* Bumped Up *
Why do so many Republicans continue to throw mud at Mitt Romney, especially this close to the election? This is a majorly-big deal!
What is wrong with these people? That’s what I want to know! They make me mad as hell! I just want to smack them!
In truth, I already know the answer. Those super-conservative Republicans, as well as conservative pundits who are worried about their reputations AFTER the election (should Romney lose), just plain don’t want Romney to win. They don’t want the “moderate” Romney to be the standard bearer of the Republican Party. They’d rather let Obama run his course and bring in one of their own, who will surely walk to a win in 2016. That is the simple truth of the matter. Think about it, and I’m sure you’ll arrive at the same conclusion. If not, you must be drunk.
But how could they betray their own party? How could they allow the country to suffer through four more years of Obama? Are they sadists? Well, yes, as a matter of fact!
How could they want Romney to lose? It’s a political version of “ethnic cleansing.”
They are looking at the long game of “purifying” the Republican party, finishing their purge of moderates so the true conservatives will be in charge. Look at it this way: If the moderate Romney is president (and God forbid reelected!), he will steer the Republican Party towards the moderate middle, which (in their opinions) smudges the line between Democrats and Republicans. They never EVER want to hear the Republicans and Democrats agreeing on any of their wedge issues. The words they dread the most are “I agree with my worthy opponent.” They want an absolute contrast between the parties, no shades of gray. And NO, that is not a racist statement against gray people! I have many friends who are gray, and I think it makes them look quite distinguished!
You know why partisans hate moderates? Because they are inclined to change their positions if they are persuaded by logical arguments. They can’t depended upon to toe the party line. That’s why there is a position in the US Senate called the “whip,” who is the second-in-command to the floor leader. The job of the “whip” is to whip all the members of their party into submission, to persuade them, by force of the lash if necessary, to vote the way the party leader wants them to. OK, I exaggerate a little about the force. They don’t actually flay the hides of dissenters. They just tell them “you’re on my list,” meaning they will face a strong challenger, backed by the party, in the next primary. Some would probably prefer the lash.
Technically, USA politics consists of two major political parties. Sure, we have many “third” parties, and they can tip elections in very close races, although that is rarely their goal. Mostly, they just want their positions to be heard by as many people as possible, just like bloggers and other sociopaths.
In reality, there are four major parties at work in the US (maybe more, depending on how you break it down). Each of the major parties has factions within it that are similar in their political beliefs, but different enough that they are constantly at war with each other within their own parties. It used to be that there were SIX major parties — liberal, moderate, and conservative factions within each of the two major parties. But the fringes have been driven out of both parties over the last couple of decades, so now it’s down to four. And the surviving moderates are still under attack by the super-partisans in each party who want a true two-party system: Communists and Fascists.
Actually, there are still moderates, but the conservatives have been purged from the Democratic Party and the liberals cast out of the Republican Party, so the moderates are now the fringe of their parties. Moderate Republicans are considered liberals and moderate Democrats are considered RACISTS!
I’ve always been an independent moderate in politics because I’m always willing to listen to both sides of issues. This ensures that I am an informed voter who is not blindly voting for my party out of loyalty or habit. I weigh the issues, examine the candidates, and make a logical choice. This in turn ensures that I am both courted and vilified by both parties. I occupy “the mushy middle,” which partisans consider to be the most ignorant of all voters, unable to decide anything and probably an uneducated boob who can’t be trusted to operate heavy machinery or cross the street without an escort.
Yes, partisans absolutely HATE moderates and independents. They can’t understand how we could be so STUPID as to not see how RIGHT they are and how WRONG their opponents are! “What is wrong with us?” they ask! I bet they just want to SMACK us!
