Conflict of the Ideal and the Real

[Griff]

Tony mentioned this on another thread, which many folks have probably given up on by now, so here it is. There is a conflict we face when we support a party or candidate. My ideal candidate is generally unelectable at least at the Federal level as long as he or she is a Libertarian. I could be content with a Republican administration if their rhetoric matched their actions in some small way. A 'humble' foreign policy, balanced budgets, smaller government, freeer markets, these are the things Republicans get elected on and the are really the core of whatever small support the LP does enjoy.

Unfortunately, like Clinton before him Bush really is unpredictable. We know that neither major party has any core beliefs. The two biggies have core constituencies who must be served in whatever haphazard manner is convenient. This leads to major conflicts inside the parties as some voters are deemed expendable. I guess thats just the beast we call democracy, horse trading on a grand scale, trying to see what they can get away with and still get reelected. The two party stranglehold helps make this an on-going project since you know your guys are the only alternative next time.

Then we have the alternative, reckless ideologues, who if elected would destroy any support they had in their hamfisted transition to the ideal.

My main thought here in this literary disaster is that we are too far from the ideal at this time.