Makes you go hmmm...

Reading right wing blog postings usually makes me scream at my computer. Reading the comments, usually makes me sad that there are so many people in this country who are just so ... wrong.

But the other day, when reading one of Bay Buchanan's columns, I saw this comment (posted here in its entirety):

You have hit the Democracy problem on the head. We no longer live in a Democratic Republic. The liberal MSM and hardcore liberal politicians and their backers like Soros are trying to turn this country into a Democracy. Now that the citizenry knows they can vote themselves freebies from the government they will always vote for the candidate that promises them the most. This results in the country being dependent upon the government for everything. Liberals are tearing the fabric of this nation apart. It is now OK to be irresponsible and unaccountable. Responsibility and accountability are what made this nation strong. Now we have a bunch of spineless wonders running things. They do what works for them not what is right for the country. Democracies always fail and always follow the same pattern:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependency back into bondage

We are currently in the apathy to dependence stage of the cycle. Without true conservatives in elected office we may soon fall into the final stage. If Obama is elected we will surely open that door. As others have said a vote for McCain is a vote against Obama. We are truly in trouble.

There are two thing about this that I find really intriguing. First is the question of whether we live in a Democracy or a Republic. The answer is pretty straight forward from the perspective of the constitution - we live in a Republic. But I would bet that if you ask 100 Americans, no more than would 10 would be able to answer correctly.

I agree with the constitution in that states should have as much power as possible. States should not be able to restrict the constitutional rights of any citizen, but other than that, they should be able to do what they want to do. Legalize drugs - sure. Allow people to drive 100 mph on certain highways - why not? Legalize marriage between two men - sure. Tax gas so that it costs $10 per gallon - hell yeah! I don't even think that the federal government should be able to tax individuals - the state should collect the taxes and submit a payment for federal services to the federal government. (but that's just another one of my nutty ideas)

And then again, I live in California, and I think that we left coasters will get it right if the feds get off of our backs.

The other point that the comment makes is that people will always vote themselves benefits but will not usually vote to pay for em. I agree that this is the case. I disagree that this is a liberal thing. There's not a whole lot of liberals who are getting farm subsidies, or oil company subsidies, or any other type of corporate welfare for that matter.

It seems to me that what is really happening is that people are voting for benefits first, and then arguing over who has to pay for em. And as long as big money controls the political process, the people will big money will always come out on the sweet smelling side of that argument. The rest of us will be left in the shit.