Why I Am Not A Republican (Part 2)

Last time, I went on a little about why I'm not a Republican. To summarize: the Republican majority won't last forever, and someone needs to stay behind in the opposition to agitate in favor of foreign and military policy sanity.

But that's not the only reason. What it came down to for me was one simple question: Who's on my side?

Well, no one, really. Politicians are opportunists. At least the successful ones are. Just like an overpaid prima-donna athlete, they're out to pump up their own stats. But like most sports fans, it's a character flaw I'm usually willing to overlook so long as they're lining up for my team. So, with that proviso in mind ...

Really, the whole question boiled down to one issue for me: outsourcing. And the Bush administration's response to it. The very day that I heard Bush's economic advisor speak about outsourcing, and I noticed that he wasn't getting canned for having said that it was a fine and dandy thing, was the day that I knew the Republicans weren't on my side. Now, if I were to say that the only thing they ever thought about was the bank accounts of their biggest contributors, I'd be painting with far too broad a brush. There are an awful lot of corporations that throw money both ways, just to keep the doors open. Both parties are in bed with big business, and that's not altogether a bad thing. For people like me to have jobs, somebody has to be able to write the checks, which means that somebody has to have the money to do so. For me to work, somebody's gotta be rich. To an extent, the more the merrier -- rich folks spend money, and money in motion is what makes the world go 'round.

But the blind market is very short-sighted. They're strictly out for a buck today, damn the costs ten years down the line. It doesn't matter who gets displaced. It doesn't matter how many formerly stable middle-class professionals have their careers destroyed. If it raises earnings a penny a share, ship it all to Bangalore!

Seems to me like someone should be looking out for the American worker, here. The loyal, middle-class citizen who is the backbone of our society deserves far better treatment from his employers. Someone ought to be looking out for his interests.

That someone sure as Hell ain't a Republican.

That someone may not be a Democrat, either. But they, at least, fielded a Presidential candidate who spoke to those issues.