So the Democrats are riding out the rush of victory. Not just a victory… but an ASS WHOOPIN’. And congrats to them for enough of a win that we don’t have to experience months upon months of whining and freakin’ recounts.

And the Republicans (as usual) are trying to figure out what the hell happened.

For what it’s worth Mike Duncan, what your party has done wrong (among other things) is insisting upon chasing the lame. The center. Hell… most the time it’s been left-of-center. And when you chase and desire the devotion of the lame… it’s all about mass marketing to them.

And there is already a party that’s got that down better than you guys and gals EVER will.

The definition of “lame” is: poor, weak, unconvincing and ineffectual

That focus and priority (I think the term was “bi-partisan”) left a huge mass of conservative-leaning independents that you’ve burned time & time again through lip-service and non action. For a multitude of reasons… you’ll have to wait at least an entire generation to even THINK about attracting back whatever piece of THAT pie you thought you had.

For the conservative-leaning, there are at least two very exciting aspects of the Obama Presidency to consider.

1. The landscape is more fertile than ever for true change. Specific change in the form of a movement (or new party perhaps) that represents an enormous mass of the unrepresented. We live in a world where brands can go from zero to 100mph in very short periods of time. We’ve just proven politically that branding is everything. Again… the landscape of the political marketplace is very different and fertile these days. It is a very real possibility. And that’s exciting.
2. There will soon come a day (likely 2 years from now) when there will be enough distance from where we are currently. There will be no more Bush Administration to absorb eternal fault. Liberal success will depend on foresight, strategy and execution. And the entire process will be documented and monitored beyond comprehension. It will provide a bounty of subject matter to-be-sure. And few case studies (ya think?) that will no doubt support non-liberal agendas.

There is another aspect that is both exciting, frightening and sad… all at the same time.

What Obama did brilliantly was tap into the “entitlement” mentality.

Sure… there is the enlightened hipster, academia crowd who supported the guy. But those people have always been there. And they were already engaged and on-board. They were there last time around. And the time before that…

The secret-sauce was engaging and exciting that other mindset. Because there is no shortage. And like government itself… the entitlement crowd is timeless and self-perpetuating.

There are no-doubt legitimate needy people in society who need assistance. And thank goodness we live in a country that makes attempts to take care of its own. There are occasional examples of the country falling short… but for the most part we strive to take care of our own.

There is another demographic. Separate from the true needy. That demographic is angry and unfulfilled. They need help too. Life is hard man. They’re owed something and gosh darn it… they want theirs. This demographic is significant enough to warrant having on your side. And man did Obama do a great job of rallying THOSE troops.

It could be argued that this demographic is where it’s at socially AND economically largely due to self-inflicted lameness. Again… to be clear to the enlightened academic hipster… the intended targets here are not the actual needy. Let’s all agree that we should all have compassion for the truly needy.

But…
*Note to the enlightened academic hipster: Like it or not … you share an ideology with the not-so-brights and their close cousins the not-so-motivated.

Again EAH’s, you are not being targeted or discussed in an unfavorable way. You have very legitimate and well thought-out reasons for supporting Obama. Got it. Understand it. Much respect for it.

The right has their rednecks..
The left have those people who go to Renaissance Fairs, watch 30 Rock and have a discarded DVD of “The Secret” laying next to their Lil’Wayne CD. They’ve got crappy credit too.

Hopefully can wrap your head around the attractiveness of Obama to this other demographic. Granted and acknowledged that they are attracted to Obama for very different reasons than the EAH’s.

But they’re unhappy too. And damn it… they’re gonna get theirs. And Obama’s schpeel sure sounded good to them as well. So it will be interesting for both sides to watch the inevitable “pay-up” thresholds that Obama will have to face. Also in line are several far-left elements that sank millions of dollars into support for the man.

They’ll expect favor at some point.
What is troublesome is the enabling of this mass of people. They are significant enough in size to influence the election of a President. Good or bad.

What happens if they really, truly get what they think they have coming to them? That’s a fair question correct?

More realistically… what happens if they don’t?

Obama will soon find himself being pulled into several opposing directions, all-the-while knowing the reality that he’ll have to govern close to center or he’ll find himself with approval-rating issues. It’s an interesting dynamic when compared to who he’s in debt to.

This is relevant because it’s imperative that you understand that the crowd was made up entirely of the cool kids. The hipster tastemaker, under 30 crowd. The crowd was incredibly diverse. Blacks, Hispanics and the additional mix of many other cultures that is the beauty of NYC.

And there were plenty of white boys & girls.

What you are about to read is absolutely NOT a pro-McCain piece by any means.

Definitely not a fan.

It’s also not an anti-Obama piece.

It’s simply an observation of pop culture written for the purpose of starting a conversation. That being said… the rap artists that performed were unabashedly pro-Obama. And there were MANY pro-Obama comments from the stage. And overwhelmingly, the previously-mentioned diverse crowd absolutely ate it up. And I’m here to tell you that it was DEFINITELY a “black thang.”

And let me be clear that is NOT a narrow-minded, race-specific observation. The hip-hop influence over popular culture in undeniable. So it’s absolutely a reality that a Chinese 20-year old, or a teenage white kid from Idaho can take part in a “black thang.” I’ve personally taken part in more than I can count.

If you’ve never witnessed Bootsy Collins live… you’ve never properly received the funk.

My point is that Barack Obama is deeply infused into pop culture. He has beyond all doubt connected. The handling and marketing of the Obama brand has been flawless. You simply have to give that machine some serious credit.

They’ve out-MTV’d MTV itself.

Here’s where I’m left scratching my head. Obama has made no bones about his intentions. Socialized health care. Re-distribution. Higher taxes. (Regardless of specifically to whom) Tax money give-aways. All of these things equal bigger government.

What absolutely drives a lot of conservative-leaning individuals crazy-nutz (myself included) is the amount that The Bush Administration has grown the Federal Government. And I absolutely acknowledge that EVERY administration has grown it in relation to the previous administration.

Even Reagan.

But the Bush Administration had hardly been an example of fiscal restraint.

And Obama has been looking right into the camera and telling America exactly what he wants to do. He’s not even trying to be vague or hide his intentions behind sales gimmicks. And people are cheering in droves.

Passionately. And the enthusiasm is very real. It’s very intense. And if I may quote one of the artists performing on stage at the event I attended:

“On November 4th we gonna make history. We gonna change this muthaf@%$*!”

Thunderous response. Cheers on-par with Super Bowl win.

Help me understand. How is continuing to grow the Federal Government beyond the bloated-dirty-swine that it already is worth cheering that passionately about?

How?

One of two things is happening here:
ONE – They really, truly believe that growing the Federal Government will benefit everyone and it’s for the greater good.

TWO- The fact that all this awesome stuff he is proposing (just socialized healthcare alone!) would grow the Federal Government to enormous size… is completely lost on them. They don’t even stop to consider that.

If #1 is true… how did we get this point?
If #2 is true… how is that possible? He’s been absolutely up front about his intentions. Is it simply that they got swept up in the “feel good” vibe of the campaign?

Is there another possibility?

None of this is relevant to the McCain Campaign. There’s close to zero genuine, street-level enthusiasm of any magnitude at all. But not Obama. The enthusiasm is undeniable.

Help me understand the change we need.

More importantly… help me understand how further bloating the size of Federal Government became cool and hip?

There’s an extremely large segment of the politically engaged that has been screaming for a third-party option for some time now.

It’s certainly not hard to understand that sentiment.

But the Oct 7^th Belmont University Obama/McCain Debate served as a shining example that it’s become necessary to beat the drum of a mantra that has been around at least as long as the invention of television:

It’s hard to distinguish the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.

McCain wants to buy bad debt. Obama looked straight into the camera and said that healthcare is a right. And both back the bailout/rescue package financial enema we’ve all been taxed with.

There is ONE PARTY my friends (McCain fans… drink now) … it’s called Washington. And while that community has long since been a cesspool of greed, immorality and arrogance… Washington in its current state could gag a frickin’ ringworm. Any non-liberal is basically not represented. Period.

Please take a moment to watch the video below and listen to what Ron Paul had to say just a few months ago. And let it be known that this was one writer that was not on-board the Ron Paul phenomenon earlier in the season. His non-intervention stance on foreign policy seemed a bit naive for the times we live in. But his behavior while serving in The House was about as close to admirable as one could expect out of a Washington politician.

When watching this video, remember two things:

1. About 16% of the American people elect the President

2. Carroll Quigley’s quote from the book “Tragedy & Hope”

“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.”

This has never been more obvious than after watching the McCain/Obama exchange on Oct 7^th

U.S. President Bill Clinton named Quigley as an important influence during his acceptance speech to the 1992 Democratic National Convention.

Let me be perfectly clear (Obama lemmings… drink!) there is an incredible amount of anger bubbling up from the masses of normal, everyday people. From all walks of life. Arm-yourself/Pull-all-your-money-out kind of anger.

One can only imagine what Israel is thinking right about now.

You may or may not have seen the following video circulating around the web. It’s a bit challenging to comment on without using the following adjectives:

Cult-like.
Indoctrination.
Brainwashing.
Creepy.

Is this really necessary? How much more strange would this video be if the kids were singing about Savage, O’Reily, Fred Thompson or even Harry Browne?

Thank goodness Conservatives do not behave this way. Next up… the Ann Coulter Handbell Choir.

Enjoy.

It clearly happened again with the Barack Obama brand.

A rookie voting record that shows marginal involvement or commitment to definition.

Close to zero actual non-scripted interviews

Close to zero actual non-scripted debate

Considerable & indisputable associations with advocates that most reasonable people would consider “radical” or at the very least… divisive

Now liberals definitely don’t have the market cornered on blind allegiance. But they definitely seem to excel at it and practice it regularly.

The Sarah Palin phenomenon is the perfect example. Look at how this woman has been attacked, smeared, doubted and generally run through the ringer. Did Joe Biden experience anything close to that when he was announced as the VP running mate? Of course he didn’t.

By the same token, look at the genuine excitement behind her. But “liking” or supporting someone doesn’t require the same amount of effort and due diligence as purposely attacking them does. It’s easy to fall for someone or something. Dislike or hate takes more of an attempt.

It’s basic psychology. Negativity requires a lot of energy.

Let’s be honest. Most of America hasn’t known (or known of!) Sarah Palin long enough to form such passionate opinions for or against her. Yet look at how the lemmings are behaving. On both sides.

By the same token, look at all the blind allegiance to the Barack Obama campaign.

Two years in the U.S. Senate. Seven years in the Illinois Senate. One loss in a primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives. One stirring keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. Two best-selling books.

That’s Barack Obama’s political résumé. Is it enough to qualify him to be president?

That’s debatable. But it’s interesting to consider that 95% of the experience he does have was completely off the radar of the vast majority of his current supporters. Yet they‘ll cast they’ll cast their vote for him and smear Sarah Palin… and do both with the greatest of ease.

Could either action possibly be that well researched or thought out?

Not anymore than last season’s vote for American Idol.

No disrespect to David Cook. He rocked. But we just met him not too long ago as well.