The 27% Candidate

This Ryan pick for VP really strikes me as desperate.  Ryan's budget, when set out in the light, won't go over well.  For the second election in a row, the Republican candidate chooses a candidate which the Republican base will like better than the candidate himself.  Meanwhile, that candidate will erode support with independent voters.  Does anybody other than the wingnut 27% believe that insurance companies will take care of old people's health care better than the government?  Do any of those people who fear the Obama death panels realize that insurance companies will profit from declining treatment to the elderly?  Are private sector death panels better for the country than the imaginary government ones?  What will an affordable insurance policy for an 85 year old look like?

Anyway, my visit to the county fair reminds me that I love the familiarity of this place, in spite of its limits.  I really feel that the folks at the county fair, while largely mocked and taken advantage of by those in power, are the only real base for the Romney/Ryan ticket.  Unfortunately, I think these folks will get hurt the worst by Republican policies.  It makes me sad and angry.  This fall, grain farmers are going to take a hit from the drought.  But the social safety net/welfare program of crop insurance will make sure that we will be able to plant next year's crop.  It is an extremely flawed program, but we are damn lucky it is available.  The crooked politicians might even throw in some disaster aid (almost certainly for livestock farmers, and very likely also for grain farmers) on top of it.  And yet, those same folks will vote overwhelmingly for the candidates who give to the rich (including rich farmers) and take from everybody else.  As far as I can tell, those voters just don't feel comfortable with the change in modern culture, and think somehow they can get back to what they consider a better time.  Unfortunately for them, that isn't happening.  Their way of life is disappearing, and with it some very good, and some very bad things.  I wish that they could impact culture in a good way without inadvertently wreaking havoc on their own lives.  But I'm afraid their partners in the process are using them against themselves. 

In a bit of a lucky accident, the selection of Ryan may mitigate the damage a little bit.  While Obama is just a nicer version of the Social Security "reform" crowd, his now more likely reelection may allow the Republican party to disintegrate and bring about the pendulum swing we need back to the center.  30 years of trickle down economics is just too much, and we need to bring things back toward the post-New Deal consensus.  This is a great nation, but its greatness is based on a strong middle class.  The only way we can get that is with a strong government which provides a social safety net, and helps protect capitalism from itself.  Right now, capitalism as practiced today is the best case against itself.  If there is a God, may He (or She or It) please truly bless this country.  We need all the help we can get.