Conservative Cabal

We hear there’s something going on tomorrow — oh yeah, the peaceful transfer of power that we in the USA are blessed to have every four or eight years.

Will there be protests, as there were in 2000 or 2004? No — we all (well most of us) on the right recognize that that would be politically stupid, and infelicitous — and unnecessary. Obama won …mostly fair and square. Will we be better off? Doubtful. Would there be as much excitement for a black person to be president if he or she were Republican — Michael Steele, say? Or Condi Rice? Very sadly, no. They would not be recognized as such, though both of their histories are much more in line with that of most African Americans than Obama’s is. But it matters not.

What will happen after tomorrow?

• The Fairness Doctrine will probably be renewed, in an effort to squelch “right-wing” radio.  Dissent is, after all, dangerous. Very dangerous.
• More federal monies will be given to embryonic stem cell research, even though recent research has made that rather unnecessary. But certain parties have a vested interest there.
• The Defense of Marriage Act could be overturned, thus forcing a redefinition of “marriage” that most people don’t want.
• Bush’s tax cuts will expire.
• We will be less safe, as the reaction to crises will be to talk first –  a reversion to September 10th thinking. We will never hear the words “war on terror”.

All this, and more, starting tomorrow. No one said the US would last forever. And it seems rather clear to me that we are on the downward slope, letting the wind slap our face, enjoying how “fresh” it all feels. Until we slap right into the mountain.

But perhaps I am being a bit pessimistic.  And on the eve of a President Obama, I think it would do us all well to remember what Calvin Coolidge said in his inauguration in 1923 — very different times indeed, but these truths are, as they say, timeless:

It is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not change. We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a true course. If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine the more accurately what we can do.