Good Policy Seems to be Good Politics [Left and Right]
I have to hand it to the Democrats at this point. Yes it could all be one huge coincidence but I don’t think it is. From the gate, the Democrats have had to do one thing and on thing only to win in November…Distract Mitt Romney from talking about the Economy!
The last thing the President, or the Democratic Party in general, wants to do is let Mitt Romney and the Republican party get into a groove by pounding them day in and day out on the economy. I am not going to get into whether Obama inherited a crappy economy or not and whether he has done the best job he could, doesn’t matter. The truth is that he doesn’t want to run a campaign that is focused on the economy.
At first it became fairly obvious that the Democrats were going to try to throw Romney off his game with a “War on Women”. While that argument may have resonated against Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich, against Romney it won’t hold water. Romney can take women’s issues and turn them right back to the economy.
Romney could turn the argument into “oh want free birth control? If you had a good job and made lots of money you wouldn’t care, and while we are at it how goes the economy? Are the jobs coming back yet?”
Then North Carolina voted!
Not content with a law that bans Gay Marriage that was already on the books. North Carolina needed a Constitutional Amendment banning the government from recognizing ANY union other than a traditional marriage between one man and one woman. The referendum in North Carolina came with the added little bows tied on top of all the typical right wing crazies coming out of the woodworks. One filed a YouTube video of himself shooting anti Amendment 1 signs with a shotgun. The wife of one State Senator who supported the Amendment told poll workers that Amendment 1 was necessary to save the Caucasian Race. The preachers kept their side of the bargain calling for parents to beat their children for acting feminine in any way for boys or the opposite for girls.
Here you go Mr President, Racism, Xenophopia, Homophobia, and Religious Extremism all wrapped into one beautiful package for you.
The President didn’t even need to be forceful, he didn’t need to articulate a policy vision he just needed to look directly into the camera and say exactly what he did say.
“At a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married”
Now the freaks are coming out against him and declaring a cultural war. Rush Limbaugh declared that President Obama wanted a War against Marriage. The Palin family, in all of their “baby out of wedlock ” flair, had Bristol Palin actually say,
“In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage. Or that – as great as her friends may be – we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home. Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview.”
Really Bristol? Gays shouldn’t be able to get married because children do better in Male/Female homes? Are you serious? Are you not raising your child in a single parent home where you admit that the child’s father isn’t part of his life? Shame on you Bristol!
Anyway back to the election. The Democrats are doing a fantastic job of keeping the debate going on anything but the economy and why not? Why not point out that the Republican Party, while the country has really serious problems to solve is too busy worrying about gay people wanting to get married.
It is fairly obvious that this generations target for discrimination is definitely gay Americans, and Obama and team are confronting that reality heads on. Good policy does make good politics sometimes. This is one of those times.
Left and Right is a three times weekly column by Inquistr writer H. Scott English examining the hottest political issues of the day, the candidates running for public office and the 2012 elections.
