It's a Bright Bright Sunshiny Day... And That Means Sunburn and Heat Exhaustion

Am I right to be concerned about the conservatives publicly coming out in support of Barack Obama? Should I be thankful for support from any quarter? So far, Christopher Buckley, Colin Powell, Ken Adelmann, Doug Kmiec, Peggy Noonan, and Francis "End of History" Fukayama just to name a few have endorsed Obama. I accept that some of them may have genuine misgivings about the terror and destruction wrought by the fruition of their erstwhile ideology. Regardless, I still don't trust them. This is the group that took lying to the level of high art. They believed, and in astounding arrogance publicly stated that they "created their own reality" when they spoke; it's their world, we just live in it, and if we're lucky they'll allow us to take out their garbage and maybe keep a little of it too. I reject that reality, and I deeply and profoundly hope that America also rejects it come next Tuesday. Given the conservative movement's rather flexible views on concepts like "truth", "honor", and "consistency", is it not possible that some of these supporters are actually infiltrators? From inside the Obama coalition, their goal would be to derail the nascent broad-based progressive movement and shift popular support from programs that benefit the majority of citizens (universal healthcare, taxation of great hereditary wealth, universal access to high-quality education, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, promoting small entrepreneurial companies with new solutions to old problems, and untangling the unholy mess that lies at the intersection of dependence on fossil fuels, climate change, global instability, and the military-industrial complex) to programs that benefit large corporations and extreme wealth. If experience is any guide, they will fall back on what they know best, which is hate, fear, and division.

So Senator Obama, if you're reading this, may I humbly suggest that you don't need these people. Just smile politely, then kick their asses out the door; they've had their chance to run things and by their mismanagement produced the greatest clusterfuck since Napoleon invaded Russia. Perhaps there is a deep cave or an isolated Arctic outpost in which you can find some conservatives untainted by preventative war, torture, disdain for law and civil liberties, and all things Rove, Cheney, and Bush to include in your cabinet or circle of advisors, but I doubt it. There are plenty of smart, motivated, and ethical progressives that would jump at the chance to work for you. If you ask, they will come.

BTW If you look in enough caves, you may find something else.