Creating Conservatives

There is one other political ad that I have been paying attention to. It talks about the low approval rating congress has, and the issues with gridlock, and so it encourages you to vote out the incumbent.

It grabs my attention because it is asking us to replace a Democrat with a Republican, as if the GOP is not more complicit in the issues in Washington, what with the obstructionism and continually blocking other bills so they can vote once more to repeal Obamacare.

I'll concede that a Republican majority might accomplish more, but I think things are already dystopian enough; I don't feel a need to accelerate that.

The frustration in this is that there are things that conservatives could do better if they were willing. I would be grateful to find a conservative that I could vote for, and feel good voting for. It's been a while.

I have mentioned before the War on Drugs not only failing to curtail drug use but also being socially and economically destructive. Democrats can see this, but they tend not to touch it because then they are fulfilling the stereotypes of soft-on-crime pinkos. If only Nixon could go to China, well, I'm trying to think of a Republican who not only could do it but also would.

I know that there are also many conservatives who are dismayed by the trend for so many to vote for said pinkos. However, I know where our common ground can be found.

I vote liberal because I don't hate people enough to actively support policies that make life worse for everyone. I want things to be better for people. Like, if working one full-time job meant that you could afford to live in conditions better than squalor, get your medical and emotional needs met, and maybe even have a family, that's what I'd like to see.

It's not that you can have everything you want, because that's not necessarily good either, but that you can have some things you want. Maybe you want to travel, or have a cool car, or have a maid because you hate housework, or you like having lots of clothes. Rich people can have all of that and more, but that even regular working class people could get one of those seems fair.

Support me in my desire, conservatives, and you will notice a remarkable thing happening. People will become more conservative.

It's true. When people have more comfort, they are more invested in the system. They are more likely to shun change. Even people who seem completely radical now will settle down with a higher quality of life. They will start looking askance at people who complain about the fat cats. They will be offended by protesters. They will find treasure conformity. Sure, some people are already there now, but you don't have enough is the problem.

Look, conservatives have made some heroic efforts in voter suppression, but it is a very flawed strategy. No, I don't mean the inherent Constitutional conflict, because you can make surprising inroads there. The problem is that it is too "in your face". People notice, they complain, they get publicity, and then it is not something that holds up to scrutiny.

You can have a solid, fact-based approach, or you can have something less solid and fact-based that no one looks at too closely, but trying to combine the two is increasingly complicated in this media-saturated world. Weakening the educational system may eventually ease the way, but trying to combine the two is, frankly, overly ambitious.

The genius of working to give people a better life is that it is so sneaky! People will be so grateful that they won't question your motives. With that kind of complacency, you don't even need to destroy the educational system.

I know that increased access to healthcare still stings, and you've fought off the minimum wage increase and school funding for so long that giving up will feel like the rankest betrayal. But I'm telling you, it's for the cause.

Take on this unholy alliance, and watch the ranks of conservatives grow!