As vice-presidential searches start, Democrats and Republicans are in a position to offer voters full-course menus to express their fears and hatreds.
The growing clamor for a Clinton-Obama ticket would give mysogynists and racists a joint outlet, while ageism and anti-Mormon intolerance would be provided by McCain and Romney, who are sharing barbecue in Arizona this weekend.
When the issue of a Catholic president was up in 1960 or a divorced man in Reagan's 1980 run, discrimination was relatively primitive. Now, in the era of anything-goes, ballots can proffer demographic breakthroughs wholesale.
The only problem would be disentangling which prejudices drew the most votes for or against each ticket, but that will be a job for the pollsters and pundits.
The dark art "wedgecraft" is all about pandering to prejudice. It insults democracy. This time is going to be different, dammit. It's not going to work. The Iraq war and the economy are the same slow-bleeding issue.
ReplyDeleteThe side that makes the better case for economic fairness and a future for the kids is going to win.
If we put our shoulders to the wheel.
"The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," McCain told the Boston Globe late last year.
ReplyDelete"And so it goes", said Billy Pilgrim
good post
ReplyDelete