The word "Representative," today more than ever, is a misnomer, a lie, a mirage.
While Americans at every turn continue to express heartfelt concern about silly things like the war in/on Iraq, the US economy, health care, immigration, gas prices and terrorism, the people we've elected to "represent" those issues are sleepwalking through a completely different sociopolitical agenda.
The gap between Joe Public's agenda and the legislation being debated and invariably defeated in Congress has never, in the history of our democracy, been this wide. What we are experiencing is the last gasp of social conservatism.
Three weeks ago, when an
ABC News/Washington Post poll asked 1000 adults, "What will be the single most important issue in your vote for Congress this year," the results were unsurprising:
Iraq: 24%
Economy: 23%
Health Care: 14%
Immigration: 13%
Gas Prices: 9%
Terrorism: 8%
"Other" got 4% of the responses.
And yet, here, in part, is the Republican-held Congressional agenda - the "other":
Same sex marriage
Flag-burning
Keeping "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance
Abortion
The "Unborn Child Pain Awareness" Act
Cloning
Capital Punishment
Internet Gambling
The Right to Bear Arms
...among others.
Clearly, our "Representatives" aren't representing. The Republicans aren't representing because they don't want to, and the Democrats aren't representing because they can't.
The nutshell from Democrats.org:
Maybe they wouldn't be such big losers if they tried to pass legislation that would, you know, make the country better? Instead they try and make it worse by taking away our rights, scape-goating entire groups of people, and focusing on issues that divide Americans instead of the issues that bring us together.
So why are Republicans pushing this out-of-touch socially conservative agenda
now? Because they believe, and rightfully so, that this is their last chance to do so.
From Wiki:
The opponents of social conservatism are usually those who see no particular value in established tradition and consider it to be an impediment to positive change. For instance, some argue that traditional views in most present-day societies have been carried over from an oppressive past, and are harmful to individuals or to specific groups. Proponents of social conservatism counter that many "modern" values are "corrupt" and decadent.
Every so often in America, those "traditional views" are challenged in bunches. The most recent example is the 1960's, when Martin Luther King championed civil rights for blacks, the "hippies" sang songs of peace during a time of war, protests kept the government in check, the Stonewall riots created a turning point for gays, and the female half of the baby boomer set infiltrated the workforce en masse.
Republicans fear that we're on the verge of another moment in history that could rival the progressive domination of that snapshot in time. A younger generation of judges, voters and politicians is interpreting social exclusions and restrictions with a 60's mindset because they experienced it firsthand. The younger each branch of government becomes, the more likely it is that progressive values will become the social norm. Since America's birth, each new generation has held a more progressive social view than the one that preceded it. There have been blips along the way (Prohibition, for instance), but these are the exception, not the rule.
Even in conservative strongholds (read: the south), the 18-24 year old demographic is overwhelmingly liberal. These college students are a half generation away from becoming our leaders, and they intend to be "thought leaders" as much as political leaders. The only way to prevent them behaving progressively is to write conservatism into law, literally. Here's your evidence from Pew Research, showing the Democrat-dominated "Generation Y":
Look at this way: if Democrats are able to regain just one house of Congress this November, and if a Democrat is able to win the Presidency in 2008, it could be 2012 or 2016 - perhaps beyond - before Republicans have another opportunity to legislate their special brand of "morality." By then, today's 25-year-old will be 35, and ready to bring his/her view of society into the political landscape.
The right is holding tight to "traditional values," but they are losing their grip. Youth and natural progression are simply tugging harder. We are living through the last gasp - a time that historians will no doubt mark as a turning point in progressive politics.
Conservatives know that if they don't write some of these socially conservative items into law (or better yet, into the Constitution), that they may soon lose the battle permanently to a society that is becoming more tolerant, more accepting, more liberal, and more inclined to "live and let live."
Contrary to popular belief, the so-called "American Values Agenda" (formerly the "Family Values Agenda," but recently renamed for marketing purposes) has very little to do with motivating the base at the polls this November. In the short term, the motivation is money. Every time an item on the social conservative agenda gets its day on the House or Senate floor, Republican money spikes. And Republicans need the money to trash the candidates that threaten their majority. This is unlike 2004, when 11 same-sex marriage amendments appeared on state referendum ballots. Today's issues, for the most part, will never see ballot time.
But it is the long-term, not the short, that's driving this bus.
Credit the Republicans for seeing the "bigger picture," late as they may be. Today's agenda isn't so much about November as it about their way of life.