Not making a difference since 2006. Blog motto: Always be sincere whether you mean it or not.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Humbly, I shall accept a draft nomination

All this talk about Republicans getting back to their base is all well and good after the deluge. I just don't know how effective it is. There were a number referenda in several states and the ballot questions on moving the minimum wage north all did very well.

The small government crowd, it seems, only does well when a Democrat regime has screwed things up such that people are willing to try something new. So all the GOP has to do is wait for the debacle and catch the resulting wave and ride it as long as possible. Selling small government itself is a bit of a problem.

The voice of humility understands this. A true humilitarian knows you do not try to change the current but to travel with it. It is with this in mind, I have started the True Democrat Party. I announce that I will seek and accept the nomination for President. Here is my platform:

America needs a $40 minimum wage. Working families can't do it on their own. The True Democrat Party is here to help the little guy.

Let's see that wuss, Nancy, match that.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I ran for president once. I didn't even vote for myself. Now there's true humility.

Richard said...

Very true. You should be proud of yourself.

Anonymous said...

Someone has written a book, which I haven't read, on why reducing the size of government, despite all the rhetoric, is politically impossible. Since I suspect that he's right, I can't be bothered to order, pay for, and read his book. I suppose he suffers financially from having too convincing, or too obvious, an argument.

The only thing that's going to sell the public here or anywhere else on smaller government is an economic crisis that leaves no other option. In other words, something significantly worse than the Great Depression. I don't think we're going to see a lot of people wishing for that.

As to the 40.00 per dollar an hour minimum wage, you have a winning idea there. It reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my students last year. He was arguing that capitalism was oppresive because if a worker went to his boss and demanded a raise, he might be refused, or what's worse, fired. So, I asked, if I go to the President of the university and demand a raise, should I get it? Yes, he answered. And, seeing that I've been successful in my demand, will not all of my colleagues also demand raises? Yes, he answered, but you should all be paid more. (I guess he though that this would win my sympathy). But if we all get paid more, I said, won't your parents also have to pay more in tuition? Yes, he acknowledged, but as it turns out, his parents should also have been paid more. Problem solved. I told him that there was a word for this process: "inflation." He looked at me, or past me, actually, as though I were the voice of capitalist oppression itself. He was a smart kid, an electrical engineering student. This is how even smart people think, at least before they've seen much of the world.

The beauty of big government is that most people are convinced that somebody else is paying for it, and always will be.

Richard said...

anonymous,

In the words of Al Smith, "You can't kill Santa Claus."