Owlish Mutterings

Where I Stand

I'm part of a mailing group, whose members tend to be more liberal than I am. So, when one guy emailed about GWB's 29% approval rating, I emailed back a link to Bill Hobb's post, saying "The conclusion drawn, and results, may not be ones you like, though."

This has gotten into a discussion about politics, and since I was thinking about doing a summary post anyway for my upcoming second blogaversary, here it is:

Iraq: We haven't won the war yet. But, of course American fatalities have been trending upward, the only way for that to stop is for no one else to die, or for dead soldiers to rise from the grave. And it seems to me anyway that focusing on American deaths is the only possible way to convince people we're going to lose, which is why that is a common theme.

Immigration: I have no clue what's reasonable to do. Economic problems, Social problems, Political problems, and I think solutions are going to be different depending on which part you focus on. And I think Democrats are making a mistake if they assume that any minority will always vote for them.

Spending: Politically, I agree, Social Security and some other social programs have become sacred cows, that Congress won't touch with a ten foot pole. We aren't in quite the position most of Europe is in, so maybe things can change before the population ratio makes Social Security completely unworkable.

Oil: Alternate fuels in theory can work, but practically have a ways to go. And for non-vehicular discussions, nukes are probably the best bet. I have no problem with holding off on Alaska, for now.

War on Terror: I agree, Iran isn't the only major player in terror currently. But, I really don't want nukes controlled by a country whose heads of state frequently talk about wiping a certain democracy off the map.

Everything Else: I don't know what's going to happen with the 2006 elections. My preference? Throw out everyone currently in Congress and start over.

And see also this post on Shrinkwrapped. [H/T: Instapundit] The money quote:

The elephant in the room, which too much of our political and media culture seem to have conspired to overlook, is that the war is still in its early stages and we are finishing the easy parts, al Qaeda and Iraq. If we have had so much trouble mobilizing the support for the easy work, how can anyone be confident that we can address the more difficult problems that are facing us? Unless our enemies make the foolish mistake of attacking us again before they are ready to destroy our ability to carry on the fight, I think there is almost no chance that we can preemptively and adequately wage the next phase of this war.

Posted by Owlish at May 17, 2006 08:48 AM | TrackBack