you take a little break....
...and Fallujah goes down, Anna Nicole Smith goes nuts, and the Democrats choose a Mormon as the Senate minority leader.
It's nice that Fallujah is cleaned out, but I doubt it is the big boost to us or the new Iraqi gov that some people were saying it would be. On the other hand, I don't see that it becomes the big recruitment boom that others think it'll become. If we saw that the resistance was broadbased, with old men, little kids, and women blowing themselves up as well, then yes, Fallujah's going to be a problem. However, look at the pictures coming out of there. Gruesome and horrible, but aside from children hurt in the bombing do you see anything more than angry young men? Even Al Sadr was what, 31? Young, unattached men are not exactly the right people to start a popular revolution with.
Ok. So the Democrats stick a Mormon in the Senate as minority leader. I don't think anyone would disagree in calling this a new tack. I mean, seriously, Mormons are absolutely the most powerful fundamentalist Christian group in the US. Now, whether this is a good idea remains to be seen. First, consider that the Mormon, though they probably have the greatest ideological purity of all America's Christian groups, are not exactly mainstream. It may have been a better idea to choose a dedicated Baptist or Catholic; Baptists dominate the South, a strong Catholic would be an outreach for the Hispanics who went to Bush this year.
There's also the problem of whether the people the Democrats want to appeal to will see this as anything more than pandering. This might not last, after all. A month or two from now, when the pundits are done looking over the election, the left might regret putting someone like Reid in power.
Finally, suppose it does work. A substantial part of Bush's electorate sees that they can vote for people who both support their religion and their 'blessed are the poor' values. However, a party can only manage so many competing ideas. What if, in the process of pulling in the Middle Christians the Democrats alienate the far right of the party? If the Demo's are successful enough in this attempt, the left of the left, the people who drive the Democrats, might not like the changing values. We could see a new split, maybe Nader could finally pull in some votes.
And thanks for the tip goes to a great article by the Decembrist.
It's nice that Fallujah is cleaned out, but I doubt it is the big boost to us or the new Iraqi gov that some people were saying it would be. On the other hand, I don't see that it becomes the big recruitment boom that others think it'll become. If we saw that the resistance was broadbased, with old men, little kids, and women blowing themselves up as well, then yes, Fallujah's going to be a problem. However, look at the pictures coming out of there. Gruesome and horrible, but aside from children hurt in the bombing do you see anything more than angry young men? Even Al Sadr was what, 31? Young, unattached men are not exactly the right people to start a popular revolution with.
Ok. So the Democrats stick a Mormon in the Senate as minority leader. I don't think anyone would disagree in calling this a new tack. I mean, seriously, Mormons are absolutely the most powerful fundamentalist Christian group in the US. Now, whether this is a good idea remains to be seen. First, consider that the Mormon, though they probably have the greatest ideological purity of all America's Christian groups, are not exactly mainstream. It may have been a better idea to choose a dedicated Baptist or Catholic; Baptists dominate the South, a strong Catholic would be an outreach for the Hispanics who went to Bush this year.
There's also the problem of whether the people the Democrats want to appeal to will see this as anything more than pandering. This might not last, after all. A month or two from now, when the pundits are done looking over the election, the left might regret putting someone like Reid in power.
Finally, suppose it does work. A substantial part of Bush's electorate sees that they can vote for people who both support their religion and their 'blessed are the poor' values. However, a party can only manage so many competing ideas. What if, in the process of pulling in the Middle Christians the Democrats alienate the far right of the party? If the Demo's are successful enough in this attempt, the left of the left, the people who drive the Democrats, might not like the changing values. We could see a new split, maybe Nader could finally pull in some votes.
And thanks for the tip goes to a great article by the Decembrist.
<< Home