To The Metal

Continuing my tradition of commentary on the hot topics of days gone by…

I’ve read, reread, and yet again reread the comments made by Rep Todd Akin regarding the effects of rape on the human reproductive system.  Now as far as verbal diarrhea goes, this gaffe should have had him calling up Joe Biden for advice.

Can a “legitimate rape” shut down the human reproductive system?  With all my Googling, I haven’t been able to find a conclusive opinion either way – making such a blanket statement as he did – while stress has been proven to affect the ability to get pregnant – was one hell of a stretch to make during a very contentious election cycle.  Whether or not he could have stated it better, he (obviously) would have been better not making that point at all.

The bigger problem here in my opinion is the reaction of politicians (more specifically those in his own party) to the statements.  The fact that everyone right up to the top called for him to take a hike seemed like overkill to me.  That’s the thing with the Republicans though, big spending is OK… massive government expansion is OK… (if your party has the keys to the castle that is)… but say something off the cuff that either is or could be interpreted as completely daft… Everyone shuffles away from the person who said it like they just farted in an elevator.

Take a look at the contrast from the other side, Democrat politicians who say some equally ridiculous things are rallied behind… encouraged to stand their ground whether or not they’re repentant… the thought of stepping down is only echoed by right-wing radio hosts and pundits.

I think the reaction from the “right” was a massive over-reaction – you don’t hunt deer with a howitzer.  Did it weaken the party at a critical time?  Sure.  Did the over-reaction make that rift worse?  Absolutely.  I think the real fallout of this is yet to be seen…  Should this guy win the election in his state, the Republican establishment may have just created their own Joe Lieberman. Back when Lieberman expressed a strong national-security stance in the face of party-line Democrats, their reaction was to kick him out of the party in favor of another Democrat more likely stick to the party-line.  Lieberman fought back by changing to an Independent, ran against the DNC approved replacment, and soundly pimp-smacked the contender back to the chow line.  Now Lieberman is still a Liberal – but he’s a free agent.  His voters shouted loudly respect him even more for standing his ground when the rest of the establishment threw him under the bust.

Now as far as Akin, do I think he should have stepped down?

This is where my opinion diverges from the average wrapped in the flag of 13 stars Republican – I don’t think he should have stepped down, and that he was right to stick it out.  He could still win the election, and once that’s taken place – he’s a free agent.  Tea Party support or not, foot in mouth or not, he can’t be expected to blindly side with the establishment now.  They threw him under the bus just like the Democrats did with Lieberman.  The story will likely get shelved once the election has passed, and before the next it’s entirely likely that he’ll make an even bigger name for himself (as long as he avoids similar off-the-cuff statements).

Another angle to all this, and this is the part that makes me think this all could have been contrived from the start – is that the overreaction has put the annual abortion debate on the table for the mainstream media and the Statist candidates they support.  Now while not all pro-lifers are Republicans, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of Republicans are in fact pro life.  It’s a topic that they can approach with little hesitation, and its a topic they can easily use to put a few more holes into the election aspirations of their opponents from the left.

Take a fairly no-name candidate, get him to say something that’ll shift focus away from the whole “if we just convince people that Romney is insanely wealthy then they will overlook how bad we’ve screwed things up” angle of the Left, respond in a well calculated overreaction, and make the Left smell blood in the water…  By the time the Left zeroes in on the target, it’s too late to realize that Roy Scheider is laying in wait with an exploding scuba tank and hunting rifle.

Intentionally, or unintentionally, Akin’s statement and everything that followed put an issue on the table that the Republicans can easily knock out of the park while Akin fades into the background.

Was listening to the news on the radio this morning, and they played a clip of a recent stump speech by the President where he yet again called out his opponent in regard to disclosing more of his tax returns.

The President has no record to run on as far as most Americans are concerned.  Record debt, record deficit, record unemployment, an economy that requires the accounting department from Enron in order to appear healthy, a string of actions that serve to level the playing field between the United States and former victims of colonialism by eroding the hill behind our tarnished but still shining city.

Romney is wealthy and privileged, it’s no secret.  All that will be accomplished by releasing more returns is adding more fuel to the mainstream media’s fickle and meandering character assassination machine.  I’m absolutely certain that Obama’s campaign can find other things to attack him on, but generally speaking I can’t see too many attacks that won’t come off as inane if not hypocritical pandering.  One ad / interview with Obama even had him accuse Romney of not having what it takes to be president.  To be perfectly honest – I don’t see a single candidate on the horizon that does.  I see a lot of people with a lot of ideas – but nobody that screams to me “THAT IS THE ONE.”

I haven little doubt at this point that come November, America is going to massively reject another 4 year term for Obama… but I’m not sold on Romney OR Johnson yet.  Just because one of them will get my vote, in my head its just because I think they’re more capable of cutting the rate of how quickly this nation goes tits up than turning the tide.

Here’s the thing, when Obama was up and coming on a wave of media hype with very little mainstream media vetting (beyond the thrill Chris Matthews felt running up his leg) – and the best counter the Republicans could come up with was John McCain I knew we were absolutely fucked.

I was in the same boat as 99.9% of Americans who were either sick of Bush relentlessly spending in the name of Conservatism, the tireless expansion of government power during his tenure, or the endless vilification of the guy for everything BUT what he was actually doing wrong.  I wanted a break, a reprieve, and what I got was a well spoken community organizer with a questionable past whose leadership experience was about on par with Bush’s public speaking skills.

In the nearly 4 years since Bush left office, we’ve seen politics as usual when a ‘popular’ (read: Liberal) president is in office… Broken campaign promises, general malaise, high spending, high unemployment, vilification of anyone who is successful and not a party donor, and overwhelming class warfare meant to keep the general populace arguing with itself so much we completely ignore how screwed up things are.

When the new crop of candidates came up for the Republicans, my guy quickly got shot down (Herman Cain) by a media incapable of supporting a minority candidate that doesn’t walk in lock-step with their supported ideology and the remaining candidates really didn’t peak my interest much.  Sure, Ron Paul had some great ideas – but he just seemed a little too kooky for me and his unshakable hesitance and lack of direction on foreign policy in this day and age left me very weary of what could come about should he get the keys to the castle.

Eventually, Mitt Romney came to the forefront and got the nod.  In my mind, what he had going for him was his business prowess and decision making ability.  He knew how to make money, keep money, build business and most importantly – when to cut his losses.  The converse of this is that his state implemented socialized medicine.  Now keep in mind, I have no problem with a state – at the behest of its voters – implementing such a plan.  While the federal government IMHO has no business there, the states have the right to do so.

Once he was a lock, the big question on everyone’s mind was ‘who will he pick as a running mate?’  The answer we got after much vetting and rumors was Paul Ryan, a representative from Wisconsin.  Paired up with that choice was a flood of damned entertaining YouTube videos showing him going head to head with Obama, and caused the predicted Conservagasms amongst the voting public who are starving for real leadership and real recovery.

I’ll admit – I was quickly absorbed by the hype – but then I started to find out disturbing things about Ryan that had me weary that the next 4 years could bring us some marginal improvement but more ‘politics as usual.’  Ryan’s voting record (at least the portion that is getting the most attention right now) shows a party-line Republican who worked his way up the ranks by voting with the party and supporting decisions that were wholly detrimental to the Conservative movment…  TARP, bailouts, DHS, Patriot Act, etc…  Where was his passion for fiscal Conservatism in those decisions?  Where was his passion for smaller government in those decisions?

That string of votes easily groups him in with the class of Republicans that the Tea Party has been greatly successful in identifying and voting out of office… but they apparently are very supportive of Ryan and his being picked for the VP slot on the ticket.

Now I’m confused, and when I’m confused – much more research is needed.  Ryan is an establishment Republican just by looking at his voting record.  As far as I can tell, he has had a hand in many of the decisions which lead to our current debt and economic crisis – while much of the positive publicity he has gotten very recently is due to decidedly Conservative actions such as putting the screws to Obama over his healthcare plan.

Is he a flip flopper?  Did he see the tide of Conservatism taking root and decide to jump on the bandwagon for no more than self preservation?  That’s what it seems like to me, and it has me very weary – as I need to know that when it comes down to voting in a way that pushes forth the Conservative agenda, will he be a willing lapdog to his establishment ilk or a guide-post in the form of a pro-Conservative pit bull that will put ideas ahead of establishment, and the people ahead of the government?

All I know is that drastic change is needed, and recovery from the enormous mistakes made by those in Washington over the past 12 years needs to be swift and consistent.  I don’t need a moderate shill, or someone who is going to change tack under the slightest ripple, but someone who is going to declare all out war on every aspect of our government that is holding our nation back from the prosperity it is capable of achieving – a predator drone of Conservatism that will obliterate anything that threatens the freedoms guaranteed to us by our constitution without hesitation.

I’m cautiously optimistic here, but my eyes are open – and that the Tea Party – a group which I have supported – has so willingly accepted a man with such a questionable past makes me wonder whether i’m being handed my hat or a future where I can afford to buy my own.