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Hamiltonian Philosophy: The 2008 Presidential Race and Other Pontifications

A year has passed since politicians from both sides of the isle stood up and declared their intentions on making a white house bid. 2008 will bring a host of important issues that will need immediate attention such as radical islam, illegal immigration, rising oil prices, energy independence, a slowing economy, education, health care, global warming (haha--cough--cough--), and (drum roll) impeaching Bush and Cheney. These are only some of the colossal challenges looming ahead, but none the less 12 candidates entered from stage right, and 9 entered from stage left. As the presidential primary election process continues, wars have broken out on both sides of the political spectrum. One side has been split right down the middle because of race and gender, and the other side is fighting to hold on to its base philosophical underpinnings. The war on both sides are dynamically different, yet equally as brutal. I'll begin by analyzing the war on the left, then I'll move to the war on the right.

(Warning: The following paragraphs contain observations and musings from a Conservative standpoint and will unapologetically criticize both sides.This may cause drowsiness, dizziness, and frequent nose bleeds, so be sure to consult your physician before reading. In some rare cases Hamiltonian Philosophy has been linked to increased chances of brain aneurysms so use as directed by your doctor. Batteries not included)

The democrats have always touted themselves as open minded, minority friendly, and racially sensitive, yet race and gender is the very issue that divides the party.The war on the left is heating up, and very soon the sparks and the fur will really start flying. I started observing the activities on the left in early September. At that point 8 candidates were still standing, but anyone with an IQ higher than a breadbox knew the remaining two would be Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. All the debates were extremely similar, because each candidate has practically the same stances on every issue. They all hate Bush and Cheney (some more than others), all want to pull out of Iraq ASAP, all support socialized medicine, all support "comprehensive" (cough--amnesty--cough) immigration reform, all support raising taxes (punish the EVIL rich people), all oppose school vouchers, and all believe in man made global warming. The only odd duck on stage was Mike Gravel because he was a supporter of the fair tax and wants to abolish the war on drugs. Apparently he's still running his presidential campaign, but I have no idea why? I guess every party needs to have at least one persevering kook (the republicans are lucky enough to have 2).

The Opening Bell

The debating and campaigning processes continued on the left without many snags. The Clintons were treating it like a coronation, Barak Obama was gaining momentum, and John Edwards kept playing his class warfare card over and over again. The first sign of racial tension surfaced as Bill Clinton was again touted as "the first black president", and was deemed blacker than Obama because he's been with more black women. Finally all of this came to a head on January 3rd 2008, the night of the Iowa caucuses. Barak Obama won and delivered a speech about.....you know....change.....and hope.....and ahh..and ahhhhh...how much he cares..,soon afterwards Chris Dodd and Joe Biden dropped out (6 left). That night was the turning point for the entire democratic presidential race, because that night is when the presidential race ceased to be about issues and turned into a race and gender war. Hillary's crown was knocked off of her head and her throne was tipped over, she was no longer the presumed nominee and was going to have to work hard for it.

The Crying Game

This leads us to January 6th 2008 a mere 48 hours before the New Hampshire primaries, and the very day when Hillary gave her oscar nominated crying performance. She was behind in the polls and that very performance gave her the necessary boost (even liberals like Maureen Dowd agree) to place her in the lead. Hillary played the gender card in a very big way, and with liberal women voters it paid off. Hillary won New Hampshire and a few days later Bill Richardson said goodbye to his White House dreams (5 to go). This takes us to South Carolina where a majority of the voting population is black American and this was the only reason Barak Obama won....at least that is what Bill Clinton thinks. Obama's victory signaled the end of John Edwards' and Dennis Kucinich's campaign (3 left). Finally super Tuesday (Feb 5th) (a 21 state primary) seemed to expose the rift in the democratic party better then any other piece of evidence I can drudge up. According to a Time magazine political correspondent, Clinton won 50.2% of the popular vote and Obama got 49.8% of the vote. Exit polling conducted in 16 different states by Fox News says that Obama won the black vote 82% to 16% against Clinton, and Clinton won the white vote 52% to 43% against Obama. Similarly Clinton won the women vote 51% to 45% over Obama, and Obama won the male vote 53% to 42% over Clinton.

The Dust Has Yet to Settle

The democratic race is going to be long and brutal if results like these continue to be the norm. Both candidates are very close in delegate counts as well, and rumor has it that the vote count will be so close at the convention that the nominee may end up being chosen by super delegates (Dem. party leaders and representatives). Obama seems to have the momentum right now due to his big wins in Maine, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington this Saturday, but just know that Clinton will do whatever is necessary to win...at any cost. No matter how you slice the democrat race, the vote is being divided either because of race or gender. There is practically no policy difference between Obama and Clinton, so voting based on issues seems to be a moot point. As a liberal who do you choose? Do you choose a white woman who has a large amount of baggage (Bill), not a whole lot of political experience, and is perceived to be cold and hostile? or Do you choose the black male who is a rookie senator with no political accomplishments, and is perceived to be kind and caring?

Close Minded Analysis

As a conservative, I wouldn't want anything to do with either of them. They are both socialistic, nanny state, ultra liberals who want nothing more than to slowly take away your freedoms and money through bureaucracy and tax hikes. The USA will slowly creep its way into becoming the USSA due to political correctness, multiculturalism, and out of control government dependency programs. To quote Hillary Clinton: "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few. Time to reject the idea of an on your own society, and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity. I prefer a we're all in it together society." I wonder where she plans on building red square? I'm sure San Francisco would be open to the idea.....

The fight within the republican party is certainly much different than the one brewing in the democratic party, because the right's fight is ideology driven. However this fight is not new to the republican party, and has taken place in both 1964 and in 1976 during the presidential campaigns of Barry Goldwater ('64) and Ronald Reagan ('76).This fight can simply be defined as the liberal/moderate/independent wing of the republican party (aka the establishment republicans) vs. the conservative base of the republican party. To quote Rick Santorum "There are three political parties in Washington the democratic party, the republican party, and the John McCain party." As the presidential race currently stands for the GOP, there are two liberal republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee, a very angry and bitter Alan Keyes, and the libertarian Ron Paul.The only republican candidate that actually holds traditional conservative principles is Alan Keyes, but with no money, no support, and his angry kooky tone many wonder why he is still in the race. Base conservatives no longer have anyone who they feel comfortable supporting, and thus the chaos thats witnessed in the republican primaries today. If you hang with me I'll take you through some history and then give you some more of my insight.

Historically Speaking

Former Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) has often been credited as the man who rekindled the conservative movement in the republican party. He was the man that spoke out against wasteful g

overnment dependency programs, labor unions, and stood strongly against the Soviet Union's spread of communism. His ideas were bold and put a new face on conservatism that would last for generations. In 1964 Goldwater was running for the republican presidential nomination against Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller was a moderate republican who loathed conservatives and called for their extraction from the party. Goldwater had a rendezvous with destiny and won the nomination to face Lyndon Johnson, and lost in one of the largest landslide defeats in US presidential politics. Johnson painted Goldwater as a right wing extremist bent on hurting the working class by cutting government aid such as welfare and social security programs. He also painted him as a war monger destined to drag the United States into a nuclear war with the USSR.(Random pontification) If you haven't already noticed, liberals still use the same old "class warfare, poor people hating, war mongering" playbook against conservatives....it's amazing isn't it. I thought liberals believed in evolution?

In 1976 a similar struggle between moderates and conservatives played out but with a much different result. Gov. Ronald Reagan was running against then vice president Gerald Ford. Reagan was running his campaign as a Goldwater conservative to attract the base, and Ford was a moderate republican and ran a campaign to attract moderates, independents, and liberals. Ford won the nomination, but Reagan's speech (2:43) stirred in the ears of every audience member and each soon realized that they had nominated the wrong guy. Ford went on to face Jimmy Carter and lost in a very close race. Carter was a rather unknown political figure who ran as a reformer who longed for change in Washington, and he beat the drum of his outsider status.(Random pontification) Parallels can be drawn between Carter and Obama. They both were unknowns when getting into the race, both play the same tune with their campaigns, and Obama will have the same disastrous results as President Carter. This will include a stagflated economy, a shrinking, underfunded, and demoralized military, massive increases in government spending (buckle up), a failed energy independence policy, and increases in terrorist activity. Obama '08? I hope not....