From The Specific To The General
January 20th, 2008 at 11:30 am by BrianAfter last night’s suffocating returns from Gamecocksucker Land, I was left wondering – is it me?
Have I gone so far to the right that a strong borders stalwart like John McCain, or a humble and pious man of the faith like Malachai Hucklesneeze are planting flags in Kossified Centralia? I returned to the Political Compass to see if I could get my bearings straight:
If McLame, Hucklesneeze, Mittens Big Love, and Transgiuliani are too far to the Left of a Renegade Centrist like me – just how many votes can they really pull from Democrats?
Given this baleful primary season, I don’t see any of the bridges burnt over the last few months being rebuilt before the general. The only entertainment to come from the next six months will be the Bought & Paid For Semi-Pro Right Blogosphere making excuses for the records of the candidates placing the requisite ad dollars in their sidebars.
Whatever they do, don’t allow these glib Finger Whores to call themselves conservatives.
January 20th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I’m pretty sure I’ll be staying home election day, as there will be no one to vote for. Fred08 damn it!
January 20th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Swampy, where the HELL have you been?
January 20th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
That quiz is not the most unbiased. It has leading questions and too many false dichotomies, although it’s hard to find a quiz that doesn’t.
For instance, the globalization question about “corporations benefitting,” as if we don’t all benefit.
So I would guess that you actually got more to the center than you should have.
Try this test: http://www.moral-politics.com/
January 20th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
The explanations that Facebook test give are fairly leading too. Surprise! 61% of Facebookers respondents are more socialist than me. I would have guessed 100% of them considering my experiences with everyone’s favorite social networking site for techno-commies.
I was still in the same spot x-axis wise but it should be safe to say that neither of these tests are comprehensive.
If anybody has a more in-depth one, I’ll be glad to take a swing at it.
January 20th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hey Nigel,, I’ve been having trouble with the home computer (fixed now) and as fate would have it, those commie bastards I work for have (gasp) blocked the buffet! I’ll be poping in after hrs from time to time.
January 20th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Americans done lost their marbles, baby. Gonna lose a lot more before it’s over.
January 20th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I hate to sound weepy, but is this really the final lament of the conservative movement?
Would anyone support, say, ME, in a run for President?
January 20th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I don’t think so. It’s a defeat for the idea people/active base by the people who are only enamored with having power.
Having said that, I don’t want to move in the direction that The Kommisar went as I’d be ashamed of myself to have leftwing sites approving of anything I say.
Sometimes you have to play “Chicken” and for the foreseeable future I’m ready to let our locomotive disagreement with the direction of this election season barrel down the tracks towards theirs at full speed to see who blinks first.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:39 am
I don’t have time (yet) to expand on this thought, but let’s face it…the American electorate is a misinformed one. We now get our political info from 30 second soundbytes, guest appearances on light night talk shows and whatever we can gather from political commercials before we get sick and turn them off.
This is my only explanation for the Huckabee surge. I’m positive a third to half of the people who voted for him have no freakin’ clue what he stands for, but boy wasn’t he likeable on the John Stewart/Jay Leno shows?
The mistake Fred Thompson made was in trying to be Statesman-like instead of getting into the game when everyone else did. I would have loved dearly to have been a Thompson supporter…however I never took his candidacy seriously because he didn’t seem to be (until it was too late). Fred Thompson doesn’t want to play politics…he wants to serve his country.
Unfortunately, you can’t win elections that way anymore.
January 21st, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I’m coming from the opposite end of the spectrum, I guess.
When I see people like John Edwards, who has been running for President for 9 years straight or McCain who has been watering his primary seeds in New Hampshire and South Carolina since the 2000 Republican primary – I am not seeing “serious” people by how I define serious.
I’m seeing avarice and lust for power. The ultimate ego gratification.
By this standard, George Washington should have never been President because he *didn’t want it* enough.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 am
Brian I am not saying that isn’t the way it should be…all I am sayin’ is that it just isn’t that way anymore.
This is not a slam on Thompson. I think he trusted the American people to hear his message and be inspired by it. Unfortunately, unless he can convey that message in 30 seconds or less, Americans are now more inspired by Sanjaya…
I was at a MLK basketball event all day yesterday so I haven’t had time to peruse the news (heck, I get the MOST important news analysis here at 6 Meat Buffet!)…but the night time talker at KFI said Thompson was withdrawing today. Minus Thompson and Hunter, the GOP does not have a traditional conservative left in this race…