Random Musings... Or are they?

Normally I like to use this blog as a way to get the demons flowing before I turn to my dissertation. I also like to put some common thread through whatever random thoughts I might have. Well, I am not writing today (bit of a block at the moment) and I can't think of anything that strings together all the things that are annoying me.

First off, Foley. Who gives a shit? I noted quite a while back that this was not going to be the moment Democrats wanted it to be. And recent polls show that to be somewhat true. Most people don't rank this as 'high' on their priority list. Moreover, I take the line that the Nation took recently. The age of consent in DC is 16 so this was not technically illegal but likely stems from our failure to acknowledge that sometimes our 'children' do act and think sexually (gasp). Moreover, a lot of this was chatting with teenagers who could easily have ignored the dirty ol perv. The cover up or at least gross negligence on the part of the GOP leadership is, however, a different matter. That alone would be nothing but it fell in line with the general belief growing in America that these guys are just too corrupt.

Unfortunately, and this may be my second point, is that those wack job evangelicals are turning Foley's homosexuality and the page scandal into a gay baiting witch hunt. I have no love for Republicans let alone gay ones who should really be fiscally conservative Democrats, but suggesting that Rep Kolbe (the only 'out' gay Republican in the House- and retiring) had improper relations with boys while out on camping trips is too much. I also don't care too much about what the former 'number two man' at the Office of Faith Based Initiatives in the White House said on 60 Minutes last Sunday. So the Republicans used the evangelicals to get into power. Are we surprised or disgusted? Hell, I give them kudos for convincing these yahoos that they finally had power all the while dragging their feet on evangelical friendly issues cracking jokes about them along the way.

Here's another piece of random crap. Polls seem to confirm that the Democrats are looking pretty good to take back the House and Senate. Yeah. I congratulate them. But I can't help but think that these guys are only getting into power because the Republicans have screwed up so bad. They have no real platform on Iraq, they talk about 'affordable' health care but fail to recognise that a market based approach will never cover everyone (or at least not very well), they pander to economic populism but will likely do nothing about trade, and so on and so forth. In short, the GOP is corrupt as hell. No doubt about it. But the Democrats are getting in because our electoral system encourages only two parties so when the Republicans go the other party naturally must take its place.

There are, of course, Democrats I like. And I will likely vote Democratic. I honestly do like the sound of Senator Klobuchar (she made Kennedy look like a chump on Meet the Press) and I do like Ellison, though I can't vote for him. But Hatch is only getting my vote because I truly cannot stand Pawlenty. (Thank god he rarely stays at the governor's house down the road so I don't need to pinch my nose more often). But on the national level I don't care for the crop of Dems laid out. Most are reformed Republicans or Democrats who look and smell like Republicans (Webb, anyone?).

So these are my musings today.