Just the beginning...
So with all the votes finally tallied today, it looks like Democrats have something to celebrate. Not just for the victories scored in these elections, but for what it portends for Democrats in 2006. Let's face it, this is the first break of light in a much bigger morning. And if Republicans aren't shitting themselves right now, they damn well should be. The times they are-a changin'.
I won't beat the dead horse that the GOP have made for themselves. At least not today. But I will say this... the GOP has fundamentally mismanaged and overinterpreted prior elections, turning them into the flimsy "mandate" and "capital" they've squandered so frivolously. Here's to hoping it'll separate the core conservatives from the theocratic chaff. As I would much rather have a rational government of intelligent opposition than the polar idiots that have run things thus far. Kick the fundies to the curb, gentlemen. And get back to the business of government, not electioneering.
One thing that I found humorous about last night's elections though, other than the first thumps against the GOP in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine and California, is the kind of goofy fringe extremism on both sides of the political aisle.
I want to clarify anyone who isn't already aware... I am not a hardcore leftist. At least not in all issues. And in the case of last night, there's one referendum I don't support. I strongly disagree with the San Francisco Handgun Ban. For no greater reason (and I've had long devil advocacy arguments with gun-owning family members and friends about gun control issues such as this one) than the fact its constitutionality simply does not hold up. No liberal worth his salt can argue and defend the constitutional protections allowed to us and then attempt to argue as strict a gun control law as San Francisco's. It cannot be done with any intellectual integrity. The 2nd Amendment either exists in validity or it does not.
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." And so, just as Texas has overstepped its constitutional bounds (I'll address that in just a minute) so too has San Fran.
Now, as for Texas... that state's ban on gay marriage is again indicative of a knee-jerk kind of demagoguery, one that will not stand in the years to come and certainly not in the face of federal authority. The 14th Amendment is perfectly clear about this:
"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Two extremist positions. Neither of them constitutionally compatible.
But all in all, it's been a great resurrection of balance and rational government. Well worth celebrating from Democrats and much moping and second-guessing on the part of Republicans. And it's just the beginning.
I won't beat the dead horse that the GOP have made for themselves. At least not today. But I will say this... the GOP has fundamentally mismanaged and overinterpreted prior elections, turning them into the flimsy "mandate" and "capital" they've squandered so frivolously. Here's to hoping it'll separate the core conservatives from the theocratic chaff. As I would much rather have a rational government of intelligent opposition than the polar idiots that have run things thus far. Kick the fundies to the curb, gentlemen. And get back to the business of government, not electioneering.
One thing that I found humorous about last night's elections though, other than the first thumps against the GOP in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine and California, is the kind of goofy fringe extremism on both sides of the political aisle.
I want to clarify anyone who isn't already aware... I am not a hardcore leftist. At least not in all issues. And in the case of last night, there's one referendum I don't support. I strongly disagree with the San Francisco Handgun Ban. For no greater reason (and I've had long devil advocacy arguments with gun-owning family members and friends about gun control issues such as this one) than the fact its constitutionality simply does not hold up. No liberal worth his salt can argue and defend the constitutional protections allowed to us and then attempt to argue as strict a gun control law as San Francisco's. It cannot be done with any intellectual integrity. The 2nd Amendment either exists in validity or it does not.
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." And so, just as Texas has overstepped its constitutional bounds (I'll address that in just a minute) so too has San Fran.
Now, as for Texas... that state's ban on gay marriage is again indicative of a knee-jerk kind of demagoguery, one that will not stand in the years to come and certainly not in the face of federal authority. The 14th Amendment is perfectly clear about this:
"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Two extremist positions. Neither of them constitutionally compatible.
But all in all, it's been a great resurrection of balance and rational government. Well worth celebrating from Democrats and much moping and second-guessing on the part of Republicans. And it's just the beginning.
posted by the author at 1:13 PM
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