The “Party” Party
So who’s been keeping up with the debates? Anyone? Each party has had its share of hubbub for one candidate or another, to say the least. It seems like election season starts earlier and earlier every year – almost like the holidays. The two times seem to have more in common than just that, I’d think. The planning, the promises, the avarice, and the disappointment. No matter if it’s a Democrat or a Republican who gets into office it seems like at the end of it all we’re just left wishing the next election would come sooner. Be it on one side or another, either party has got some moderates and a whole lot of wackos.
So, what does the title of this post mean? Well, I guess you could take it two different ways. Either to mean that the political party itself is becoming more like the kind of party that gets thrown for a 3-year-old’s birthday, or that members of the political party are so jazzed up on themselves that they just want to have a party (holy keywords, Batman). Either interpretation is pretty accurate, so far as I’m concerned. Whether you’re looking at the left or the right there are such diverse opinions and stances on every little issue and sub-issue. Not only does this contrast apply to the differences between each group, but anymore even candidates within their own don’t agree on much.
So what’s the big deal?
Republican Party
Loud and obnoxious.
Well, doesn’t it seem a little silly that when the Republican debates started they had practically 20 different candidates in the running? Sure, we’ve just gone through two terms of what some would say is pretty left-leaning policy – why wouldn’t the right want to jump in with both feet? But doesn’t it make Republicans as a whole look disorganized when there are that many of them in one room and they still argue and disagree on over half of the topics up for discussion? If you think about it, elections are there to be won – and how does one win? There needs to be a battle, a fight, a war. You figure, political jockeys (advisers, writers, handlers – the brains behind the stuffed shirts) don’t want their horse to end the race tied with everyone else. So are all of these people just picking mindless points of contention just so they can show the audience how loud and obnoxious they can be on stage? Some seem to put more stock in a candidate’s tough, no-holds-barred attitude than their ability to expound on policy and big ideas. It leaves me wondering, does the loudest one in the room even have any real ideas? Not to mention, during their most recent debate two of the candidates basically got into a tiff where one was defending the size of his “manhood”. When are the demagogues just going to admit they want to have a Tarzan, chest beating contest and cast aside the “lightweight” pageantry of wearing suits and having moderators?
Democratic Party
Hypocritical.
Others out there on the left tend to be more soft-spoken and seemingly intellectual, their party also has fewer candidates in the running, but they still can’t seem to look past some of the manufactured talking points that divide them. Not only that, but a lot of outspoken Democrats, be they candidates or not, often talk one talk and walk a completely different walk. The left always rallies against corporate greed and income inequality, yet some of the most vocal on the subject are hypocritical and take money from big banks and companies to fund their political endeavors. One minute they’re the victim who is being targeted by bullies, racists, and corporations, and the next they’re taking kickbacks and donations from the same companies that discriminate against women and minorities and the same banks that swap subprime mortgages and kick working families out of their homes. During the election that ended the Bush administration a lot of Dems were preaching that Bush and his cronies were war criminals who should have been prosecuted, yet once the blue party reclaimed the White House nothing like that ever happened. Nor were other promises kept that came to be on the campaign trail. Not to mention the recession in 2008. They bailed out the banks, which some feel was the safest option at the time, and what happened? CEOs and decision makers cut themselves bonus checks! Did they all go to prison for misappropriating taxpayers’ money? No.
Summation
The state of affairs being as such that both parties have members that are so polarized really says something about how we’ve evolved, or devolved. Who would have thought 10 years ago that we’d end up with a brash bully on one side and a self-avowed socialist on the other? I suppose drastic times call for drastic measures, but shouldn’t the presidency be more dignified than just a venue for providing rubes with laughs and entertainment? I’m not taking sides here, and I’m sure in the context of my writings most of you can guess where I stand on politics. I’m just saying that if you want to be a clown be on a reality show, not the debate stage.
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