Introspection? Naw, I'll Just Hurl Insults!

With the loss of the election on Tuesday many Democrats are starting to ask themselves: "What went wrong?" They've lost the Presidency 5 out of the last 7 elections and they're steadily losing seats in both houses of Congress. Slate has run a series of articles from different Democrats discussing just that point.

Of interest is an article written by Jane Smiley, an author of many novels and essays. Smiley seems to throw introspection right out the window in favor of sheer, brute insults at the Americans that voted for George W. Bush.

The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not....

The reason the Democrats have lost five of the last seven presidential elections is simple: A generation ago, the big capitalists, who have no morals, as we know, decided to make use of the religious right in their class war against the middle class and against the regulations that were protecting those whom they considered to be their rightful prey, workers and consumers. The architects of this strategy knew perfectly well that they were exploiting, among other unsavory qualities, a long American habit of virulent racism, but they did it anyway, and we see the outcome now, Cheney is the capitalist arm and Bush is the religious arm. They know no boundaries or rules. They are predatory and resentful, amoral, avaricious, and arrogant. Lots of Americans like and admire them because lots of Americans, even those who don't share those same qualities, don't know which end is up. Can the Democrats appeal to such voters? Do they want to? The Republicans have sold their souls for power. Must everyone?

Could it be that Democrats are losing touch with the majority of Americans? No. Could their nuanced positions and weak stance on protecting America be wrong for America? No. Could the Democrats be doing anything wrong whatsoever? Of course not! According to Smiley, There is one simple reason that George W. Bush won the election. Americans are sniveling ignorant morons who can't tie their shoes but can be manipulated into voting for Republicans.

Jane Smiley is revealing more as to why the Democrats are losing than she thinks. Democrats think that the majority of people can't take care of themselves and therefore take it upon themselves to take care of them. Democrats don't trust people to make the right decisions. They can't conceive that Conservatives believe in what they do because of rational reasoning and thought. They can't fathom that people don't want to be taken care of and think (erroneously, of course) that they can take care of themselves. They feel they are smarter and superior to the masses. This is the reason they are losing power and they will continue to lose power until they come down off of their high horses and see eye to eye with the rest of America.

Until they can start looking inward and change themselves instead of trying to change us, they'll just have to get used to the title: "Minority Party".

LINKS

Powerline