I had the good fortune to be interviewed yesterday by the Regular Guys at Q100 Atlanta.
I was there representing the Atlanta Tax Protest. There was a lady from Atlanta Tea Party as well.
Half way through the interview, she remarked that a statement by President Obama on taxes and spending was the equivalent of President Clinton's now-infamous statement about him, Ms. Lewinsky, and the stained blue dress. It was quite the cringe-making moment, but it also got me thinking.
It seems to me that a lot of the Republican party is obsessed with the last battle. President Clinton got elected twice, beat the rap, and is now traveling the world with his Canadian heiress. I've no doubt he's a scoundrel, but consider:
a. He's yesterday's news. Why keep harking back to him? All those battles have been fought, and he's not coming back. Bringing him up is a complete waste of energy.
b. President Clinton, through his assorted flacks, portrayed the Republican pary as a collection of sex-obsessed puritans. I know, I know, it was about perjury and suborning perjury, but in the minds of most people, it was about sex, and about Republicans hounding a man for getting a little trim.
c. Whatever President Obama may be, he doesn't strike me as a philanderer. Attempting to tar him with President Clinton's sins is a complete waste of time and effort.
Anyway, this anger, this rage at President Clinton is one of the most unattractive aspects of the Republican Party, and as long as Republicans keep bringing it up, that long will they deserve their minority status. That long will younger people look at them as old puritanical fogies, completely undeserving of respect or support.
What it keeps coming down to is that Republican rage over President Clinton keeps raising its ugly head, and every time it does, it stinks up the room.
Rather than re-fighting old battles, and re-opening old wounds, Republicans ought to be focused on the here-and-now, and the future.
Forget the sex-driven pogroms. Invest instead in Protest Babes. Don't throw values in my face when Newt Gingrich is still part of your organization. Don't talk to me about prayer in schools, I can pray well enough at home. Don't talk to me about Intelligent Design, unless you wish to scrap Occam's Razor and a thousand years of scientific progress. Rather, tell me how you'll stay out of my bedroom, out of my conscience, out of my science, and out of my damn wallet.
But Republicans can't do that. It's what they're about. Lower taxes are nice, but if they come wrapped in the poison pill of culture war, count me out.
And so, I am not a Republican.
All that said, please come to the Georgia State Capitol today at noon to protest our profligate Government. I'd be thoroughly jazzed to see a Democrat contingent.