And in doing so, he helps those of us who recognize corrupt, vicious and stupid right-wing freaks when they see ’em feel a little less alone:
There are trigger issues in which the GOP no longer reflects the thinking of mainstream Americans of either party. In Tuesday’s charade as the House put the Tea Party debt legislation to a vote, what we saw was an example of the kind of coalition voting common in Europe, where separate parties arrive at an agreement to govern. There are now essentially three parties in Congress: Democrats, Republicans, and the Tea Party. Reasonable Republicans with a sense of the possible do not subscribe to the Tea Party’s implacable ideology, but they feel they must deal with it to placate its zealots. They are essentially in a coalition with a third party.
The whole article is here.
Here’s why I like it.
I read about Canadian politics and American politics, and I read about the never-ending ugliness in both, and I despise it because I want to live in a nice country but we keep electing these right-wing jerks*. Over and over. Behind their tough-talk tax-cutting, science-slandering, union-pummeling, budget slashing, program-axing, arts-maligning, faux-Christian demagoguery, too many politicians are doing less and less for regular people and rationalizing more and more bullshit about how we need to do everything the elite business class wants (see tax cuts, above).
It’s been going on since Reagan, and it’s ridiculous, and I’m sick of it. But I feel like I’m living in an Emperor’s New Clothes reality where there’s no open, widespread public acknowledgement of just how shitty our business class-run politicians often act (just to be clear: I’m talking about the Wall Street gangs and the Enrons and petro-thugs, not your favourite, local small business owner.)
And then, hallelujah! Roger Ebert’s piece calmly and confidently points out just how out-of-touch the U.S. Republicans — the flagship party of our current radical-right-wing era, and a meaner, dumber and more powerfully devolved version of Stephen Harper’s team — are with most regular people.
It’s… hopeful. I liked it.
And more importantly, it’s a good, smart read. Enjoy.
*Yes, I’m still boggled and bitter that the Conservatives, Canada’s own Republicans and the party that stands for homophobia, unregistered gun ownership, arts censorship, daycare program cancelling, prison-building and global -warming denial can pull in 40 per cent of (an admittedly low-turn-out) vote. Their supporters are misguided and naughty.
