A Novel Idea

“If it was just for the presidency, it would have ended a long time ago,” says [Ron Paul] supporter Tom Martin, 50, a database administrator from State College, Pa. “The idea was to reinvigorate the Republican Party back to its principles and, more than that, to reinvigorate the American people back to its principles.” — WaPo

It’s funny: when I was up’ere in Harrisburg, to see family (premeditated) and Obama (spontaneous), the ONLY political signs I saw stuck in the grass — and I saw a lot of them — were for Obama and Ron Paul. Andrew can wax rhapsodic about what that might mean better than I can, but from my POV, those signs, plus that quote from Tom Martin (no fifth-year-senior beer bong builder he), point toward an America in which lots of us are bitter about plenty of things — but not ingrates because of it. Digesting how that might work and shaping a politics of sanity accordingly strikes me as a good move for any prospective President. And, frankly, it’s Hillary’s inability to do this (on top of everything else) that makes these heaps of votes she keeps getting inexplicable to me. Where is the appeal, people? Where?!?

PS How sad it is that a post about reinvigorating the Republican party winds up as yet another ad hominem attack against Hillary Clinton. But this is proof that reinvigorating the party must at least partly involve figuring out how it is that Hillary Clinton can be a popular politician, and then somehow not pandering to people who vote for her while also not deepening their derangement. This is another reason why Obama would be a better nominee to face.