This is an awesome quote, btw.

As for the other stuff, I am currently reading a book called “What’s the Matter with Kansas”, which tells the tale of how Kansas went from being a hot bed of socialism (yup) to a hot bed of conservatism extremism. It’s a fascinating read, if you are interested.

If not, here is a summary: “It’s a class war”.

Here is a wikipedia summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_the_Matter_with_Kansas

When I watched the VP debate, I saw a politician versus a talking head, and I was wondering how it got to that point, when exactly human beings were removed from the equation. It’s common knowledge that Palin is out of her element, and the reaction has been to make that the key story, instead of anything substantive the “real” candidates are trying to say.

I keep complaining that the current administration has been manipulating the ignorant for over the past decade, without realizing that I’ve been just as manipulated. I’ve been vilifying “the Republicans” and reducing them to stereotypes almost as gleefully as Michael Moore does. Now, when I try to sincerely figure out why a person would vote Republican, I can’t — is it just over abortion, or the economy? Have the parties really managed to make flag-burning or gay marriage into election-defining issues instead of the side issues they should be? Or are people voting strictly on partly lines and not for candidates, exactly the same way I voted for Kerry simply because he was not Bush?

I’m trying to be sympathetic, and not falling for some “blue state idiot” stereotype that I’m supposed to believe actually exists. I can only come to the conclusion that the GOP has betrayed them, giving them media manipulation and talking heads instead of substance.

And then I realize that the media has manipulated my ignorance just as much — I’m supposed to feel guilty or stupid that I’m not as up to date with names and places as the pundits seem to be. But isn’t that their job? To keep on top of everything and fill me in on what’s relevant? Really, I shouldn’t be embarrassed I can’t name the Secretary of the Treasury off the top of my head, unless Wolf Blitzer should be embarrassed he can’t name the lead scientist at Black Mesa.

But instead, all we hear is that somebody either can’t pronounce or willingly mispronounces “nuclear,” or mistakes the name of the US General in charge of our forces in Afghanistan, or may or may not have correctly used the term for Bosnian Muslims. Seriously: who the hell cares?

I realize it’s easier to discredit someone for being stupid or ill-informed than it is to treat them like an adult with differing opinions, but it seems to me like that is where all the action is. Because as much as we like to believe that “agree to disagree” is the end of a conversation, it’s not: some people’s “differing opinions” are just plain evil, and there’ve been some seriously horrible infringements on civil liberties and assaults on the Constitution going down.

And the GOP is saying, “There we go, looking backwards again instead of looking forwards,” trying to absolve themselves of any accountability. And everyone’s response is, “Well, that’s a well-stated and even-tempered stance that will do well in the polls. Instead of paying attention to how absolutely abhorrent that is, let’s see if we can make fun of how they don’t read newspapers or get a name wrong or mispronounce a word.”

I think the other lesson is: if you’re annoyed by sound-bites, don’t get your election coverage from Twitter.

I thought many conservatives used reason and logic to explore their positions and that partisan disagreements primarily emerged from a different set of assumptions: Conservatives believe in smaller government, therefore X, Y, Z. Liberals believe in greater government, therefore A, B, C. The X, Y, Z’s and A, B, C’s were different for the different parties, but most agreed that facts mattered, within the admittedly squishy realm of political discourse.

But these last 8 years, wtf. I have been speechless. I haven’t been speechless the way one might be speechless as he listens to the brilliant orations of some super genius at a Stanford Continuing Education talk. I have been speechless the way one might be speechless when he walks into the laundry room and sees his child sitting in the cat’s litter box, building a log cabin with cat turds.

The Republicans aren’t conservatives. They are Dadaists. And I think the country has finally realized that toilets aren’t art after all.