Broken Thumb Blog

The following is the letter I sent to friends and family after McCain's win in Florida.

Dearfriendsandfamily.doc

When facing the prospect of war, I prefer that the President of the United States and the Senate choose such a course only after much consideration, deliberation, and soul-searching. I would prefer the cost in national blood and treasure be weighed against the dire consequences of all possible outcomes. I would likewise prefer that all alternatives be subjected to equal degrees of due diligence.

George W. Bush was obviously not capable of these things. He decided on war, groped about for a justification, and ignored any possible outcome which did not involve laurel wreaths and rose petals.

Now Senator McCain has declared that there will be other wars. It was a guarantee he euphemistically passed on as more of his signature "straight talk."

Until now, I have only viewed McCain as simply a nuisance within the GOP--buzzing about, interjecting his self-righteous opposition on issue after issue, and pursuing a self-serving "bi-partishanship." But now, I recognize that he is a dangerous little war-monger. So eager is he to avenge the hurts of Vietnam--to the nation and its veterans--that he is incapable of evaluating the future course in Iraq (and the our future course in the world) with a judicious eye. He is inclined to pursue national security threats, no matter how remote, with a vigor that will make W look Fonda-esque.

Add to that his self-professed ignorance on the economy and you end up with a much WORSE version of Bush. How exactly does he intend to balance the budget, provide tax cuts, and wage wars without end? There will be guns, but no butter.

I very much intend to vote for anyone but McCain, and that includes Hillary Clinton, in November should this bellicose little man become the Republican nominee.

I never thought I'd find myself so happy to hear Bill Clinton prattle on. However, during this last week his big mouth has obviously begun to hurt the Democratic Party. He's quickly undoing all the goodwill he built during his eight years in the White House and in the eight years since he left. It's ironic that by turning the "identity politics" of his party against itself in support of his wife Bill is very likely ruining the party they'll need to mobilize against the GOP. One could almost say he's burning the village it takes to raise the candidate.

By employing a Southern Strategy all his own he's undermining his wife's ability to rely on the magic of the Clinton legacy. Any successes Hillary could otherwise claim as the hallmark of the Clinton Administration will be forced into stark contrast with the blatant way she and Bill waged their dirty fight to win the nomination.

Interestingly, the same sort of thing was happening in the Democratic Party about the time that Bill and Hillary became politically aware and active. In 1968, the candidacy of George Wallace destroyed the hopes of Hubert Humphrey and led to the Nixon presidency. Those who are interested in that bit of history should start with the Wikipedia article on Wallace.

I'm fairly certain Hillary sill is more favored for the nomination than is Barack, but she will be the standard-bearer of a ragtag bunch of demoralized Democrats. Her nomination itself will highlight that the party of the left is just as rife with establishmentarian overhang as is the Republican Party, and it will show that the all-consuming lust for power is the most bi-partisan force in American politics.

This is just fine with me. A hamstrung Hillary will have even more difficulty trouncing any Republican nominee in the Fall. A hamstrung Democratic Party will have difficulty claiming a grand mandate in Congressional races and may not gain the super majority it hopes for.

On a final note, my last post (lo those many months ago) was off the mark. I'm a little surprised that the Obama candidacy continues to have legs. I do however stand by my even earlier post on the nature of his candidacy. I still think it's sound and fury.