I have to say I just don't understand the thinking of the so-called conservatives in this country. Well, the most vocal ones, anyway. I think the ones we hear about are actually the minority; I pray that is the case, anyway. But even so, the fact that there is any media coverage of the rather extreme views of these neocons is disturbing. Because these are NOT the ideals that built this country. When the US began, we fought for our liberty from the oppression of a monarchy AND a religion. The framers of the Constitution truly did want separation of church and state, and one only has to look at the Islamist nations to see why. Just because Christians feel so much more comfortable with a Christian-based influence on governance of this nation does not make it any less dangerous and for the same reasons. This country was also created with the ideal of allowing all of those who want or need the liberties we have here, to be welcomed to work and live here, and obtain citizenship if they so desire. True, the nation had far fewer people then; but there was no condition of a certain number of immigrants before the gates got closed. That didn't happen until the Chinese found their way here during the railroad building and gold-mining days. And the immigration laws were VERY specific at that time, targeting the Chinese. There is a longstanding and shameful history of racism in this country. And it is sad that it remains today. I don't understand that, either. These are all HUMAN beings, and all people want the same things. WE are only here because our ancestors thought it was just fine to set sail in ships, land here, chop down some trees and build some houses, and clear and farm some land and declare it theirs. Never mind the fact that in so doing they also nearly wiped out the natives who were here first. This was THEIR land, until we took it. So we have no right to declare ourselves the only immigrants with rights here. All of us who consider ourselves to be US citizens, we really are only naturalized citizens. We got born here, by that fortune alone we are citizens. We didn't do a damn thing to earn it other than that. But that's birthright, and the law recognizes it, so that is a different matter. It's always interesting to see how many natural born US citizens can pass the citizenship test that immigrants have to pass in order to obtain citizenship. Most people fail miserably. I would probably too, because like everyone else I just take my citizenship for granted. Or at least I used to.

But nowadays, when I see some of the GOP candidates' agenda in running for President, it worries me. Of course, I know most if not all of the bullshit they espouse is nothing more than grandstanding and talking points to pander votes. Because they know, as surely as most of the rest of us do, that they cannot do half of what they say they will do. They know, but because most Americans anymore are so uneducated about due process and the Constitution and the functions of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, they just swallow the bait hook, line, and sinker and vote for the candidate who says what they feel inside.

And that is the part that bothers me so much. Even after all these years, the fact that apparently the numbers of closed-minded, bigoted, fearful, and hate-filled toward people who they perceive as being different from them, are enough that presidential candidates feel they need to make those "ideals" a part of their platform. It is repugnant, because a President ought to be running on the actual values of a country built on independence, and all the other values that built the nation, not on racism, bigotry, greed, and hatred. Those should not be acknowledged or tolerated, let alone a campaign built around them because then they only proliferate. It takes little to get that kind of latent malignancy to grow. We had come so far, so close to finally being a society built upon egalitariansim. And when I see this kind of reversal, it saddens me, disappoints me, and frightens me.

When I see legislation being passed by some of the individual states that is clearly overstepping their rights, legislation that is clearly unconstititional and will waste much taxpayer money being challenged before the Supreme Court, let alone the time that could have been spent on issues and causes that actually would advance and enhance the lives of the citizens, it is dismaying indeed.

I understand that the GOP candidates don't have enough substantive strategy or ideas to propose to counter the incumbent Obama administration's successes. The incumbent nearly always has an advantage, most especially when the economy is showing signs of being on the upswing. The price of gas notwithstanding, everything else is recovering--very slowly it is true, but what else could be expected when it had fallen so far for so long? So it is a difficult thing to beat an incumbent with success behind him (or her). Tried and true wins out over the unknown every time. But why not just continue with a campaign that holds to the traditional values that the party has always stood for, and not stoop to the level of pandering to the baser side of people's selfish interests and biases and fears? Run an HONORABLE campaign, one that will make you proud to look back on. If you lose, you can lose with your head high knowing you didn't lose your mind and abandon your integrity in the process. And then you try again in four more years, when both sides have to run new candidates. And may the BEST person win, not the one who can pander to the smallest, worst side of the largest number of people.