They Just Won't Give Up

Despite the fact that Bush's approval rating is dropping faster than a cheerleader's panties on prom night; that the majority of Americans disagree with the Republicans' interference in the Schiavo case; and that their disgraceful grandstanding violates the principles of the party, turning a poor family's suffering into macabre political theater - many Republicans just will not give up this fight. And I say, keep twisting the knife.

Completely by surprise, this unfortunate situation actually presents the Democrats with a real opportunity to speak to Americans in a way that they've been unable to these past 4 years or so. And it isn't just a matter of finally being on the "winning" side of an issue, (and I say winning only in the sense that the Democrats have the position favored by most Americans - no one wins in this disgusting display), it's that the Republicans have finally shown their true colors.

People went along with their gay-hating, pandering platform in the last election because, hey - it's easy to hate gays if you don't know any. But everyone can relate to a family suffering through the agony of having to decide the fate of a loved one. And in this case, the religious right hijacked the Republican party to interfere with that family's decision making process. We liberals have been trying to explain to people that with the Ten Commandments and the anti-evolution and the anti-gay issues constantly coming to the forefront, that it's not the government's place to tell us which religious dogma should be mandated by the state. But the red-staters said, "But I like the Ten Commandments, I hate gays, and evolution is a load of hooey, so get your Hollywood liberal elitist garbage outta my house!"

Now we can say - hey, this is what we've been talking about. This is why we need to filibuster those judges. This is why we're opposed to religious artifacts on display in courthouses. It's a slippery slope. Sure, it's gays today, but tomorrow, they're telling you what to do with your dying grandma, and the day after that, Bush declares himself a saint sitting to the right of Jesus, like Caligula to Jove. Everyone has their individual rights, and those rights are antithetical to this Republican party. Red states, is this what you voted for?

Of course it isn't. It also makes me wonder what's in store for both parties in the future. The libertarians, who fit in nicely with the Republicans of the past, are more and more loudly questioning the direction of their party. Could it be that the Democrats are more in tune with their philosophies? Might the Republicans' uncomfortable partnership with the religious right become an influence so large that it forces a mass exodus from the Republican party, much like when the segregationist Dixiecrats gave up on the Dems back in the day and moved to the GOP? Will the Democrats become the small government, strong ethics, states rights populist party of tomorrow? Stay tuned...