hands disclosed dozens of first time Democratic caucus-goers. Moreover, despite the unusually large number of candidates vying for supporters, the caucus experience proved a spirited yet friendly event. It was exciting and gratifying to watch Iowans so enthusiastically embrace their civic duty by taking an active role in their own governance … the very definition of democracy! And let’s not forget the great press Iowa received, or the huge economic impact campaign spending has on our economy.

Unfortunately, the Sioux City Journal reminded us in a story the next day that many shirked their responsibility, as well. I can’t really fault those who had to work that evening, or had family responsibilities that couldn’t be rescheduled. However, couldn’t bowling night have been postponed just once out of respect for a momentous, once-every-four-years, life-changing event like the Iowa Caucus? I was especially troubled by the East High math and history teachers (brothers, no less) who failed to recognize their weighty position as role models for future voters; who, rather than simply decline to be interviewed, demonstrated poor judgment by joking and publicly bragging about skipping the caucus. Do they really believe their salaries and working conditions unaffected by politics?

Thankfully, tens of thousands of Iowans were responsible and took time out of their busy schedules to fulfill their civic responsibility. Kudos to them!

Peace!
Historian