Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

For some years, the Radical Right has had a strangle hold on politics in the Republican Party, which by association became the party of God.(Does that sound eerily familiar?)

However, with the ascension of John McCain as the Republican choice and Barack Obama as the Democratic choice, some things may change in Washington. Now, I am a cynic. I wear the badge proudly and it is deep in my DNA. So, I believe not much will change but some things might change.

For one thing, in a McCain presidency, pork barrel projects might be spotlighted to the point that some get vetoed and that money gets redirected to domestic programs like health care for the poor. Bush's "no child left behind" actually meant,"no child left behind as they were marched into a big closet where they were promptly forgotten." Texas Governor "Pretty Hair" did a better job than most in forgetting the poor. So, there is hope--not much hope, but a little hope.

With an Obama presidency, there could be a return to Democratic values that push the poor forward and start initiatives to help them in school, in health care, and in jobs. For the middle class, we might begin to fix health care in such a way that people can once again afford insurance and not go bankrupt getting medical care.

What ruined the Radical Right was their unwillingness to compromise in a city where things get done by compromise. When one gets their marching orders from God, there can be no compromise. Compromise is sin, and sin is to be avoided at all costs.

That is part of the problem of wedding religion and politics which our wise forefathers carefully avoided. Personal holiness must be without compromise. But personal holiness is something Christians strive for, not require of a nation of pluralistic religious experiences. My definition of personal holiness, and Islam's definition of personal holiness are worlds apart. So, there is the problem of the failure to compromise. No compromise, no moving forward, no moving forward, boondoggle.

And that is what we have had in Washington for far too many years. Too many people with very narrow agendas that will settle for nothing less than getting the whole list.

Perhaps now, everyone will get to play and everyone will have to compromise and we will learn to play together nicely. If not, perhaps we should send in a few 5 year olds to reteach that basic lesson of life.