Infinite Vicious Regress
I confess that while nothing about the GOP freak show really interests me (galls and frightens me, yes), the prosaic process by which we magically confer relevance, importance even, on crazy people does somehow.
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And so it is that every
election cycle we end up back here.
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And so it is that every
election cycle we end up back here.
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This painfully drawn-out primary season is more evidence that Andrew Sullivan is right about one thing: the GOP "is an entertainment company based around a religious identity politics and masquerading as a political party." The Republican primary is just an extended interview for a stint bloviating on Fox during the general.
People still find the comparison to American Idol and America's Got Talent novel, but that's really what we've been witnessing — without a hint of irony — A version of The Biggest Loser, where instead of pounds, the contestants shed their sense of shame, decency and conviction. (How could Romney not win this? It's totally rigged.)
So after having to actually contemplate a world in which a Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann presidential bid is a reality — a fact no one really knows what to do with — we're now down to Rick Santorum, whose hackneyed "God, Gays and Guns" approach to campaigning is — surprise! — resonating with the right. You don't get points for originality, people.
We shouldn't have to care what Santorum thinks. Just like we never should've had to care what a two-bit huckster like Herman Cain or a bat-shit crazy gay-married Michelle Bachmann thinks about anything — anything! But for weeks we did. Participating, sometimes passionately, in our own degradation.
So now the man who likened gay marriage to "man-on-dog" sex is the GOP's frothy fecal flavor of the week. Great. Another round of warmed-over Kulturkampf. A culture chasing its tail, occasionally catching up to lick its own ass. Talk about man-on-dog.
It's probably an improvement on repeat-philanderer Newt Gingrich's thoughts on marriage equality, though the serial dehumanization of gay people that is de rigueur for Republicans should give all people pause. As far as we seem to have come, the same people who are exporting the idea of the death penalty for gays and their allies in Uganda are registered Republicans here.
We have to remember, always remember, that there is no such thing as progress for the right. There is only infinite vicious regress. And so it is that every election cycle we end up back here.
Of course I couldn't care less what Santorum thinks of gay sex. The truth is: the existence of gay sex in the world obviously has not stopped Santorum-on-Santorum sex.
He should bear in mind, however, that scientists have found a correlation between fraternal birth order and male sexual orientation. According to several studies, each older brother increases a man's odds of having a homosexual orientation by 28–48%. Which means that the odds are pretty good Santorum has a gay kid or two himself.
Now that would be progress.
The shake out from the Republican debate here on Saturday night is now visible in the current poll numbers. We'll begin with the fact that 56% of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire have still not decided for whom they'll vote -- that in itself speaks volumes.
For those who have committed, Romney has 41%, Paul 17%, Santorum and Huntsman are tied at 11% (the Santorum "surge" may get stopped dead here), Gingrich has 8% (ditto for him), and Perry has 1% -- so much for thinking New Hampshirites are thrilled with the idea of going back into Iraq.
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