I know voter apathy is considered a Big Problem by people in the chattering classes, but do they really consider it to be quite so…foul? It must be frustrating to be an important figure in the “movement” and Republican circles and watch as your supporters take one look at your guys, shrug in indifference and walk away. It must be infuriating that your own supporters would actually expect significant results or some of that “advancing” of conservative principle that the party is supposedly so good at doing, and then have the nerve to repudiate the party when it failed to live up to its end of the bargain! What do they think this is, a representative government? So I suppose you would not view these folks kindly. But surely such a person can do better than to start yelling, “You’re a big, fat stupidhead!”
Or, as Richard Linklater's character in "Slacker" said, "Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy."
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Obalama>
Not to be pedantic, but the character who uttered the "Withdrawal in disgust" line in Linklater's great movie SLACKER wasn't Linklater himself- it was another character (I don't know the actor's name-- all of the characters in the movie are no-name actors anyway, which is part of the movie's charm). Linklater has a speaking role himself, but he's not the character who delivers the line in question.
And by the way, I agree with Dreher on this one. I'm tired of all of the hand-wringing over "voter apathy." I say don't vote-- it only encourages them.>
Franklin, re: your remarks to AA:
Thank you for a demon-stration of irrational analysis (demons) around something that doesn't exist (Democrats, or any human being really, cheering over death).
Did the Mideast cheering over 9/11 not occur, or were those who did the cheering not really human, or were they cheering something other than mass murder?
Are there people who celebrate death? Absolutely, and if you want to invoke the body count in Iraq, I will remind you it wasn't conservatives who were sadistically salivating over specific death tolls, who couldn't wait to announce the 1,000th or 3,000th casualty.>
Bubba,
You're right, but you also read more into it than I intended. On that note, I could have been less vague in my original wording.
Besides, AA was referring to Democrats celebrating the abortion deaths. I don't find that to be quite human in either conception or delivery... if you'll forgive the puns.>
Has anybody suggested the positive good of divided government? It worked miracles in the 90's. It effectively ties the hands of both the executive and legislative branches and prevents them from doing anything that isn't overwhelmingly supported.
Divided gov't is best... because governments are never worse that when they actually do stuff!>
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