Doubling Down on Crazy

Romney failed to condemn forcefully and sever all ties with the two quasi-pro-rape senators at a critical time when he was trying to court women. His choice of a running mate further reinforced his suspect credentials when it came to women.

He also ran a very anti-science campaign, alienating anyone who felt strongly about the possible dangers of climate change and the need for a strong space program, and lampooned Newt Gingrich, a member of his own party when he proposed a vigorous space program, violating Reagan’s dictum of speaking no ill of a Republican, while simultaneously backing away from the strategy of technology long advocated and followed by the Republican party by Jerry Pournell et al. while simultaneously and schizophrenically proposing to go back to a NASA-centric anti-small business space program. This helped alienate engineers, and non-social conservative intellectuals.

The 47% comment and his anti-illegal immigrant positions “self deportation, &etc.” further poisoned the well of public opinion among those older and retired voters receiving government assistance and among Latinos, while his anti-libertarian disrespect of Ron Paul and his supporters cost him valuable support among the libertarian and youthful wing of the Republican party.

In short he alienated every potential base of support the party needed in the future, while simultaneously embracing far right social conservatives that make others in the party and the general electorate (pro-choice, gay, or people with gay family members) uncomfortable.

I'm not even going to get into his lack of specifics on taxes, the economy and serious health care reform.

VOID

Persuading other unhappy voters to vote out incumbents on election day is the key to improved government. Do your part!

After all if they are all thrown out of office every time they have no reason not to do the right thing.

A photo that could have changed history?

Recently a photo has come to light showing JFK on a yacht doing what young rich powerful men of means and normal levels of testosterone do, married or not, namely enjoying the presence of beautiful young, and in this case naked ladies.

Risqué? You bet. The photo proves nothing other that that JFK is the libertine we all knew him to be. Perhaps if this photo had come out before the Lewinski affair Clinton might have avoided an impeachment? But it is hard to see how such a picture would have seriously altered history. Although perhaps a sexually satisfied Kennedy was a bit slower to draw on a confrontation with the Soviets over their missiles in Cuba. So maybe the event itself was important, but the picture, not so much. Was Kennedy a dog for possibly balling one or more young nubiles while his pregnant wife was waiting to deliver? Of course. But is such behaviour really unexpected, especially among the chattering class? Of course not.

Would he have been elected had this photo come to light then? Probably. After all, the girls were my brother and the senator's friends, I was embarrassed by being there, but you know we were on a boat in the middle of the ocean. How was I to know, and there wasn't any hanky panky anyway, and Jackie said I could go. What's the big deal? Those inclined to vote for him would have, those not so inclined would not have.