I live with a committed Republican, so I can see the politics up front, so to speak. But I can’t stomach the party any more — especially after the local Republicans made it very clear to my husband that they didn’t want any moderates (like him) helping. He’d made the mistake of trying to get women and minorities to run as Republican candidates in local elections.
But usually, I don’t think about politics, so it was hard for me to verbalize this recent antagonism to the Republican party. Fortunately, it’s not so difficult for others…
Nov 29, 2003: Why moderates can’t vote Republican any more
Via Atrios, we find this excellent essay by David Neiwert about his personal evolution from a moderate who often voted a split ticket into a straight-ticket Democrat.
He writes about how two watershed moments in the past few years — the Florida recount in the 2000 election and President Bush’s response to the attacks of September 11 — proved to him once and for all that voting for Republicans was simply not possible. According to Neiwert, Republicans have destroyed the possibility of simple civil discourse in politics:
How is any kind of normative political discourse possible in this environment? How is it possible to be civil to people who constantly are placing you under assault? How can there be dialogue when the normative rules of give and take and fair play have not only been flushed down the drain, but chopped into bits and swept out with the tide? Do the advocates of civility place any onus on the nonstop verbal abuse, and absolutely ruthless, win-at-all-costs politics emanating from the conservative quadrant? And do they really expect liberals to refuse to defend themselves, when even doing so gets them accused of further incivility?
I’ll believe conservatives are serious about civil, adult dialogue when they step back and give liberals some breathing room. When "civil" conservatives seriously confront the violent and vicious rhetoric coming from their own quarters; when they do away with suggesting that their political opponents are somehow disloyal Americans; and when they finally acknowledge that people’s concerns about the legitimacy of the process by which Bush obtained office are not only well grounded but driven more by patriotic feeling than partisan rancor — then, perhaps, they can expect to start seeing some civility in return.
It’s a long read, but it just doesn’t get any better than this. And be sure to pass this along to your friends; you can use the "Email to a Friend" link below.
white pebble 