The YOU Tube Republican Debate

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.
-Herman Melville

This quote by Melville sums up what bothers me about listening to Republicans with their attitude of "I've got mine, to Hell with you." Last night's YOU Tube debate on CNN was enlightening if not intellectually stimulating. It brought out into the open the fear they have of anything that is different from their world view. Romney actually said that he wanted prisoners taken directly to Guantanamo where they would face our G.I.s and the CIA without legal protections. In other words, he wants them tortured. When pressed on the torture question, he waffled so much that he landed squarely on the side of torture. Here's a man claiming deep religious values, who believes the Bible is the word of God, and he wants other human beings subjected to the most horrible experiences one can imagine. Does he really believe this or is he trying to get the votes of those gun nuts who came on the screen?

Then there's Duncan Hunter. What world is he living in? He described a scenario where most young men and women in the military come from Conservative families with Judeo-Christian values who sit around the kitchen table participating in the decision for their son or daughter to join the military. He doesn't believe we should force these fine young men and women to serve with gays. Thank goodness he doesn't have a chance in Hell of getting the nomination. He's still back in the days of Ozzie and Harriet. Somebody tell him that Ozzie and Harriet never existed. They were made up by Hollywood. It may be the way he wants the world to be, but that's not the way it is.

Except for his position on the war, John McCain is the only one who has a shred of decency about him when it comes to how we should treat people who are not like us. He is the only one who unequivocally comes out against torture. Interestingly enough, he's also the only one who has been tortured. I wouldn't vote for him, but in my opinion, he's the only "real man" on the stage. While all the others are strutting around flexing their flabby muscles and pumping testosterone, he's taking a reasonable and moral stand on this issue. He's right - we're better than that.

And, then there's the questions from the YOU tube people. As Seinfeld says, who are these people? Some of them were downright creepy. Most of them seemed like caricatures of Bush supporters. Lots of gun nuts showing off their guns - the kind of people who have bumper stickers about prying their cold dead hands off their guns. The wild-eyed guy with the Bible was really scary, demanding to know if they believed EVERY word in the Bible. And, the guy with the confederate flag in his room - what rock did they find him under? If these people represent a large portion of our population, I'm beginning to understand how Bush got into office.

As I listen to both parties debate, the differences become clear. There seem to be two dominant threads that run through the conversations. The Democrats are talking about how to bring people together and include everyone in the process. The Republicans are talking about how to build fences, keep people out and marginalize those who don't fit their Ozzie and Harriet view of the world.