Welcome to the Dark Side

8/25/12

This should be what the banner over the door to the Tampa Bay Times Sun Dome reads. We have seen the enemy, and he is us. The corruption, deception, and greed are so putridly pervasive and ooze out of every pore of the beast we call the GOP that it is incredible that the stench isn’t such that all are aware of it already. Maybe that is the problem, the odor is so strong, so persistent, and has been lingering for so long, that we all have become sensory deprived and can no longer smell it. Never let that fool you, however; the necrotic, decomposing flesh is still there, gangrene has set in, and the only cure is amputation. A surgery so radical that the surgeon, the American citizen, will never even attempt for fear that it might kill the patient. The disease itself will eventually kill the patient himself, but only after driving him stark raving mad, so lunatic that he murders doctors, nurses, family and friends before finally succumbing, but the good physician just wishes to believe that with enough time the putrescence will heal itself. I’m here to tell you that it won’t happen. We have tried to do it with disinfectants, being clean and nice, following the textbook methodology, and we are only losing this battle. It’s time for a change.

I’m sure some of you are wondering what I am talking about. Well, I’m talking about the influence peddling, back room deal making, and outright corruption within this Gory Old Party. As we all know, it didn’t take very long for the Republican presidential race to dwindle to four candidates. Both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich suspended their campaigns back around April, but Mitt Romney and Ron Paul continued their campaigns without interruption. Now, for those of you who don’t know, when a candidate suspends his campaign, he can jump back in at any time, and any delegates he has earned or won up to that point must stick with him through the National Convention. Most candidates who suspend, release their delegates at least a couple of weeks before the Convention so that they can plan accordingly (some may decide not to invest the time and money once their guy has dropped out). If a candidate doesn’t release his delegates by officially ending his campaign, at least a couple of weeks before the Convention, then normally you could be fairly confident that he will not release his delegates at all, and is planning to try for the nomination; or at least a floor fight in order to have his ideas heard and considered by the rest of the party before he goes back into the woodwork. When one waits until just a couple of days before the Convention to release his delegates, you can rest assured that he has been offered some sweet deals for doing so. And you thought elections couldn’t be bought!?!