black contestants on Survivor are at a disadvantage because "blacks can't swim."
Oddly enough, my dentist for years in Iowa was A-A, and an NCAA record holder, in, ta-da, swimming. It's not as Rush would want it, a racial deal, but largely a money deal, as swimming pools are pretty much (well, outside of Cali) an upper middle class deal. They could say the same thing about A-A and golf except that little Tiger Wood's thing gets in the way.
Ideas, lots of them anyway, come with 'use by' dates just like milk. And many are useful for a time, then, as the problems they were designed to solve go away (or, don't go away) the ideas and ideals drift to the wayside also.
The 'pubs have had a long run at government and in the end, made a complete and utter hash of it. Perhaps that was inevitable that in the end the Democrats were so bad (think Dukacus, Kerry, Gore - all of whom ran almost text book bad campaigns) ANY 'pub could win, and any 'pub did - and what we got was junior in the presidential equalivilent of Tommy Boy, where the tagline was: If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards. .
But as the idea and ideals can take credit for the solution, the problems add up that the old notions can't solve, or in fact, created.
When the thought first came up, I'm sure it - as almost all really, really, incredibly stupid ideas are - . . . seemed like a good idea at the time, to arm the Taliban and people like Osama. In the long run, of course it seems like a less than perfect solution, one that created more problems then it solved. But do not be quick to dismiss the original thought, that doing so would greatly reduce Soviet power. Because it did. Matter of fact, the fiasco in Afghanistan for the USSR was instrumental in the collapse of the system as a whole. (Note: that that we learned anything from that either.)
Likewise, the economic solutions ran their course. Social ideas came and went - and may in fact have stuck. It occurs to me of late when looking at election results (always something to be done at leisure in order to get any real message from them) that the long drum-beat mantra of 'family values' might have worked, and it worked to put the Obama family - as opposed to the McCain, or even worse, Palin family in the White House. On paper, the guy with the strong marriage (the only one for both of them) with the two cute kids, and taking grandmother along to care for them was a stronger family values deal then either the (Grandfather himself) McCain or (Grandmother herself) Palin families could muster.
And, if you're like me (and I'll assume your not) it's a laugh riot to think that the people who raised the mantra of 'family values' ended up on the losing side when people actually thought about it. Obama and Biden were both in their actual lives much more pro family values than the 'pubs. I live for humor like that. It's like the monkey who was beaten in order to get coconuts killing the guy who did it by heaving a big coconut down on the guys head while it was up in the tree. Karma.
But for sure, the 'pubs are on the run. They don't hold a single Congressional seat in New England anymore. Not one. And the Senators they have up there are almost liberal dems anyway and much hates as RINOS (* FreeRepublic/LuciannDotCom speak for Republican In Name Only types they blame for the current state of affairs).
They are losing power and states, Virgina went blue, Carolina is tilting, the Rocky Mountain States are tired of the super Christian view. And, like when all things begin to disintegrate all sorts of creepies start coming out of the woodwork, like the current crop of people in the 'pub party advocating for Ayn Rand. You know you're getting out there then, when you have people in the Republican Party of the United States advocating for a work stoppage. Ah yes, the leaders of industry go Gault, at least the ones who aren't under indictment.
The 'pubs are getting creamed in Cali. Even with Arnold - who hasn't been any more effective then the guy we through out, but he is more colorful, I'll give him that - they don't hold that many seats. And they are about to get caught up in another problem, which is there is going to be another ballot measure (we love 'em, we do) to undo the previous ballot measure that made gay marriage lileagal again. Thus, the next election - an off year one that has much smaller numbers of people voting in it - is going to be dominated by this huge social question that everyone is real tired of, wants to go away, and has pretty much got to the point that they don't care anymore.
I'm sure that the pro/anti8 people (yes, its confusing) will not make the same mistakes they made last time, which was pretty much thinking they had it in the bag, and they threw themselves a lot of premature victory parties. They are going to raise a ->-bleeped-<-load of money, and target it all in LA. Which is what has to be done to win. But, it ties the 'pubs down to being forced to argue that (again) and its not what people are caring about these days.
But, this is what the 'pubs are left with I think.
*The Social Conservatives/Religious Right types - The Sara Palin/Mike Huckabee people. Limbaugh never really cared much about the social issues, this is much more Glen Beck/Mike Savage stuff, i.e. real psychopaths.
*The business types who have always thought of it as 'their' party anyway - Romney - der mitter, and others - they own the media for the most part, but they are boring, and not doing very well of late.
*The rightwing fringe nutjobs - Yes, Ron Paul, and Rush too, I'm a calling you out now. This is the economic revolution, overturn the New Deal, lets go back to the 18th Century stuff.
And those three groups are duking it out right now. In calling down Limbaugh I think Obama did well, I don't think he's the leader except for his own faction, and people sure do hate him.
