Republicans edge closer to inevitable choice of Romney to face Obama

By David McElroy · January 11, 2012

I’ve never met a Mitt Romney fan in person. They obviously exist — because I see evidence of them on TV and they show up to vote for the man — but I don’t talk to real people who admit to having any enthusiasm for the guy. So why is he going to win the GOP nomination?

The short answer is that he’s the guy who most Republicans see as the least-offensive available candidate who can defeat Barack Obama. That’s not a very high standard to set, but given what most voters believe, it was almost inevitable for Romney to win.

The question I have for Romney voters is what they would hope to achieve by replacing Obama with Romney. Other than the color of their skin and their party affiliation, what are the substantial differences between the men? They certainly pander to different people with their rhetoric, but on the issues of substance, I can’t see that they’re much different. Can you?

The question I have for supporters of the social conservatives in the race — Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry — what do you hope to gain by supporting Romney as your eventual nominee? Does he stand for what you believe? Or do you simply hate Obama so much that you’ll support anyone else?

Most importantly, I have a question for Ron Paul supporters. What are you going to have to show for all of the time, money and effort you’ve poured into this campaign? The overall percentage of people who believe what we believe (or some form of it) isn’t going to change as a result of the campaign. It’s still going to be around 10 percent. When are you going to be ready to give up on the coercive state?

I’ve regularly had Paul supporters tell me — very confidently — that I’m wrong to say Paul can’t win. I’ve outlined my reasons why he can’t win and I’ve also outlined why I won’t be voting for him (or anybody else). But I’ve given up on trying to argue with Paul believers about the issue. Some tell me honestly that they know he can’t win, but they believe it’s worth it to “educate” people. (That doesn’t work in any substantial numbers, even though you won’t believe me about that, either.) But many of his supporters have honestly believed that he could win. It was always fantasy.

I’m only bringing this up to ask if it isn’t time to accept reality. The reality is that the vast majority of people don’t want a libertarian society (or any version of an anarchist one). Seriously. They don’t. They don’t trust us when we tell them that it would be better than what we have. They think we’re crazy for believing it would be. All of your high-powered logic isn’t going to change their minds.

So are you going to spend the rest of your life begging people to choose individual liberty as a political path? Are you going to keep thinking that this time it might be different? If the majority don’t get why freedom is better and more moral, they’re not going to suddenly change their minds — at least not in substantial numbers. The democratic system is only going to produce one thing. It’s going to keep producing people who want to control your money and control your life. That’s what the majority want. Honest.

So since we know what they want — and it’s clear that your beautiful logic and hard work and begging aren’t going to change that — why not consider searching for an alternative? Why not at least consider that maybe — just maybe — there could be a future that doesn’t involve elections and coercive governments telling people what they must do?

I believe there are alternatives — multiple ideas that different ones of us are going to try. (Many of us are trying to figure out which one works best for us.) But even if you don’t believe there’s a workable alternative, since it’s obvious that other people don’t want what we want — and it’s obvious that your political work is all in vain — wouldn’t it be smart to withdraw from the system and concentrate on real life? Wouldn’t it be smarter to be figuring out how to protect yourself and your family as things get worse?

There’s no return on a political investment. There is a return on the investments you make in real life — your family and in your financial future. Aren’t those investments worth more than whatever time or money you’ve wasted on a campaign that’s not going to change a things?

Share on Social Networks

I’m seeing a lot of simplistic and dishonest explanations right now for the current rioting in France. Those on the populist far right claim it’s all about Muslim immigrants to France disrupting the culture. Their message is that this sort of thing is going to happen in the U.S. unless “we defend the border.” On the far left, socialists and their fellow travelers claim the riots are all about wealthy people in France not paying enough taxes, resulting in cuts to government services. The truth is far more complicated, but it’s rooted in the decline of population growth in Europe. There simply aren’t enough young workers paying into the tax system anymore, so cuts in social services were inevitable. There is genuine cultural tension as more and more people immigrate from other countries, but government cuts to education and other services are even more important to what’s happening. The situation is complicated, so don’t let dishonest people with U.S. political agendas tell you that it happens to support whatever they were already promoting for partisan reasons.

Here’s another reason to appreciate the cats in your life: New research involving 93 countries found that places with more cats per person also tended to have happier people. The researchers say the finding fits with previous evidence that living with pets can reduce loneliness and stress while providing companionship, emotional attachment and social support. The study doesn’t prove that cats cause greater happiness, but it certainly adds to the evidence that sharing your home — and your life — with a cat might be good for you.

The company that owns Facebook and Instagram is heavily promoting its new AI-based software assistant called Muse, but people who are using it as it was designed are incredibly foolish. An early adopter of the software discovered that a few days ago when he advertised an item for sale on Facebook Marketplace — and he inadvertently gave Muse full authority to act on his behalf. The software agreed to a lowball offer made by another Facebook user and then gave that man the home address of the man for whom he was an agent. The software told the buyer that the seller was home and waiting for him. When the buyer showed up and waited angrily, the would-be buyer left an angry review for the man. And this angry man had the seller’s home address. It was only well after that that the software reported what it had done and admitted it had made a mistake. I won’t be putting that much power into the hands of any software. I think anyone who agrees to such terms is a fool. And the software’s user agreement says you’re responsible for purchases the software makes in your name. Nope.

Meet my new girlfriend. Her name is Meg. And she’s my little sweetheart. A couple of months ago, a neighbor across the street told me about a new stray in the neighborhood that she and I were both soon feeding. The cat had been very skittish about contact and she had a lot of scabs and parasites in her fur, but a trip to the vet last week revealed that she was otherwise in good health. The vet estimates her to be 1 to 2 years old. I named her for Meg Murry, the 13-year-old protagonist of Madeleine L’Engle’s wonderful book, “A Wrinkle in Time.” (Please read the book. Don’t watch the horrible movie.) Since we lost Lucy almost a year ago, it seems appropriate that we finally have a new little girl to join the household. She’s already captured my heart, but Alex, Oliver and Sam aren’t there quite yet.

There’s nothing socially acceptable that’s as dangerous as drinking alcohol. Most people grow up being told to “drink responsibly” — and all of us see people abusing this drug in one way or another — but the truth is that drinking alcohol is always a terrible risk. The alcohol in these drinks is toxic and the human liver has to work hard to filter the toxins out. What most people don’t realize is that alcohol is classified as a known carcinogen by the World Health Organization — because of the well-established connection between imbibing and various cancers. Many people have taken refuge behind the idea that light or moderate drinking might be safe, but a new study shows that drinking even one drink a day increases the risks of 10 types of cancer. When I was a teen-ager, I looked around and saw the negative effects that this behavior had on a lot of people and decided not to start drinking, so I’ve never even tried this poison. The evidence keeps piling up that I was lucky to have come to that conclusion early.

Related Posts