Rowhouse Logic - Breathtaking Inanity

There is no center. Don’t get me wrong, just about everybody in America is somewhere far from politically extreme, but if George Bush has proven anything beyond his own ineptitude, he has proven that any attempt to appeal to the fleeting whims of the alleged centrist swing vote is about as worthless as attempting to sprout wings. Even worse than that, it’s as worthless as courting the youth vote. The youth vote like their parents and the center votes their party registration. Most of them don’t even bother to show up at the polls on election day. Whether you love it or hate it (and I do hate it), please do get over it and get a hold of reality. The reality of 2006, and many of the years that preceded it, is that any attempt to appeal to the alleged swing vote at the expense of the political base is doomed from inception.

Over the last several decades, both of our major political parties have positioned themselves further and further to the right. One has done so in an effective effort to mobilize its base, while the other has done so in a futile effort to appeal to the center - a center that votes its registration. Let’s look at the results. Actually, screw it. I think we all know the score.

I attended a candidate’s forum, featuring Alan Sandals and Chuck Pennacchio, last Saturday. At noon on a Saturday in January, that event was very well attended by the very Pennsylvanians that any Democrat will desperately in their camp if they plan to beat Rick Santorum this November. This isn’t about the few hundred votes in the room, though they are important. I am talking about enthusiasts and civic activists who show up at candidate’s forums month out from any vote. These are the people who will go home and talk to their neighbors and leaflet their neighborhoods. These are the people who will staff phone banks and stuff letters. These are the people who will go door to door. These are the people whose civic spirit every candidate for public office needs. But will they bother to lift a finger for Bob Casey?

If they don’t, who will? Before we anoint, let’s think that one over a little.

Update: I probably should have thought this post over a little before I published it. Shit happens.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 31st, 2006 at 2:31 am and is filed under General, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.