"I Strenuously Object"

by Andy Haaf

When voters step into the booth what are their choices? Well, depending on the contest they will most likely see Republican, Democrat and maybe Independent and/or Green candidates. What they don't see however is Voted Most Liberal, Left Wing, Far Left and so on. In the booth, Republicans are usually only competing against one person, the Democrat.

It reminds me of the movie A Few Good Men. Jo (Demi Moore) was trying to get the testimony of the doctor thrown out. Here is the script:

Jo: "Your Honor, we re-new our objection to Commander Stone's testimony, and ask that it be stricken from the record. And we further ask that the Court instruct the jury to lend no weight to this witness's testimony."

Judge: "The objection's overruled, counsel."

Jo: "Sir, the defense strenuously objects and requests a meeting in chambers so that his honor might have an opportunity to hear discussion before ruling on the objection."

Judge: "Noted. The witness is an expert and the court will hear his opinion!"

Sam: "I strenuously object?  Is that how it works?  Objection. Overruled.  No, no, no, no, I strenuously object.  Oh, well if you strenuously object, let me take a moment to reconsider."

I feel like Sam when I hear our leaders and candidates utter useless phrases such as "he is the most liberal Senator" or "he is beholden to the left wing of his party" and so on. Should we take comfort in losing to a Democrat versus a liberal Democrat? To me, either loss sucks. So imagine for a moment the script from the movie Too Few Good Candidates:

Republican: "You cannot trust my Democrat opponent to deliver on his campaign promises. I humbly ask for your vote instead."

Voter: "Sorry, but I think I am going to vote for the guy offering hope and change."

Republican: "Please reconsider. My opponent was voted most the liberal Democrat."

Voter: "Oh, the most liberal Democrat? Well, in that case I guess I should reconsider."

It did not work in the original movie and it obviously did not work in November. Ridiculous? Absolutely, but is that not how our team sounds right now? If the game were Useless Phrase Bingo the person holding the GOP card would win every time.

If the way you present your argument is flawed to begin with then it will not matter how many labels or "fear points" (yep, I just made that up) you throw at the voters. Worse yet, the word "liberal" is like "workflow" in information technology. You ask 15 people what it means and you get 23 different answers. As a result, using it adds little or no value to the conversation. Think I am wrong? Then go ask 1,000 random people what "liberal" means to them and report back on how consistent the answers are.

Plus, we need to make it easy for the voters. While in the booth I do not want them to ponder what type or kind of Democrat is on the ballot. I want them to believe all Democrats are bad. Period.

And you thought Hollywood could not advance Conservatism ;)

Comments

[Donna]

Along these lines...

I've watched referendum after referendum (for building new schools) go down because voters do not want increases in their property taxes. What if governements had to pass referenda every time they increased their budgets, or even their tax rates? What if politicians had to pass referenda to get pay raises? What if every ballot listed candidates names and their voting records on budgets?

I think voters would strenuously object.

[spintreebob]

re: "Should we take comfort in losing to a Democrat versus a liberal Democrat? "

Pat Lindner is farther left than 23 Dems (per URF link in IR). Would I be more or less Republican if Froehlich ran against her and I voted for Paul?

Poshard was liberal and honest. George Ryan was liberal and corrupt. Would the ILGOP be in such bad shape if Poshard had beaten Ryan? So was it more Republican to vote for Poshard? (BTW, I voted for Rhys.)

Political party is a tool to be used when convenient. Party loyalty is not like allegiance to the God or the Constitution. We would get a lot farther within the party if we were honest about what it is.