Yes we can!
Or can we?
Obama's election seems like a fluke but it is a nightmare that won't soon end. I hold the belief that if the American people held up Axelrod, Soros, et al, to the light of scrutiny, they would not like what was scrutinized. These are chronically deceptive people. They will not put their cards on the table and their loyal press will not tip their hand. They are thugs. They are dangerous.
But I digress. New opposition to Obama will come from two sources: 1. The 2008 Stay At Homes. 2. The former Obama supporters. The 2008 Stay At Homes are being mobilized by tea parties, the 9/12 Project and so on. How reliable will they be in November? That remains to be seen.
Converting the Obots, the Kool Aid Kids, the Obotomicized, the trendies, the sheep and the born followers is a different matter. Yes, there will be buyer remorse. But those people who have the capacity for buyer remorse possess the capacity for political reason and are a minority of the electorate. That is not to say that Obama supporters are stupid (although Ziegler and Zogby proved that the stupid were overwhelmingly supportive of Obama)but rather that Obots form opinions based more on feeling than on thought.
People selected Obama with the same mental functions that select an "American Idol" contestant. That is not meant to be snide. It's simply to state that Obama ran a successful campaign based on image and not on content. If "American Idol" is too banal an example we can substitute Dale Earnhardt fans, Yankee fans or Elvis fans.
People cannot tell you in a rational manner why they loved #3. They just did. And they did not jump ship when Jeff Gordon hogged the Winner's Circle. They were loyal till death did them part and even more loyal thereafter.
What is frustrating, even depressing, for a lot of us is that we recognize that politics should not be just one more spectacle. There is content that transcends flash and dash and good looks. We are the proponents of content over style not just because we are less stylish, but because we recognize the dangers of anti-reason. Without reason as our anchor, our choices are entirely superficial, if not visceral. Politics becomes pornography. Cults of personality sprout like mold on last month's corn muffin.
Having voiced our love of reason and content and substance, we must now acknowledge that some people will never join in our conversation. They will chant "yes we can" and wear Obama t-shirts and call people racist and leave snide comments for all who oppose their messiah. But they will never participate in the exchange of ideas. Never. Can you say "bahhh?"
There is another segment of the Obama camp whom I would be hesitant to call sheep. Call them the pennant wavers. They support the Democrats come hell or high water. It's their team. Some people are born into the Notre Dame football cult but others convert because they like the brand name and the branding and the brand. So too, the Dems. All that matters to them is that their team wins. If they elect a leader who guides his country over a cliff they will scramble to blame the evil Republicans. Either they opposed him or sabotaged him or worse yet, he had to appease them. That is why we hit canyon floor with a thud.
I have said repeatedly that had George W. Bush been a Democrat and had he inflicted the exact same agenda on our country, he would have been heralded as the best president ever. The massive entitlements and spending in health care and education, the finishing off of the Hussein Regime(an ongoing criticism of his father's legacy by numerous Dems, Al Gore included)and his eight year tribute to Lord Keynes would have won him endless praise had he played for the blue team.
We won't convert the sheep but then again, do we really want them on our side? We have won over some pennant wavers. Berg, Schoen and Caddell come to mind. But most of them would rather lose with Carter or Mondale or Dukakis. Go team!
But there is a segment of the Kool Aid Cult that we can reach. They might have fallen for the hype the first time but have grown wiser with the passing of time. 2008 might have been their first rodeo. There is hope for them.
But how do we deprogram them? Gently. Gently and delicately.
Instructions to follow.
