Congress is, by design, cross-dealing, corrupt, and yielding to political influence. My concern is not that individual Congressmen truly feel anti-Americanism in their heart, but that the anti-Americanism that exists among the “base” of the party will find its way into policy.

Do you still wish examples?

A.E.,

“I tend to vote based on foreign policy and national security issues.”

I'm almost the same way. While I have my own views on much of culture, I don't think politics is the best way to alter them.

That said, the Supreme Court did tremendous damage to the nation earlier this century, and repairing that harm is one of my priorities, as well.

Your comment is excellent, and much appreciated.

I've mentioned the apparent battle between the base-extremes of both parties as the stupid v. the treasonous before.

Consider for a moment the issues that are most hurting both parties, not just for the moment but for years: the Republicans on immigration and the Democrats on defense. As immigrant groups tend to vote for the party that naturalizes them, anti-naturalization policies are self-defeating. Yet the Republican Party's rhetoric currently runs the gamut from ending even legal immigration (Tancredo) to building a giant wall in the desert before moving forward with integration. It's stupid.

For the Democrats, their poison is national security. Since the mid-Vietnam-War on, attacks on stated US objectives and US service personnel come primarily from the Democratic Party. The recent and bizarre “General Betray Us” ad [1], for example, is the latest in two generations of personal attack over the men and women of the armed forces. Reflexive hostility to allies of the human rights (South Vietnam, the contras, etc.) on human rights grounds combined with silence about the human rights violations of our enemies (North Vietnam, the Sandinistas) is another example.

[1] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2007/09/10/general-betray-us.html

I don't know about him, but I do anyways, and please use examples that make up double digit percentages of the base.

I remember you describing to me face-to-face how you picture the Republicans as corrupt as well as incompetent and the Democrats as anti-American. I asked you to explain your position on the Democratic party, but it seems that you never got around to it until now. Now you say that the anti-American elements are from the base at the time being and could potentially trickle their way upward.

So, using the same context that you set up for your criticism of the Democratic party (being of the base and not their reps), is it safe to translate your corruption criticism of the Republican party as something that exist only in the base and that could potentially trickle its way up as well?

Sorry if I come off as condescending, but I really can't think of a way to ask my question in a more polite manner than to which I have.

“I could care less what the wingnuts think, I care what the candidates think. I'll take treacherous over idiotic if it gets better results – which is why I'll vote bin Laden over Edwards. Bin Laden's anti-corporate policies would never pass Congress, but Edwards's might.”

A good point. Among those we disagree with, there are moderates we can work with and moderates we can't.

Thea Schloser,

“I do think that Obama is a great Democrat and has a lot to offer ,but does not have what it takes to become a President at this time.”

Interesting! Could you say more?

I could care less what the wingnuts think, I care what the candidates think. I'll take treacherous over idiotic if it gets better results – which is why I'll vote bin Laden over Edwards. Bin Laden's anti-corporate policies would never pass Congress, but Edwards's might.

Great points.

The Clintons had a marriage of convenience throughout their careers. Hillary had to defend Bill in the same way that one Iraqi Sheik has to defend his brother-in-law, and for the same reasons: confluence of interests, not “love.”

Recall how the Katrina mess developed: not out of malice or gullibility, but out of Bush being more focused on other issues (national security, war on terror, etc.). Likewise, Bill's self-destructive tendencies got the best of him in part because Hillary was more focused on areas that interested her (her career, national politics), rather than her home and family environment.