the odd other side

Dontcha just love political conservatives! Sometimes they open their mouths and say quite sensible things. Now and then their policies make sense. The centrist conservatives are even quite likeable. But there are some who just can't help themselves, put the boot into the less well off, exhibit that 'born to rule' arrogance. The further right they get, the more that strange little tick becomes evident. They become anti-science. They get all out of balance on economics. The ghost of Ayn Rand haunts their dreams.

I'll stay clear of Oz politics in exampling the above. Let's take the GOP in the US. Maybe this was a great broadly based party once, but at the present, it seems overwhelmed by small sectional interests. Specifically, the Tea Party. The Presidential hopefuls must all genuflect to these conservative activists in a way that entirely skews the party. Everyone of them is looking over their shoulder, trying, if not actually to court, then to avoid giving offence. This means being a bit whacko on climate change, very forthcoming on matters of faith, hugely opposed to 'big' government' and taxation of any kind, hard on the have-nots. And the lists goes on. There are some very esoteric issues that seem entirely detached from middle America.

Frontrunner Mitt Romney seems the safest pair of hands in the field, being a moderate, if inconsistent, Republican. Current flavour, Herman Cain, he of the self-made pizza empire, has a kind of non-political common touch and is, in the parlance, a 'straight shooter'. This means that there is less spin and more so-called honest commentary, and Mr Cain can provide this in spades. For example, in response to a question about the Occupy Wall Street movement, Mr Cain said "Don't blame the banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!” Clearly the candid Cain hadn't factored in the fact that Wall Street had actively encouraged the kinds of dodgy financial products that had eventually led to a credit crisis of massive proportions. These same banks has then put out their grubby hands for tax-payers money. People are angry about that. Wonder why?