Campaign Center,
Govern Far Far Right

Nobody, least of all the voters, seems to notice that the 2004 campaign is déjà vu all over again.

Just like in 2000, Rove has his guys campaigning hard to the center, sounding like normal, reasonable, concerned, compassionate (!!) human beings who just happen to find themselves in positions of power and who, if elected, will form a government of ALL the people for ALL the people.

The message played pretty well in 2000 (they almost won fair and square).

Incredibly—with four years of hard-right governance on the record—the same campaign of deceit is playing even better.

Here’s Dick Cheney sounding like everybody’s favorite grandfather or the local Rotary Club’s best insurance salesman who can even find a place under his big, big tent for a sadly gender-disoriented daughter. No hint of irrationally imperialist militarism, rabid anti-environmentalism, or Old-Testament patriarchality vis-à-vis women.

Over there’s George W. Bush sounding (and looking like) John Wayne, Jr., every Real American Mom’s favorite son (sure he sowed a few wild oats, but whatever, he eventually came around), every redneck’s favorite plain-talking, words-of-one-syllable bar buddy, and every middle manager’s favorite wet dream (if this guy can make, so can I). Narry a hint of pre-Rapture geopolitics (we gotta make the world safe for Jesus, don’t you know), no hint of a life of spoiled unworried privilege (whatever the problem, Poppy or his friends will fix it), nor of dull-and-predictable-as-dishwater reactions to the ambiguous complexities of the world.

Through the 20th century, we Americans smugly (and, we thought, safely) watched similar dog-and-pony shows play out in tyrannies small and large across the globe. In the 1930s, before things started to go bad, remember, Hitler, Goebbels, Goering et al. played their roles so well that not only the Germans but more than a few non-Germans fell under their sway (think Henry Ford, or Charles Lindbergh).

In that same mould, these guys, OUR guys, are good, really good.

Both American parties campaign to the center. What was different after the 2000 election was how far to the right Bush governed.

The record is there—perilous giant steps in the direction of true tyranny and a theocracy in all but name.

What is truly extraordinary is: No accountability. The mistakes have been enormous (ignored warnings pre-9-11, no WMD’s, no Saddam-Al-Qaeda connection, Abu Ghraib, Enron, Halliburton, etc.), but nobody, NOBODY with significant power has taken a fall for ANY of the mistakes.

Not only are we not supposed to blame them, we’re supposed to REWARD them with four more years.

It’s as if they’re saying, "We’re doing ALL of this for your own good, and in spite of a few miscues we deserve your continued trust and support."

Incredibly, the enthralled, mindless electorate is falling for it (again, see 1930s Germany), as is the spineless media.