Posted 5 years, 10 months ago in the late afternoon by oso
Yes, I was the one asking Moreno for the Bobby story, but I was also the one to put a password on it. I just don’t think it’s fair to Bobby and Dev that it’s up for absolutely everyone to see. So, if you want to read the story, send me an email, and I’ll give you the password.
I heard from fewer of you than I had hoped, but still the comments were enthusiastic enough and so I’m gonna approach a couple people about becoming our Republican guest blogger.
Abogado made a few really good points in his comment. When our newcoming Republican friend comes along, I want the discussion to stick to issues and not vague partisan name calling. In fact, for the first time (besides defending poor Bobbo) I might end up using some editorial control to keep the discussion on track and respectful. I’ve seen too many well-intentioned comment threads and forum topics devolve into stereotyping and bigoted name calling.
So this post is to figure out what those issues are. I guess I’ll make some general observations and then make an unordered list at the bottom. It would be nice if you guys could add to and discuss that list.
Oh, and one other favor. Let’s keep media bias out of the discussion. Obviously there are some media outlets which lean left and others which lean right, but I think James Poniewozik really sums it up best in an article from this week’s Time magazine.
Kulturkampf
OK, so yesterday I was down in Hillcrest where I saw Rahul Mahajan, who blogs at empirenotes.org, speak about kulturkampf – German for “culture war.” He used the German word because it is well known amongst political scientists, but he was not making the sort of leftist Bush is Hitler claim that rightists pounce on as liberal exaggeration.
But culture war, or moral values, or wedge issues – however you want to call it – is the paradigm most often repeated for the near future of American politics. When people like Rahul talk about this vague culture war though, what specifically are they really talking about? I would argue there are actually only two issues. That a very very very small group of Americans actually seek the end of secularism in this country. Those two issues are gay marriage – which the majority of Americans are obviously against – and abortion which I think is a much more divided issue. I want to discuss both of those issues more with our Republican guest blogger, but when people talk about a values war, can you think of any other specific issues to discuss?
Health Care
America’s health care system is notoriously ineffecient. Canada’s nationalized health care program is on the verge of bankruptcy. Bush says tort reform is the answer and many voters agreed on Tuesday as tort reform legislation was passed in Wyoming, Georgia, and California. Many liberals on the other hand call for varying degrees of nationalization to spread coverage and increase efficiency. Let’s try to get to the bottom of this one.
Social Security
Everyone will tell you that America’s Social Security program is in big trouble. But there are different ideas of how to fix it. Bush emphasizes privitization. Is this the best way to go? Why or why not?
Foreign Policy
It seems that a lot of votes went to Bush over the protection of our national security and national interests. Yet a few months ago hundreds of Foreign Affairs experts sent the president a letter suggesting he seriously reconsider his foreign policy.
I’d like us to focus on Iraq as an example. We are currently bombing Fallujah with the notion that killing terrorists en masse is the surest way to prevent terrorism in the future. My hope is that we can get Jason to comment on this from a soldier’s perspective. I’ve continued reading his mailing list and he’s much more intelligent than we first gave him credit for.
Economics
The economy is such a broad issue and discussion usually leads to parroting misleading statistics about “see, how the economy is doing better under my man or worse under yours.” While I’m tempted to focus on free trade, I think that’s too broad of an issue as well so instead I’d like us to focus on Bush’s tax reform (past and future). What were the benefits? Where will it lead us? How does it compare to taxation levels over the past 50 years?
Immigration
Lastly I think we should discuss immigration, though ironically – to the chagrin of many conservatives – there was very little difference between Bush’s immigration plan and Kerry’s. Bush’s plan is in fact stereotypically liberal. What is in our best interest for immigration policy? How does it relate to national security, labor, the economy, and international development? Is race a factor in immigration policy? Are we approaching a white nativist backlash?
Ok, so in my opinion, those are the most important issues to discuss. Laying them all out like that it becomes clear that we’re all going to have a lot of reading up, a lot of studying to do. I hope that in defending our positions we learn more about the issues and understand them from all sides.
What do you think? Are there more issues that we should discuss? Am I being too biased one way or the other in how I presented them?
And for those of you who are so sick of all this discussion and realize that there is more to life than just politics, let us hope that Moreno keeps us entertained with embarssing stories about our friends.
The rest of the pictures from Haloween are here.
I look forward to your comments. This is probably the last post I will write for a few days as I tackle my overflowing inbox, rss reader, and write some posts for San Diego Blog.
I have plenty to say about tort reform and foreign policy. I have plenty to say about the others too, but I think I will leave those topics to the better informed. Not that I know what I’m talking about in the aforementioned topics, but I can at least atempt to frame a debate. Good calls all, some more may come to me later.
Re: Kulturkampf
I can’t help but think you’re dismissing “the end of secularism in this country” too easily, Osito. Because while I would agree that there are very, very few who want to live in a theocracy, many of Bush’s supporters are vehemently against a completely secular public life–or even a mostly secular one. They’re people who don’t want to remove “under God” from the Pledge, support school prayer, want Creationism taught instead of evolution, supported a huge stone tablet with the Ten Commandments on public display in an Alabama courthouse. And, perhaps most tellingly, they are those who said it concerned them during the 2000 Election that Al Gore’s running mate did not believe in Jesus Christ.
Again, I would agree that they don’t want an end–at least in entirety–to secularism. But perhaps the best way to explain it is that religious kulturkampf is a matter of degree. And many of Bush’s supporters want a large degree of religion in the public sphere, whereas many of Kerry’s supporters do not.
I used to want to get my PhD in economics. I wanted to help write public policy. I learned that I was bad at this. While, I enjoy finding progressive policy solutions I do not compromise well, nor do I expalin my stance clearly, nor can I argue. I look forward to reading the disscussions, and hopefully learning the art of debate and not of name calling.
Elenita,
I know where you’re coming from, but this country (at least our constitution) was founded on secularism. It’s ingrained into our national psyche and our institutions. Also, secularism is often vigorously defended by the supreme court.
Elena,
Me too. Really conceptualizing an issue is difficult enough. Too articulate your argument on top of it is a bitch. I think it’ll be worth it though.
Morning Reading
Lauren is digging Desperate Wives… Eh… Me Too! Dr. Menlo is convinced the election was stolen. He quotes an article to make his point. Goose has an philisophical history of Liberalism. Okay, I admit it, I love Sadie! LOL! Ah,…
Don’t have time to comment on it all
But I will put in my quick 2c about health care, since I have experience with both.
Canada’s at the moment is fairly inefficient and could use some things from the US model. Co-pays for example, so someone thinks about it before wasting the time of a doctor to get some drugs for a runny nose. Antibiotic resistance anyone? As for the money issues – Canada spends $1000 less per capita on health care than the US, but delivers more care and greater choice for patients. Could they spend more? Hell yes. Should they spend more? Yes! Canada has a brain drain issue that they need to fix. But overall, the system is still quite nice. Hell, even Cuba has a great system.
Now for the US. PPO’s are a pain in the ass. HMO’s are the fucking devil. I don’t think I need to spend a lot of time telling people that a company (which exists for the sole reason of making money for the investors) is not going to make for a nice system when it comes to your health. Some people don’t even get the joy of dealing with a bastard company because they can’t afford it. Those that can’t afford it are faced with crippling debt, or the rest of society ends up paying.
Civil Liberties and Personal freedoms are a huge issue for me. Two words, PATRIOT ACT.
Osito,
I would argue that secularism is deeply ingrained into the psyche and institutions of Blue States, and residents of those states assume that holds true nationally. But I only have anecdotal evidence to support my claim and don’t really have any way to prove the validity of my argument, so I’m willing to let this go.
As for more issues to discuss, how about reformation/abolishment of the Electoral College and voting representation for DC? I’m not sure these are issues which break along liberal/conservative, red/blue lines, but perhaps that will only make for more interesting discussion.
Taxation without representation! Give D.C. Senators!
Voting representation in the House wouldn’t hurt either.
Seriously, I’ve yet to hear any compelling, principled reasons to continue non-voting representation in DC (note: “it would give liberals an edge in a closely divided Senate” is not compelling in my book). But, yet, they have to exist–this has been modus operandi even while the Democrats controlled both the White House and Congress.
While I know this issue isn’t as topical as Kulturkampf or health care, it really would be interesting if we could devote some discussion to this once the guest blogger begins writing here. Surely, that’s not too much to ask….
Yeah, I think it is just an issue of people being resistant to changing the status quo. Also it would take at least some support from Republicans and since it would mean an automatic 2 more Deomcratic senators and at least 1 house member it is unlikely they would ever support it. Besides the only people that actually live in D.C. are those too poor to live outside the city or students too stupid to have gone somewhere else. Actually I like the city, but that’s cause I don’t get out much.
Are you saying I was smart to stay in Los Angeles?
I like D.C., but no hot shot politico would be found dead parking his SUV outside of either Georgetown or across the beltway somewhere. Although from the looks of it Dupont is becoming quite the “in” spot, the city just ain’t that trendy after 5pm.
Also, most students pay taxes in their state of permanent residence; I pay New York taxes even though I’m usually raising hell down in Foggy Bottom 9+ months out of the year. The overwhelming majority of those who are actually in the bind of taxation without representation are yes, poor and usually without a college degree. And, of the remaining minority, I would venture to guess that most owe their allegiance to foreign governments, so they’re no help.
I can attest to Dupont/Adams Morgan becoming the city’s one major hotspot. Although, who knows, if they ever get the Stadium issues ironed out, there may soon be another.
Abogado, my boyfriend Alexi looked at buying a home in Dupont but it was absurdly expensive. He instead bought a home on 6 & Q, the home he bought was still priced at about the same as both of our parents homes put together. Parts of DC are becoming very gentrified and poor people are now being pushed out to Maryland.
Elenita – are you at GW? I’ve been out there a few times. Any recommendations?
Elenamary – I was on the shuttle through Dupont today and I noticed a surprising number of posh foreign sedans fighting for parking. Of course the next block over looks like projects. I guess I’m more used to So Cal where we hide our poor neighborhoods and build segregated communities resembling Disney visions of sub-topia. I’m down on 2nd and F and it’s dead at 5pm.
Abogado–yeah, I am. What kinda recommendations are we talking about, though?
Wow, to think we almost knew eachother Elenita.
Abogado, dude we should hang out in DC sometime. I go every two months or so, going for 2-3 weeks in December.
Bobby, are you confusing me and Elenita? Dude, you are so easy.
I’m all about it. Let me know next time you’re in the area.
Dude, bro, I almost went to law school at GW.
Mmmm, that’s not how I remember it.
Hee. I hold a grudge against the law school (or at least the law school librarians) so I can’t say I blame you for going elsewhere.