I've been a liberal democrat for as long as I can remember. In fact some of my first memories was actually campaigning at the age of 7 for (then) Governor Jimmy Carter in the college town of Oxford, Ohio. Now, close to 40 years (oh, sweet mercy) later, I look at the world of politics and shake my head. Don't get me wrong I am speaking simply of the political field, not the world in general. The world in general, while it has been a mixed bag of advances and setbacks, I am generally optimistic where we are headed. Politically however, when did it become de rigeur to be foaming at the mouth crazy to run for political office as a Republican? Join me over the curlicue for my thoughts.
Don't get me wrong, I know there have been fruitcakes in both parties (Lyndon LaRouche ring a bell?) Even Ronald Reagan (who said some admittedly dumb and ill-informed things) was not what I would call certifiable.
It just seems that this cycle and possibly the last, crazy (on their side) is the new norm. Yes, primary politics is about playing to your base, but if your base is so loopy as to need some of this red meat, just so you will get their attention, then there is something wrong there. Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry both seemed to have "Todd Akin moments" this weekend. Donald Trump's entire campaign seems to be made up of them, and all the other candidates seem to be in a race to see who can tap the crazy fastest.
The problem for our side, politically, is not to engage the insanity, but also not to let their weakness lower our own bar on policy ideas. We still need to risk big ideas, big fixes. I will admit, for various reasons, I am somewhat divided over which of three candidates will get my support, certainly not a golden ticket, since in the time I have been voting only two candidates not running for reelection have garnered my initial choice and gone on to win. Age, name, past history in the party, all play significant roles in my decision. I just don't want us to get so caught up in popping popcorn to watch the clown car, that we don't push our own candidates. It's one reason I was actually glad to see the candidates called on the carpet at NN15, because we still need to hold our candidates accountable.