Pick One

"In a recent Zogby poll, 59 percent of respondents described themselves as 'fiscally conservative and socially liberal.'"
Kathleen Parker

I don't know if the Zogby poll is accurate or not, but I have been hearing quite a bit recently about a growing sector of the population that is in favor of fiscal restraint and small government, and frankly, doesn't give a damn about what other people do in their bedrooms. While I've heard such people described as "socially progressive," I think that "socially apathetic but turned off by invariably hypocritical social reactionaries" is likely a more apt description. Interestingly enough, this points to a certain disconnect between social and fiscal policy that the political establishment is trying to work their way around, without actually acknowledging. The disconnect always struck me as a huge one within the Republican party, where social conservatives tended to look for blatantly statist solutions to the "moral failings" of their peers. On the other hand, the Democrats, while they are socially liberal, sometimes to a fault, seem to have never seen a spending plan they didn't like.

It seems to be that whichever party reorganizes to fit the new demographic the best could be in for a long and productive majority.

Oh, Grow Up

A vandal has been going around Western Washington University, slashing the tires and keying the paint of cars Obama-Biden or anti Bush stickers on them. Only slightly more mature were the reactions in comments section of the story, mainly marked by flames and trolling. It's getting to the point where about the only people who seem to have taken what happened with good grace (rather than wallowing in being sore losers or petty winners) are those who didn't much care about the outcome either way.

Change You Can... Apply For?

The transition team for President-Elect Obama has a web site, www.change.gov. Nothing out of the ordinary, but an acquaintance directed my attention to the jobs page, in which you may apply to be a political appointee within the Obama-Biden administration. Or so it says. Somehow, I seriously doubt that any position that requires a Senate confirmation hearing is going to be offered to a complete unknown whose only tie to the Obama administration is through a website where they submitted their résumé. If there are any jobs on Earth where getting the nod is more about who you know than anything else, they've got to be political appointees.

I know that President-Elect Obama has promised a new culture in Washington, but this, I'm not buying. (But I'm tempted to apply anyway, to see if I can learn the real reason behind this process.)

The Lesson

"I would think twice about going to a door that we don't know who lives behind."

This is the takeaway that Sumter County Councilman Charles Edens got from the shooting death of 12 year old T.J. Darrisaw on Halloween night? No wonder I didn't get any Trick-or-Treaters at my apartment.

But I would think that the lesson we should learn from this is that paranoid ex-convicts shouldn't be allowed to own firearms. Quentin Patrick, a 22 year old ex-convict, fired more than two dozen rounds "through his front door, walls and windows" after hearing two children knocking on his door. On Halloween.

I've never been a supporter of the Nanny-state solution to violence that says people shouldn't be allowed to own anything remotely dangerous because they might suddenly snap, and go on a multiple-murder spree, but convicts with possible mental disorders (a man who claimed he was Patrick's brother said he believed Patrick was suffering from post-traumatic stress) are something of an exception to my general rule of "let's wait until someone's shown themselves irresponsible before we take the decision out of their hands."

Electoral Lessons

I was over at John McGuinness' weblog, and found a link to "Things I’ve Learned This Election," on Vox Nova, a Catholic weblog. John makes a good point, in that it smacks of more non-productive complaining about how terrible Republicans are - kind of like the people who launch partisan flames in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Sound Off pages by referring to the parties as Repugnicans and Democraps.

"Things I’ve Learned" is an interesting post, but, honestly, overdone. It's all much simpler, and sadly, bi-partisan.

For a vocal segment (which may or may not be a majority) of the population:

1. Their political stances stem from emotional attachments to positions that make them feel better about themselves and the world around them. They tend to see policies and initiatives they support as being an unmitigated Good for everyone.
2. They actively, if unconsciously and unintentionally, edit their perception of the world around them, so that they perceive said political stances as objective, fact based and self-evident rather than emotionally comforting.
3. They are convinced enough of their own sophistication that they believe themselves to be immune to being played for cynical political purposes.
4. Understanding their politics to be obvious, they refuse to see those who disagree as intelligently, thoughtfully and rationally having come to a different conclusion as to the way forward; instead they see them as stupid, and therefore easily mislead by some cynical and evil mastermind, or as intentionally evil, themselves.
5. They are apt to understand publicized flaws in people that they support as being overblown, while seeing flaws in the opposition as being the tip of the iceberg, and indicative of much greater problems.