Unfettered Blather

I’ve been avoiding politics lately, it’s just gotten too ridiculous.

I never really followed primaries that closely until the Bush upset over McCain in 2000, and after that I payed close attention to the 2004 primary.

This primary season has got to be the wonkiest yet.

Enough stand-alone sentences. The meat and potatoes is that it looks like Obama is going to win, by the skin of his pearly whites. While I am perfectly happy with a McCain vs. Obama run-off in November, I can’t say that this looks good for Obama’s chances. Hillary Rodham-Clinton has been one of the most blatant bald-faced liars to ever campaign for president, she has been caught time and time again in one falsehood after another. She is the epitomy of a narcissist, often shedding tears while talking about herself. On top of that she has reversed positions on programs her husband endorsed, and I supported no less, she continues to push a healthcare plan that no one wanted in the 90’s, that no one wants today, and would prove to be a huge burden on the poor if implemented. Furthermore she has descended into muckraking the likes of which even most presidential hopefuls wouldn’t dare, her attitude towards the electorate is condescending, and she carries herself with an aura of arrogance and entitlement that would be expected of British nobility but is ghastly out of place in a country where we elect our own officials.

Obama is just barely beating that.

The problem is that in 2008, the Democratic party picked its rockstar and it’s celebrity as their frontrunners. Obama wasn’t chosen for his qualifications, those were determined after the fact. I don’t want to make it sound like the Republicans ran the best primary either, they had many candidates that had no business running who stayed long past their welcome as well. The Democrats ran their primary like they were electing their candidate for a High School Student Council President. In other words, this became a popularity contest. A popularity contest between, as I said, a rockstar and a celebrity. While what has happened is possibly one of the worst possible outcomes for them, it’s not entirely surprising either.

Unfortunately, if Obama wins that means they’ll learn nothing from it. For the Democratic party as a whole, they would be better off losing this election so they would have a chance to learn from it for 2012. Then again, I don’t think it would ultimately serve any purpose as the majority of our contemporary politicians, on both sides of the aisles, seem to be stubbornly refusing to learn anything. Thus I make the not so bold prediction that the 2010 election will once again boil down to which party has done the least amount of damage to itself. Gentlemen and ladies (I use those terms in the loosest sense), you can go ahead and start taking aim at your feet now.

In general I’ve done less and less political punditry. This is in spite of the fact that anytime I mark a post as “Politics” it is one of the more heavily read, though I typically get no responses.

My primary reason for not doing more political posts here is because I honestly believe there are enough pundits already covering the issue in more detail and doing so more eloquently than I. The flip-side of that same coin is that being unaffiliated I lack a certain “fire” that would ever make me popular as a political pundit. Let’s face it, unless you swing hard as a Democrat, Republican, Liberatarian, or something you’re not going to get a following as a pundit. Typically I don’t try to persuade, I’m just writing observations and letting you, the reader, make up your own mind. This is punditry at its worst, but then that is why I consider Glenn Reynolds to be a horrible pundit. Not that he won’t share his opinion, but he has a distinctive lack of throat-cramming when it comes to his opinion. Not by coincidence, that is why his site remains one of my most often checked.

While that is my primary reason, the other reason lately is because I am wholly disillusioned by the current election. My impression of the two major political parties has been a race for the bottom everytime. Let’s see who can implode the least and then we’ll elect that party into office. With the Internet spreading more awareness of political misbehavior, it is sometimes shocking to see what our politicians continue to do despite the fact that everyone is watching now. I can’t say too much about “losing faith in our leaders” because we elect them! The whole thing is so completely messed up with responsibility shared by all sides and yet no one wants to do anything about it that I’m just tired of the whole mess. I find it hard to comment a lot on politics these days because it is hard as hell to type anything coherent when you’re constantly rolling your eyes at the latest stupidity.

I like to watch politics like some people like sports. I like to armchair campaign and talk about what candidates and parties are doing right and wrong. This year? Everything is all messed up. Instead of a horse race we have something more akin to a demolition derby, with all the chaos that implies.

I believe politics are important, and I believe people should follow politics and understand what is going on with their government. I look at the current mess and I totally understand why some people don’t want to even know. If I had developed a new interest in politics this year of all years I’d probably duck back into the ignorant masses in a hurry. Hell, I’m not new to following politics and I’m sorely tempted to join the ignorant masses. Sometimes it really is better just not knowing.

With all that said, I simply cannot bring myself to write anything meaningful about the coming election right now. Maybe after the Democrats have their election and things finally get settled down I may dare poke my head up.

I’m starting to hate this election.

At this time, the combined totals of the remaining contenders is as follows -

Obama - 1610 Pledged delegates and superdelegates
Clinton - 1489 Pledged delegates and superdelegates

There are 693 delegates left.

Clinton needs 407 delegates for a tie. That’s 58% of the remaining count.

Possible? Sure. Likely? Not really. Clinton currently has 48% of the total count. She wants a do-over in Michigan and Florida, but I don’t see how it will help. She only “won” Michigan by being the only person on the ballot. Is this going to hurt the Democratic campaign? You betcha. It already has.

As an independent, I don’t really care if the Democrats sabotage themselves. I’m not invested in them in any way. That still doesn’t mean I like to see people who have quite a bit of power in this country do stupid things. Dragging this out isn’t doing them any good and it won’t help them in the election. Unfortunately, I see this continuing on until the last bitter primary and caucus is over.

Now that inevitable has happened and Mitt Romney has dropped out of the race for president, I can finally talk about one of the main problems that caused his demise.

The Mormon issue has received a lot of press and the discussion about the beliefs of those affiliated with the Latter Day Saints, especially in the early stages of the campaign. While many were cautious about his chances, some claimed the issue was not of particular importance. They were simply wrong.

My stance on Mormonism is one of practical indifference . I view it as simply another religious belief system in a wide and varied culture. I have a Mormon friend and I respect his views on a great many issues. Much like any person of faith, I view each person as an individual and if they seem to be making an effort to be a good and genuine person in their daily lives I can respect that. When elections come in to play, this simply isn’t enough to a mass audience.

Mitt Romney, as most Mormons are from personal experience, keep many of their more sacred and essential tenants of their faith secret. I have received many explanations for this but in the end this does nothing to remove the myth and stereotype associated with the faith and most Mormons don’t seem overly concerned by this. This is a big problem. How people view religion, for or against is one of the biggest aspect of their personality to those around them. It tells us where they view themselves, the world and what motivates many of their actions. Religion is incredibly powerful, it can motivate immense self-sacrifice and breed the most vicious hatred .

Mitt Romney’s approach was to “focus” on the similarities between Christians and Mormons and to blend their ethical/moral value systems together in an attempt to show the two parties aren’t very different from each other. None of this actually dispels or answers any of the questions and concerns people have, be it born of reason or urban legend. Romney redirected many of the comments. People know when they are being given indirect or coy answers.

It is time for the Mormon community to open itself up to public scrutiny and face the questions and criticisms every faith must bear. Faith is incredibly important to people in their public officials, and having one simply refuse to discuss or contextualize their belief system on a fundamental level is political suicide. What motivates your decisions? How are women seen in the Mormon faith? What about the issue of multiple wives? These are questions everyone has asked and have a right to know if someone is going to represent them. To be honest, many people don’t know the answers. I don’t belive Mitt Romney’s place was to educate the public on his faith or debate it’s fine points, but telling people that one of the most powerful and important driving forces in your life is not up for discussion is unacceptable.

People assume, usually the worst, but they also need to feel comfortable. There are lots of assumptions about the Catholic faith but people are comfortable with it due to time and exposure, something most have not received from Mormonism.

Public office is a life with no secrets, even more than the lives of celebrities. I am amazed politicians feel they can keep the details of their pasts, businesses deals and family matters a secret in a position that demands transparency. We are almost too demanding of transparency, valid or not however, this is the name of the game we are in.

Mormonism openly admits that aspects of their faith are off limits to outsiders and I noted some Mormon comentators were nervous abotu how far Romney would go in his revelations. How can one be trusted when they are told they aren’t allowed to understand their motives? That isn’t something people embrace. This is one thing for casual interactions, faith is personal, but once you ask that person to make laws and vote for you based on their value system you truly need to know if they reflect yours.

I believe many people are uneasy about Romney’s faith but due to the climate of acceptance we have in society, simply refused to voice their concern for fear of being labeled a bigot or insensitive. I have encountered many who scoffed at his attempts to sideline the issue.

Every faith must be tested by scrutiny in the public circle. Mormonism is too insular and this damages them in the public arena. If any belief system, religious or otherwise is to grow and flourish it has to cast aside such secrecy, show the debates it carries on internally and what it’s shared vision is for those around them. To use an extreme but logical example, we are living in a post Jim Jones era and this has become part of the cultural mindset when viewing religion. Transparency is no longer optional if you wish to take part in the shaping of your country.

Hillary Clinton has not won a primary or caucus since Super Tuesday.

Yippee!

She’s still in the fight, and that’s bad for her party.

Full disclaimer, I like McCain. I don’t love McCain, but I’d vote for him. I kind of feel the same way about Obama, but that’s actually irrelevant. The thing about McCain though is he has, for all intents and purposes, won the Republican nomination. He can start campaigning in earnest for the position of President instead of just president hopeful.

As long as the Dems continue this fight over the nomination, it hurts them. Right now, the Republicans don’t have a huge lead, certainly nothing insurmountable. If the Dems are still bickering into March, that’s going to hurt. Are they still going to be debating each other while the Republicans get on with the process of running for President? Seriously, this is maddness.

The problem is that Obama can’t stop fighting until Hillary does. He’s doing great, he’s got enough pledged delegates to overcome Hillary’s superdelegate lead, and he’s continuing to win states. The race is just close enough that he’s got to keep campaigning for the Democratic nod or risk having Hillary come from behind while he’s not looking. On the other hand, if Obama continues to campaign for the Democratic nomination, Hillary won’t be able to catch him. Texas alone has 193 delegates and I promise you this is not a Hillary friendly state. Forcing Obama to focus on defeating her costs him time and resources he could be using to run for president. She can’t win, but she could keep him from winning.

Unfortunately, I see a massive hissy fit in the works and it won’t be pretty. I can see her fighting just out of spite, because I think she truly believes she somehow her coat-tail ridin’ neopotism receiving name dropping two-faced self deserves to be president. Darn it, we owe her! So it doesn’t matter if she hurts her party and it doesn’t matter if she sinks Obama because at least she can take someone with her.

I hope I’m wrong, I really do. I hope she follows the examples of Bob Dole, John Kerry, and, more recently, Mitt Romney and go out with some class.