Am I Blue?

Sartorially I’ve been blue most of my life. Denim has been the consistent theme in the beginning and end, with “air force blue”, “police blue”, and blue button-down shirts in between.

Politically I spent the 20th century as an independent, voting for the individual, rather than the party. I was interested in fiscal responsibility, avoiding foreign involvements, energy independence, environmental sensitivity, and incremental increases in the quality of life for everyone: fairly conservative values, nothing extreme.

As a true believer in capitalism, I have always been leery of corporations as they are a basic violation of the capitalistic ideal. People forget that the muscle in the “invisible hand” that guides the free market is risk and the sole purpose of a corporation is to reduce risk. I oppose the imposition of litigation caps for the same reason, the reduction of risk. I am deeply offended that people can lead large businesses to disaster and walk away with fortunes.

Many of today’s business leaders spend their time watching the stock market instead of the market in which their companies compete. If the leadership of a company spends more time worrying about the opinions of Wall Street wonks than the opinions of customers, the company is in trouble. When a company is in good shape, the stock will rise because of the company’s increasing value.

When I was forced to choose a party affiliation I naturally chose the Democratic Party, the party of small business and economic growth, the party that understands the threat that corporations pose to capitalism and the free market.

The Republicans support corporations with special exemptions, subsidies, and give-aways. They are the party that supports reducing the risks for corporations and transferring the cost to small business and the consumer.

The current Republican Party has eliminated the possibility of splitting your ballot by enforcing ideological orthodoxy on all members. Any member who attempts to take an independent stand is subjected to the Rovian Inquisition and risks their career and livelihood for even minor deviations from the Party Line.

When I wore “air force blue”, I was a Russian linguist and intelligence analyst. I spent eight years fighting the “Red Menace” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. I read a lot of their propaganda and am familiar with its construction and tone. Now, when I had hoped to slide gracefully towards a quiet retirement, I must again sharpen the sword of democracy to battle the “Red Menace” of the Republican Party.

The Constitution of the Soviet Union was as, or more, democratic than the Constitution of the United States, but that didn’t stop Stalin. When his back was against the wall because of Hitler’s invasion, Stalin played the ultimate political cards: patriotism and religion. G-d and Country!”, the rallying cry of every politician who wants to justify dictatorial power.