From the polls, I'm wondering if this magazine should be targeted at progressives, instead of Sarah Palin. We seem to be eager to quit when things get tough (and unlike Palin, we're not getting millions of dollars a year out of it).
Far-right Republicans look to do great in November, not because they've convinced so many people that they're right, but because they plan to vote. After eight years of George W. Bush, how could they be fired up? I don't know, but they are.
Think about it. At the end of 2008, the GOP was in a shamble. The worst presidential administration in U.S. history had left the nation nearly bankrupt, economically and morally. Republicans were busy trying to blame each other for their disastrous election results, as they kicked the last few moderates out of their party. Pundits were openly wondering if the party could even survive.
Less than two years later, they're riding high, forecast to take the House of Representatives in November, and quite possibly the Senate, too. They've stopped the Democrats in their tracks. And they haven't changed their policies one bit! For the most part, they've got the same old ideas they pushed - with disastrous result - throughout the Bush years. The only difference is that they're even more extreme now than they were then.
These people may not be very smart, but they're not quitters. Contrast that with progressives. The main reason Republicans look to do so very well next month is because Democrats plan to stay home.
We're discouraged at how difficult governing has been. We're disappointed in Barack Obama for not standing up and leading this country in a new direction, as he promised (though he also promised to work for bipartisanship and compromise with the GOP, and he has tried). We're unhappy with spineless Democratic congressmen, so inept at governing and politics that they lie down for the right-wing time and time again, congressmen whose election strategy is to hide under the bed until it's over. And we're disgusted with our fellow countrymen, who seem to get even dumber, even more cowardly, and even more bigoted as time goes by.
And so we plan to... quit. Oh, it's too hard. Oh, what's the use? Oh, I'm just too tired to get off the couch. In less than two years, the right-wing went from near annihilation to exuberantly expecting complete victory in the years ahead. Are they the quitters, then? Maybe we should look in the mirror on that.
The main reason November is looking so bleak is that Democrats plan to stay home. Progressives haven't gotten everything they wanted, so they plan to sit on their couches and sulk. Other Democrats just can't be bothered to vote. Oh, it's too hard. Oh, I'm just too busy. Oh, what's the use?
Hey, there is no valid excuse for not voting. Forget about the "weak excuses." This is your country and you have a duty to vote, no matter what. Yeah, the right-wing may be complete lunatics, but they don't give up. I think this issue of "Quitter's World" needs to be redesigned. Maybe your picture should be on the cover?
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