{"id":2418,"date":"2004-11-10T10:03:29","date_gmt":"2004-11-10T15:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kith.org\/journals\/vardibidian\/2004\/11\/10\/2418.html"},"modified":"2018-03-12T16:47:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T21:47:25","slug":"mood-swing-voter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/vardibidian\/2004\/11\/10\/mood-swing-voter\/","title":{"rendered":"mood, swing, voter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T’other day, Your Humble Blogger was listening to the local NPR call-in show<\/a>, and they were, of course, talking about how the Democrats failed to win the election, and what they could do to improve next time. And a fellow called in and was very particular about the fact that he didn’t vote “the party line”, but voted for “the man”. Right, right. He declared that he disagreed with Our Only President on some issues, particularly environmental issues, but that at least he knew where he stood, while John Kerry was “on top of the fence” with a lot of issues. Asked for examples, he said that Senator Kerry claimed to be against gay marriage, but was against amending the constitution; claimed to be a hunter, but had voted to ban the gun that he was photographed holding; and claimed to be a churchgoer but was OK with partial-birth abortion. He was particularly vehement about this last one, emphasizing that there was no way anyone who believed in Gd could accept partial-birth abortion.\n

Now, I don’t doubt that the man was sincere when he said he didn’t vote the party line. I am not, for instance, suggesting that he was a GOP operative trying to sow confusion amongst the Democrats. But his complaint about John Kerry was not that the Senator was on the fence. If the candidate had come out clearly and unequivocally against hunting, for gay marriage, and against churchgoing, this fellow would not have said “now, I can vote for him.” No, not only was this guy never going to vote for John Kerry, he was never going to vote for any Democrat. Unless, that is, the Democrat was against gun control, reproductive choice, and gay rights, and even then I get the feeling he would have found some reason to prefer the Republican—the man, not the party. Perhaps affirmative action. Maybe federal support of the arts. Could be the Pledge of Allegiance.\n

The frustrating thing was that the host took from the call the point that John Kerry was on the fence. She took the comment at face value, when face value was clearly the least valuable way to take it. Well, that was my momentary frustration. I was also frustrated with the caller, of course, who I wish would join the Republican Party and voice his environmental concerns within it, rather than sniping from the edge of town. And I’m frustrated, on the whole, with the sense that this fellow is never going to be convinced that gay rights, gun control and reproductive choice are simply not all that important in presidential terms.\n

But then, if they aren’t all that important (in presidential terms, I mean), then could I support a Democratic candidate who was against gun control, reproductive choice and gay rights, but in favor of progressive taxation, collective bargaining rights, and a long-sighted foreign policy? Well, yes, I could. Do I think such a candidate could win election? I just don’t know. I don’t think it’s worth trying, but honestly I don’t know. Are we letting the perfect be the enemy of the good? Or at least the good be the enemy of improvement?\n

Or they really the important issues after all? A very wise and interesting woman<\/a> once told me that she left the left, politically, to work entirely on women’s issues, as there was no chance for a just world that didn’t accept women’s leadership (along with rather than replacing men’s, she was no man-hater). I was skeptical; I was twenty-three. Since then I’ve grown to believe that the basic stories of people’s lives, the way they match patterns and view the universe, affect all their policy views and all their social views. A society that allowed husbands to beat their wives with impunity was not going to be tolerant generally, nor was it likely to be progressive economically. Yes, of course, people can be in favor of gay marriage and against collective bargaining, or vice versa, but in general, progressivism like conservatism is a mindset, a bias, a way of thinking. A mood, almost. And from that mood comes all the rest. And I can easily discuss policy difference with those whose mindset I share, but it is much harder to persuade somebody do alter their biases.\n

Perhaps, then, for America to move towards my vision of its future, what we really require is lots more mood-altering substances.\n

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, tea.\n

Thank you,
-Vardibidian.\n<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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