One of the most fundamental differences between Democrats and Republicans is cohesion. The Democrats don’t always stick together, thus weakening their clout. I think this generally reflects the more nuanced stances they take; that’s what happens when people invest a little thought into reality. The Republicans, on the other hand, tend to be more mindless. They don’t deviate from The Plan. This greatly reflects how ideological they are. Really, just take a look at the reactions the party had after it was killed in ’06 and ’08: it wanted to get rid of all the RINOs and people willing to compromise. It looks like that worked, at least in the short term, so kudos to them for having a successful, even if abhorrent, political strategy.
So I don’t think we’re going to see another John McCain sort of candidate in 2012, one that emphasizes being a maverick. Granted, McCain was (and is) pretty slimey in his overt moves to the far right, contradicting much of his career, but he just couldn’t appeal to the pale white, suburban base of the Republican party enough. A Huckabee has a better chance because of his pretty generic anti-all-things-good Republican positions. Though I’m not making any sort of specific prediction right now, it is clear that anyone with nuance is unlikely to be successful in the GOP any time soon. (Think about it: How many Democrats cross the aisle all the time, voting for generally conservative positions? How many Republicans do the inverse? I can name two, and they’re both from my state.)
Filed under: Misc | Tagged: Nuance, Thought of the day | 1 Comment »
For the Sake of Science 