Sunday, January 10, 2016

The Election 2016: Canada (or Australia) Ho!

When the going gets tough .... move to Canada (or maybe Canberra)

Way back in the last millennium, at the start of the first Bush ('41') presidency, I thought this country had turned a dark corner and seriously considered a move to Canada, or even better because it was further away, Australia.  I considered this because I felt Bush No1 would move us into a warlike, confrontational stance with the rest of the World, but more importantly because I felt he was intent on continuing the Reagan work of dismantling every bit of social progress our country had made during the 60's and 70's - progress earned at great cost.  In the end I didn't make that move because my family were all here, and damn it, we had been here for 400 years (longer if you count the small splash of Native American mix in my ancestry). I would not move for Johnny-come-lately upstarts like the Bushes!

As it turned out becoming a political refugee from an unlivable Republican regime wasn't necessary.  George Herbert Walker Bush was a pragmatist at heart and acted accordingly, for the most part.  He ended up neither too socially conservative, nor too warlike.  True, he did get us unnecessarily into the Gulf War, but he didn't pursue the conquest of Iraq as many expected.  It's also true he was a social conservative, but then he raised taxes when necessary despite the fact that cost him any chance of winning a second term.  In the end he didn't advance the development of American civilization, but neither did he send it hurtling down the Time Tunnel back to the 19th Century.

Its a bit of a shame then that we won't get a chance to see if the third of the Bush presidential aspirants - Jeb! - could be as pragmatic as his Father.  Maybe its best that we don't run the risk that he'd turn into a warlike puppet of neocon ideology like his brother GW, but without this last Bush in the mix we could be facing an even scarier prospect: Trump or Cruz.  Both are running far ahead of Jeb B in the polls - and ahead of every other candidate too.

How do I state this without Screaming Loudly as I type - electing either Cruz or Trump would be the beginning of the end of an open and civilized society in our portion of North America.  Either of those two would bring the United States towards a disintegration more permanent than the Civil War.

But wait you say; cool your jets!  Neither of them have a hope of beating the Democratic Party's probable candidate, Hilary Clinton, right?  So what does it matter if either run against her?

My response would be to remind you just how prone to political missteps the Clintons can be, and who knows what mess might lie ahead to derail what we think now is inevitable?  What if Bernie Sanders, despite his avowed Socialism and his age (he'd be the oldest person ever elected to the office) beats Clinton to the nomination?  Do you think he'd appeal to Independents and those moderates in the Republican Party (there are still a few) who themselves fear Cruz or Trump?  Maybe, but I doubt he'd be as palatable an alternative as Hilary.  I'd hate to find out who those potentially deciding, still-pragmatic conservative voters fear most - an avowed leftist or a possible fascist.

So I am going to hold out hope that Republican primary voters prove wiser than the polls indicate, and pick a candidate that - if they won the Presidency - wouldn't totally alienate all of us in the Democratic camp.  After all, if we want to keep this United States one great, united, and free land, we've got to work together, and that means both parties need to nominate candidates that either side could tolerate.  Cruz and Trump would not be that.

Or we can plan start planning our migration to Canada - or Australia, now.

OK, speaking of being pragmatic ...

Canada has far fewer poisonous creatures slithering and crawling about, but is a block of ice six months a year (or used to be, pre-Global Warming). Australia has cute Koalas, lovely Parrots, and the Great Barrier Reef.  Both have semi-shaky governments in transition at the moment, and the political winds are blowing crazily in both countries.  Hmm .. how much room is left in Sweden?

2 comments:

oldironnow said...

Hey.

I am shocked at how wrong I was about the political abilities of J.E.B.

In fact, I would say the three Bushes have created an arc on the map that is distinctly awful. Across the political firmament, the three have blazed a trail that resembles the dismissive sneer of a petulant teen.

But the abject madness of how Cruz and Trump approach reality is rivaled only by the unwavering surreality of their fans. No knowledge of history. No respect for establish law. No sense of consequence. Just a feeling that someone screwed them over, and these guys will make things right by making them like they've heard they were.

They will take us off the map, to lands of fear and persecution that many thought had been left behind forever. The prison island of Korematsu. The walled fortress of White Power. The secret village of Fascism.

I mean, he put Make America Great Again on his hat...... that's leadership.....

Wayne T said...

I am afraid you are right, OldIron. The need in many people to have a big brother kick bully ass and protect you, and also to lie if necessary to build you up and make you feel good about yourself (without earning it), is a big part of what has given rise to Putin, and it may yet bring us a Trump or Cruz presidency. I shudder at the thought since both men remind me of Martin Sheen's character in 'The Dead Zone' movie. Not as religious-right maybe, but potentially capable of the world-damming decisions Sheen's character felt compelled to make.