You can disagree with Obama's politics. But he's a honorable, Christian man with NO personal skeletons in his closet. Supposedly, those are things that Republicans value...good ol' "Conservative values". The GOP race is showing what Republicans REALLY value, however.
As the title of my blog hints at…I’m about as cynical as they come. There’s a good reason for that. I’m a scientist…I look at the empirical evidence, and base my opinions on the actual evidence. There is already AMPLE evidence as to how incredibly selfish, short-sighted, ignorant, and greedy people are. It’s not as if my cynical views really NEED daily affirmation, but…the Republican presidential race certainly provides me plenty of fodder for reinforcing my views.
Really, South Carolina? Really, GOP? Newt Gingrich is who you consider to be the best and the brightest the GOP has to offer? The man is exposed as a complete scumbag…and the GOP response is to give the man standing ovations for it? For him to actually SKYROCKET in the polls, and win the state primary? My god, Republicans are even stupider than I thought. It also exposes Republicans as being complete frauds…and reinforces my cynacism.
The hypocrisy of Republicans is just incredible. How incredibly hateful has the GOP been to Bill Clinton over the years? How much of Rush Limbaugh’s radio show time over the years was devoted to bashing Clinton’s behavior while in office? How much of NEWT GINGRICH’s time back then was spent bashing Clinton’s behavior? This, despite the fact that Gingrich was having an affair with a Congressional aide at the very same time he was trying to impeach Clinton…for his affair.
Republican hypocrisy is NOT just an issue with politicians like Gingrich, or talking-heads like Limbaugh. No, the hypocrisy extends ALL the way through the Republican voting base. How many Republicans call themselves “social conservatives”, and supposedly base their vote on those views? The complete OUTRAGE over Clinton’s affairs? Justified! Even to me! Clinton WAS a womanizer who NEEDED to be called on his behavior. And GOP politicians, talking heads, and the electorate ALL very vociferously and publicly called him out on his behavior. But then, when Bush was elected, the GOP electorate forgave Bush’s past indiscretions, and embraced him as a ‘Christian’, a man with “Republican values”.
Then along came Barack Obama. A life-long Christian. A man who has had ZERO personal skeletons in his closet. An honest man who has had ZERO personal scandals while holding the office of president. You can disagree with his politics, but Obama is a fine human being, one that we can be sure won’t embarrass us while in office. But, for Republicans, that’s not enough. They had to try to MAKE UP personal issues in his past…saying he’s really a Muslim (as if that would matter?!??!)…saying he’s not an American citizen. The biggest “sin” Obama has ever made was being born black, but obviously that’s not something (most) Republicans can come right out and SAY is their biggest personal issue with him.
What this GOP race is showing is that what cynical folks like myself have known all along. MORALITY, HONOR, conservative “VALUES“?? THEY…DO…NOT…MEAN…ANYTHING to most of the GOP. It all SOUNDS good. Republicans talk a good talk. But as I’ve said before, and what is PAINFULLY obvious from this GOP race…it’s all just talk.
Republicans don’t care about any of that. When it comes right down to it, they just care about their own personal self-interest, about their own greedy desires, their own personal biases and demons…just like seemingly 90% of the human race. Voting for Newt Gingrich? A man with SO many personal AND political skeletons in his closet that from a personal perspective, he’s better identified as a what Republicans would call a “godless liberal” than a “conservative Christian”? Nobody should really be surprised. As I started this post with, it’s just more fodder to stoke my cynicism.
Ask Marianne Gingrich who “won” last night! Happy not to have to make those choices. I have my candidate tagged and bagged. Very interesting and revealing essay about the scariness of Tar sand oil processes in Canada in Slate mag. Worth a read. It alleges because of Canadian Prime Minister Harper’s insistence on dragging pipeline sideways thru Alberta to Vancouver, if he has to, the Keystone XL Pipeline here is only d/c’d as long as Obama remains our President, as there are plenty of greedy legislators and developers just waiting to “dig in”. Harper has ordered his country’s name removed from Kyoto Protocol ledger, protecting environment, 1sr nation to do that–even has China going,”Wow!” Romney & Gingrich fully support the reinstatement of Keystone, full-bore! No stinking consequences where there is oil to raise and money to be made. A lonely tanker truck driver in PA, yesterday, transported clean, fresh water to small towns there, because the fracking going on has completely tranformed their water supply into undrinkable mess, full of chemicals and metals. It’s happening in many states.