Slow learners

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — [pauses] - shame on you. Fool me — I can't get fooled again." --George W. Bush, 17 September 2002

California Sarahnade [Peter Robinson]

Gov. Palin spoke in Buringame this very afternoon. From an eyewitness:

What caused genuine applause? Well, one line, in particular: near the end of her twenty-minute speech, Sarah Palin told the audience that out on the hustings one comment from supporters has dominated, in frequency, all others: tell people about the real Barack Obama. She said this quietly, without drama. But: thunder, hoots, an ovation.

Cheers for negative campaigning and subsequent pats on the back among its pundits.....this is what Goldwater's party has been reduced to.

And it's working so well!







Please realize, I go on at length about the troubles with the Bush administration and the McCain-Palin farce of a campaign because I want the Republican party to fix itself.

It seems the neocons and fundies are trying to dig themselves out of their own grave by digging harder even as the country's demographics shift in favor of the Democratic Party. Demographically speaking, it's going to be harder for Republicans to win on their current platform in '12, and it's going to be even harder in '16. Were I a Democrat, I'd be popping corks and laughing. But as a small-"l" libertarian who wants both parties to govern responsibly and keep each other in check, it's difficult to overstate my disappointment. For the immediate future it's good that the left is winning, as for the moment they are on the right side of history. But Republicans are continuing to alienate themselves in a way that's going to be fundamentally bad for America over the next two decades. This is what distresses me.

I want to have the option of voting Republican again. Before Bush, they were better-aligned with libertarian ideals. But so long as people like Bush and Palin are their standard-bearers, it's inconceivable.

I was fooled once in 2000 when I endorsed Bush, whom I was mildly pleased with before the terror obsession, inexcusable cronyism, and the contempt for transparency, reasoned discourse, and world opinion became evident.

I won't be fooled by the same skit twice.