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Know yourself or know your enemy, and you be victorious half of the time. Know both, and you will be victorious all of the time. Know neither, and you will never be victorious.
We can never fully know the democratic voter, at least in the sense of knowing exactly what to expect from him or being able to rely on his vote. The core democratic vote is much smaller than the majority that we need, and the discipline of the various democratic coalitions that are formed for voting purposes cannot match that of the republicans.
So it all the more important that we understand our opponent -- that we understand the republican party and what it has become.
I was a republican from the Nixon days until 1991. Nixon, who was thought by many republicans (like Ike -- or me) to be a rather unsavory character, made a significant effort to pull in the sort of voter that more respectable republicans did not like to think about, much less cater to. But Nixon's policies were not uniformly bad and having a reputation for being street-tough politically and very conservative, he was able to largely stand above the extremists and not concern himself too much with what they thought. As the Vulcans say: "Only Nixon could have gone to China.".
(Of course I don't mean this as high praise of Nixon -- I would have voted to impeach and convict him -- but what happened during the Nixon years was not all bad, and it was not all extremist. More importantly, democrats and republicans in those days could still work together in the national interest, across party lines, and even when it ran counter to their partisan interests.)
After Nixon, Ford was sort of an interim, when the extremists and more respectable forces prepared for the next fight. But Ford was never a favorite of the extremists and they had (re)learned the power of playing to the worst in people (a practise that they would make their own). And somewhere in this time, these extremists started their concerted march towards dominance in the republican party --- and in the nation.
History between then and now is the story of how they have succeeded.
(Personally, I like the term "neos" for the elements that have come to dominate the republican party. While some of these people are not new to the party and others can't be called conservative in any conventional sense, the term "neo" highlights the fact that something relatively new has made changes to, and come to dominate, conservative and republican politics.)
So who are these "neos" and what is so different about them?
The neos come from many sources: "fundamentalist christians" (many of whom seem to have no understanding of the fundaments of Christ's teachings), Jim Crow Democrats, middle Americans who turn more quickly to narrow minded thinking than to understanding, single-issue idiots, lightweight "conservative thinkers", Ayn Rand types, speculators and opportunists of the vilest sorts, the proxies of foreign elites looking to cut into the American pie -- or effect American policies, various capitalists who would sell tomorrow for a payoff today, the unenlightened greedy and fearful, the venal, the hypocrites, the ignorant, the impressionable, the weak-minded and most of those people who are seeking really, really easy answers -- or just want to have their own world view reinforced -- or simply desire to fill their own pockets.
Of course the whole republican party is not filled with these kind of people. There are many decent people in the party who are not happy to see a "W" or a Reagan nominated --- but who support him when he is, and when he is elected.
Still the "neos" have come to dominate the republican party and any other face that might show itself is liable to be beaten down.
This leads us directly to one of the hallmarks of the "neos", or at least the scum that has risen to the top of the movement: It is all politics, all the time, and it is politics on the lowest imaginable level. Winning is the only thing for these guys (although it is the spoils of victory that they really want), and they will do anything, absolutely anything, to win. And then, having won, they will make off with all the spoils, while doing their very best to avoid being held accountable for any of their actions. In short, the neos seek no less than complete victory, total destruction of their enemies and an enveloping darkness within which to hide their deeds.
The second hallmark of the "neos" is the means that they use to acheive their ends. Neos are big on crass manipulation, the cruder the better, but where subtle means are required to do the job they can go there too. This is easy for them, because they have at their disposal a huge marketing - lobbyist - activist - "think-tank" - political - media - corporate - streetlevel machine (and now they control government too). This machine is well financed and well supported and it can call upon "top flight talent", (who could and would sell almost anybody, almost anything for the right price), when needed. Generally, the neos fashion simple, powerfully deceptive messages, appealing to the worst in people and then pound these messages relentlessly into peoples heads. But the neos are not above appealing to anyone that they can fool and they are not above using any arguments, even "liberal" ones, to do so. The neos show no scruples in using their giant machine for any end: crushing dissent, spreading lies and disinformation, breeding hatred and fear, tearing society apart or destroying opponents: republican, democrat or independent. Nor do they show any mercy, tolerance, compassion, dignity, humanity or class -- not even to their own.
The third hallmark of the neos is their policies. Neo policies all have one thing in common, they serve "neo" interests first, foremost and usually only. Whether these policies come from the neos' greed or their extremist views, are straight-up payback or are red meat for the issue obsessed, nobody but the neo-elites are intended to benefit from them. All others, including the faithful, must be satisfied with the crumbs from the feast. True, there might be the occassional moderate position that is taken, but only because of political necessity --- a political necessity that the neos work constantly to finally end.
But in all these things the neos have had one outstanding success, they have been able to hold up the mask of traditional, responsible and respectable republican conservatism to their face and grin, fooling many people --- people who just don't understand the grin. (Cheney, famously, recently said what these grinning lips are saying.)
Now, there are many people in the republican party who understand and can admit privately some version of what I have described, and you will hear rumors of possible splits in the party. But let me tell you one thing --- the "better lights" in the republican party will never take back control until the "neos" have been crushed at the polls -- completely and thoroughly crushed. As long as the neos can win or hold out any hopes of winning, they will dominate the republican party and everyone else will be kept largely in line (by direct attacks or by threats -- it is all the same to the neos). Power, that is, money, follows success and it will only flow into new hands (or new old hands) when the neos can no longer command success.
Returning now to my original line: I say to my fellow democrats that it is the neos who are our enemies, not responsible conservatives or republicans -- those who also seek the national interest. These latter are not our enemies, they are fellow Americans of differing opinions, with whom we have worked together before, and with whom we can work together again -- for the common, national interest. The neos, however, are something entirely different, and they must be completely defeated before decent people can take back America --- And this must be our top priority until the threat has passed.
But it is for the sake of the nation, not our personal or party policy objectives (obsessions), that the neos have got to go. They must go, not because they are evil, or because they have made it "us or them" -- although both of these things are true -- but because they are "leading" the nation to ruin -- and it is our duty to save it. So if we must make some compromises, then I say: "Do so, the times demand no less... Such compromises as we may make will not disgrace us or ruin the nation --- but left in power, these evil men will most certainly do so."
(Of course, I hold out no hope of this, because our side cannot be relied upon to see, much less hold to, any single, overriding perspective, and "decent" republicans will never be able to admit what a mess their side has made of things (and stay republicans) -- even tacitly by giving us their vote --- even when they know that they must do so, both for the good of their party and for the good of the nation. Their conditioning is just too strong, and their ability to break their bonds is just too weak, for us to entertain much hope.
Oh, well, life goes on. At least we have a reasonable chance to kick the neos out of the federal executive --- the very worst out of the very highest. This would be no small thing.... And it would be a start.)
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