My thoughts on elections

Now that I’ve gotten over the shock of seeing a Republican win in Massachusetts, here’s my basic position on this election, and the upcoming midterms:

The Republican Party, to be quite honest, scares the hell out of me. The party’s positions on torture and preemptive war border on fascism, and I don’t mean that as hyperbole (and don’t even get me started on Catholics who try to defend those positions). Its base has become ever more radical, and its leaders and candidates (including Scott Brown) openly court such fringe elements as the blatantly racist “birthers.” On economic issues, they, with no apparent sense of irony, attempt to convince Americans that the same policies (tax cuts and deregulation) that got us into the current crisis will get us out. No amount of empty posturing on abortion will convince me that the Republican Party’s vision for America is not extremely, extremely dangerous. It is with great trepidation that I look at the prospect of them taking over the legislative and/or executive branches.

With all of that said, I honestly cannot say that the Democratic Party is that much more deserving of my support. I say that as someone who agrees with probably ninety percent of their platform. Its officeholders’ willingness to give up on health care reform due to the results of one special election demonstrates that, with rare exceptions, they are less interested in actually effecting positive change than they are in maintaining their jobs. Of course, from my perspective, it doesn’t really help that the party is wholly in the pockets of NARAL and Planned Parenthood.

So what will I do this November? I don’t know yet. My votes, of course, will be based not on party affiliation, but on my assessment of each candidate’s relative merits. But I do know that, one way or another, I am more fearful for the future of my country than I was even in the darkest days of the Bush Administration.