Political Confusion

Hey Hey, Ho Ho; Roe v. Wade has Got to Go

For the record, I agree with you about Roe. This decision created the worst sort of judicial purgatory. Which, ironically, is where aborted babies go when they die.

But really, what options do you have if you no longer buy into the sanctity of the political process? I am sincerely terrified of the Constitution's potential inability to withstand an assault from fundamentalist "Christianity".

Yet Roe doesn't present a fully unresolvable case of cognitive dissonance quite the same way Brown did. With Brown, the legislative process was doomed to fail for decades to come and the judiciary was the only feasible remedy. Thus the proper question here cannot, by definition, be whether or not a certain quantity of what the hysterical right has dubbed "judicial activism" is a morally good thing. I mean, what is the democratic process worth when it perpetuates a blatant evil? And why on earth is the only functional remedy for the grossest injustice in American history the idea on trial here?

Abuse of state power, that's why. And it's a damn good why, most of the time. It's certainly not a power I'd cede willingly to our contemporary Order of Apollo, run by the deceptively congenial Dr. Dobson. This question--and its theological cousin, the appropriate tolerance for inter-temporal flexibility in defining "sin"--is the lynchpin of most modern political tension. The third party that makes tangible progress in squaring this circle will permanently alter the philosophical landscape of the country as much as the Republicans did in 1860.

posted by Gabe @ 6:10 PM 0 comments

Bush's Mussolini Moment?

While I appreciate your willingness to call "moonbat" on my bullshit, the Unitary Executive Theory is not about whether or not the Secretary of the Interior has the right to carve out an independent fiefdom within the executive branch. In the current political climate it's about one thing and only one thing: dictatorial powers. It's the brainchild of freeper Trotskyites, and they are explicit in their support of an unconstrained President. A toast to monarchy, plain and simple.

A week ago I thought that, if George Bush beat up an old woman up on national television, the believers would have jumped through hoops making excuses. After Portgate I'm not so sure. To be honest, I sort of doubt this congressional outrage is anything more than a racist play to peoples' worst instincts. This sort of herd justice usually produces good arguments for an enlightened monarchy. In a deliberative system, shitty hysterical solutions--like the mindlessly cruel drug war and the profoundly unneccesary PATRIOT Act--are nearly impossible to undo once they've been put in place.

But I'm not entirely sure I do support handing over control of our ports to an oil-rich Arab sultanite either. So instead of taking sides I'm just going to enjoy watching the GOP finally--finally--start to cannabalize this inexcusable administration. The Bushies set this xeno-mongering tone, and their manufactured outrage is hopelessly transparent. People needed to believe that some things were not for sale with this crowd. People were wrong.

posted by Gabe @ 11:34 PM 0 comments